...
May passed gracefully, carrying faint threads of scorching heat in the air—summer had arrived quietly.
As soon as June began, the horse girls started reminiscing about the water park they had missed earlier in the year.
However, before that, Mejiro McQueen still had a G1 race on June 7—the Takarazuka Kinen. So Lucian postponed the trip until the end of June.
He had originally planned for Mejiro McQueen to win the race and then fully enjoy the outing.
But in the final stretch of that race, Mejiro McQueen was defeated by Mejiro Ryan and took second place.
In this race, Mejiro McQueen made no mistakes—she used her usual set of tactics and overpowered most of the field.
However, Mejiro Ryan made a change in this race.
She began her sprint at the third turn, shaking off her opponents. After taking the lead at the fourth turn, she immediately accelerated to pull away.
Though Mejiro McQueen chased desperately afterward, she could never catch up and ultimately lost by one and a half horse lengths to Mejiro Ryan.
The atmosphere in the rest room wasn't heavy, and Mejiro McQueen didn't appear particularly downcast—she calmly accepted everyone's encouragement.
But the young lady hadn't tasted defeat in a long time. No matter how much she tried to hide it, everyone could see the disappointment in her heart.
Lucian only patted her shoulder at first and said nothing more.
Mejiro McQueen didn't want to show her vulnerability—in front of so many teammates, comforting her might backfire.
It happened to be Saturday.
So Lucian prepared some desserts, and that evening he and Tokai Teio went to the Mejiro family estate.
Having visited several times, Lucian had already memorized the routes in the vast courtyard.
The two didn't go straight to find Mejiro McQueen—they first paid respects to the Mejiro family's grandmother.
When the grandmother saw them, she immediately understood their purpose. "Little Lu, and Teio—you're here for McQueen, right?"
Lucian nodded. "Yes."
"But McQueen finished dinner and went out. She went to a horse girl bar with a friend."
Lucian and Tokai Teio exchanged glances. "Grandmother, can you tell us where McQueen went? We brought some desserts for her."
The grandmother gave Lucian the address. "Little Lu, I'll leave it to you."
"No trouble at all—this is what I should do as her Trainer."
Tokai Teio chimed in: "As McQueen's friend, it's only right for me to care about her too."
The grandmother watched their backs as they left, murmuring to herself: "McQueen has met some really good people. No wonder she's become different from before."
The grandmother had watched Mejiro McQueen grow up.
While enjoying the privileges of nobility, one also had to wear certain shackles.
Ever since those cumbersome formalities were forced upon Mejiro McQueen, the grandmother had noticed her personality grow colder, and she basically stopped interacting with peers her age.
So seeing more and more people care about Mejiro McQueen filled the grandmother's heart with comfort.
She believed Mejiro McQueen wouldn't be crushed by a single loss, but if someone could quickly help her out of her slump, that would be ideal.
...
On the other side.
Lucian and Tokai Teio followed the address and smoothly found the small bar.
The drinks here were specially made for horse girls, using a substitute material instead of alcohol—beneficial and harmless to the body.
Moderate amounts had no effect, but drinking too much could still get one drunk.
The two pushed open the door and quickly spotted Mejiro McQueen—but she was currently slumped over the table.
And the "friend" sitting beside her was Gold Ship.
So it was Gold Ship. No wonder she could drag Mejiro McQueen out—probably said something like "If you don't come, I'll barge into your house and drag you out."
Lucian and Tokai Teio sat down next to the pair.
"Good evening to you both (Konbanwa)." Lucian greeted.
"Oh~ Evening, Trainer Lucian, and Teio."
"Torena-san, and Teio?" Mejiro McQueen's horse ears twitched at the familiar voices. "Why are you here? Hic~"
Unlike usual, Mejiro McQueen didn't cover her mouth after hiccuping.
"We brought you some desserts. We went to your house first, but you weren't there." Lucian placed the prepared desserts on the table.
Unfortunately, due to the bumpy walk, the beautiful appearance of the desserts had been slightly ruined—not as pretty anymore.
"McQueen, these desserts looked so gorgeous right after they were made!" Tokai Teio adjusted one for Mejiro McQueen. "Even if the shape changed, the taste is definitely still delicious!"
Mejiro McQueen still didn't take it. "But... can a loser really enjoy Torena-san's desserts?"
"When did I ever say only winners can eat desserts?" Lucian took the dessert from Tokai Teio's hand and brought it to Mejiro McQueen's mouth, forcing her to open up.
"Delicious~" Mejiro McQueen chewed for a moment, then grabbed the glass to her right and downed the white, milk-like drink inside, followed by another hiccup. "Hic~"
Lucian immediately noticed something off. "Ship, what's going on? Why does McQueen look completely drunk?"
"This is a bar, you know—even the milk has something like alcohol added. I just didn't expect McQueen to get like this after only two glasses." Gold Ship spread her hands innocently.
"But Trainer Lucian, you two don't need to worry too much. I already comforted her earlier, and she listened."
"That's good. Thanks, Gold Ship." Lucian said gratefully.
"Gold Ship, here's some dessert for you too~" Tokai Teio took more from the bag and gave it to Gold Ship.
"Arigatou~" Gold Ship ate one piece at a time—thankfully she chewed properly instead of swallowing like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit. "Go-mai antsu!"
"McQueen?" Lucian waved his hand in front of Mejiro McQueen, but it failed to clear the haze in her dazed eyes.
She slumped back onto the table, staring at the wall clock, her body occasionally jolting with a muffled hiccup.
This rare sight was incredibly cute.
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Lucian poked her cheek. "Feeling down, so you came out to get drunk... no, to get milk-drunk."
"Actually, McQueen thought this was just regular milk." Gold Ship explained. "By the time I realized, she was already like this."
"That makes it even funnier." Lucian chuckled lightly and poked her again.
Mejiro McQueen frowned in annoyance, her cheeks puffing up like she was having a stress reaction. She actually reached out with both hands and pinched Lucian's cheeks. "Torena… hic~ …san… please don't… hic~ …do such rude things."
"I wonder who's being ruder right now."
...