“Th-This is it!
The legendary advanced technique… hand-feeding!” “They’re moving way too fast!
I’m her senpai and even I’m not that close with my trainer yet!” “Who are they?
I’ve never seen that trainer before.
And that cool-looking Uma Musume… How is she doing something that intimate without blushing?” “Look at her tail, though.
It’s spinning like a fan.
She’s totally freaking out inside.
Heehee.” “Ah!
Look, look!
It’s getting closer!” From the moment Mihono Bourbon and Kitano Ryuuichi’s table had kicked up a stir, the entire cafeteria had been watching them.
Under the bashful, excited, and dangerously inspired gazes of the surrounding Uma Musume, Bourbon’s spoon crept closer and closer to Kitano’s mouth.
“S-So bold…!” On the other side of the cafeteria, a small group of Uma Musume had gathered.
Most of them looked fairly ordinary by Uma Musume standards—the sort of girls who blended into the background unless you already knew them.
One of them leaned toward the girl standing proudly at the center.
“King-san… is that really the person you were looking for?
It looks like he already has an assigned Uma Musume.
Wouldn’t it be bad to approach him now?” “Hmph.
Do not misunderstand me.
A first-rate Uma Musume like myself would never choose a trainer so clearly beneath my caliber.” The girl leading the group was none other than King Halo.
Kitano’s former partner.
Of course, in this loop, she was no longer his partner at all.
Even so, the instant class ended, King Halo had ordered her followers to search for Kitano Ryuuichi.
The moment she heard someone matching his description had been spotted in the cafeteria, she came straight over.
Unfortunately, her follower had left out one very important detail.
Kitano Ryuuichi was not alone.
Beside him sat another Uma Musume, one whose face and figure were every bit as eye-catching as King Halo’s.
At first, King Halo had not cared.
After all, she was a super first-rate Uma Musume.
She was not some petty girl who felt threatened just because a new student had a nice figure.
Jealousy and envy were unbecoming of someone of her level.
Besides, she had no special feelings for that rookie trainer named Kitano Ryuuichi.
She had come here to challenge him.
He had spoken out of turn earlier and wounded her first-rate pride.
That was why she had sacrificed her precious lunch break to confront him and prove her ability.
That had been the plan, anyway.
Then Mihono Bourbon started fussing over Kitano.
She blew on his soup.
She tried to feed him by hand.
And just like that, King Halo’s entire purpose vanished from her head.
King did not understand why her chest felt so tight.
But watching Mihono Bourbon care for Kitano so gently made her bite her lip without realizing it.
One foot tapped sharply against the floor.
Her ears stood rigid, bristling with irritation.
It felt like something that belonged to her had been snatched away by some random girl who had appeared out of nowhere.
That thought made her restless.
Annoyed.
Almost painfully so.
And the worst part was, she had no idea where it was coming from.
“Um… King-san?” One of her followers noticed the dark aura gathering around her and asked very, very carefully, “Should we stop them?” “Why would we?” King Halo clenched her teeth.
Her heart was already screaming at her to march over there and put an end to it, but reason kept dragging her back.
This had nothing to do with her.
Whether that man named Kitano Ryuuichi got all lovey-dovey with that third-rate Uma Musume had nothing to do with a first-rate lady like her.
She forced herself to stay calm.
Do not act on impulse.
Do not act on impulse.
Unfortunately, her face had not received that memo.
Neither had her tail, which was now lashing back and forth like a propeller.
Not from happiness, either.
From pure, simmering rage.
“A third-rate trainer and a third-rate Uma Musume.
A perfect match, wouldn’t you say?
It has nothing to do with a first-rate lady like me.” “Let them flirt.
I shall issue my challenge afterward.
I am generous enough to grant them that much time.” You look like you care a lot, though… Her followers silently shared the same thought and shuffled half a step away.
Not because they disliked her.
They simply did not want to get smacked by King Halo’s tail.
King herself, despite looking one bad word away from exploding, kept her eyes locked on Mihono Bourbon and Kitano’s table.
She seemed determined to see what other tricks that deadpan Uma Musume had up her sleeve.
… “Kitano-san.
Please cooperate.
