...
When Huang Youren reached the doorway, Lucian suddenly called out to him, "Uncle Huang, wait a moment."
Huang Youren turned his head and, seeing the group of Uma Musume glaring like tigers, first ruled out the idea that Lucian had changed his mind. "What is it, Little Lu?"
"Uncle Huang, could you give me a chance to visit the Tiance campus the day after tomorrow?"
"Of course, no problem at all." Huang Youren had thought it was something else. "Pick a specific time the day after tomorrow, and I'll personally show you around."
"Then thank you, Uncle."
Avoiding the issue wouldn't solve the problem.
Of course, even meeting wouldn't accomplish much.
But Lucian just wanted to go see if that little filly he had once let down had also been reincarnated into this world.
...
The time was set for 2:30 in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.
During winter break, the vast academy was empty, with only a few cleaning staff regularly tending to the trees and roads.
Huang Youren led Lucian and the group of Uma Musume on a tour of the campus.
Tiance Junying Academy's investment was no less than Tracen's; the land area was clearly much larger than Tracen's, with two standard racecourse fields alone.
In addition, there were more academic buildings than at Tracen, plus a theater, an aquatic café, an aquarium-style cafeteria, a space-themed cafeteria, and more.
"This place is so big." Rice-chan said in surprise.
After all those twists and turns, she had completely lost her sense of direction back.
"Mimi, we mustn't compare favorably. We have to say more bad things, or that uncle will steal the Trainer away."
Haru Urara seemed to deliberately want Lucian and Huang Youren to hear, so she didn't whisper in Rice-chan's ear.
"Urara..." Lucian said helplessly. "I already said I won't agree."
"Who knows if the Trainer will suddenly change his mind."
Huang Youren didn't mind at all and laughed heartily, joking, "It is pretty big, right? Why don't all of you transfer here with Little Lu? Our academy actually needs top students too."
Tiance Academy's student body was quite mixed because, unlike Tracen, there was no specialized entrance selection—at least for the next few years, it would stay that way.
"Uncle, you really are still thinking of poaching the Trainer." Haru Urara grumbled, then walked directly between Huang Youren and Lucian.
She had to keep a close eye on the Trainer!
...
Huang Youren had originally thought only Lucian would come, so he had driven over, not expecting so many people.
At walking pace, it would probably take over two hours to see the entire campus, so Huang Youren only took everyone to some popular attractions.
Even so, the group still toured for a long time.
After learning about Tiance Academy's facilities, Lucian believed that as long as the student intake caught up later, the rise of Dragon Country's Uma Musume culture was only a matter of time.
Once the Uma Musume he was currently coaching graduated, they might even come to teach at Tiance Academy.
But that wasn't his ultimate purpose for this visit.
"Uncle Huang, could you do me a favor?" It was a bit hard to bring up, but Lucian started speaking.
"What favor? Go ahead and say it." Huang Youren didn't mind doing Lucian a few more favors.
"Can I use your academic system here to look up a student's basic information?"
"That probably won't work." Huang Youren refused outright—after all, it was student privacy and couldn't be easily disclosed.
"I just want to check the name, nothing else." Lucian quickly added, looking hopefully at Huang Youren.
"This... if it's just the name, there's no problem."
"Really? Thank you so much!" Seeing Huang Youren agree, Lucian turned to the Uma Musume and said, "You all look around here for a bit. Uncle Huang and I will be back soon."
"Trainer..." Haru Urara called out uneasily.
"Don't worry, Urara. The Trainer has never lied to us, right?" Silence Suzuka stopped Haru Urara. She had never seen Lucian so agitated; there must be something important.
Haru Urara nodded. "Okay~"
...
Lucian followed Huang Youren upstairs to the office.
"Little Lu, what's the name of the Uma Musume you want to look up?"
"Bright Moon in Snow."
"Bright Moon in Snow?" Huang Youren typed into the academic system. "These four characters, right?"
"Yes." Lucian confirmed. At this moment, his heart was both expectant and nervous; those few short seconds of loading felt endless to him.
"Results are in." Huang Youren scrolled the mouse. "It seems there's no student by that name you mentioned, Little Lu."
The top student was named "Bright Moon Thousand Li," and further down were students whose names contained one of the keywords.
Lucian felt a bit disappointed, but then thought it made sense—Bright Moon in Snow had only participated in a few obscure local races and hadn't achieved many outstanding results.
