Ardan and Kitano had survived the "crisis" from the Mejiro matriarch, which was undoubtedly something to be thankful for. But soon, Ardan began to worry about something else.
Because she had suddenly fallen into this dreamscape, although she possessed her own memories, she had no idea how her "past" self interacted with Kitano as her trainer. For a moment, this young lady of the Mejijiro family was unsure of what kind of attitude she should have towards him.
She knew even less how her "past" self, who would very likely marry her trainer in the future and even have a wonderful child of their love, should face him now. Even Ardan, who had excelled in her etiquette classes, couldn't find the answer to "how to interact with a suspected future husband" in her mind.
Fortunately, Kitano seemed to have noticed her predicament, or perhaps in this time and space, he was just that considerate of her. He took the initiative to extend an invitation to her with a smile:
"We can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Ardan, would you like me to accompany you for a walk by the lake?"
"Of course."
Kitano's initiative put her at ease, and she agreed without a trace of hesitation.
And at this moment, feeling that she should, out of courtesy, extend her hand to him to show her acceptance of the invitation, she also noticed their hands... their hands had not let go of each other since they had walked out of the hall.
The naturalness of their hand-holding had made her not even notice it. The blushing Ardan, after a moment's hesitation, chose to say nothing more, silently accepting the way he held her hand with a force that was light, yet just right.
At least in a dream... I'll just let him be. At least this way, I won't blow my cover. I still have many questions I want to ask him in this time and space.
Having found a reasonable excuse for her compliance, the blushing Ardan didn't even notice that, faced with his hand that she could have shaken off at any moment, she herself had subconsciously grasped his hand, as if afraid that he would let go.
The "lake" he mentioned was an artificial one in the Mejiro family's backyard, complete with rockeries, lotus leaves, and a small wooden bridge, with a large number of koi swimming in the water. She usually liked to come to this lake; here, she felt her soul relax.
And this time, accompanied by him, her mood slightly soothed, she also, with the courage and curiosity in her heart, faced the man who had been holding her hand from beginning to end, mustered her courage, and asked the question that had been perplexing her:
"Trainer-kun, may I ask you something?"
"Hm?" Kitano, who had just taken a bag of fish food from a servant and was about to feed the koi with her, also turned his gaze to the somewhat nervous Ardan. The determined her continued to ask:
"How on earth did you do it? This Japanese Derby... how did you manage to make me win?"
This question had been bothering her ever since she had entered this dreamscape. She couldn't figure out how, in this time and space, she had managed to withstand Sakura Chiyono O's burst of speed and win the Japanese Derby. After all, this was not a gap that could be bridged by the appearance of a trainer. The root of her defeat was her own physical constitution.
Her talent as a horse girl was actually very good. Receiving minimal training while ensuring no harm to her body, she could still compete for major prizes and even G1 races. But her biggest limitation was her constitution—she couldn't go all out.
Whenever she wanted to go for broke, she would clearly feel a warning from her fragile legs. She could clearly feel the unbearable trembling from her leg bones, the premonition of a fracture, which made her feel a chill in her heart.
It was like a child being disciplined with a stick. What was scary was not being hit, but the process of waiting to be hit. This was the same for her, who could clearly feel her leg about to break.
She knew very well that if her constitution was not changed, even the best trainer, who could provide her with the most exquisite training methods, would still find her holding back in a race. Whenever she encountered a race that required her to go all out to win, it was impossible to do so without being prepared for a fracture.
And even with that preparedness, it might not be possible, just like this Japanese Derby, which should have ended with her defeat and fracture. She was very curious what method he had used to make her win, and without even the fated fracture occurring.
She vaguely felt that the answer to this question was very important to her. If she knew the answer, perhaps many of her confusions would be solved.
"—What are you talking about, Ardan."
However, upon hearing this question, he didn't even show an extra bit of expression change. He just casually threw a handful of fish food onto the water, attracting a large number of koi to wait for feeding, while also answering softly:
"The Japanese Derby was a race you won. It wasn't me who was on the field. Why are you asking me how I won it?"
"...Please don't avoid my question, Trainer-kun."
However, perhaps because her intuition told her that the answer to this question was very important, Ardan rarely showed a stubbornness to get to the bottom of it and continued to press.
Anyway... this is just a dream. As long as I get the answer to this question, the next time I dream, maybe everything will be as if it never happened?
The uneasy her could only use such an excuse to convince herself to continue asking. She took the initiative to stand beside him, slightly forcefully making him turn to look at her, and looked straight into his eyes, asking, word by word:
"You should know, right? My legs can't possibly support such a cruel race. Even if I was lucky enough to win, I probably wouldn't have been able to walk off the stage unscathed."
"Chiyono O-san, whose physical condition is so much better than mine, burned everything for this Japanese Derby and suffered such a serious illness, while the fragile me is safe and sound... this is not logical at all, Trainer-kun."
"So, can you tell me how you did it? Was it the training arrangement, or the daily maintenance, or... do you have some special ability? That can save me from disaster?"
Finally, Ardan, who had poured out all her questions in one breath, did not dare to look him straight in the eye. She really wanted to know the truth, but she was also very afraid of getting some cruel truth from his mouth...
