"Ahem, well then, we graciously accept your offer."
Kitahara coughed, putting on an air of calm, but inside he was so tense he was about to burst—so much so that he'd even started blurting out idioms.
"I-I said there's nothing to be scared of. W-why are you shaking, Kitahara?"
Tamamo Cross mocked Kitahara's nervousness with a laugh. She strode inside with an air of carelessness, though her oddly synchronized arms and legs gave her away.
Oguri Cap alone was truly unruffled. She walked beside Nearl, her expression cool, only letting out small gasps of surprise when she spotted particularly interesting decorative pieces.
Unlike the sprawling estates of the Mejiro or Symboli families, Nearl's home, while luxurious, was just a large villa.
There was no ridiculously vast front garden or the like. Once past the iron gate, visitors stepped directly onto a circular pathway.
At its center stood a statue of the Three Goddesses, white as jade, adorned with a few fresh flowers that trembled gently in the soft breeze.
Gentle as the sea, sacred as light.
This statue was no different from the one at Tracen Academy, even a bit smaller, yet Tamamo and Oguri Cap felt an inexplicable illusion—a sense that the Three Goddesses were watching them.
They pressed their palms together and bowed their heads, driven by a powerful feeling of reverence.
Moments later, two of the flowers adorning the statue drifted down, slowly, lazily, landing right in the hair of the two grey-haired Uma Musume, nestling perfectly into the strands near their temples like beautiful ornaments.
Only then did Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap snap back to reality, gently touching the flowers that had coincidentally fallen.
"What a happy coincidence. I'll take it as a blessing from the Three Goddesses."
"Such pretty flowers."
Oguri Cap also couldn't resist admiring them.
But then, Kitahara's excited shout from below pulled their attention away.
"Wow, is that a pool?! And a viewing platform! The view is incredible!"
Oguri Cap and Tamamo exchanged a glance before both bolted down toward the sound.
"We wanna see too!"
--+--
"Here, please help yourselves. Cream cakes from the fridge, and watermelon juice. My apologies for not having time to make something myself."
"Not at all, this is more than enough. Oguri already ate her fill before coming over."
"But, Kitahara, it's already noon. I'm starving."
With a mouth wide open, Oguri Cap stuffed an entire cupcake inside. Two seconds later, she spat out the liner, now perfectly clean.
"Delicious. I want more."
Her unsatisfied gaze turned to Nearl, and she patted her stomach, which had already begun to rumble.
"There are some ingredients in the pantry, Oguri. Please try to hold on a little longer with these cakes for now."
Having anticipated this, Nearl wheeled over a cart half a person tall, loaded with a cake that could only be described as massive. Its mirror-smooth sugar glaze seemed to glue Oguri Cap's eyes to it.
"Tamamo, Trainer, what would you like to eat? This place is a bit far from the city, so takeout might take a while."
"Eh, isn't that inconvenient? What do you do when you need to buy things normally?"
Tamamo Cross suddenly felt this place might not be so perfect after all. Quiet, sure, but really not very convenient.
"My sister hired people. They restock all kinds of supplies in the pantry every three days. It's actually not inconvenient at all. The pantry is right over there."
Saying this, Nearl pointed to a corner near the stairs where a simple door stood.
"It doesn't look like much, but it extends partway into the hillside. The space inside is quite large, enough supplies to last a season."
"...Damn rich people. Nearl, I'm so jealous!"
Tamamo Cross resentfully speared a piece of chocolate cake with her fork as if it were the root of her envy, then swallowed it whole.
"Mmm… So good! That slightly bitter taste mixed with the chocolate aroma, and then the cake is so fine and soft... truly wonderful~~"
Good food always brings comfort, no matter when. Tamamo Cross quickly succumbed to the sugary assault, her relaxed face taking on an unusually adorable softness.
Nearl smiled and turned to prepare lunch.
A short while later, Tamamo opened her eyes, which she had closed in bliss, and stared seriously at the still mostly-uneaten dessert.
'What brand is this cake? If it's within my budget, I might buy some to enjoy later.'
She knew full well it couldn't be cheap, but Tamamo Cross liked it so much she was even willing to grit her teeth and dip into her savings for it.
'Let me see, let me see... Oh, isn't that the cake box?'
After looking around, Tamamo finally spotted the clue in the trash bin—a box about the size of her cake was lying inside.
'The box is here, so where's the price tag... Oh, on the bottom. The price should be there too...'
"Four thousand?!"
Seeing the price marked, for a moment Tamamo was sure she'd miscounted by a zero. Trembling, she counted the digits one by one, but the result remained unchanged.
Her hand shaking slightly, she set down her fork. Tamamo Cross clutched her stomach and slumped over the table.
Now aware of the value of the one-third portion of cake she'd just eaten, she suddenly felt incredibly full, as if the food inside her was about to overflow.
'So stuffed... But I can't let it go to waste. I'll just take the rest back home. After all, I ate a good chunk of it. Can't let Nearl finish it now.'
This, of course, was an illusion.
A triangular cake smaller than the size of a palm could never make an Uma Musume feel that full—that would be magic. It was all in Tamamo Cross's head.
Having grown up in hardship, she had never indulged in expensive things. As the eldest sister, she was mature.
'I should work hard for my family, not indulge myself selfishly.'
Holding this belief, Tamamo always chose the cheapest options when buying things. Fortunately, her difficult childhood had taught her how to pick durable, practical items from among the cheap goods.
But this constant frugality day after day became a psychological suggestion, affecting her physically in the end.
Tamamo Cross couldn't bring herself to eat expensive desserts or meals. Because she knew she shouldn't spend money on them, her stomach would echo her mind's refusal to partake.
Unless... her mind was currently occupied with something else.
"Tamamo, are you full? Then I'll finish the rest."
The grey-haired glutton popped up beside her. She'd been eyeing Tamamo's chocolate cake for a while now. A glance behind her revealed the plate that once held the cream cake was now completely empty.
"In your dreams!"
A cake she herself couldn't bear to finish, and now this Oguri, who'd already devoured a huge one all by herself, wanted to snatch hers away too?
An intense sense of injustice flooded Tamamo's heart. She sprang up, snatched the plate Oguri Cap had already picked up, and stuffed the remaining cake into her mouth all at once, puffing out both cheeks.
"Mmph, grrmph (I ate it all, don't even think about stealing it)!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.