At Elizabeth's enthusiastic invitation, Xingyun Liuge and her group were given rooms in the castle, along with a small number of other distinguished guests.
The maid named Belle took one look at the size of their party and suggested to Elizabeth that they be housed in the guest wing instead. That way, a few of the horse girls who did not speak English would be less likely to run into British guests by chance—because if some misunderstanding broke out over language or customs, things could get messy in a hurry.
Daiwa Scarlet could not help but exclaim in heartfelt admiration, "We actually get to stay in a place this incredible? And such a historic castle too? It feels like a dream! This is all thanks to you, Xingyun-senpai. You're amazing—just as expected of an internationally famous horse girl!"
Then, looking at Xingyun Liuge with unhidden reverence, she made her request.
"Please teach me, Xingyun-senpai! I want to become a strong horse girl too!"
What Daiwa Scarlet had really wanted to say was, I want to become a horse girl as amazing as Xingyun-senpai.
But the moment she thought about Xingyun Liuge's schedule so far, cold sweat broke out down her back.
To start racing abroad in your Classic year, then defeat both British and American horse girls head-on? The pressure of that was on an entirely different level.
And more than that, the race schedule itself had been brutally dense. Aside from the 2000 Guineas, which was a mile race, every other race had been over middle distance. Just imagining it made Scarlet feel short of breath.
So she settled for aiming to become a strong horse girl first.
At the very least, she wanted to become strong enough to win a title like the Empress.
As for racing overseas…
Better to wait until she was in the senior division.
Gentildonna was thinking along much the same lines.
In fact, she went so far as to drop into a perfectly executed dogeza right there in the drawing room, bowing so low she might as well have been toppling a golden mountain and jade pillar at once.
She begged Xingyun Liuge for guidance.
Then she added, "The guidance can wait until after the King George. I won't interfere with your training in any way, Senpai."
"If you find even a little use in my meager strength, then I'm willing to act as your training partner. Whenever you need me—whatever the time, whatever the place—I'll be there. So please!"
Her forehead pressed against the backs of her hands, her posture and attitude were both so grave, so earnest, that refusing her felt almost impossible.
Looking at her like this, Daiwa Scarlet suddenly felt her own attitude just now had been nowhere near enough.
Whether because her competitive spirit had been stirred or because she simply wanted to make up for her earlier lack of resolve, she also followed suit and dropped into a dogeza.
Sirius Symboli had to suppress the urge to pump her fist in triumph. Fighting back the excitement rising in her chest, she persuaded gently, "Xingyun, they're both asking you so sincerely, and they've already promised not to interfere with your daily training. What do you think?"
Truthfully, Sirius wanted to throw back her head and shout:
Well done! You two did brilliantly!
Both Daiwa Scarlet and Gentildonna were Japanese horse girls. They had grown up running on Japanese turf. There was no way they were accustomed to foreign turf, which meant they could not possibly be using this as a pretext to lure Xingyun into transferring to Britain.
No—this was obviously about learning from her.
And once Xingyun Liuge started instructing them, she would naturally have to return to Japan to test whether those techniques were broadly applicable.
At that thought, Sirius practically wanted to break into song and start dancing on the spot.
How are these girls working this hard? she thought. Rudolf really does have a sharp eye for people.
What Sirius did not know was that Daiwa Scarlet was acting out of simple admiration, while Gentildonna admired strength itself and longed to become strong. She liked Xingyun Liuge, yes—but more than anything, she loved the overwhelming stats Liuge embodied.
Watching the scene unfold, Maruzensky rubbed her cheek helplessly and offered a polite but awkward smile.
Taurus, she thought, I'm afraid things are probably nothing like what you're imagining…
Agnes Tachyon, meanwhile, had no idea whether Xingyun Liuge would actually accept Daiwa Scarlet's request. She only felt Gentildonna had gone way too far.
Why make the request in such a grave, solemn posture? Did she not realize it practically looked like coercion?
Tachyon was willing to believe Gentildonna had never intended that implication. The girl looked too pure-hearted for that kind of scheming.
But intentions did not matter when the effect was so easy to misread.
Tachyon obviously had no interest in speaking up for Gentildonna—she was not close to her, after all—but now Daiwa Scarlet had copied her, and Tachyon did not want Xingyun Liuge getting the wrong idea about Scarlet as well.
She let out a quiet sigh, then said in a joking tone, "I'm different. I'm going to become the woman of the fastest horse girl!"
For a moment, every eye in the room turned toward her.
Because what she had just said was loaded with ambiguity:
Did she mean she would become the fastest horse girl herself?
Or did she mean she would become the woman belonging to the fastest horse girl?
Given Tachyon's fondness for Xingyun Liuge's cooking—and given how fast Liuge ran—Daiwa Scarlet's face turned green on the spot. She desperately wanted to grab Tachyon by the shoulders and ask:
Are you serious? You weren't just talking nonsense, right?
Scarlet had always believed that if her Tachyon-senpai and Xingyun-senpai truly loved each other, then as a junior, she had no right to say anything. She ought to simply bless them.
And yet, at the back of her mind, there was always a voice that refused to go away:
Would that really be okay? Do you trust Tachyon-senpai's sincerity? Doesn't she just like Xingyun-senpai's stats?
Since Gentildonna's arrival, and the way she valued raw ability so openly, that voice had only grown louder.
At times it even seemed to whisper that it would love to see Daiwa Scarlet and Agnes Tachyon come into conflict over Xingyun Liuge—love to see them drift apart.
But that voice was coming from Scarlet's own heart.
Surely she was not that kind of strange horse girl… right?
Even Daiwa Scarlet herself could no longer make sense of it.
And then Xingyun Liuge spoke.
She pressed both hands down in a calming gesture, signaling the girls to settle themselves.
"I've received your feelings loud and clear. I understand. You can get up now. But before I start guiding any of you, there's one very important matter I need to deal with first."
As she spoke, her gaze landed on Cuihe, who had been quietly drinking carrot juice off to the side.
The little horse girl with pale green hair tilted her head slightly, gold eyes full of obvious confusion.
She had just been sitting there enjoying melon while sipping carrot juice. Why was Xingyun Liuge suddenly looking at her?
Of course, she had not forgotten what happened back in Hong Kong—her father had, more or less, been trying to entrust her to Xingyun Liuge, hoping Liuge would guide her.
But she had not even entered her Classic year yet. There was no reason to hurry things that much, was there?
And even if she was going to start racing seriously, should she not be going back to Hong Kong for that? British turf was completely different from Hong Kong turf. Experience gained here could not simply be transferred over to Hong Kong races.
More importantly—could she even race here and then go back and race in Hong Kong too?
If that happened, then what was she supposed to be?
A British horse girl?
Or a Hong Kong horse girl?
In Cuihe's eyes, that was a very important distinction.
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 165)
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 (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
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 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
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 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 75
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 100
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 60
The Uma Musume Who Became 60
I'm Definitely Not the King of 80
After Maxing Out Every Class 80
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 57
I, the Elden Sword Saint 50
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 43
No One Knows Pokémon Better 50
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 45
From Trilobites to Titans 45
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 55
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 60
An Anime Heroine Darkened 55
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