The feverish cheers still rolled through Nakayama Racecourse like a tidal wave.
At the highest section of the stands, Rudolf watched the girl below strike a pose that looked all too familiar and could not help letting out a quiet laugh, the corners of her lips curving into a gentle smile.
"That Teio. She's really still at it, huh?"
Beside her, Kuroha chuckled softly, his gaze also resting on Teio.
"That's one of the things that's kept pushing her forward all this time."
"'I want to become a horse girl as cool and powerful as the president.' She's been treating those words like her faith and living by them."
"Is that so..." The smile on Rudolf's face deepened.
But after watching Tokai Teio below for a while, the student council president of Tracen shifted her gaze slightly.
Her eyes landed, almost unconsciously, on Nice Nature not far away, bent over with both hands on her knees and gasping for breath, as if she were thinking about something.
Kuroha had been about to head down and greet Teio, but when he noticed Rudolf seemed distracted, he stopped and asked,
"What is it, Luna?"
Hearing Kuroha's voice, Rudolf suddenly came back to herself.
She shook her head and answered softly, "Nothing. I just happened to spot a rather promising seedling."
Kuroha followed where she had been looking and immediately understood.
"Nice Nature?"
Rudolf raised a brow in mild surprise. "You know her?"
But she quickly caught herself and shook her head.
"Then again, that makes sense. You're a trainer. Of course you've looked into the profiles of these girls."
"Well, that's not exactly the reason."
Kuroha said, "She's Teio's friend, and I've met her a few times too, so I remembered her."
"But if we're talking talent, she's one of the best users of demonic power in Central for her generation. A pure troublemaker horse girl."
"Of course, compared to you back then, there's still a certain gap."
At that, Kuroha looked at Rudolf's thoughtful expression and suddenly smiled.
"If you really have taken a liking to her and want to train her..."
"Later on, when you come to my place to help teach Rice Shower, I can have Teio bring her along too."
"...Would that really be appropriate?"
A faint gleam flickered in Rudolf's eyes. She was clearly tempted, but out of principle, she still asked with some concern,
"If I step in all of a sudden, won't I interfere with her regular training?"
"You're asking me?"
Kuroha gave a helpless shrug, then blinked and laughed lightly.
"Convincing her assigned trainer should be your job, don't you think? You are the all-powerful student council president, after all."
"..."
At that, the great and dignified Emperor's horse ears immediately drooped, and she shot Kuroha a deadpan glare.
Knowing better than to push it further, Kuroha grabbed the expressionless Bourbon beside him and waved with a grin.
"All right, Luna. I'm heading down to pick up Teio first. Oh, right - there's a celebration party at the villa tonight, so don't forget to come."
With that, he turned around and quickly left the stands, holding back a laugh.
"Kuroha, that guy..."
Rudolf had been about to watch her friend leave with exasperation, but then she folded her arms across her chest again and turned her gaze back toward the track below, the corners of her mouth lifting despite herself.
"Still... mentoring the younger generation, huh..."
That night, after the Satsuki Sho ended, Chasing Light naturally held a celebration party.
The usual laughter and playfulness filled the evening. No need to dwell on that.
...
The next morning, early.
Sunlight filtered through the thin clouds and spilled gently over the earth.
On the second floor of Chasing Light Villa, in a vacation-style room that had clearly only recently been tidied up, though the traces were no longer too obvious...
Ring ring! Ring ring!
As the alarm clock went off, the lump under the blanket on the bed wriggled twice.
Then, with a swish, Tokai Teio sat up with a yawn, her messy little ahoge sticking up.
She was wearing a cute one-piece pajama suit printed with carrots, and her small, slender body looked even more delicate wrapped in the oversized fabric.
The girl gave a big stretch, then padded barefoot across the soft carpet, turned off the alarm, and yanked open the heavy curtains.
"Aah... what a beautiful morning!"
Bright sunlight instantly flooded the room. Tokai Teio took a deep breath of the fresh air, her deep blue eyes full of hope for the future.
Yesterday, she had successfully taken the first crown of the Triple Crown!
And because of that, Kuroha had honored their promise and officially let her move into Chasing Light Villa.
Now not only had her dream taken its first solid step forward, but she was also finally living under the same roof as the trainer she liked most.
That kind of wonderful reality made the young horse girl's imagination for the future run wild.
"Hmm hmm hmm~ I wonder what we're having today~"
In an excellent mood, Tokai Teio hummed off-key to herself and pulled open the door in her pajamas.
She was just about to head downstairs to wash up and check what breakfast would be today.
But the instant she opened the door...
Click.
At the far end of the hallway, another door happened to open at the exact same moment.
A familiar figure in purple stepped out, wearing a somewhat loose, slightly rumpled silk nightgown.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand, she slowly emerged from the room.
"McQueen?"
Tokai Teio froze for a second, then greeted her on reflex.
But half a second later, her eyes suddenly flicked to the door that was still gently swaying.
And in an instant, she realized something crucial.
Wait! Wasn't that the trainer's room?!
"M-McQueen?!"
Tokai Teio's eyes went round as saucers. Her hair stood on end as she pointed ahead and stammered,
"Y-you... you... why are you coming out of the trainer's room?!"
"Huh?"
Mejiro McQueen had still been half asleep, her brain barely functioning, and Teio's shockingly loud shout jolted her so hard that she woke up on the spot.
"T-Teio?!"
Seeing the petite girl in carrot pajamas in front of her, McQueen could not immediately process why Teio was in the villa so early in the morning.
It took her a good moment before she finally remembered.
Right. Because of her victory last night, Teio had officially moved in.
"..."
The air instantly turned bizarrely silent.
Faced with Teio's eyes full of shock and suspicion, McQueen's brain started racing at full speed, and for a moment she had no idea how to answer.
She could not exactly tell her the truth, could she?
Was she supposed to say that because Ardan was in her honeymoon phase, she had allowed Oguri-senpai to crawl into the trainer's bed too?
And since she had reasoned that Oguri-senpai probably would not be able to withstand the trainer's "first-rate divine Mega Steelix" level of intensity on her own, she, as a proper young lady of a prestigious family, had volunteered out of a sense of responsibility to "share the burden" and "help solve the problem" for her two seniors in order to preserve harmony and stability within Chasing Light?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a suspicious blush flashed across Mejiro McQueen's delicate, lovely face.
But she quickly forced herself to stay calm, gave a light cough, and replied,
"Ahem... it's nothing. I just happened to have some questions about training first thing in the morning, so I wanted to ask the trainer."
"...Really?"
Tokai Teio narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Her gaze swept back and forth over McQueen's slightly messy collar and flushed cheeks, while the horse ears on top of her head twitched warily.
She was clearly not buying such a flimsy excuse.
But having only just entered her Classic year, she was still only half-aware of many "advanced fields."
For the moment, she genuinely could not think of what McQueen would be doing in the trainer's bedroom first thing in the morning.
"All right, all right!"
Seeing things were about to fall apart, McQueen quickly strode forward, grabbed Teio by the shoulders, and pushed her toward the stairs.
"You're still young. Don't worry about grown-up matters. Just go brush your teeth, wash your face, and get ready for breakfast."
"Hey, wait! Don't push me! What do you mean, grown-up matters... I've already had my True Blooming. I'm grown up now!"
"Yes, yes, you're all grown up. Now come on, let's go."
And so the two close friends made their way downstairs together, shoving and bickering the whole way down the hall.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]