In the polite version: she looked a bit "soft."
In the blunt version: she was kind of heavy.
Of course, that was just a joke. Mejiro McQueen wasn't actually so heavy that Hui couldn't carry her.
It was just that the plush, well-fed feel of her thighs could give the impression she was chubby at first glance—when in fact, she really wasn't.
Still, it didn't stop Hui from silently complaining to himself that Central Tracen's food might be a little too good.
His fingers sank into the soft flesh of her thighs, feeling the slick warmth of skin, while she—completely unguarded—lightly pressed those two soft mounds against his back, making it far too easy for him to sense their shape.
At that moment, Hui could only be grateful he was in a girl's body right now—otherwise he'd be dealing with the single most awkward situation a Tracen "old hand" could possibly face.
"Miss Feitong, are you a new student at Tracen too?"
"Why are you asking all of a sudden?"
"I was just curious when I saw you running…"
"Sort of."
Hui answered in a vague, perfunctory tone. He wasn't a new student, but as a trainer, he was still part of Central Tracen, wasn't he?
But McQueen didn't think about it that way at all. The moment she heard Feitong was also a "new student," her violet eyes seemed to light up.
"So you're from the same school as me? How strange—Miss Feitong is so cute, yet I don't remember seeing you at the opening ceremony."
"C-cute…?"
Hui's mouth twitched. Thankfully, McQueen was behind him and couldn't see how stiff his expression had become.
A grown man being called "cute"…
He had no idea what to say. His feelings were a mess.
Had he really lost every last trace of masculinity after turning into a horse girl? Damn it—couldn't he at least keep some gallant aura?
"By the way, why were you running out here?" Hui asked as he carried McQueen along the roadside at an unhurried pace. "Wouldn't the school facilities be more—"
"Ahaha…"
McQueen let out a dry, awkward laugh.
"...I just felt like it, that's all."
Yes. Just a whim. Absolutely not because she wanted to lose weight without anyone noticing. Definitely not!
"Getting hurt just because of a whim isn't exactly a good trade, you know."
"I'm sorry…"
McQueen apologized obediently.
"Right—where's your trainer, Miss Mejiro? If something like this happens, you should notify your trainer first."
"Ah… I've only just enrolled. No trainer has chosen me yet."
"Really?"
That surprised Hui. She was a young lady from the Mejiro family—how was it possible no trainer was paying attention to her?
The Mejiro line had produced plenty of formidable horse girls. It was a prestigious racing family. A horse girl from a family like that should have been a hot commodity.
"Is something not going smoothly with your training, Miss Mejiro?"
"Huh? How did Miss Feitong know…?"
McQueen's body jolted on his back, as if he'd hit the truth dead-on.
"Intuition."
"What an enviable intuition…"
McQueen sighed, then continued.
"To be honest… since enrolling, things really haven't been going well…"
"Specifically?"
"Um… it's about training. The intensity is high every day, but the results just don't show. It feels like twice the effort for half the outcome…"
As she spoke, a palpable gloom seemed to settle over her.
Clearly, the lack of progress had been hitting her hard.
"No results from training… let me think."
As a trainer, this was exactly his domain.
"Can I ask you a few questions?"
"...Huh? Go ahead."
Perhaps sensing a subtle change in the "aura" of the horse girl carrying her, McQueen looked puzzled, but she still answered honestly.
"Before enrollment, were you training beyond your limits?"
"No. The training volume after enrollment is the same as before…"
Okay. Overtraining was unlikely.
"Then your running shoes—are they wearing out?"
"I got a new pair after enrolling, so I don't think it's that…"
So it wasn't equipment, either.
"How about your diet? How have you been eating lately?"
"Guh…!"
At the mention of food, Hui felt the horse girl on his back flinch sharply.
So that was it.
"Uh… n-normal, I guess. I just ate… the usual…"
McQueen's voice wavered. She clearly wasn't feeling calm inside.
Way too easy to read.
"If you don't tell me the truth, I can't find the cause."
"...S-sorry."
Then McQueen confessed the details of her recent eating habits.
"Yeah… figures. That's the problem."
"...Mm."
Even though she couldn't see Hui's face from behind, she could tell from his sigh that he was probably wearing a helpless expression.
"Dieting is going way too far. Eating that little and then training—of course the results won't come."
"B-but… I'm from the Mejiro family. I represent the family's image. If I show up looking out of shape in front of everyone, wouldn't that disgrace the family…?"
"Eating a little more won't lead to consequences that serious."
"I'm the type who gains weight really easily…"
"Then burn it off with training."
"Guh…"
Faced with Hui's perfectly reasonable logic, McQueen was left speechless.
Yeah… maybe she really did have a problem.
"You know, Miss Feitong, you're so knowledgeable about all this. You're practically like a trainer."
"Hmph. Of course. Don't underestimate my professional level as a trainer!"
The moment the boast left his mouth, Hui regretted it.
"...As a trainer?"
Sure enough, McQueen's puzzled voice came from behind him.
"Ah—trainer, right. I mean, I have a great trainer, and all this is what he taught me."
