...
"What you said this afternoon..." Special Week lowered her head and whispered softly.
"What are you mumbling about?" Lucian pretended not to hear. "Let's go, it's time to head back."
Special Week blocked Lucian's path again, this time raising her voice slightly. "Trainer Lucian, about what you said this afternoon..."
"Did I say something this afternoon?"
Special Week grew anxious. "You—!"
"Hey, hey." Lucian quickly grabbed Special Week as she turned to leave. "Is Spe-chan planning to fulfill what she promised me?"
"...Mmm." She slowly turned back around, her heart pounding so fiercely it felt like it might leap out of her chest.
"Can I kiss the you?" Lucian repeated the question he had asked earlier that afternoon in the car.
He wasn't in a hurry, simply waiting quietly for Special Week's kiss.
"...Mmm."
The surroundings were so quiet that Special Week's deep inhale was clearly audible.
Lucian watched as the outline of her face grew larger in his vision.
By the time Special Week's uncertain hands clutched his clothes, her lips were like a small train approaching its final stop, steaming with nervousness, her breaths growing heavier... until they finally, steadily reached their destination.
Lucian remained motionless, like a bouquet offered up, allowing the little bee before him to gather her nectar.
Gulp, gulp—his throat moved.
Anyone unaware might have thought Special Week was drinking water.
Her toes strained to lift her up, then lowered, then lifted again.
She greedily marked her territory, declaring this new island her colony, to be driven and enslaved by her... At least, that's how it remained until Lucian took the initiative.
The new ruler's conquest came to a temporary pause as she needed to catch her breath.
The native also got a moment to rest, though the native showed no awareness of being enslaved at all.
"Mint-flavored?" Lucian's mouth now held a mint candy that had somehow appeared, rolling around his tongue.
"Mmm, I had a mint candy." Special Week clung tightly to Lucian.
"Then why did you push it into my mouth?"
The mint candy had been transferred over.
"Because, because..." Special Week couldn't explain—it was just a little quirk of hers. "Trainer Lucian, I want to kiss again."
"Spe-chan doesn't seem as timid as I imagined. Were you just pretending all this time?"
Lucian scooped Special Week up into a princess carry and sat down on a nearby rock.
Special Week instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, reluctant to let go. "Can I sit on your lap? Trainer Lucian, I'm not too heavy, am I?"
"Not at all, not at all. Spe-chan's figure is just right. If it were about choosing a partner, lots of people would like Spe-chan."
"Really?"
"Really. At the very least, I like you a lot." In his heart, Lucian once again declared that Special Week was the perfect cuddle buddy.
"Trainer Lucian..."
"You're still calling me 'Trainer Lucian'?" Lucian had always felt this address was too formal. It was fine during training, but in private? Not so much.
"Then what should I call you?"
"Hmm... Let me think. How about 'darling'? Or 'anata'?"
Special Week smiled faintly. "Don't those two mean the same thing?"
"So if Spe-chan alternates between them, I'd be fine with that too." Lucian leaned against Special Week's shoulder. "Can you try calling me that?"
Special Week nodded, opened her mouth, but the tiny voice that came out was too soft for Lucian to hear.
"Seems like Spe-chan isn't too willing..."
Special Week had no choice but to lean closer to Lucian's ear and slowly whisper the address he wanted to hear.
And in that very moment, Lucian was like dry grass set ablaze—he kissed Special Week, taking the initiative this time.
"W-wait, wait." Special Week pushed against Lucian's chest. "Behind us is a shrine, where the gods reside. Isn't it bad for us to be doing this here?"
"Japanese gods have no jurisdiction over a me."
"But I'm a Japanese horse girl!"
"It's fine. Since I'm the one initiating, let this god rage helplessly all they want."
Far away in the land of dreams, the Three Goddesses all sneezed in unison.
...
The two stayed at the mountaintop for a long time, then lingered halfway down the mountain for just as long, and when they were nearly at the foot, they paused again on the stone steps for another extended period.
Finally satisfied, Special Week held Lucian's hand as they made their to the base of the mountain.
After so much time spent in each other's company, it was finally time to part.
"Trainer Lucian, can you text me 'goodnight' later?"
"To the group chat?"
Special Week puffed out her cheeks. "No, just to me."
"Aren't you afraid Suzuka will find out?"
"I am... but I'll be very careful."
"Then, about what happened today—can I tell Suzuka and the others?"
Usually, it was the horse girls who brought up this topic first, but today, Lucian was the one asking.
It just went to show how much of a pushover he considered Special Week to be.
But whether he told them or not didn't really matter. Lucian knew they'd all gradually figure it out on their own, just like Seiun Sky and Silence Suzuka had.
"No, no, you can't tell anyone. Not yet." Special Week shook her head repeatedly. If this got out, she'd die of embarrassment.
"Oh? So Spe-chan doesn't want to acknowledge our relationship? You want me to be... a secret boyfriend?"
His slightly dejected tone was more than Special Week could handle. "That's not it! Why would Trainer Lucian think of me that way?"
Similarly, Special Week's sadness was a devastating weapon against Lucian.
"Spe-chan, I was just teasing. Come here, let me hug you."
Lucian pulled her into an embrace.
But since they were in a public place, the hug didn't last long.
"Trainer Lucian, once I'm ready, we'll tell everyone, okay?"
"Sure. And don't take what I said earlier to heart—it really was just a joke."
Lucian thought to himself that by the time Special Week was ready, the others might have already made their moves.
But that was a matter for the future. For now, living in the moment was what mattered most.
"Should we head back to school? Or do you want to grab a late-night snack?"
"Trainer Lucian, tempting me with late-night snacks again." Special Week rubbed her slightly rounded belly, which Lucian had just been teasing earlier. "Ever since that time, I haven't had any midnight snacks."
"I know Trainer Lucian always has my best interests at heart, so I've been listening to you. I don't want to let you down again."
Lucian froze for a moment. In that fleeting instant, he seemed to see the Special Week from when she first enrolled... She's grown so much.
"Then I'll walk you back to school."
"Mmm."
...
Lucian drove Special Week back to Tracen Academy.
After watching her enter the campus, he raised a hand to touch his lips.
Tss—
There was a faint, tingling sting.
She might be inexperienced, but she's surprisingly... "violent," huh?
...