"L-Lady Rudolf?"
The executive director was completely dumbfounded. Everything had been fine just a moment ago, so why had she suddenly decided they were going to Maryland?
Kentucky was in the American Midwest, while Maryland lay on the East Coast. The two were nearly a thousand kilometers apart. What exactly was wrong with that helicopter? Why was Rudolf Symbol reacting with such urgency?
The helicopter had flown too fast for Rudolf Symbol to be sure whether Xingyun Liuge had actually been on board. But that was not the real issue. As long as they handled their own side of things properly, it would be fine.
That was how Rudolf Symbol saw it:
Xingyun Liuge's next race was the Preakness Stakes, two weeks from now. So whether she had boarded that helicopter or where it had taken her did not really matter. They only had to go to Maryland first, lie in wait, and show Xingyun Liuge the sincerity they had failed to show before.
Could Xingyun Liuge really give up the chance to compete for the Anglo-American Triple Crowns just to become one of Secretariat's people? If she did that, then she would not be the Xingyun Liuge Rudolf Symbol knew.
Still… was there any chance Secretariat might simply kidnap Xingyun Liuge, lock her in a basement, and make her play horsey?
No, impossible.
She was the student council president of American Central Tracen, a legendary horse girl known throughout the world. There was no way she would do something that outrageous.
Besides, Xingyun Liuge was someone with very strong opinions of her own. Even if something happened, she would never yield so easily.
So yes—Maryland was the right call. If they could use this opportunity to take care of Xingyun Liuge's daily needs and let her focus wholeheartedly on racing, perhaps they could at least erase some of the JRA's bad impression.
Rudolf Symbol's reasoning was beautiful.
It was just that reality was not quite so beautiful.
While Secretariat really was a mature, steady, world-famous horse girl, and truly would never force someone to do what they did not want to do, if there was room for a little maneuvering, she would not hesitate to play dirty.
For example, halfway through the flight, the helicopter abruptly changed course and headed for Louisville Central Hospital.
For one instant, Chihaya Yui genuinely thought this celebrated student council president was about to pull some underhanded stunt. She immediately stepped in front of Xingyun Liuge in a protective stance.
Even though she had no actual ability to oppose her.
But still—
Back in Japan, she had failed to protect Xingyun Liuge, letting her face Rudolf Symbol's discovery and suppression head-on. At the very least, this time, she did not want to be completely useless.
And then, in the very next instant, she toppled backward and was rendered helpless.
Because Xingyun Liuge had simply wrapped an arm around her very cute, somewhat ridiculous trainer and drawn her into her embrace. With her other hand, she gently patted Yui on the head, telling her to calm down.
For one fleeting second, Xingyun Liuge herself even felt as though she were radiating some grand maternal aura, just like Mom's Command.
She had heard that Central Tracen in Japan also had a horse girl overflowing with maternal charm. She wondered how that one would compare to Mom's Command.
Her thoughts wandered in a completely irrelevant direction before she finally said, "Senpai Secretariat, are you taking me to see Risen Star?"
Other than that, the only thing Xingyun Liuge could think of was healing—but that still had everything to do with Risen Star. So in the end, wasn't this still about seeing Risen Star?
"Yes," Secretariat said, deliberately teasing her. "That child insisted on seeing little Xingyun one more time, no matter what."
Then she added, "Speaking of which, little Xingyun, aren't you just a bit too much of a heartbreaker? You'd better watch out, or you'll end up getting horsed around."
Xingyun Liuge knew what it meant to toy with people's affections, and she knew what a honey trap was—but this "horsed around" business? She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Was it some horse-girl-specific variant of a honey trap?
If so, then she would not be blamed for opening with a full five-star combo. Wait, no—The Culling might be even better here. One ought to adapt to local customs, after all.
Secretariat caught the brief flash of killing intent in Xingyun Liuge's eyes and got the distinct feeling the girl had misunderstood something.
Then again, Xingyun Liuge looked so tiny and young that perhaps she genuinely did not know what "horsey play" was supposed to imply.
Since her earlier remark about Xingyun Liuge being a flirt had only been a joke, Secretariat wisely stopped piling on the teasing and instead asked directly:
"Leaving that aside, little Xingyun—how much do you know about Domains?"
Truthfully, Secretariat felt this question was almost unnecessary. After all, Xingyun Liuge had already shown absolute mastery over Domain-like power, and used it with extraordinary flexibility.
Even so, she still wanted to know more about Xingyun Liuge. What if some detail that seemed unimportant turned out to matter at a crucial moment?
If Risen Star's "upgraded Domain" had merely been a pleasant surprise to Secretariat, then what Xingyun Liuge had displayed had left even this great veteran in deep shock.
Everyone knew Domains possessed tremendous expressive power, but their forms were usually relatively singular. A composite Domain was already an extraordinarily rare phenomenon—one so rare that no one could confirm whether a second case would ever appear.
