Chapter 37. Black Tea
At the end of April, as spring was gradually drawing to a close and summer approached, the Sadalsuud team entered a temporary period of rest. Aside from the Uma Musume who had yet to debut, both Mejiro Dober and Tokai Teio were effectively on vacation for the time being, and the atmosphere within the team became noticeably more relaxed.
Even so, both of them understood that rest was merely the act of drawing back a clenched fist before throwing another punch. Only after recovering properly could they return to training in even better condition. Mejiro Dober's Yasuda Kinen and Tokai Teio's Japanese Derby were both highly anticipated G1 races, drawing attention from all across the country.
"By the way, did anyone from the Mejiro Family say anything about Dober choosing the Yasuda Kinen instead of the Takarazuka Kinen?"
Inside the activity room, taking advantage of the fact that only the two of them were present, Shuta An continued writing the weekly training reports without slowing his hands, yet still found time to ask the question.
Seated on the sofa with a digital tablet in hand, Mejiro Dober had been practicing her drawing. Hearing her lover's question, she looked up.
"No. They all said it was an excellent choice for me to go to the Yasuda Kinen."
At this point, the smile on Mejiro Dober's face gained an additional layer of meaning.
"From an overall perspective, having another G1-winning Uma Musume in the family has a greater impact than me winning one more G1 right now."
"Marginal utility. I get it."
Shuta An continued writing Kurofune's training report as he replied.
"Dober, you don't need to take that to heart. Just run your own race. This is for your own future."
"Of course I won't take it to heart."
Mejiro Dober casually twirled the digital pen between her fingers.
"Compared to those matters, I'm more concerned about this summer's Comic Market. I originally thought I wouldn't be able to participate, but now that I have the time, there's no way I'm going to miss it."
"But there are only three weeks left in the vacation."
Shuta An raised an eyebrow.
"How's the manuscript coming along? If you can't finish it during the break, I won't agree to you using training time to work on it. After all, you've finally regained the feeling of winning. Dober wouldn't want to experience losing another race at the Yasuda Kinen, would she?"
"I know!" Mejiro Dober puffed out her cheeks. "The manuscript is basically finished. Next comes the revision phase with Digital-chan, and all the other preparations are already done."
Shuta An thought for a moment before ultimately failing to suppress his curiosity.
"What exactly did Dober draw this time? You didn't use me as a reference, did you?"
—
For Rice Shower, the first half of the year continued to pass one day at a time, while the strings of her heart were gradually being pulled tighter.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would make her debut on the Twinkle Series stage this year.
She had witnessed the laughter and tears of countless seniors on that stage. To be honest, her heart was filled equally with excitement and nervousness, perhaps mixed with a trace of unease as well.
Although the Uma Musume of Team Sadalsuud had never performed poorly in either the Twinkle Series or the Dream Trophy Series, Rice Shower was genuinely worried about becoming the first exception.
However, every time she watched Kurofune training diligently day after day, much of that unease gradually faded away. Even so, the nervous anticipation remained impossible to avoid.
After finishing their morning training, Kurofune and Rice Shower headed toward the team activity room, planning to take a quick shower before changing into their uniforms and going to the cafeteria for lunch.
As soon as they entered, both of them instinctively glanced toward the office.
Shuta was seated behind his desk, diligently handling work, while senior Mejiro Dober sat comfortably on the sofa, sipping tea.
After withdrawing their gazes, Kurofune walked ahead and entered the changing room first. Rice Shower followed closely behind before quietly closing the door.
The moment the door clicked shut, Mejiro Dober gently pressed a hand against her chest.
"You really scared me. Ann wasn't lying to me after all."
"Even if Dober wants to tease me, she should at least check the schedule written on the whiteboard first."
The young man was tidying himself.
"Good thing I reminded you. Otherwise, if Rice Shower and the others had seen it, I wouldn't really care, but Dober probably wouldn't be able to interact normally with Kurofune and the others anymore, would she?"
"It's all because of what Ann-san said earlier."
Mejiro Dober pouted.
"What does he mean by feeling like his 'thing' was about to be seen by the readers?"
The young man rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly.
He was sincerely grateful that his physical strength wasn't inferior to that of an ordinary Uma Musume. Otherwise, Mejiro Dober really might have succeeded in pulling down his pants just now.
By the time Kurofune and Rice Shower finished bathing and changed into their uniforms, Shuta An had also finished his work.
Holding his waist, he rose from the office chair and stretched.
"Haaah—I'm heading to the cafeteria. Dober, what about you?"
"I'm almost finished. Ann, you can go ahead."
Mejiro Dober replied softly without lifting her head, continuing to draw.
As a result, she failed to notice Rice Shower and Kurofune passing by.
Kurofune's sharp hearing picked up enough information almost immediately. Taking hold of the bewildered Rice Shower, she quickened her pace and hurried out of the activity room.
Shuta An, meanwhile, failed to notice anything at all.
"Then I'm off."
Before leaving, he poured another cup of warm black tea for Mejiro Dober.
"Speaking of which, Dober really seems to know a lot about black tea."
"Mhm."
Mejiro Dober set down her digital pen and picked up the teacup.
"This is my biggest hobby besides drawing. I'm very confident in my ability to identify black tea varieties."
"Is that so…" Shuta An straightened up and turned toward the door. "I feel like I understand Dober a little better now than before."
"We still have a very, very long time ahead of us to deepen our understanding of each other."
Mejiro Dober picked up her digital pen once more.
"Just like how I understand Ann's body much better now than I used to."
The corners of Shuta An's mouth twitched.
He chose not to respond.
Only recently had he discovered that once Mejiro Dober got going, she could be far more daring than Oguri Cap and the others.
After leaving the activity room, the young man muttered to himself,
"When we go to England later for the expedition, I'll take a few days to properly sample the local black teas with Dober. In the future, if I ever get a holiday, I could also visit Mejiro Ardan and her Trainer. After all, China is considered as one of the world's largest black tea producers as well— It would be nice if I could find Dober's favorite variety."
After all, the tea leaves stocked in the Team Sadalsuud activity room were merely products from a Japanese manufacturer and could hardly be considered top-grade tea.
To be perfectly honest, the only reason they remained there—and were almost exclusively consumed by Dober—was because Shuta An simply didn't enjoy the flavor of the tea brewed from that particular brand.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
For anyone interested for some advanced chapters, or just want to support me. Hit the membership button to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ModerateCitizens
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>