"I... I did it..."
Holding the honey special aloft like a holy child, Tang Han trembled all over with excitement.
On the nine hundred and ninety-third attempt, he had finally produced an S-ranked honey special.
The formula for the S-rank drink was now burned deep into his mind. All he had to do next was make a normal-sized serving and deliver it to Tokai Teio, and the first apology quest would be complete.
After researching to the point of near nervous collapse, Tang Han burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Oguri Cap, who had downed more than seven hundred cups in total, lay slumped in her chair, rubbing her belly as she watched Tang Han lose his mind. She blinked in puzzlement.
What was the God of Honey Specials doing? Some kind of ritual?
And the honey special in his hand seemed to be giving off a faint rainbow glow. It smelled incredibly good.
She wanted it...
"Ha... haha... ha... cough cough..."
Tang Han laughed so hard he nearly passed out. He climbed down from the table and collapsed weakly into a chair.
"So tired..."
During the research process, he had felt nothing at all. His mind had been consumed entirely by the desire to reach the truth. Only after succeeding did all the exhaustion that had built up in his body come crashing back, turning him into a completely useless lump that could barely move.
Good thing there were no dangerous horse girls around.
With Tang Han in his current state, if some unknown horse girl dragged him away, he probably would not even be able to cry for help.
As for Oguri Cap beside him...
Just a foodie. One of the true gods of cursed-fic land. No need to worry.
Come to think of it, it was a good thing she had helped him this time. Otherwise, Tang Han probably would not have managed to make an S-ranked honey special before the Doctor's Outfit got reclaimed.
He turned his head and saw that Oguri Cap was staring openly at the honey special in his hand, her desire for it completely undisguised.
"You can still drink after seven hundred cups?"
Tang Han was a little surprised, but then he remembered this was Oguri Cap, and it immediately made perfect sense.
"Go ahead."
Tang Han pushed the S-rank honey special toward her.
He could always make another one later anyway. This tiny test sample could count as a reward for Oguri Cap's help.
"Thank you."
Oguri Cap took the cup and swallowed the liquid inside in one gulp.
"Delicious!"
For the first time, shock spread across Oguri Cap's eternally expressionless face.
That single mouthful was several times more delicious than the seven hundred-plus mouthfuls she had drunk before it.
Before Oguri Cap's eyes, an endless flower field appeared. Rainbow-colored petals danced through the air as diligent bees poured rich, fragrant honey all over her, filling her with the ultimate sense of happiness.
If this were some gourmet anime, she would have burst out of her clothes already.
"Urp~"
Oguri Cap let out a satisfied belch.
So full. So happy.
"Thank you for the meal..."
Oguri Cap was just about to thank Tang Han for feeding her so thoroughly, only to find that he had already started packing the ingredients on the table back into his four-dimensional pocket, preparing to leave.
Tang Han had no time to waste resting. It was already evening now. The horse girls of Tracen should have finished their classes for the day and be eating dinner in the cafeteria.
He did not want to wait until tomorrow to hand the honey special to Tokai Teio. The longer he delayed, the greater the risk. So he decided to head to the cafeteria now and try his luck, see whether he could catch Tokai Teio there and quickly finish the apology quest.
After packing everything up, Tang Han dragged his exhausted body toward the conference room exit step by step.
"May I ask your name?"
Oguri Cap suddenly spoke.
Normally, Oguri Cap would never bother asking someone's name. But today, Tang Han's honey specials had fed her until she was full and overwhelmingly happy, and for some reason, the thought of wanting to know his name had simply arisen in her mind.
"..."
Tang Han broke out in a cold sweat. Why was it that every horse girl who met him wanted to know his name?
"My name is Minami Yuko. I'm a girl."
Tang Han waved a hand and disappeared from Oguri Cap's sight.
He still did not reveal his real information. No matter whether the horse girl asking was dangerous or not, being cautious was always the safer choice.
"Miss... Minami Yuko..."
Oguri Cap stared blankly in the direction Tang Han had left, already looking forward to the next time they met.
Preferably under beautiful circumstances.
Like him feeding her again.
Bathed in the orange-red glow of the setting sun, Oguri Cap suddenly realized that it was already evening—which meant she had skipped the entire afternoon's classes.
But that was not important.
"Mm. It's mealtime. Time to go to the cafeteria."
With a belly as swollen as though she were ten months pregnant, Oguri Cap slowly made her way toward the cafeteria.
...