And yet Xingyun Liuge had behaved like a wholesale distributor of surprises, dropping another massive bombshell on them all: a third kind of power.
No one knew exactly what that dark, dreadful, deeply oppressive force was, but it was enough to make Secretariat wary. She feared not only that it might be hard to control, but that Xingyun Liuge herself might suffer backlash from it.
So after laying out the facts as carefully and seriously as she could, Secretariat offered her a piece of advice:
If possible, do not use that excessively dark power anymore. It cannot be good for your body.
Using Domain power already placed enormous strain on the user—far beyond what ordinary people could bear. A composite Domain would naturally burden its user even more heavily. And the third power Xingyun Liuge had displayed had been terrifying in a way that cut straight to the bones.
Until they could confirm it was truly harmless, there was no such thing as being too cautious.
This was the first time Chihaya Yui had heard any of this about Domains. Seeing how serious Secretariat looked, hearing how grave her tone was, Yui was immediately consumed with worry.
In her eyes, Xingyun Liuge's safety mattered far more than winning the Anglo-American Triple Crowns. If health had to be sacrificed for all of that, then it simply was not worth it.
Xingyun Liuge herself, on the other hand, could not have cared less.
This was her power. If she really could not control it, then disaster would have started by ravaging Tokai, then swallowing Japan whole, before going on to conquer the world—not wait until she got to Britain or America to suddenly erupt.
After thinking very seriously for the full span of one second, Xingyun Liuge concluded that the whole "chains and bindings" playstyle was actually pretty fun, and that she still had no intention of giving up Thresh's power.
If she had to put it into words… it would mostly depend on which hero she rolled next.
If the new hero was interesting enough, she would use that one. If not, then she would probably end up choosing between Thresh and Volibear again.
Mordekaiser would not be bad either, but his skills were still being altered by her ongoing "maturation progress," so it was best to wait until that was finished.
In order to stop the two of them from worrying themselves into knots over this, Xingyun Liuge answered with suspicious obedience:
"I'll be more careful next time."
Secretariat could tell at a glance that Xingyun Liuge did not truly take it to heart, but since she could produce no concrete proof that this power will definitely harm you, so you must give it up, all she could do was sigh and say, "As long as you keep that in mind."
When they arrived at the hospital, Secretariat took Xingyun Liuge straight to see Risen Star, only to discover that the "problem child" had already climbed out of bed.
Secretariat's mood was not especially good at that moment, so she simply brought her hand down in a chop against the girl's head before stepping aside and leaving Xingyun Liuge alone with her.
A good senpai, after all, knew when to leave the younger generation a little room to breathe.
Looking at Xingyun Liuge—who somehow seemed a bit taller than before—Risen Star's face showed a trace of reminiscing as she said:
"At the Kentucky Derby, I suffered the most humiliating defeat of my life. Even the title I've always wanted to cast off—'Secretariat's masterpiece'—has now been taken from me. The one people call 'Secretariat Reborn' is no longer me. It's you, Xingyun Liuge."
Her expression was complicated. The Kentucky Derby had ended only two days ago, but to her it already felt impossibly distant—so distant that no matter how many times she replayed it in her head, she could not find a single path to defeating Xingyun Liuge.
And that realization brought with it a crushing sense of loss—and a bitterness so intense it almost burned.
Xingyun Liuge said nothing. She could tell Risen Star was not finished.
"Xingyun Liuge, perhaps you really have already gained the absolute power to rule this generation in mile races and middle-distance races. Perhaps no one can threaten your dominance at those distances anymore."
There was a sighing quality to Risen Star's words.
Then she pivoted.
"You think that's what I'm going to say?"
She planted her hands on her hips.
"To win the American Triple Crown? It won't be that easy! In the races ahead, I'll shadow you like an assassin. So don't you dare show me an opening. If you do, I'll shatter your Triple Crown dream with my own hands!"
As she spoke, she wore a smile with the edge of madness to it, as though saying:
Now it's my turn to keep my eyes on you.
Xingyun Liuge tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then she looked at Risen Star with complete seriousness and said:
"So basically, what you mean is, 'I'll keep racing as a challenger from here on out.' Honestly, that was a one-sentence summary, but you took forever to say it. Are you tsundere?"
"Ha?"
Risen Star's face went bright red on the spot.
"T-tsundere?"
Her whole body had visibly overheated by now. She could barely get her words out.
"Not tsundere? Then I guess you're a bratty little girl. I understand now," Xingyun Liuge said, nodding proudly as if she had grasped the full truth of the universe.
Risen Star was currently producing a continuous stream of sputtering outrage.
Xingyun Liuge, however, could not have cared less. She lifted a fist toward her.
"If you want to change the way I see you, then meet me in Baltimore. Show me how much you've grown."
Her eyes shone with a dazzling, compelling light.
They very clearly said:
When horse girls want to understand one another, they do it by running.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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