It was a rest day, and also the perfect time to take Special Week back to her Hometown to visit relatives. At this moment, Zero and Special Week were sitting together on a train, waiting to reach their destination.
Although they had met once during the training camp, they only had dinner that day before returning to the training camp due to the need for training.
This was the first time they had made a special trip back.
Special Week was exceptionally happy at this moment, chattering about this and that, just like Tokai Teio.
Zero, on the other hand, was watching Special Week's chattering with a faint smile.
Well, let her be happy for a while longer, after all... Tracen's report card is periodically sent to parents to put their minds at 'ease'...
Three hours later...
"Wuwuwu..." Special Week was gnawing on a carrot with a tearful face at this moment.
Last time, because there was still training, her foster mother didn't say anything, but today was just right for Special Week to return.
You might think parents from different families would be different, but they are all the same when they find out their child scored zero.
In short, Special Week was punished with only raw carrots to eat.
Actually, this couldn't even be considered a punishment. Special Week often ate carrots as a meal, and the quantity given was still very generous. Even when punishing Special Week, her foster mother couldn't bear to punish her severely, and when she lectured her, she was just putting on a show.
Of course, Special Week's tearful appearance was also put on; these two, mother and daughter, together were a pair of jokers.
Zero, on the other hand, watched their interaction from the side, finding it quite amusing.
However, Zero couldn't accept raw carrots; they at least needed to be roasted.
After crunching through the carrots, the two hugged each other again, looking like a deeply affectionate mother and daughter.
To be honest, the rapid jump in the plot caught Zero off guard.
"Ah, is Z-chan envious? It's okay, you know? Z-chan can come over too!" Seeing Zero's strange expression from the side, Special Week reached out, and her foster mother also reacted.
"If Z-chan also wants to be my daughter, that's fine too, you know?"
"Ah... no need... = =" Zero truly couldn't understand what these mother and daughter had just imagined.
Special Week's foster mother was indeed a very kind person, which was evident from the way she interacted with Special Week.
Just now, when Special Week was lectured for her cultural studies grades, she didn't actually say anything particularly harsh. The two just very tacitly pretended one was lecturing and one was being lectured, and immediately after the 'punishment' of only carrots for the next meal (which wasn't really a punishment), they hugged each other like mother and daughter reunited after a long separation, even though they had met not long ago.
However, seeing two people with such a good relationship, it was naturally impossible for Zero to say she wasn't envious, especially for someone like her who didn't have a mother. So she still really liked Oguri Cap... as long as she didn't act up.
Perhaps Zero's inherent desire to be pampered was also a reason for her craving for love?
But at this moment, Zero naturally wouldn't go over, because if she did, wouldn't it confirm that she was envious of such a scene?
"Mo~ Z-chan is too shy!" Instead, Special Week suddenly hugged her.
"Hey! Let go, we just finished eating!"
What's going on? Why is this girl so affectionate today?
Wait? This smell!?
Her gaze turned to Special Week's foster mother, who awkwardly averted her eyes.
"Ahaha, because there weren't many raw carrots left, so there were a few pickled in alcohol inside. They were originally meant to be a snack with drinks."
Good heavens, what even are alcohol-pickled carrots?
And is this girl's alcohol tolerance really that bad?
Understanding what had happened, Zero could only give the disoriented Special Week a lap pillow to take care of her. Meanwhile, Special Week's foster mother suddenly met Special Week's eyes.
Special Week: Mom, help me!
Foster mother: No problem!
"Then Z-chan, could I trouble you to take Little Special to her room? Is it alright to sleep with Little Special?"
"It's fine, Auntie."
What a polite and good child. According to Little Special's letter, she seems very virtuous, just a little short in stature, and also a mare, so she'll suffer a lot when having children in the future, right?
"Then I'll tidy up the dining table here. I'll leave Little Special to you."
"Okay." Zero then carried Special Week to her room.
"Alright, you should be awake now, shouldn't you?" As soon as they entered the room and Zero put Special Week on the bed, she looked at Special Week, who was still pretending to sleep, and asked.
The feeling of holding a sleeping person and a conscious person is completely different. When Zero hugged Special Week, she immediately realized this girl was pretending.
But she probably just wanted to be pampered. It wasn't the first or second time Special Week had acted pampered with her like this.
"Ehehe, I still can't fool Z-chan~" Special Week immediately woke up.
She had tried pretending to be truly asleep before, but Zero would just come over and tickle her, and she'd immediately break character.
Special Week had also figured out how to continuously act pampered with Zero through their time together, and Zero had discovered this, making her even more helpless.
If you put this much enthusiasm into cultural studies, you wouldn't have been forced to tutor during the training camp, would you? Zero had complained about Special Week like this more than once, but the other party always got away with it by being cute.
Zero couldn't do anything about it. At least Special Week was a child who truly separated things she was interested in from things she wasn't. For things she was interested in, she worked harder than anyone; for things she wasn't... cramming at the last minute was considered good.
In any case, since she knew Special Week was awake, Zero was too lazy to continue taking care of her. She pulled out two game consoles and handed one to Special Week, who understood and took it, and they started playing games together.
It was no secret that Zero liked to play games; some game developers even wanted her to endorse them. Unfortunately, Zero wasn't interested in those games and had never accepted.
When the foster mother brought in fruit and saw the two harmoniously playing games, she put down the plate, closed the door, and sighed.
Little Special, Little Special, I gave you a chance, but you didn't use it well... Never mind, let nature take its course... The foster mother shook her head and returned to her own room.
Anyway, today was Saturday, so sleeping in a little wasn't a problem.
With that thought, both of them were sleep-deprived again the next day.
Did any Trainers think of their own cute little ones who were sleep-deprived and also made Teibo sleep-deprived?
Anyway, the goal of bringing Little Special home to relax was basically achieved, and everything else was fine.
Fortunately, both the Arima Kinen and the Hopeful Stakes were held at Nakayama Racecourse, so they would take place one after another.
Special Week's Hopeful Stakes was in the morning, and the Arima Kinen was the morning of the next day. It was fortunate to have this mechanism, otherwise, the two could only watch replays of each other's races.
"Little Special, good luck with the race, okay?" Zero encouraged Special Week on the way back the next day.
"Mm! Z-chan, just watch." Special Week's eyes were full of confidence.
She understood that everyone was trying to bring Zero the best Arima Kinen, but as a newly debuted Uma Musume, she couldn't participate yet. However, she could offer her best possible race as a prelude.
So, watch me closely, Z-chan!
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