...
"Cough cough, I was just joking..." Lucian rubbed his nose. "Let's head back. I still want to experience a few more rounds of the waves."
"Oh oh, okay~"
Lucian's sudden retreat made Ines Fujin very satisfied.
However, after the two of them left, the insect chirping suddenly fell silent, and the nearby bushes rustled with a series of soft sounds.
What first emerged from the grass was a pair of long, pointed ears that twitched slightly, as if trying to catch the lingering voices of the conversation in the air.
Anyone who didn't know better would think some wild animal had snuck in.
"Ara, I accidentally saw another interesting scene again." Grass Wonder stepped out of the bushes, a few leaves still stuck in her long hair.
She hadn't expected that after going to the toilet, she would come out and witness Lucian and Ines Fujin.
Hiss... The relationship between the two of them looked quite intimate as well.
...
The water park trip came to an end. The horse girls, exhausted from a full day, all slept very soundly. A few of them even started snoring.
Lucian recorded the names of those snoring horse girls in his little notebook. Next time they needed to book rooms outside for any activity, he would arrange for these few to sleep in one room.
He had wanted to do this back in university!
After finishing the room check and confirming that all the horse girls had fallen asleep, Lucian closed the door with relief and turned to walk toward his own room.
However, while walking through the corridor, Lucian suddenly came across two figures wearing kimonos, quietly sipping drinks under the moonlight.
"Although it seems I'm interrupting your sweet moment, I don't want to take a detour anymore."
The attention of both people was immediately drawn to Lucian.
Nishizaki Ryo: "You've already come over. Don't I know what you're thinking, kid? If I really let you leave, you'd probably badmouth me and Hana behind our backs."
"Little Lu, come sit down." Toujou Hana had already poured a cup of wine for Lucian.
It was around eleven o'clock at night. The night was not yet deep, and the leaves outside the courtyard rustled occasionally, like the night wind turning the pages of a book.
"Then I'll respectfully accept instead of declining." Lucian didn't want to sit between the two of them, so after taking the wine cup, he lazily leaned against the door.
Lucian raised his cup. "There's a poem in our Dragon Country that goes, 'Raising my cup to invite the bright moon, drinking together makes three people.'"
Nishizaki Ryo and Toujou Hana exchanged a glance. "What are you mumbling about? Hurry up and translate."
"No sense of romance." Lucian rolled his eyes and still explained, "It means if I'm drinking alone and invite the bright moon to drink with me, and the moon casts my shadow, then that counts as three 'people.'"
Nishizaki Ryo sat cross-legged beside the low table, holding a handful of melon seeds. After thinking for a moment, he said seriously, "Hiss~ According to what you said, Little Lu, there are seven of us right now."
"Is that what I was trying to express? Am I testing Nishizaki-senpai's arithmetic ability?" Lucian sighed helplessly.
"It's a very philosophical poem. Little Lu probably wanted to depict the current scene." Toujou Hana's red lips parted slightly, her glasses reflecting the soft moonlight.
She gave Nishizaki Ryo a disgusted look. "No wonder Little Lu says you have no sense of romance. That boy today only came to consult me about Trainer-related matters. Why did you splash water on his face for no reason?"
"666, bullying someone and not calling me." Lucian grabbed a handful of peanuts and looked at Nishizaki Ryo teasingly.
"Wasn't that just being cautious? I saw that kid getting so close..." Nishizaki Ryo scratched the back of his head and weakly defended himself. He had simply gotten heated in the moment and acted impulsively. "But I did apologize to him afterward."
"Little Lu, do you know the reason he gave for apologizing?" Toujou Hana suddenly asked, the smile at the corner of her mouth meaningful.
"Huh?" Lucian had been enjoying the show and didn't expect it to involve him. "What reason?"
Toujou Hana: "He said he mistook the other person for you."
Lucian: "..."
His expression froze for a few seconds, then he slowly turned his head and stared at Nishizaki Ryo.
"Nishizaki Ryo-senpai can use this reason to punish evil and uphold justice from now on. This time it was splashing water, next time it might be a karate chop, and the time after that... Does Nishizaki-senpai have any inheritance?"
"The basin of socks still piled up at home..." Nishizaki Ryo gave two dry laughs. Seeing both Toujou Hana and Lucian distancing themselves in disgust, he quickly waved his hands. "Okay okay, I was joking."
"Who knows~?"
"I'm serious, don't bully an honest person like me!"
Lucian shook his head casually, then took a sip of wine and changed the subject. "By the way, what were you two senpai talking about earlier?"
The two exchanged glances, and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat serious.
Toujou Hana spoke first: "We were talking about this year's Japan Cup."
"The Japan Cup? Isn't that still quite far away?" Lucian raised an eyebrow and asked.
"But this year the foreign contestants are coming in full force, all of them formidable opponents." Nishizaki Ryo swirled the wine in his cup, his voice lowering a few degrees.
The Japan Cup is an international Grade 1 race and one of the few Japanese races open to international competition.
However, in recent years, the Japan Cup champions seemed to have been swept away by horse girls from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Dragon Country, Italy, and others.
"Aren't there strong opponents every year?" Toujou Hana's counterquestion carried a sharp edge. She continued, "It's just that this year, I heard the European Horse King will also be participating. Most of our active powerful horse girls here may choose to avoid the race."
Lucian didn't feel as worried as the two of them about this international-level event, because he wasn't Japanese.
Secondly, he also understood those horse girls' choices. For example, if Mejiro McQueen wanted to participate, he wouldn't advise it.
He knew too well how terrifying the Zone of those top horse girls was—it wasn't just a contest of power and speed, but a crushing of will.
With McQueen's current strength, challenging them rashly would only have her confidence torn apart by those chaotic Zones.
"So... neither of your teams has any horse girl intending to compete?"
Nishizaki Ryo: "My team doesn't for now."
"Our team... El Condor Pasa might participate, but she's in France right now and will probably face Noble Family soon." A faint, lingering worry could be seen between Toujou Hana's brows.
"What about that Nase Fumina?" Lucian asked again.
Toujou Hana: "She's leading the new generation this year, so she probably won't compete either."
Nishizaki Ryo: "Little Lu, does your team have any horse girl intending to participate?"
Lucian lightly tapped the wooden floor. "Yes, Spe-chan."
...