Although Minster Son thought rather highly of Xingyun Liuge, her friend assumed she was simply being modest and never once considered the possibility that she was, at heart, the sort of honest child who simply said whatever was on her mind.
Perhaps it was because she herself was so strong that, even when she spoke bluntly, people took it as forthrightness rather than a touch of natural airheadedness.
Still, it was not a problem.
Xingyun Liuge had already proven herself, at least a little, through that practice race with Diminuendo. The other British horse girls had seen her strength with their own eyes, and unmistakable wariness had appeared on their faces.
After that, two more horse girls came to challenge her to training races, each one determined not to yield an inch.
That evening, after leaving the dining hall, Xingyun Liuge returned to her room out of habit, intending to dive into Samsara's End for another brutal round of training, only to be stopped by Chihaya Yui.
"Is something wrong, Yui?"
Honestly, Liuge liked this trainer quite a lot. Yui gave her wholehearted support in both training and race scheduling, stayed up late revising her daily workout plans, and could truly be called conscientious to the extreme.
So even though Liuge was convinced her own cooking was better, she was still willing to give Chihaya Yui a chance to shine and let the pots and pans submit to her.
Yui had been cooking for two straight days already—so much so that even Cuihe's maid was on the verge of lodging a protest. Was she finally planning to hand the kitchen back over?
But if that were the case, there was no need to come find her specifically.
Without saying much, Chihaya Yui only gave a mysterious little smile and said she wanted to go to Xingyun Liuge's room for a proper talk.
It was not anything particularly special. Yui simply felt that Liuge had been under a great deal of pressure lately, and wanted the girl to relax a little.
Planting her hands on her hips, with confidence shining on her pretty face, she declared,
"I'm very confident in my massage skills!"
Never mind that she had taught herself and had only ever practiced on her own body. Heaven knew where that confidence came from.
"I see," Xingyun Liuge said calmly.
She immediately reached for her skirt, startling Chihaya Yui so badly that Yui began waving both hands frantically.
"?"
Liuge was genuinely puzzled. If she did not take it off, how was Yui supposed to massage her?
Seeing her trainer's exaggerated reaction—and her instinctively closed eyes and flushed cheeks—Xingyun Liuge's lips curled upward.
She rose onto her toes, looped an arm around Yui's slender neck, and deliberately leaned close to whisper by her ear,
"Yui, your face is all red~"
She could clearly feel it—Chihaya Yui's lovely body had gone rigid with tension, the soft fullness of her chest pressed and deformed against Liuge's own, and even her heartbeat and breathing had grown rapid.
The next instant, there came the rustle of shifting cloth.
"Hurry up, Yui. Let me see what you can do."
A little teasing was one thing, but she still needed to head into Samsara's End for extra training. She could not afford to spend too much time on this.
The moment she felt Liuge step away from her, Chihaya Yui quietly let out the breath she had been holding.
She cautiously opened her eyes—
And immediately saw those legs.
White, rounded, and full of quiet, contained strength.
Xingyun Liuge's thighs were shapely and lush, her calves beautifully proportioned, every line of them balanced between strength and grace. Her pale skin looked taut and firm, yet somehow also impossibly soft; under the bright light, her legs seemed to gleam with a crystalline, jade-like luster.
The skin over the tops of her feet was thinner, almost translucent, faint blue veins just visible beneath. Her small toes were as pale and cute as freshly sprouted bamboo shoots, while the pads of them held a soft pink sheen—adorable and captivating.
But those legs were not merely beautiful.
They held a deep, silent power, waiting only for the moment of release.
If one were hit by her full-force kick…
Well, who knew what anyone else might think? But if Xingyun Liuge herself were asked, she would probably say it felt like rolling over a speed bump.
"..."
Looking at those legs—truly worthy of being called the Goddess's most perfect creation—Chihaya Yui swallowed with difficulty.
She could feel the heat rising rapidly in her face, and an alarming warmth at the tip of her nose, as though something very bad was about to happen.
If she got a nosebleed at a time like this, her career as Xingyun Liuge's trainer would probably be over on the spot.
She might even be dismissed as some kind of gross weirdo from nowhere.
"Yui?"
Xingyun Liuge tilted her head slightly, her confusion plain.
"In that case I just remembered something super important so maybe we should do this another time!"
Even Chihaya Yui herself was not sure whether she had managed to say that clearly.
But faced with this scene, she gave in without resistance.
She fled.
Of course, Xingyun Liuge could have used her leg to hook around Yui's waist as she turned, then locked her neck and tossed her neatly onto the bed with a clever application of force—
But she had simulation battles to fight, so she did not do that.
And so, amid those calm, unruffled everyday moments, the first Saturday of May arrived.
Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk, England.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as we all know, Newmarket always awakens to the sound of horse girls' footsteps. And today is one of those days—ordinary, and yet special. We awaken with the sound of their strides, and then embrace the first jewel of the British Classic Triple Crown—the Two Thousand Guineas!"
