Eventually, my little impromptu tour ended, and it was time for me to bid farewell to my guests. As I'd expected, Silence Suzuka was more than unwilling to part with me, especially after I'd shown her all the different tracks we had here in Tracen Central. The girl's eyes were locked right in, and had her parents not been physically holding her hand, I didn't doubt that the girl would've vanished like the wind.
But there was only so much time left before the afternoon was over, and so I had to part with them. Of course I promised we'd meet again later on during the night, but for now, I let them explore around on their own. Maybe they'd even head to my classroom to find the little maid/butler cafe I'd made everyone suffer through.
Once I was free, I immediately headed off to the Student Council room. I met quite a number of fans along the way, and most of them were eager to get me to sign something, but I could only accommodate so many. Eventually even I was overwhelmed, and I conveniently directed everyone's attention to a nearby Tamamo Cross and made my escape.
Finally, I made it to my destination, and I smiled slightly as I saw all the people waiting inside.
It was quite the ensemble; a group that consisted of the Fairy Godfather, Fujimasa March and her trainer, my parents, Maruzensky and Mr. C.B. It was certainly quite the odd group, but the atmosphere in the room was quite pleasant. Mr C.B. was currently regaling everyone with embarrassing stories from Symboli Rudolf's youth.
The only ones not present were Belno's parents and White Narubi. Belno's parents were probably watching their daughter host the rally race happening just outside, and I had a feeling a certain Demon King was currently accompanying White Narubi.
I smirked slightly as I caught a few snippets of the gossip Mr. C.B. was sharing, before I purposely cleared my throat. Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on me, and I slipped back into my current role as a butler as I bowed. "I apologize, I'm afraid I got quite held up on the way here."
Musaka Ginjirou grinned. "Nice to finally see ya' in person, kid."
Mr. C.B. smirked as she lazily waved. "Yo!"
Maruzensky giggled. "You look quite dashing today, little Star~"
"It was either this or a maid's outfit." I smiled wryly. "And I'd rather not wear a skirt. Such endeavours have always ended in tragedy."
My father nodded seriously, still remembering all the times I'd been forced to wear skirts throughout my childhood. It was never a pleasant experience, likely because I was still dealing with the dysphoria of being an umamusume, and some of that discomfort still remained even now. It was the reason why I only had shorts or jeans in my dresser.
My mother looked slightly disappointed. "Mm, that's a shame."
I shrugged. I paused for a moment as I turned to March and Shibasaki, and I blinked as I saw the surprise on their faces. "What is it?" I asked, unconsciously smoothing out my suit. "Is there something on me?"
March blinked out of her thoughts, before she cleared her throat. "No, it's just-, your hair…"
I raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know?" I asked, genuinely surprised. After all, the [Japan Cup] and the [Arima Kinen] had been everywhere, and the fact that my hair changed color had been mentioned endlessly in the news. Such a change in hair color isn't rare, but the fact that it happened so suddenly made me an oddity.
Shibasaki smiled wryly. "We were a little…busy."
March quickly nodded, though her cheeks reddened slightly. "Un. Very busy."
I just raised my eyebrow higher. I mean, I knew that these two were now paired together—Kitahara was more than happy to show his happiness for his 'brother from another mother', but were they really that isolated? What had they been doing over the past month?
…That's probably a question better reserved after a few beers.
"Well, I'd say we're matching now, aren't we?" I said, giving my hair a playful little backtoss. "Of course, our tones aren't exactly a perfect match, but it's good enough." I smiled. "If Oguri and Tamamo were here, Kitahara would probably call us the White Brigade or something like that."
Shibasaki snorted. "That sounds like him."
I grinned back, though I then smoothed my expression into a polite smile. "Well then, as I am here," I placed a hand on my chest and bowed faintly. "May I have the honor of touring my esteemed guests around this wonderful establishment?"
It was completely over-the-top, but thankfully everyone was more than happy to play along. Though I did catch March rolling her eyes.
So, just like what I did with Suzuka just an hour ago, I began bringing everyone around Tracen Central. Naturally, some were more familiar with the academy than others; my parents and Shibasaki had never been here, March and Musaka hadn't been here in a while, while Mr. C.B. and Maruzensky were adults who were still cosplaying as students and thus knew pretty much everything that'd changed over the past few months.
And I essentially repeated the same route as well. I brought the group around all the places I often frequented in my time here in Tracen Central. The clubroom, the cafeteria, all the tracks I liked using, the indoor pool and gym, before ending it back at the track with the modified Turf.
Overall, the tour took around a couple hours—mostly because I had gotten stopped more than a dozen times by my fans. I would've politely brushed them off, but with my parents watching, the most I could do was resign myself and push through it, even if it left my wrists aching by the end of it.
By then it was already past sunset, the skies were turning dark as the last of the sun's rays were being swallowed by the dark. The maid/butler cafe at my classroom and the rally race being held for juniors had all come to an end. In just a few minutes, the outdoor New Year's celebration would be held at one of the outside tracks.
And so it was time for me to meet my last guest of the night.
I bid everyone farewell, and I let my instincts pull me along towards a destination I didn't quite know. I was met with far less interruptions as I went, likely because everyone was gathered outside to enjoy the celebrations being held.
Soon I made it to the rooftop of the main building, and there–
"You're here." Oguri said, smiling softly as I sat down on a large picnic mat, surrounded by all sorts of food. Most of them were still steaming, which should've been impossible, considering how much time it took to move all these pots and plates up to the rooftop. But I've long stopped questioning reality whenever Oguri was involved. "Come. Let's eat."
I grinned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long. Didn't get to see the sunset in the end." I rolled my shoulders as I sat down. I wasn't actually all that tired, but I've probably talked more today than I have in the past week. The mental fatigue was real, and relaxing with some food sounded quite pleasant right now.
"Alright…" I hummed as I looked across all the food Oguri had prepared, and eventually decided to start with some yakitori sticks. I bit down on the juicy chicken, and I hummed in bliss. "Mm~, this is nice." I smiled as I patted Oguri's head. "You're getting even better at cooking. You should become a chef someday."
"Nn. Maybe." She said. She went quiet for some time, content with staring at me as I ate, before she said, "You look handsome."
Those words weren't novel. I'd heard that many times today—met countless people who complimented me for how sharp and prince-like I seemed as a butler.
Yet, hearing Oguri say them felt different, and my cheeks turned slightly red. "I-Is that so?" I said, hiding my shy smile behind another yakitori stick as I twirled a bang of my hair. "Do you-, um." I quickly took a bite. "D'ya wan'a see m' we'r 't ag'n?" I quickly mumbled, my words practically incoherent.
But Oguri understood it without issue, and her smile became just a little hungry as she leaned towards me. "Nn." She hummed, placing a hand on my chest as she pushed me down onto the picnic mat. "Star looks good."
I gulped, and my voice turned into a squeak as my cheeks burnt red. "L-L-Let's e-eat before it g-gets cold!"
Oguri licked her lips as she leaned close.