As we expected, Fujimasa March was completely blown away when we finally brought her to the gates of Tracen Central Academy. The usually composed umamusume showed an impression of a gaping fish as she stared at the towering main building of Tracen Central, along with the pristine brick walls that surrounded the entire Tracen.
I smiled fondly, remembering how Belno and Oguri had reacted similarly when we first arrived here.
"How is it?" Kitahara asked, grinning widely. "Impressive, isn't it?"
"...y-yeah. It really…is." March slowly said, still mesmerized by the sheer gap between Tracen Central and Kasamatsu Tracen. The difference was practically like heaven to earth!
Musaka rolled his eyes—Kitahara was parading Tracen Central like he owned the place or something. But he remained silent, letting March take the scenery in. No reason to snap her out of her reverie; it wasn't like they were bothering anyone.
But they couldn't remain here forever. So after some time, Musaka finally spoke. "Alright, 'nuff looking around." He grumbled as he tapped his cane. "The director's still waitin' for you. Better not let her wait for too much longer."
"Ah, right." And all at once, the fear she'd pushed back resurfaced, and her face turned a little pale. "She's the one we'll have to convince, no?"
"You'll be fine~" I said as I gave her shoulder an encouraging bump. "I've heard Director Akikawa's pretty chill about this kind of thing, and she's always open to having more students." I winked. "After all, more students means more races!"
Musaka snorted. "That ain't wrong." He gave Kithara's foot a quick jab with his cane as he began walking. "Come on then. I'll take ya to her."
Kitahara cursed under his breath as he held his foot, but he quickly smiled at her. "Yeah, come on. Let's go together."
"I'll go as well!" Belno said, before turning to Oguri and I. "How about you two?"
I shrugged. "No reason not to go-"
"How about some breakfast, though?" Kitahara then suggested. The mention of food alone caused Oguri's eyes to snap to him, and when she realized she could go back to the cafeteria, she quickly began tugging on my sleeve, her eyes sparkling as she begged for me to go with her.
I leveled a glare at the man, and Kitahara began whistling as he turned away. I sighed. "Ah-, fine. I'll go with Oguri to have some breakfast." I smiled at March. "I'll see you soon. And as I said, you don't need to worry. You'll definitely be accepted without much issue."
She nodded slowly. "I hope so."
I nodded back, and before Oguri could tear my sleeves off, I began walking with her towards the cafeteria.
Our walk there was quiet. Not just because it was still early morning, but also because there were hardly any students here. There was still a day before summer camp ended, which meant the usual hustle and bustle of Tracen Central wouldn't be back until a couple days or so.
The cafeteria was similarly quiet, though the staff were already there to prepare despite the early morning. When they spotted Oguri and I approaching however, whatever leisure they had vanished in a moment. They became battle-hardened, and the platoon of chefs working in the kitchen quickly fired up every stove, readying for the inevitable battle of attrition.
I stifled a snort at the sight, but I then turned to Oguri. "Alright, time for breakfast." I grinned. "No one's here right now, so I think we can eat a little more than normal."
Oguri's ears flapped happily at the idea, and without further words, she quickly ran up to the cafeteria counter and began asking for food. The staff, more than used to the Beast's appetite, were quick to pile on as much food as they could. Fried rice, tempura, tonkatsu—everything they had already in stock.
I chuckled as I took a seat at one of the many empty tables. I didn't bother getting food myself—it was still morning, and I'd already eaten breakfast before boarding the shinkansen.
I smiled as Oguri kept stacking more and more plates onto her tray, all while the staff readily provided Oguri with whatever she wanted. Seeing her like this—it felt like we were finally back in our usual routine. We were truly home after two months of being away from Central.
I breathed softly.
A…lot happened during those two months. Days filled with training, becoming the No.1 counselor of Tracen Central by virtue that I was the only one, eating my way through three dozen restaurants, my meeting with Dolphin,
The summer festival, the promise we shared beneath the fireworks,
Our quick return to Kasamatsu, finally opening up to my mother, sharing my heart with Oguri,
It was a lot. Almost too much, considering only two months had gone by since summer camp began. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
Soon enough, Oguri came to my table with her spoils. The entire table shook as she set down her tray. I could barely see her, with how the pile of fried rice and tonkatsu were covering her like a pair of hills. "Thank you for the food." I heard Oguri whisper before she began digging in.
My smile became fond. Being back here in the cafeteria really made it feel like we're home.
But before I could ponder further, I suddenly found a piece of tonkatsu hovering in front of me, held by a pair of chopsticks. I blinked, and then realized that Oguri was trying to feed me. I huffed, though I opened my mouth and bit down as she fed me the piece of tonkatsu.
Oguri nodded seriously as she saw me chew, and she kept an eye on me as she continued eating.
We spent quite a bit of time in the cafeteria, with Oguri returning back to the counter to get more food whenever she finished eating all she had. She finished plate after plate, and the chefs were more than prepared to meet her seemingly endless demands. The kitchen echoed with all sorts of sounds—it practically sounded like a battlefield from the table I was sitting at.
She also fed me some of her food from time to time. And though I wasn't really hungry, I didn't deny the offering. I'd feel pretty bad if I did, and I had a feeling Oguri would try and force me to eat anyway.
After a while however, my ears twitched as I heard people approaching from afar. I turned my gaze towards the corridor heading out of the cafeteria, and soon enough, I saw March and the rest of Team Kithara enter the cafeteria. I smiled lazily as I waved at them. "Oi, over here~"
They all made their way to our table and sat down, and I grinned as I saw the smile on March's lips. "Guess things went pretty well, huh?"
Belno happily nodded. "Yes! Starting from now, March is officially part of our team!"
I gave the girl a thumbs up. "You go, girl!"
March blushed at the praise, ducking her head slightly. "I-, thank you, Blossom-san."
I rolled my eyes. "Just call me Star. We're teammates now; there ain't a reason to be so formal around me." I then smiled as I ate the piece of fried potato Oguri handed to me. "So, how do you find the director?"
At that, Belno's smile became a little awkward. "She's…interesting." She scratched her cheek. "She's very enthusiastic."
Kitahara snorted. "Enthusiastic is putting it lightly." He chuckled as he remembered something. "I've seen her do a lot of weird things. A lot of dangerous things." He sighed, though he had a smile on his lips. "Still, she's very nice. She's helped me out a few times already!"
"Is that so~?"
Belno stared at me for a few moments before she narrowed her eyes. "Star, you don't sound surprised at all."
I shrugged. "Why should I be?" I grinned lazily. "Not the first time I've seen her."
Well, sort of.
In a way, I've met both Director Akikawa and Tazuna countless times. I've played the game's career mode so many times that I could recite their lines from memory alone.
The director might seem childish and naive at times, but her love for umamusume outshone even the most devoted fans. So much so that she was willing to toil for nights on end if it meant her Twinkle Series could go on, despite having to do it all by herself.
Musaka huffed. "Yeah, I ain't surprised by that."
I chuckled, though I then pointed towards the cafeteria counter. "Anyway, why don't you guys go and get some food?" I smirked. "Better get some for yourself before Oguri cleans it all out."
Belno giggled. "Of course!" And saying that, she and March went over to get some food of their own.
Kitahara also planned to do that, but Musaka said something, Kitahara retorted, and before long the two men engaged in their usual bickering.
And all the while Oguri kept eating, occasionally feeding me from time to time.