...
Urara: "Suzuka-nee, what evidence do you have? Feel free to speak."
"Last year when I was in France, I met Broye. She asked me how Lucian-kun was doing at Tracen—small daily life things like that."
Silence Suzuka paused, her fingers lightly tapping the table. "She seemed unusually interested in Lucian-kun's training environment, food preferences, everything."
"Really? How come I didn't know?" Lucian looked at Silence Suzuka half-believing, half-doubting, but her calm and composed expression didn't look like she was making it up.
"Lucian-kun knows now, doesn't he?" Silence Suzuka took a sip of the tea Matikane Tannhauser had prepared. The unsoftened bitterness exploded on her tongue instantly.
Tch... so bitter.
She glanced at the untouched teacups in front of everyone... no wonder no one drank.
"Everyone, don't make things hard for Trainer-san." Special Week suddenly spoke, her expression extremely serious. "I-I won't lose Trainer-san to Broye."
No response.
The lounge was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All the horse girls stared at Special Week in astonishment.
After a delayed reaction, Special Week seemed to finally realize what she had said. Her cheeks flushed crimson instantly. She waved her hands frantically. "That's not what I meant by winning Trainer-san back home... I mean winning Trainer-san's exclusive rights—no, that's not it either! I mean... I mean..."
She was too flustered, babbling incoherently—the more she explained, the worse it got.
It should be called a slip—accidentally laying her feelings so nakedly bare in front of everyone, not a mistake in words.
"What Spe-chan probably meant is that she'll do her best to defeat Broye, right?" Silence Suzuka's tone was gentle, timely rescuing her.
"Mhm!" Special Week nodded vigorously like she had grabbed a lifeline. "So everyone, please don't make things hard for Trainer-san."
She secretly glanced at the faint rope marks visible on Lucian's wrist, feeling pained. Being tied to a chair like this... it would be fine in private. How did it escalate to this in public?
"Untie me already." Lucian's tone had become noticeably firmer.
Matikane Tannhauser and Twin Turbo exchanged a glance, seeing apology in each other's eyes. They cut the rope. "Sorry, Trainer."
"You tied it really tight." Lucian flexed his wrists. Clear red indentations marked where the rope had bitten in—these two hadn't held back at all.
Being a Trainer at Tracen was apparently a high-risk job.
"Sorry, Trainer." Urara hopped off her chair. Gone was her fierce expression. She carefully took Lucian's hand and gently rubbed the marks with her thumbs.
If he was really hurt, how could she not feel heartbroken?
"Alright, it doesn't hurt. It's nothing serious." Lucian smiled and looked toward Special Week. "The wager never stood, so Spe-chan doesn't need to feel too pressured. Win or lose, I'm staying at Tracen."
These words acted like a powerful sedative, finally calming Special Week's tense heart. "Mhm! Understood, Trainer-san."
Lucian nodded and glanced at the darkening sky outside. "Alright, it's getting late. Everyone, hurry back for dinner."
...
One week later.
After long training and waiting, the Japan Cup finally arrived.
Tokyo Racecourse was packed to capacity. The massive tiered stands rose like layers of frozen petals, tightly encircling the sacred green track at the center!
"Welcome everyone to Tokyo Racecourse. The highly anticipated Japan Cup is about to begin..." The announcer's voice rang out.
In this race, Special Week held the top popularity ranking. Though other Japanese horse girls were also competing, none matched her fame or record.
Plus, this was Japan's home turf—so Special Week naturally became the crowd favorite.
"Now I will introduce the participants for this race!"
"...Number 2, the well-known Special Week. She has achieved excellent results over the past two years. We look forward to her performance in this Japan Cup!"
"...Number 5, the Grasslands Daughter from Australia, Penelope... Number 7, Europe's Horse Queen, Broye..."
"Number 10, the Ice Crystal Queen from Sweden, Astrid... Number 13, the Undefeated Warrior from Spain, Sergio."
...
In the stands, Lucian and the "Dream" members had already taken excellent seats with perfect views.
Twin Turbo excitedly leaned over the railing. "Look! It's Golden Pudding-chan!"
Matikane Tannhauser turned at Twin Turbo's shout. "And Red Bull-chan and Wheat-chan too!"
Lucian quickly reached out and covered their pointing fingers, warning helplessly. "Keep it down, and don't point randomly! You'll get kicked out as weirdos."
Mejiro McQueen stared closely at Lucian holding their hands.
"Hello~ Trainer Lucian, and everyone from 'Dream'~" A familiar voice, deliberately light and cheerful, floated from behind them.
Lucian turned—it was El Condor Pasa, who had been missing from the training ground a few days ago.
She had actually come straight to them.
"El Condor Pasa, why are you here?" Lucian looked around but didn't see Toujou Hana.
"Of course to cheer for Spe-chan!" El Condor Pasa smiled innocently.
But Lucian's hands were itching.
Daring to bully his Spe-chan!? Was she not afraid he'd rip that eyepatch off her face?
"Where's Coach Toujou and the rest of 'Rigil'? I don't see them." Before acting, Lucian cautiously checked the situation.
"They're in another section~ I was just about to head over!" El Condor Pasa, still unaware of the danger, smiled brightly.
"Oh~" Lucian rubbed his chin, the corner of his mouth curving. He muttered as if to himself, "So they can't interfere here for now."
El Condor Pasa's face filled with confusion. "Hm? What do you mean, Trainer Lucian?"
Lucian made a gesture. "Surround her. Surround her."
At the command, the "Dream" members spread out in perfect coordination, forming a net that completely encircled El Condor Pasa.
El Condor Pasa, completely lost, blinked. Her smile froze. "Eh? What's going on?"
"Little Eagle, you were the one who taught her 'Wait for me,' right? Speak honestly—don't play dumb." Lucian cracked his knuckles.
Power backed by horse girls.
With so many horse girls behind him, was he afraid of one little El Condor Pasa?
"Th-that was an honest mistake." El Condor Pasa still tried to bluff her way through. But seeing everyone's silent expressions, she finally gave in. Her horse ears drooped. "Fine... I did it on purpose..."
"Spe-chan still doesn't know about this. Should we tell her?" Lucian said.
"C-can we... not tell her?" Rare pleading appeared in El Condor Pasa's eyes. "I'll do anything!"
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Really... anything?"
...