"You're back."
In the garden of the Symboli household, Speed—who was out for her morning stroll—caught sight of her rarely-home granddaughter.
"Morning, Baba. You're surprisingly up this early?"
"Morning my foot… Good grief, you brat. I heard from Trainer Tojo that Kagura-chan was so exhausted last month she passed out in her office several times. Didn't you promise you'd look after Kagura? So this is how you look after younger ones—by running them into the ground?"
Speed grumbled irritably. If she'd had something in hand, she definitely would've given her granddaughter's head a good smack or two.
When she'd heard Kagura was exhausted, it had broken her heart. If not for the maids constantly urging her otherwise, and her own reluctance to disrupt the young people's routines, Speed would've already stormed over to Tracen and dragged Kagura home for a proper vacation.
"I… I know, it was my fault. I've been reflecting on it all last month… I just didn't realize how serious it was until Kagura and Trainer-san had to work so hard to help me recover."
"It's always harder to build something than to tear it down—a tower takes great effort to construct but can be destroyed in an instant. You're old enough to know better."
Speed sighed helplessly, pulled two tickets from her pocket, and handed them to Rudolf.
"Akikawa said young people nowadays enjoy things like this. She herself had a grand time at the amusement park. Honestly, sometimes I think our family produced a total oddball; why do you have the same hobbies as us old women?"
"Ah…ahaha…"
Rudolf laughed awkwardly, recalling the time shortly after meeting Kagura when she'd asked about current youth trends. She still hadn't figured out modern tastes. Though she did find jokes amusing—she'd often tell terrible puns to Air Groove in the office when bored. For some reason, though, Air Groove's efficiency always seemed to plummet afterward.
"Ojou-sama~! It's been a while! Rare to see you home! I heard about your victory yesterday—are you on post-race holiday today?"
The maid chief, who was sweeping nearby, spotted Rudolf chatting at the gate with Speed and approached them cheerfully.
"Good to see you, Maid Chief. I am indeed free today. Kagura and Trainer-san exhausted themselves looking after me this past month, so we're resting for the next few days."
"Oh? No wonder… Then, Ojou-sama, you're planning to take little Kagura out today, aren't you?"
When Rudolf nodded, the maid chief leaned her broom aside and searched her pocket briefly, eventually pulling out a stack of golden-colored tickets.
Rudolf stared blankly at the tickets for a moment, vaguely recognizing them from some shopping district she'd visited before, but not immediately recalling what exactly they were.
"These are hot-spring vouchers. A while back, when I went grocery shopping, the shop was having a promotion. My purchases qualified, so I entered the drawing, and unexpectedly won the top prize—a two-person ticket. Since we maids always rest well and rarely do strenuous activities, I'll entrust these to you and little Kagura, who truly deserve to relax."
Under Speed's approving gaze, the maid chief smiled gently as she handed the tickets to Rudolf.
"Eh? Kagura-san, are you going out again?"
...
Back at their dorm, Ardan—who had patiently waited all night for Kagura's return—was puzzled to see Kagura quickly shower and begin changing into fresh clothes, clearly preparing to leave immediately.
"Yeah, rare chance to relax… Apparently Akikawa-san bought extra amusement park tickets on impulse and gave them to Speed-sama, who then passed them on to Rudolf-ojousama, saying we should get out and have some fun."
With nothing planned today and Rudolf's wish to understand young people's entertainment, Kagura had naturally accepted her invitation. Kagura herself was curious why Rudolf specifically asked her to pack a spare set of clothes, though.
Does this amusement park have some kind of water rides that'll soak our clothes?
Kagura pondered this as she slipped her socks on.
Ardan opened her mouth, hesitated, then eventually said nothing. She simply sat on her bed, hugging her knees, quietly watching Kagura leave after saying goodbye.
What a shame… Kagura-san finally had some free time; I was planning to invite her out for cake today…
Ardan had long wished to repay Kagura's constant kindness. After discovering Kagura's fondness for durian cake, she had intended to invite her out as soon as Kagura's schedule eased up. But now, just as Kagura had finally returned, she was swept away again.
I'll just have to try again tomorrow. Kagura-san's vacation surely lasts more than one day…
With this thought, Ardan flopped onto her bed, reaching for her phone. Just as she unlocked the screen, a notification popped up from the top.
[Iris-sama]:Good morning, Ardan. Are you awake yet?
[Ardan]: Good morning, Iris-sama. Yes, I'm awake now.
[Iris-sama]:I noticed Rudolf-chan's race finished yesterday. Kagura must have a break now, doesn't she? She takes such good care of you normally. Now that she finally has some free time, shouldn't you do something to show your appreciation?
[Ardan]:Actually, I was originally planning to invite Kagura-san out for cake today…
Seeing Ardan's reply, Iris felt relieved—for about three seconds. Then, processing it further, her eyebrows immediately furrowed. "Originally" implied that Ardan hadn't actually acted upon this plan at all.
[Iris-sama]:Wait, you said "originally"? Then what are you doing now?
[Ardan]:Rudolf-san invited Kagura-san out to the amusement park, so I thought I'd just wait until tomorrow instead. Kagura-san's break lasts longer than one day anyway.
"…"
Reading Ardan's message, Elder Mejiro found herself at an utter loss for words. She'd never felt quite so speechless before in her long life.
She carefully considered her next message, editing and re-editing, deleting overly harsh wording, before finally sending something appropriate:
[Iris-sama]:Next time, keep it in mind—if something comes to mind, do it immediately. Don't always wait around. Opportunities don't wait for you.
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