Excellent Quality had spent the most comfortable night of her life so far.
However, for Kagura, who was sleeping in the same bed with her, the night was not so comfortable. Last night, just as she was about to fall asleep, a sleeping Excellent Quality suddenly wrapped around her and hugged her tightly, jarring her awake for a while. Then, when she woke up this morning, she found herself sleeping on her side, with Soshi still clinging to her back like a koala.
'Is Soshi trying to practice a chokehold in her dreams?! Seriously…'
"Soshi… wake up…"
In this position, Kagura couldn't move. She had to speak up to wake Excellent Quality, who was still clinging to her. She was thankful she had changed into pajamas before bed last night, and wasn't sleeping in her miko outfit.
"So fragrant… Hmm hmm…?"
A groggy Excellent Quality stirred at Kagura's voice. Kagura initially thought she was waking up, but she only pressed forward. Kagura had been lying on her side, and with Soshi's movement, Kagura was completely pressed beneath her, her shoulders pinned down by Excellent Quality.
'What the heck… Weren't you going to get up!?'
Kagura raised her hand to try and push Excellent Quality off, but she didn't know if Excellent Quality was dreaming of something delicious. Kagura, who wasn't as strong as Excellent Quality, pushed a few times but couldn't move her at all. Excellent Quality had a clear advantage over her in both size and strength.
Excellent Quality, as if she had found something delicious, pinned Kagura down, then leaned over close to Kagura's neck, groggily opened her mouth, extended her little tongue for a lick, and then proceeded to bite Kagura's neck.
"Ow!!! Soshi, don't bite me like I'm food!!!"
Tears welled up in Kagura's eyes from the pain. Stimulated by Excellent Quality, Kagura instinctively jolted, and Excellent Quality, hit so suddenly, also woke up:
"radish cake… Eh… Eh?!"
Opening her eyes and seeing Kagura, teary-eyed and pinned beneath her, the newly awakened Excellent Quality felt like her CPU capacity wasn't quite enough… "I am so, so sorry!!"
Excellent Quality prostrated herself on the floor, bowing deeply to Kagura, who was still changing clothes on the bed, to apologize.
"Sigh… Soshi, with your sleeping habits, if I ever have to sleep with you again, I'll have to tie you up. Otherwise, I'm genuinely afraid you'll get hungry and start gnawing on me."
"I… I never expected this. I never used to do this when I slept before…"
Buttoning up her clothes and putting on her socks, Kagura then hopped off the bed and put on her shoes. Seeing Excellent Quality still prostrate on the floor, not daring to get up, she sighed helplessly, walked over, and pulled Excellent Quality to her feet.
"Alright, alright, stop lying there. I'm not that bothered by it, but you really need to find a way to fix your sleeping habits. What if you sleepwalk and go gnaw on your Roommate?"
"But I've never gnawed on my Roommate before… Today is the first time I've even known I had this problem…"
Excellent Quality also felt bewildered. She had lived with her Roommate for so long, and her Roommate had never mentioned this problem, even complimenting her on her good sleeping posture and quietness when she slept. Why did this happen today?
"By the way, Kagura, you're still off today, right? Why are you carrying a small bag? And these clothes… they don't look like what you usually wear. Are you going to do something very important?"
Seeing Kagura getting ready, dressed unusually formally, as if she was about to go out, Excellent Quality couldn't help but ask curiously.
"The server I met yesterday, Muteki, just sent me an invitation. She said her senior wants to invite me somewhere."
"Miss Server's senior? To a place? Can I come along?"
"The other party wants me to go alone, so… Soshi, I can't take you with me."
"Eh? You just met, and they want you to go alone? Kagura, you need to be careful! What if they have bad intentions? You really should take me with you!"
Excellent Quality felt the other party sounded very suspicious and insisted on going along.
"…No, you shouldn't have to worry about that. I know her senior and her senior's family. Her senior invited me to their home as a guest. You should have heard of her; her senior is the young lady of the Mejiro Family."
Early this morning, Kagura received a message from Muteki. The other party invited her, asking if she had time today. The Mejiro Family was holding a banquet and wanted to invite Kagura, saying they wished to repay her for her previous help to Mejiro Al Dan.
"The Mejiro Family? Is it that prominent family?"
"Yes, they've invited me a few times already. It would be a bit impolite if I didn't go. I also don't know when I'll be back, so, I'll most likely not be at school today. Remember to eat on time."
As she spoke, Kagura stood on tiptoe and patted Excellent Quality's head, reminding her to eat and train on time. Excellent Quality, who had been about to say something else, fell silent, holding back her words.
After dropping Excellent Quality off at her dorm, Kagura came down from the dorm building. Fuji Kiseki at the entrance greeted Kagura and asked why there had been such a loud commotion in her room earlier. Kagura simply explained that she had been startled by a cockroach that appeared, and it was nothing serious.
Walking out of the dorm building, she put on her hat. Seeing that the sky was still a bit cloudy, Kagura confirmed she had an umbrella in her bag. Then, she took out her phone, just about to contact Muteki, when she suddenly saw a new deposit notification on her bank card, and the amount was quite large.
'What's going on? I don't think today is payday, is it?'
Feeling a bit bewildered, Kagura clicked on the details to see where this money came from. She looked at the transfer memo, which read "Support Musume's Race Prize Money Share."
'Oh right, this is the prize money share. When I signed the contract, it mentioned that Support Musume get 5%… But is 5% really that much? Is the prize money for this level of race that high?'
It was also at this moment that Kagura saw a text message pop up. The sender was Rudolph Symbol.
[Kagura, you should have just received a sum of money. According to regulations, both Trainers and Support Musume receive a share from the race prize money. The Trainer's portion has already been sent; this part is yours.]
— Oh, not bad! See, I told you racing is very profitable!
Eclipse's praise flashed across the screen.
Quickly typing a thank you message and sending it back to Rudolph Symbol, Kagura felt her previously somewhat nervous mood relax considerably.
She adjusted the hat on her head, informed the Miss Wudi at the school gate that she was leaving, and as the gate opened, Kagura saw someone who surprised her.
"Miss Takamine?"
The black-haired Uma Musume, Mejiro Takamine, seemed to have been waiting at the school gate for a while. Seeing Kagura emerge, she walked up and greeted her:
"Good morning, Kagura. I'm glad you accepted the invitation."
"Good morning, Miss Takamine. I merely lent a helping hand; I am deeply honored to receive an invitation from the Mejiro Family."
Kagura bowed slightly, a standard maid's curtsy, which made Mejiro Takamine raise an eyebrow before quickly returning to her normal expression:
"You're too modest. If everyone could offer a helping hand like Kagura, this world would surely be better... But enough of that, come, follow me."
"Alright."
Kagura nodded and followed Mejiro Takamine into the luxurious private car that had been parked at the school gate. She had a subtle feeling that Mejiro Takamine's gaze, as she looked at her, seemed to hold a hint of... satisfaction?
'Why do I have such a strange feeling...'
She couldn't help but doubt if her decision to accept the Mejiro Family's invitation to the banquet was correct..
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