Chapter 435: 547

"Ah! It's Kaichou!"

The three of them had only just reached the staircase when Teio, who was sitting on the sofa downstairs hugging a plush toy and watching television, twitched her ears. The moment she looked up and saw Rudolf, her face lit up with delight.

"Good morning, Kaichou! Did you come to see me today?"

Then a mischievous smile crept across her face.

"Huh? But why are you coming downstairs with Trainer and Maruzensky-senpai?"

"Teio."

Rudolf descended the stairs beside Kuroha.

She glanced at the frivolous cartoon playing on the television and asked sternly, "Why are you still sitting here watching television at this hour? Have you finished today's training?"

None of the other Chasing Light racers were in the villa. Teio was the only one on the entire second floor lazing around.

"Huh? Oh, that? You don't understand, Kaichou."

Teio giggled. "Today's our weekly rest day. We don't have to train."

"I wanted to invite McQueen out, but she went back to the Mejiro estate today, and everyone else went out too."

"So I went for a morning run, then came back."

Her thoughts immediately circled back to her earlier question.

"Come to think of it, I didn't see you at all this morning, Kaichou."

"And I've been sitting here for ages since I got back, but you never showed up."

Teio tilted her head slightly, blinking her clear eyes at Rudolf.

"Kaichou, you didn't spend the whole night in Trainer's room, did you?"

Rudolf fell silent.

"Oh! I get it."

Teio balled her right hand into a fist and smacked it against her left palm, realization dawning across her face.

"So even you, Kaichou... Hehehe!"

Before she could finish, a flustered Rudolf hurriedly covered her mouth.

"That's enough, Teio. Don't say another word!"

For some inexplicable reason, Rudolf could discuss having foals with Kuroha and Maruzensky and feel no more than a fleeting moment of embarrassment.

But when Teio brought it up, Rudolf nearly died of mortification.

With her mouth covered, Teio blinked. After putting up a token struggle, she gave Rudolf an obedient look, silently promising to behave if she was released.

The instant Rudolf sighed in relief and let go, Teio sprang up and threw herself into her arms.

"Hehehe, Kaichou, Kaichou!"

She even tried to climb up Rudolf's arm.

The Emperor crouched down with a completely expressionless face and subjected her to what felt like eight hundred and twenty-three different disapproving looks.

"Teio, you're already grown up. You need to behave with more composure and stop being so mischievous."

Teio did not dare argue, but she still pouted and muttered under her breath, "What's the big deal? Someday, I'll marry someone too."

Rudolf fell silent once again.

Maruzensky, however, could not hold back her laughter.

"All right, Teio. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"I have. Ardan-oneesan made quite a lot today, but it's probably cold by now. If you and Trainer want some, you'll have to heat it up."

Teio nodded.

"Okay."

Maruzensky turned toward Kuroha. "Kuro-kun, I'll head to the kitchen first. Do you have anything planned for later?"

Kuroha smiled and shook his head. "No. Do whatever you like. If you want, I can take you all out for a walk afterward."

"We're going out? I'm coming too! I'm coming too!"

The moment she heard that, the horse girl with the crescent-shaped bangs began wriggling excitedly in midair.

Kuroha caught her, pulled her onto his lap, and playfully brushed a finger down the bridge of her nose.

"All right. Once we've eaten something, we'll go out. What do you want to do, Teio?"

"I'll go wherever Trainer and Kaichou want to go."

Teio did not have any particular destination in mind. She simply wanted to tag along.

Rudolf sat down beside them, her expression finally relaxing somewhat.

...

Once they had eaten their fill, the three of them left the villa with one little facehugger tagging along.

It was a beautiful autumn day, with a pleasant breeze blowing through the streets.

"Trainer, Kaichou, Maruzensky-senpai, hurry up!"

"Trainer, they're showing a Winning Live on that big screen! Should we go watch?"

"Trainer, look! The statue outside that shop is so weird!"

"..."

The small figure with crescent-shaped bangs bounded along ahead of them like an exuberant young foal, practically overflowing with energy.

Every so often, she would turn around and wave at the other three.

"Teio, don't run so far ahead!"

