Maybe the horse girls had started treating the newly arrived Donna like a catfish dropped into a school of sardines.
Whatever the reason, Xingyun Liuge suddenly found that all the girls had become a lot more "diligent."
Daiwa Scarlet declared that she wanted to take charge of everyone's three meals a day, saying with firm determination, "I may not be on Senior Xingyun's level, or a famous chef's, but if it's just everyday meals, I'm still very confident!"
Unfortunately, Daiwa Scarlet did not know how to cook Chinese food, so in the end, she could only try to coast by with egg fried rice.
Then there was Latifa. She specially had people go to China to hire master chefs, several from every regional cuisine, all so Xingyun Liuge could live a life of "luxury and excess."
Xingyun could practically picture the princess offering her a lap pillow and feeding her bite by bite.
She was deeply moved—and immediately accepted.
She did want everyone to enjoy dishes she had cooked herself, but she was not a professional chef. If she could let them experience the charm of Chinese cuisine, then she had no objections at all.
Then the problem appeared.
Every place nurtured its own tastes, and what people could not get used to, they simply could not get used to. In the end, the chefs all became private cooks dedicated solely to preparing food for Xingyun Liuge. The workload was light, the pay was generous, and they had effectively entered a peaceful semi-retirement ahead of schedule.
So the two horse girls squatted in a corner and reviewed their mistakes, listing each failure one by one.
Donna, on the other hand, made no move at all. That was because Symboli Rudolf had absolutely no idea what Xingyun Liuge actually liked. She only knew that Xingyun might prefer the company of graceful, slender horse girls, which left her with nothing useful to offer.
Maruzensky was even more helpless. At most, she could ask Nijinsky for help, but what kind of flower could possibly bloom from a culinary wasteland?
In the end, four horse girls ended up huddled together, staring at Saintly Bride, who kept showing up for meals for some reason. Her temperament was incredibly similar to Oguri Cap's, and even her bottomless appetite matched. If they had been sure Xingyun Liuge was not secretly in love with Oguri Cap, they might have thought Xingyun was simply enjoying a convenient substitute.
No—even without certainty, they still very much suspected it.
Otherwise, why was Xingyun Liuge so tolerant of Saintly Bride, even giving her extra servings?
Then another major disruptive factor appeared: Xingyun Liuge started calling Oguri Cap and Fujimasa March to ask about their upcoming race schedules.
Because she could not take part in the Classic series and had also built up a decent amount of prize money, Oguri Cap had no summer races lined up. She decided to come to Britain to watch the King George.
Fujimasa March, meanwhile, had transferred to Central and already won a GIII race. She still had another GIII coming up this month, and if that went well, then next month she would be able to enter a GII through the accumulated prize-money system.
To carry out Xingyun Liuge's plan, she had no way of coming to watch the King George.
They had spoken on the phone before too, of course—but once the seed of suspicion had taken root, the girls started persuading themselves. Even with no solid proof, they could not help but feel uneasy.
And then there was yet another major disruptive factor: Xingyun Liuge asked Saintly Bride to be her sparring partner, and politely declined the assistance of the horse girls traveling with her.
Donna voiced her thoughts first.
"I think Miss Xingyun simply doesn't want us to force ourselves to adapt to British turf for her sake. Besides, there isn't enough time."
British turf was not like Japanese turf. Japanese horse girls could never master it in the short term, and by the time they did, the Epsom Derby would already be over.
Agnes Tachyon nodded emphatically and flicked her oversized sleeves. "Exactly. Besides, there are some things only that Saintly Miss can do, and we can't."
A gleam of intelligence flashed in her eyes, as though she were saying: Yes, I have seen through everything.
In Agnes Tachyon's view, Xingyun Liuge was using Saintly Bride as a smokescreen.
Because aside from her daily training and some special endurance work, Xingyun had spent one day practicing the leader strategy, one day the stalker strategy, and another day the frontrunner strategy. On the last day, she would probably be working on a closer's race plan.
At first glance, it looked like she was searching for the strategy most suited to her. But if she were really uncertain—if she genuinely wanted to discover the approach that would let her display her full power on Epsom's turf—then she should have tested all four styles on the first day, reviewed them afterward, picked the most suitable one, and then spent the remaining time refining that single approach with all her strength.
