"So this is the exam paper for this test?"
Looking over the test paper she'd been given, Bless the Moment pulled a gel pen from her pencil case.
'Let me see just how different you are!'
The white-haired Uma Musume's gaze sharpened.
Her sword-like eyes swiftly scanned the questions, the pen in her hand striking with precision, leaving answers in its wake on the paper.
'Is this all you've got?'
Seated in the classroom, Bless the Moment's pen flew across the page.
'Heh. Hehehe. Ahahaha!'
'You can't even make me hesitate!'
'Is this truly all there is?'
The white-haired Uma Musume suddenly stopped writing. She looked down at the marks she'd left on the once-blank paper and shook her head in disappointment.
'Sigh… In the end, you're not it.'
Having once again slain her enemy, Bless the Moment sighed, then raised her hand.
"Finished already?" The homeroom teacher monitoring the exam from the lectern glanced up at the clock, then nodded helplessly.
'Even this test's questions couldn't stump her.'
The teacher watched the white-haired Uma Musume leave the classroom, then pulled out the answer key, running her eyes over the answers on Bless the Moment's paper.
[...She only lost a few points on 'What thoughts and feelings does the author express in this passage?' Full marks everywhere else.]
'Truly, she's a top student, consistently ranking in the top five of her year.'
The teacher set this test paper aside and continued proctoring.
"...Ugh, that test was so hard," mumbled the black-haired Uma Musume sitting to Bless the Moment's right at lunch, looking rather dejected. "I have no idea what my score will be."
"It was a bit more difficult than usual," Satono Diamond agreed, then looked to her right. "What about you, Bless?"
"Me? It was alright," Bless the Moment replied, pausing mid-bite of her carrot hamburger steak. "Felt about the same difficulty as the usual tests."
"..."
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond exchanged a look.
'Is this the composure of a top-five ranker?'
"Well, at least it's over now..." Kitasan Black, free from the burden of the exam, relaxed visibly. "Tomorrow's the weekend! Wanna hang out?"
"Got any place in mind?" Bless the Moment asked.
"Not really," Kitasan Black shook her head. "But we can just head out first!"
"We can figure out where to go once we're outside."
"...You said that last time too," Bless the Moment said, somewhat exasperated. "And what happened? You dragged me and Dia around under the sun for the whole morning."
"Ahahaha..." Kitasan Black's smile turned awkward. "R-right! How about the arcade?"
"I'll pass," Bless the Moment declined. "I already have plans with someone else tomorrow. Can't bail."
"Plans with someone else?" Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black spoke in unison. "Who?"
"It's with Maruzensky-senpai," Bless the Moment answered under their combined stare. "She texted me yesterday asking if I was free tomorrow."
Maruzensky?
Oh, that senpai who uses words from who-knows-where.
The two understood.
"Well, if you already promised, I guess there's no helping it," Satono Diamond pretended to sigh.
"Our Bless has been snatched away by a newly-met senpai. Looks like it's just you and me tomorrow, Kita-chan."
"Yes, yes," the white-haired Uma Musume chimed in with a grin.
"Your childhood friend, who you've played with since you were little, has been lured away by a senpai she only met once. Are you both just going to stand by and watch? If you don't do something, your dear childhood sweetheart might just leave you behind, you know?"
"My… How troublesome," Satono Diamond said, her own smile sweet. "It seems I'll have to put some chains on you, Bless."
"Huh? Huh?!" Kitasan Black, hearing this, turned a startled expression towards the tea-haired Uma Musume sitting one seat over.
"Listen… saying stuff that sounds so criminal could cause real trouble if someone overheard and took it seriously," Kitasan Black said, resigned.
"At least say things like that only when it's just the three of us!"
"No problem, no problem," Satono Diamond, having already cleared her plate, propped her chin on her hands, giggling. "No one would believe something like that anyway~"
"Exactly, exactly," Bless the Moment agreed. "You're overthinking it, Kita-chan."
"..."
Watching the two play off each other, Kitasan Black could only sigh in defeat.
'They're at it again.'
Drawing on past experience, knowing that saying even one more word would invite further teasing, Kitasan Black chose to simply shut her mouth and focus on eating her lunch.
--+--
"Ardan, what do you think about this outfit?"
In the student dorm, Maruzensky stood before the mirror, holding a piece of clothing against herself, then turned to the blue-haired Uma Musume sitting on the bed.
"Hmm… I don't think that color suits you very well, Maruzensky," Mejiro Ardan, who had been roped into being a fashion consultant, pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "How about trying that red one next to it?"
"The red one..." Maruzensky picked up the garment Mejiro Ardan indicated and held it up. "...I bought this one a long time ago. It's not really in style anymore."
"Then how about buying a new one?" Mejiro Ardan suggested, glancing at the time.
"Buy a new one..." Maruzensky stared into her closet, thinking. "Never mind, I still have plenty of clothes in here I haven't even worn yet."
"Well… then try that light red set?"
The light red one?
Following the direction of Mejiro Ardan's finger, Maruzensky spotted the light red sweater at the very edge of the rack. She held it in front of the mirror, and her eyes lit up.
This one's good! This is the one!
"And here I thought you needed me for something important, Maruzensky, but it was just to help you pick clothes," Mejiro Ardan remarked, seeing the satisfied look on Maruzensky's face.
Now that her mission was accomplished, she let out a quiet complaint.
Her lunch break hadn't even ended when she'd been awakened by a series of urgent knocks.
Thinking the person at the door had some emergency, Mejiro Ardan had hurriedly gotten out of bed to answer, only to find out from Maruzensky that she just wanted help choosing an outfit.
"What are you doing tomorrow that's so important?"
"I made plans to hang out with a kouhai I'm interested in," Maruzensky replied with a smile.
"I see."
Mejiro Ardan stood up, watching as Maruzensky started hanging the discarded clothes from the bed back into the closet. Her eyes drifted to the desk.
The desk was cluttered with various items, but what caught Mejiro Ardan's attention most was the framed photo.
In the picture, Maruzensky, wearing her red Winner's Outfit, was affectionately hugging a woman, flashing a peace sign at the camera.
The woman held in her embrace, Nakatsuru Aya, wore a look of resigned amusement on her face.
'Trainer...'
Mejiro Ardan gazed at the human woman in the photo and couldn't help but sigh.
She still didn't know exactly what the connection was between that white-haired Uma Musume she'd met on the campus open day and her trainer, but she was growing more and more regretful about forgetting to ask for her contact information that day.
If she hadn't forgotten, perhaps she'd have unraveled the meaning behind the information displayed on that translucent screen by now.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.