...
The day after Rice Shower's race was the Shimotsuki Special.
This time, the spectators in the stands were Rice Shower and Tokai Teio.
Lucian and Mejiro McQueen were preparing in the lounge.
Mejiro McQueen broke the silence. "Trainer-san, in the previous races you gave a lot of instructions. This time you're just standing by without saying anything."
"Hmm~ After thinking, there doesn't seem to be much to say." Lucian scratched his head and smiled. He had already done the routine checks, and analyzed the opponents the evening before. "How about I put your shoes on for you again?"
Mejiro McQueen glanced at her legs already in white stockings. "Y-Yes, thank you, Trainer-san."
Putting shoes on team members and tying the laces before a race always put Lucian's mind at ease.
Mejiro McQueen felt a bit flustered, but Lucian's clean and efficient movements gradually lowered her guard.
She boldly looked at Lucian half-kneeling before her.
Trainer-san right now really does look like a knight's squire...
"OK, then please return victorious this time too."
Mejiro McQueen snapped back. "O-Of course."
...
Mejiro McQueen's results this year had been excellent. Though she missed a few months, it didn't affect her popularity.
Many spectators in the stands cheered for her, holding banners and large flags.
So Lucian decisively put down his own banner and started playing with Rice Shower's cheeks beside him.
"Onii-sama... can you stop touching?" Rice Shower verbally resisted, but her hands rested on the railing without any real opposition.
"Trainer, bullying again!" Tokai Teio forcefully squeezed between them, separating Rice Shower and Lucian.
After scolding Lucian, she surprisingly turned to Rice Shower. "Rice Shower, how do you not even resist?"
Rice Shower rubbed her little cheeks. "Because... Onii-sama looks really happy."
"What, Teio wants to be a justice warrior?"
"It's everyone's duty to help escape Trainer's clutches."
"Oh? Is that so?" Lucian reached out, feinting at one of Tokai Teio's cheeks, then with a fake-out touched the other. "You said 'clutches,' so clutches it is."
"Let go, let go!" Tokai Teio flailed her arms like a puppy digging a hole.
But she felt Trainer's hands shouldn't be swatted... clearly, interlacing fingers was the happiest position.
The thought flashed, and Tokai Teio seized the moment, grabbing Lucian's hands amid his laughter.
"Hm?" Lucian instinctively tried to pull back but couldn't—like being locked by shackles chained to an iron door.
This grip strength was very familiar, like when Silence Suzuka looked down and pinned his hands.
Tokai Teio's strength was not to be underestimated either.
"Onii-sama, Teio, the race is about to start."
Rice Shower looked at their intertwined hands; for some reason, a faint discomfort stirred inside.
Strange—when Urara held Lucian's hand, she didn't feel this way.
"Yeah, everyone's about to enter the gate. Teio, you can let go now?"
"Who knows if Trainer will take the chance to bully Rice Shower again—or me." Tokai Teio didn't release but lowered Lucian's hands while still holding them. "This way, Trainer can't misbehave."
From Rice Shower's angle, the two looked like they were holding hands.
Lucian wasn't giving up. He relaxed first, then suddenly yanked—but still couldn't break free from Tokai Teio's grip.
So focused?
It was like she had a warning system; the slightest movement from Lucian triggered an immediate response.
"Trainer~ don't struggle~ So Trainer's strength is only this much."
Burying her shyness and longing deep inside, acting normal made it seem unremarkable—turns out being close with Trainer is this simple.
"How can my strength compare to you horse girls..."
After several failed attempts, Lucian gave up resisting and turned his gaze to the track.
...
Mejiro McQueen performed excellently throughout the race—perfect positioning and overtaking timing.
The closer to the finish, the louder the cheers, but Lucian was still drawn to Tokai Teio's shouts: "McQueen! Go!! McQueen!!"
She and Mejiro McQueen were rivals and teammates.
This race held no suspense; Mejiro McQueen won by four body lengths, even looking like she had energy left at the end.
She gracefully approached the stands, striking her signature victory pose—noble like a princess.
To this day, Lucian hadn't seen Mejiro McQueen's winning live outfit in person, but he was immensely looking forward to it.
Just as Mejiro McQueen saw him as a "squire," he saw her as a noble princess.
Lucian glanced at Tokai Teio and suddenly said: "Teio, it's overflowing."
"Hm?" Tokai Teio instinctively clamped her legs. "W-What's overflowing?"
"Your fighting spirit is overflowing."
"Hah?" Tokai Teio relaxed a lot. "I do really want to face McQueen in a race and settle it."
"In mock races, you've lost to McQueen many times."
"T-That's because..." Tokai Teio lowered her head, unable to find an excuse.
Lucian leaned down slightly, seeking Tokai Teio's eyes. "Because of what?"
"No reason... I lost, that's it. Why ask, Trainer?"
"Just asking. But I still believe in Teio—after all, your body is still growing."
"Of course, I believe in myself too~"
"Good."
Lucian smiled; beneath, his hands suddenly exerted force again—
Still couldn't break free!
Then the smile shifted to Tokai Teio's face. "Trainer, asking so much—was that a diversion? But I saw through it~"
The next second, though, Tokai Teio released Lucian's hands, granting him temporary freedom.
She had held enough. Though not interlaced fingers, it satisfied her.
"How could it be? I'm just concerned about you." Lucian pulled his hands back, smiling awkwardly.
Mid-race, he had tried, but every time he couldn't escape.
Yet Tokai Teio was clearly focused on the race—how could she multitask?
But Lucian failed to think reversely—Tokai Teio's distraction was actually the race.
Rice Shower: "Onii-sama, shouldn't we go find McQueen?"
"Mm, let's go."
Lucian looked at the suddenly dazed Tokai Teio, following her gaze... Why is this girl staring at her own hands again?
But only then did Lucian notice the area Tokai Teio had gripped was slightly red.
"Teio, don't tell me you feel guilty? It doesn't hurt; it's normal, it'll fade soon."
"Hmph~ Not guilty at all. A lesson for Trainer." Tokai Teio truly felt no guilt—she hadn't used much strength.
Trainer was tall and strong; he couldn't be that fragile, right?
Her daze earlier was because the red mark looked like she had branded Lucian with her own seal.
Like during the last training camp when everyone doodled on Lucian's face.
The difference—this time, it was her mark alone.
...