Today was the day of the Uma Musume Trainer Qualification Exam.
Saito Asuka stood outside the examination hall, repeatedly taking deep breaths.
Don't be nervous... don't be nervous...
The man patted his cheeks and shook his head.
Hadn't he already prepared to face this day? As long as he performed well, there would definitely be no problems...
"...How much longer are you going to stand here?"
Nakayama Megumi, who drove him here, gently kicked his thigh: "The exam is about to start, aren't you going in?"
"Megumi, do you think I can pass the certificate in one go?"
Saito Asuka, full of indecision, turned to Nakayama Megumi, who was standing beside him, for help: "...I'm so nervous now, what should I do?"
"...You're already standing here, and you're telling me you're nervous?"
Nakayama Megumi looked at her lover, who was staring at her nervously, her expression becoming increasingly helpless.
He had looked so relaxed on the way here, but why did he become more and more nervous after arriving?
"Alright, alright, don't think about all that nonsense."
Seeing Saito Asuka's solemn expression, as if facing a formidable enemy, Nakayama Megumi walked behind him and gently pushed him forward.
"If you don't go in soon, this exam will end with you 'absent'."
She looked at Saito Asuka, who turned his head to look at her, and then continued: "...Can you accept that result?"
...
Hearing Nakayama Megumi say that, the man finally stopped hesitating and obediently let her push him through the door.
"Good luck with the exam, I'll be waiting for you outside."
After giving Saito Asuka, who was standing inside the glass door, a cheer, Nakayama Megumi turned around without hesitation and walked towards the car parked under the tree.
Hmm... While he's taking the exam, I can also think about how the plot of my new book should develop.
Back in the car, Nakayama Megumi first turned on the air conditioner, then moved the seat back to make herself more comfortable.
"Haah..."
However, just as she began to think about the plot development in what she felt was the most comfortable position, she opened her lips and uncontrollably yawned.
Hmm...? Is it only one in the afternoon?
Nakayama Megumi, wiping away the physiological tears from the corners of her eyes, looked down at the time and realized it was only a little past one in the afternoon.
What... my nap time isn't over yet.
Nakayama Megumi, who thought it was already two or three in the afternoon, thought for a moment, then obediently closed her eyes.
Since that's the case... I'll just take a nap as usual and then get up.
...
...
Saito Asuka took his seat.
Looking at the computer screen with the words 'Please wait patiently for the exam to begin', Saito Asuka, once again dominated by nervousness, clearly felt his heart rate gradually accelerating.
...This habit of getting nervous when encountering important things really can't be changed.
The man smiled wryly and joked to himself in his heart.
But... I can't lose.
Saito Asuka closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.
After repeatedly doing this several times, until the crisp bell signaling the start of the exam rang, the man finally opened his eyes.
I have something to protect, so no one can stop me!
The man, with light dark circles under his eyes, grabbed the mouse and stared intently at the computer screen.
A mere Trainer qualification exam... watch me pass it in one go ah ah ah ah—!
Saito Asuka was fired up.
Let me see, the suitable distance for a long-distance Uma Musume is...
Saito Asuka chose the last option without hesitation.
The next question is... huh?
The man, seeing the second question, first paused, then, after filling in the answer, did not continue answering, but instead looked at the questions that followed.
I seem to have done all these questions?
Saito Asuka, who found that he could get the answer to every question immediately after reading it, felt an unexpected ecstasy.
Doing more questions really pays off!
At this moment, Saito Asuka, who deeply experienced what it means to 'write like a god', deeply understood the confident feeling that top students had during exams.
"I'm done."
...And the feeling of being in the spotlight when everyone's eyes were on him as he left the examination hall early.
"Megumi? Megumi?"
Saito Asuka, who walked out of the examination hall with a relaxed expression, walked to the car and saw Nakayama Megumi sleeping inside.
He knocked on the window, but when he found no reaction, Saito Asuka tried to pull the car door. When he found it wouldn't open, he could only take out his phone and call her.
"Hmm... haah..."
Nakayama Megumi, woken up by the phone ringing, first yawned sleepily, then rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone.
"Finished already?"
The moment she picked up her phone, Nakayama Megumi heard a knock on the door and looked over, only then realizing that Saito Asuka was standing outside the car.
She looked at the time displayed on her phone and blinked.
"Is the exam too difficult, so you chose to give up?"
"My first reaction when I left the examination hall early was that I gave up?"
Saito Asuka, opening the car door and sitting in the passenger seat, replied unhappily: "...Did you never consider that I handed in my paper early and came out because the exam questions were too simple?"
...
Nakayama Megumi frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her head under Saito Asuka's gaze.
"Can't imagine it at all."
"You... never mind."
The man originally wanted to say something more, but after remembering his student days, he sighed helplessly again.
"So, are we going back now?"
Nakayama Megumi asked, while buckling her seatbelt.
"No hurry."
The man shook his head, then adjusted the recline angle of the seat.
"Let's talk after you finish your nap and wake up."
He said this, then covered his mouth and yawned.
"...It's a good time for me to catch up on sleep too."
"Oh."
Nakayama Megumi nodded, then locked the car door again.
"Then... good afternoon."
...
"Hi~ Good afternoon~?"
When Saito Asuka opened his eyes again, he was back at Himeji Local Tresen Academy.
Seeing Saito Asuka sit up, Seiun Sky, who was about to leave the Director's Office, winked at him playfully: "Did you sleep well? Did you dream?"
"If you dreamed... did you see me in your dream?"
"..."
Saito Asuka didn't answer, just looked around.
"Where's Megumi? Where is she?"
Then, he asked Seiun Sky.
"If you ignore me, I'll be sad, you know?"
Seiun Sky said this first, but after a few seconds of eye contact with him, the Black-haired Horse Girl muttered softly and answered his question: "...Ms. Megumi went back after bringing you here, you know?"
"I see..."
Saito Asuka nodded knowingly, then remembered that he hadn't dealt with the documents he needed to handle today, so he got out of bed and walked towards the desk.
...Let's finish all the documents first.
"By the way, Trainer, you'd better go to bed early tonight, you know?"
But just as he sat down in the chair and picked up a pen to sign his name on the first document, he suddenly heard Seiun Sky say this to him.
"What's wrong?"
Saito Asuka was stunned when he heard this, then looked up at the Black-haired Horse Girl who had already walked to the door: "...Why did you suddenly say that?"
"Well... because when Ms. Megumi left, I heard her say, 'I'll come to see you at seven tomorrow morning.'"
Seiun Sky, opening the door, imitated Nakayama Megumi's tone.
...Megumi is coming tomorrow morning?
Saito Asuka, who had planned to stay up late, looked at the pile of documents in front of him, a troubled expression on his face.
But... if I don't stay up late, I won't be able to finish these documents, right?
"Trainer, I'm going back first, okay?"
As the man was caught in a dilemma, Seiun Sky opened the wooden door and left the room.
"…I understand."
Saito Asuka sighed, then gave his answer.