[Winter break, day twelve. Bless the Moment still hadn't stepped foot outside her home. No one, human or Uma Musume, had come to visit her either.]
[Were we wrong? Does Bless really have no plans to go out during the break? Is she just going to sit at home and read?]
[Not sure. We should keep watching a bit longer.]
"Dia… do we really need to come here every single day?"
Kitasan Black, standing beside Satono Diamond, hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up.
"Of course we do!" Satono Diamond declared with conviction. "Aren't you curious, Kita-chan, about who Bless is supposed to meet?"
"But we've been staking this place out for twelve days now, and we've only seen her leave the house once," Kitasan Black retorted. "And besides, the clothes we're wearing are way too suspicious!"
"Are they?" Satono Diamond blinked behind her glasses. "But on TV, the detectives always wear stuff like this when they're on a case or tailing someone!"
…That's just how it is in dramas. There's no way real detectives would dress like this on the job.
Kitasan Black sighed inwardly.
"Why don't we just go ask Bless directly?" she suggested, peering around the corner. "Wouldn't that be simpler?"
"…"
Satono Diamond froze for a second. Then, under Kitasan Black's gaze, she suddenly smacked her right fist into her open palm, her face lighting up with a look of sudden realization.
"You mean you hadn't thought of that at all?" The expression on Kitasan Black's face grew even more exasperated.
"No… you've just given me an idea, Kita-chan." Satono Diamond's gaze shifted back to Bless the Moment's house in the distance.
"What if, before we even got here, the person Bless made plans with already managed to sneak her out?"
"Or… what if that person is in her room right now?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Kitasan Black's jaw went slack, only a single, stunned syllable escaping her throat.
Wait… how did you get all that from what I just said?
"Kita-chan, let's go to Bless's house right now!" Satono Diamond eagerly took the first step forward.
"Wait! Hold on a second!" Kitasan Black quickly grabbed the chestnut-maned Uma Musume by the arm.
"At least change out of these clothes first before we go! We need to wear something normal, at the very least!"
"Is this outfit not normal?" Satono Diamond looked down at the oversized trench coat she was swimming in.
"It's not normal at all!" Kitasan Black loudly objected, pulling her friend away. "...Let's just go!"
Ding-dong!
An hour later, Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black stood at Bless the Moment's front door and rang the bell.
"Kita-chan? Dia?" The middle-aged woman who answered the door looked at the two in surprise before stepping aside to let them in. "Bless is upstairs in her room reading… should I call her for you?"
"No need, we're here to see her," they replied, thanking the woman before heading through the living room and up to the second floor.
Then, as they pushed the bedroom door open, they saw Bless the Moment lying flat on her back on the bed, eyes tightly shut, her body perfectly straight and not moving a muscle.
"? "
Staring at the white-maned Uma Musume on the bed, a giant question mark seemed to pop up over both Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black's heads.
"Bless, what's wrong?"
"I'm contemplating," the white-maned girl on the bed replied without moving, her arms still pinned stiffly to her sides.
"Contemplating what? You're not feeling sick, are you?" Satono Diamond asked, concerned.
"I do feel a bit off, but it's nothing serious," Bless the Moment cracked one eye open a sliver. "Don't your eyes feel uncomfortable?"
Eyes?
Only then did the two visiting Uma Musume notice the faint haze of smoke near the ceiling. Glancing around, they spotted a small metal plate in the corner of the room with a smoldering mugwort stick on it.
"Why didn't you open a window or the door?" Satono Diamond asked, watching as Bless quickly shut her eye again.
As she spoke, she pushed the door she'd just entered wider open and gestured for Kitasan Black to go open the room's window.
"Wasn't necessary," Bless the Moment answered, eyes still closed, maintaining her rigid posture. "It's almost burned out. Just need to endure a little longer."
"By continuing to lie there like a corpse?" Kitasan Black quipped, pulling the window open and letting some of the stale, smoky air escape.
"So? Feeling any better?"
"Thanks, much better." Finally, the white-maned Uma Musume sat up, blinking a few times.
"So, what brings you two here?" Bless the Moment asked, looking at the two visitors in her room.
Shouldn't you two be out on a date right now? What are you doing crashing my place?
Especially you, Dia!
The white-maned girl on the bed met Satono Diamond's inquisitive gaze.
"Are you not happy to see us, Bless?" Satono Diamond countered with a playful grin, while simultaneously letting her eyes subtly sweep across the room.
Hmm… nothing seems out of place in here. Looks like no one's been in Bless's room during this time after all.
"Aren't you two supposed to be out having fun right now?" The white-maned girl hinted, directing her gaze pointedly at Satono Diamond.
"Because we wanted to see you, Bless," Satono Diamond replied cheerfully, appearing completely oblivious to the hint being dropped.
What's going on with you, Satono Diamond?
The white-maned girl started mentally pointing fingers.
Instead of spending time fostering your relationship with Kitasan Black, you drag her over to my place? What kind of move is that?
"Alright then," Bless the Moment said, glancing at the black-maned Uma Musume standing by the bed.
She figured it was better not to make things too obvious and risk shocking Kitasan Black. "Want to play something?"
"Are we interrupting you?" Kitasan Black asked, noticing the open book and the half-finished test paper on the desk, a note of apology in her voice.
"It's fine, it's fine. I was planning to take a break soon anyway, even if you hadn't shown up." Bless the Moment slid off the bed, stretched her back straight, and let out a soft groan.
"...So, what do you want to do?"
"Whatever you want." Satono Diamond, acting like she was right at home, pulled over a chair and made herself comfortable. "Are all these books from the bookstore, Bless?"
"Yeah," Bless the Moment nodded. "...Well, I did promise you both. After we enroll at Central Tracen, I'm going to be your support Uma Musume."
"…"
Hearing those words, a pang of guilt shot through Kitasan Black, and she averted her eyes from the white-maned girl.
Here was Bless, working hard to keep the promise they'd made to each other, while they'd been outside spying on her.
…What in the world have I been doing?
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T/N: A Certain Scientific Railgun Fanfic Up!
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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.