Originally, Kazuo just wanted to find a corner in the hall, eat quickly, and then head to the office.
But now—
"My name is Fine Motion, and I am a new student who transferred to Tresen Academy from abroad today."
She sat gracefully, like a noble, with impeccable manners.
"I'm Asama Kazuo… Um, please take care of me."
Kazuo looked somewhat unnatural; having lunch with such an elegant young lady made him feel even more acutely aware of his humble, commoner status. And ever since she arrived, various subtle gazes had been directed their way.
It was no wonder, really. After all, she was so beautiful and elegant, like a noble lady who had stepped out of a painting. It must seem very strange for him to be sitting at the same table with such a renowned person.
While Kazuo was lost in thought, Fine Motion first paused, tilted her head cutely for a moment, and then, as if understanding, lightly tapped her palm with her fist, saying, "Ah."
She then, with an extremely dignified demeanor, slowly bowed her head and said:
"Um, this humble one is untalented; please take care of me from now on."
"Uh, cough, cough—Wait, wait a minute!" Kazuo clutched his chest, choked. He quickly stopped the girl's extremely subtle remark, but it was already too late.
"A proposal!?"
"Did she accept?"
Such words were already echoing behind Kazuo, and many girls gasped in excited surprise—
No, no, no! You've got it all wrong, okay? That's absolutely not what it means! How could something like this not be strange!?
I'm only eighteen and just became an adult. Although eighteen is the legal age for marriage in Japan, this young lady in front of me is clearly not yet an adult—
Wait, what am I doing? Why am I still seriously considering these things? This is practically beastly—
Seeing Kazuo's expression, Fine Motion also seemed to realize that her words might have been a bit impolite.
She lowered her head apologetically and said, "Ah, I'm so sorry. Did I trouble Mr. Asama?"
"Uh, it's nothing, haha… I was just a little startled."
That's right, it was just a small misunderstanding.
Kazuo instinctively reached for his juice, wanting to take a sip to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"Should I indeed use the three-finger salute? But this place doesn't seem very convenient for a formal greeting, does it?"
Fine Motion muttered, looking quite troubled.
"Pfft—"
The juice formed a magnificent mist in mid-air, and the gossiping girls could no longer hold back. Their faces flushed as they covered them, continuing to peek through their fingers.
Thump-thump—
"Stop, wait a minute, Fine Motion! You've absolutely got it wrong!"
He didn't want to be involved in such a huge scandal on his first day of work!
"These words aren't used like that; the occasion and timing are completely inappropriate!"
Fine Motion was also very surprised to hear this: "Eh, is that not how it is? But before I came to Japan, my maid taught me that this is a common courtesy between opposite sexes in Japan."
What kind of common courtesy is that!?
That maid definitely had bad intentions, right? I suggest investigating; something is definitely off with that person.
Understanding the situation, Kazuo finally realized that the girl in front of him was a genuine, absolute noble young lady, but also absolutely—a complete novice in worldly affairs!!
"Um… Fine Motion, the situations where that phrase should be used are actually very limited. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't be used like that. Usually, you just need to say 'Please take care of me' to communicate."
"Is that how it is? I've learned something new."
Fine Motion was like an obedient child. She took out a very exquisite, sealed notebook from her pocket and used an expensive imported fountain pen to write down what Kazuo had said.
It's just that, the more she did this—
What to do? I really want to cry… "Xiao Hai Wan, what are you looking at?"
A small, white-haired girl walked over with a tray, but found that Super Creek was looking in another direction.
Hearing Tamamo Cross's call, Xiao Hai Wan immediately looked away and smiled very gently, "Oh, I just saw something very interesting."
"Hmm, what's interesting?"
The small girl stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck to look over, and saw a male staff member and a very familiar girl eating together.
"Eh~ Are they already starting to poach so early?"
Tamamo Cross only glanced once before looking away, clearly not very interested.
[Poaching]
Refers to the Trainers at the Academy starting to scout for members they can persuade to join their teams. The first semester is mainly focused on learning, training, and preparing for debut races. So, at this time, many Uma Musume will also gradually choose their preferred Trainer to form a team, thereby making their training more reasonable and planned.
However, excellent Uma Musume are usually sought after by everyone, so it's not uncommon for Trainers to use various poaching tactics and offensives to successfully persuade them to join their teams.
At least, in Tamamo Cross's opinion, Kazuo seemed to be doing exactly that right now.
Of course, starting to poach on the very first day of school… might still be a bit too hasty.
"Oh… Is that how it is?"
Xiao Hai Wan touched her cheek with one hand, tilted her head in thought, and murmured somewhat troubled, "Hmm… I just feel like that's not it?"
"What do you mean 'not it'? It's quite obvious, isn't it? Speaking of which, looking closely, isn't that girl from our class? She seems to be the exchange student who transferred from Ireland."
Tamamo Cross had wondered why the girl looked somewhat familiar.
"Eh, so that's it! Oh, little Tamamo is so smart~"
Xiao Hai Wan smiled and reached out to pat Tamamo Cross's head, but Tamamo Cross instantly dodged aside, like a frantic small animal, "No way! And how many times have I told you not to treat me like a child, and don't put 'little' before my name!!!"
"Ugh… But little Tamamo, why are you only eating this much?"
It was then that Xiao Hai Wan noticed that Tamamo Cross's plate only had a fried fish, a small bowl of rice, and scallop miso.
"Hmph, how annoying! This much is enough! My appetite is only this big!"
[This is a lie]
In reality, as a child from a poor family, Tamamo learned to be thrifty from a young age. She only ate this little before because her family did so to save money on every meal.
As a specially recruited student, the academy now provided many subsidies, and she should have been able to feast. However, because it was her first time being told to order anything she wanted, she didn't know what to choose and subconsciously picked the cheapest student meal. Tamamo Cross was currently in a frenzy internally.
Xiao Hai Wan shook her head, looking troubled, "How can this be? If you don't eat more, you won't grow up—"
Pfft—
Tamamo Cross suffered a ton of damage, and she seemed to lose her luster, her background turning gray.
In front of that existence, which could already be compared to a balloon, her washboard figure was the most obvious disparity between rich and poor—
Xiao Hai Wan thoughtfully separated one of her tempura pieces and placed it on Tamamo's plate, then scooped another spoonful of curry.
Smiling gently like a mother, sparkling little stars seemed to emanate from behind her: "Come~ good girl, ah~~"
"—I told you!! Don't treat me like a child!!!!!!!"
[Today's Match Result]
[Tamamo Cross's Defeat (She ultimately accepted Xiao Hai Wan's feeding)]