Not this one-style-per-day rhythm, like she was out on some leisurely excursion.
"Then according to your judgment, Senior Tachyon, what strategy will Senior Xingyun choose?" Daiwa Scarlet asked curiously.
There were only four of them here, and they were all loyal, trustworthy horse girls, so there was no need to worry about information leaking out.
Maruzensky smiled knowingly. "My, my. Little Scarlet really is very concerned about little Xingyun, isn't she?"
She had started to suspect that a triangle had formed between Xingyun Liuge, Daiwa Scarlet, and Agnes Tachyon, and she very much wanted to see how Xingyun would handle it.
Would she use horseplay to convince both of them at once? Or would she end up going all the way with just one of them?
Maruzensky wanted nothing more than the best seat in the house to quietly watch the whole show unfold. She was sure it would be fascinating.
Meanwhile, Xingyun Liuge had just finished running a lap with Saintly Bride. She deftly twisted open a bottle of mineral water and poured it over herself from head to toe. She hated the feeling of wet clothes clinging to her skin, but she hated hot weather even more, and this was the quickest way to cool down. She never hesitated to do it.
At that moment, Saintly Bride's gaze suddenly turned sharp.
After what had happened on the first day, she had become especially attentive to Xingyun's clothes. She had not expected the girl to do this only for the second time today.
Still, that was fine. As long as she got to see it.
Saintly Bride's tail began to sway restlessly, radiating naked anticipation.
There was something very strange about this. Once soaked, the sportswear Nijinsky had "kindly provided" entered this half-concealed, half-revealed state, and then—
It could only be said that the scenery became extraordinarily eye-catching.
The great chef lady had an enormous treasure chest.
That boundless maternal abundance reminded Saintly Bride of her own mother, though her mother was, admittedly, a master of dark cuisine...
With such overwhelming maternal symbolism, plus such superb cooking, Saintly Bride found it impossible to resist. She was convinced the other horse girls would not be able to resist either. She was already looking forward to competing with them for this chance.
Saintly Bride did not understand why Nijinsky had chosen such a strange fabric for the sportswear. It felt flashy but impractical, like it had been designed specifically for fanservice.
All she could say was this: such immoral trends absolutely must not be allowed to spread.
Take skirts, for example. Wearing one was basically like tying a strip of cloth around your waist. How uncomfortable was that? It did not suit this kind of hot-blooded sports series at all.
She was sure Xingyun Liuge hated that kind of thing too, so she had carefully prepared a little tool for the occasion, waiting for the moment Xingyun's clothes would reveal that flesh tone beneath.
"..."
After half a day had passed, Xingyun was already preparing to leave, and Saintly Bride still had not seen the clothes change. The cloak she had specially prepared to cover Xingyun up never got a chance to make its debut.
Saintly Bride simply could not understand it.
Did this not use the exact sportswear Nijinsky had provided? Even the emblem was identical. So why had the fabric not turned translucent?
She was deeply shaken. On the first day at noon, she had personally seen those clothes become half-transparent!
Nothing happened on the second and third days, yes—but that was only because Xingyun had not poured water over herself then. Could this clothing actually change according to the time of day or something?
Saintly Bride looked at the setting sun, full of question marks.
In the distance, Nijinsky, observing everything through binoculars, was equally baffled. She muttered, "That's not right. Why is it like this?"
She had put a lot of thought into this, all so British horse girls could feel Xingyun Liuge's charm even outside of races. This sportswear had been her masterpiece!
Well... no, not really. As the dignified student council president of British Central Tracen, how could she possibly have created something so indecent?
It had actually been the vice president acting on her own initiative—but somehow, as rumors spread, the whole thing turned into being her doing.
Of course, Saintly Bride had guessed wrong from the beginning. The clothing was not designed to turn transparent. It was meant to reveal a pattern when wet. Yes, the mountain scenery Saintly Bride had seen was painted on. It was not real flesh at all.
Though, admittedly, even the painted version was still rather improper...
At that moment, someone nearby gave a light cough and asked, "Ahem, Senior Nijinsky, you wouldn't happen to have done something strange, would you? What exactly is going on with that highly concerning rumor lately?"
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 165)
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 (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
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 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
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 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin