That night, at Lexington Market's Saratoga Restaurant.
Oguri Cap sat at the table, rapidly working her way through a crab cake as she "complained," "I was just thinking about why Shin and Kitahara thought I was sick."
Her tone was almost completely flat. At first glance, it might have made someone wonder whether she was actually upset.
Of course, perhaps because she was eating so quickly, the sounds of chewing and swallowing drowned out the little emotions in her voice.
No—but thinking about it carefully, that couldn't be right. Oguri Cap wasn't the sort who forgot all her bad feelings the moment food hit the table. On the contrary, negative emotions only made it harder for her to eat.
So, judging from how she looked now, she was probably fine.
Kitahara Jones and Oguri Shine exchanged glances, each feeling the other visibly relax.
But why had they been worried in the first place?
Naturally, because someone had been "spreading affection around."
On the other side of the table—
"Xingyun, this one's good, this one's good. Eat more. And this, and this, and this too."
Nolen Ace's chopsticks were moving so fast they practically left afterimages in the air. She was taking a little of nearly every dish in the restaurant and piling it onto Xingyun Liuge's plate, as if terrified the girl might go hungry.
Her two little partners immediately followed suit.
Rudy Lemo, the blonde one, was rather more restrained. She only placed a little food on Xingyun's plate before sitting back down to eat—though even then, she kept sneaking glances at Xingyun as she did.
Mini Lady seemed to have gotten into a contest with Nolen Ace. Whatever Nolen picked up, she picked up too, and in even larger portions. For a while, it was hard to tell whose friend she actually was.
South Wind Angle, on the other hand, was much calmer. She simply watched quietly and smiled.
Fujimasa March was caught in a torment of her own making. She wanted to put food on Xingyun Liuge's plate too, but she was afraid Xingyun might get too full—or simply be unable to finish it. She was caught, quite literally, between advancing and retreating.
Xingyun Liuge noticed Fujimasa March's hesitation, but she did not do anything to the girl directly. Instead, she turned her attention to Chihaya Yui.
Then came an audible chomp.
Xingyun Liuge leaned forward and bit down on Chihaya Yui's chopsticks, brazenly stealing the crab cake Yui had just picked up.
In an instant, the restaurant fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Yes—even the sounds of Oguri Cap wolfing down food disappeared. She stared wide-eyed, not even noticing that half a crab cake had fallen back onto her plate.
Xingyun Liuge drew back, sat naturally in her own seat again, and looked around in puzzlement.
"What's wrong? Everyone should eat. The food here is pretty delicious, isn't it?"
As soon as she spoke, she ran her tongue slowly across her springy lips. Under the lights, a faint rosy sheen seemed to flash across them, making them look so appetizing it was almost criminal.
Then came a very clear gulp.
Someone had swallowed a little too hard, and everyone heard it. But no one thought it rude, because they all had the same urge.
At that moment, they all found Xingyun Liuge absurdly fascinating—cute, yes, but with a kind of seductive air that seemed to seep straight out of her bones.
A horse girl this innocent about the dangers of the world practically begged to be locked away in a basement and spoiled rotten.
Chihaya Yui, however, was not thinking anything remotely like that.
She was only staring at the chopsticks in her hand, both hands trembling uncontrollably.
It would have been one thing if Xingyun had simply eaten the crab cake.
But why did she have to bite directly onto her chopsticks?
Most importantly—why like that?
During that little act, Xingyun had bitten down on nearly a third of the chopsticks before smoothly retreating. Which meant she had definitely licked them—an entire third of them.
And Chihaya Yui had used those chopsticks to eat several dishes already.
What Xingyun had just done was essentially an indirect kiss.
And if she kept using the same chopsticks after this, then she would be the one deliberately sharing an indirect kiss with Xingyun Liuge.
Was that... really okay?
Was this still the proper sort of relationship for a trainer and her horse girl?
Wouldn't something this outrageous completely distort the nature of their bond?
Maybe she should just stop eating.
But just as that thought crossed her mind, a crab cake suddenly appeared in front of her.
More precisely, Xingyun Liuge had picked up a crab cake with her own chopsticks and was now holding it right in front of Yui's lips.
And then she said, in that clear, innocent voice of hers, "I only ate one crab cake. Do you all really need to stare at me like that? Here, Yui, you eat one too. For our friendship."
Chihaya Yui's lips twitched.
T-this... this really isn't appropriate, is it? There are so many people watching.
She could feel everyone's stares growing sharp and unbearable, as though she were about to be riddled with arrows.
That was right—the horse girls crowding around this table had all come here because of Xingyun Liuge. One or maybe several of them probably harbored special feelings toward her.
And if Xingyun acted this close to her, then in their eyes, she would undoubtedly become a romantic rival.
This was a horse-girl world, after all. Such a development was hardly unusual.
But she had never thought about anything like that!
"Come on. Ahh~"
Xingyun Liuge noticed Yui's tension. But the more nervous Chihaya Yui became, the more amused Xingyun felt. She leaned further across the table, one hand coming down onto Chihaya Yui's thigh and giving it a light squeeze.
Chihaya Yui shuddered from bottom to top, exactly like the guilty little tremble people made in anime when they'd just been caught.
If Chihaya Yui had accepted the crab cake with perfect composure, Xingyun Liuge would only have found it boring and lost interest in teasing her.
But her trainer had shown weakness now.
Naturally, Xingyun had no intention of letting that go so easily.
A girl like this was worth teasing. Wasn't she?
If they hadn't been in a crowded restaurant, Xingyun would definitely have squeezed her thigh again, then whispered in an unmistakably suggestive tone, Oh? Nice and firm. Been training, have you?
But with so many people around, she had to settle for something milder.
Xingyun applied a bit more force and pinched Chihaya Yui's thigh hard enough to make her gasp and open her mouth.
And the instant she did, Xingyun stuffed the crab cake into it.
That still wasn't the end of it.
After pinching her thigh, Xingyun raised her hand and gently helped close Yui's mouth again. Before Chihaya Yui had even fully processed what was happening, Xingyun had already begun slowly drawing her chopsticks back out from between her lips.
In a sense, it was a perfect reversal of Xingyun's earlier theft.
Only this time, Xingyun was the active party, and Chihaya Yui was completely passive.
At that point, Saratoga Restaurant became even quieter.
The girls all looked at one another, none of them saying a word.
Then the front doors of the restaurant opened, and a new horse girl stepped inside from outside.
But they had rented out the entire place. There was even a notice posted at the entrance.
So what exactly was this newcomer here for?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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