They were calling it a date, but Sakuraba himself had no such thoughts. He was really just wandering aimlessly through the shopping street with Obey Your Master.
The Umamusume from an overseas circuit was brimming with energy, stopping to peer into practically every shop they passed.
Sakuraba, meanwhile, had nothing better to do, so he casually introduced her to the local specialties here and there. After going back and forth like that for a while, the two of them had grown a fair bit more familiar with each other.
And precisely because of that, a certain question in Sakuraba's mind kept growing stronger.
"Obey, is it really okay for you to be out here keeping me company? Aren't you racing in the Japan Cup in a few days? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"
Obey Your Master looked a little surprised by the question, but then answered with an easy smile.
"Oh, come on, it's just the Japan Cup~ It's not like I can beat those absurdly strong monsters anyway~ Might as well slack off while I still can~"
"...?"
Watching her stroll along with both hands clasped behind her head and an utterly unconcerned look on her face, Sakuraba found her tone strangely familiar.
It sounded exactly like something he used to hear back in school...
Every time you asked the top students how they'd done on an exam, they'd always answer in that same tone: "Ugh, I totally bombed it this time..."
And the people who said things like that were always the ones who studied hardest behind everyone's backs.
In other words: a sweatlord.
Without question, Sakuraba could smell sweatlord energy on Obey Your Master.
She felt like the type to grind game runs so hard she'd go bald doing it.
"Well, if that's how you want to put it, I guess I've got no objections."
"Hehe~~"
Seeing that Sakuraba didn't seem to mind, Obey Your Master simply answered with a smile.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a lavishly decorated storefront at the corner of the street.
It looked like some kind of massage place.
Maybe I should drag this man in there for a bit. A massage parlor would be comfortable enough that people let their guard down more easily, and that'd make it easier for me to get information out of him.
Not a bad option at all.
"Let's go sit over there for a while~~"
"This shop is—"
Sakuraba had just looked up at the name on the sign and started to say something when Obey Your Master grabbed him and pulled him inside.
She skipped up to the front desk of the massage parlor and tilted her head as she looked over the list of services and prices posted on the wall.
Her eyes swept across the rates for several basic massage options, and she blinked in surprise.
"Huh? Thirty minutes of shoulder-and-neck relaxation for only 1,500 yen?"
She turned to the neatly uniformed staff member beside her, lively curiosity in her voice.
"Is that price really okay? Isn't that a little too cheap?"
The staff member smiled politely in reply.
"Please rest assured. All of our therapists are professionally trained, and that price is part of the shop's regular promotional offerings."
Obey Your Master blinked those starry eyes of hers and lightly tapped a finger against her chin, looking a little troubled.
"Mmm... but if it's too cheap, then I start worrying whether the technique is actually good enough."
She lowered her voice and leaned in a little closer. "I brought a friend today, and he's in a pretty bad mood. I want him to really relax... If the experience is only average, he might end up even less willing to chat with me."
She paused, then looked at the staff member with a bright, probing smile.
"So—do you happen to have anything like... a 'hidden menu' that isn't really written out in the open? Like a truly exceptional senior therapist, or some kind of exclusive technique with even better results? I don't mind paying more."
The staff member froze for a second, then promptly recovered her professional smile and answered in a lowered voice.
"You're very thoughtful. We do have several highly experienced therapists, though they usually require advance booking... However, one of them just happens to have an opening today. If you'd like, I can make arrangements for you."
Obey Your Master immediately broke into a radiant smile and lightly clapped her hands together.
"That's perfect! Then please do—give me the one that relaxes people the most!"
She glanced back at Sakuraba, who was standing a short distance away staring blankly out the window, and the corner of her mouth curved upward ever so slightly in a just as planned smile.
Just as Obey Your Master was privately congratulating herself on her clever arrangement, she saw the staff member's gaze pass right over her and land on Sakuraba in the distance—and freeze.
In an instant, her expression shifted from a polished professional smile to one that mixed surprise and respect. She even bowed her head slightly on reflex.
"B-Boss?"
She called out uncertainly under her breath, her voice full of obvious deference.
"What brings you here today, sir? Are you inspecting the shop?"
"Boss?!"
The smile on Obey Your Master's face instantly stiffened. Her starry eyes went wide as she whipped around to stare at Sakuraba, then snapped back to the staff member, her brain seeming to lock up on the spot.
T-This shop... is his?!
She felt as though her "perfect plan" had only just begun before she stepped straight into a pit she never saw coming.
Before she could untangle the shock in her head, the staff member was already reporting to the approaching Sakuraba with a diligent smile, as naturally as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Boss, this young lady was just asking about our 'hidden menu.' She wanted to arrange the therapist with the best technique for you, saying she hoped you could completely relax and have a good chat."
Obey Your Master: "!!!"
She opened her mouth, wanting to explain something, only to find the staff member giving her a thoughtful look that plainly said, I understand, I understand. As if to say, This young lady really went to a lot of trouble for the boss.
Hearing that, Sakuraba first looked at the staff member in surprise, then turned his gaze to Obey Your Master's face—which was rapidly losing all control, a jumble of shock, embarrassment, and the panic of having her plan exposed.
He fell silent for two seconds. One eyebrow lifted slightly, and the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch before it finally settled into a low, unreadable:
"Oh—?"
