"Nase? It really has been a while, but the change in you... is just so dramatic?"
Kitahara Jo stared with genuine surprise at the girl before him, whose style was now overwhelmingly soft, hardly able to believe she was the same person he remembered.
Though trainers shared a common training room and even had a dedicated office building at central Tracen Academy, the nature of their work meant they spent most of their time not in that studio, but scattered around their respective teams. Different teams inevitably had different training schedules.
And for a trainer like Nase Fumino, who was responsible for only one Uma Musume, her life would completely revolve around Super Creek's habits. Thus, it had been ages since Kitahara last saw her, and he had no idea how she'd transformed into this.
"Is that so? Seems every acquaintance I run into asks me the same thing. Could the change really be that drastic?"
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear somewhat helplessly, a gesture filled with a grace completely unlike the formerly single-minded workaholic "prodigy" he knew.
"Yeah, pretty huge. So huge it makes me wonder if you've got a twin sister or something."
Kitahara said with a complicated expression, while Super Creek simply smiled in silence.
"Are you two out shopping today? Your outfits don't look like what you'd wear for daily training."
Nearl inquired. Nase Fumino seemed to evade the question slightly.
"Well, you could say that. Or rather, it's somewhat along the lines of what you said, Nearl..."
"?"
Everyone present looked at Nase's vague answer, question marks practically floating above their heads.
"Hmph!"
Super Creek, seeing this, let out a knowing chuckle, then directly spread her arms and tightly trapped the trainer's right arm in that overwhelming softness.
The intimate gesture far exceeded the usual boundaries between a trainer and her charge, something even close female friends would struggle to explain.
"Wha—!"
Berno Light's brain short-circuited instantly, her mouth opening and closing like a little goldfish.
"It's... it's rubbing constantly..."
Everlamp focused on another aspect, her gaze completely absorbed by the profound cleavage.
"..."
Kitahara, wearing a "see no evil" expression, turned his head away, coughing repeatedly.
Nearl, however, seemed to understand. A blessed smile spread across her face, and she began to applaud softly.
"I see. So, Trainer Nase, you and Creek-senpai are a couple now? Congratulations."
"Thank you. But in front of so many people... it's still a bit embarrassing, honestly."
Lowering her head shyly, her beautiful eyes darting side to side, Nase Fumino now truly resembled a young woman in love, fitting for her age.
"Whaaaaaat?!"
Unbelievable. The shock deeply rattled everyone present except Nearl. Without exception, their eyes widened, and their hands instinctively crossed in front of them.
"A trainer... dating an Uma Musume? But... but..."
Berno Light didn't know what to say or where to begin.
"Whoa, big news..."
Everlamp muttered under her breath.
Only Oguri Cap seemed to be on a completely different wavelength.
She looked up, her gaze shifting between the radiantly happy Creek and Nase, who, despite her blushing cheeks, met everyone's eyes openly and unflinchingly. She seemed lost in thought.
"So... girl and girl..."
"Were you two also looking for something to eat? If you don't mind, you could join our table. Though Oguri here has eaten quite a lot, there's still some food left."
Nearl, her expression perfectly normal and unconcerned, extended the invitation.
"We'd be happy to. We thought these nearly expired vouchers would go to waste, since today is the last day after all."
Super Creek pulled two very familiar-looking ticket vouchers from her bag and showed them to the group.
"Aren't these the same as the ticket our trainer has?"
"Mm, I won mine in a lottery. I assume Trainer Kitahara got his the same way?"
Creek smiled and nodded, but Kitahara instinctively covered his mouth.
"Ugh... yeah, I got mine from a lottery too, haha..."
After that, it was casual chatter time.
They were all Uma Musume, so there were plenty of common topics.
The main conversation, however, involved Super Creek asking Nearl about her recent experiences, as frankly, no one lately was creating more buzz than Nearl.
Meanwhile, Trainer Nase was fielding questions from the two support Uma Musume about her relationship.
"So, Creek-senpai was the one who pursued you first?"
"Not exactly. She was the one who confessed first, technically. But the foundation for our feelings was already there, built through all the time we spent together and the path we struggled along side-by-side. The base was there; we just hadn't thought about the romantic aspect yet."
"So Creek-senpai's confession broke the dam?"
"Putting it as 'lighting the fuse' might be more accurate. Right after, my first instinct was to refuse. But in that instant, my mind was flooded with all these fragments of memories with Creek."
Resting her chin on one hand, Trainer Nase sank into deep recollection.
"Our first meeting, the hopeful look in her eyes when she asked me to be her trainer, the care I took preparing training plans late into the night, the sadness of a lost race, the excitement of victory... I was there for all her happy moments, and I shared the burden during her sorrows."
"In that brief moment, I realized just how tightly woven my life was with Creek's. We were already inseparable."
Gently taking Creek's hand—who was watching her with a soft smile—Nase Fumino's eyes overflowed with tenderness.
"From that moment on, I knew I could never possibly reject Creek's confession."
"Trainer..."
The others present felt like they'd turned into dogs, their mouths stuffed full of dog food.
'But we're eating it up willingly.'
'I want to encounter a love story like that too.'
The two shoujo manga enthusiasts, witnessing such a textbook-perfect romance, practically wished they could conjure confetti cannons to celebrate.
Only Oguri Cap, upon hearing this conversation, instinctively glanced toward Nearl.
"..."
Nearl naturally noticed this gaze and responded with her usual gentle demeanor.
"What is it, Oguri? Finished the food? I'll go get some more for you."
Saying this, Nearl stood up and walked towards the food counter, thus missing the slight lift of Oguri's hand behind her.
"Oho…"
Super Creek, noticing this, narrowed her beautiful eyes.
She quietly sidled up to Oguri Cap, pressing close, and whispered in a tone only the two of them could hear:
"I see. So, Oguri Cap, you like Nearl-chan, don't you?"
The words made the dappled gray girl jolt.
--+--
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.