Galileo's probing stopped at just the right point. Since she had not gotten Kagura to agree, she did not keep pushing any deeper. Before long, she switched to everyday small talk and chatted casually with Kagura instead. After mooching a meal here, and hearing that Kagura still had proper business to take care of that afternoon, Galileo did not keep clinging to her and getting in the way. She just asked what was fun to do and good to eat in Tokyo, then left to continue her sightseeing trip.
Originally, Kagura had planned to do some more training in the afternoon and then go run side by side with Rudolf. But that contest that morning really had taken something out of her, so at noon she decided to head back to the dorm, sleep for a while, and then go to the track to run with Rudolf after she woke up.
"Ah, Ardan-ojousama, you're awake? Did you eat your breakfast properly?"
When Kagura got back to the dorm, she saw that Mejiro Ardan was already up. She was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room stretching. Kagura glanced at the breakfast she had left on the table before going out that morning. There was barely anything left, so it looked like Ardan really had eaten it all obediently. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.
"Of course. Thank you for going to the trouble of bringing me something to eat, Kagura… Speaking of which, I heard from Nice Nature that you went home to rest these past few days. Did you get a good rest?"
The moment she saw Kagura come in, Ardan got up from the floor at once. She reached out, wanting to hug Kagura, but seemed afraid Kagura might mind. Seeing her hesitate halfway like that, Kagura simply took the initiative and stepped forward so Ardan could wrap her arms around her.
"It was fine. At home, Speed-sama wouldn't let me do any work at all. She won't even let me into the kitchen anymore… even though she so obviously wants to eat the food I make."
"Well, Speed-obaasan is just genuinely scared you'll overwork yourself~"
Ardan could see it too. In name, Kagura might only be a maid, but Speed had long since been raising her like a granddaughter. If anything, the care she showed Kagura might even surpass what she showed Rudolf.
Ardan understood that Kagura worked hard and needed rest, of course. But these past few days, with Kagura gone, being alone in the dorm had felt unbearably lonely. Just hugging Kagura for a little while had already made her feel much better. And yet she did not understand it herself. Her friend had merely gone home to rest for a few days. Back when she lived with Wudi, she had never felt anything like this. So why did Kagura's absence make her feel so awful?
I don't get it…
As she watched Kagura sit down on the edge of the opposite bed, kick off her shoes, and get ready to climb in, Ardan puzzled over it in silence.
"Oh, right, Ardan-ojousama. I need to get up for training at around two-thirty this afternoon, so if I'm still asleep then, could you please wake me?"
After pulling the blanket up over herself, Kagura turned and said that to Ardan as well.
Normally, she did not need anyone to wake her. The reason she was asking Ardan today was that after lunch, she had started to feel mildly unwell. On the way back to the dorm, she had felt dizzy and nauseous. She had no idea what was going on, so she had decided to come back upstairs, sleep for a bit, and see whether it improved. That was also why she had asked Ardan to wake her—so she could see whether those symptoms were still there when two-thirty came.
Weird. Could it be because that race this morning drained too much out of me…?
Kagura was certain she had not eaten anything questionable at lunch. The hygiene of the food she made herself was absolutely guaranteed. But she had been here for more than a year without getting sick once, so this illness had come out of nowhere. There was no flu or anything going around at Tracen either. The only unusual thing she could think of that she had done today was that match in the morning.
Lying in bed with her head heavy and muddled, Kagura eventually gave up trying to figure it out. She closed her eyes and let her consciousness sink into darkness.
...
...
"Eh… it's already two-thirty. Should I wake Kagura? Or maybe I should just let her rest a little longer…"
Sitting on her own bed scrolling through her phone, Ardan had lost track of time, and several hours had slipped by before she noticed. She checked the time on her phone, saw that it was almost when she and Kagura had agreed, then looked over at Kagura, who was still fast asleep in the next bed, and wondered whether she should go wake her.
After hesitating for a moment, Ardan finally got up and carefully walked to Kagura's bedside. She leaned down and poked Kagura's cheek.
"Kagura?"
The moment she spoke, Ardan's hand told her something was wrong. Kagura's face felt hot under her fingertips, obviously warmer than an Umamusume's normal body temperature. Ardan's heart skipped a beat. She quickly moved her hand higher, brushed Kagura's hair aside, and laid it against her forehead.
"She has a fever…"
Ardan did not know anything especially advanced about medical care, but she could tell something as basic as a fever. Her brow furrowed at once. Her first instinct was that she absolutely should not wake Kagura now. Since Kagura was sick, she obviously needed proper rest.
"Mm…"
Perhaps because she sensed someone nearby, Kagura frowned and let out an uncomfortable sound before opening her eyes.
When she saw Ardan sitting at her bedside looking at her with worry, with her hand still resting on Kagura's forehead, Kagura blanked for a moment. Then she remembered what she had been thinking before she fell asleep. Once Ardan noticed she was awake, withdrew her hand, and went back to sit by the bed, Kagura tried to brace herself and sit up.
"Urgh…"
The moment she got only halfway upright, a fierce wave of dizziness shot straight through her head. The nausea was so strong that she almost could not stop herself from throwing up on the spot. She could feel the heat in her breath.
