"Senior, Senior? Senior Secretariat!"
Miss Tomorrow suddenly raised her voice, trying to snap the absent-minded Secretariat back to the matter at hand.
Secretariat instinctively tilted her head back, putting a little distance between them. This kid really had no sense of boundaries at all. Why was she shouting so loudly? It was not like Secretariat had gone deaf.
Still, Miss Tomorrow was her junior, so Secretariat was hardly going to make an issue out of something so minor. Patiently, she asked, "Star, what is it?"
Judging by what she knew of the girl, after suffering a defeat that crushing, this stubborn junior of hers should have thrown herself into training with even greater determination, polishing her technique and improving herself while waiting for the day she could challenge Xingyun Liuge again on the dirt.
At the very least, the Breeders' Cup was one of the great international races. There was no way Xingyun Liuge would skip it.
So if Miss Tomorrow wanted another shot at her, shouldn't she be spending all her time getting stronger? Why come looking for Secretariat now?
Miss Tomorrow, meanwhile, felt that Secretariat was acting very strangely. She had already been talking for a while, and this supposedly ultra-reliable senior had not heard a single word of it.
What she had said was this:
"I want to go see Xingyun off, Senior. Come with me."
Miss Tomorrow could not drive. Lady's Secret was out on work. That left Secretariat as the only one she could rely on. Sure, some horse girls had monstrous closing speed and could hit sixty or even seventy kilometers per hour, but they were not machines. For short distances, running was fine. For anything farther, they obviously needed transportation.
The moment she heard Xingyun Liuge's name, Secretariat's heart jumped, and she refused without hesitation.
"No."
She touched the corner of her mouth reflexively, worried some unnatural expression might have shown on her face, then deliberately turned her head away in feigned annoyance.
"Huh? Why not? Senior, Senior Secretariat. Did you forget what you told me last night? I know I wasn't ready then… but next time, next time I can definitely do it!"
Miss Tomorrow was honestly baffled. In her eyes, Secretariat clearly cared a great deal about Xingyun Liuge and had never abandoned the idea of recruiting her. Otherwise, why would she have encouraged Miss Tomorrow to go and get closer to her?
The most outrageous part was that Secretariat's suggestion last night had been a complete headache in itself:
"Why not just go for some horseplay first?"
Of course, their attempt had ended in total failure.
The memory alone made Miss Tomorrow flush with embarrassment, but she truly had not been mentally prepared. Running away because she got too shy had been unavoidable, hadn't it?
Hearing that, Secretariat nearly choked on her own irritation. She rolled her eyes helplessly and asked, "You still remember what happened last night?"
Only then did Miss Tomorrow recall one critically important fact.
Last night, Secretariat had been in that room too.
But when Miss Tomorrow fled, all she had thought about was escaping. She had forgotten Secretariat entirely.
Seen that way, Secretariat being angry with her was perfectly natural.
What Miss Tomorrow did not know was that the situation was far more complicated than that.
After the farewell live ended, Xingyun Liuge had directly invited the other horse girls to stay and hold a late-night chat session. Winning Colors and Goodbye Halo had used the opportunity to show off their presence again.
The one fortunate thing was that nobody remembered the wardrobe.
Then, in the dead of night, after confirming that all the horse girls were breathing in the slow, steady rhythm of deep sleep, Secretariat cautiously pushed open the wardrobe door from the inside and tried to sneak away on tiptoe.
If she stayed in there until morning, she would suffocate.
But just as she was closing the wardrobe again, a fragrant breeze came from behind and nearly pinned her against it.
Secretariat had thought her reactions were fast enough.
They were not.
Before she could escape, the ambusher had already trapped her. Strong, well-trained thighs locked tightly around her waist, making it impossible for her to pull free.
Clearly, this hidden attacker had noticed the wardrobe issue from the beginning. She simply had not exposed the secret inside because the person hiding there was the famous Secretariat.
But now it was the middle of the night. All the good girls were asleep. This was the perfect moment to have a proper conversation.
Quite straightforwardly, Secretariat raised both hands in surrender, showing she meant no harm at all.
