"Senior Tachyon, I—"
At just that moment, Daiwa Scarlet came back.
Out of habit, she called out to Agnes Tachyon as soon as she returned, intending to check whether Tachyon had taken advantage of her absence to bother Xingyun Liuge again.
Daiwa Scarlet respected Agnes Tachyon, but she also admired Xingyun Liuge. If Tachyon really did go harass Xingyun Liuge, then Daiwa would absolutely choose to uphold justice over family ties.
Of course, by that she meant giving Tachyon a very stern lecture and forcing this somewhat wildly improper horse girl to act a little more properly.
After all, Agnes Tachyon had been entrusted with an important task by Symboli Rudolf. Even if no one expected her to adopt a "die for the one who understands me" attitude, she should at least behave seriously. Especially now, when Rudolf had gone back to Japan to deal with major matters, Tachyon absolutely could not be allowed to run wild.
Daiwa Scarlet felt the weight of responsibility keenly. That was why she had decided to overstep for a while and act as Agnes Tachyon's "guardian."
What she never expected was that she would be gone for only a little while, and Tachyon would pull something huge the moment her back was turned.
From Daiwa Scarlet's angle, all she saw was the two of them with their faces overlapping, Xingyun Liuge with her arms around Agnes Tachyon's neck, while Tachyon made muffled little "gh" and "mmph" sounds.
At a glance, it really did look like they were engaged in a fierce, smokeless battle.
A battle of lips and tongues, no less.
"Ex-ex-excuse me!"
A lovely pink flush surged from the girl's chest all the way to the top of her head. Daiwa Scarlet felt instantly dizzy. Swaying on her feet, she slipped back out the door at once and plastered her back against the wall.
At that moment, that wall was probably the only thing in the world that could give her even the slightest sense of security.
What exactly had she just seen?
Were those two kissing?
No, from that angle, that had absolutely been a kiss. No mistake.
So those two had that kind of relationship?
And she had known absolutely nothing about it. That awful senior of hers had hidden it from her completely!
But after a few moments, another possibility occurred to Daiwa Scarlet. Turning her head slightly, she muttered, "…No, there's also the chance Senior Tachyon used some weird drug. That would explain this too."
After all, Agnes Tachyon was a research maniac. Producing strange substances at any given moment was completely on brand for her.
Then, recalling how Tachyon had been obsessively trying to get Xingyun Liuge to become her test subject, Daiwa Scarlet became more convinced than ever that this was some kind of plot.
A horrifying flash of insight struck her.
That must be it! Senior Tachyon used some bizarre drug because she wanted to kidnap Senior Xingyun and drag her back for experiments!
Daiwa Scarlet thought that kind of thing was extremely dangerous—and incredibly unethical. As a horse girl, and as Agnes Tachyon's junior, she could not just stand by and watch Tachyon march straight down the path of crime.
So she took a deep breath, spun around, strode back into the room, and loudly declared, "Senior Tachyon, your plan has already failed! Let Senior Xingyun go at once!"
Under normal circumstances, Agnes Tachyon would have sneered and replied, "If you want her, come take her yourself."
But today was different.
Xingyun Liuge had poured an entire flask of liquid straight into her, to the point that Agnes Tachyon's lower belly was visibly swollen. Under the effect of the medicine, she did not even want to blink, let alone speak.
So after Daiwa Scarlet's righteous proclamation, she was startled to find Agnes Tachyon collapsed in a reclining chair, with a strange, clear, sticky liquid still hanging at the corner of her mouth.
"Senior Tachyon!"
At once, Daiwa Scarlet's voice filled with concern.
In truth, she cared deeply about this senior of hers. Otherwise she would never have volunteered to come all the way to America with her. Was it not because she worried Agnes Tachyon could not take care of herself, and might end up dying alone in some foreign land?
"It's all right, Miss Daiwa. Miss Agnes is just tired. Let her rest."
Xingyun Liuge tucked the flask into her "four-dimensional pocket" — the World Rune — and acted as though nothing whatsoever had happened.
Then, after a brief thought, she reached out and gently patted Daiwa Scarlet on the head.
"It's fine. You don't need to worry. Miss Agnes will definitely be all right."
Considering how hard Agnes Tachyon had been pushing herself in training races with her lately, contributing no small amount of stardust to her growth, and considering how young-yet-overly-responsible Daiwa Scarlet was as Tachyon's junior—surely she had suffered quite a lot and worried quite a lot—Xingyun Liuge decided that the gratitude she had intended for Tachyon could just as well be given to Daiwa Scarlet instead.
And so her gaze softened further.
Looking at the slightly hesitant, slightly bewildered Daiwa Scarlet, Xingyun Liuge spread her arms and asked, "Want a hug?"
Xingyun Liuge had great confidence in her hugs. After all, she had used exactly this warm, soft embrace to heal Chihaya Yui.
Since Xingyun Liuge herself said Agnes Tachyon was fine, Daiwa Scarlet was naturally willing to believe her. Xingyun Liuge was her idol—how could she possibly doubt her words? Besides, Xingyun Liuge quite clearly seemed to be an outstanding researcher in her own right, no less capable than Agnes Tachyon, which made her reassurance all the more persuasive.
Only, once she had calmed down, Daiwa Scarlet immediately remembered what she had seen when she first came in:
Xingyun Liuge and Agnes Tachyon locked in a passionate kiss.
She had no idea who had initiated it, but that did not matter. What mattered was that she was Agnes Tachyon's junior. How could she go around becoming overly close to a horse girl who had already kissed Agnes Tachyon?
At that thought, Daiwa Scarlet regretfully abandoned the opportunity. Waving her hands, she tried to decline.
"Well, about that—"
She had barely gotten halfway through the sentence when Xingyun Liuge pounced like a tiger and wrapped her in a hug, a soft, warm chest slamming straight into her face.
Holding Daiwa Scarlet's head against her, Xingyun Liuge rubbed her pale chin lightly over the girl's hair and soothed her in a gentle voice.
"There, there. Miss Daiwa really is such a reliable girl. I'm sure Miss Agnes is proud to have a junior like you. Absolutely sure."
The moment she heard those words, Daiwa Scarlet suddenly felt her nose sting.
Perhaps it was because this was the first time in her life someone had comforted her so sincerely. Or perhaps it was because Xingyun Liuge's embrace was simply too warm. Either way, Daiwa Scarlet found herself deeply moved.
The horse girl she admired most was hugging her, comforting her in that low, gentle voice. She would not even have dared dream of something like this, and yet it was happening right now.
And Xingyun Liuge had a race to run. They were not even close. She had no obligation to say any of this to her, and yet she did so without the slightest hesitation.
This was exactly the kind of thing only a gentle mother would do.
Thinking that, Daiwa Scarlet slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around Xingyun Liuge's waist. She was so overwhelmed she nearly burst into tears.
And naturally, that was the exact moment Chihaya Yui walked in, carrying neatly organized notes.
"Liuge, we…?"
She stopped dead, a question mark practically floating over her head.
What was going on here?
Why were there two other horse girls in the room?
And why was Xingyun Liuge holding Daiwa Scarlet in her arms?
There were simply too many questions. For a moment, Chihaya Yui did not even know where to begin.
After a long silence, she lowered her brows and smiled faintly, comforting herself inwardly:
Well… it's not so bad, is it?
At the very least, it showed that Xingyun Liuge was a gentle, kind child.
Didn't it?
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 150)
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 (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
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 195
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 Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
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 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
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