Facing the restaurant, Mejiro Ramonu tilted her head slightly and glanced at the butler.
The butler simply nodded at her. "This is the place you're looking for."
After confirming once again that she'd come to the right place, Mejiro Ramonu pushed open the door.
A bell chimed.
And then she was greeted.
"Welcome~"
A voice drifted over.
Turning toward the source of the sound, Mejiro Ramonu froze for a second.
Because she saw a face she'd only seen in files an hour ago.
Tokai Natural…
Mejiro Ramonu drew her gaze back a little and took the empty seat at the counter.
"Here's the menu."
Another person's voice came from beside her.
Mejiro Ramonu turned her head.
She saw two girls wearing staff uniforms in different colors.
Normally, Mejiro Ramonu wouldn't have paid attention to the tiny, slightly "off" details about them.
But the moment she thought about Tokai Natural—this one, the only one who'd had that kind of contact with Rudolf—
So she even has kids…
With that thought, Mejiro Ramonu picked up the menu that the two girls had placed in front of her.
It was handwritten, with a few food photos pasted in.
There weren't many dishes listed.
If this was meant for running a shop, the ingredients were probably the kind you could reuse across the menu.
Thinking that, Mejiro Ramonu studied the photos—then noticed something else.
This restaurant's kitchen layout clearly leaned more toward a Western-style kitchen.
But most of the dishes on the menu were washoku.
They'd adjusted for local tastes—and judging by the photos, they'd even adjusted for Uma Musume tastes too.
Which meant…
They were really short on money.
With that in mind, Mejiro Ramonu looked at Tokai Natural. "Does the owner have any recommendations?"
"Eh? Recommendations?"
Caught off guard, Tokai Natural turned to look at her. "Umm…"
You could tell Tokai Natural was a little troubled.
Because honestly, for Tokai Natural, there really wasn't any "recommended dish" to speak of.
Seeing that reaction, Tokai Roman bluntly said, "Venison?"
"Ah, that's leftover from last night. And most of it's tendon, so it's not really suitable." Tokai Natural glanced at Mejiro Ramonu, then continued, "But changing it up isn't a bad thing either."
As she said that, Tokai Natural turned toward the kitchen. "Please wait a moment."
Her movements were neat and efficient; before long, she'd finished preparing.
"Do you have any allergies?"
"No."
"Okay."
After the simple question and response, Tokai Natural looked back at Mejiro Ramonu. "Would you like a custom flavor adjustment?"
"That's okay?"
"Because there are a lot of Uma Musume around here, some dishes get adjusted for Uma Musume tastes."
Hearing Tokai Natural's explanation, Mejiro Ramonu thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Sure."
"Mm. Then please wait a bit."
Tokai Natural turned her head and continued working.
Watching her movements, Mejiro Ramonu still couldn't understand what about these two had attracted Rudolf.
Because from what she could see, there was neither outstanding talent nor enough strategic mind—an Uma Musume like that could be found anywhere.
And as for the original engagement target—Tokai Roman...
Mejiro Ramonu didn't see anything particularly noteworthy about her either, besides the Oaks victory.
Looking at the two of them, Mejiro Ramonu shifted her gaze slightly, until it settled back on Tokai Natural.
This matter wasn't that simple.
Mejiro Ramonu only had to think a little to reach that conclusion.
Because Rudolf's situation didn't look like a mere bad decision—if anything, it looked more like she'd taken some kind of blow.
Realizing her information still wasn't enough, Mejiro Ramonu looked back at the two girls. "Are those two… the owner's daughters?"
"Mm. They're my daughters."
As Tokai Natural said that, she angled her gaze elsewhere—then set a bowl of unagi donburi down in front of Mejiro Ramonu.
And that small action finally made their eyes meet.
Their eye contact lasted barely half a second before Tokai Natural spoke. "Pan-seared unagi donburi. A creative dish I threw together on the spot."
Saying that, Tokai Natural turned around and went back to where she'd been standing earlier.
Mejiro Ramonu lowered her gaze to the unagi donburi in front of her.
It looked about the same as what most shops served.
It even had a thick-looking sauce poured over it.
Looking at it, Mejiro Ramonu didn't pick up her chopsticks right away. She simply continued, "Will that Uma Musume become a racing Uma Musume?"
"Mm. I'm not sure. Her talent looks pretty good right now, but if she gets injured before honkaku-ka, or before her debut race… then she probably won't be able to." Tokai Natural didn't turn around; she just answered casually.
Hearing that, Mejiro Ramonu thought for a few seconds, then looked back at the unagi donburi. "I hope I'll get to see that Uma Musume enter Tracen Academy before I graduate."
Only after saying that did Mejiro Ramonu finally lift her chopsticks.
She began eating the unagi rice slowly, unhurriedly.
Before long, after finishing, Mejiro Ramonu left a bit of loose change on the counter and departed the shop.
After she left, Tokai Natural walked back to that spot again.
She stared at the empty bowl for a few seconds, then spoke. "Um, Roman—do you know who that person just now was?"
"Hm?"
Facing Tokai Natural's question, Tokai Roman looked at her, puzzled. "Was something off?"
"I just feel like… I've seen that person once at the Mejiro Family."
With an uncertain tone, Tokai Natural said it out loud.
"I see. Then maybe she came to invite you to a family banquet?"
As she spoke, Tokai Roman returned her gaze to what was in front of her. "The Mejiro Family's going to be doing exchanges with the Chinese Uma Musume Association again soon, after all."
Hearing Roman say that, Tokai Natural replayed the woman's behavior in her head. After finding nothing suspicious, she finally responded, "Mm. Then let's assume that's what it was. Mejiro Family work is pretty important, after all."