The girl envied those pure souls.
They never bothered with life's messy complications, focusing only on being true to themselves.
That wasn't easy. In fact, putting it into practice was incredibly difficult.
Because charging toward a goal with every ounce of your strength meant leaving everything else along the way behind.
And discarding what you've already gained takes immense courage.
Letting go is far harder than acquiring.
That's why people striving for a goal often become more complicated along the way.
Drifting further and further from that original purity.
"Should I conform to others' expectations, become a 'normal person' in their eyes? Or should I shape myself according to my own preferences…"
"Cafe, did you say something?"
"No."
Sunday Serenity answered the girl beside her—the real Manhattan Cafe, though currently going by the alias New York Black Tea—and turned her gaze forward.
There, Oguri Cap sat, seemingly in a world of her own, wholly dedicated to devouring a giant parfait. Sunday Serenity couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.
The only thing in Oguri's eyes was the food in her hands. No matter what storms raged outside, she remained utterly unfazed.
This was the kind of pure person Sunday Serenity yearned to be.
In this moment, Oguri Cap was appetite itself.
As for why she was pondering all this…
"Ah~"
New York Black Tea parted her lips slightly, letting the 'Manhattan Cafe' beside her feed her a spoonful.
"Cafe-san and Tea-san really are such close friends…"
Belno Light, sitting as if on pins and needles, couldn't stop her legs from jittering rapidly. She felt completely out of place here.
Of the two girls across from her, while Cafe occasionally exchanged a few words with her, New York Black Tea wasn't even looking in her direction.
It felt like she was being shut out.
Oguri, can't you talk with me a little? This is so awkward!
Belno Light shot a furtive glance at Oguri Cap, trying to send a telepathic plea with her eyes.
The other girl seemed to receive it, her eyebrow twitching slightly.
"Light, do you want some too? I can share a bit."
That's not what I meant!
Thumping her head onto the table in defeat, Belno Light's brain short-circuited.
I'm done. Just let the world end.
"U-um, Tea, I need to use the restroom."
Finally, after finishing another serving of dessert, the black-haired girl stood up, using the oldest excuse in the book to make her escape.
If she stayed any longer, she felt her very soul would dissipate.
The pressure was just too much…
"You need to use the restroom?" New York Black Tea asked flatly.
Since when did ghosts have such biological needs?
"Is your stomach upset?" Belno Light lifted her head from the table. "You haven't eaten anything at all, Cafe…"
"A little bit."
Picking up Belno Light's thread, 'Cafe' theatrically held her stomach.
"How did that happen…"
My stomach's feeling pretty rough too, but it's not because of the food.
Belno Light thought to herself.
New York Black Tea narrowed her eyes, watching the fidgeting black-haired girl beside her. Deciding not to press further, she gave a slight nod.
"Then go ahead. Come back soon."
A look of relief washed over the girl's face upon receiving permission.
Leaving her seat, she veered away just before reaching the restroom entrance, pressing herself against the wall and slipping out of the café through a blind spot the trio couldn't see.
Once outside, she gasped for air as if born anew.
"They say night is the boundary between the living world and the netherworld, but I'm not so sure. I just felt like I was swaying back and forth through the netherworld itself…"
"Strange. Cafe wasn't like this before." Sunday Silence, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was equally baffled. Based on Cafe's usual habits, it was unthinkable for her to act so boldly.
Especially in front of her own classmate.
Even with makeup disguising her, it shouldn't have been possible.
"Where did things go wrong?" she mused. "Could it be because I haven't been attending classes with her for so long? Did something happen in class?"
She wasn't sure.
After all, she'd been spending most of her time in the library recently.
"I think I might have an idea."
Sunday Serenity had a vague suspicion. "I studied some psychology before. From what I can see, Cafe's behavior stems from what's called dependency."
"Oh?"
"Exactly, dependency. The cause likely is that Cafe doesn't have any close friends she can confide in, so she's pouring all her emotional attachment onto 'me'."
"That's what worries me. She doesn't have any particularly good friends."
Sunday Silence fell into thought.
Yukino Bijin could be considered a friend, but their relationship felt more like Yukino Bijin passively receiving attention rather than an equal exchange.
Agnes Tachyon… barely counted as half a friend. Most of the time, Agnes was subjecting Cafe to all sorts of bizarre experiments, with very little actual conversation.
Beyond those two, the ones Cafe interacted with were classmates like Meisho Doto, Jungle Pocket, and Dantsu Flame.
But they were more like acquaintances, seen more often simply by virtue of being in the same class, far from qualifying as true friends.
Looking at the big picture, Cafe's social circle was far too narrow.
"And that's the root cause."
"I see…"
"For Uma Musume, mental health is just as important as physical conditioning. Beyond training, we need to pay attention to their daily lives and ensure their psychological well-being. That's what the trainer's manual says."
"It seems we need to address this issue going forward." Sunday Silence nodded.
She resolved to find precious companions worthy of Cafe's friendship.
Unbeknownst to them, the black-haired girl had already arrived at a park not far from the café.
She planned to rest for a while before heading back.
To relieve some of the mental pressure.
Just as she sat down on a random bench, letting the breeze wash over her—
"Urgh—"
She heard someone retching in pain.
"Cough, ack— Urgh—"
It was coming from behind the bench.
Turning her head, Sunday Serenity saw her. Behind the shrubs, by an outdoor washbasin, a brown-haired girl was hunched over the sink, her whole body convulsing as she vomited violently, as if rejecting the very food in her stomach.
Beside her, a girl with long chestnut hair was patting her back.
"Feeling any better, Sirius-chan?"
"Urgh—"
After emptying her stomach completely, the brown-haired girl rinsed her mouth.
"Now I know, cough… why Rudolf sent you to pick me up…"
Leaning weakly against the sink, Sirius Symboli offered a frail, half-dead smile.
"I never would have guessed Sirius-chan gets carsick. This is quite troublesome."
"Generally, I don't get carsick."
But then, who could have predicted that after Maruzensky picked up Sirius Symboli, she'd suddenly act like she was on something, stomping on the gas and taking them straight to the outskirts, then start drifting and racing along a winding road full of sharp curves?
The whole world spun before her eyes. It felt like being tossed into a washing machine on the spin cycle.
By the time they returned, Sirius felt like a vat of acid had been overturned in her stomach, churning relentlessly.
Unable to bear it any longer, she hammered on the door demanding to be let out, then stumbled into the nearby park, where any semblance of composure vanished as she threw up spectacularly.
It had been sheer torture.
Enough to make Sirius suspect Rudolf had sent an executioner to deal with her.
"How strange. It's the pinnacle of enjoyment, so why would it turn out like this?"
Listen to yourself. Does that even sound human, Maruzensky?
Gulping down the fresh air, Sirius Symboli wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. Through her tear-dampened vision, she spotted a black-haired girl peeking out from the bushes, a black sun hat on her head.
"So we have company."
Propping herself up on the sink, Sirius Symboli forced herself upright.
"How long have you been watching there, my little black flower?"
She reached a hand out towards the girl behind the shrubs.
--+--
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.