...
After the meeting concluded, everyone dispersed.
Lucian was just about to hang the sportswear from the washing machine to dry when Silence Suzuka unexpectedly returned.
"Suzuka, why are you back? Did you forget something?" Lucian asked, puzzled.
Silence Suzuka didn't answer. After entering, she casually closed the training room door behind her, then said expressionlessly, "You weren't planning to do something to the clothes, were you?"
"Are you okay?" If his hands hadn't been full, Lucian would have reached over to feel Silence Suzuka's forehead to check if she had a fever.
Silence Suzuka gritted her teeth. "Of course I'm fine."
"Then what's with that nonsense? I'm just kindly helping you all hang the clothes, and you're suspecting me like this?" Lucian naturally wouldn't get angry at Silence Suzuka over something like this.
Silence Suzuka let out a light humph. "I don't feel well."
"Don't feel well?" Lucian placed the clothes back in the basket, walked over to Silence Suzuka, bent down, and touched her forehead. "No fever."
"You—"
Lucian's soft breath brushed against Silence Suzuka's flushed cheeks, turning them even pinker.
The resentment she had been holding onto instantly vanished into thin air.
This person really has no sense of boundaries... How could he suddenly get so close!
But she didn't move away either.
Why didn't she?
"I'm here to collect a debt. You owe me a massage," Silence Suzuka finally said, unable to bear the close proximity, and took a step back.
"Oh, that's all?" Lucian laughed.
He hadn't missed Silence Suzuka's earlier action of closing the door.
He'd even thought she might do something to him... Hahaha, he must be "burning up" too, to have such thoughts.
"But there's no bed here. Should we go to the infirmary?"
The training room only had a long bench. Though it was soft enough for someone to lie on, it couldn't compare to the beds in the infirmary.
This gave Lucian the idea of getting a proper bed for the training room.
"No, here is fine."
The conditions were a bit lacking, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about someone barging in.
Silence Suzuka was still very shy because sometimes she couldn't help making strange noises.
She didn't want to, but she just couldn't control it.
"Alright, if you don't mind, then it's fine."
"Anyway, I'll need to take a shower after this."
As she spoke, Silence Suzuka, her face red, walked over to the bench, skillfully took off her jacket, and lay down—as if just waiting to say, "Ready to be served."
"Got it. If I remember correctly, this is the last massage, right?" Lucian rolled up his sleeves and began massaging Silence Suzuka.
"Mmm." Silence Suzuka closed her eyes. "Do you think I'm being troublesome like this?"
"Not at all. You're my team member. Giving you a massage is part of the job." Lucian couldn't quite figure out what was up with Silence Suzuka today. There was a hint of melancholy in her words.
"Will you massage the others too in the future?"
This was an uncertain question, and Lucian couldn't give a definitive answer. "I've arranged a medical team for them, and massages are included. Don't worry, all the medical staff are girls."
Silence Suzuka didn't get the answer she wanted, but she understood the underlying message—Lucian wouldn't proactively massage the other team members.
That meant she was still... special.
A small sense of delight bubbled up in Silence Suzuka's heart. "Then wasn't getting that certification a waste?"
"More skills never hurt~" Lucian hadn't known back then that he'd have the money to afford a medical team.
Silence Suzuka fell silent, quietly enjoying Lucian's massage for a while.
"Do I have any race arrangements after this?"
"Of course."
"What if I want to go abroad for a while? Would you support me?"
"I would. Competing with horse girls from other countries sounds great." It was only then that Lucian remembered—in the anime's later stages, Silence Suzuka was mostly training abroad.
But he didn't think he was any worse than foreign trainers—after all, he was from overseas himself.
"Mmm."
Silence Suzuka had long had this plan. It was just that Lucian's appearance had caused a slight waver in her resolve. But it was only a waver.
Would this guy miss her when she left?
Her eyelids grew heavy, slowly closing, as if the world's threads were drawing together.
So peaceful...
Silence Suzuka comfortably fell asleep again.
...
"Suzuka, wake up."
"Mmm?"
Silence Suzuka reluctantly opened her eyes.
Just like last time, she woke with a lingering resentment—as if a wonderful dream had been cut short. She didn't want to speak, didn't want to move.
But her body felt unusually light, as if all the fatigue had been washed away.
"The massage is over."
"I know."
Suddenly, Lucian covered his nose and stepped back, grimacing. "You have bad breath."
"What!?" Silence Suzuka instantly panicked, covering her mouth and staring at Lucian in dismay.
Somehow, the frown on Lucian's face made her heart clench.
Not out of shyness, but a surge of emotion—something like grievance—flooded from the depths of her heart like a broken dam.
Don't look at me with that expression...
"Haha, just kidding." Lucian handed her jacket to Silence Suzuka. "You looked so lifeless, so I wanted to tease you."
At this point, Lucian still hadn't realized the gravity of the situation—until he saw the redness in Silence Suzuka's eyes...
Panic doesn't disappear; it transfers.
"Suzuka, don't cry! It was a joke!!" Lucian flailed, never expecting his words to offend Silence Suzuka.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I—"
Silence Suzuka hastily wiped her face.
Only when she felt the wetness on her palms did she truly realize she was crying.
She hadn't even cried after losing so many races before...
"Suzuka, how about I give you another massage as an apology?"
"Three times."
"Heh, no problem. Deal."
"Hmph." Silence Suzuka turned her head away.
The window framed a beautiful scene.
Drifting clouds were like wisps of smoke, trapped within the painting. The crimson hues were the strokes of a master—unreadable, yet undeniably beautiful.
This was the warmth Silence Suzuka acknowledged.
But something was still missing.
"Suzuka, are you still mad?"
"No... I am."
Lucian had never noticed before how tsundere Silence Suzuka could be. "Then what will make you not mad?"
"You... do what you did to Urara earlier."
In her urgency, the words spilled out unfiltered.
It was a lie to say she wasn't nervous. Silence Suzuka's palms, tightly gripping her clothes, were already slick with sweat.
"What I did to Urara earlier?"
Lucian froze.
By the time he processed it, Silence Suzuka in front of him had already lowered her head.
He noticed her trembling slightly, like a wounded little animal.
Lucian gulped, suddenly nervous himself—after all, he'd wanted to pat Silence Suzuka's head more than once or twice.
His hand gently rested on Silence Suzuka's head.
"Is this enough?"
"Mmm."