After tying up the last loose end, Yayoi Natural could finally say goodbye to that whole mess from her past.
Mom's been in such a good mood ever since she got back…
Watching Yayoi Natural hum to herself, Mochizuki figured as much.
Across from her, Symboli Sirius—wedged between Chiyono O and Mr. C.B., filling in for Maruzensky's shift—took a sip of barley tea.
Sirius knew what Yayoi Natural had run into over in Okinawa.
But just like before…
There was no way she could've known in time.
So all she could do was sit here and drink tea.
Still, when Sirius tilted her head slightly, she saw Mr. C.B. beside her—the one who'd traded shifts with Maruzensky.
Unlike Sirius, Mr. C.B. had a drink cradled in her arms. "Natural?"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Did you figure it out?"
Mr. C.B. propped her cheek on one hand as she asked.
"I guess you could say I did," Yayoi Natural replied. "Though it's not exactly good news."
Her tone was full of resignation. Clearly, Yayoi Natural wasn't happy with that "truth."
Hearing that, Mr. C.B. gently swirled her cup, ice clinking, then called again, "Natural?"
"Yeah?"
"Valentine's Day is coming up. February fourteenth."
Mr. C.B. looked straight at her.
As the one who always pushed first, what she wanted to say couldn't have been more obvious.
But—
"Um, Yayoi-nee!"
At Chiyono O's sudden shout, Yayoi Natural turned to her.
Chiyono O's face was bright red. She couldn't meet Yayoi Natural's eyes. "That day… can you go out with me?"
"Mm, sure."
Yayoi Natural answered casually, even shifting her gaze away like it was nothing.
Mr. C.B., watching Yayoi Natural get booked first, turned to Chiyono O. "You—"
She was just about to raise her voice when Yayoi Natural's phone rang, cutting her off.
At the ringtone, Mr. C.B. frowned and slumped back into her seat.
Seeing that, Yayoi Natural only smiled, then picked up the call.
"Hello. This is Yayoi Natural."
"Hello—am I speaking with Yayoi-san? My name is Kashimoto Riko. There's something we need to confirm with you."
"Ah… alright. What is it?"
"It concerns the kidnapping incident you were involved in. We'd like to take your statement for the record."
The moment she heard that, Yayoi Natural remembered what this was about.
She glanced at Mr. C.B.—still pouting in a silent standoff with Chiyono O—then replied, "Okay. When should I come in?"
"Please come to Tracen Academy tomorrow."
"Alright. Understood."
While she listened, Kashimoto Riko—still seated in her chair—lifted her eyes to the person across from her.
Only then did she hang up.
After ending the call, Kashimoto Riko spoke. "It's rare. An Umamusume this far gone with possessiveness, and she still turns herself in."
Across from her, Mejiro Ramonu—hair no longer tied as tightly as usual—glanced at the dark phone screen, then looked back at Kashimoto Riko.
"How should I put it…"
Remembering what Rudolf had once told her, Mejiro Ramonu thought for a few seconds before continuing.
"Excessive possessiveness can lead to consequences you can't take back. I don't want to lock someone in a basement again… and only realize it's too late after I've already pushed them into something warped."
"At first I only wanted to use someone else to ask that person what I really am to her," she added, her voice light in a way that didn't reach her eyes. "But someone told me to come find you, and… well. You already know the rest."
She picked up the pen lying nearby and, without elaborating further, looked at the paperwork on the desk.
"This is what I think it is, right?"
"Yes. A written confession based on what you told us."
"Then I'd better read it properly."
Mejiro Ramonu set the pen down and lifted the printed pages.
"Kidnapping. Intentional injury. Unlawful confinement. Illegal restriction of personal freedom. Psychological harm to the victim…"
After rattling off the long list, she looked up. "This looks… incredibly unprofessional."
"It can't be helped," Kashimoto Riko said. "Normal law doesn't really work on Umamusume, and ordinary detention doesn't work either. When it's a 'kept in a basement' case, this is basically how it gets handled."
She sounded exhausted. Clearly, she found the authorities' half-measures disgusting, too.
But in Japan, there wasn't much of a solution, and Kashimoto Riko could only grit her teeth and handle cases like this.
"True," Mejiro Ramonu said. "With the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries backing you, most Umamusume get off lightly no matter what they do… sometimes it's just ignored altogether."
She turned her head toward Kashimoto Riko.
"So… if I hadn't turned myself in, even if you knew about it, your hands would've been tied?"
Mejiro Ramonu was frighteningly sharp in certain ways.
And that sharpness made Kashimoto Riko sigh as she nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. So can you shut up now?"
She really was at her wits' end with how hard it was to deal with Umamusume, and it showed.
Mejiro Ramonu only picked up the pen again and wrote her name on the confession.
"Oh, right. If I sign this, then once you confirm the details with the victim… that's it?"
"That's correct. Or do you have an issue with the decision of life imprisonment?"
"It's not that I object," Mejiro Ramonu said. "Once possessiveness is provoked, it's hard to shove it back in the cage. So even if the outcome is 'minor,' it just turns into a different sentence in the end, right?"
She paused mid-sentence, remembering Yayoi Natural's trembling.
After a few seconds of silence, she continued, "No… never mind."
Mejiro Ramonu looked off to the side. "This place was built by Rudolf, wasn't it?"
"Yes. More accurately, Rudolf proposed it, and Chairwoman Akikawa approved it after consideration. I'm not a fan of it personally, but as a facility to supervise Umamusume with possessiveness issues… it needed to exist."
Kashimoto Riko's answer made Mejiro Ramonu draw in a slow breath.
Then she raised her hands slightly—special restraints clinking at her wrists.
"So next you'll take me where I belong. Like… a five-square-meter room sealed shut with a solid steel door?"
"Someone will take you in a moment," Kashimoto Riko said. "And it's not just the door—there are steel plates embedded in the walls, more than five centimeters thick."
Kashimoto Riko stood as she spoke, then added, "Humans can't fight Umamusume."
Watching her turn to leave, Mejiro Ramonu thought for a second, then called out,
"Uh… good luck with work?"
"In my line of work," Kashimoto Riko replied without turning back, "I'd really prefer things to be easier. I do like Umamusume, you know."
---
T/N: WHATTT SHE'S GETTING LOCKED AWAY FOR LIFE?? HOLY SHIT
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