"Still, thank you, Uncle Huang."
"Little Lu, maybe that Uma Musume chose a different path."
"That's possible too."
...
After bidding farewell to Huang Youren, Lucian took the Uma Musume home.
Silence Suzuka and Seiun Sky keenly noticed that Lucian wasn't very happy.
So that evening, both came to comfort Lucian.
"Why are you two here? You need to fix your sleep schedule soon—we're going on a trip in a few days." Though he knew their intentions, Lucian still asked.
"Lucian-kun, you haven't seemed happy since returning from Tiance Academy. Can you tell us why?"
"Trainer, keeping it bottled up will make you sick."
Seiun Sky climbed onto the bed, hands braced on either side, "Tell us, tell us."
"It's really nothing." The matter of memories was too fantastical, and Lucian felt there was no need to say it.
"It seems Lucian-kun doesn't want to talk."
Silence Suzuka's voice dropped to a whisper, her fingers sliding along Lucian's forearm. The room was dim, the only light a sliver of moon through half-closed curtains. Seiun Sky knelt on the bed behind her, breath warm against Lucian's neck.
"You're tense," Seiun murmured, lips brushing his ear. "Let us fix that."
Suzuka's hand slipped under his shirt, nails grazing his stomach. She leaned in, mouth finding his collarbone, tongue tracing the ridge. Lucian exhaled, fingers threading into her silver hair. Seiun's palms pressed flat against his chest, pushing the fabric up until it bunched beneath his arms. She tugged it off, tossed it aside.
Lucian's back met the mattress. Suzuka straddened him, thighs tight around his hips. Her skirt rode high; he felt lace against his skin. She rocked once, slow friction through thin layers. A soft moan slipped from her throat—low, needy.
"Like that?" she asked, voice husky. "Tell me where you want my mouth."
His answer was a rough sound. She smiled, slid down, lips trailing fire over his ribs. Seiun moved to his side, fingers working his belt loose. Metal clinked. Fabric parted. Cool air, then her warm hand wrapped around him, stroking with deliberate pressure.
Suzuka's tongue flicked across his hipbone. She looked up, eyes dark. "You taste like salt and want." Another moan, louder, as she took him in—wet heat, steady rhythm. Lucian's hips lifted; her hands pinned them down.
Seiun leaned over, mouth on his, swallowing the groan that followed. Her tongue slid against his, teasing. She broke the kiss, breath ragged. "I want to feel you inside me while she does that."
She shifted, straddling his thigh. Lace scraped his skin as she ground against him, damp fabric leaving slick trails. Suzuka hummed around him, the vibration pulling another curse from his lips.
Seiun peeled her panties aside, guided him to her entrance. She sank down in one smooth glide, a sharp moan spilling out. Tight, hot, perfect. She rolled her hips, setting a steady pace—neither rushed nor languid.
Suzuka pulled off with a wet sound, lips swollen. "Don't you dare finish yet." She climbed up, knees bracketing his shoulders. Her scent filled his lungs. She lowered herself; his tongue found her clit, circled, sucked. She gasped, fingers tangling in his hair, rocking against his mouth.
Seiun rode harder, breath hitching. "So deep—ah—right there." Her walls fluttered. She leaned forward, breasts brushing his chest, and bit his shoulder to muffle her cry as she came, pulsing around him.
Suzuka followed seconds later, thighs trembling, moans rising in pitch until she shattered, flooding his tongue. She stayed there, panting, then slid down to kiss him, tasting herself on his lips.
Seiun lifted off, guided Suzuka to take her place. Suzuka sank onto him with a drawn-out moan, head thrown back. She moved fast now, chasing the edge again. Seiun knelt beside them, fingers between Suzuka's thighs, rubbing tight circles.
"Together," Seiun whispered, voice shaking.
Lucian thrust up, meeting Suzuka's rhythm. Her moans grew frantic—short, sharp, desperate. She clenched hard, cried out, and he followed, spilling deep inside her with a low groan.
They collapsed in a tangle of limbs, breath mingling. Suzuka's head on his chest, Seiun curled against his side. The room smelled of sweat and sex and quiet satisfaction.
...
...
"Suzuka? Suzuka?"
Special Week lightly knocked on Silence Suzuka's door, but there was no response for a long time. "Strange, is Suzuka sleeping so early again..."
...