After the host's brief but impassioned speech, the commentator took over.
"First to appear is the top favorite for this year's Two Thousand Guineas—a truly unexpected and extraordinary horse girl from overseas: Xingyun Liuge!"
Since her debut, she had maintained a perfect undefeated streak, repeatedly running record-breaking times. On top of that, she had a good personality and could sing beautifully. Who would not like a horse girl like that?
"Her winner's outfit looks as though it was tailor-made for the victory stage itself. Can she achieve her wish and claim one of the most important goals of her overseas campaign? Let us wait and see!"
Just as Minster Son had predicted, the top favorite was not any British horse girl.
It was Xingyun Liuge, the challenger from abroad.
Perhaps it was because the audience had already heard how she had dominated British horse girls in training races, and now wanted to see this girl who had crossed the sea for her dream seize the ultimate victory.
There were sixteen runners in this race. Two came from Ireland, two from France—
and the remaining eleven were all British.
Among them, Diminuendo and Minster Son were the two most highly regarded, yet even their popularity ranked below another horse girl, Gibraltar Mountain, whom even the commentators hailed as "one of the strongest milers."
As the music faded, the horse girls all took their positions in the gates.
Tension spread through the stalls.
All four of the high-popularity contenders were being watched closely, but the one having it worst was, of course, Xingyun Liuge.
No fewer than five horse girls with dangerous red glints in their eyes were staring at her, looking ready to deliver a righteous group beating the instant the race began.
Approx. 1600m Two Thousand Guineas — Turf — Overcast — Heavy Going
"They're off! The runners break from the gates! Gibraltar Mountain and Diminuendo are contesting the lead, the others close behind, and Minster Son is slightly slow away. And then—!"
The commentator's voice suddenly shot upward.
"A disastrous start! Xingyun Liuge—Xingyun Liuge is a full two seconds late out of the gates! What on earth happened there?!"
The grandstands exploded in uproar.
All around, people began talking over one another in disbelief.
Frankly speaking, being two seconds behind in a mile race was practically a death sentence. Every entrant here was a top-class runner, and European and American horse girls were notorious for fighting as legions—their teammates would naturally move to suppress rivals and protect the designated main runner.
Once you fell behind, what awaited you was nearly the entire field closing ranks against you.
To put it simply, those who were bad at dealing with gate skills—like Minster Son—and those who got bombarded by them in succession—like Xingyun Liuge—were destined to fall back and then lose.
Of course, Xingyun Liuge could have used Quicksilver Sash to remove the control effects and accelerate.
But she wanted to use a different tactic from the previous two races.
So she chose to take those gate skills head-on and let the other horse girls feel the charm of a late-closing strategy.
Rain had fallen only yesterday. Even though the course drained well, the already-soft ground had grown softer still.
For horse girls unsuited to such conditions, it was a truly despair-inducing setup.
Xingyun Liuge felt the texture beneath her feet, carefully taking in the damp air rushing toward her.
Although the latest skill Ultimate Spellbook had rolled after Highlander was Crescent Guard, and she felt it was not especially useful, that was no problem.
After all, she still had the Relentless Storm.
Her Thundering Smash was already aching to be unleashed.
But she wanted to hear the most satisfying kind of gasp from the crowd—the sharp intake of breath, the stunned exclamation, the delicious shock.
So she chose to remain quiet for a little while, as though she truly could not catch up.
After all, she had come from Japan.
Japan's high-speed turf was as hard as concrete. It was perfectly natural that she would not immediately adapt to heavy going here, was it not?
In the stands, Nijinsky narrowed her eyes.
"What is she doing?"
In Nijinsky's estimation, Xingyun Liuge should already have adapted to British turf and been capable of performing at full strength.
So why was she moving this slowly?
Had she suddenly become unwell?
Or...
Nijinsky's gaze swept rapidly over Xingyun Liuge's body, and then she understood:
Too relaxed.
What exactly was this girl trying to pull?
Not even her muscles had truly come alive. Was this really how a horse girl who had come all this way to prove herself on foreign soil was supposed to run?
If she did not start making an effort soon, she would lose in an instant.
A mile was far too short a distance. Even a one-second delay out of the gates could be fatal.
And Xingyun Liuge had given away two.
Crackle. Crackle.
Tiny electric arcs flickered before Nijinsky's eyes.
She immediately grasped Xingyun Liuge's intention.
She was planning to use the power of her Domain to reverse the entire situation in an instant.
But the burden that placed on the body was immense.
Was there really any need to do something like that? Would it not be better to rely on normal means?
Arms folding across her chest, Nijinsky let out a helpless sigh.
"Honestly, I never understand what you young people are thinking."
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, she saw lightning erupt.
Nijinsky: "...?"
The race was barely halfway through.
Even if Xingyun Liuge intended to launch her finishing burst, she should have waited until the final four hundred meters.
To go all out this early—how was that remotely reasonable?
At this rate, would she not risk stalling out before the finish line even came into sight?
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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