Your Logistics Uma Musume Has Problems

"Speaking of which, it's still a bit early to go to sleep. Is there anything you'd like to do, Su-chan?"

"Kagura said she wanted to turn off the lights and listen to the rain. I want to try it too."

"But aren't you afraid of thunder..."

"With you by my side, I feel safe..."

I see, this kid just wants to be pampered.

Kagura had already figured out that Excellent Su-chan wasn't really afraid of thunder, but rather afraid of being alone. She came to her because she was lonely, but she didn't call out Su-chan's little thoughts. It wasn't a bad thing anyway.

Not rushing to turn off the lights, Kagura filled a kettle with water and put it on the electric stove to boil, brewing a pot of tea for herself and Excellent Su-chan. Then, she found a small plate of senbei that she had bought when she went out to buy ingredients and brought it to the table by the window.

After finishing these preparations, Kagura called Excellent Su-chan over to sit down, and then turned off the lights in the room.

"Hmm hmm~ How refined, I didn't realize you were so good at enjoying yourself."

Only Kagura could hear the voice coming from her ear. She felt Eclipse gently breathing on her ear, which was a little itchy.

Miss Eclipse can also calm down and you'll find it very comfortable.

Kagura responded to Eclipse in her heart, then stopped talking and just crunched on a senbei.

Excellent Su-chan also didn't make a sound, listening to the rain while quietly watching Kagura. In the silent darkness, the faint light from the window illuminated a small corner of Kagura's cheek. The pattering rain echoed in her ears, as if everything around her was shrouded in a layer of illusory and blurred boundaries. In the hazy atmosphere, Excellent Su-chan felt like she was in a dream, a little dazed.

What a wonderful feeling... So comfortable...

The floating sensation made Excellent Su-chan a little confused.

Did she like listening to the rain, or did she like listening to the rain with the person sitting across from her?

She didn't understand, but she felt that things were good as they were now.

50. The Mejiro Family's Invitation

Excellent Su-chan spent the most comfortable night of her life so far.

However, for Kagura, who was sleeping in the same bed with her, the night wasn't so comfortable. When she was about to fall asleep last night, the sleeping Excellent Su-chan suddenly wrapped herself around her and hugged her tightly, abruptly waking her up for a while. Then, when she woke up this morning, she found that she was sleeping on her side, with Su-chan clinging to her back like a koala.

Su-chan is trying to practice strangulation in her dreams!! Seriously...

"Su-chan... wake up..."

Kagura couldn't move in this position, so she had to call out to the still clinging Excellent Su-chan to wake her up. She was glad that she had changed into pajamas before going to bed last night, and didn't sleep in her shrine maiden outfit.

"So fragrant... hmm...?"

The drowsy Excellent Su-chan heard Kagura's voice and stirred a little. Kagura originally thought she was about to wake up, but she just pressed forward. Kagura was originally lying on her side, but with Excellent Su-chan's movement, Kagura was directly pressed down by Excellent Su-chan, who put her shoulders on top of her.

What the heck... aren't you getting up!?

Kagura raised her hand to try to push Excellent Su-chan away. She didn't know if Excellent Su-chan was dreaming about something delicious, but Kagura, who wasn't as strong as Excellent Su-chan, pushed lightly a few times, but couldn't move her at all. Excellent Su-chan had a clear advantage in size and strength compared to her.

As if she had found something delicious, Excellent Su-chan, after pressing down on Kagura, leaned over and approached Kagura's neck, groggily opening her mouth and sticking out her little tongue to lick her, then directly biting Kagura's neck.

"It hurts!! Su-chan, don't bite me like I'm food!!!"

Kagura's tears came out from the pain. Stimulated by Excellent Su-chan, Kagura subconsciously bounced her whole body. Excellent Su-chan was jolted awake by the sudden impact:

"Radish cake... eh... eh?!"

Opening her eyes and seeing Kagura, who was teary-eyed and pinned under her, Excellent Su-chan, who had just woken up, felt like her CPU capacity wasn't quite enough.

"I'm really very sorry!!"

Excellent Su-chan prostrated herself on the ground, making a dogeza pose to apologize to Kagura, who was still changing clothes on the bed.

"Sigh... Su-chan, with your sleeping habits, if I'm going to sleep with you in the future, I'll have to find a rope to tie you up, otherwise I'm really afraid you'll get hungry and hug me and gnaw on me."

"I... I didn't expect it to be like this. It never happened before when I was sleeping..."

Buttoning up her clothes, putting on her socks, Kagura jumped off the bed and put on her shoes. Seeing Excellent Su-chan still prostrate on the ground, not daring to get up, she sighed helplessly, walked over and pulled Excellent Su-chan up.

"Okay, okay, don't lie down. I don't really care about this, but you really need to find a way to fix your sleeping habits, otherwise what if you sleepwalk and go gnaw on your roommate?"

