Ka-da…
The dormitory door was carefully pushed open.
A small, black-haired Uma Musume maid poked her head inside, carefully scanning the room. One bed was empty—its owner clearly having left earlier in a hurry, evident from the messy blanket, hastily piled up and not folded.
On the other bed, however, there was clearly still someone underneath the raised lump of bedding—a strand of red hair peeked out.
Overslept again, huh?
The intruder was, of course, Kagura. The one still wrapped up in blankets, unmoving, was Nice Nature, who hadn't shown up yet despite class being nearly full. With theory lessons about to begin, Kagura, who had just finished delivering breakfast to Rudolf, didn't see Nature in class and decided to come back and check the dormitory out of curiosity. As expected, Nice Nature was still buried deep under the blankets, sleeping heavily.
"Did she stay up all night reading novels again…?"
In Kagura's memory, Nice Nature frequently stayed up reading books, resulting in trouble waking up the next day. Previously, Kagura had come by after 10, nearly 11, to find Nature just crawling out of bed. At that time, Kagura had noticed all the alarms set on Nature's phone were long past. If Kagura hadn't remembered to stop by this morning, the silly girl surely would've been late again.
As for why Kagura could enter Nice Nature's dorm room: since the situation was urgent, Kagura mentioned to the dorm leader that class was starting soon and she couldn't find Nature. Trusting her, Fuji Kiseki quickly lent her the spare key.
Kagura placed the hot congee andRadish Cake on the small counter in the dorm room, then squatted down beside Nature's bed. She watched Nature, still dreaming, twitch her nose as if smelling the radish cake, mumbling something unclear, even stretching out a hand to pull Kagura onto the bed.
"Radish cake… hehe… radish cake…"
"You radish brain…"
Having experienced once being mistaken for a radish and gnawed upon, Kagura gently detached Nature's hand instead of giving in, sighed helplessly, then leaned over and poked Nature's cheek:
"Wake up, little sleepyhead, or the sun is gonna smack your butt!"
"Radish... eh eh eh!? Wha-what?! What happened?!"
Prompted awake by Kagura's teasing, Nice Nature snapped her eyes open. Seeing Kagura's face right in front of her, she jolted back in panic, crashing heavily into the wall with a thud. Luckily, she hit the wall with her back cushioned by the blankets, otherwise Kagura would've had to consider pulling out the first-aid kit she always carried.
"K-K-Kagura!? When did you get here!?"
"A few minutes ago. Trainer Minamizaka said he couldn't find you anywhere, and your phone wasn't reachable, so I borrowed the spare key from Fuji Kiseki-san and came in."
"Wha?! What time is it now?!"
"My dear Miss Nature, you've got about twenty minutes before you're officially late."
"I'm doomed!!"
Nice Nature wailed, scrambling off the bed, shoving her feet into slippers, and dashed into the bathroom.
Ah... so nostalgic. I used to be just like this when I overslept for morning classes…
Thinking more carefully though, if back then she'd had the physical prowess of an Uma Musume, twenty minutes would've been plenty of time to leisurely wash up, stroll by the cafeteria to grab steamed buns or sticky rice chicken, and still arrive early enough to check her phone for five or six minutes.
——An Uma Musume's body really is convenient, huh!
Eclipse-san's words appeared briefly on Kagura's phone screen before fading away.
...
"Huff… huff! I'm gonna be late, gonna be late…!"
"Don't panic, Nature. You'll make it."
By the time Nice Nature rushed back out from the bathroom, Kagura had already gathered up her uniform. Nature barely had time to hastily thank Kagura, rapidly pulling on clothes, skirt, shoes, and socks, grabbing her bag, and sprinting out the door. Kagura immediately picked up the breakfast she'd brought and chased after her.
Downstairs, having long heard the commotion above, Fuji Kiseki opened the gate without a second thought. The next instant, two blurred figures shot past at a speed so quick they were barely visible, Kagura casually tossing the spare key back to Fuji Kiseki as she ran by:
"Thank you, Fuji Kiseki-san~!"
"No problem~! You two be careful running—don't rush too much! Getting hurt just to avoid being late isn't worth it!"
Nature's more serious now than she is during a race… although in a sense, this might as well be one, haha~ Following the naming style here, maybe we should call it the Classroom Sho?
Running slightly ahead of Nice Nature, Kagura watched her desperate stride, reminiscent of an Uma Musume attempting a daitō (front-running strategy). Kagura suddenly gained a deeper understanding—Nature's panicked steps, filled with desperation and survival instinct, perfectly embodied the spirit of "escape."
Seems like I just got an idea… Maybe I can try this out in afternoon parallel-running training with Ojousama.
Thinking this, Kagura accelerated slightly, and Nature, refusing to lag behind, also increased her pace.
At last, with only two minutes left before being late, Nice Nature and Kagura finally crossed the passageway in front of the school building under Tazuna-san's gaze, successfully arriving at Nature's classroom:
"I—I made it!!"
At the classroom door, Nature gasped for breath, supporting herself against the frame. Despite the cold weather, the intense exercise left her drenched in sweat. Kagura, just slightly winded behind her, calmly offered Nature the handkerchief she always carried.
"Alright~ just on time. I knew you'd forget breakfast, you dummy. Here's your food—eat it during break. It's in an insulated container, so don't worry about it getting cold. And no sneaking bites during class—it'd be disrespectful to the teacher."
"Ah…"
Still panting, Nature blankly took the container from Kagura, suddenly feeling as if she'd returned to her very first day of elementary school, with her mother sending her off right to the classroom door.
"What are you spacing out for? Go inside already!"
"Oh-oh… thanks! Thanks for breakfast, Kagura! I'm going!"
Nature quickly nodded her thanks, clutching the container and hurrying to her seat. After seeing her safely off, Kagura also departed, heading towards the kyudo club to continue her archery practice.
Just after rushing into the classroom and sitting down, Nice Nature glanced at the carefully prepared bento Kagura had brought, but before she could properly rejoice, she suddenly felt multiple intense gazes stabbing into her. She looked up, discovering her classmates staring at her with burning curiosity.
"Nature-san… that just now… was Inari Kagura-san, right?"
"With that iconic maid outfit, there's no mistaking it—such a cute girl can only be Kagura-chan!"
"Eh…?"
Nice Nature, who usually had a very low profile in class, had never experienced this kind of scrutiny before. Today's full-class spotlight made her feel like sitting on pins and needles. Only now did she realize just how popular Kagura had become at Tracen.
"Kagura-chan… what's your relationship with her? Why would she personally bring you breakfast?"
"And judging by how you two looked, did you run all the way from the dorms together? Did Kagura-chan personally wake you up or something?"
"No way…"
"Eh…?"
Nearly drowning in her classmates' curious and questioning stares, Nice Nature panicked, subconsciously glancing outside—but Kagura had already disappeared.
"Kagura! Save meeee—!!"
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T/N: im back, did a poll on my patreon on the new schedule and releases for webnovel so yeah
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