That night, after returning home, Kuroha spent some long-overdue, tender time with the Chasing Light girls he had not seen in ages.
Over the next two days, after discussing everything with Maruzensky and making thorough preparations, the two of them successfully held a grand wedding.
Then, when she heard Kuroha suggest taking her to Ireland for their honeymoon, Maruzensky agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Just like that, of the four major things he had to handle after returning, Kuroha easily completed two of them.
During this time, aside from comforting the girls in his household, Kuroha also exchanged thoughts with Symboli Rudolf several times.
Because of their previous agreement, Rudolf would occasionally come to the Mejiro Training Grounds to guide Rice Shower and Nice Nature in their training for their Demonic Talent.
However, she had student council work to handle, and Nice Nature had her own team as well.
After nearly two months of adjustment, once Rudolf had taught everything she should teach and the two had learned everything they needed to learn, it was only natural that they could not keep coming over every day.
So Kuroha took advantage of the few times Rudolf visited to quietly keep her observations and opinions about Rice Shower during his expedition in mind.
After gathering all the information he needed, combined with his own observations of Rice Shower during this period, Kuroha had already formed some preliminary ideas about how to deal with the little uma musume's psychological issues.
...
The sky was clear today, and the breeze was gentle.
It was the perfect sort of day to trigger Sunny Days and Firm Conditions.
On a plot of land near the outer suburbs outside Tokyo's Chuo Ward, Block 640.
This place had originally been the site of an abandoned wholesale market.
A while ago, because the site's managers still had not settled on the land's use or redevelopment schedule, Kuroha used his connections through the URA Association, then let money do the talking and paid a large deposit to lease the place.
Now, construction here was in full swing.
Clang... Crash...
The sharp sound of metal striking metal rang out.
Kuroha stood not far away, watching the lively construction site ahead.
As far as the eye could see, aside from heavy machinery, there were also quite a few uma musume workers hurrying around in specially made hard hats with openings at the top, their small horse ears poking out through them.
From time to time, some of them could even be seen easily shouldering heavy construction materials with an absurd visual impact, making the scene look slightly exaggerated.
Kuroha had long since gotten used to it.
Race uma musume were only one part of the uma musume race in this world.
Not every uma musume stepped onto the track.
Aside from race uma musume, they could be found among boxers, delivery workers, doctors, nurses, and even the construction workers before his eyes.
After all, an uma musume's basic physical stats were more than three times those of a human.
And that was only the baseline. For some exceptionally gifted uma musume, five times stronger was merely the starting point.
Because of that, no matter what profession they entered, they were basically among the very best in their fields.
If they were not so rare, and if they were not basically only born under the blessing of the Three Goddesses, then high-end fields across every industry probably would have been emptied of humans long ago.
"This is quite the major project. Even with your connections making the process go smoothly, Kuro-kun, I'd guess it won't be finished until after New Year's."
Beside him, Maruzensky smiled as she held Kuroha's arm, her astonishing fullness pressed into an alluring curve.
"A year isn't that long," Kuroha said with a nod, his heart swelling with ambition.
One year from now, his Chasing Light team would have its own exclusive training grounds.
No. Not just training grounds.
Kuroha looked toward the building that had been erected first in the center of the site.
From the very beginning, his concept had been to create a large, comprehensive estate that combined lodging and training, similar to Gildune Manor in Ireland or Chantilly Manor in France.
However, only members of the Chasing Light team would be allowed to live there.
That way, once it was finished, aside from the training grounds, even if Chasing Light's roster of uma musume kept growing in the future, they would not need to change villas. It was killing two birds with one stone.
After all, as the number of girls in his household kept increasing, the villa provided by Tracen Academy had nearly run out of room for them all.
After inspecting the site and confirming that nothing needed to be adjusted, Kuroha took Maruzensky with him and started walking toward the Mejiro Training Grounds.
