"...Finally home."
Seiun Sky let out a long sigh of relief, dumping all the things people had given her along the way onto the living room table.
"These things... can they just be left here?"
Mejiro Ardan, who followed Seiun Sky into the room, asked: "...Isn't there a special cabinet or something for them?"
"There's no such thing."
Seiun Sky continued: "You've worked hard. What would you like to drink? I'll get it for you from the kitchen."
"...Any drink is fine for me."
Mejiro Ardan replied: "More importantly, can I sit on the sofa in your house for a while?"
"Mhm, of course you can~?"
The Black-haired Uma Musume smiled and nodded: "...But this feeling is really novel!"
"Novel?"
"Yes, novel."
Seiun Sky explained: "After all, this is the first time an Uma Musume has come into my house!"
First time... an Uma Musume came into her house...
Hearing Seiun Sky say this, Mejiro Ardan suddenly remembered what the middle-aged man named 'Okumiya Takumi' had told her earlier.
Although it wasn't impossible for humans to give birth to an Uma Musume, such cases were extremely rare.
Could it be that Seiun Sky was one of these rare examples?
Driven by curiosity, Mejiro Ardan looked at the Black-haired Uma Musume walking out of the kitchen and asked, "Seiun Sky... are both of your parents human?"
"Why are you suddenly asking that?"
Seiun Sky, who was about to place the drink she was holding in front of Mejiro Ardan, paused, then showed a puzzled expression: "Is it because of what Uncle Okumiya said?"
"Mhm... so I was a little curious."
The Blue-haired Horse Girl nodded honestly: "It's rare for humans to give birth to an Uma Musume, so I wanted to ask you."
"Oh, I see."
Seiun Sky nodded understandingly, but soon, she shook her head again under Mejiro Ardan's gaze.
"It's a pity, though, I don't know if my parents were human or Uma Musume."
"...I'm sorry, I was too curious."
Mejiro Ardan stared blankly at the Black-haired Horse Girl who walked over and sat beside her. After a short silence, she apologized to her: "I shouldn't have asked that question."
"Hm?"
Hearing Mejiro Ardan's sudden apology, Seiun Sky turned her head, looking a bit confused.
But she quickly reacted and, in turn, began to comfort Mejiro Ardan.
"It's okay, I'm already used to it."
Seiun Sky waved her hand, a look of indifference on her face: "Al Dan, you don't need to apologize either."
However, she didn't know that her actions and words were interpreted in a completely different way by the other party.
...Seiun Sky, she actually cares a lot about this, doesn't she?
Mejiro Ardan, who imagined the Black-haired Horse Girl's actions and words as a forced nonchalance, thought to herself.
Forced to live alone in this world from a young age, Seiun Sky must have had a very hard time, right?
If she hadn't met the people on this street, then the Black-haired Horse Girl named 'Seiun Sky' wouldn't be here, would she?
Seiun Sky, you are actually... very lonely, aren't you?
"...Seiun Sky, can I call you by your first name?"
"Hm? Of course!"
The Black-haired Horse Girl, who had just chugged her iced drink, replied with a smile: "Rather, I'd be very happy to be called by my first name by you!"
"If a pretty girl I like calls me by my first name, I'd be very happy!"
"Then I'll just call you Fūga."
With permission, Mejiro Ardan unconsciously relaxed her tightly clenched hands.
...Although she wasn't without friends and wasn't considered a recluse by others, due to frequent injuries and hospitalizations since childhood, she missed many selection races, training times, and opportunities to make friends.
Even because of her body, as fragile as glass, diagnosed by doctors as 'unable to compete,' she could only undergo low-intensity training, having to pursue "maximum effect with minimum efficiency."
But... why?
She looked at the Black-haired Horse Girl sitting beside her, thinking with a puzzled expression.
...When she was with this child, she felt a warmth in her body, like basking in the winter sun.
"Happy times are always so short."
While Mejiro Ardan was still thinking, Seiun Sky looked up at the clock, then a slightly dejected smile appeared on her face: "...Whenever the time for farewell comes, it always makes me miss the good times we had together."
"Hm...? Fūga, are you trying to send me away already?"
Mejiro Ardan, hearing Seiun Sky's words, was stunned, and after taking a few seconds to understand the meaning of the sentence, Mejiro Ardan asked in surprise: "...After helping you move all your things here, am I no longer of value?"
"No, no, Al Dan, didn't you come here to play with your sisters?"
Seiun Sky waved her hands: "So I was thinking, maybe they're worried about you right now, that's why I said..."
"Oh, I see."
Hearing Seiun Sky's explanation, Mejiro Ardan understood: "When I asked you if you needed help, I had already sent them a message."
Mejiro Ardan said: "So... they all know I'm with Fūga now."
"So I've already been remembered by four beautiful girls?"
Seiun Sky clapped her hands, asking in surprise.
"..."
Mejiro Ardan was momentarily speechless.
...Indeed, it's a bit hard to keep up with this child's thought process.
"By the way, Fūga, which school are you attending now?"
Mejiro Ardan asked casually.
"Hm? I'm currently attending Himeji Tracen Academy."
Then, what Seiun Sky said made Mejiro Ardan freeze.
"Himeji Tracen? Isn't that academy about to close down?"
"Wow~? Is that news already known to everyone?"
Seiun Sky's right hand, with fingers spread, rested on her lips.
"You didn't know? This news has been out for a while, hasn't it?"
Mejiro Ardan looked at the Black-haired Horse Girl beside her, asking with a puzzled expression: "...Didn't you know when you chose the school?"
"..."
Seiun Sky silently averted her gaze.
...At the time, she chose Himeji Tracen Academy simply because she felt it was the closest school to her home, which would save a lot of time when going home after school or on weekends.
That's why she decided to enroll after only understanding a brief summary of Himeji Tracen Academy's information.
Thinking about it carefully... if she had checked other websites for the current situation of Himeji Tracen Academy back then, this 'savior' in the making wouldn't have fallen to her, would it?
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