Aah.” “Um, Bourbon-san… don’t you think we’re getting a little too close?” With Mihono Bourbon’s spoon closing in on his face, Kitano Ryuuichi finally straightened his expression and decided to stop her.
How did I never notice Bourbon was this earnest and easy to mislead?
She definitely wasn’t this proactive with me before.
Back then, she mostly just followed my instructions.
If the Mihono Bourbon sitting in front of him had been the partner he knew from his old loop, Kitano could have accepted this.
But she was not.
He had restarted.
In theory, the Mihono Bourbon of this loop did not know him at all.
In other words, she was doing something unbelievably intimate for a complete stranger.
That was… not good.
This time, luckily, she had run into Kitano.
He trusted Bourbon completely, and he would never do anything to hurt her.
But what if she had met someone with bad intentions?
Wouldn’t that be dangerous?
Kitano was probably worrying too much.
He had instinctively forgotten that Mihono Bourbon was an Uma Musume, and far stronger than the average human.
Still, better safe than sorry had always been his rule when dealing with people.
He never wanted his Uma Musume to encounter even the slightest danger.
Even if, strictly speaking, Bourbon was no longer his Uma Musume.
So this time, Kitano firmly refused her kindness.
Bourbon’s hand paused.
Then, silently, she sat back in her seat and lowered the spoon into the bowl of miso soup.
“…I apologize.
There appears to have been an error in my system.” Mihono Bourbon lowered her head in a small, serious nod.
“Within Mihono Bourbon’s database, there is a record of a friend from the past.
He… passed away from esophageal cancer.
As a result, whenever Mihono Bourbon observes someone consuming something extremely hot, the emotional response system enters an elevated state.” “I frightened you just now, Kitano-san.
I am very sorry.” “…” Bourbon’s apology left Kitano speechless.
Seeing her lower her head so earnestly, guilt pricked at him a beat too late.
Maybe he had been too harsh.
And the illness she mentioned dragged him straight back to the loop he had spent with her.
A familiar diagnosis.
A phantom ache bloomed in his chest.
Esophageal cancer.
Yes.
In the loop where Kitano had been Mihono Bourbon’s trainer, that incurable disease had been the thing that forced him to restart.
Even now, Kitano had no idea why he had gotten it.
He had always lived a healthy life, and his body was stronger than most people’s.
As Bourbon’s trainer especially, he had made sure to stay in decent shape.
But life had a cruel sense of humor.
In every loop before that, he had never once developed that disease.
Then, in the one loop he shared with Mihono Bourbon, it took him.
He had not even lived long enough to see her run in the Kikuka Sho.
And now, hearing that illness from Bourbon’s own mouth, Kitano felt a quiet bitterness settle inside him.
He had never heard Bourbon talk about this before.
Maybe that meant he had not cared for her nearly enough back then.
“…Bourbon?
Could you pass me the miso soup?” “Mm?” The downcast Bourbon obediently handed him the bowl.
Under her gaze, Kitano tilted his head back and drank the entire bowl in one go.
Then he wiped his mouth and gave her a gentle smile.
“You were right.
It isn’t hot at all anymore.
This temperature is perfect.
It goes down easily, and now my stomach feels nice and warm.” “Thank you, Bourbon.” His smile softened.
“Don’t worry.
From now on, before I eat or drink anything hot, I’ll make sure to cool it down properly.” “…” Bourbon stared at the young man before her.
A face far too young.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Just as Kitano began wondering if he had said something wrong and needed to apologize properly, Bourbon’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“…You are welcome, Kitano-san.” “Mihono Bourbon’s joy value is increasing.
Current condition: excellent.
Affection toward Kitano-san has risen to ten percent.” That familiar data-reporting style… Hearing Bourbon speak like that filled Kitano with a strange nostalgia.
For a moment, it felt like he had returned to the days he had spent with her.
Compared to the time he had spent with his other Uma Musume, his time with Bourbon had been short.
But it was, without a doubt, one of the few memories he could look back on with a smile.
Then the cafeteria doors slammed open.
Before Kitano could even turn around, a sharp voice rang out from behind him, strained with barely suppressed anger.
“You two!
This is a public place!
Even if neither of you possesses first-rate manners, that is no excuse to flirt in the middle of the cafeteria!”