Baltimore, Maryland.
With the breeze off the Chesapeake Bay in their faces, Xingyun Liuge and Chihaya Yui stepped into Lexington Market. The seafood here was famous, and since they had already come all this way, there was no reason to miss it.
Besides, they had a solemn mission on their shoulders: scouting the way for the Kasamatsu girls.
Everyone had made the trip to America just to watch her race, so of course Xingyun Liuge wanted to make sure they ate well and slept well.
Fujimasa March and the others would be arriving a few days later than Xingyun Liuge. They had been entrusted with an extremely important task—arranging the deliveries.
The souvenirs Xingyun Liuge had prepared for everyone back at Kasamatsu Tracen were all ready, and someone had to handle the international shipping. Fujimasa March's group was perfect for that. Afterward, they could enjoy the local Kentucky atmosphere a little longer and prepare themselves for the long trip to Maryland.
Most horse girls, after all, were weak against vehicles. The flight from Japan to America had nearly claimed half the lives of the more fragile ones. To throw them onto another flight of nearly a thousand kilometers so soon afterward? They might collapse right on the plane.
That was why Xingyun Liuge had deliberately given them extra time to prepare, so nothing chaotic would happen. At the same time, she was waiting for them to absorb a little more of her green juice and strengthen their constitutions. Then, the next time they had to fly, it would not be nearly so hard on them.
From that perspective, Xingyun Liuge really was a great philanthropist.
"Yui, aaah—"
Xingyun Liuge held up a crab leg toward Chihaya Yui's mouth. Yui was still distracted, thinking about what Secretariat had said regarding Domains, and bit down without realizing what she was doing.
"!"
Xingyun Liuge had cracked the shell in advance, but she had not peeled it all the way. One bite left Yui with a mouthful of crab meat mixed with shattered shell. It was an unforgettable experience.
In a hurry, Chihaya Yui set the crab leg down, spat out the bits of shell mixed with meat, and dabbed away the juices running down her pale chin with a napkin.
The crab leg itself really was delicious, but thanks to one certain horse girl's prank… at least half of it was now a lost cause.
Then she thought about the fact that this meal had been paid for in U.S. dollars, and her heart ached.
Although she had earned a fair amount in commission thanks to Xingyun Liuge, the real credit belonged to Xingyun Liuge herself. Not only did Yui not dare take any pride in it, she even felt unworthy of the money. She truly could not bring herself to spend it freely.
Xingyun Liuge, meanwhile, showed not the slightest sign of reflection.
With complete righteousness, she declared, "Yui, one must not betray good food. Letting your thoughts wander while eating is hardly a virtue."
She had even wanted to add, If you've already performed the sacred pre-meal ritual of 'Thanks for the food,' then how can you neglect the food itself?
But instead of saying it aloud, she quietly slipped off one shoe under the table and lightly tapped Yui's calf with her small foot, still wrapped in a black ankle sock. The touch was like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water before darting away.
Then she curled her toes and gently rubbed the padded tip of her big toe against Yui's calf.
Chihaya Yui could only force a smile.
She had only been worrying about Xingyun Liuge's physical condition. Her intentions had been good. But allowing the horse girl herself to notice that worry had been her mistake.
The Preakness Stakes was right around the corner. How could she go around "undermining morale" at a time like this? That was not what a qualified trainer should do. This was the moment when they were supposed to overcome every obstacle together.
And then she felt Xingyun Liuge's little movement beneath the table.
First the light tap, then the far more distracting caress.
A strange warmth pierced straight through Xingyun Liuge's sock and Yui's trouser leg, settling against Yui's calf.
The instant that peculiar heat reached her, Chihaya Yui's calf muscles tensed involuntarily. That tension spread through the rest of her body in an instant, leaving her wound up tight from head to toe, like a startled doe.
A blush full of dangerous implications bloomed across her pretty face. Anyone who did not know better might have thought she was dealing with some highly personal and highly embarrassing crisis.
Xingyun Liuge, on the other hand, behaved as if nothing whatsoever were happening. She remained "entirely focused" on dismantling the crab leg in her hands.
She pressed lightly with her long, slender fingers, and fine cracks immediately spread across the shell. It looked almost magical—no, actually, it would have been more accurate to say that if she merely shook it a little, the cracked shell would naturally fall away on its own, revealing the snowy white crab meat within.
The chef had already scored the crab legs, but normal people definitely could not handle them the way Xingyun Liuge did.
She set one neatly opened crab leg onto Chihaya Yui's plate.
Then came a crisp crack.
The shell split apart, and the tender, delicious meat appeared before Yui as if on cue.
Xingyun Liuge folded her hands together and leaned forward, resting her pale chin on the backs of her own hands.
"I know exactly what I'm doing when it comes to Domains. Nothing will happen to me. More importantly, do I look like someone in trouble to you, Yui?"
"Taking a day to rest, then throwing myself into pre-race preparation—that's only natural, isn't it?"
She said it with such effortless certainty that Chihaya Yui found herself unable to argue.
After a moment of silence, Yui nodded hard.
"Mm. Of course I believe in you, Liuge."
"Good. Then have another crab cake. It's a local specialty too, and it would be a shame not to try it."
There was also a square nearby selling fried chicken sandwiches and Spanish dishes. They could enjoy local Baltimore specialties and foreign cuisine all in one go. They could easily spend the entire day here.
A little farther away, Sirius Symbol lowered her binoculars and called out, "Rudolf, they're at Constellation Restaurant—the one next to Saratoga Restaurant. What are you going to do? Go over and pay the bill?"
Rudolf Symbol's group had reached Baltimore half a day earlier than Xingyun Liuge and Yui. She had directed the managing director to book the most comfortable hotel in town and reserve a restaurant, intending to sit down and have a proper talk with Xingyun Liuge.
Instead, Xingyun Liuge had executed the classic maneuver of accepting the coating while discarding the candy.
She checked into the hotel Rudolf Symbol had booked, dropped off her luggage, hoisted Chihaya Yui over her shoulder, and ran off before Rudolf Symbol had even gotten the chance to speak.
In truth, Rudolf Symbol had not intended to bring up the JRA matter anytime soon anyway. Right now, the most important thing was the Preakness Stakes. The whole JRA mess was better left aside for the moment.
Her plan had been to let Xingyun Liuge slowly feel the benefits of Central Tracen, to ease her resentment little by little, and then unveil the JRA's formal proposal for apology and restitution in one decisive blow, smashing all of Xingyun Liuge's terrible impressions of them at once.
She already had an idea, though it was not yet fully mature: use public pressure to restructure the JRA, put people—and horse girls—who genuinely cared about the sport into positions of power, protect the rights of horse girls and support staff alike, and make sure everyone shared in the benefits of racing.
She just did not know whether Xingyun Liuge would approve of such a plan.
But trying would not hurt, would it?
After all, this was a proposal that would benefit everyone.
As the horse girl revered as the Emperor, how could she do anything less than fight for it?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
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Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
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I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
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Uma Musume: I Want All 80
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Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
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