"But I've never gnawed on my roommate before... Today is the first time I've known I have this problem..."

Excellent Su-chan also felt confused. She had lived with her roommate for so long and had never seen her roommate say that she had this problem. Her roommate even praised her for having good sleeping habits and being particularly quiet when sleeping. How did this happen today?

"Speaking of which, Kagura, you're still off today, right? Why are you carrying a small bag? And those clothes... don't look like something you'd usually wear. Are you going to do something important?"

Seeing Kagura preparing over there, dressed particularly formally, looking like she was about to go out, Excellent Su-chan couldn't help but ask curiously.

"That waitress I met yesterday, the one called Invincible, just sent me an invitation, saying that her senior wants to invite me to a place."

"The waitress-san's senior? Go to a place? Can I go with you?"

"They want me to go alone, so... Su-chan, I can't take you there."

"Eh? You've only just met and they want you to go out and meet them alone? Kagura, you have to be careful, what if they have bad intentions? I should come with you after all!"

Excellent Su-chan felt that the other party sounded suspicious, and insisted on going with her.

"...No, there shouldn't be any need to worry about that. I know her senior and her senior's family. Her senior invited me to their house as a guest. You should have heard of them. Her senior is the young lady of the Mejiro family."

Early this morning, Kagura received a message from Invincible, inviting her to a banquet being held by the Mejiro family. They wanted to thank Kagura for her previous help with Mejiro Ardan.

"The Mejiro family? That big family?"

"Yes, they've invited me several times already. It would be impolite to refuse again. I don't know when I'll be back, so I probably won't be at school today. Remember to eat on time, okay?"

Kagura stood on tiptoe and patted Fine Motion's head, reminding her to eat and train on time. Fine Motion seemed to want to say something, but fell silent.

After seeing Fine Motion back to her dorm, Kagura came downstairs. Fuji Kiseki greeted her at the entrance, asking about the commotion in her room earlier. Kagura just explained that she'd been startled by a cockroach, nothing serious.

Leaving the dorm building, she put on her hat. Seeing the cloudy sky, Kagura checked her bag for an umbrella. She was about to contact Invincible when she noticed a large deposit in her bank account.

'What's this? It's not payday, is it?'

Confused, Kagura checked the details and saw the note: "Logistics Uma Musume race prize money share."

'Oh, right, the prize money share. The contract mentioned Logistics Uma Musume getting 5%... but 5% is that much? Are the prize pools for these races that high?'

Just then, a text message popped up from Rudolph Symbol.

[Kagura, you should have received a payment. According to regulations, Trainers and Logistics Uma Musume receive a share of the race prize money. The Trainer's portion has also been sent. This is yours.]

--Wow, not bad! See, I told you racing was profitable!

Eclipse's praise flashed across the screen.

Kagura quickly typed out a thank you message to Rudolph Symbol, feeling her earlier anxiety dissipate.

Adjusting her hat, she informed the green-capped lady at the school gate that she was leaving. As the gate opened, Kagura saw someone she didn't expect.

"Miss Mejiro Takamine?"

The black-haired mature woman, Mejiro Takamine, seemed to have been waiting at the gate. Seeing Kagura, she approached and greeted her:

"Good morning, Kagura. I'm glad you accepted our invitation."

"Good morning, Miss Mejiro Takamine. I only did what anyone would have done. I'm honored to be invited by the Mejiro family."

Kagura gave a slight bow, maid-style, which made Mejiro Takamine raise an eyebrow before quickly returning to her normal expression.

"You're too modest. If everyone did what you did, the world would be a better place... But enough talk, come with me."

"Okay."

Kagura nodded and followed Mejiro Takamine into the luxurious private car parked at the gate. She had a strange feeling that Mejiro Takamine's eyes held a hint of... satisfaction?

'I have a weird feeling...'

She began to wonder if she'd made the right decision in agreeing to attend the Mejiro family's banquet.

51. Calling her that from the first meeting...

As expected of the Mejiro family, on par with the Symbol family, the mansion looked impressive. But Kagura, used to the Symbol family's estate, wasn't too surprised.

"Madam, and Miss Kagura, we've arrived."

Kagura felt the slight tremor of the brakes as the old butler announced their arrival.

"Miss Kagura, please, you go first."

Mejiro Takamine always exuded a subtle pressure, perhaps unconsciously, that made Kagura feel slightly uneasy.

Fortunately, Kagura had become accustomed to interacting with important people. Unaffected by Mejiro Takamine's aura, she got out of the car and followed her into the Mejiro family's courtyard.

"We've been waiting... Kagura, welcome to the Mejiro family."

Kagura had been guessing who she would meet first. She thought she might run into a young lady peeking by the door, but Old Mejiro herself came out to greet her.

"Hello, Head of the Family. I didn't expect you to greet me personally... I'm deeply honored!"

