...
During the race.
The posture of a great escape horse breaking away is always so uniquely striking. When the screen shows her galloping figure, you can't see any other horse girls.
But there are exceptions, like when a race has multiple great escape contenders.
However, watching Twin Turbo's pained mask and uncoordinated running form on the screen, Lucian truly broke out in a cold sweat.
"Twin Turbo? Her speed isn't slow. It reminds me of the race with Suzu-chan two years ago," Grass Wonder calmly analyzed from the side. "But her condition doesn't look good—she seems to be struggling a lot."
Lucian sighed. "Yeah, Tannhauser is basically a multiple-choice question: either escape all the way to the front, or collapse completely at the back."
"Trainer Lucian is just handing me this intel like that?"
"She runs great escapes—only her own stamina can stop her... If Grass isn't convinced, how about we settle it privately?"
Twin Turbo's current results weren't enough to qualify for G1 graded stakes.
So only in a private challenge could Grass Wonder and Twin Turbo possibly run in the same race.
Grass Wonder didn't fall for Lucian's bait. "Trainer Lucian, why would I want to hinder her? She has her specialty, and I have mine."
"Could it be that during training, Trainer Lucian also had Spe-chan compete against Twin Turbo using escape tactics?"
"Of course not." Lucian broke into a sweat—Grass Wonder wasn't just smart; she refused to step into his trap and even turned it back on him.
But during training, he had indeed arranged for Special Week and Twin Turbo to race together, intending to let Twin Turbo experience the pressure of chasing after G1-level horse girls.
Back then, Twin Turbo had really been like a little shark smelling blood—running incredibly fast.
"Oh right, speaking of Spe-chan, lately when I eat with her in the cafeteria, she always seems distracted," Grass Wonder said with feigned concern, her tone full of worry for Special Week. "Trainer Lucian, do you know what's going on?"
"This... I've looked into it. It's nothing major." He figured those days Special Week had probably still been worrying about Silence Suzuka.
"Nothing major? I thought maybe Spe-chan was in love."
"Ah? Why would you think that?" Lucian's heart jumped into his throat as he looked nervously at Grass Wonder.
Was Grass's intuition really that sharp and accurate?
Or had she already figured something out?
Unfortunately, Grass Wonder's expression remained calm, and she was still squinting. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but she had closed the shutters—Lucian naturally couldn't read any useful information.
But precisely because of that, he ended up overthinking and getting paranoid because of Grass Wonder—it felt really uncomfortable~
Lucian made up his mind: when he got back, he had to talk to Silence Suzuka and the others. From now on, they needed to be more discreet at school.
"Because sometimes I watch Korean dramas, and Spe-chan's state feels a lot like the lovestruck girls in those shows."
Grass Wonder's disguise was flawless; when she said these things, her tone always carried doubt and uncertainty, as if she were genuinely probing.
"It shouldn't be... I'll check privately and see if Spe-chan is really in love."
Spe-chan had actually made him so nervous and on edge today.
Mm, when he got back, he'd look at Special Week's coy, reluctant-yet-welcoming expression while sternly warning her!
The scene would probably go something like this:
"Did you hear me! Did you hear me!! Did you hear me!!!" (〝▼皿▼)
"I… I heard... I heard, Trainer Lucian... (sweaty tongue-out JPG.)"
"Speaking of dating..." Grass Wonder transitioned topics with impressive skill. "Has Trainer Lucian ever been in love?"
"Grass, why are you asking this now?" Lucian probed cautiously.
"Because I've watched too many dramas and got curious—what exactly does being in love feel like? And things like kissing..."
"Wait until Grass graduates and finds someone—then you'll know, right?"
"That'll take forever. The thing is, I want to know right now... It'd be nice if I could date someone at this stage, or at least experience it." Grass Wonder's gaze drifted over Lucian like wandering clouds.
"Puberty's sexual urges?"
"Sexual..." Grass Wonder choked on her words. "Trainer Lucian really knows how to joke."
"What's Grass's sexual orientation?"
"Boys."
"Boys?" In the vast Tracen Academy, the only males were staff and Trainers, right?
And young Trainers... even Minamizaka was already married long ago.
So didn't that leave only him!? Grass Wonder wanted to experience dating with him?? But hadn't she said dating would get a Trainer fired?
While Lucian was still lost in wild thoughts, Grass Wonder continued. "But there are so few boys around our age in Tracen—seems like Trainer Lucian is the only one, so it's impossible."
Did Grass Wonder really like Lucian? Actually, it hadn't reached that level yet—their time together was far less than with his other horse girls.
But she definitely had good feelings toward him.
If he had to call it "like," what Grass Wonder seemed to enjoy most was the feeling of teasing Lucian.
Today she had come to send him one clear message—her heart really wanted to experience the taste of love.
The emphasis was on "experience."
First plant the psychological groundwork, so her later requests would seem reasonable and acceptable.
"Grass, actually you don't need to overthink it. Fate comes when it comes—you can't force it, but what's meant to happen will."
Lucian was actually quite surprised that Grass Wonder would share such personal thoughts with him.
But he could understand—because his own horse girls... no, all his horse girls made him feel a certain sense of suppression.
This suppression varied from person to person, manifesting in different ways:
The first night he was forcefully kissed by Seiun Sky...
The sweet night of exchanges with Silence Suzuka...
The closet story with Haru Urara...
The frequent accidental bites from Special Week that drew blood...
The unspeakable "Emperor's Lower Chamber," the frenzied daytime clamor of sweat-entwined passion...
The blatant admiration attribute shown by Dextrous Bailey...
...
And so many more things—Lucian could list a huge pile just by thinking slightly.
Was it something that came from running? Could the Three Goddesses have unknown attributes too, so when creating these horse girls, they infused their own preferences?
Thinking of this, the massive boosts to physical ability suddenly seemed much more reasonable.
But he didn't dare think too deeply—who knew if the Three Goddesses could read his mind?
...
[Hi everyone~ Just a quick note! I just graduated from college, to celebrate, I did a mass release on Patreon for all of my stories. Thank you so much for your support. I'll still be continuing the stories for the foreseeable future.]