Damn it, do I have a fever…? What is this? Gastroenteritis? No, that doesn't seem right. My stomach doesn't feel especially off, and with how normal my diet's been, that shouldn't be happening either…
Still, thankfully, no other symptoms had appeared. After ruling a few things out, Kagura quickly reached a rough conclusion about her condition. At the very least, she probably would not need a hospital. It did not seem to be some troublesome severe illness. But a trip to the school infirmary was probably unavoidable.
Tracen Academy did have an infirmary, though Kagura had still never gone there even once. Her body really was extremely healthy and tough, and she usually took care to protect herself, so she rarely had any reason to become a regular there. Today's illness had come on too suddenly, and she had been completely unprepared, with no medicine on hand either, so she still had to make a trip over there. Kagura forced herself up out of bed despite her swimming head.
"Kagura, let me take you to the infirmary!"
"No… Ardan-ojousama, don't come near me. Your body's weak. Right now I still can't be sure what kind of illness this is. I can't guarantee whether it's contagious. I can still walk a little. The infirmary isn't far."
Quickly stopping Ardan from coming over and trying to carry her, Kagura grabbed her thermos and chugged down several big gulps of hot water. Once the hot water settled in her stomach, her symptoms eased a little. At least for a short walk inside the campus, she could still manage.
"At least… let me go with you. If you faint on the way, I can still hold you up!"
"No… it's okay. I'll go by myself. Ardan-ojousama, there's something else I need to trouble you with…"
"Go ahead, Kagura. As long as it's something I can do, I'll do my best."
Only after Ardan nodded did Kagura turn her head with effort and point at her bedside table.
"There's a bottle of rubbing alcohol on my nightstand. After I leave, spray it around the room and disinfect everything. Your body's already weak. The same illness could show up very differently in you than it does in me."
"But if that's the case, Kagura—"
"Don't worry… the infirmary's so close. I'm not so weak I can't even walk. I'm leaving the job of disinfecting the dorm room to you, Ardan-ojousama…"
With that, Kagura forced out a smile, picked up her thermos, put on her shoes, and carefully left the room.
...
After dragging her feet for five or six minutes, Kagura finally reached the door of the infirmary with her weakened body. She knocked, then went inside.
The doctor on duty at the infirmary was an Umamusume who looked fairly young. She led Kagura over to a desk and had her sit down. After listening to Kagura describe her symptoms, she had Kagura sit upright in her chair, then came over and started prodding and poking at her here and there, almost as though taking her pulse.
"So… Doctor, do you have any idea what's causing my symptoms?"
"I more or less get it. It's nothing serious. Drink more hot water and you'll be fine."
"Eh? You can tell what's wrong with me just from poking me a few times like that…?"
"You already finished describing all your symptoms. You were one step away from giving the diagnosis yourself. If I still couldn't tell what was going on after that, then these past few decades would've been for nothing. The way you described your condition was more professional than mine. Are you studying medicine? How old are you this year?"
The school doctor looked at Kagura. She had noticed it while listening to her description earlier—this kid was different from other Umamusume. Very few of them could rattle off that many medical terms, and with the same level of precision as a doctor in a real hospital. Someone who had not seriously studied medicine could never speak that way.
"I think I'm twelve this year…? I'm not some medical graduate or anything. I'm just a Support Umamusume still in school…"
"Twelve?! …That's pretty impressive. At your age, with your professional knowledge this solid, you'll never have trouble finding work once you're out in the world. The medicine cabinet's over there. Pick out whatever you want and take it."
The school doctor was clearly startled by Kagura's age, though she rearranged her expression almost immediately. After scribbling something down in a few quick strokes, she told Kagura to go get her medicine herself from the back.
"Pfft… Doctor, are you running a self-serve buffet here?"
Kagura could not help laughing. The scene looked weirdly familiar to her today. It reminded her of that time before she graduated, when she had gone to the hospital for treatment and ended up running into her own mentor on duty there, only to get grilled for more than ten minutes.
After taking the medicine she needed from the cabinet, Kagura signed the registration form the school doctor handed her. She thanked her, then turned to leave the infirmary.
"Kiddo, let me test whether that little head of yours is still clear. What's your height?"
Just as Kagura was about to open the door, the school doctor suddenly called out with a rather strange question.
"143 centimeters… not counting the ears. Why?"
Kagura stopped in place. She had no idea what the school doctor was asking for, but she answered honestly anyway.
"Very good. Looks like that little head of yours is still clear. Nothing to worry about, then. I was just asking to check. Take the medicine, get a good night's sleep tonight, and by tomorrow morning your symptoms should be gone~ Oh, and let me give you one more piece of advice. After you wake up tomorrow morning, find somewhere to measure your height. And while you're at it, if you can, you'd better ask a good friend to come with you to buy some loose new clothes."
"Huh…?"
Looking at the school doctor's broad smile, Kagura—with her head still dizzy and completely muddled—felt utterly lost. Even though she had no idea what the doctor meant, she still remembered the advice.
...
——Ohhh, I get it, this is…
What is it? Why did you suddenly trail off like that, Eclipse-san?
——Nothing. I just think your school doctor is very professional. Big thumbs-up! Once you're feeling better tomorrow, don't forget the advice she gave you.
Huh? What's that supposed to mean, Eclipse-san?
---
T/N: OH IS KAGURA FINALLY GOING THROUGH HONKAKUKA??? OH NO ARE THE OLDER UMAS GONNA BE LIKE WELL SHES MATURE NOW X_X
anyway i wonder if she'll even grow that much taller...
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