...
Even while riding bicycles up a gentle slope, everyone maintained a sprinting posture.
The small mountain was easily conquered by the horse girls.
"Nishizaki Ryo announces: The last three are Urara, Taiki Shuttle, and Grass Wonder."
Grass Wonder had a recurrence of her injury, causing her to slow down later. But since she participated in the training, she naturally had to accept the punishment as well.
Urara and Taiki Shuttle simply couldn't keep up physically.
Similarly, Silence Suzuka, whose stamina wasn't sufficient, ultimately couldn't maintain her lead either.
However, the overall training results were already quite good.
"Grass, how's your leg?" Lucian stepped forward to check.
"It's fine, just a little sore."
"Don't push yourself—think long-term." Lucian had already discussed this with Toujou Hana. "Speaking of which, I feel like you're always getting injured?"
"Well... there's nothing I can do about it."
"You can ride on the back of my electric bike later. That's also Hana-nee's suggestion."
There were no buses on this island, so the team members would have to ride their bicycles back later.
Though it was all a gentle downhill slope, requiring little effort.
"Alright, thank you, Trainer Lucian." Grass Wonder nodded in agreement.
...
After resting, everyone mounted their bicycles and headed downhill.
The howling wind rushed against them, dispelling the exhaustion of the afternoon, as the girls' fluttering hair swayed like waves.
Lucian riding his electric bike with Grass Wonder on the back quickly drew sidelong glances from Silence Suzuka, Seiun Sky, and others.
"Just now you were cheering for 'Dream,' and now you're giving rides to someone from another team~" Seiun Sky tossed out a remark as she passed by Lucian.
"Trainer, favoritism! If you don't make Urara drink that weird green drink, Urara will forgive you, okay?"
"No." The calculation was so obvious it felt like the abacus beads were about to hit Lucian in the face.
"Hmph! (╯^╰) Then Urara won't forgive the trainer!" With that, Urara also overtook Lucian.
Next was Silence Suzuka.
She merely glanced sideways—saying nothing, yet saying everything.
"The trainer is so pitiful~ Hehe~" Tokai Teio, passing by, also took a playful jab, just because she could.
Air Groove, seemingly recalling Lucian's "threat" from the morning, deliberately rode up beside him. "Trainer, about you playing journalist this afternoon—I'll be sure to report it to Coach Toujou."
"Wait, why are you snitching?" Lucian hadn't expected Air Groove to hold such a grudge.
Air Groove lifted her chin smugly. "Tit for tat."
Lucian: "..."
The Empress Air Groove... She gave off the vibe of someone who would pin him against a wall with her long legs and force him to comply if he refused.
"Trainer Lucian, am I causing you a lot of trouble?" Grass Wonder's voice came from behind him.
"Not at all. They all know about your leg injury, so they're just teasing. Don't worry."
"That's good..." Though sitting behind Lucian, the reserved Grass Wonder still maintained some distance. "Trainer Lucian, could I come over to your place for meals these next few days?"
"Sure, but I might not always be cooking."
"Oh... I see..."
"How about this—whenever I do cook, I'll let you know in advance. Sound good?"
"Really? Thank you, Trainer Lucian."
Grass Wonder gazed at Lucian's back and suddenly understood what Seiun Sky had once mentioned to her in private: "The trainer always makes people feel so at ease."
...
Back at the beach, everyone prepared for the final training session of the day—beach volleyball.
The rules were simple: each team would field five players, scoring by grounding the ball, with the first team to reach eleven points winning.
Surprisingly, even after two rounds of intense training, the horse girls were still full of energy.
Lucian took out the camera he had prepared earlier.
"Team 1's members are Symboli Rudolf, Silence Suzuka, Tokai Teio, Rice Shower, and Daiwa Scarlet."
Grass Wonder and Fuji Kiseki were not playing.
"Team 2's members are Maruzensky, Special Week, El Condor Pasa, Air Groove, and Vodka."
Urara and Hishi Amazon were in charge of cheering from the sidelines.
"Match—start!"
...
"It's been a while since we've faced off like this, President Rudolf." Maruzensky held the ball, her gaze sharp—already fired up before the match even began.
"Bring it on. I won't hold back." Flames of determination burned around Symboli Rudolf.
The clash of their auras sent ripples through the other players caught in the storm.
Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly match?
Before they could dwell on it, Maruzensky served the ball.
The ball followed a predictable arc at first, only to suddenly change direction mid-descent, catching Team 1 off guard.
However, Tokai Teio reacted in time, saving the ball. "President, it's yours!"
The ball soared high, and Silence Suzuka feigned an attack at the net.
As she landed, Symboli Rudolf—already mid-air behind her—came into view.
Boom!
The ball shot forward like a cannonball.
Lucian managed to capture the moment with his camera while gulping nervously.
He wasn't seeing things, right? The ball had visibly deformed for a split second...
"Nishizaki-senpai... are you sure this is just a friendly match?"
"Hahaha~ Don't worry, this is just how horse girls play."
No sooner had Nishizaki Ryo finished speaking than Maruzensky assumed a perfect stance, cleanly receiving the ball. "Here, set me up again!"
After passing to a teammate, she dashed toward the net, leapt gracefully, and—spotting the ball's trajectory—delivered a thunderous return to Symboli Rudolf.
Naturally, Symboli Rudolf received it again, passed it to a teammate, and then smashed it back once more.
What was supposed to be a 5v5 team battle had turned into a 1v1 duel.
Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky were only getting more fired up.
From the sidelines, Lucian silently worried for Rice Shower, who was huddled in a corner.
Was Rice Shower even playing the same game as these two?
"Trainer, could you take some photos of me too?" Grass Wonder suddenly approached.
"Sure, I've already taken plenty of you all playing in the water earlier."
"Really? Can I see them?"
Just as Lucian was about to show Grass Wonder the album, something flashed in the corner of his vision—a volleyball smashing into the sand.
He mechanically turned toward the source, only to meet Silence Suzuka's innocent smile.
"Lucian-kun, sorry to bother you, but could you fetch the ball for us?"
"Absolutely no problem!" The young man from China Country stood at attention.
"Thank you, Lucian-kun."
Grass Wonder watched the scene thoughtfully. The air seemed to carry a faintly sour scent...
...