The March spring breeze brushed gently across his face, and the sunlight was just right.
Inside the Villa of Chasing Light.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, spilling into the room and casting a few pale golden bands across the floor.
Faint birdsong drifted in from outside the window, crisp and pleasant, carrying the unique vitality and peace of a spring morning.
Refreshed and clear-headed... that was probably the right phrase.
At least, for Kuroha in this moment, refreshed and clear-headed described him perfectly.
"The same old ceiling..."
Kuroha opened his eyes drowsily and stared at the patch of white above him for a few seconds, his mind slowly waking from sleep.
He blinked, turned his head slightly, and narrowed his eyes at the few strands of sunlight coming in from outside.
After taking a moment to collect himself, he slowly let out a breath.
As his body shifted, the slick, wonderful sensation against his chest and waist was already something he had long grown used to.
In his arms.
Long pale-blonde hair with light gold highlights spilled over the pillow like a waterfall, and a beautiful sleeping face rested against his chest, breathing soft and even.
The girl's eyelashes were long, casting faint shadows in the morning light. The corners of her lips even seemed to hold the trace of a smile.
Obey Your Master.
At the start of the month, she had just married Kuroha, becoming his third wife after March and Inari.
Looking at that breathtakingly lovely face, Kuroha smiled and gently raised a hand to brush aside the stray strands of hair scattered across her cheek.
Amei while asleep and Amei while awake were practically two different people.
When awake, this Umamusume from America always carried a stubborn fighting spirit, her eyes bright and resolute.
Mm... and even in bed, she was just as full of competitive fire, always insisting on deciding a winner and loser.
Especially on these nights after marriage, she had thrown herself into battle again and again, losing every time, only to rise back up and challenge him once more.
Then, just a few hours later, she would be cut down by Kuroha and collapse onto the bed, crying out for mercy.
But when she was asleep...
Kuroha looked at her peaceful sleeping face, and the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily.
"She's much cuter like this."
He pulled the blanket up a little, covering the girl's bare shoulder, then reached for the phone on the bedside table.
At his current position, he had already gotten used to the constant flood of messages that appeared at all hours.
Besides the occasional messages from people he knew, those old men would also "bother" him from time to time.
But with the seat he now occupied, and the benefits that came with the power he wielded, this was probably just one of the "pains" he had to endure.
The phone screen lit up.
The first thing that entered his sight was a huge pile of Classic Triple Crown warm-up news.
After all, this was the grand celebration held once a year, and only once in an Umamusume's life.
In past years, chuunibyou titles like the "one super, four elites" sort of nickname McQueen once had would already have spread throughout Central.
The media always loved slapping all kinds of labels on these young genius girls, as if failing to do so would somehow let the occasion down.
And this year was no exception.
Tokai Teio, who had exploded with brilliance in the Yayoi Sho, had also been given a title.
The King of Hama.
Kuroha looked at the title and shook his head faintly.
Come to think of it, the origin of that title was rather strange.
It had not come entirely from Teio's strength, but had instead spread from relatives and acquaintances back in her hometown of Nagahama.
The King of Hama.
...The king of Nagahama.
"Well, I guess Teio's brought honor to her hometown too."
Kuroha smiled, then continued scrolling while thinking to himself,
"If I count the timing..."
"After Teio's Satsuki Sho, McQueen's Tenno Sho (Spring) will come up very soon."
"And after that, we'll have to start getting ready for the overseas campaign too..."
"With the Three Goddesses helping this time, it probably won't be a mad scramble like it was for Oguri back then, right?"
Just as he was thinking that, a news headline suddenly jumped into view.
[Breaking! Official Satsuki Sho entry list released!]
Kuroha's finger paused.
It had already been more than twenty days since the Yayoi Sho.
Coincidentally, the three Satsuki Sho trial races had all finished by now, so the entry slots ought to have been finalized.
He tapped into the article.
The list was long, one name after another passing before his eyes.
Very soon, he saw a familiar name.
Nice Nature.
Kuroha's eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected.
Nice Nature had lived up to expectations and secured a spot in the Satsuki Sho.
She had entered the Spring Stakes a few days ago and earned the first... third-place finish of her life.
And this time, that third place had come in a pretty miserable fashion.
Kuroha faintly recalled the footage of that race.
In that Spring Stakes.
Although her trainer had avoided the Yayoi Sho, where Tokai Teio was running, she had gone headfirst into another top Umamusume of this Classic generation.
Ibuki Maikagura.
Just like how Teio had won the G1 Hopeful Stakes last year, this girl had also claimed the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies title.
Since her debut, she had gone six races with four wins, and even in her two losses, she had still finished in the top three both times.
She was a formidable rival of the Classic year.
