"Hah… hah… hah…"
After crossing the finish line, a thoroughly spent Kitasan Black knelt on the grass while Satono Diamond leaned heavily against a wall, both gasping uncontrollably for air.
"Did you two really have to go this hard?"
Bless the Moment, who had been waiting at the finish line for some time, walked over to them and spoke with a tone of exasperation. "Were you running an actual race?"
"I—"
"Don't speak. Get your breathing under control first."
Kitasan Black tried to say something, but Bless the Moment cut her off. "That goes for you too, Dia."
"..."
The chestnut-haired Uma Musume and the black-haired Uma Musume exchanged a look and fell silent.
"Kita-chan, don't just kneel there, get up and walk a bit… Dia! No water for either of you yet!"
"…Bless, you're really starting to sound like a proper support crew," remarked Kitasan Black, doing as the white-haired Uma Musume said and pacing about on the grassy field.
"Really? Wasn't I always like this?" Bless the Moment retorted, slightly miffed. "…What's going on with you two today?"
"Well, you see…" Kitasan Black laughed evasively. "Dia and I just wanted to have a proper match, that's all."
"Really? Is that truly all?" Bless the Moment fixed Kitasan Black with a skeptical stare.
"Of course it's true!"
Kitasan Black's tone was firm, but her increasingly shifty eyes did little to sell the statement.
"You're hiding something from me?" Bless the Moment gasped in dramatic realization. "I'm being left out?!"
"..."
The two Uma Musume looked at the white-haired girl standing not far away and sighed in unison.
—This is all because of what you said to Kita-chan/me at noon!
Bless is so dense… Is she a block of wood that gained sentience up in the mountains or something?
"What? Why are you both looking at me like that?"
Noticing both their gazes fixed intently on her, Bless the Moment was confused, but her body instinctively took a step backward.
Yikes… This familiar, oppressive feeling…
Are you two activating your Possessiveness too?
It's back. Everything familiar is coming back.
"Wait right here, don't move. I'll go get you some water," Bless the Moment announced. Under their watchful eyes, she turned and left.
"Dia… do you have any idea what Bless is actually thinking?" Kitasan Black asked, turning her head as she watched the white-haired Uma Musume's figure gradually shrink in the distance.
"How should I know what's really going on inside Bless's head?" Satono Diamond sighed.
Bless the Moment, oh Bless the Moment, have you really not noticed anything at all?
"Hey, hey, hey~! Water's here!"
While the two stood in silent contemplation, Bless the Moment returned, clutching two water bottles which she thrust toward them. "This water's nice and clear, super refreshing. Go on, drink up."
"Thank you."
Satono Diamond took her bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a drink.
"Bless, the way you talk is so weird sometimes," Kitasan Black quipped before finally accepting her own bottle.
"Is this your first day knowing me?" Bless the Moment replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Kitasan Black, who had just taken a sip of water, choked on Bless the Moment's remark, coughing violently with her face flushed red.
"You choked? Want me to pat your back?" Bless the Moment moved closer to Kitasan Black, asking with concern.
"No, thank you," the black-haired Uma Musume hastily refused.
Let Bless the Moment pat her back? Better not.
She only said 'I'll pat for you,' without specifying where.
What if while patting, she decided to spout a couple of her weird remarks too… Yikes—!
Remembering the torture she'd endured in the classroom that morning, Kitasan Black lifted her head and scanned their surroundings.
Seeing the training grounds packed with people, Kitasan Black's body gave an involuntary shudder.
Let's just… not.
Her heart settled like still water.
"How about you, Dia?" The white-haired Uma Musume looked toward Satono Diamond.
"No need, thank you," the chestnut-haired Uma Musume declined politely.
"Is that so… alright then." Bless the Moment sounded a little disappointed.
Sigh… what a shame.
If not for all these… restrictions… she would absolutely have done what she wanted to do right here today.
"..."
Hearing the faint trace of regret in Bless the Moment's voice, Kitasan Black felt a trickle of belated fear.
Thank goodness… I didn't agree.
Kitasan Black felt a wave of relief.
"You two don't have another run now, right?"
Hearing the starter's pistol fire, Bless the Moment pulled them both to the edge of the training field before letting go and heading off toward the spectator stands on her own.
"What's wrong? Bless, were you feeling bored sitting up in the stands all by yourself?" Satono Diamond quickly caught up, asking with a smile.
"Yeah." Bless the Moment nodded. "Sitting alone with nothing to do is pretty boring."
"So, if you don't have a second run, why not come keep me company in the stands?"
"Sure," Satono Diamond agreed. "Speaking of which… Bless, did you actually watch mine and Kita-chan's run properly?"
—Hm? A murderous aura!
Bless the Moment went on alert.
"I was waiting for you right at the finish line, wasn't I?"
"Don't change the subject." Satono Diamond closed the distance. "I saw you, you know? You were looking at your phone, right?"
Yikes… You haven't even properly become a Uma Musume yet, and you've already learned how to use 'Possessiveness'?
Bless the Moment drew a sharp breath.
This child is frighteningly formidable! She's definitely going to be a major problem in the future!
"Maruzensky-senpai just messaged me, asking how I've been settling in since the term started," the white-haired Uma Musume explained. "So I was chatting with her for a bit."
"Maruzensky-senpai?" The intense aura emanating from the chestnut-haired Uma Musume seemed to retract slightly.
"…Why would she be messaging you about that right now?"
"I don't know." The white-haired Uma Musume shook her head honestly, then made a reasonable guess. "Maybe she just got released by the police after being caught street racing?"
"..."
Satono Diamond fell silent.
If it was that Maruzensky senpai… that was indeed a very real possibility.
"If that's the case… I'd guess Maruzensky senpai's beloved car 'Tā-chan' got impounded and sent to the repair shop too," Bless the Moment speculated as she walked ahead.
"Which means Maruzensky senpai won't be able to go racing for a while."
"Bless… you seem to know an awful lot about this, don't you?"
Crap! I got carried away and let slip too much!
"The senpai who showed me around during Tracen Academy's open day told me about it," Bless the Moment replied, her tone unchanged as she kept her back to Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond.
"She also told me some… interesting stories about the student council president of Tracen Academy. Want to hear them?"
"No, thank you," Satono Diamond declined.
--+--
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.