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Chapter 583

However, the meaning of “Pegasus” actually differed slightly between the Empire and the Equestrian Kingdom.

There was an expression called “The Coming of the Winter Horse” that referred to the start of winter in the Equestrian Kingdom.

In the Equestrian Kingdom, winter came in the form of a horse. This concept applied not just to winter, but also to the other seasons—spring, summer, and autumn. It was believed that the seasons took the form of horses, appearing across the grasslands and galloping through them.

So what about Pegasus—the heavenly horse? The same was true for Pegasus in the Equestrian Kingdom, where celestial phenomena were also perceived in the form of horses. Being the ruler of the heavens meant being the “ruler of all celestial phenomena.”

Thunder was believed to be the neigh of Pegasus, the wind was the flapping of its wings, and rain was the tears it shed.

On the second day of the horse match-up, the weather suggested that the heavenly horse Pegasus was in a bad mood.

Jet-black clouds covered the sky. The neigh of Pegasus reverberated far and wide, and the fervent flapping of its wings generated a wild wind that swept across the grasslands below.

“The weather seems quite dreadful. It looks like it might rain at any moment.”

Holding her hair that was dancing in the wind with one hand, Mia looked up at the sky.

Mia’s bad premonition soon came to pass. As soon as they left the campsite, drops of rain began to fall from the dark clouds. Fortunately, Pegasus didn’t seem to be in too bad a mood yet, as the raindrops were not very large. It was just a light drizzle at best.

That’s just until then, though…

“Oh, it has started to rain after all. Oh dear…”

Mia complained and pulled the hood of her fluffy suit over her head. Thanks to her fluffy suit, which also functioned as rain gear, Mia was able to withstand the rain. That level of rain was no big deal for her.

“Hmm, it’s a little chilly, so I’m grateful to Anne…”

The wind blowing across the rain-soaked ground was cold, making it feel as if they had skipped autumn and jumped straight into winter.

“Now that I think about it… this year was a cold one… I completely forgot.”

While continuing to mutter to herself, Mia looked ahead. The scenery was blurred by the rain, and if she wasn’t careful, she might lose sight of it altogether.

“Tofu, let’s pick up the pace a bit. We need to close the distance with Rakuro.”

Upon hearing Mia’s words, Tofu snorted and quickened its pace. Mia groaned softly as they galloped across the water-soaked grasslands.

“At any rate, I hope Xiaolei-san doesn’t catch a cold.”

Almost as if in response to Mia’s words, a cold wind blew, followed by the sound of Xiaolei’s cute sneeze.

“Xiaolei-san, are you alright?”

Mia called out as Xiaolei came into view. Xiaolei turned around with a sharp look on her face.

“We’re not going to get too friendly. We’re in the middle of the horse match-up right now.”

Despite saying that, Xiaolei soon sniffled from the cold, and her nose turned red from rubbing it several times.

“But… you look very cold.”

“For someone from the Equestrian Kingdom who lives on the grasslands, this is nothing.”

Though she said that, her lips looked slightly blue.

“Is that so? But…”

Mia glanced at the accompanying riders.

The Equestrian Kingdom riders, who had taken over from Gouma’s group the night before, all shook their heads at Mia’s gaze.

“We cannot assist. Princess Mia, you’ve had that outfit with you since the beginning of the match-up. Providing rain gear now would be unfair.”

“Is that so? Ah, in that case, why don’t we take shelter from the rain and light a fire? And when the rain stops…”

“Heh, I won’t be fooled by such words. Princess Mia, you’re just saying that because you want to rest your horse. That horse must be tired from you wearing such heavy clothes the whole time!”

Xiaolei glanced at Mia with a defiant smile.

“Please don’t insult my pride any further. Princess Mia, this is a horse match-up. It is a serious competition. We must compete with everything we’ve got, okay?”

Xiaolei declared through clenched teeth. When Xiaolei went so far as to say that, even Mia couldn’t respond. She couldn’t reply, but…

‘This is turning into quite a serious competition. I think I need to lighten things up a bit.’

Mia did not particularly like the tense atmosphere. When she lost, she wanted to be treated not as an enemy, but as a comrade who had survived the match-up alongside her.

‘I’m sure I could expect better treatment that way. Hmm, that means…’

After thinking for a while, Mia eventually came to a conclusion.

‘Something sweet would be good!’

‘It’s not because I want to eat something sweet. The hotpot last night was delicious, though I thought there wasn’t enough dessert. But that’s definitely not the reason I thought of it. Not at all!

’

Rather, it was a conclusion based on careful calculation that if they ate something sweet together, the atmosphere would not be one of competition.

It was a conclusion that Mia’s wisdom—or rather her stomach—had reached through advanced calculations.

Then, Mia called out to the female rider from the Water Clan who was accompanying them.

“Excuse me, I would like something sweet.”

“…Huh?”

The woman tilted her head in confusion at Mia’s sudden request.

“No, Princess Mia. As mentioned earlier, it would be unfair for us to lend a hand only to you during the horse match-up…”

“In that case, if you give it to Xiaolei-san as well, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Mia said it matter-of-factly, wearing a mischievous smile.

“You may not know this, but I’m famous for being a selfish princess. This level of selfishness doesn’t even count, so prepare yourself.”

The woman from the Equestrian Kingdom heard Mia’s words and paused to think for a moment.

‘Why did Princess Mia say something like this? Judging by the flow of the conversation, she is probably feeling sympathy for Xiaolei-san. So, what is the “sweet thing” that the princess wants?’

The woman quickly realised.

In the Equestrian Kingdom, there was a drink called Arutsue. It was a sweet, hot milk-like beverage made from the leftovers of preparing kumis, or fermented mare’s milk. When consumed hot, it could warm one to the core and was said to help prevent catching a cold.

‘I see. Princess Mia is trying to give her freezing opponent a chance to warm up. And what’s more, she’s doing it in a way that makes it seem like she is just pushing her own selfish desires…’

The moment she understood that, she was deeply impressed by the compassion of the Empire’s wisdom and the concern displayed even for her opponent.

“I see. I can’t help but respond to the thoughtful selfishness of the foreign princess.”

Following her instructions, a messenger was sent out immediately, and piping hot Arutsue was prepared at the stopover point.

This later became the origin of the proverb from the Equestrian Kingdom: “Send hot Arutsue to your enemy.”

Anyway, the horse match-up was finally reaching its climax.