After reviewing her finances, Yayoi Natural completely abandoned the idea of buying furniture.
Compared to furniture, checking the utilities was her priority. If she planned to live here, natural gas, electricity, and running water were necessities.
Once she confirmed everything was working, Natural glanced toward the freezer.
After a second of hesitation, she quickly turned away. "There's no way there'd be anything in there."
Saying this, Natural shifted her gaze toward the front door. "Hmm, right now it's…"
The wall clock chimed softly, signaling it was already 3 PM. Mochizuki would return home in about an hour.
Thinking this, Natural briefly scanned the shop's interior before making her decision.
"I'll go buy groceries first. Cleaning can wait."
Just as she stood up, however, the door suddenly opened.
"Sorry, we're not open tod—"
"It's just us. You've just returned, so you must have a lot to prepare, right?" Maruzensky smiled, waving the grocery bags in her hands. "We brought everything you need!"
"I haven't had Natural's cooking in forever! It's alright if we keep coming over, right?"
Behind Maruzensky was Mr. C.B., who had apparently learned of Natural's return from her friend.
"Yayoi-san, need any help?"
After setting the grocery bags down in front of Natural, Sakura Chiyono O entered last and asked.
Natural didn't refuse Chiyono O's offer.
Instead, she gently smiled. "Chiyono O, could you pick up Mochizuki for me?"
"Eh? Mochizuki's back too?"
"Yeah, she's with me. Though I already told her how to get home, I'm still a bit worried. Could you help me?"
"Oh, sure! I'll go right now!"
"She's at XX Elementary. School ends in about half an hour. After dismissal, she'll probably—ah, never mind, I'll just message her." Saying this, Natural took out her phone, only to see Maruzensky and Mr. C.B. both staring at her.
Natural obviously knew what they wanted to ask, but she couldn't discuss it openly in front of Chiyono O.
She quickly sent Mochizuki a message, then turned back to Chiyono O. "Bring Mochizuki back safely, Chiyono O-chan."
"Okay!"
Nodding, Chiyono O hurried out of the shop.
After Chiyono O left, Natural finally turned to Maruzensky and Mr. C.B.
"That elementary school… it's the one Teio attends, isn't it?"
Maruzensky voiced the question she'd been holding back.
"Yeah. I want Mochizuki to interact more with Teio. That way, I can occasionally see her myself and build some familiarity. When I eventually tell her I'm her mother, it won't come as a shock."
After explaining this, Natural opened the grocery bags Maruzensky and Mr. C.B. had brought…
"Why is it all meat?!"
"Sorry!"
"Sorry!"
Exactly like their apologies from years ago.
This time, Natural merely sighed helplessly at the apologetic pair, then opened the bag Chiyono O had brought.
Unlike Maruzensky and Mr. C.B., Chiyono O had bought plenty of vegetables.
Seeing that there were finally vegetables, Natural sighed deeply again. "Honestly, you two. It's been years, and neither of you has improved even a little."
Her voice held mild exasperation.
"It's because C.B.-san distracted me."
Maruzensky immediately shifted blame faster than Mr. C.B. could react.
"It wasn't—"
"Alright, stop blaming each other!" Natural interrupted before their excuses escalated. She glanced at the vegetables, then continued, "You two can at least help clean the dining table."
As she spoke, Natural tossed cleaning cloths toward Maruzensky and Mr. C.B.
They glanced at each other briefly, then reluctantly picked up the cloths.
"Yes, ma'am~" they replied simultaneously, defeated.
...
"Oh, I see. So your mom arranged someone to pick you up, Mochizuki?"
"Yeah, something like that. Since it's my first day here, I guess she's worried I might get lost."
Facing Teio's question, Mochizuki answered honestly. "But aren't you going home yet, Teio? Don't you have training after school?"
"How'd you know I have training?"
"I read about it in books." Mochizuki smiled at her classmate. After a pause, she softly continued, "But, being an Uma Musume…"
"What's wrong?"
"My mom's an Uma Musume too, actually."
"Eh?!"
"Oh, it's no big deal. Nowadays, an Uma Musume being a mom isn't exactly rare." Saying this, Mochizuki casually glanced at the smartphone lying on the desk.
The clock on the lock screen showed it was already ten minutes past dismissal.
Noticing this, Mochizuki turned back to Teio. "Aren't you leaving yet, Teio?"
"Huh? Oh right, I have to go." Teio quickly began packing her schoolbag. "When I'm talking with you, Mochizuki, it feels like time flies!"
"I feel the same way. And…" Mochizuki smiled again before continuing, "I really like talking with you."
"Then let's continue tomorrow!"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Mochizuki waved gently in farewell.
After Teio left, Mochizuki picked up her smartphone. "Made a friend on my first day, huh. But it seems like Uma Musume all have pretty tough lives. The Symboli Family, Teio… everyone's already training at our age."
"Come to think of it, I read that Uma Musume earn decent prize money. If Mom was a racer, maybe we wouldn't have to worry about money so much…"
Lost in thought about how she might ease their financial burden, Mochizuki's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a message from Natural:
[Here's the person coming to pick you up. (Image Attached)]
[She's already waiting at the school gate, so don't keep her waiting too long.]
Reading the message, Mochizuki immediately stood, grabbed her schoolbag, and hurried out of the now-empty classroom.
---
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