As he scrambled to patch up his slip, Hui's heart dangled in his throat.
"Ohh, so that's how it is."
Luckily, McQueen didn't seem to dwell on it, treating it as a simple verbal misstep.
"If your trainer taught you so many reliable things, he must be a very capable person. That's wonderful… I really hope my future trainer will be someone that talented."
"Uh, yeah…"
How was Hui supposed to respond to that? Any reply would sound like self-praise.
"What's your trainer's name, Miss Feitong? Maybe I'll end up in the same team as you later."
"Mm…"
There didn't seem much point in lying about it here. After hesitating for a moment, he gave his name.
"Fujimura Hui… I feel like I've heard that name somewhere…"
McQueen frowned, clearly trying to recall something.
"It's just a very common name," Hui said lightly.
They chatted on and off until Hui carried McQueen onto a busy street.
He hailed a taxi and took her to a nearby hospital. The fare was a bit steep, but Hui had some savings, so it wasn't a big deal.
After settling McQueen in, the doctor's report came back: her ankle was only a minor injury—she'd recover naturally in a couple of days.
What was surprising was that the report also noted mild anemia, neatly confirming Hui's suspicion.
Once he was sure McQueen was fine, Hui prepared to leave.
Just as he was about to go, McQueen called out to him.
"Miss Feitong! You really saved me! When we're back at school, I'll prepare a proper thank-you gift and come to thank you in person! Thank you!"
A straightforward, good kid.
"I'll accept your thanks, but you don't need to give me a gift. It's not that big a deal."
"How could it not be!"
"More importantly, take care of your body. You don't want this to affect your training. And don't keep dieting—your anemia is already mild."
"Mm…"
"Alright then. I'm off~"
With that, Hui turned and left, leaving McQueen staring blankly at the departing horse girl's back.
"What a strange person…"
Watching her go, McQueen fell into a daze.
At first glance, she'd thought Feitong would be difficult to get along with—turns out she had been completely wrong.
Even though they'd spent little time together, McQueen could sense a special kind of maturity about Feitong—something that didn't belong to someone of her apparent age…
She'd never seen that kind of aura on any other horse girl.
And so, curiosity about Feitong took root in her heart.
—
It was already late by the time Hui returned to the staff dorm.
"Didn't expect an extra bonus."
He smiled at the system panel in front of him.
[Quest: Help a horse girl — Progress: Completed — Reward: Achievement unlocked: 'Friend of the Horse Girls']
[Remaining transformation time: 10 minutes]
After helping McQueen, he'd received this notification.
A hidden quest? Typical MMO design—so the system had that feature too.
Helping McQueen had been purely from the heart, without any utilitarian motive—but if he benefited from it, he wasn't going to overthink it.
More important than anything else right now was the achievement system.
That mysterious achievement tab had finally reacted—he needed to study it properly.
With that thought, he opened the achievement called [Friend of the Horse Girls].
[Friend of the Horse Girls]
[Quality: Good (Upgradable)]
[Effect: +10% bonus attribute points from completed quests]
"Oh? A bonus-type support feature. But what does 'Upgradable' mean…?"
He tapped the "Upgradable" label, and the blue system panel changed again.
[Upgrade Quest: Cumulatively help 3 horse girls — Progress: 1 — Reward: 'Friend of the Horse Girls' quality upgrade]
[Note: Higher achievement quality grants stronger additional effects]
Yeah. Even more like an MMO.
He really wanted to complain, but after a bit of poking around, Hui was satisfied with what he'd found.
He didn't know exactly how the system defined "helping a horse girl," but if he kept doing what he did today—actively helping others—he probably wouldn't go wrong.
And most importantly: if achievements could be upgraded by completing quests, then that "epic achievement" requirement might finally have a path forward.
Good. Really good.
If doing good deeds was all it took to stay alive, wasn't that wonderful?
"Mm… only a few minutes of transformation left. After it ends, I'll go take a shower."
Hui looked at his sweat-soaked workout clothes, helplessness on his face.
Being a horse girl in training was really tough—sweating like this every day…
He'd heard some horse girls even wore stockings while training…
Sweating this much while wearing stockings—he didn't even want to imagine what it would smell like after taking them off.
But in his impression, horse girls were always fragrant creatures. Maybe they all had some mysterious deodorizing secret.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just as Hui was fretting over how horse girls stayed so nice-smelling, a knock came at the dorm door.
"Hui Trainer Are you in there?"
Xingmu's voice came from outside.
Hui was about to open the door to answer, but the instant his hand touched the doorknob, he froze.
Damn it—I haven't turned back yet!
Only a few minutes of transformation time remained… and it was still active.
No. I can't open the door.
Even if I open it, it has to be after a few more minutes—
"Hm~ Did you fall asleep?" Xingmu sounded puzzled outside.
Yes, yes, I'm asleep. Go back first.
"Mm… I still haven't given Hui the information on Trainer Chongye…"
Chongye—so you're the one who sent her here!
"But it's fine—I brought the spare key to Hui's dorm~"
Wait—why would you even have something like that?!
I'm finished.
—
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