The next day, everything went on as usual.
As if nothing had changed at all.
Until the afternoon, after classes ended at Tracen Academy.
The restaurant door swung open.
"Welco—... You!"
Her tail stood straight up; her ears anxiously twitched.
"I'm only here to drop something off."
Symboli Rudolf pulled out visitor passes from the handbag she carried, placing them onto the table.
Only after this did Rudolf glance at Tokai Natural.
Their eyes met for barely a second before Rudolf quickly looked away.
It was as if all the tension between them had never existed.
But they both clearly knew: that tension could never truly disappear.
Thus, neither spoke.
Finally, Rudolf turned around. "Goodbye—no, farewell."
With those words, Symboli Rudolf opened the restaurant door again.
And left immediately.
Staring blankly at the closed door, Natural stood rigidly in place.
Only several minutes later did she slowly move toward the table by the door, picking up the two visitor passes Rudolf had left behind.
They were visitor passes for Tracen Academy.
Natural was certain such passes shouldn't even exist.
Aside from Trainers, normal humans posed certain dangers to Uma Musume.
Well, danger in more than one sense. Without special policies, it was nearly impossible for outsiders to visit Tracen Academy.
Thus, these visitor passes shouldn't even be possible.
Holding this thought, Natural examined the passes carefully.
She wasn't sure if Tracen Academy's rules had changed over the years, but given the current situation…
"Maybe…"
Considering a certain possibility, Natural raised her head thoughtfully.
Perhaps she could accompany Mochizuki and Teio into Tracen Academy. That wouldn't be a bad thing, except…
The visitor passes were specifically made by Rudolf.
Thinking of this, Natural's expression grew complicated again. Clearly, she wasn't sure how to handle this situation.
If she rejected the passes simply because of lingering resentment toward Rudolf, perhaps…
At this thought, Natural's expression twisted slightly. She didn't know how to describe this feeling, but she suddenly realized—it made her somewhat similar to Rudolf.
In the past, Rudolf had held a grudge against her due to that proxy marriage incident.
Of course, their motives were completely different.
And Rudolf's actions back then had undoubtedly been much worse.
Still, if she allowed her resentment over past deeds to cloud her judgment and assume everything Rudolf did was dangerous, then… she really wasn't so different from Rudolf after all.
Although it wasn't completely unacceptable, it just…
Somehow felt wrong.
Natural sighed lightly, scratching her head. "I'll let Mochizuki decide."
Having reached that conclusion, she tucked the passes away and returned to her seat.
Running a restaurant wasn't easy.
Building a customer base early was crucial.
Since most people preferred familiar tastes, today, as usual, Natural didn't have many customers.
Thus, she had plenty of free time—
Until…
"Owner-san! This time, I brought some friends along!"
A cheerful voice rang out, causing Natural to turn around.
Then, she saw two gray-haired figures, one tall and one short, along with a "girl" sporting an enormous braided ponytail, and another girl about the same height as Tamamo Cross.
After taking in the newcomers for a moment, Natural spoke carefully, "Um… I recall Oguri Cap being collectively blacklisted by the shopping street, though...?"
"That never happened."
Of course, it was Oguri Cap who immediately replied.
"Um…"
"It never happened," Oguri repeated firmly, as if to deny Natural's earlier statement.
Repeating words could emphasize meaning, sure, but…
Seeing Oguri's faintly flushed face, Natural thought carefully for a few more seconds before finally speaking again. "Well, our restaurant actually didn't blacklist Oguri Cap, since we operate on a limited-stock basis."
"Once we run out of ingredients, we close for the day."
Having clarified this, Natural paused briefly, then smiled warmly at the four customers. "Anyway—welcome."
"See, told ya! I said the owner here would definitely let us in~!"
As Tamamo Cross happily chatted with Super Creek, she turned back toward Natural. "Got any new dishes lately?"
"Well, there is something new, although…"
Glancing briefly behind her at the large pot of broth originally prepared for the Mejiro family's banquet—but not fully used up—Natural considered briefly before nodding firmly. "It's mostly just an adjusted broth base."
"Oh, sounds great! Gimme a bowl, then!"
Saying this, Tamamo Cross casually sat down at an empty table.
Super Creek and Belno Light took seats opposite and beside Tamamo Cross, respectively.
Oguri Cap remained standing in place.
"Oguri?"
"I can't eat until I'm full…?"
Turning toward Tamamo Cross, Oguri's eyes trembled slightly.
Seeing Oguri like this, Tamamo Cross immediately felt a headache coming on. It seemed her earlier explanation had been unclear, causing Oguri Cap to assume this was something like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Thus…
"This one's on me. But Owner-san's cooking is amazing, so how 'bout this time ya slow down a bit and savor the taste, yeah?"
Resigned, Tamamo Cross gently explained.
"Oh…"
Oguri's voice clearly dropped in disappointment.
Hearing Oguri's downcast tone, Tamamo Cross decided not to elaborate further. She quietly picked up the menu Natural had just placed before her and began choosing dishes.
...
When Mochizuki returned home, she noticed the "Closed" sign hanging outside.
Both she and Mr. C.B. tilted their heads in confusion, clearly unsure why Natural had closed at this hour.
But upon pushing open the door and spotting the gray-haired glutton seated inside, Mr. C.B. immediately understood…
"Oh, it's Oguri Cap."
After calmly stating this fact, Mr. C.B. turned her gaze to search for Tokai Natural.
Soon enough, she spotted Natural still busy in the kitchen.
Calling out lightly, Mr. C.B. announced her arrival. "Natural, I brought Mochizuki back safely! Remember to take a break later if you get tired~"
"Mm. Be careful on your way back."
Seeing Natural reply without even turning her head, Mr. C.B. didn't add anything else. She simply turned around and left the restaurant.
She already knew very well—
Natural was going to be exhausted after this.
Extremely exhausted.
---
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