Miss Tazuna had said that morning that the academy cafeteria was where the horse girls ate. Trainers could also come there for meals, but male trainers were advised not to go alone.
And now Tang Han stood at the cafeteria entrance, watching horse girls come and go while wondering whether he should enter.
They said trainers could eat here too, but after standing at the door for more than ten minutes, Tang Han had not seen a single human approach the place besides the lunch ladies.
Could he really go in there?
He would not walk in only to get torn apart and eaten by carnivorous mare-girls, right?
Tang Han hesitated for quite a while before finally gathering his courage.
"My presence is low anyway. They can't see me. I'll deliver the honey special and leave. I won't stay even one second longer."
After taking a deep breath, Tang Han stepped into the cafeteria.
The moment he entered, the first thing that caught his eye was a white-haired horse girl with a mountain of food piled higher than her own head.
Munch munch.
Oguri Cap, as if nothing had happened, was happily eating dinner in the cafeteria.
Tang Han just stood there, dumbstruck.
No, wait—hadn't she just drunk more than seven hundred cups of honey special? How was she already here eating again?
She had not even needed time to digest. Tang Han had only hesitated outside for about ten minutes, yet Oguri Cap had somehow arrived before him and was already plowing through another enormous meal.
Could her stomach actually handle that?
But Tang Han was not here to see her, so after staring for a few seconds, he pulled his gaze away.
He scanned the cafeteria a few times and finally found Tokai Teio.
Good. He had guessed right. At this time of day, she really did come here for dinner like the other horse girls.
"Ahahaha, honey special delivery~"
Holding the S-rank honey special he had mixed on the way over, Tang Han trotted toward Tokai Teio.
At the moment, Tokai Teio was eating while chatting with a horse girl with white-and-lavender hair.
That horse girl was Mejiro McQueen—the young lady of the Mejiro family, Tokai Teio's closest friend, and a genius in her own right. The two of them competed with each other, encouraged each other, and helped each other grow.
And in cursed-fic world, trainers absolutely had to avoid bringing both Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen onto the same team. Otherwise, they would trigger the Mutual Jealousy buff, dramatically speeding up their trip to the basement.
"McQueen~ listen to this! I met a reallyyy strange person this morning."
Tokai Teio waved her hands dramatically as she spoke in her soft, childish voice.
"Gold Ship?" Mejiro McQueen asked immediately.
The first person she thought of was Gold Ship, who was always pranking her.
In Tracen Academy, if you were talking about a strange person, who else could it possibly be but Gold Ship?
"Probably not. She was wearing this grayish-black outfit that covered her whole body like a ninja. I couldn't see what she looked like at all."
"Could still be Gold Ship in disguise."
"She said her name was Hokuto Seiji, and that she was a new trainer."
"Gold Ship's fake identity."
"She even gave me this photo of the president. She's a fan of the president too, just like me."
Tokai Teio carefully pulled out the precious swimsuit photo of Symboli Rudolf from her pocket and showed it to Mejiro McQueen.
Mejiro McQueen looked at the exquisite photo of Rudolf in a swimsuit in Teio's hands and hesitated for more than ten seconds.
"It was... probably... taken... by Gold Ship... right...?"
"No way it was Gold Ship!" Tokai Teio complained. "How could Gold Ship possibly be interested in collecting someone else's photos? And how could she take one this beautiful? You'd need incredibly high-level photography skills to pull this off!"
"Mm... that does make sense..."
Mejiro McQueen nodded thoughtfully.
Gold Ship was the kind of person who was passionate for three minutes at a time and changed direction on a whim. Even if she suddenly decided she wanted to become the best photographer in Japan, she would probably quit the moment she reached beginner level and move on to becoming Japan's number one shogi master instead. There was no way she could produce a photograph of this quality.
So... was it really not Gold Ship?
"Wait. Did you buy a honey special before you came here to eat?" Mejiro McQueen suddenly asked.
"Nope~" Tokai Teio shook her head.
"You're sure?" McQueen looked doubtful.
"I'm sure. Why are you asking, McQueen? Do you want a honey special too?" Tokai Teio smiled sweetly. "I recommend the extra-rich one. The texture is seriously amazing~"
"I don't particularly want a honey special right now. I just want to ask one question."
"What question?"
"Then where exactly did the honey special in front of you come from?"
Mejiro McQueen pointed at the honey special that had somehow appeared on the table without either of them noticing.
"!"
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
Uma Musume: I Want All 35
I Can Copy Unique Skills 36
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
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