An enticing aroma soon drifted out of the kitchen.
For Kuroha, a Trainer who had already polished his cooking skills to the extreme, to the point that they could practically be called state-banquet level, preparing dinner for several Umamusume was a simple matter.
In less than an hour, a lavish spread of dishes with perfect color, fragrance, and flavor filled the long dining table.
"Dinner's ready."
Kuroha walked out of the kitchen carrying the final soup and untied his apron.
The girls in the hall immediately moved at the sound.
Maruzensky and McQueen took their seats while chatting and laughing.
Meanwhile, Folkqueen, who had come down from the second floor, seemed somewhat distracted.
She had changed into a dark Lolita dress that covered her quite thoroughly. It looked like something Epsley Glory had bought for her at Tracen.
A faint, suspicious blush still lingered on her delicate little face.
"Queen, come sit down!"
Godolphin called to her with extreme naturalness, casually pulling out the chair beside her.
The atmosphere at the dining table was very harmonious.
The group chatted and laughed happily while enjoying the food.
"Little McQueen, here!"
Maruzensky once again picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs for McQueen, making the grey-haired girl jab at her chopsticks with a resentful expression, unsure whether to eat it or not.
Godolphin, meanwhile, was very quiet when she ate.
She chewed slowly and carefully, with considerable elegance.
At times like this, she truly did fit the image of a goddess.
Only Folkqueen seemed a little strange.
At the moment, she was merely silently shoveling the rice in her bowl into her mouth, turning a blind eye to the lavish dishes spread across the table.
Her gold-red heterochromatic eyes looked somewhat empty, as if she were lost in thought.
"Queen, are the dishes not to your taste today?"
Kuroha noticed her odd state and asked with some concern.
"N-No! They're delicious... mmph, cough, cough!"
Folkqueen lifted her head like a startled rabbit and answered in a stammer. Then she suddenly shoveled two large mouthfuls of rice into her mouth and nearly choked herself.
"...Eat slower. No one's fighting you for it."
Kuroha helplessly handed her a glass of water.
Beside them, Godolphin stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, the corners of her lips frantically rising.
Kuroha, meanwhile, gave Godolphin a somewhat helpless look.
His instincts told him that Folkqueen's current state was absolutely Godolphin's doing.
Faced with his questioning gaze, the blue goddess merely winked playfully, her eyes brimming with laughter.
...
Time soon arrived at the next day.
Today was still a rest day.
There was no training required.
The daytime slipped by quickly as Kuroha spent it playing with his Umamusume.
He also briefly handled some recent work in the study.
While he was at it, he called the staff on Tracen's side to confirm the exact date of his return.
And now, he was chatting with another student council president of practically unlimited authority at Tracen.
[Luna: You're coming back in three days, right?]
[My Little Horse: That's the estimate. If there are any changes, I'll notify the association.]
[My Little Horse: Why? Are things busy on your side?]
[My Little Horse: Let me see.jpg]
[Luna: So are you willing to let Maruzensky come back and help me?]
Tracen Academy.
Symboli Rudolf wore a faint smile on her face, ignoring the mountain of work piled up beside her as she looked at the phone screen with a relaxed expression.
[My Little Horse: You should first think about how to catch Mr. C.B. and drag her back.]
[My Little Horse: In the entire student council, aside from you, there are barely any people who actually work properly.]
[My Little Horse: Even if I send Maruzensky back, you'll probably still be the one doing the work. At most, you'll get a cup of hot tea.]
[Luna: Stop talking! Puppy shaking head.jpg]
"Ha ha."
Looking at the cute sticker Rudolf had sent, Kuroha could not help laughing.
[Luna: Speaking of which, things haven't been very peaceful around Tracen lately either.]
[My Little Horse: How so?]
Looking at those words, Kuroha asked back with some confusion.
[Luna: Recently, a top retired Umamusume from Bald Eagle chose to transfer her registration and move to Tracen. The procedures were originally all completed, but when the plane landed, no one saw her.]
[My Little Horse: No one saw her? What does that mean?]
[Luna: It means Bald Eagle confirmed that the Umamusume had already boarded the plane, and the flight attendants on the plane also confirmed that she was present during the flight.]
[Luna: But then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone...]
[My Little Horse: ?]
"?"
A question mark appeared over Kuroha's forehead both on the screen and in reality.
What did she mean, "gone"?
[My Little Horse: Did she jump off the plane midway?]
Whose warrior was this?
To be so brave?!
[Luna: What are you thinking? Of course not.]
[Luna: How could anyone casually open the door of a plane mid-flight?]
[Luna: She just went to the restroom once, and then suddenly disappeared. It was like some kind of paranormal event.]
[Luna: Now the Umamusume Association in Bald Eagle wants to hold someone accountable, but Tracen really hasn't even seen that Umamusume's shadow. It's extremely strange.]
[Luna: Still, this kind of international dispute is the higher-ups' headache. It has nothing to do with me.]
Paranormal... event...
Kuroha froze slightly after reading that.
This world actually had paranormal events?
Though an Umamusume vanishing from an airplane really was somewhat eerie.
[My Little Horse: If you're worried, you can go ask Darley and Byerley. Say that I told you to. They should help.]
Whatever kind of paranormal event it was, the Three Goddesses of the Umamusume had now descended to Tracen. No matter how eerie the thing might be, it would only end up as Byerley's speed bump.
[Luna: Lady Darley and Lady Byerley...]
At Tracen, on the other side of the screen, Symboli Rudolf showed an awkward but polite smile.
[Luna: You really are the only one who can so casually order the Three Goddesses around...]
After chatting for a while longer, Kuroha said good night to Rudolf.
After all, the time difference between Tokyo and Great Britain was a full eight hours.
Although right now, it was only four in the afternoon on Kuroha's side, with the sun still shining brightly, it was already midnight in Tokyo.
Just as Rudolf also replied with "May everything go smoothly," Kuroha suddenly thought of something and sent one more message.
[My Little Horse: Speaking of which, what's the name of that missing Bald Eagle Umamusume? Is she famous?]
A reply came quickly from the other side.
[Luna: She's fairly famous.]
[Luna: She was a dual crown winner in Bald Eagle's Classic Triple Crown, and before retiring, she won six G1 races.]
[Luna: Her career record was 14 starts, 9 wins, 5 runner-up finishes. Even in defeat, she always came second. You could say she is an extremely powerful Umamusume.]
[Luna: Her name is: Sunday Silence.]
(End of Chapter)
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