Her hair was gray, her eyes blue-gray. The person who had arrived was none other than one of Tracen's top figures, nicknamed the 'Ash-Gray Monster,' Oguri Cap.
She glanced at Shirayuki, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "May I sit here?"
"Be my guest."
She put down her plate, instantly casting a large shadow over Shirayuki's face.
Is today some kind of festival? Why are all these monsters popping out one after another?
She had watched Oguri Cap's races before. Her flexible body and formidable strength were unparalleled, and her sense of balance was terrifyingly good. She had even bought a lot of her merchandise and posters.
If she had met her a year ago when she first arrived, she would have excitedly rushed over to shake her hand. But after a full year of hardship, Shirayuki now fully understood the fickle nature of Horse Girls. To maintain a good relationship with them, you had to understand their personalities.
Some could be reasoned with; for others, you needed to consider different methods.
"What's your name?"
"Shirayuki. Fujiwara Shirayuki," the girl replied after swallowing her food.
"I see."
"And you, senpai?"
"Oguri Cap."
After the brief exchange, Shirayuki stood up. Although she had already eaten two large plates, she still felt hungry. It seemed that other Horse Girls didn't eat as much as her. Why did this body consume so much energy?
Anyway, after getting another large plate, Oguri Cap looked at her with a strange glint in her eye.
"Do you always eat this much, Fujiwara-san?"
"Yes."
Although her 'always' had only been a single day. Today was the second day of Shirayuki's existence. A small celebration.
"That's amazing... Don't you feel shy?"
"Why?"
"Eating so much in front of your classmates, you should feel a little embarrassed, right?"
Hearing this, Shirayuki put down her chopsticks.
"I don't know, I've never thought about it. Do you think it's bad to eat a lot, Oguri-senpai?"
"No, I've never thought that," Oguri Cap waved her hands repeatedly. "When I first came to Tracen, my classmates often teased me for my large appetite. I was just wondering if you had the same problem."
"I don't."
At least, not before you mentioned it.
Now I do.
Didn't Amazon say that Horse Girls don't pay attention to this kind of thing? I was trying to build a perfect persona.
Looks like I'll have to bring my food back to the dorm to eat in the future.
But she'd make an exception for today. Training was tiring, and she didn't want the extra trouble.
Under Oguri Cap's somewhat admiring gaze, Shirayuki polished off at least ten people's worth of food and then stood up, satisfied.
"Well, I'll be going now. See you around, Oguri-senpai."
She needed to go back and summarize her experience. Although the training with Rudolf and Brian had ended in success, seeing them run past her to the finish line had left a bad taste in her mouth. An unprecedented sense of impatience had even changed the tone of her voice.
She needed to calm this strange emotion and revise tomorrow's training plan. She was going to ramp up the intensity of this body's training.
"By the way, Fujiwara-san." As if remembering something, Oguri Cap raised her hand. "If you don't mind, can we eat together again in the future?"
"Yes, of course. Do you want to be my rice buddy, Oguri-senpai?"
"Rice buddy?"
"It means a friend you eat with."
Oguri Cap blinked, then nodded vigorously. "Of course."
After Shirayuki left, Oguri Cap picked up her spoon and began to eat, one mouthful at a time.
"Oguri, there you are."
"Hikari..." Oguri Cap said, swallowing. "I just made a rice buddy."
"A rice buddy?"
"That's right. The way that girl eats is so appetizing. Just watching her makes my appetite grow. With her around, even the food tastes better."
"What is she, a seasoning? Are you eating your classmate as a side dish?"
"I didn't eat her."
"That's not what I meant. If you're friends, you should treat her well. You can't say things like you see her as food."
"I didn't see her as food. I just said she looked delicious."
"What... Oguri, you didn't bite her, did you...?"
"No."
Meanwhile, Shirayuki had returned to her room.
She closed the door, opened her laptop, and started browsing a shopping website.
To strengthen her legs, she needed to buy some heavy-duty horseshoes to wear during training. Her shoes also needed to be sturdier. And it would be best to buy a BOSU ball to train her balance and core muscles in the dorm.
After selecting everything, Shirayuki entered her payment password. As she waited for the loading circle to finish spinning...
[Notice: Insufficient Balance]
Thump!
Her heart skipped a beat.
Rubbing her eyes, Shirayuki stared at the screen.
You've got to be kidding me. How can such terrifying words exist in this world!
As if in denial, she silently clicked the close button, buried her face in her bed to escape reality for a moment, then took out her phone and checked her account balance.
"Account Balance: 30,000 yen..."
Ahhh—!
The girl clutched her head.
What on earth did I buy?! How did I run out of money?
Shirayuki checked her purchase history. As she scrolled up through the text messages, she suddenly saw a six-digit deduction record.
"Tracen Academy Fee Record... Tuition: 150,000 yen. Uniform Fee: 30,000 yen. Textbook Fee..."
Looking at the detailed list of charges, Shirayuki felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Two days. In just two days, she was broke!
Although she had told the Chairwoman to deduct the tuition from Chiya's salary bank card, she hadn't expected them to do it so silently. By the time she noticed, she was destitute.
The next payday was still more than half a month away. What was she supposed to do for the next two weeks?
Shirayuki knelt on the floor in agony, crushed by the weight of life.
I wish I could be a student who doesn't have to think about anything. Only after entering society did she realize how harsh the world was.
"Shirayuki... what are you doing?"
Unbeknownst to her, Mejiro Dober had returned to the room. A towel was slung around her neck, and her face was sweaty, clearly having just finished training.
"Dober-senpai..." Looking at her cool, beautiful face, Shirayuki touched her own.
She wouldn't understand.
As a Horse Girl from the Mejiro family, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. As a prestigious family, the Mejiros had connections with various enterprises, a strong financial foundation, and frequently held banquets for famous socialites.
It was safe to say the Mejiro family was part of the upper class, people from a completely different world from commoners like her.
They had probably never had to worry about things like tuition fees.
"What's wrong... Shirayuki?"
Seeing her bad mood, Dober couldn't help but ask.
Could it be because of the trainer?
Thinking back, she had indeed been a bit harsh. He was Shirayuki's trainer, after all, yet she had disparaged him so badly.
But Dober had experienced it herself. She knew that such problems did exist at Tracen. As a Horse Girl, Shirayuki was too naive.
"I'm sorry..."
"Dober-senpai?"
"I may have gone a bit too far, but I really hope that as a girl, you will protect yourself when you're outside..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Hmm? Aren't you angry because of what I said about your trainer?"
"Ah... that." Shirayuki smiled a little. "I'm not that immature to get angry over something like that. I'm glad you understand it was a misunderstanding, Dober-senpai. I'm worried about something else."
"Something else?"
"It's probably a problem you would never encounter."
Sigh. If only I were part of the Mejiro family, I wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing...
Dober seemed to hear this thought.
"It's nothing. Good night, Dober-senpai. I'm going to bed."
Without even bothering to change, Shirayuki climbed onto her bed and pulled the covers over her head.
"Good night..." Watching her hide from reality under the covers, Dober replied in a daze.
-------
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