After training wrapped up, it didn't take long for the Uma Musume to gather at the entrance to the training grounds.
Once Kuroha saw that everyone was present, he led the group to a hotel and treated them to a proper seafood feast.
After eating their fill, everyone took a walk back to the dorms together.
A mere dozen or so kilometers was, for Kuroha's group, nothing more than digestion.
Even Nase Fumino, an ordinary human, kept up regular workouts and fitness. This distance was naturally no challenge for her.
Just as everyone chatted cheerfully while heading toward the dorms—
"Obey Your Master?"
A cool, clear voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone's steps paused. Obey Your Master also lifted her head with a puzzled look.
In a foreign country like this, someone actually knew her?
And the moment she saw who it was, Obey Your Master's eyes narrowed slightly.
From last year's Japan Cup, the image of that Uma Musume who had clung right behind her—refusing to fall even a single step back—suddenly surfaced in her mind.
"You are… Folkqueen?"
Not far away, a silver-haired girl with curled locks and a striking pair of heterochromatic eyes stood in place.
She was carrying a large bag of goods, as if she had just returned from a major shopping run.
Perhaps realizing her appearance was a little undignified, Folkqueen cleared her throat, carefully set the items down in her arms, and was just about to straighten herself and speak—
From within the group, Oguri Cap abruptly shot her arm up, her face faintly red. "Healthy Paradise Master!"
"…"
Veins instantly bulged on Folkqueen's smooth forehead.
She reflexively barked toward Oguri Cap, "I told you, my name isn't Healthy Paradise! It's Folkqueen! And I'm not your master!"
"Uu…"
After being shouted at, Oguri Cap immediately wilted again, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.
Crying again…
Folkqueen pressed a hand to her head. She truly had no idea what to do with this ash-gray Uma Musume.
She had met Oguri Cap during Oguri Cap's recuperation period last year.
Back then, Oguri Cap barely understood hot-spring therapy at all, looking completely like an airhead.
Folkqueen had casually offered a bit of kind guidance, and the result was that she got saddled with the title of "mas… ter."
Most importantly, this girl kept calling her name wrong every single day. Who taught her that?!
At that moment, Kuroha smiled and said, "You're the New Zealand representative from last year's Japan Cup, Folkqueen, right?"
Folkqueen froze for a beat, then looked at Kuroha, her expression turning more serious. "Yes. I'm Folkqueen. I've heard much about you, Kuroha-san."
After her defeat at the Japan Cup, Folkqueen had gone back home and researched this team's information.
So she understood very well the leader trainer of Chasing Light—this man named Kuroha.
He was an exceptionally capable trainer.
Mm…
Compared to the trash trainer she'd had in the past, this wasn't just "capable." It was practically a god descending to earth.
"Are you… here on vacation?" Kuroha asked, glancing at the shopping bags by her feet.
"Uh…"
Folkqueen looked at the pile of household supplies, fell silent for a moment, and ultimately didn't try to hide it.
"Not vacation. Special training. For the Japan Cup in the second half of the year!"
As she spoke, the heterochromatic girl's gaze abruptly turned sharp and icy. A powerful, overwhelming aura surged upward in a roar, and golden-red streams of light burst from the depths of her pupils!
"I've already heard. Obey Your Master, you've retired, right?"
"That's right. I retired in March this year."
Arms crossed, Obey Your Master nodded at ease, entirely unaffected by that pressure.
"Even so, your 'Chasing Light' will definitely still be entering the Japan Cup, right?"
Folkqueen's eyes gleamed as she stared straight at them. "That so-called strongest active racer, Fujimasa March, and this year's long-distance ruler, Mejiro Ardan…"
"I'll be waiting for you at the Japan Cup! Last year's loss, I will—take it back from you!"
This girl from New Zealand stood her ground and issued a challenge to every Uma Musume of Chasing Light, her edge and intensity growing sharper by the second!
"…"
However, the group opposite her exchanged looks. The atmosphere turned strangely awkward, and everyone seemed unsure what to say.
In the end, it was a silver-haired Uma Musume who spoke first.
Fujimasa March stepped forward and said softly, "Um… I think you might be misunderstanding something."
"?" Her aura reined in, Folkqueen tilted her head, confusion all over her face.
March pointed to herself, then to the elegant Ardan beside her, who wore a gentle smile.
"Ardan and I… our race plans don't include the Japan Cup."
"…???!!!"
Like a bolt of lightning crashing down, Folkqueen went completely rigid.
Wait… what did she just say?
No Japan Cup…
Those words, like demonic whispers drilling into her ears, kept echoing inside her head.
Then the challenge I just declared… isn't that basically—
Off to the side, Kuroha explained lightly, "…March's autumn goal is the Mile Championship. Ardan's goal is the Tenno Sho (Autumn)."
"This year, both of those races are less than ten days apart from the Japan Cup. The schedule is too tight, so I don't intend to have either of them run the Japan Cup."
"Ah…"
Folkqueen opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
But Kuroha added, "Besides March and Ardan, the only one left who's qualified is Mejiro McQueen, but McQueen has the Kikuka Sho at nearly the same time."
"So—"
Kuroha spread his hands. "This year's Japan Cup, Chasing Light isn't planning to enter."
"…"
The silver-haired Uma Musume with golden-red heterochromia fell silent for a long while.
Then, suddenly—
"—Pff!"
A dense, (Lino's) crimson flush spread from her neck up to her earlobes in an instant. Her whole face turned as red as an apple, and she let out a "steam princess" explosion-like sound.
"Y-you-you-you… I-I-I…"
Folkqueen trembled as she pointed at Kuroha and the others, and then—
"Ahhhh—!!!"
With a scream, she spun on her heel and bolted!
Driven by sheer humiliation, the power of her Domain surged violently, turning her into a blurred streak of light. Kuroha didn't even have time to call out before she vanished from sight.
All that remained was the large bag of lonely household supplies on the ground, looking especially desolate in the fresh summer breeze.
Obey Your Master glanced in the direction Folkqueen had fled, then casually gestured at the bag. "Trainer, what do we do about this?"
"Good grief."
Kuroha sighed, utterly speechless, walked over, and picked up the bag. "We'll hold onto it for now. We'll give it back when Lino runs back after getting lost."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]