Although the room had been cleaned fairly well beforehand, tidying it up properly still took quite some time. By the time Kagura and the little Uma Musume had finally finished organizing everything, it was already lunchtime.
Though the girls hadn't gotten to fully enjoy Kagura's stories in the morning, their spirits remained high. Perhaps because they had finally completed something together, or because they had been given a chance to bond with each other, even Ardan wore a happy smile.
"All right, everyone~ Let's go have lunch first. If you still want to do something, we can continue in the afternoon!"
"Okay~!"
The young Uma Musume responded together cheerfully and left, chattering happily.
Walking behind them, Ardan finally found a chance to whisper privately to Kagura. She leaned down towards Kagura's perked-up ears:
"Thank you, Kagura. You're so understanding—I was worried you might not get what I was thinking."
"Hehe~ Ardan-sama, your thoughts were clearly written all over your face—it's obvious you just wanted your sisters to spend some time together and get to know each other better. It's no trouble, really."
"I'm truly grateful… You've been taking care of me all this time, and now that you're finally staying at our house for a few days, maybe I could..."
Ardan's voice suddenly trailed off halfway as she realized, to her embarrassment, that even after months of being cared for, she had absolutely no idea about Kagura's interests.
"You don't need to specially thank me. I'm just fulfilling my duties entrusted by Family Head-sama. For me, seeing you safe and sound is already the greatest reward."
Kagura immediately guessed what Ardan was thinking and gently shook her head to decline the offer.
"Alright then…"
No—I need to ask someone who knows Kagura-san better about her hobbies and what she likes…
Though she outwardly agreed, Ardan secretly resolved to discover what Kagura enjoyed. Even if Kagura said it wasn't necessary, Ardan felt she absolutely had to do something to repay her.
…
The girls' morning storytelling session had ended prematurely, leaving them slightly unsatisfied. Just after finishing lunch, before Kagura could even stand up, she was immediately surrounded again.
"Kagura-oneesan! Can you continue the story from this morning?"
The first to crowd around her again were Mejiro Ryan and Palmer, the two lively troublemakers who were most captivated by Kagura's storytelling. Although Dober, Bright, and McQueen were equally interested, they were more sensitive to Kagura's feelings and didn't urgently press her.
"Ardan-oneesama~ Can we have afternoon tea together?"
"Well…"
Ardan naturally wouldn't refuse a chance for her sisters to gather and bond. But this particular gathering sounded like it would cost Kagura a lot of effort.
As Kagura's friend—and someone who often chatted with Nice Nature—Ardan tried her best not to increase Kagura's burdens beyond daily caretaking, which left her hesitant.
"Hehe, if Ardan-sama agrees, then I'm fine with it—but please give me a bit of time to prepare the food."
But before Ardan's hesitation could fully set in, Kagura answered first. Instantly, every young Uma Musume's expectant gaze focused directly on Ardan, their eldest sister.
"Eh?! No, no, no! We can't do this! It's fine to just have tea; how could we possibly trouble you to cook, Kagura-san!"
Hearing Kagura planning to cook personally, Ardan refused immediately without thinking. Kagura only smiled softly at her while reaching out a hand to gently pat the head of Mejiro Palmer, who had already clung to Kagura's skirt hem.
"It's really no trouble at all, Ardan-sama. I'm on vacation right now, and since the kids want it so much, it's fine for me to be a little busy."
"Umm…"
Seeing Kagura herself agreeing, and feeling the eager eyes of her younger sisters, Ardan struggled internally for a moment before finally giving in and nodding.
"Yay!!"
The young Uma Musume immediately erupted into cheers. Mejiro McQueen looked worriedly toward Kagura, but when Kagura gave her a reassuring smile indicating there was nothing to worry about, McQueen reluctantly calmed down.
At the Mejiro house, having a tea party didn't require any special arrangements. Usually, they would just borrow Ardan or Ramonu's rooms. Ardan's room had a large terrace already stocked with tea sets, tables, and chairs, so it had become the default location for tea gatherings.
