"Yay! Finished!"
Inside the training room, Tokai Teio happily stood up.
"Honestly, failing to finish your homework because you were playing games... Teio, you really are like a child."
McQueen, standing nearby, squinted and complained.
"But Maya wanted me to play with her..."
Tokai Teio gave an embarrassed, awkward smile.
"It's human nature, I understand."
Gold Legend nodded.
Isn't it obvious which is more important, playing games or doing homework?
Tokai Teio's stomach suddenly rumbled loudly.
Legend and McQueen glanced toward Teio's stomach.
Tokai Teio quickly covered her stomach and slumped onto the desk: "I'm hungry!"
McQueen looked at the whining Tokai Teio and sighed helplessly.
"It's already afternoon. The lunch provided by the Cafeteria won't be available now."
"I don't care! My stomach is rumbling! Legend, do you have anything to eat?"
Teio looked at Gold Legend with wide, expectant eyes. If anyone could save her from this misery right now, it was only the omnipotent Gold Legend.
"Now that you mention it... ah, I actually do."
Gold Legend smiled helplessly, then remembered something and took a packaged box out of a cabinet.
"This was given to me yesterday by the Auntie who runs the Pastry Shop when I went to tease... ah, no, visit Nature on the Shopping Street. Want to try it?"
"You really do? Thank you, Legend!"
Teio immediately bounced up from her chair and took the box.
"But when did Legend and Nature get so close? I've never been given anything."
Teio asked curiously while opening the package.
McQueen raised an eyebrow and looked at Gold Legend.
"Because Nature is very cute, isn't she?"
Gold Legend didn't think too much about it and said straightforwardly.
"That's true."
Teio agreed.
McQueen's gaze sharpened.
Gold Legend turned around, took out cups and saucers from the cabinet, and skillfully set them out one by one.
"...Classmate Legend, you really do have everything in your cabinet..."
McQueen was speechless.
"I like Morning Runs, right? I just grabbed whatever I liked on the way back. After changing clothes, I was too lazy to move them, so I just left them there."
Gold Legend explained.
"Besides, compared to Golshi, my cabinet is quite normal."
"I think you're already abnormal when compared to Gold Ship. Speaking of which, where are the Trainers?"
McQueen was late today due to some matters. When she arrived, she saw Gold Legend teaching Tokai Teio how to do homework, and the Trainer and The Three Little Ones were absent.
"Today is the Primary Division Selection Race. The three of them went with the Trainer to register."
Legend shrugged and explained.
"And that guy forgot to leave a Training Schedule, so just treat it as an extra holiday."
"I see, no wonder. Please give me a cup of Black Tea, thank you."
McQueen nodded understandingly and stopped worrying about it.
"...I don't know how to make that."
I only prepared Carbonated Drinks.
Gold Legend held a Cola, looking speechless.
"Speaking of which, McQueen, aren't you eating?"
Tokai Teio, whose face was covered in crumbs, asked innocently, holding a piece of Cake in her left hand and a Biscuit in her right.
"No... I don't have much of an appetite today."
McQueen swallowed hard, her expression conflicted.
"Don't you usually accept anything offered?"
Gold Legend, who often fed McQueen Sweets, asked casually, knowing that the reason she had Sweets in her cabinet was because of McQueen.
Her demeanor in front of Sweets was endlessly amusing.
"That's really rare, McQueen, for you to have no appetite."
Tokai Teio was half-skeptical.
Of course, it was fake!
How could a girl resist the temptation of Sweets! Moreover, Uma Musume naturally have good appetites, so the more Sweets, the better!
Unfortunately, McQueen was Dieting again recently.
Yes, again.
We all know McQueen has the constitution where she gains Weight just by drinking water, so she has to reduce her calorie intake if she's not careful. Although Legend and the Trainer prepared a special Menu for her, it only made it slightly harder for her to get fat. If anything, because of that Menu, McQueen had become a bit too confident lately.
So, when she stepped onto the Weight Scale after bathing a few days ago, McQueen felt like the sky was falling.
"Are you absolutely sure you don't want any?"
Gold Legend felt a little regretful. Feeding McQueen was a delightful thing to do, but it seemed impossible today.
"..."
Mejiro McQueen wavered.
Human willpower is always limited. Often, to give up on something, all you need is a reason to convince yourself.
Just like when reviewing, everything except the book in front of you seems incredibly appealing.
Excuses aren't meant for others; they are meant for yourself.
Say something... convince me just a little more, and I can just give up and indulge.
Mejiro McQueen waited with complicated anticipation.
However, the clumsy Tokai Teio was completely unaware.
McQueen shifted her gaze toward Gold Legend.
"What a pity."
Gold Legend, the 'Steel Straight Man,' was already preparing to put away McQueen's saucer.
Noticing Legend's actions, McQueen's dessert-craving brain began to race.
"Well, I just don't really like this kind of Honey Cake..."
"Huh? Is that so?" Teio turned her head, looking surprised.
"Yes. Teio, you know I prefer lighter flavors. This taste is too rich for me."
"But I think it tastes great?"
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. If you don't believe me, you can try some."
Excellent, she took the bait. Don't blame me for being sneaky, Teio.
Just as McQueen was about to succeed and reluctantly accept the snack following Teio's invitation, Gold Legend suddenly thought of something and interjected.
"Speaking of which, McQueen, are you Dieting again recently?"
"W-w-w-what are you talking about!" McQueen quickly waved her hands in denial. "As a Lady of the Mejiro Family, how could I possibly be overweight to the point of needing to diet!"
"But you haven't been accepting my treats lately."
"Ah, now that I think about it, McQueen did say last week that she was going to start Dieting soon. Sorry, McQueen, this Cake is quite high in Calories. Maybe next time."
Teio remembered going shopping for Underwear with McQueen last week. McQueen had mentioned that her previous Underwear felt a bit tight, even though Teio had seen during McQueen's Physical Exam that she hadn't grown since last time. Yet, McQueen had seriously insisted she needed to start Dieting soon.
"..."
Is this what they call karma?
If she could, McQueen would eat the words she spoke last week.
"McQueen has gotten fat recently?"
Gold Legend seized the main point.
"That's absolutely not true!"
McQueen cried out as if her tail had been stepped on: "It's just preparation for a rainy day to control calorie intake! It's absolutely not because I found my Weight had increased after taking a bath! Absolutely not!"
"...You just said it yourself, McQueen."
Gold Legend was unable to complain.
"Ahem, in short, it's absolutely not because I got fat."
"Alright, alright, I get it. So, do you want the Cake?"
...Yes!
Great! We're done eating—let's go train, Legend!
Teio's cheerful voice cut the other two short; she turned to see the table a disaster.
The snacks had vanished.
...Oh well, looks like we'll have to make it up next time.
Gold Legend didn't know what to say.
...
To this day we still don't know how Mejiro McQueen felt.
Judging by her vacant stare and wooden movements that afternoon, though, she wasn't happy.