As they walked, Kuroha seemed to remember something and turned to ask, "Maruzen, what do you think of Bourbon and Rice Shower?"
The chestnut-haired older woman froze slightly, then smiled. "What else? Pretty much the same as Rudolf, I suppose."
Jokes aside, Maruzensky still thought seriously for a moment before continuing.
"If I really had to evaluate them, then with little Bourbon, her strong point is that she's... a very orthodox race uma musume, I'd say."
"She has ideals. She has goals. She can work hard and fight to reach the finish line. She usually doesn't show much expression, and she's a little spacey, but that's cute in its own way. I like it very much."
"Her strong points, huh... What about her weaknesses?" Kuroha asked.
"Those are obvious too. Her talent and aptitude."
Maruzensky spoke with concern. "If things continue like this, she may have a very hard time reaching the same realm as little Inari and little McQueen."
Kuroha knew what she meant.
Although Maruzensky herself had not been able to push open the third step of Domain, the gate to "the world," she was still a legend of her era. On top of that, she had personally witnessed two race uma musume who had pushed open that gate.
Even if she could not do it herself, she at least had a vague understanding of it.
If a girl's talent was a bit lacking, she could still do what Inari One had done and force open a crack with intense emotion and astonishing willpower.
But Mihono Bourbon...
"Little Bourbon is not only somewhat slow emotionally. In terms of absolute talent as an uma musume, she also has a gap between herself and girls like little Teio and little McQueen."
"She only barely managed to keep up with those geniuses through sheer effort far beyond ordinary people. It must be... exhausting for her."
Maruzensky pressed her cheek against Kuroha's arm, a faint trace of nostalgia and sympathy in her voice.
Kuroha was silent for a moment, then said softly, "But everything Bourbon has given will eventually be rewarded."
Maruzensky blinked, then immediately smiled beautifully. "Right. Because she has you, Kuro-kun."
As she spoke, the mature older-sister-style uma musume suddenly showed a thoroughly girlish side, hugging Kuroha's arm and constantly rubbing and burrowing against him.
"Hehe, as expected, my Kuro-kun is the best. Darling, darling, I want a kiss."
"..."
Kuroha broke into a slight sweat, but seeing how she was acting spoiled without caring who might be watching, he still obediently lowered his head and kissed her.
...
A few minutes later, Maruzensky returned to normal.
Forcibly suppressing the urge to drag her husband straight into a love hotel, she gave a light cough, kept one hand wrapped around Kuroha's arm, and raised the index finger of her other hand with a solemn expression.
"As for little Rice Shower, her problem is much bigger."
"Her strengths stand out. She has a resilient personality. Her physical abilities and talent are still not on little Teio or little McQueen's level, but they're definitely no worse than little Bourbon's."
"As for her weakness, that's just as obvious."
At this point, Maruzensky paused for a moment, then looked up at Kuroha, her voice becoming very soft.
"She's lost..."
"Unlike little Bourbon, she doesn't know what she truly wants to do. So she keeps hoping that you, as her trainer, will give her a goal."
"...But I want her to find that goal herself," Kuroha replied quietly.
Then what should we do now?
That thought flashed through Maruzensky's mind, but she did not ask it out loud. She simply held Kuroha's steady arm in silence and continued walking forward with him.
Sure enough, in the next moment, the voice that made her feel incomparably at ease sounded beside her ear.
"It's all right. Leave it to me."
Maruzensky raised her eyes.
All at once, Kuroha's usual confident and gentle smile crashed into her heart without warning.
"I'll handle Rice Shower's situation. Don't worry."
"..."
In that instant, the voluptuous older woman felt the little deer in her chest explode as if Mars had slammed into Earth.
Instinct overruled reason. Suppression replaced thought.
"Darling."
"Hm?"
"Come on! With me!"
The next second, Kuroha was dragged into a love hotel by brute force, his face completely blank with confusion.
(End of Chapter)
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