"Someone broke in?"
Manhattan Cafe took a moment to process before finally understanding Agnes Tachyon's meaning.
Someone had grown suspicious of them and had entered Agnes Tachyon's room to search for evidence.
"We've been found out?"
"No, not yet. If we had been found out, they wouldn't have just snuck into the room; they'd probably have taken us away directly."
The fact that they did this meant they didn't have solid evidence.
"Who was it? Tracen, or the central authorities?"
"Not sure. But whoever it was didn't put my things back in their proper places after rummaging. Two books were swapped in order, so it clearly wasn't done by a professional."
They were the two books under the desk.
The intruder had likely turned the entire research room upside down.
"Did they find anything?"
"Hard to say. Nothing seems to have been taken, but that doesn't rule out the possibility they took photos."
Seeing the deep frown on Cafe's face, Tachyon said, "No need to worry. All the research materials on 'Friend' have been secured. Even if found, they wouldn't understand the symbols on them. And the code to decipher the data is all right here."
Tachyon pointed to her own head.
There was no safer place than memory.
Seeing this, Manhattan Cafe let out a sigh of relief.
"Actually, it might be better if it was someone from Tracen or the central authorities who broke into the classroom…"
What Tachyon worried about was someone other than those two groups.
"Cafe, haven't you noticed there seem to be more foreign Uma Musume hanging around Tracen lately?"
"Has there been…?"
She hadn't really paid attention.
"There have. More than any previous year."
Tachyon looked at her, a meaningful expression on her face.
"Cafe, for a while now, watch what you say. Don't mention anything about that person. Act as if she doesn't exist at all, understand?"
"'Friend's' matter?"
"There is no 'Friend.' There is nothing." Tachyon said sternly.
Seeing her expression, Manhattan Cafe felt her throat tighten.
She understood.
Certain hands had quietly reached close to them.
Be careful, walls have ears—
That was what Tachyon meant to convey.
After giving Cafe her instructions, Tachyon left.
Left alone, Cafe made her way toward the training field.
She had to completely forget about 'Friend.'
Otherwise, those around her might catch on.
There could be people lurking nearby, trying to gather information about 'Friend.'
But asking her to forget…
It was far too difficult.
Even just pretending was too hard.
Just as Cafe was wrestling with these thoughts, a voice called out.
"Cafe, what are you doing?"
"Eep! Fr— I mean… uh, Silence…"
Hearing the familiar voice, Cafe jumped, fumbled for a moment, then forced herself to calm down.
"I was just heading to training," she said, looking at the girl disguised as a roan-haired Uma Musume before her. "What about you?"
"Well, since our trainer has been running to the hospital these past few days, I've been mostly in charge of training matters."
She waved the clipboard in her hand.
"Supervising their workouts."
Looking toward the track, Cafe saw the Uma Musume under Silence's care: Fuji Kiseki, Air Groove, and… Hishi Amazon.
All impressive individuals, and all familiar to Cafe.
"Is the work going smoothly?"
Seeing 'Friend,' Cafe's mood instantly brightened, the earlier tension forgotten.
"They've all been with the trainer for quite a while and know the training methods, so I just need to give them a few reminders from the sidelines."
It was infinitely easier than the pre-race period with Narita Brian.
That's how it was for interns: busy as a dog when there were races, but pretty relaxed when there weren't.
"I see."
It seemed 'Friend' had fully integrated into the Tracen environment.
How wonderful.
Yes, how wonderful…
This should be a good thing.
Yet, a sense of loneliness welled up in Cafe's heart.
'Friend' was helping others train.
But she couldn't even mention her now.
After all this time…
Just when we had finally gotten so close.
This damned fate always gets in the way!
If 'Friend' had completely become an intern, working tirelessly all night for those other Uma Musume…
Thump!
Her heart suddenly ached as if on fire.
No.
This won't do!
No matter how her appearance changes, she is my 'Friend.'
Therefore, she should belong to me.
Such thoughts sprouted in Cafe's mind.
"What's wrong, Cafe? You look pale…"
Noticing the change in Cafe's expression, the girl came closer and raised a hand to touch her face.
