Finally, Zero decided to entrust Air Groove and Chaza to Oguri Cap.
Looking at Chaza and Suko being carried away with resentful expressions, Zero felt no emotion, and even wanted to laugh.
There was truly nothing to be done about Rice Shower. According to her, her roommate, a book-loving Uma Musume named Desert Hero, might be startled by her appearance, so Zero allowed Rice Shower to stay here for the next few days.
Additionally, Rice Shower's current state made physical training almost impossible. After all, she would eventually change back, so she could only do intellectual training there.
Of course, Special Week, who wanted to stay, was still taken away.
At least, if Suzuka was called over when Special Week started to act spoiled, Special Week would still obey.
"Alright, A Mi, I've finished washing. You go take a bath too, and we can play later." Zero said as she walked out of the bathroom, wiping her head.
"Oh~" Rice Shower obediently put down the game controller.
Zero suddenly thought it would be quite nice to have a well-behaved younger sister like Rice Shower.
In any case, Rice Shower went into the bathroom. Fortunately, Oguri Cap had the foresight to buy temporary change of clothes.
Hmm, wait a minute... Rice Shower = Rice taking a bath... and now A Mi is in her Rice state... still taking a bath... Pfft www
No www, if this continues, I'll turn into Rudolph too. Can't laugh!
"Um... Onee-sama, could you help A Mi wash her hair?" Just as Zero was about to read some strange documents, Rice Shower suddenly poked her head out of the bathroom.
Somehow, as she grew, her hair also became longer. Although her hair was already long, its current length made it quite difficult to manage alone.
"You go back in, don't catch a cold. I'll change." Seeing Rice Shower's wet head pop out, Zero immediately pushed her head back in.
Emmmmm, indeed, a swimsuit is the most convenient.
Thinking this, Zero changed into her academy one-piece swimsuit.
Unfortunately, her chest still only had a slight bulge.
Rice Shower was currently sitting obediently on a small stool, waiting for Zero to come in. Hearing the door open, she also turned her head to confirm who it was.
However, even for an Uma Musume, some laws are unbreakable, such as turning one's head 180 degrees to look behind. So her body inevitably turned a bit, and this caused Zero to see the side of Rice Shower's rice dumpling.
It even bounced a few times due to the momentum of turning.
To be honest, while she wouldn't pay too much attention to it, when she actually saw it, Zero felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if something had pricked it.
"Alright, turn around." Picking up the shampoo from the floor, Zero walked behind Rice Shower.
"Oh."
Still very obedient, but the current Rice Shower truly no longer felt like a little sister.
She was almost 170 cm tall.
If there was one major difference between the grown-up Rice Shower and Oguri Cap, who had a similar build, it would probably be her legs.
Oguri Cap's legs were of the more voluptuous type, while Rice Shower's... even from behind, Zero could roughly discern those perfect lines.
Her thighs were just right, neither fat nor thin, and long. Her slender waist, coupled with her perky backside, made for a truly devilish figure. If Rice Shower were a charming, Internet celebrity-type child like her internet friend, this appearance would definitely be a Trainer-terminator.
"Mew!?!" Rice Shower suddenly shrieked.
"Ah, sorry!" Zero quickly lifted her foot.
Preoccupied with admiring the other's figure, she accidentally stepped on her tail.
"No... it's fine." Rice Shower was also very nervous at this moment.
Zero's gaze, which had just been sizing her up, had naturally been noticed, and Rice Shower's heart was now filled with various complex emotions.
As mentioned before, if asked about her feelings for Zero, it was definitely love, mixed with admiration, worship, and dependence. This was also why she called her Onee-sama.
However, she was very useless and couldn't do anything. She could only hope to offer some comfort to the other person as a younger sister, and then perform better in training to make the other person worry less.
She had done all of that, but... there was still one thing she hadn't anticipated.
She had done very well, but what she hadn't expected was that an unexpected person had cut in line.
Tokai Teio.