Rudolf called after her, but Teio clearly was not listening. She had already run several dozen meters ahead and was examining the oddly shaped, barely spherical statue outside a shop.

Kuroha could not help smiling at her lively figure. Walking beside him, Maruzensky's eyes also curved with amusement.

"Teio really is having fun today."

"We don't get many chances to go out together," Kuroha said with a soft laugh. "Let her enjoy herself."

The four of them strolled leisurely along the street. Here and there, surprised residents recognized them and waved in greeting.

Any one of them would have attracted attention on their own.

Kuroha, Rudolf, and Maruzensky were among the most famous celebrities in the Island Nation of Bliss.

On top of that, Teio was on the verge of claiming an undefeated Triple Crown.

With all four of them walking together, avoiding attention was impossible.

Fortunately, the local fans had grown up admiring generations of horse girl idols. Since this was not an official event, they restrained themselves and did not approach Kuroha and the others.

Well...

Except for a few paparazzi hiding in dark corners.

Kuroha could no longer be bothered dealing with them.

His eyes glimmered faintly.

After planting a "time bomb" in their cameras' memory cards, he simply left them alone.

"Hm?"

As the four of them passed a bend in the street, Kuroha suddenly stopped.

"What is it, Kuro-kun?"

Walking beside him, Maruzensky immediately noticed his pause. Curious, she followed his gaze toward the empty corner.

Kuroha looked at that familiar spot, a soft smile unconsciously appearing on his lips as nostalgia flickered in his eyes.

"It's nothing. I just suddenly remembered that this was where I first met Teio and McQueen."

"Oh?"

Rudolf's interest was immediately piqued. She leaned closer and asked curiously, "What happened back then?"

She had known that McQueen and Teio had met Kuroha before entering their prime racing years and had begun proper training under him ahead of schedule.

However, she knew almost nothing about how their relationship had originally begun.

Kuroha raised his head slightly and thought back.

"At the time, I was taking March and Inari to have their racing outfits tailored."

"On our way back, we had just reached this corner when Teio came charging around it far too fast. She nearly sent Inari flying..."

"Looking back, Inari must have been in agony."

As he spoke, Kuroha's voice gradually softened, his thoughts seemingly drifting back to those innocent days.

Back then, he had still been an unknown regional trainer at Oi Tracen Academy.

The name "Chasing Light" had yet to become the famous, enormous team it was today.

He had been walking home with the only two horse girls on his team, carefully budgeting every coin as he planned for their future.

Then, at this very street corner, he had collided with two "dangerous" youngsters.

Looking back on it now, that little accident could certainly be called a fateful encounter.

"I immediately realized that McQueen and Teio were extraordinarily talented. Prospects like them were almost impossible to find, so I coaxed them into coming back to Oi with me."

Kuroha smiled at the two women beside him.

"You should both know what happened after that."

"Oh, so that was when it happened..."

Maruzensky raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.

The student council president beside her, however, was focused on something entirely different.

"Teio... was speeding?"

Rudolf's sharp, faintly crimson eyes settled on the petite figure bouncing along ahead of them.

Teio suddenly shuddered from head to toe. She stopped and looked around suspiciously.

"Huh? Why did it suddenly get so chilly behind me...?"

Then she seemed to notice something. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to wave at the trio behind her.

"Trainer, Kaichou, Maruzensky-senpai! Wait here for me!"

With that, she dashed toward a roadside shop like a gust of wind.

It was not long before the little horse girl came scampering back, her arms filled with four chilled bottles of honey water.

"Hehe, these are for you!"

Teio eagerly handed the drinks to the other three.

"They're really good!"

Rudolf stared blankly at the bottle in her hand for a moment. Then she sighed helplessly and decided not to say anything more.

Instead, she looked up at the petite figure who had already run back to the front of the group and resumed enthusiastically leading the way.

"Teio will grow into an incredible horse girl someday, won't she?"

Her words sounded like a question, yet also like a statement of absolute certainty.

Kuroha glanced at the Emperor beside him, then turned his gaze toward the radiant, sunlike figure ahead of them.

He nodded firmly.

"Yes. She definitely will."

(End of Chapter)

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