Slap!
As if shocked by electricity, Cafe's body flinched.
Right!
Since I can't talk about 'Friend,' I can just seek out Silence, can't I?
You're an intern, I'm an Uma Musume. It's perfectly normal for the two of us to be together.
Nothing suspicious about it at all.
Even if someone sees us, it doesn't matter.
There are plenty of reasons.
Thinking this, Cafe grasped the girl's hand in return.
"Are you free this weekend?"
"Weekend…" The girl thought for a moment. "I don't have any plans, really."
"In that case, come with me somewhere."
"Mm, sure."
"Great! Then I'll contact you later. Ah! Just the two of us. Don't invite anyone else."
Cafe's face lit up with joy.
Remembering the last time, she gave 'Friend' strict instructions.
"That time was a special circumstance."
"Well, this time, no more special circumstances."
"Okay…"
Faced with Cafe's intimidating, pressing demeanor, the girl stammered her reply.
"Good, then I'm off to train. See you this weekend. Don't forget, just us two."
Having received a definite answer, Cafe trotted off with light, cheerful steps.
After Cafe was out of sight, the girl slowly turned back toward the training field.
Going out on the weekend…
It felt like Cafe hadn't made such a request in a long time.
Come to think of it, interns do get paid. Should I buy something when we go out?
When she started, Tracen had advanced her this month's salary.
She had no living expenses, no material desires. The money was just sitting there, useless.
Maybe I should let Cafe handle it.
As the girl was lost in thought…
"Don't space out during training!"
Someone suddenly yelled behind her.
"Eek…!"
The girl jumped.
Whipping her head around, she saw Fuji Kiseki, who had clapped her hands on her shoulders.
"Haha, sorry. Your dazed look was just too tempting to tease."
She grinned.
"How was that? Did I do a good impression? That's how our trainer used to lecture us—'Don't space out during training!' Every time we heard that, our bodies would move on reflex."
"Ha… Sounds tough."
"Right? When the trainer gets angry, it's truly terrifying. Back then, Amazon constantly pissed the trainer off. Training sessions were like a living hell."
"Hey! Fuji, what are you talking about!"
Hishi Amazon, having just finished a training set, walked over while wiping her sweat.
"Listen, kid, don't believe her nonsense! I was the most serious one during training back then. Isn't there a saying? The greater the talent, the higher the demands. The trainer saw my exceptional talent, so naturally, they were stricter with me."
"Wasn't it because you were always muddle-headed during training, forcing the trainer to pay extra attention?! That's not 'stricter,' that's 'more effort.' And don't call the intern 'kid'! Have some respect!"
"Ah, sorry. I just call anyone who looks younger than me that."
"The intern is older than you. She just looks young."
"So noisy! You're the one who calls her 'intern, intern' all the time. Doesn't that sound distant? I'm not like you. Anyone who looks younger than me can call me big sister!"
Hishi Amazon puffed out her chest proudly.
"So Silence can call me Amazon-nee too."
"Ugh… Your skin is thicker than I thought."
"What? What's wrong with me being closer to her?"
"Nothing's wrong. But your skin is seriously thick."
"Alright, Fuji! I get it now. You're just here to stir up trouble!"
"Stir up trouble? I'm just trying to teach a certain disrespectful Uma Musume some manners."
"Oh? So you're saying you have great manners?"
"At least much better than yours."
"Hah—?"
"What?"
Their foreheads were almost touching.
"Can't you two give it a rest for once?"
Air Groove, in her training gear, walked over as well.
"The intern is troubled enough."
"Hmph. Hear that, Fuji? Don't cause trouble for the kid."
"Air Groove was talking about you."
Just as the two started bickering again—
Ring ring ring—
A phone rang.
The girl took out her cellphone.
Pressing the speakerphone, she heard Toujou Hana's voice.
"Silence?"
"Trainer, it's me," the girl answered.
"I sent a form to your phone. Print it out later and have the chairwoman sign it."
"A form?"
"That's right," Toujou Hana said. "It's on your phone. It's Narita Brian's application to return to school."
Narita Brian had recovered.
She would be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.