She knew that Zero was always so gentle with everyone, providing care from training to daily life.
But if possible, she wished Zero's gaze would linger on her a little longer.
Truly, just a little. Just like now, after her dear Onee-sama finished giving everyone massages, she even specifically washed her hair, and that made her very content.
Because her roommate Desert Hero enjoyed reading, she often read various books at her recommendation, ranging from simple light novels to literary works.
She also wanted to openly express her feelings like some heroines in books, but she couldn't.
She could sense everyone else's feelings for Zero, and thus didn't dare to make the first move.
She wanted to be a bad child, but she didn't dare to be.
Just like this, occasionally having a little more contact, she was satisfied.
Just this much was enough.
And today, the medicine Air Groove said could increase her feminine charm directly hit her heart.
If A Mi could become more feminine, would Onee-sama's gaze linger on her more?
So, despite knowing that Air Groove's potion was suspicious, she still chose to drink it. Unfortunately, the effect only transformed her into the appearance she would have without her full 'Uma Musume' form. As for 'charm,' she herself wasn't sure if it had increased.
She had even thought she could become like Maruzensky-senpai... "Huh?" The hand on her head suddenly stopped, and Rice Shower made a questioning sound.
"Huh what huh www, close your eyes and mouth properly." Seeing Rice Shower in a daze, Zero playfully patted her little head with her foamy hand.
"Mmph!" Hearing Zero's words, Rice Shower immediately complied, taking a deep breath before tightly closing her eyes and holding her breath.
"It's not that serious, what are you doing, A Mi www" Zero was amused by Rice Shower's reaction.
Knowing that she had overreacted due to nervousness, Rice Shower decided to pretend not to hear and continued to hold her breath with her eyes closed.
Worried that the child would harm herself by holding her breath, Zero quickly used the showerhead to rinse the foam from her head.
Because their ears are on top of their heads, washing an Uma Musume's hair is actually quite troublesome, and with the ears also needing to be washed, getting water in them feels really uncomfortable.
However, she was wearing waterproof ear covers here, and she could dry her ears herself later, so Zero didn't need to worry.
Soon, the foam was rinsed off, and the task was mostly complete, but... "I'm sorry, Onee-sama!" Rice Shower apologized with a flustered expression.
"It's fine, it just means washing it again." Zero indicated that she hadn't even said anything, so why was she panicking?
After being rinsed, the other party instinctively shook her head, and Zero, who was behind her, immediately got drenched. Fortunately, she had come in wearing a swimsuit.
However, it was just a quick rinse with water, but Rice Shower's reaction was a bit too exaggerated.
"But..."
"Alright, hurry up and take a bath. Although it's kept at a constant temperature, it's not good to leave it for too long."
This was also why Zero bathed in her own bathroom instead of the large public bath downstairs.
The large public bath required continuous heating due to its size, while the bathtub in her bathroom had black technology for constant temperature. Also, bathing alone in a large public bath felt strangely empty.
"Oh..."
Strange, does this child seem a little disappointed?
Well, I'll feed her something later.
After finishing her bath early, Zero dried herself and made a simple rice pudding, as a play on Rice Shower's name.
However, it would still be a while before they could eat it, so the two were currently playing a game.
"By the way, A Mi, what are you planning to do tonight? Guest room or sleep together?" Given that everyone generally liked to cuddle her, Zero habitually asked this question.
"Eh!? S-sleep together!?" Rice Shower herself was startled.
"Mm, if you don't want to, there's also a guest room, you know? If you have any special preferences for the sofa, you can sleep there too, but remember to cover yourself with a blanket."
"No... sleeping together is fine!" This... is this really a scenario I can unlock by paying?
Rice Shower, who occasionally stayed up late, was now for the first time hoping that sleepiness would arrive quickly.
Pretending to sleep was impossible; her clumsy acting would be seen through instantly.
However, Rice Shower hadn't considered one thing: the person next to her was also someone who occasionally stayed up late.
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