Just dealing with Little Cocon and Bitter Glasse was already a huge headache. Now, with Symboli Kitsch added to the mix, Just a Way's face was filled with hesitation. "My stomach hurts just thinking about the Autumn Tenno Sho now."
The person actually involved wasn't even nervous, yet Just a Way was so tense she looked like she was about to throw up.
"The Acting Director only said the Central Committee was sending someone to participate, not that they'd send a Symboli!" Just a Way's face turned ashen.
Kousei and the others gathered around, silently watching Just a Way pace back and forth, muttering to herself.
"Hey, Leo. You think Way's lost her mind?" Black Bullet nudged Leo Durban beside her.
"Hmm... hard to say. She's always been a nervous wreck. I've never understood her," Leo replied honestly.
"Kousei, what do you think?"
"She's probably scared stiff."
"Way's so lame."
Despite their teasing, they couldn't just let Just a Way keep spinning in circles. Leo stepped forward, grabbing her and clamping a hand over her screaming mouth.
"Seriously, Way, you're overreacting. Anyone would think you were the one racing," Black Bullet teased.
"Ugh, I just want to die."
"Don't die!"
Just a Way looked utterly defeated, a tiny, despondent soul practically floating out of her mouth.
"Is it really that scary?" Kousei asked, puzzled.
"I don't know," Leo replied, shaking her head with a deadpan expression.
Just a Way desperately wanted to crack open their heads and see what on earth they were thinking to be so relaxed.
"Aren't you guys worried? If Little Witch loses, all our hard work will be for nothing!" Just a Way couldn't help but ask the trio.
"Of course we're worried, but what can we do about it?" Black Bullet said, throwing up her hands in a gesture that didn't look worried at all.
"Sweep Tosho isn't weak. She has a fighting chance," Leo added her own assessment.
"Exactly! Exactly! Way, you're way too tense. Relax," Black Bullet said, patting Just a Way's shoulder. When Just a Way glared at her instead of relaxing, Black Bullet sheepishly withdrew her hand. "Sorry..."
Just a Way turned to Kousei, seeking her opinion.
Kousei slowly sipped her tea, looking utterly at ease and content. "I have no opinion."
"Who asked you?" Leo blurted out without thinking, earning another elbow jab from Black Bullet. She furrowed her brow, her eyes filled with confusion.
Just a Way sighed. She shouldn't have bothered asking this group in the first place.
"I'm actually curious, Way. Why are you so nervous? Have you and Sweep Tosho gotten that close in such a short time?" Kousei's question piqued the interest of the other two.
"That's true," Kousei mused. "We couldn't even get you to time races, so why are you suddenly volunteering to train Little Witch?"
"Ooh, what kind of love potion did the Witch give our Way to make her so willing?" Black Bullet loved to fan the flames. It was a good thing Twilight Cloud wasn't here; otherwise, they'd start their double act, and Just a Way probably wouldn't be able to handle it.
Just a Way's eyes darted around. She realized this wasn't going to be simple.
"What are you trying to do? Let me state this clearly: this is my personal business!"
Her resistance only fueled the trio's curiosity.
"Way, you've never gotten involved in Umamusume Events before. Claiming it's just a whim now won't be very convincing."
"Kousei! You!"
At a signal from Black Bullet, Leo immediately blocked Just a Way's escape route.
"Way, you're not leaving today until you spill the beans," Black Bullet cackled like a villain.
Leo produced a burlap sack from somewhere, and Just a Way felt a sense of déjà vu. "Seriously? This again?"
The absurd turn of events actually made Just a Way forget her anxiety. After an afternoon of playful roughhousing, she was back to her usual self. As for why she had volunteered to train Sweep Tosho, Kousei and the others tacitly agreed not to press the issue.
As for the Little Witch, Little Cocon and Bitter Glasse were still within the realm of reason, but even the appearance of Symboli Kris couldn't shake her in the slightest.
"Explode!!!"
Just like always, Sweep Tosho chanted her nonsensical incantation, day after day pursuing her so-called magic, only for nothing to ever happen.
"Hmm? Did I mispronounce a syllable somewhere?"
Sweep Tosho seemed to care about nothing. Some criticized her recklessness, others mocked her life's pursuit. She ignored them all, lost in her own world.
Was it the world that had abandoned her, or had she isolated herself from the world? No one knew for sure. The only certainty was that Sweep Tosho's pursuit of magic remained unshaken by any setback, even though everyone looked at her with strange eyes and told her magic didn't exist.
"I should probably revise this part. Would tentacles be better here?" Sweep Tosho lay sprawled on the ground, flipping through the pages of her spellbook.
"If you don't go back soon, the dorms will be locked."
Sweep Tosho's head snapped up. Bitter Glasse was smiling and waving at her.
"Glasse! And Cocon!" Sweep Tosho immediately threw herself into Bitter Glasse's arms.
Bitter Glasse caught her effortlessly, stroking her head affectionately.
"Hmph~ Looks like nothing went wrong after all," Little Cocon huffed, her chin raised in haughty defiance.
"No, but I scraped my knee when I fell off the rock," Sweep Tosho said, showing Cocon her knee.
Cocon visibly tensed for a moment before relaxing when she saw it was just a scrape. "How careless! Let's hurry back to the Academy; the Doctors will take care of it. Maybe this fall will teach you a lesson. Now that you've felt the pain, you won't be so reckless next time."
"Cocon, you're such a nag," Sweep Tosho retorted.
"What was that?!"
Sweep Tosho's simple remark instantly shattered Cocon's carefully maintained composure.
"Bitter Glasse, I'm so tired. Carry me!"
"No problem! I've got plenty of strength!"
Sweep Tosho hopped onto Bitter Glasse's back, and the two chattered incessantly as they descended the mountain. Cocon chuckled quietly to herself, picked up Sweep Tosho's magic book, and followed them down the mountain.
Sweep Tosho must have been truly exhausted, as she fell asleep on Bitter Glasse's back.
"She really must be worn out," Bitter Glasse murmured, noticing the increasingly quiet movements on her back.
"Of course! Running all the way to this deep mountain forest, making us worry about her," Cocon grumbled, though her face betrayed no real displeasure.
"Easier said than done, but Cocon's the one who's most anxious," Bitter Glasse teased, unable to resist teasing her friend.
Her friend's remark instantly flushed Cocon's cheeks crimson. "Me?! I'm not! I just don't want the Trainer to worry! Yes! It's all for the Trainer!"
"All for the Trainer, huh?" Bitter Glasse suddenly grew wistful. "We used to tell ourselves the same thing, didn't we?"
Her question was met with silence. In the dim mountain path, only the chirping of insects accompanied them.
On her back, Sweep Tosho stirred restlessly, mumbling, "Cocon... Bitter Glasse... we'll run together... and... the Trainer too... as long as... we find... the Magic..."