...
Training ended, and the horse girls dragged their weary bodies back to the lounge.
Twin Turbo listlessly flopped onto the table, "Finally~ off work~"
"Twin Turbo, that tired? At this rate, you won't surpass King." Lucian teased.
Tokai Teio was drinking water when she noticed Twin Turbo's gaze; she puffed out her chest to show she was fine.
"Teio just got back late! That's why she's not tired! Actually... I'm not that tired either." Twin Turbo was like a pile of dry grass that ignited at the slightest spark, but only Tokai Teio's little flame could set her ablaze.
Lucian unconsciously glanced at Special Week; it reminded him of how Special Week used to chase her idol, Silence Suzuka.
Except Special Week was very frank, while Twin Turbo was the opposite.
"Ehehe~" Matikanetannhauser pulled out her thermos, poured it into a small bottle, lightly touched the rim to her lips, tested the temperature, and took a sip, "Ah~"
It looked delicious, but everyone knew the tea inside was bitter to a certain degree.
After steeping for so long, probably only Matikanetannhauser would enjoy drinking it.
Lucian still couldn't understand how someone could love bitter flavors. Was it like how Seiun Sky preferred hard over soft?
Nice Nature, beside them, finished her water in silence, seemingly reflecting on today's training performance and summarizing the results.
Meishou Doto hummed a little tune while packing her things; her fair cheeks were flushed red in the center, as if roasted on both sides.
Mejiro McQueen sat in a chair, meticulously wiping the sweat from her body with a tissue.
"Trainer, I'll head out first." Ines Fujin slung her bag over her shoulder and greeted him, "The washed clothes are already hung out to dry, and I swept the backyard too."
"Good." Lucian nodded, very approving of Ines Fujin's actions.
If you're not proactive about leaving work, there's something wrong with your mindset.
"Trainer-san, then we're heading out too?" Special Week rubbed her stomach; it felt like it had grown a circle, but she hoped it wouldn't make any noises now.
"Good, except for Doto, Twin Turbo, Tannhauser, Rice-chan, and McQueen, everyone else can leave first."
Lucian really wanted to give the gifts as everyone was leaving class, to make the others envious.
But considering it was near the end of the term, those few minutes after class might be for napping, so he let it go.
At these words, Seiun Sky and the others who had just stood up froze in place. If Ines Fujin hadn't left early, she would have stopped too.
"Trainer, what are you hiding from Urara? Are you giving them extra lessons?" Haru Urara grumbled, sitting back down with a slight frown.
"Yeah, yeah, giving extra lessons to the newer team members. Urara's already a senior on the team—could it be you're jealous?" Lucian said.
"Jealous! I am jealous!" But Haru Urara caught the joke in Lucian's words, "Trainer, hurry and say why you're keeping Twin Turbo and the others—say it quick, say it."
Rice Shower chimed in to help: "Onii-sama, I want to know too."
Mejiro McQueen: "Trainer-san, please stop keeping us in suspense."
"Have you forgotten? The gifts I promised to prepare by the end of the year." Lucian finished speaking and pulled out the four gifts hidden under his desk.
"Wow——"
Except for the few about to receive gifts who looked embarrassed, the rest of the horse girls showed envious eyes.
Lucian smiled helplessly: "Why are you veteran members acting like I've never given you gifts before."
"Even if we've received them, it's still hard not to be envious." Dextrous Bailey remembered her hair dryer; after taking it home, she only used it to dry her tail.
But Lucian's patting still felt better.
"Then just be envious~" Lucian handed out the four gifts in order of proximity.
Except for Doto, the other four hugged their gift boxes, eyes full of anticipation, or secretly hoping in their hearts.
Meishou Doto looked at the empty space in front of Lucian, feeling a bit disappointed. Could it be hers wasn't ready yet...
The more she thought, the more sour her heart felt; her cat-like mouth pursed into a tight line, slightly everted. Mist rose in her eyes, shimmering with tears.
"Doto, how could I possibly forget you?"
Lucian didn't think a later surprise could fully make up for the earlier disappointment. So at this moment, he wouldn't tease Doto or joke with her.
"Your gift is a bit special."
Lucian clapped his hands, and the lounge door suddenly opened.
An uncle walked in, holding a large box, "Mr. Lu, I'll just put it here?"
"Good, thanks for the trouble."
"Eh, no problem." The uncle turned and left.
"Doto, go see what it is, then decide whether to drop sad little pearls or happy little pearls." Lucian gently stroked Doto's hair, but that stubborn cowlick was especially resilient—it went down and popped right back up.
"Trainer, I'm not dropping little pearls." Doto blinked, trying to hold back the tears.
She was about to approach when she heard a timid meow, "Trainer, is there a meowku inside?"
Before Lucian could answer, Doto saw a big white tail sticking up inside.
The horse girls all gathered around the box until Doto removed it, revealing a tiny kitten in a little nest.
"Meowku——i-it, it it it looks like Dango!"
Lucian came behind Doto and crouched down, "Is it possible it's one of Dango's babies?"
"Eh——=͟͟͞͞=͟͟͞͞(●⁰ꈊ⁰● |||)!!?"
Her cat-like mouth was finally no longer flattened into a line.
"I'm not lying—it really is Dango's baby. Doto, you've always loved small animals, right? So I had my mom send one over as a gift for you."
"Then won't Dango be really sad? ( •̥́ ˍ •̀ू )"
Lucian truly admired Doto's train of thought, but it also showed how kind she was, "Uh... you can video call Dango more often and report that it's safe."
"Good." Doto placed the little one in her palm, "But Trainer, the dorm doesn't allow small animals, and it's so tiny—I don't want to put it in the school's animal shed. What if it gets bullied?"
Lucian had of course thought of this, "Then foster it at my house. You can come visit anytime, and I have experience raising cats."
"Great idea! (^～^) " Now Doto could pet the kitten without any worries.
But Seiun Sky and Special Week no longer felt like just watching the fun.
If Doto often went to the Trainer's house, wouldn't that seriously interfere with their own intimate moments with the Trainer!?
Lucian said he hadn't thought of that at all.
...