After everyone had assembled, the group headed to the airport together. They boarded the plane they had reserved in advance and flew to Hong Kong.
…
The dull flight time slipped by.
As the roar of the massive engines gradually died down, a flight from Tokyo touched down smoothly at Hong Kong International Airport.
During last summer's vacation, Kuroha had brought the team to Tōkō (Aka Chin@).
So for the girls of Chasing Light, this wasn't an unfamiliar journey.
After landing, Kuroha efficiently led the team through security and onward to the seaside training grounds he had already booked, along with their accommodations for the next two months.
However, not long after Kuroha's group left—
Another international flight from the Southern Hemisphere also descended slowly in the glow of the setting sun.
…
Before long, at the airport's main exit.
The automatic sliding doors parted to either side, cold air and hot wind tangling at the threshold.
Two striking figures, each pushing a suitcase, stepped out of the terminal.
"This is… Hong Kong?" said a girl with an otherworldly beauty.
She stopped, long fingers lightly tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear as her ponytail swayed gently behind her.
Those rare gold-and-crimson heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a hint of appraisal and curiosity as she studied the city's distinctly Eastern character.
Even standing there casually, the innate air of nobility around her was enough to make passersby glance over again and again.
"So why didn't you let your trainer come with you?" came a voice from behind.
Pushing an oversized suitcase, Ellesley Glory let out a sigh, her tone full of helplessness.
Her expression was complicated as she looked at the girl ahead—her little sister, the one she'd cared for since they were young.
Once upon a time, that kid had still been someone she needed to worry about.
Now, the pressure of her presence had grown so strong that even Ellesley, as her older sister, found it startling.
At some point without anyone noticing, the balance of control between them had completely flipped.
"Why would I bring her?" the silver-haired girl known as the "Queen" replied without turning around, her voice cool and indifferent. "She can barely take care of herself as it is."
Ellesley opened her mouth, then swallowed the words back down in the end.
If it were half a year ago, after hearing something like that—
That New Zealand Storm, who had tried to act aloof before the Japan Cup but was secretly still a bit tsundere and awkward on the inside, might have tried to mouth off a few stubborn retorts.
But now…
Looking at the girl's straight, unyielding back, Ellesley couldn't help sighing inwardly.
That loss to Obey Your Master had changed her completely.
Now, the Folkqueen had shed her youthfulness and restlessness, becoming sharper and more imposing.
Her soft silver curls lifted slightly in the wind, and there was no longer any uncertainty in those gold-and-crimson eyes—only a blade-like, honed fighting spirit.
That kind of pressure was so heavy that even Ellesley, as her older sister, didn't dare casually argue against her decisions anymore.
At the end of last year, the Atlantic horse girl scene had seen something like an earthquake.
After returning home, the Folkqueen terminated her contract with her long-serving, veteran trainer on the spot.
When that former trainer demanded answers in disbelief, all she left behind—coldly—was a single sentence:
"You're not worthy."
After that, in a move that seemed almost childish, she "joined" the team of a newly hired rookie trainer.
But everyone knew it was only in name.
It was just so she could enter races normally, nothing more.
That newcomer couldn't possibly bear the responsibility of training the "strongest horse girl in the Atlantic."
And so, for the past half-year, the Folkqueen's entire training plan had been drafted by herself, with the retired Ellesley providing support and helping execute it.
All the restraint. All the grinding, relentless tempering.
It was all for a single goal—
Revenge at the next Japan Cup.
That was why this year's summer training camp was set in Hong Kong: because the turf track conditions here were extremely similar to Central Tracen Academy's.
The Folkqueen intended to undergo two months of closed-door special training here, and she planned to enter a local Hong Kong race before the vacation ended, just to maintain her competitive edge.
Then she would go straight for Central.
Hong Kong and Central were separated by only a one-hour time difference, and their environments were similar as well.
When the time came, she would stand before that team named "Chasing Light" again—this time in a "peak form" fully acclimated to East Asia.
"Don't say it like that, Queen," Ellesley said, rubbing her forehead after hearing the Folkqueen mock her own trainer.
"Your trainer is actually working very hard. She's just lacking a bit of experience and time, that's all."
Ever since that defeat, Ellesley had been unable to shake the feeling that her sister held a deep prejudice against the teachers and fellow countrymen at New Zealand Tracen Academy.
She would take any chance to jab at them.
The Folkqueen showed no reaction.
Ever since last year's Japan Cup, she had lost all trust in those so-called friends and teachers from back home.
Mm… except Ellesley-onee-san…
"Fine. I'm tired." the Folkqueen said flatly.
Ellesley shook her head and pushed her suitcase forward, taking the lead.
"Let's go check into the hotel we booked first. As for confirming the training grounds… it's too late today. We won't make it in time. Tomorrow."
"Mm…" the Folkqueen answered reflexively, about to step after her.
Then—
Bzz.
An indescribable instinct shot up her spine like an electric current.
The silver-haired girl stopped dead. She even forgot to pull her suitcase.
Standing amid the flow of people at the airport exit, she stared blankly toward the distant sky beneath that burning sunset.
"What is it, Queen?" Ellesley asked, having walked a few steps before noticing the silence behind her. She turned back, puzzled. "Did you forget something?"
Her sister's voice pulled the girl back from that subtle sensation.
The Folkqueen blinked, and the sharp light in her gold-and-crimson eyes slowly retracted.
"Ah… it's nothing, Ellesley-onee-san."
She shook her head, gripped the suitcase handle again, and followed with steps that were firm yet elegant.
"It's just that… the wind here feels like it's welcoming my arrival."
(End of Chapter)
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