As winter deepened and the north wind began to bite at the skin like a blade, a war was unfolding in the kitchen. It was a battle for satisfaction, fought between the kitchen staff and the ravenous Uma Musume who arrived with bellies emptied by the cold.
This winter was harsher than most. Though no snow fell, the air was bone-dry and piercing. In such conditions, the Uma Musume sought fuel. To endure the freezing temperatures, their bodies burned energy constantly; they didn't need firewood—they needed rice. Among them was one Uma Musume known as "The Monster," a name that made the kitchen staff tremble: Oguri Cap. Even for a girl known as the greatest glutton at Tracen Academy, this brutal winter required an even more massive intake of calories to survive. Every time Oguri Cap appeared, the sheer volume of her orders sent waves of terror through the staff.
"It's over! If she comes in, it's all over!" one cook cried. "She'll eat everything! Every last scrap!"
Another could only mutter a rhythmic, prayer-like chant: "Oguri-sama, Oguri-sama, Oguri-sama..."
Perhaps these descriptions are hyperbolic, but the reality was that no matter how many hands were added to the kitchen, it was never enough. There was plenty of food, but never enough people to cook it fast enough.
Tsutomu Chubo, the head of the kitchen, spoke about the struggle in a recent interview:
"Satisfying the appetite of an Uma Musume is no small feat. We threw ourselves into this grueling battlefield known as the Tracen Academy Cafeteria by choice, but winters are truly hellish. Every girl's appetite spikes. …The pay? Yes, the pay is excellent. Tracen offers the best conditions in the industry. But I'll say it again: it is a war zone. Six arms wouldn't be enough. Especially when… that Uma Musume arrives. It's like a monster in a state of perpetual famine. We try our best to feed her until she's satisfied, but by the very next meal, she starts all over again. Honestly? I'm just waiting for her to graduate. Only then will the kitchen know peace. …Who am I talking about? I can't say; that would be a breach of privacy. …Yes, thank you. We're done here."
The interview ended there. To the students of Tracen, the identity of the "Monster" was an open secret. However, the girl in question, Oguri Cap, simply wondered who on earth they could be talking about.
And so, Oguri Cap arrived today, her stomach rumbling like thunder. The cafeteria was packed for lunch, but as she walked, people heard the sheer volume of her hunger and instinctively parted ways. It was like a red carpet laid out just for her.
Lost in her thoughts, Oguri didn't notice a chair jutting slightly into the aisle and collided with it. Thump.
"Ah, my apologies," Oguri said.
The person in the chair, a man who looked like a Trainer, apologized as well. "Sorry."
It was Tanoue. He had come to the cafeteria alone today. Usually, he would prepare lunch for himself and Tachyon to eat in the Trainer's room, but Tachyon had come down with a nasty cold and was bedridden. Since sick students are provided specific medical rations, there was little for him to do as a Trainer. While Tachyon slept in the infirmary, Tanoue was left to eat a lonely lunch.
Startled by the impact on his chair, Tanoue quickly pulled it in. The seat was positioned awkwardly near the aisle, and people bumped into it often. He apologized once more and returned his gaze to his phone. Oguri stared at him curiously for a moment before her stomach let out another roar, prompting her to hurry toward the counter.
When Oguri Cap placed her order, a massive stack of pre-prepared tonkatsu vanished instantly, leaving a long line of hungry students behind her. In this kitchen, food was made in bulk to keep up with the flow, usually taken while still hot. But when Oguri came, the entire "reserve" disappeared, forcing the staff to start from scratch.
This was where the real work began. To keep the students smiling, the staff scrambled. The leader, Tsutomu, was currently manning five frying pans simultaneously—a feat only he could manage. He was efficient, handsome, and popular with the female staff, but he had no time for vanity now. To keep himself focused and to avoid splashing saliva into the food, he kept his mouth tightly shut, letting out a muffled, soulful grunt: "Mmm-hmmm!!" His eyes were so fierce they could have sent a lion running.
Oguri Cap piled her plate high with chicken katsu, balancing it like an acrobat as she searched for a seat. The mountain of food was so high she could barely see over it. The cafeteria was as crowded as ever, but she eventually spotted a table where a lone man sat with an empty chair across from him.
"May I sit here?" Oguri asked.
The man looked up from his phone. It was Tanoue again. Surprised, he moved his own chair to make it easier for her to sit.
"…Go ahead," he said, returning to his phone.
Oguri realized he was the man she had bumped into earlier, but she didn't mention it. She placed her massive spread of katsu and white rice on the table and sat down, disappearing behind the "mountain" from Tanoue's perspective.
After a while, once the pile of katsu had been halved, Oguri's face finally became visible. First her ears appeared, then her grey-black cowlick, and finally her eyes. Now that her hunger was somewhat sated, she took an interest in the person across from her.
"…Do you have a cold?" she asked.
Tanoue didn't seem to hear her; he didn't even look up.
"Do you have a cold?" she asked again.
Tanoue blinked and looked up. "…Eh?"
"I asked if you have a cold."
He finally processed the question. "No, it's not me, but…" He was surprised; he had been using his phone to research cold symptoms.
"Then who is sick?" Oguri asked.
"The girl I'm in charge of…"
"The girl you're in charge of?"
Tanoue felt that this girl was somehow difficult to talk to. "Yes. I'm Agnes Tachyon's Trainer."
Oguri's eyes widened. "I'm surprised! You're her Trainer?"
"…Are you friends?"
"No, we've never spoken. But I've heard her name. And I was told to be careful."
"Careful?" Tanoue asked, bewildered.
"Yes. Tama told me to be careful because Agnes Tachyon is particularly dangerous. I also heard that her Trainer glows so brightly that looking at him directly would blind you… but it seems that was a misunderstanding. I'll have to tell Tama."
Tanoue managed a wry smile. It was probably for the best that a girl as "airheaded" as Oguri was warned about Tachyon, otherwise she might end up drinking one of Tachyon's "potions" without a second thought. As for the glowing Trainer legend, while it didn't happen that often, it wasn't entirely a lie. He was amused to find he had become something of an urban legend within the school.
Oguri watched his smile with a puzzled look as she chewed her katsu. "Is Agnes Tachyon sick, then?"
"Yeah. A bit. I didn't manage her health well enough…"
"Manage? …If you manage them, do they not get sick?"
"It's not a guarantee, but there's plenty I could have done. Making her wear more layers, giving her warm drinks, making sure she didn't get chilled after training. I neglected those things, and now she's sick."
Oguri nodded slowly. "My Trainer says similar things. But since it's not guaranteed, you shouldn't blame yourself so much, should you?"
"Blame… myself?"
"…You looked like you were blaming yourself. Was I wrong?"