I was walking with groceries in hand when Oguri ran towards me.
"Mother!" She greeted me, her tail swishing around excitedly.
"Welcome back. How's your training?" I softly asked as i crouch to her level and pat her head.
"I'm doing good. Because now, i have a trainer to guide me." She says, causing my eyes to widen in surprise.
'Did she got scouted when training on her own?' i thought silently. After all, having a trainer is a bug deal for any Uma Musume who dreamed to be able to run and possibly won on the race course.
'But Oguri hasn't had her growth spurt yet, which is something no normal Trainer would do. So who wants to take an Uma Musume under their care before that?'
"He's right there." She says while she turned around and point her finger at a male teenager, walking towards us while shaking his head in amusement. When he stand in front of me, he slightly bow his head in a polite manner before introducing himself to me.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. My name is Nakashima Ryouji. I'm a 16 year old high schooler who's aspiring to be a Trainer someday in the future. Pleased to meet you"
"Ara, nice to meet you too. I'm Shiro Narubi, Oguri's mother."
[A/N: Oguri mother's real name is White Narubi. But since Cygames never introduce her properly and change the name of Oguri's rival in Kasamatsu, Fujimasa March from the original name March Tosho, i decided to have a bit of creative liberty by changing her name a bit.]
"I'm sure you have many things to ask about me. So why not do that while we're having lunch somewhere around here? I'll be the one to pay of course, since i already promised to Oguri before we start her training."
"I appreciate it, Nakashima-san. But you don't have to go that far." i said with a bit of sweat on my cheek. "After all, i already buy groceries to cook for today's lunch. So you don't have to invite us to eat in some place. Of course, you can come and join us if you want"
"Ah, don't worry. You can just save the groceries for dinner. Besides, i prefer if i could keep the promise that i've made to Oguri." He wave his hand, refusing my offer.
"No no, i insist. You should come with us instead" I said with a smile on the outside, but a slight panic on the inside.
'I know you're being polite. But Oguri's appetite would put a large hole on your wallet, young man! I know my income is not much, but for your own good, please accept my invitation to have lunch in our house instead!'
But before i could say anything, Oguri pointed at an advertisement of a newly opened hotel. Seeing it, Nakashima-san walk closer towards it, leaving me unable to say anything as he and Oguri .
"I think we can have lunch there. There's a promotion for their restaurant, and it's an all-you-can-eat buffet style restaurant too" He said as he shrug his shoulder.
"What's a buffet?" Oguri asked as she look at him curiously.
"Buffet means that they have many food varieties, while all-you-can-eat means are... Well it's basically that you can eat as much as you want until you're fully satisfied"
Oguri now has stars in her eyes from hearing that, her tail swishing excitedly as i lost in thoughts about how much money he would burn through his wallet from Oguri's appetite.
"Don't worry, ma'am. The price aren't really expensive. On average, it usually cost around 3000 yen per person."
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Half an hour later...
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"Eeeeeehhhh...."
I now sit while blinking my eyes a few times in an almost silent disbelief.
It was one thing to see my daughter ate so much. At her age and size, she could casually ete more than an average adult Uma Musume.
But it's another thing entirely to see a male human to eat just as much as my daughter while also teaching her table manners at the same time.
And he's not even eating his food at a fast pace like a competitive eater would. He just eat in peace while occasionally reminding Oguri about table manners.
Speaking of which — when did he and Oguri became so close to the point that they both look like siblings?
And look at him, wiping the leftover rice from her cheek before patting her head. It was such a cute and heartwarming scene to look at, to the point that i really wish i had a camera or a phone with me right now.
But alas, most of my income went into Oguri's stomach. Which is why i couldn't afford such luxury for myself.
Not that i could blame her for it. After all, i'm the one who taught her to eat a lot so her legs could get stronger when she was still in kindergarten.
What's more, during our brief conversation when we ate, i found out that he's actually an orphan. He's just exploring Kasamatsu for sightseeing after getting released from the hospital a few days ago.
"You said you got released from the hospital, right?" I asked.
"Yeah. Got struck by lightning when i'm on my way home from school and went into a coma for nine months. I just woke up almost a week ago" He casually answered while shrugging his shoulder, almost causing me to spit my drink.
Before i could say anything, he stop me and say "I'm fine, really. I miraculously woke up sooner than what the doctor expected and recover pretty quickly. Nothing short of a miracle, he said."
"Miracle, huh..." I muttered as i finally connected the dots that made him and Oguri so compatible between each other.
'In a way, both of them are one and the same. He saw his quick recovery without having any permanent nerve damage as a miracle.
And Oguri saw herself being able to stand, walk and run after being born with weak legs as a miracle too.
That's why they both connect so well with each other... Apart from their huge appetite' i thought as i let out a sigh of amusement.
'But i guess him being Oguri's Trainer is enough. I mean, even if i wanted to adopt him to our family, there's no way the orphanage and the country's strict ruling would allow a single parent with a low income like me to adopt him, right?'
<3RD POV>
A phone rang came out from Ryouji's pocket, causing him to pick it up and answer immediately after seeing who's calling for him.
"Good Afternoon... I'm fine. As for where am i right now, i'm currently having lunch... Outside of Tokyo, in Kasamatsu... Yeah..."
Oguri and Shiro look at each other for a moment, before silently listening to Ryouji's conversation. A few moments later, he hand Shiro his phone.
"The director of the orphanage from where i'm from wants to talk to you. It's to ensure the credibility of what i've said."
After handing out the phone, Ryouji look at Oguri and say "Wanna grab some dessert?"
Nodding with a smile, both of them leave the table to grab some more food to fill their belly to their heart's content. Leaving Shiro Narubi to have conversation that'll change all three of their lives later in the future.