She knew very well that miracles came at a price. If it was not immediately collected, then it would inevitably be verified in the future. Ardan, who was very clear about her own life trajectory, knew that she did not have the ability to create miracles.
Then this miracle could only have been brought about by the trainer beside her. And what price would he have to pay? She had a premonition that at this point, with his personality, he would definitely tell the truth. He was the kind of person who would definitely tell the truth as long as you asked.
"—That's right, I didn't expect you to guess it, Ardan. In order to let you surpass your own limits, I paid a very heavy price."
However, it seemed that everything was as she had expected. Under her questioning, he, with a long sigh, seemed to have revealed the truth. Under her somewhat surprised and amazed gaze, she only saw him also show a bitter expression, hand the bag of fish food in his hand to her, and then clutch his heart and retreat a few steps.
"Actually, Ardan, I signed a cruel contract with the Three Goddesses. I have an ability to transfer my life force to a horse girl, to overdraw my own life force, to improve your physical fitness."
"But, to be honest... I actually can't hold on for much longer... my life... is almost at its limit."
"Trainer-kun?!"
The next moment, under her trembling pupils, the him who was clutching his chest suddenly showed an extremely painful expression, and with a stumble, he fell straight down. She, almost in a cry of surprise, immediately threw away the bag of fish food in her hand and rushed forward to catch his falling body.
"I'm sorry... Ardan... I didn't want you to know... but now... I can't hide it anymore."
"Trainer-kun..."
The moment his weak voice came to her ear, her emotions almost instantly collapsed. Her reason was clearly unable to adapt to such a huge drop, so much so that at this moment, her heart, upon feeling the sadness, had even forgotten to cry.
However, just as she was about to react and crystal-clear teardrops were about to fall from her eyes, a touch on her cheek made her emotions pause for a moment.
"—If I said that, would you be satisfied? Miss Mejiro Ardan?"
Soon, his relaxed voice came to her ear again. But this time, his tone had a hint of indignation. Before she could react, her cheek was rubbed wantonly by him. It didn't hurt, but she was so rubbed that she couldn't speak.
"Trainer-kun, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay. Could it be that you were looking forward to me having an accident? Did it have to be some tragic ending to match this miracle?"
And he, after having his fun, stood up again under her gaze on his own. Of course, he did not forget to gently pull up this young lady who had experienced great ups and downs after the play. He, after venting a little of his emotions, returned to his usual appearance and said to her softly:
"Ardan, this miracle was created by you. To be honest, I was more surprised than anyone that you not only won the Japanese Derby, but even returned to our side safely after that."
"This is your miracle, Ardan. So, feel free to accept this miracle given to you by the Three Goddesses. They are blessing you now. If you want to experience the feeling of going all out a few more times, you have to seize the present."
Saying this, his gaze also couldn't help but fall on the surface of the lake. There, the bag of fish food that she had thrown away in a panic had fallen into the lake, and a large number of koi had rushed over frantically, gobbling up this gift from "heaven."
"Otherwise, just like this fish food, if you don't devour it now, there will always be a day when it will be eaten up."
"...But there will always be a day when miracles run out, right?"
And after the play, Ardan, who knew this was not his true words and also knew that she might not be able to get the truth from his mouth, also chose to stand by his side, resuming her dignity and elegance as a young lady, and replied:
"Miracles have a price, you should know that, right? So far, many horse girls who have won the Japanese Derby have used up all their luck for the future."
"—Well then, just think of me as your lucky koi, Ardan."
However, faced with Ardan, whose tone still held a hint of sorrow, he also finally turned around and cast his extremely gentle gaze on the delicate girl beside him, and with a calm and determined emotion, promised softly:
"As long as I am by your side, your good luck might continue."
"Our relationship, perhaps, is like the koi in this pond. You give me a gift, and I give you back luck, until the last day we can hold on. How about it?"
"—But I won't let a koi be my trainer."
However, faced with his interesting analogy, Ardan was also finally provoked into a light laugh. Her originally gloomy mood was also swept away with her moving smile.
Actually, in a way, she felt his description was very appropriate. He had given her luck and the courage to keep running, and the only thing she could do was to win one race after another to let his life continue.
But even so, she still did not approve of him as her "lucky koi." Her and her trainer's relationship should not be described so superficially.
"My legs may be as fragile as glass, but the legs of glass, with the support of a heart, can still continue to move forward carefully... as long as you persist, as long as this heart is no longer afraid, the legs of glass will also continue to walk."
"Trainer-kun, you are my glass heart. So, before these legs of mine can no longer move, please let this heart of yours also continue to beat in support of me."
Saying these words with a hint of ambiguity, but Ardan, who was speaking from the heart, did not feel shy. On the contrary, she looked at the person in her dream with a rather affectionate gaze. At this moment, she seemed to have forgotten that the person in front of her was just a character in a dream. She seemed to have also forgotten that she would wake up from this dream...
From this moment on, she seemed to have vaguely understood why this person attracted her. Her feelings were not simply responded to by companionship. His support for her was by no means as simple as she had imagined.
She knew that even if the past had only progressed to this point, everything the two of them had experienced was enough for her to acknowledge this matter.
Kitano Ryuichi was her... one-body-and-soul trainer, whom she was willing to stand by even if it meant using up all her luck.
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