"This is outrageous! How can you let Kagura handle something like this?!"
When Old Mejiro heard from the maids about Kagura personally preparing afternoon tea, she stormed into the kitchen in a panic. By the time she arrived, Kagura had already finished several trays of snacks. After Kagura calmly explained the situation and reassured her, Old Mejiro had no choice but to reluctantly agree, while firmly insisting that Kagura absolutely not be burdened with cooking for the Mejiro children again in the future.
As for the maids, once Kagura began preparing tea, a small crowd had gathered in the kitchen to watch. They had long heard from Old Mejiro of Kagura's extraordinary skill in household chores and were now here to observe and learn. Of course, Kagura's refined technique wasn't something they could pick up just from watching briefly. All they could glean were her recipes—uniformly traditional Chinese snacks: Kagura's specialty Osmanthus Cake, her carefully developed Lotus Pastries, Mung Bean Cakes, Almond Tofu (Ardan's favorite), and more. All were exquisitely presented, fragrant, and visually stunning. The maids even wondered secretly if Kagura ran her own pastry shop outside of school.
"You've all been standing here watching for so long—would you like to taste some? I prepared extra."
Kagura was quite confident in her cooking. Asking the maids to taste-test was partly to ensure she hadn't accidentally made anything disastrous, and partly because she felt uncomfortable with them standing and watching the entire time. She simply wanted to feed the curious maids who'd watched her for so long.
After a chorus of enthusiastic praise from the maids, Kagura finally pushed the snack cart towards Ardan's room.
As soon as she opened the door and before she could even set the pastries down, Kagura noticed several of the young Uma Musume quietly gulping in anticipation. McQueen's reaction was especially obvious—her eyes were already completely fixated on the desserts Kagura held, locked onto them like a motion-capture actor's gaze tracking a cursor.
"Hehe, Ardan-sama, I see some of your little sisters can't hold back anymore. There's no need to keep them restrained."
"No, that won't do. Everyone must wait until everything is set up and Kagura-san has taken her seat before eating. This is basic etiquette."
Ardan's stance on etiquette here was extremely firm, leaving no room for compromise. The little Uma Musume, nearly drooling with anticipation, could only sit obediently, inhaling the delicious fragrance as they impatiently waited. Kagura thought this must be sheer torture for the children—especially McQueen, with her sweet tooth.
Fortunately, Kagura had brought the snacks already arranged on stands, so placing them on the table took barely half a minute. After pouring everyone's tea, she finally returned to her seat, and only then did Ardan announce the start of their afternoon tea.
"It's…delicious! Kagura-oneesan's cooking… It might be even better than our head chef's!"
"Does Kagura-oneesan seriously not run a pastry shop outside somewhere?"
...
The little Uma Musume, tasting Kagura's cooking for the first time, eagerly devoured snacks while staring at her in amazement. Mejiro McQueen, already well-acquainted with Kagura's skill, had silently switched into full concentration mode, mercilessly eliminating every pastry she locked onto.
"Ardan-sama, try this one. It was specially made for you~ I remember you mentioned before that you particularly liked this flavor, didn't you?"
Kagura thoughtfully passed Ardan a small dish of Almond Tofu. After trying it once before, Ardan found herself unexpectedly fond of the flavor, and Kagura remembered clearly. Seeing it here again—and hearing it was specially prepared for her—filled Ardan with quiet delight.
"So good… Kagura-san's cooking always reminds me of the days I spent in Huaguo… No matter how many times I eat it, it never gets old."
"Hehe, if Ardan-sama likes it, I can make it for you more often in the future."
The tea party had initially begun because everyone wanted to hear Kagura's stories. But as it turned out, everyone was now completely immersed in the food. As the chef and storyteller, Kagura could only smile warmly, slowly tasting her own creations, mentally noting areas for improvement, and quietly reviewing stories she might need to tell later—just in case, after filling their stomachs, the children still remembered to ask her for another tale.
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T/N: hmmmm thinking