Keeping her voice low, she said, "Xingyun, you know me. I've never once had any intention of hurting you. Get down first, and we can talk about whatever it is."
Although she had not seen the face of the one who had "betrayed" her, there were only so many possibilities.
First, this person had correctly anticipated there was something suspicious about the wardrobe.
Second, she had shown remarkable judgment, keeping quiet in front of everyone else.
Most importantly of all, those thighs were so firm, so powerful…
Put those three things together, and the only person Secretariat could think of was Xingyun Liuge.
Xingyun had never shown any kind of overbearing arrogance. She had even saved Miss Tomorrow several times. Clearly, she was a kind-hearted girl.
So long as they talked properly, Secretariat believed Xingyun would surely keep this little incident secret and let her go.
Unfortunately, she had guessed wrong.
Xingyun Liuge was not behaving herself at all. If anything, she was being profoundly improper.
Her fingertips slid lazily along Secretariat's neck, then danced lightly across her elegant collarbone. Her face pressed close to Secretariat's cheek, and she exhaled a soft breath there.
There was no denying it: the gesture was wildly suggestive.
It was exactly the sort of thing that could make anyone's thoughts go somewhere very inappropriate.
For example, to a very improper kind of horseplay with Secretariat.
On top of that, Xingyun Liuge's nails were trimmed neat and smooth, like someone with suspiciously practiced experience. That was just a little worrying.
Even Secretariat could not help letting her thoughts drift in dangerous directions.
There was, after all, a noticeable age gap between the two of them. From any reasonable perspective, she was hardly the ideal candidate for this sort of thing. Whether Miss Tomorrow or Lady's Secret, either of them would have made much more sense than an older senior like herself.
"I say…"
Secretariat tried to open negotiations, hoping to resolve the issue quickly before someone saw them. If anyone got up in the middle of the night and found them in this position, she could throw herself into the Pacific and still never wash the shame off.
At that exact moment, Xingyun Liuge cupped her face in both hands and stole a bold, burning kiss.
Her tail swayed happily behind her, and delight lit her brows and eyes with unmistakable pleasure.
It was a very short kiss, gone almost the instant it landed, but the shock it left behind in Secretariat was anything but small.
Later, Secretariat could barely remember how she had escaped from that room.
The only thing she knew for certain was that the two of them had not crossed the final line.
…
And now Miss Tomorrow wanted to go see Xingyun off?
How could Secretariat possibly agree?
She had not even sorted out her own feelings yet. Seeing Xingyun again in that state would be unbearably awkward.
It did not matter what anyone else thought. Secretariat herself was mortified enough already.
Even now, just thinking about last night, she could still feel the place where Xingyun had kissed her burning hot, as though a fire had been lit there. There was no way not to be conscious of it.
Meanwhile, on the plane—
Looking at Xingyun Liuge's ears, Chiya Yui asked curiously, "Did something good happen, Kogane?"
If not, why did Xingyun look so happy?
After all, Fujimasa March and the others had ended their American trip and were heading back to Kasamatsu. She and Xingyun were flying on to England. They had already said goodbye to the new friends they had made in America, and only five horse girls remained at their side.
True, their group had more than doubled in size compared to when they first left Kasamatsu, but it was still a parting. There should have been at least a little sadness in the air, shouldn't there? How could Xingyun be in such a good mood?
Xingyun only replied, "Not really. I just did a good deed last night. That person is probably still a little out of it. Maybe she's even thinking about going back and giving her juniors a proper scolding. Really laying into them."
After all, Secretariat—the great American horse girl—had just been "insolently overstepped" by a foreign horse girl.
Still, Xingyun Liuge had actually shown a fair amount of restraint while stirring up trouble. She had not kissed Secretariat on the lips. She had only pecked the corner of her mouth. Strictly speaking, that barely counted as a real kiss at all.
She had simply wanted to see what kind of face Secretariat would make.
If anything, what Xingyun wanted to know most now was how Secretariat planned to discipline Miss Tomorrow for bolting halfway through and forcing her senior to step in personally.
All in all, though, the result had been pretty amusing.
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 155)
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 (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
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 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
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 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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