Dinner time. Mejiro Dober, having just gotten her food, was looking for a seat. Normally, she would sit in the darkest corner, where it was hard to be noticed.
For some reason, the cafeteria was especially crowded today. The corner spots had long been taken by other Horse Girls.
After circling the cafeteria a few times, she found that there were no empty single seats left. The only option was to share a table.
After a moment's hesitation, Dober decided to wait for someone to finish eating and then take their spot.
"Dober-senpai."
At that moment, a clear voice sounded by her ear. A white figure walked up to her.
"Shirayuki."
"What's wrong, Dober-senpai? Aren't you going to eat? What are you doing standing here?"
"I'm still looking... huh?"
Dober's voice trailed off in a question.
She noticed a change on Shirayuki's head. The feathery white ears had suddenly turned into fluffy cat ears. They looked so soft that she couldn't help but want to reach out and touch them.
"Th-that's!"
"I thought you might like it, so I put it on. How does it look?"
"Oh..." Dober's eyes sparkled, and an involuntary sound escaped her lips.
So cute!
Is that... a cat?
Dober reached out her hand, but upon seeing Shirayuki's sky-blue eyes, she instantly retracted it.
What am I doing? Am I about to touch her head?!
No way, that's too embarrassing!
Shaking her head, she forcibly suppressed the impulse and said with feigned calmness, "Doesn't it suit you very well? I think it looks good."
Hmm? Her reaction is calmer than I expected.
Looking at Dober's expression, Shirayuki was a little confused.
Could it be that McQueen was lying to me when she said Dober likes cute things?
Whatever, let's get to work.
She had been observing from the side for a while and had noticed Dober circling the cafeteria twice. Even though there were plenty of empty seats, she had hesitated to approach them.
It was obvious she was afraid of interacting with people, too scared to greet them or ask if she could sit.
She's just like me in middle school!
Shirayuki felt a deep sense of empathy.
However, her case hadn't been as severe as Dober's. At least she could manage to talk to people. Later, she forgot exactly when, but after she got into racing, she gradually became more talkative and made many friends who shared her interest.
By now, she had completely overcome her fear of communication.
"Senpai, let's go over there."
Shirayuki took the lead, pointing to a table laden with food. Although it was a four-person table, it was currently occupied by one person's mountain of food.
"That seat is taken... maybe we should wait."
"It's fine, she won't mind."
With that, Shirayuki took her hand and walked over. Bypassing the mountain of food, she saw the ash-colored figure hidden behind it.
"Oguri-senpai."
"?"
Hearing her voice, Oguri Cap looked up, a grain of rice still stuck to her face.
"Fujiwara-san."
After swallowing her food, Oguri Cap spoke. "I thought you had already left. And who is this?"
Shirayuki gestured to the person beside her with her eyes.
"Mejiro Dober." After taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Dober spoke. "It's nice to meet you, Oguri-senpai."
The other girl nodded and then resumed her mechanical eating, shoveling food into her mouth spoonful by spoonful.
"Dober-senpai, let's sit here."
"Is that okay? We won't be disturbing Oguri-senpai, will we?"
The other girl was a star at Tracen, her popularity rivaling that of 'The Emperor' Symboli Rudolf. Sitting with someone like that would be too conspicuous.
Dober hesitated.
"Don't be afraid! This is the time to be brave and charge forward, Dober-senpai. Let me show you."
Shirayuki puffed out her chest.
She knelt on one knee beside Oguri Cap and extended her hand.
"Oguri-senpai, would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?"
The sudden action immediately drew the attention of everyone around them. They all turned to look at the kneeling white-haired girl.
"What's going on? What's happening?!"
"A proposal?"
"I think I heard something about having dinner together..."
At the center of the crowd, Oguri Cap tilted her head, a '?' appearing above it. Then, she took Shirayuki's hand.
"Okay."
""Kyaaa—!!""
Squeals of delight erupted from the girls around them.
This academy is full of gossip lovers.
"See, Dober-senpai?" Shirayuki stood up. "As long as you're sincere enough, they will accept your request."
Turning her head, Shirayuki looked behind her.
"Dober-senpai?"
Where did she go?!
In the time it took to kneel down, Dober, who had been right behind her, had vanished. As Shirayuki was about to look for her, Oguri Cap suddenly tugged on her hand.
"Aren't we going to eat together?"
...
"Senpai, why did you run off to here?"
In the backyard of the academic building, Shirayuki finally found Dober sitting on a bench, eating her dinner alone.
"Shirayuki!?"
Startled by the voice, Dober stopped her attempt to flee when she saw who it was.
"How did you find me here...?"
"The quietest place after school is over here by the academic building. I thought you might be here," Shirayuki said, sitting down next to her.
"Have you had dinner?"
"To save time, I finished Oguri-senpai's portion for her."
"...She wasn't angry?"
"She told me to get my own next time."
"I see," Dober said, fiddling with her chopsticks.
"Why did you run away?" Shirayuki asked. "Oguri had already agreed."
"I didn't really mean to run..."
But.
Was that move really necessary?!
Couldn't you have just simply asked, 'Is it okay if we sit here?' Did you have to make such a scene?!
In a packed cafeteria, in front of the most famous Horse Girl in all of Tracen, she had knelt on one knee and spouted some nonsensical lines.
It was as conspicuous as it gets!
So much for taking it step by step. You went straight from zero to a hundred!
By the time Dober came to her senses, she was already running out of the cafeteria with her tray. On the way, people were giving her strange looks. In the end, she had run all the way to the academic building and found a quiet spot to sit.
"You're right. That invitation was a bit too high-level for you. I've been reflecting on that. So."
Shirayuki said, "Let's start with something simpler. For example, me."
"Shirayuki?"
"Yes."
Looking at the cute cat ears, Dober turned her head away.
"Then... I'll be in your care," she said softly.
Success!
Shirayuki rejoiced inwardly.
First, give her an impossible goal, and then give her a much easier one. That way, she'll be more likely to accept the latter.
By using this method, over time, Dober would be molded into her ideal shape.
-------
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