Today was Nice Nature's first time eating in a fancy place like Ginza.
It had started with her trainer telling her that, as a reward for how well she had been training lately, he was taking her out for a meal in Ginza. Nice Nature had never been there before, but she had heard plenty about how expensive the area was. Even though she had tried to politely decline and suggested they eat somewhere cheaper instead, Trainer Minamizaka had insisted on bringing her anyway.
As a country girl, this was the first time Nice Nature had ever set foot in a place like this. Her family was not exactly wealthy, and she had not debuted yet, so she had no income of her own. Usually, her normal routine was mooching meals off Kagura in the Cafeteria, or occasionally going out to grab something from the snack street nearby.
"Don't worry, Nice Nature. Just eat. Money's not the issue. You've got to broaden your horizons a little. When the time comes and you want to ask someone you like out, you can't exactly take them to some shabby little place in an alley, right?"
When she had asked about the prices here, Trainer Minamizaka's answer had sounded like a joke—but Nice Nature found herself seriously thinking about it.
Someone I like? Who would that be? Trainer Minamizaka?
The thought came to her without warning.
But when she thought back on her everyday life with her trainer, it felt less like a young man and woman together and more like Trainer Minamizaka had been raising her like a daughter all this time. Ever since she had left her hometown, he had practically become a second father to her. She could not bring herself to think of him that way. What she felt for him was much closer to the respect one had for a parent.
Then if it was not Trainer Minamizaka, who else could it be?
Nice Nature did not have many friends. Strictly speaking, aside from her roommates, there was really only one friend she had made on her own. All the other people she knew now were acquaintances she had met through that one friend.
Kagura... ?
The face of that gentle black-haired girl appeared in Nice Nature's mind. As always, she smiled softly at the present her, still troubled and uncertain.
If Trainer Minamizaka was like a second father to her, then that gentle girl was like a second mother. Back when she had been plagued by bad luck, lacking confidence, and always shrinking in on herself, it was because she had met Kagura that she had slowly begun to step out from the shadows. Even though Kagura was one or two years younger than her, she carried herself like a senpai—far more mature than Nice Nature herself.
Admiration, envy... those were normal feelings, right?
For a while, Nice Nature had kept trying to learn more things—how to make tea, how to tidy and organize, things like that—then show them off to that person. Back then, she had thought she only wanted to become more dependable in front of her, like a reliable older sister...
Ding~!
The DM notification from her phone interrupted Nice Nature's thoughts. She had just finished the appetizer of trout slices and was waiting for the next dish, so she quickly took out her phone to check.
[Inari Kagura]:Afternoon~ Nice Nature, you're actually eating in Ginza today?
[Nice Nature]:Huh? How do you know that?
[Inari Kagura]:Look up across from you!
"Huh?"
As soon as she read that, Nice Nature hurriedly lifted her head and looked across from her. Sure enough, she saw the familiar black-haired girl there, smiling and waving to her in greeting. Kagura's post-honkaku appearance felt a little unfamiliar, but Nice Nature still recognized her right away.
[Nice Nature]:Kagura, what are you doing here?!
As far as Nice Nature knew, Kagura was not the sort to spend time in Ginza. Even now that Kagura had started racing and was not short on money, Nice Nature was certain that if given the choice, Kagura would much rather cook for herself at school than come eat here.
[Inari Kagura]:Someone invited me. I wasn't planning to come here either.
Nice Nature glanced at the person sitting beside Kagura.
It was an orange-haired Umamusume in glasses, wearing a black jacket. Underneath was a cropped shirt that bared her midriff in a look that felt wildly out of season, and below that, short denim shorts that left her fit thighs fully on display. When she noticed Nice Nature looking over, she smiled at her too.
Wow... what an amazing figure. What is she to Kagura? And why is she taking Kagura out to eat somewhere this expensive?
Nice Nature had never seen this Umamusume around Kagura before, and Kagura rarely left school to go out on her own, so she was intensely curious how this foreign-looking Umamusume had even met her.
There was no way the whole thing could be explained through text messages anytime soon. Nice Nature wanted to switch seats immediately and go over there to ask properly, but since this place used reservations and the seating could not just be changed at will, she had no choice but to suppress the impulse for now and force her attention back onto the beef in front of her.
...
Interesting... looks like that sense of pull wasn't just my imagination. This little missy really is popular.
After exchanging greetings with Nice Nature, Affirmed finally confirmed that what she had felt earlier had not been a mistake. Kagura's personality and bearing really were the kind that drew people in. In fact, "likable" was probably too mild a word, because from that brief instant when the red-haired little Umamusume across the room had looked at her, Affirmed had unmistakably felt an aura of aggression and hostility.
As a Triple Crown champion, she was not afraid of an aura like that. Even so, it did tell her quite a bit about how Kagura's friend regarded Kagura.
Ha, this is great. Today's trip really wasn't for nothing. I've picked up all kinds of interesting information.
Affirmed had originally come just to apologize, and maybe sound Kagura out a little while she was at it. She had not expected to get so many bonus insights out of it too.
[Secretariat]:Affirmed, you said Miss Kagura hit honkaku recently, right? Would it be possible to get a photo of her?
[Affirmed]:That'd be difficult. There aren't many openings for something like that, and I'm not close enough to her to ask for a photo together.
[Secretariat]: Is there really no way? This is really important to me!
[Affirmed]:Our relationship with Miss Kagura is actually pretty bad right now. If you don't want to make her dislike us even more, Big Sis, it'd be better to give up on that idea.
In the hour or two they had spent together, Affirmed had already gotten a decent read on what sort of person Kagura was: gentle, approachable, and rather conservative. With the way things currently stood between them, asking for a photo together was still far too much. Unlike her classmate Seattle, who never seemed to bring her brain along when she went out, Affirmed—who was always the one handling the social side of things—naturally understood the most basic art of reading the room.
[Affirmed]:Besides, now that you've found her account anyway, if you just keep following her for a while, she'll post a selfie sooner or later, right? No need to rush.
[Secretariat]:No... forget it. You're right. This kind of thing really does have to be taken one step at a time.
...
"Seattle really dumped a huge mess in my lap. When she gets back, I'm going to have to lock her up for another two days..."
Secretariat deleted the message she had just been about to send, covered her forehead, and let out a quiet sigh.
That familiar face really did make her want to know what Kagura looked like after honkaku. But Affirmed was not wrong. Seattle had handed her a nightmare-difficulty opening, leaving her in a horribly passive position where every step forward or back was awkward.
"I heard Galileo went to Japan too. And didn't Affirmed just say that if she hadn't acted first today, the one who would've been able to ask Miss Kagura out today would actually have been Galileo?"
Man o' War had returned to her seat by then, crossing her arms as she sighed.
"Yeah... I should've thought of that sooner. I can understand Affirmed and Seattle not recognizing her right away, but Galileo's European, and she's close with Elizabeth... there's no way she wouldn't recognize that face."
"What are you planning to do?"
"For now, first I have to clean up the mess Seattle made. As for what comes after that, I'll think long-term. Either way, getting closer to Miss Kagura definitely won't be the wrong decision."