At nightfall, after finally seeing off Oguri Cap—the incarnation of appetite—Tokai Natural at last earned herself a break.
And thanks to Oguri Cap's visit…
"Today's sales hit the roof!"
Having finished jotting down the final number, Natural reached this conclusion with satisfaction.
"Did that auntie really eat that much?"
"She practically cleared out all our ingredients. So, next…"
She glanced toward the door. "Want to eat out, or stay here? If we go out, I actually have a good place in mind."
Natural's joy had reached the point where she couldn't even manage her expression—a rare sight that Mochizuki quietly noted.
Seeing her mom so happy was unusual, at least for Mochizuki.
Maybe it's because the restaurant finally made money today.
With that thought, Mochizuki looked back up at her mother. "Mom, what do you want to eat?"
"Hmm…"
After about ten seconds of deep thought, Natural shook her head. "I dunno~"
Mochizuki stared at her mother, her expression clearly saying: How did I end up with a mom like this? before glancing into the kitchen.
Inside, dishes from the meal towered into a mountainous heap, strangely numerous.
Even stranger was the fact that there were barely any chopsticks.
"Shouldn't we clean the kitchen before we head out?"
With this gentle reminder, Mochizuki pointed at the mountain of dirty dishes.
"Today I—"
Natural suddenly stopped mid-sentence, her eyes landing on the visitor passes tucked into a compartment in the kitchen.
Her expression changed slightly upon noticing them.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
Of course, Mochizuki noticed immediately.
Or rather, it would've been stranger if she hadn't noticed.
"No, it's nothing…"
After brushing off her daughter's question, Natural quickly changed the subject. "Mochizuki, do you want to visit Tracen Academy?"
"..."
Natural's clumsy attempt at changing topics earned her a dead-eyed stare from Mochizuki.
Feeling the intensity of Mochizuki's gaze, Natural looked away guiltily, unable to meet her daughter's eyes.
Her mother's awkwardness gave Mochizuki a headache. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead before asking, "Why'd you suddenly bring this up, Mom?"
"Because someone gave me two visitor passes."
"Was it Aunt Luna?"
"Luna?"
"Hm? Mom, don't you know her?"
They stared at each other, both equally confused.
Mochizuki had naturally assumed that if Aunt Luna knew Maruzensky-san, then of course she knew her mom as well.
But…
"Luna…"
Repeating the name softly, Natural thought for a few seconds before suddenly recalling Rudolf's nickname.
Finally remembering, Natural replied, "Ah, yeah, I know her. But, well…that person…"
Just as she was carefully considering how to describe Rudolf, Mochizuki interrupted her. "Aunt Luna's pretty nice, actually. But…"
Mochizuki paused, quiet for a moment before continuing softly, "Somehow, Aunt Luna looks really sad sometimes."
With these words, Mochizuki turned her eyes toward Natural again. "Mom?"
"Huh?"
The word "sad" was something Natural never expected would be associated with Rudolf.
Of course, Rudolf treated most people quite well, but Natural's own impression of her had never been good. Hearing this unexpected description left Natural stunned; she could only stiffly nod. "M-maybe…"
"Mom, where are the passes?"
Natural's strange behavior didn't distract Mochizuki much. With all her excitement focused on the visitor passes, how could she possibly notice her mom's odd reactions?
Seeing Mochizuki so eager, Natural hesitated briefly before replying, "There are two passes. I checked—there aren't any names on them, so anyone holding them can enter. So…"
Natural paused a bit longer before adding, "You should go with Roman-san."
"Really?"
"There'll be a lot of visitors at Tracen Academy that day, and I need to keep the restaurant open and earn money…"
As she spoke, Natural looked away.
Needing to earn money was true, of course—but deep down, Natural desperately wanted to visit Tracen Academy too. After all, she had once almost become a proper Uma Musume herself, even if the result had ultimately been terrible.
But since Mochizuki clearly wanted to go so badly…
"Eh? Mom, you…"
Mochizuki turned back to her mother, only to find Natural wearing an awkward forced smile. "Doing it that way seems fine too."
"...Got it." Mochizuki paused briefly before carefully adding, "Then I'll bring Teio along. Is that okay?"
Natural froze for an instant before quickly responding, "Will that really be alright?"
"It'll be fine. There's just someone there I'd rather not run into, that's all."
With a wave of her hand, Natural dismissed the thought. "Anyway, just make sure you have fun when you go."
Seeing Natural's overly casual reaction, Mochizuki stared intently at her mom before eventually nodding. "I understand…"
"Have a great time exploring inside~" Natural said cheerfully, pulling out some bills from her pocket. "Mochizuki, wanna go out and eat something now?"
"Hm, Mom, have you decided?"
"Nope."
"Chinese hotpot?"
"That sounds nice, but we don't have the proper equipment here." Natural paused thoughtfully before suddenly suggesting, "Why don't we visit Maruzen-san? Eating at her place shouldn't be an issue."
Mochizuki blinked, surprised by her mom's proposal.
After thinking it over for a few seconds, she cautiously asked, "Will Maruzen-san mind?"
"I'm not sure, but it should be fine, right?"
Natural's uncertain answer betrayed her hesitation.
Realizing this, Mochizuki immediately asked the crucial question: "Mom, do you even have Maruzen-san's house keys?"
"Uh…"
"Mom…don't tell me you're planning to break into her house without a key?"
Seeing Natural's hesitation, Mochizuki came straight to the conclusion.
"O-of course not! I know where Maruzen-san keeps her spare key, so it doesn't count as breaking in! And if she's home, we can just ask her directly!"
Natural's panicked attempt at self-justification was clearly a stretch.
"Mom, breaking into someone's home is illegal…"
"I—I know! Let's just go over and try first, okay? If she's not home, we can always come back."
"I didn't say we couldn't…"
---
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This is a fan translation of 特雷森爱情保卫战 by D殇. Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!