Tamamo Cross—now that was a familiar name. She represented one bleak morning when Dream Weaver, with no breakfast to eat, had to beg Tokai Teio for a sip of honey water.
Back then, Dream Weaver had sworn to herself: if she ever found Tamamo Cross, she'd make sure the girl went hungry while watching her eat.
Who would have thought that now, of all times, she'd get the chance to make that wish come true?
Hearing Oguri Cap's words, Dream Weaver fell silent. A blazing fire ignited in her eyes—she was determined to catch that breakfast thief red-handed.
Soon, the two took the train to a small, quaintly decorated shop. Pushing aside the curtain at the entrance, Dream Weaver heard a lively voice call out:
"Welcome!"
Then the voice hesitated, as if noticing something.
"Huh… Oguri? I'm not sure I have enough ingredients today to fill you up."
"It's fine, I already had a little something at the cafeteria."
"Oh, so you're just here for a snack then? Come on, sit down!"
Dream Weaver followed the direction of the voice chatting with Oguri Cap and saw a petite Uma Musume with gray hair and blue eyes. She looked even shorter than Tokai Teio—and until now, Tokai Teio had been the smallest Uma Musume Dream Weaver had ever seen. Who knew there'd be someone even tinier?
Could it be… that she'd cleaned out the cafeteria because she'd suffered from malnutrition as a child, and after finally making it into Central Tracen Academy, she couldn't suppress her longing for a full stomach? Was that why she'd committed such a crime?!
If that were the case…
Then she'd have no choice but to forgive her. After all, being that short was pitiful enough—might as well let her eat a little more.
"Hey, you—the Uma Musume over there. I know you. You're Dream Weaver, right?"
"Why'd your expression go from shocked to enlightened, and then end up looking downright pitying?!"
Tamamo Cross twitched her lips. She couldn't figure out why Dream Weaver's eyes held such a rapidly shifting range of emotions—she even spotted something deeply, deeply rude in that gaze.
"It's alright, I forgive you for eating everything in the cafeteria."
After giving Tamamo Cross one last sympathetic look, Dream Weaver followed Oguri Cap and sat down.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
"And since when did I ever—"
Tamamo Cross was first baffled by Dream Weaver's words, but after fully processing them, she immediately turned her gaze toward Oguri Cap.
"Oguri! You're pinning this on me again!"
"But you said if I ever couldn't get enough to eat, I should use your name…"
Seeing Oguri Cap's confused, almost pitiful expression, Tamamo Cross deflated. She could only sigh and press a hand to her forehead.
"That was for when I'm not at the shop! Why would you use my name after eating everything somewhere else?"
"Because you looked so confident when you said it."
Just then, everything finally clicked for Dream Weaver, who'd been sitting to the side.
Oguri Cap's terrifying appetite, Tamamo Cross's words—all the evidence pointed to Oguri Cap being the real culprit.
That name she'd been hearing since she first entered this scripted world—that monster who'd come from Kasamatsu to Central and led a generation of miracles—was actually the one responsible for Dream Weaver missing breakfast.
The sheer chain of coincidences left Dream Weaver at a loss for words.
She wasn't sure how to face Oguri Cap now.
Should she chat with her about how things had changed at Kasamatsu Tracen? Or mention that there was an Uma Musume there named Oguri Roman who admired her?
Surely she couldn't just challenge Oguri Cap to an unrestricted fighting tournament on the spot, where the loser had to sit and watch the winner eat takoyaki?!
Just as Dream Weaver was lost in confusion, another remark from Tamamo Cross—who'd noticed her troubled expression—sank her completely.
"Actually, the cafeteria at Central Tracen has unlimited supplies. Oguri probably just finished what was prepared at the moment. They'd have restocked soon after."
Hearing that, Dream Weaver felt herself turn pale and ashen. It suddenly occurred to her that she really had just heard the cafeteria lady say they were out of ingredients, roared "Tamamo Cross!", and stormed out without a second thought.
She hadn't heard a word of whatever else the lady might have said.
What if the lady had tried to tell her—
"Then what was the point of drinking those two cups of honey water?"
Dream Weaver mumbled weakly to herself. Those two super-concentrated, sickly-sweet cups of honey water—she never would've been able to choke them down if she hadn't been desperate with hunger.
"Guess it means you've got a sweet tooth."
Beside her, Oguri Cap accepted a large plate of takoyaki from Tamamo Cross and spoke between hearty bites.
"Come on, what's done is done—no use overthinking it. Here, try some of my takoyaki! It's really good!"
Tamamo Cross also took the opportunity to hand Dream Weaver another large plate of takoyaki, patting her on the shoulder comfortingly.
Dream Weaver said nothing, focusing solely on eating.
Only after she'd channeled her frustration into her appetite and finished the entire plate did she finally calm down, thanks to the replenished energy.
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she turned to Tamamo Cross.
"It's really delicious."
"But I still have to wonder—why did you open a takoyaki shop?"
Since entering this scripted world, Dream Weaver had learned about Tamamo Cross's racing career. Like Oguri Cap, she was a gray Uma Musume who'd risen from the regional circuits—both of them had shattered the rumor that gray horses couldn't run fast with their absolute results.
For a time, Tamamo Cross had even been the strongest Uma Musume at Central Tracen.
After winning so many races and earning so much prize money, why would she open a takoyaki shop?
Given how elite families dominated the racing world, was there some dark undercurrent to all this?
Hearing Dream Weaver's question, Tamamo Cross scratched the back of her head somewhat sheepishly.
"'Cause I like making takoyaki. After retiring, I didn't have much to do, so I figured why not open a shop? It gives me something to keep busy with, and I can feed Oguri whenever."
Once she started on the subject of takoyaki, Tamamo Cross seemed to light up. She launched into an enthusiastic list:
"When it comes to takoyaki, nothing beats the authentic Kansai style."
"The ones over in Akashi don't even have sauce, and they're so tiny—they don't deserve to be called takoyaki!"
A bewildered Dream Weaver could only nod blankly. Truth be told, she didn't really understand what Tamamo Cross was going on about—she just seemed really, really passionate about takoyaki.
Right then, Oguri Cap finished her third plate of takoyaki. She turned toward Dream Weaver, her belly visibly round and full, and spoke with sudden seriousness.
"Now that we've eaten, it's time to talk business."
Dream Weaver glanced at her still-stuffed cheeks and bulging stomach and wondered just how serious this "business talk" was going to be.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.