And then Nature had very unfortunately collided with exactly that kind of opponent.
The race itself had been simple.
Nice Nature spent the entire race using her debuff skills to interfere with Ibuki Maikagura, and she had just barely managed to affect the other girl's rhythm.
But that was all.
She could not stop Ibuki Maikagura from winning.
And as for herself, because she had spent too much of her energy, she had failed to outrun the second-place girl.
So she had tearfully taken third.
It was practically a replay of how Nature had gone up against Tokai Teio in the original timeline at the Kisaragi Sho.
"Her race awareness is still a little weak. Still, getting a Satsuki Sho entry spot means she's doing all right."
That was Kuroha's assessment.
After that, the remaining articles were all predictions from the Three Sages about the Satsuki Sho and analyses of this generation's Classic Umamusume.
Originally.
According to outside evaluations, Tokai Teio's strength was only a little above Ibuki Maikagura's.
And that was with the Chasing Light halo effect included.
After all, before the Yayoi Sho, Teio, excluding her debut race, had only won two open-class races and one G1 before December last year, a total of just three races.
Three wins in three starts versus four wins in six starts did not seem like a particularly huge gap on paper.
But that assessment had been completely shattered after the Yayoi Sho.
First, Ibuki Maikagura's team had proactively avoided Tokai Teio, shifting their schedule from the Yayoi Sho to the Spring Stakes.
That in itself was already a statement.
Second, and more importantly, there was the terrifying strength Tokai Teio had displayed in that race.
That day.
It was as though Teio wanted to prove to the outside world that her strength was not merely a little above everyone else's.
And perhaps she had also wanted to answer the bold words she had spoken to Kuroha before the race, that she would stand unrivaled beneath the heavens.
So after she completely overtook the frontrunner on the final straight, not only did she not slow down the way she had in the Hopeful Stakes, she actually kept accelerating.
Other than not using Domain, her trump card, and not relying on that naturally flexible gift of hers, her normal speed burst alone had been enough to leave every other racer in the dust.
On a final straight of only 310 meters, she had opened up a seven-length gap over second place.
From that moment on.
The claim that "Tokai Teio does not have the same dominance as Mejiro McQueen" was thoroughly destroyed.
"Mmm..."
Right in the middle of reading the news, the soft warmth in his arms suddenly stirred and let out a few sweet little sounds.
Kuroha snapped back to himself and looked down.
The blonde girl, her figure lush to the extreme, rubbed against his chest and slowly raised her head.
That beautiful face was still heavy with sleep, her eyes half-open and half-closed, like a drowsy kitten.
"Trainer... is it morning already?"
"Mm."
Kuroha gently tightened his hold on her body and shifted her into a more comfortable position.
"Amei, I've already taken care of a leave from the academy for you these past few days. You can sleep a little longer."
"Oh..."
Obey Your Master looked at him hazily. After a while, she seemed to wake up a little more.
Then she gave him a playful smile.
That smile carried a meaning Kuroha knew all too well.
Every time she smiled like that, whatever came next usually pushed Kuroha's getting-up time back by another three hours.
Sure enough.
The girl suddenly slipped back under the blanket.
"Again?"
That thought had only just flashed through Kuroha's mind when he felt movement under the covers.
"Hiss-"
He could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
His weak point was swallowed by warm softness.
He had no choice but to put the phone down.
Not long afterward, the room was filled with the broken, lark-like sounds and pleading cries of the American girl, worn out from the effort.
...
An hour later.
Fully dressed, Kuroha walked out of the room by himself.
He gently closed the door behind him and glanced back once.
The room had returned to silence again, with only the faint sound of even breathing drifting out.
He shook his head, a helpless smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
The villa felt a little empty at this hour.
The ones who needed to train were already up training, and the ones who wanted to go out and play were probably already out playing.
And the ones with nothing to do were, more likely than not, still asleep.
Mm...
At the very least, Kuroha was sure that Inari was definitely still sleeping.
After loosening up a bit, Kuroha headed downstairs and went straight for the kitchen.
But as soon as he reached the first floor, he heard some faint sounds coming from the hall.
"At this hour, who's awake? No way little Inari came down this early, right?"
Puzzled, Kuroha followed the sound around the corner toward the kitchen.
There, at the dining table on the first floor, sat a familiar silver-haired figure by herself.
Several bamboo steamers were placed in front of the silver-haired girl, each one filled with xiaolongbao so stuffed the wrappers looked ready to burst.
White steam curled gently upward.
Judging by the unmistakable Chinese breakfast spread, this was probably Ardan's handiwork.
At that moment, Oguri Cap was sitting there with her head lowered, fully focused on dealing with the food in front of her.
One bite at a time, she was happily devouring it all.
(End of Chapter)
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