Those Uma Musume who had been crouched outside the door, ears pressed against it, practically itching to squeeze in and join the commotion, upon hearing Admire Vega confess her feelings to Manhattan Cafe, all covered their mouths, wearing expressions of thrilled disbelief that seemed to say, 'Well, would you look at that!'
As if to demonstrate her resolve, Admire Vega had declared she too would enter the fray to win Manhattan Cafe's heart.
In less than half a day, the news reached the ears of a certain Gold Ship.
"Haha! Spreading the word wasn't in vain after all. See, there were still some hidden rivals lurking in the crowd. Finally couldn't stand the loneliness any longer and revealed themselves to me!"
"You mean… you anticipated this all along, Gold Ship-san?"
"Of course I did. What could possibly escape my notice? Someone like Admire Vega? I saw right through her ages ago!"
Wearing an expression that said everything was going according to plan, Gold Ship declared confidently to Special Week.
"Perfect timing, since I just finished warning Green Grass over there. Now all that's left is to set the time for the match."
"Green Grass?"
"Mm, you didn't know about this, did you, Spe-chan?" Gold Ship's excitement grew as she brought it up.
"Brian has some serious, deep-seated fixation on Cafe. I told Green Grass straight up, 'Narita Brian is going to grind you into the dirt so you never dare show your face around her again, blocking her path.' Pissed off Senior Green Grass to no end, let me tell you."
"Eh… eh? Narita Brian really said that?" Special Week's ears quivered rapidly, finding it hard to believe.
No matter what, she couldn't imagine a senior saying something so brazen in front of another senior.
"She absolutely did. Even I was pretty taken aback by her intensity. See, love really does make people blind. Right now, it's all about competing on passion."
"Whoever's feelings burn hotter will be stronger. Narita Brian is just expressing her fervent emotions, trying to intimidate Green Grass into backing off."
"Ha, is that so…" Special Week blinked, responding dazedly.
"So it's decided! The match is set for after school tonight. Make sure you come to the training ground then, Spe-chan. We're in for a good show tonight!"
With a cheerful voice, Gold Ship clip-clopped her way toward the student council office.
A good show? Wasn't this supposed to be a serious matter?
Unable to follow Gold Ship's train of thought, Special Week just stood there.
Right then, a soft voice came from behind her.
"Spe-chan, I thought I heard something just now… Was Gold Ship here?"
Silence Suzuka, who had been passing slowly through the hallway at some point, walked over.
"Suzuka-chan! Gold Ship already left. Did you need her for something?"
"I ran into Agnes Tachyon on the way. She asked me to call Gold Ship if I saw her. If she's already gone… well, never mind."
Agnes Tachyon had said it was best if she saw her, but it wasn't crucial anyway.
It didn't seem like they had anything particularly important to discuss.
"By the way, Suzuka-chan, I'm going to watch a match after school. Do you want to come too? It's at the training ground!"
Rarely running into Silence Suzuka outside of class, Special Week extended the invitation.
"A match? What match?"
"You haven't heard, Suzuka-chan?"
"No one's mentioned anything to me about it…"
Ah! It dawned on Special Week then that Silence Suzuka wasn't exactly a social butterfly either.
She usually preferred being alone, and didn't actively pay attention to her surroundings, so of course she wouldn't know about those few individuals and their drama.
"It's Narita Brian," Special Week explained. "She's having a race against Green Grass and Admire Vega."
"Narita Brian, Green Grass, and… Admire Vega?"
How odd. People you hardly ever see normally, all together?
"I heard it's to compete for Cafe-senpai. The winner gets to date her!"
Special Week's gossipy heart was burning fiercely now.
"Ha…"
Silence Suzuka nodded instinctively.
So it was using a race to settle an emotional dispute. A simple, easy-to-understand solution.
If only everything could be decided by running.
When you're hesitant, go for a run. When you don't know what to do, go for a run…
Wait, who did Spe-chan say was going to date who again?
Cafe-senpai… Cafe-senpai… who's that?
Cafe… Manhattan Cafe.
So those three were competing to date Manhattan Cafe. I see…
"WHAT!?"
Even Silence Suzuka didn't realize she had let out a shriek, startling Special Week so much her ears and tail shot straight up.
"Suzuka-chan!? What's wrong?"
"No, it's just… why? I can't make sense of it, but… eh?" Her language system utterly scrambled, Silence Suzuka couldn't form a complete sentence.
Just yesterday, she had been running with Cafe along the riverbank!
They had talked about how running felt, sat on the grass quietly waiting for the sun to set.
Back then, Manhattan Cafe hadn't shown any signs of anything being amiss. It was all peaceful and serene between them.
But why? The atmosphere had taken a sharp turn today. That girl who had enjoyed running with her had suddenly become the center of a love triangle… no, a love square!
What in the world was going on?
Silence Suzuka was utterly bewildered.
"Suzuka-chan, are you okay?"
Looking at Special Week's concerned face, Silence Suzuka shook her head.
"Sorry, Spe-chan. I don't feel very well. I need to head back…" Lifting her slightly dazed head, Silence Suzuka staggered away from the spot.
"Suzuka-chan…" Reaching out a hand, watching the direction Silence Suzuka had gone, Special Week stood frozen in place.
Gone again.
She hadn't seen her at noon, and she'd been coming back to the dorm very late at night lately. Special Week was worried something might be wrong with Silence Suzuka's health.
Otherwise, why would she only return to their room just before bedtime?
Even though they were roommates, the time they spent talking was getting less and less.
Looking at her hand still hovering in the air, Special Week slowly lowered it.
Maybe… I've been feeling a bit lonely lately…
--+--
Time flew by, and school let out. The already scorching-hot topic, further fueled by Admire Vega's involvement, had spread through Tracen Academy like wildfire, completely unstoppable.
Large crowds of people clamored and gathered at the training ground, ready to witness this unprecedented emotional dispute race.
Thanks to Gold Ship's… embellishments, the match had been framed as a no-holds-barred contest where three individuals would demonstrate the sincerity of their feelings for Manhattan Cafe.
First, there was Cafe's senior, Green Grass. As the senior, she was the first to interact with Cafe and the first to develop feelings—the original partner.
Next was Narita Brian, who shared a room with Manhattan Cafe, gradually nurturing her emotions over time.
As a member of the student council, she had shown a rather fervent pursuit of Cafe.
And the final contender was Admire Vega, who had kept her admiration hidden deep in her heart.
Unable to hold back any longer amidst the conflict between the first two, she had even resorted to a night visit to reveal her true feelings, sparing no effort.
Three evenly matched rivals, engaging in a spectacular, grand and passionate pure love battle!
A makeshift stage was set up, stools brought over, and Gold Ship, wearing sunglasses, stood at the center of the temporary commentator's booth.
Holding a microphone, she addressed the students gathered at the training ground.
"Test, test… ahem… Welcome, everyone, to the annual Manhattan Cafe Championship! I'm your host, Gold Ship! I'm sure you've all heard by now about this school-shaking, awe-inspiring, sacred love story of Tracen! That's right! The winner of this match will obtain the most precious treasure, which is—"
Whoosh! Gold Ship pulled off the cloth cover beside her.
Revealed underneath, tied to a chair with rope and unable to move, was none other than Manhattan Cafe.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.