Kagura immediately lifted her skirt and bowed to Old Mejiro. Now that she was out in the world, even as a maid, she couldn't let her actions embarrass the Symbol family.

"Haha, you're a valued guest who helped our child. We naturally can't be impolite. You don't need to be so formal... Takamine, the Symbol family will be here soon. Stay here and wait for them. I'll take Kagura inside first."

"Understood."

Mejiro Takamine nodded, glanced at Kagura, and stayed by the door.

Hearing that the Symbol family was coming, Kagura was about to offer to stay and help greet them, but Old Mejiro stopped her:

"Child, you're a guest. It's improper to make a guest wait by the door. Don't worry, Takamine will take care of Old Symbol and the others. Come inside."

"...Yes, Head of the Family."

Since she'd said that, Kagura couldn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

Although Old Mejiro looked old, she had a strong gait and upright posture, a very energetic old Uma Musume, and easier to talk to than Kagura had imagined.

"I heard about what happened from Takamine. Child, thank you so much for what you did for Ardan."

"It was just a small thing. Head of the Family, you really don't need to be so formal..."

"Ardan and Takamine are my most beloved children. But unlike Takamine, Ardan is naturally weak but unwilling to be idle. She always does things that make us worried, like running out to train under the scorching sun... Alas, our family is really worried sick about her. If only that child were half as obedient and well-behaved as you."

Old Mejiro sighed, seemingly helpless with Ardan.

Kagura could understand Old Mejiro and Mejiro Ardan's feelings. Maruzensky and Rudolph Symbol said that Mejiro Ardan was a determined Uma Musume full of dreams. She didn't want to be forever trapped in silence at a young age, and always wanted to test her limits. It was her way of rebelling against fate, which was understandable for a young person.

Mejiro Ardan's actions might not seem like much to her, but to Old Mejiro and the rest of the family who cared about her, her actions weren't rebellion, but pure fright. Old Mejiro talked about many of Mejiro Ardan's "glorious deeds" along the way, and Kagura was already sweating. She couldn't imagine how many times the heart of a Mejiro family servant would stop from being scared by this little troublemaker.

"...Thankfully, that child has good luck in some unusual places. Like when she went to China before, she met a very enthusiastic junior. Didn't you meet that junior a few days ago? The child named Invincible. When Ardan was still in China, that child took care of Ardan the whole time, saving us a lot of worry and making Ardan much more cheerful. I always have a feeling that there's some kind of wonderful connection between her and Ardan. More than friends, they're like family, like sisters."

"I see. No wonder Miss Invincible said she came here with Miss Ardan, to take good care of her?"

"Yes, that child said she didn't want to leave Ardan to act alone, so she personally escorted Ardan all the way back to our house. You know, Ardan's body is too fragile. It really caused Invincible a lot of trouble."

Invincible looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. Kagura hadn't expected that she was the one who had been taking care of Ardan. A truly promising young talent.

Old Mejiro's conversation topics almost never strayed from Mejiro Ardan. Although Kagura didn't mind chatting with the old woman, Old Mejiro didn't exactly strike Kagura as normal. She always felt that the other party had some purpose. She had a question she'd been wanting to ask, and she felt that this was an opportunity to ask Old Mejiro about it.

"Speaking of which, Head of the Family, I had some contact with Mejiro's Trainer... He came to me for Miss Ardan, didn't he?"

"...You're very clever, child. That Trainer said you're much more mature than children your age. It seems he was right."

Old Mejiro didn't directly answer the question, but she implicitly admitted it. Kagura's previous guess was confirmed. The reason the Mejiro family wanted to adopt her was to have her stand on the racetrack in place of Mejiro Ardan.

"If our rash approach made you uncomfortable, I apologize, child. The Mejiro family won't bother you with such strange reasons in the future."

"Head of the Family, you don't have to be so polite. I can understand your thoughts, but I want to know, why me?"

"Because you really have talent. In you... I seem to see the shadow of another person..."

As Old Mejiro spoke, she raised her hand and gently brushed aside a strand of Kagura's hair, touching Kagura's cheek.

Kagura didn't dodge. She just looked at Old Mejiro. She felt that Old Mejiro seemed to be looking at someone else through her. She knew that the person Old Mejiro was looking at was Eclipse, but Kagura definitely wasn't going to reveal anything about Eclipse.

"So like... really too much like..."

Old Mejiro's voice was very, very soft, just barely moving her lips. It seemed she didn't want to let her hear these mutterings, but Kagura's hearing was very good. She could still roughly piece together what Old Mejiro wanted to say.

"Head of the Family?"

Kagura tilted her head, pretending not to understand, and looked at Old Mejiro with a puzzled expression.

"Sorry, I just remembered some things and felt a little sentimental. I hope you don't mind this old woman's curiosity."