"Phew… that was satisfying~?"
Seiun Sky, having changed back into her casual clothes, walked out of the racecourse with a contented look.
Having made a slight disguise as she left, she straightened her body and stretched languidly.
"It was my first time singing on such a big stage."
She turned to the side, looking at the two people walking behind her.
"Singing and dancing on stage amidst everyone's cheers and support…"
Recalling the cheers from the audience she had just heard on the Victor's Stage, Seiun Sky hummed a tune, spread her arms, and walked a few steps forward in a circle.
"I feel… like a star~"
Then, Seiun Sky stopped and said with a chuckle.
"Yes, yes, yes… my big star."
Saito Asuka, walking side by side with Nakayama Megumi, yawned sleepily, "…It's getting late now, we should go back."
"Honestly, Trainer, can't you be a little more energetic?"
Seeing Saito Asuka's sleepy expression, Seiun Sky put her hands on her hips and said reproachfully, "And it's not even eight o'clock yet, you know?"
"It's not even eight o'clock yet?"
Hearing Seiun Sky's words, Saito Asuka, who was in the middle of a yawn, froze.
"What are you talking about? Isn't it already past nine o'clock…?"
Saito Asuka, thinking Seiun Sky was joking, pulled out his phone, only to see the time displayed on it jump to exactly seven fifty.
Staring blankly at the time displayed on his phone, the man even blinked, suspecting he was hallucinating.
…How is it only eight o'clock?
"Are you living an hour ahead of our timeline?"
Nakayama Megumi nudged Saito Asuka's waist with her elbow, then glared at him in dissatisfaction after he instinctively dodged, "You've been staying up late for so long, you can't even tell the approximate time anymore, can you?"
"I've told you so many times to stop staying up late, can't you listen to me?"
"But I don't stay up late to play games…"
The scolded man replied weakly, "I also have to stay up late to deal with the documents I couldn't process during the day…"
"Is that why you stay up late every day?"
Looking at Saito Asuka, who was staring at him with a wronged expression, Nakayama Megumi said irritably, "You don't think I wouldn't know these things just because I'm not around, do you?"
"…"
The man, realizing he would only make things worse, simply shut his mouth, listening obediently like a child who had done something wrong, as Nakayama Megumi nagged him like a mother, occasionally nodding and adding a few 'yes, yes, yes'.
"Ms. Nakayama and the Trainer have such a good relationship."
Seiun Sky, who had deliberately slowed her pace and walked behind them with her hands clasped behind her back, watched their interaction and chimed in with a smile: "It's truly an enviable relationship, isn't it?"
"Are you serious?"
Hearing Seiun Sky's words, Nakayama Megumi turned to her with a look of surprise.
"Are you sure this is how a couple should be?"
As she said this, Nakayama Megumi glared fiercely at the man beside her again: "…Sometimes I feel like I'm his mother!"
"But… Ms. Nakayama, aren't you very concerned about the Trainer's health?"
Seiun Sky asked, puzzled: "Isn't that enough to prove your relationship is good?"
"Sigh…"
Nakayama Megumi thought for a moment after hearing Seiun Sky's words, then let out a long sigh: "…Ultimately, if Aogami wasn't always staying up late, I wouldn't have to follow him around all day, nagging like an old woman."
At this point, Nakayama Megumi turned her head and glared at him fiercely again.
Oh my goodness, Saito Asuka—!
"Hahaha… Let's head back soon."
Having been glared at three times in a row by Nakayama Megumi, Saito Asuka chuckled dryly, put an arm around Nakayama Megumi's shoulder, then winked at Seiun Sky before leading them towards where the car was parked.
"I'll drive."
Nakayama Megumi, who was being led by Saito Asuka to the car, stopped the man who was about to open the driver's side door, and then, under his puzzled gaze, said to him.
"You drive?"
Saito Asuka, whose hand was held, looked at her lover, who was a head shorter than him, with some doubt: "Are you okay to drive?"
"I think you, who are always staying up late, are not qualified to say that to me."
Nakayama Megumi retorted without hesitation: "…You should get some good sleep in the car until we arrive; we'll wake you up then."
"…That's true."
The man, who had yawned again, shook his head, then walked to the other side and opened the passenger door.
"Go to the back seat."
But just as he was about to get into the car, Nakayama Megumi spoke again, sending him to the back seat.
"…Megumi, are you tired of me?"
Saito Asuka, hearing Nakayama Megumi's words, was stunned, then showed a pitiful expression: "The passenger seat of this car used to always be yours, so why, when it's my turn, do you…"
"You can sleep more comfortably in the back seat."
Nakayama Megumi interrupted the man's unfinished plea: "Besides, I also want to chat with Fūga."
"Hurry up, don't dawdle."
Seeing that the man still wanted to say something, Nakayama Megumi pointed to the back seat: "…After I drop you two off, I still have to spend over half an hour getting home myself."
"Ha… I understand."
The man yawned sleepily, then obediently got into the back seat of the car.
"Then I'll get in~"
Seeing that the man could no longer hold on the moment he sat down, closing his eyes, Seiun Sky opened the passenger door, sat down in the seat next to Nakayama Megumi with a smile: "…Ms. Nakayama, what do you want to talk about with me?"
"Are you tired?"
Nakayama Megumi asked, starting the car: "After the race, and then the Victors Stage, is your physical strength really okay?"
"Hmm? Of course~"
Seiun Sky looked relaxed: "This level of effort is really easy for a beautiful girl like me~"
"If you can't hold on, don't force yourself."
Nakayama Megumi glanced at Saito Asuka, who was sitting in the back seat, out of the corner of her eye: "…If you collapse because of this, that idiot in the back will feel very guilty."
"Oh dear… Is Ms. Nakayama worried about me?"
Seiun Sky, hearing Nakayama Megumi's words, blinked and teased: "…Everything you said earlier, was it actually what you yourself wanted to say to me?"
"…"
Nakayama Megumi remained silent, not responding, only pressing down slightly on the gas pedal.
"Ms. Nakayama, if you could be a little more honest, you'd be even cuter~?"
"Sigh…"
Looking straight ahead, Nakayama Megumi, trying to pretend she hadn't heard anything, sighed helplessly.
"Honestly… I really can't deal with someone like you."