...
They fell asleep in each other's arms, a night without words— all their longing expressed through actions.
A ray of morning light slipped into the room and shone on Lucian's face, making him instinctively furrow his brows.
But when he turned his head and saw Silence Suzuka's exquisite sleeping face, the "川" between his brows slowly relaxed.
She was still wearing that disheveled white uniform, with only the two remaining buttons at her abdomen struggling to hold on. It was precarious, like clothes hooked on a small nail, ready to snap at any moment.
But thanks to that, he could fully admire Silence Suzuka's exposed collarbones...
Silence Suzuka quietly woke up, making no sound at all, simply gazing silently at Lucian.
Watching him hurdle once more, only to get stuck again at her own barrier.
Silence Suzuka reached out both hands, hooking them around Lucian's neck. "Good morning."
He brushed aside the strands of hair on Silence Suzuka's forehead, leaned down for a light, feather-like kiss—soft pecks one after another—before finally resting his head on her chest.
"It's not early anymore; it's already nine in the morning. What do you want to eat today?"
"Whatever Lucian-kun cooks, I'll eat." Silence Suzuka gently stroked Lucian's head back and forth, her five fingers sinking deeply into his long hair.
"Got it. Let me check what ingredients are left in the fridge. You sleep a bit more."
"Mm." Silence Suzuka's eyes rippled with affection.
...
This kind of life continued for three days.
Over these three days, Lucian and Silence Suzuka basically stayed at home.
They didn't necessarily have to go out—there were plenty of places to "explore" at home.
Not to mention the soft bed and the steamy bathroom filled with mist, there was also the quiet study, the balcony bathed in morning light...
Oh, right—and the kitchen, where Silence Suzuka fulfilled her promise.
But this lifestyle came to a temporary end, because the other horse girls had gradually returned to Tracen Academy one after another.
Today was the day they had agreed to go on a group outing.
One car definitely couldn't fit twelve horse girls, so Lucian had rented another vehicle with three rows of seats.
Lucian had originally planned to hire a driver, but he didn't expect Silence Suzuka to actually know how to drive.
"Lucian-kun, surprised?" Silence Suzuka asked. "Actually, the others probably can too."
"Huh? Really?"
Silence Suzuka explained, "We just never bought cars, because in the city, vehicles aren't as fast as we can run."
Lucian slowly nodded, pausing for a moment before saying, "That's impressive."
"Lucian-kun, let's head out. They're asking us to wait at the Tracen Academy entrance."
"Alright, let's go, let's go."
...
The two drove to the Tracen Academy entrance. Not long after, they spotted the horse girls they hadn't seen in a while.
Seiun Sky took the passenger seat in Silence Suzuka's car, riding along with Dextrous Bailey, Meisho Doto, Matikane Tannhauser, Nice Nature, and Special Week.
Special Week had originally wanted to go in Lucian's car, but seeing the front passenger seat taken by Tokai Teio—and since she hadn't seen Suzuka in a while—she ended up in this one.
"Sei-chan, welcome back."
"Spe-chan." Silence Suzuka smiled back at her.
The two often video-called, so their bond hadn't faded.
"Suzuka, what time did you get back this morning? We're leaving right away—haven't you rested properly?" Special Week asked worriedly.
"Yeah, Suzuka." Seiun Sky chimed in. "What time did you get back this morning? Though I have to say, your complexion looks great—like you've been nourished by rain."
Seiun Sky had known two days ago that Silence Suzuka was back—when she called Lucian, she had heard her panting breaths.
"Seiun still loves joking around." Silence Suzuka gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "But your complexion doesn't look so good, Seiun. A bit of dark circles—are you staying up late? What were you thinking about at night?"
Seiun Sky leaned back in her seat lazily. "Yeah, I had insomnia. I got too excited thinking about going out to play, so I couldn't sleep... But last year, my complexion was pretty good overall~"
"Really? I hope Seiun has great complexion all this year too."
"Of course I will. Thanks for the kind words~" Seiun Sky closed her eyes contentedly, the subtle upper hand in their verbal spar making her feel pleased in body and mind. "Whether it's on the track... or in other aspects."
Silence Suzuka fell silent, glancing skeptically at the confident Seiun Sky.
Was she bluffing?
Silence Suzuka didn't dare underestimate her. After all, she didn't know how many special training sessions Seiun Sky had undergone during the year she was away, or what results those trainings had yielded...
Special Week looked around left and right before finally managing to interject. "Suzuka... I've improved a lot this year too. I hope to race against you again!"
Silence Suzuka nodded. "Spe-chan has indeed gotten much stronger. I watched your races with Seiun—you beat her in the Tenno Sho. That's impressive."
Special Week rubbed her hands shyly. "Thanks. I was in great form then, and there was a bit of luck involved. But Seiun got her revenge in the Arima Kinen later."
"Yeah, I got lucky and just managed to win." Seiun Sky said. "Didn't Suzuka know?"
Silence Suzuka: "Really? I had something going on at the time and didn't watch."
Seiun Sky knew Silence Suzuka was still being stubborn, so a languid expression returned to her face. "Alright~ It was just the Arima Kinen championship. What championships does Suzuka have?"
"Regular practice race winning streak champion." Silence Suzuka gripped the steering wheel tightly and started the car.
The roaring engine sound felt especially pleasant to her.
Seiun Sky started humming a little tune, but to Silence Suzuka, that light melody sounded awful.
...
Matikane Tannhauser leaned toward Nice Nature. "Necha, why do I feel like the two senpai are arguing, but also kinda like they're building feelings?"
Nice Nature shook her head. "No idea. Maybe that's the bond between senpai."
Matikane Tannhauser nodded as if she understood. "Souka su ne~ (I see~)"
In the corner, Meisho Doto was scrolling on her phone, looking at recent photos of little dango. If there hadn't been this group outing, she would have gone straight to Lucian's house the moment she returned.
Dextrous Bailey: "Doto, what are you looking at?"
"Little dango... hehe, kawaii na~ (ˊ˘ˋ*)♡"
...