That meaningful sound hung in the air for a moment, long enough to make Obey Your Master feel her toes curling against the floor.
And yet, the teasing or questioning she'd been bracing for never came.
Sakuraba merely turned to the staff member, who was still wearing a respectful smile, and waved a hand calmly.
"There's no need to specially arrange another therapist."
He paused, his gaze drifting lightly over to Obey Your Master, whose body had gone ever so slightly stiff, and a faint curve—so faint it was almost impossible to catch—touched his lips.
"Since Obey-san seems so curious about the hidden menu, and from the sound of it, this is all so I can relax properly and have a good chat..."
He deliberately slowed down over those last few words. Only after noticing that the tips of Obey Your Master's ears seemed to flush just a little did he continue:
"—Then there's no need to trouble anyone else. I'll do it myself."
"Eh?!"
Obey Your Master and the staff member exclaimed almost at the same time, both in startled disbelief. The staff member's reaction was pure surprise, with a hint of fluster.
"Boss, surely that's not appropriate—you can't possibly..."
"It's fine. I'm part of the hidden menu too, aren't I? Besides, it's been a while since I've given anyone a massage~~"
As for Obey Your Master, she was completely dumbfounded. Her brain simply couldn't process the sheer amount of information in that sentence.
He'll do it himself?
He'll do what?
Sakuraba paid no attention to the staff member's hesitation. He had already tilted his head toward the more private area deeper inside the shop, signaling for Obey Your Master to follow.
"Weren't you looking for the best possible relaxation experience? Come with me."
He said it so naturally, as though it were nothing more than the most ordinary thing in the world, yet it made Obey Your Master's heart skip for some reason.
The utter chaos of her plan derailing, mixed with an intense curiosity and the uneasy sense that things were slipping out of her control, instantly washed away the embarrassment she'd felt a moment ago.
"You... know how to do this too?"
She blinked, and the golden tips of her hair swayed as she tilted her head. The starry brightness returned to her eyes, her earlier panic swiftly replaced by vigorous curiosity.
Sakuraba did not answer directly. He only turned and walked further inside, leaving behind a single unreadable line.
"Why not try it and find out?"
Obey Your Master stared at his back, then glanced at the still-flustered staff member beside her. Suddenly, she had the feeling that although this opening to her information-gathering plan had gone in a thoroughly unexpected direction, it might actually make it easier to close the distance between them.
She trotted after him, her tone regaining its usual lively bounce, though this time it was threaded through with unconcealed interest.
"Then I'll be in your care, B-o-s-s Sakuraba~ I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Still, I never imagined this shop would be one of your businesses, Sakuraba-san~ That was a real surprise."
Sakuraba's steps slowed slightly before the corridor leading to the inner room.
He turned around, his calm gaze settling on Obey Your Master's face, which still wore that bright smile even as her eyes glittered with eager anticipation.
The afternoon light filtered through the decorative windows along the corridor, casting faint shadows across one side of his face.
He looked at her for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a soft sigh. The sound was quiet, but it carried a kind of stillness that seemed to pass straight through all the surface noise.
"Obey-san."
He spoke in a low voice, but it was enough to make the smile on Obey Your Master's face draw in slightly on instinct.
"If you really mean what you said about wanting to relax and find a good setting to talk..."
He paused, his gaze seeming to look straight into the depths of those beautiful yellow eyes that always appeared to be dusted with starlight.
"Then how about, for now, you put aside that deliberately chipper tone and act?"
Obey Your Master blinked once, a fraction too slowly. The curve at the corner of her lips froze for the briefest instant.
There was no accusation in Sakuraba's voice, not even much emotion. And yet it felt as though some invisible hand had rippled straight through the center of her heart.
"You know," he continued, his eyes drifting away a little, as if he were simply stating the most ordinary truth in the world, "if you wear a mask long enough, it's easy to get used to it. Easy enough that you forget how to take it off."
"But if you're still wearing a mask, you can't really relax, can you?"
He looked at her again, a bright smile resting on his lips.
"At least here with me, for now, you don't have to work so hard at playing the 'lively, outgoing Obey Your Master.'"
"Because whether it's a massage or a conversation, the point is the same, isn't it? To help you relax."
"So how about taking the mask off once in a while and giving yourself a little room to breathe?"
Obey Your Master fell silent.
The carefully maintained expression on her face—the one that seemed forever bright and cloudless—looked like a thin layer of ice under sunlight, suddenly showing the first hairline crack.
The curiosity and calculation in her eyes did not vanish entirely, but something else had mixed in: a flicker of stunned surprise at being seen through, and a trace of... relief, slight enough that perhaps even she herself had not noticed it.
The corridor fell quiet for a moment, with only the faint, gentle background music drifting over from the distance.
"...Sakuraba-san, you really do know how to hit the mark."
Only after a while did she finally speak again. Her voice was lower than before, stripped of some of its bright shell and revealing a more genuine tone underneath. It was still crisp, still clear, but the deliberate upward lilt was gone.
"In that case... I'd be honored to accept."
She took a small breath, and one of her shoulders seemed to ease ever so slightly.
"Then let me see just how relaxing Sakuraba-san's hidden menu really is."
---
T/N: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk... i think recently ive been more prone to the idea of sweat... i think im getting corrupted...
T/N2: heres ur bonus chapssss i forgetty teehee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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