...
Afternoon, two weeks later.
Lucian was organizing training on the field as usual.
Someone started it—wearing sports shorts—and afterward, his team members gradually switched from long pants to these shorts.
The effect was quite noticeable; their running postures were getting whiter and whiter.
"Trainer." Ines Fujin beside him suddenly spoke.
"What's up?"
"Isn't there a physical exam this afternoon? When do we start?"
"Wait until they finish this lap. Sorry to trouble you, Little Ai."
"No trouble. Took the money, gotta do the job." Ines Fujin started jogging in place. "Then I'll go pass the word~"
...
Not long after, the horse girls who stopped training gathered in front of Lucian.
Privately, Lucian often gave them check-ups, but this time it was a school-assigned task that had to be completed.
"Dead tired, dead tired! Trainer, is today's training over?" Haru Urara always looked like she was panting from exhaustion, but now she could complete every training task.
"We have an appointment with the school hospital, so we're going for the physical now. If it gets too late, today's training is canceled."
After Lucian finished, Ines Fujin handed out the exam item sheets to everyone. "Everyone hold onto this sheet. After each item, get the doctor's stamp."
"Any other questions? If not, let's go."
...
Lucian led everyone to the school hospital. Since they were all girls, it wasn't convenient for him to follow inside. So he arranged for Ines Fujin to assist within.
Lucian himself found an empty infirmary room to sit in.
After a while, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello? Mr. Lu, the things you asked us to prepare have arrived. We knocked on the lounge door, but no response."
"The lounge door isn't locked. Just help me put the stuff under the desk."
"Okay, but one item seems to need looking after..."
Lucian knew what they meant. "Then please watch it for now. I'll be back soon."
"No problem."
"Finally here." After hanging up, Lucian muttered to himself.
These were the joining gifts he prepared for Nice Nature and the others.
After nearly a year, he had finally prepared all the promised gifts.
Lucian felt quite guilty. It had been too long; the anticipation in their hearts had probably faded.
...
A while later, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in Lucian's peripheral vision.
"Seiun, you're done with the exam? So fast?"
"Not yet. There are still a lot of people. Queuing is so boring." Seiun Sky walked into the infirmary and casually closed the door behind her. "I thought only our team was doing it."
"Of course not. This physical is school-arranged, so all the horse girls in the school have to do it in batches." Lucian explained with a smile.
"Oh~" Seiun Sky approached Lucian and tossed her exam sheet onto the desk.
Lucian glanced at it. "You said you're not done, but every item is signed? Tricking me again."
As expected of the roll king. When she starts rolling, no one else gets a turn.
"Tricking the trainer?" Seiun Sky spun half a circle in place, then fell backward toward Lucian.
Lucian instinctively supported her shoulders. She took the opportunity to rub against his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Be careful. What if I didn't catch you?" Lucian scolded.
The earlier training had made Seiun Sky sweat quite a bit. Now in the cool room, the bath scent marinated from last night evaporated with the sweat.
Along with it came waves of warm breath.
The chest of her white short-sleeve was still soaked—whether from sweat or from just washing her face, unclear.
A few strands of damp hair lazily stuck to Seiun Sky's cheeks, adding a disheveled beauty.
The chest of her white short-sleeve was still soaked—whether from sweat or from just washing her face, unclear.
"I believe the trainer will catch me." Seiun Sky's dry lips brushed Lucian's ear, exhaling. "Trainer, I grew again~"
Her earlobe intentionally-unintentionally touched, making Lucian's ear itch, but his heart tickled even more.
"Grew?" Lucian glanced at the report again. "Height... still about the same as last time? Even a bit shorter."
"Is the trainer pretending not to understand?" Seiun Sky directly lay on Lucian's shoulder, whispering coquettishly.
Lucian looked closely again. "Seiun can still grow? Did you fake the measurement and lie on the report?"
"Whether it's real or fake, the trainer can just measure again, right?" She started getting restless, kissing Lucian, her teeth grazing his earlobe, gently biting.
But what teased Lucian more than her actions were Seiun Sky's wave after wave of panting, rippling from his ear into his heart.
"Then I'll arrange a private exam for you tomorrow."
She bent her fair long legs and draped them over. "Why tomorrow? Can't we do it now? But never mind~ they might finish their exams soon~"
Hearing this, Lucian realized Seiun Sky was retreating—lighting the fire but not putting it out? How could he let her have her way?
His hand slid slowly down the curve of her back, fingers tracing the damp fabric clinging to her skin. The infirmary's sterile air thickened with her scent—sweat-mingled bath oil, warm breath, and something dangerously sweet.
Seiun Sky's lips hovered a breath away from his, eyes half-lidded, daring him. "Trainer... don't you want to check right now?"
Lucian's voice dropped to a murmur, rough at the edges. "If I start measuring... we won't stop at height."
Her laugh was soft, wicked, vibrating against his throat. She shifted deliberately in his lap, the soaked cotton of her shirt brushing his chest, heat seeping through. "Promise?"
His answer was a low growl as he caught her mouth—slow at first, tasting salt and sugar, then deeper, hungrier. The exam sheet fluttered to the floor, forgotten. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling just enough to sting; his hands mapped the slope of her waist, thumbs pressing into the hollows above her hips.
Outside, muffled voices drifted down the hall—horse girls laughing, footsteps echoing. Inside, the only sounds were quickened breaths and the creak of the chair beneath them.
Seiun Sky broke the kiss just long enough to whisper, "Door's locked... right?"
Lucian's grin was all teeth. "It is now."
...