After the victory celebration, Zhou Tai'an first took Shiraishi home, then immediately drove back to the hotel without stopping.
When he stepped into the lobby of Onsen Ryokan Yukara, Sachiko-san and the hotel staff were waiting for him with smiles.
"What's wrong? Is there something, Sachiko-san?" he thought, calculating that there were still a few days until checkout, and was very confused.
"Hehe~" Sachiko-san smiled, and she and the staff, as if by magic, pulled out party poppers and shot them over his head.
"Bang!" With the sound of the party poppers, Sachiko-san congratulated the young man, "Congratulations on your first Graded Race victory, Zhou-kun!"
He shook his head awkwardly, flicking off some of the confetti, then managed a smile. "Thank you, everyone."
"Heehee~" Sachiko-san also smiled brightly and took the opportunity to make a request, "Zhou-kun, can I use a photo of me with Oguri Cap for promotion?"
"Huh?" he was stunned. He had never encountered such a request before.
"I can give you a discount on your stay!" Sachiko-san rubbed her hands together. "The first horse girl to win the Hokkaido Yushun Championship on an expedition stayed here to prepare—that kind of sign would be very helpful for my inn!"
He thought for a moment and agreed—he didn't even ask for the specific discount.
"After all, she's been putting up with Oguri Cap's three meals a day for two months without asking for extra money. Even if the discount is small, it doesn't matter," he considered.
"Then it's a deal!" Sachiko-san put her hands together and bowed to him again. "Thank you so much, Zhou-kun!"
The young trainer, who had already turned to go back to his room, waved his hand. "It's nothing."
After stepping into his room, he was not surprised to find Brand New Shine and Oguri Cap huddled together watching a TV drama.
He glanced at their hair and then reminded them, "Go take a shower and then soak in the hot spring. Especially you, Oguri Cap. Today's rain race was a bit hard on your body. You need to get rid of the chill."
"I know," Oguri Cap looked up and replied.
And Brand New Shine chimed in from the side, "After we finish this episode of 'Dokuganryu Masamune', I'll take Oguri to the hot spring!"
"Alright. Let me know when you two are done, and I'll go after," he said, planning to go back to his bedroom and take a short nap.
"Um..." Oguri Cap raised her hand and called out to him. "Trainer, about the prize money..."
"What's wrong?" he turned his head and blinked. "Monbetsu Racecourse will transfer the prize money tomorrow. After taxes, you'll still get 19 million yen. Is there something you want to buy?"
"I want to use this money to buy a house in Kasamatsu and bring my mother over," she replied. "But I don't understand these things very well, so I wanted to ask for your help."
"Buy a house now?" his expression was blank, but he felt it was not appropriate, though he didn't say it out loud. "I'll help you look into it."
He said that, but he felt that this "looking into it" would take at least a few months.
"The housing prices are so high right now. I feel like if she buys a house now, she'll regret it later," he grumbled to himself.
He changed into his pajamas and took a short nap on his bed. When he woke up, he glanced outside and saw that the living room light was still on.
He got out of bed, pushed open the door, and peeked out. He saw that the TV in the living room was off, and the light in the hot spring area was also dark.
"Looks like they're done," he muttered to himself, then turned to get his toiletries and a towel, preparing to take a shower first and then enjoy the hot spring by himself.
After getting everything ready, he tiptoed out of his bedroom, carefully entered the bathroom, and closed the door.
He turned on the exhaust fan, tested the water temperature, quickly rinsed his body, wrapped himself in a bath towel, tiptoed through the living room, and hurried to the hot spring.
Unlike every other time he had soaked in the hot spring, because the two Horse Girls were in the room this time, he was much more reserved.
As usual, he chose to go to the far left of the pool, leaned against the bamboo wall, and slowly sat down.
"Phew—" He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and listened to the noisy white noise of the rain hitting the ground outside, taking a deep breath.
"Is that you, Zhou-kun?" Just as he was about to enjoy the hot spring, a question came from the other side of the wall.
He immediately recognized the owner of the voice, his mouth twitched, and he replied, "It's me, Suzuka-san."
Although he had a clear conscience, he had had some inappropriate fantasies the first time he had soaked in the hot spring.
Especially this time, he could tell from the sound of her voice that she was probably leaning against the wall. Even though it was a bamboo "wall" and not a fence, so there was no fear of eye contact, just thinking about it was very stimulating.
"Congratulations on your first Graded Race victory, Zhou-kun," she said after a moment of silence.
He shook his head. "That was thanks to Oguri Cap's hard work. I couldn't have won the Hokkaido Yushun Championship with just my efforts as a trainer."
"Winning every race is the result of the horse girl and the trainer working together. If only one side works hard, the final result for both will surely be a bitter taste."
"Only one side works hard..." Silent Suzuka bit her lip, thought of her own situation, and sighed. "You're right, Zhou-kun."
She felt that she really needed to have a talk with her trainer.
Just as she was about to continue chatting with the local trainer on the other side of the wall, she heard the sound of footsteps in the water from the other side.
"Huh?!" followed by the surprised cry of the young man she admired.
"What—" she was just about to ask when she heard him say, "Oguri Cap, didn't you already finish your bath? What are you doing?"
The chestnut-haired horse girl's ears twitched and drooped. She pressed them against the wall and quietly listened to what was happening in the hot spring on the other side.
Perhaps because she was leaning against the wall, she felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat.
-------
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