"What, so it was because of such a small thing."
During their break, after learning the other half of why Seiun Sky had been so listless that morning from her, Saito Asuka was stunned, then burst into a wry laugh: "...Seeing you like that this morning, I thought you had stayed up all night reading during the weekend break."
"What kind of cat do you want to raise? I'll help you find one."
"Eh? Trainer, you have a way?"
Hearing Saito Asuka's words, Seiun Sky blinked in surprise.
On Saturday morning, after her morning training, she had wandered around for a while but couldn't find a pet shop.
After that, because the sun came out, she retreated into her air-conditioned room and took out her phone to type 'pet shop' into the navigation map.
Only then did she realize that the nearest pet shop was more than ten kilometers away from her home!
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I do."
The man nodded, then confidently patted his chest: "...I have a friend who owns a pet shop."
"Oh, oh...I see."
Seiun Sky nodded understandingly, then eagerly asked: "Trainer, Trainer, can I go with you to see?"
"Go with you to see? What's there to see at a pet shop?"
"Of course, because I'm very curious."
Seiun Sky replied with a smile: "...And since I decided I want to raise a cat, of course, I should be the one to bring it home!"
"Oh, come on, just let me go with you to see, okay? Please?"
"Can I really say no?"
Saito Asuka, meeting Seiun Sky's expectant eyes as she clasped her hands together, scratched his head, then sighed helplessly: "...No time like the present. After training this afternoon, let's go to his shop to take a look."
"Really?! Yay!"
Seiun Sky's eyes lit up: "What all do they have there? Do they have turtles? Do they have hamsters? Do they have..."
"...He runs a pet shop, not a zoo!"
Finally, Seiun Sky's string of questions was interrupted by a bewildered Saito Asuka with this sentence: "Also...break time is over, hurry up and continue today's training!"
"Eh...just one more question, please?"
"You'll know when I take you there!"
...
"Wow..."
In the afternoon, after all of today's training was completed, Saito Asuka kept his promise and drove Seiun Sky to his friend's pet shop.
Looking up and staring at the shop name above the main entrance for a while, Seiun Sky then turned her head to look at the neighboring pet shop.
...It was simply dwarfed in comparison.
"What are you still standing there for?"
Saito Asuka, who had already pulled open the glass door, looked at Seiun Sky, who was standing dumbfounded behind him, and urged: "Come in quickly."
"Oh, oh...Coming, coming."
Seiun Sky, coming back to her senses, quickly followed, squeezing through the gap in the door that the man had opened into the pet shop.
Entering the pet shop, Seiun Sky looked around, seeing pet food and pet toys displayed around the hall.
...It was unexpectedly spacious.
Seiun Sky, who had expected to see many pet dogs and cats upon entering, finally focused her gaze on a door not far away.
"Yo ~ Is your boss in?"
Saito Asuka skillfully walked to the front desk and greeted the clerk who had stood up to welcome them upon their entry.
"Hmm,"
The clerk, seeing the man approach, nodded and then pointed a finger behind him.
Saito Asuka, understanding tacitly, made an 'ok' gesture with his hand and then led Seiun Sky into the middle aisle.
The moment the door opened, the sounds of cats and dogs immediately filled her ears.
Upon seeing Saito Asuka and Seiun Sky enter the room, the pets placed in this room began to bark and meow in unison.
For a moment, the sounds of cats and dogs mixed together.
"How is it you, Aogami."
The man, peeking out from what looked like a shower room for pets, looked at Saito Asuka, who was smiling and waving at him, and sighed helplessly: "...What do you want this time, Aogami?"
"Can't I just want to catch up with an old friend after a long time?"
The man replied with a grin.
"Oh, please, you're a busy person. You'd specially make time to come here just to chat with me?"
The man, walking out of the shower room, asked while taking off his gloves: "Tell me, what is it this time?"
"Alright, alright, I'll get straight to the point."
Saito Asuka shrugged: "I want to buy a cat from you."
"...What did you say?"
The man, who hadn't expected the other party to say this, was suddenly stunned, then an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
Isn't Aogami busy pulling the Himeji Tracen Academy, which is on the verge of collapse, back from the brink? Why is she suddenly coming to me saying she wants to raise a cat?
...Is she giving up because of too much stress?
"Oh, let me correct what I said."
Seeing his friend staring at him suspiciously, Saito Asuka moved a step to the side, revealing the Black-haired Horse Girl behind him, who was teasing a kitten through a glass partition.
"She wants to raise a cat, so I brought her over."
"She?"
The man stared at Seiun Sky's profile for a moment, then his gaze moved upwards, stopping at the pair of ears on top of her head.
Wait, isn't this an Uma Musume?
Oh...I see, I understand.
"To briefly introduce her, she is Seiun Sky, the only new student at our Himeji Tracen Academy this year."
Just as the man recognized Seiun Sky's identity as an Uma Musume and thought he understood everything, Saito Asuka's next words made him pause again.
"...At the same time, she is also the only active Uma Musume at our Himeji Tracen Academy."
An active Uma Musume, which means...
She has already participated in a debut race?!
"Wait, wait, wait, when did all this happen?"
The man interrupted Saito Asuka, who was about to continue: "...How come I don't know anything?"
"The opening dates for Teresen Academy are all unified, aren't they?"
Saito Asuka replied: "As for the debut race...that was just last week."
"Oh, come on, aren't you going to get me a ticket and invite me to watch the race with you?"
The man elbowed Saito Asuka's waist and asked with a smile.
"Well, I saw you still run a pet shop, so I figured you wouldn't have time to watch the race, which is why I didn't contact you."
Saito Asuka raised her hand and playfully slapped her friend's arm away.
"Oh, please, Aogami, you definitely knew I had two new people here."
The man rolled his eyes at her, then walked around her and approached Seiun Sky.
"So, my beautiful Uma Musume, what breed of cat would you like?"