"Clop, clop, clop—!"
The trainer's room was relatively quiet. From the track outside, drum-like, heavy hoofbeats were rolling in.
They were from Ardan.
With the Tenno Sho (Spring) approaching, the girl had directly taken a short leave from her morning classes and was focusing solely on sharpening her condition.
She clearly attached great importance to the showdown with Octopus Little Shark that would take place in a week.
Inside the room, Super Creek was tilting her head, staring blankly at that lithe figure, starlight shimmering in her eyes.
Ardan is just as healthy as she was last year. That's really great...
If only I could be like them too.
As the brown-haired girl watched, her thoughts began to drift, as if she were already standing on that familiar track.
Wind roared past her ears!
Grass clippings flew!
Every step she took kicked up the fragrance of the earth!
In her imagination, she seemed to have endless stamina, enough that she no longer had to worry about the hidden pain and fatigue in her body. She could just sprint with everything she had, letting speed tear through the air.
She could almost clearly feel her trainer's focused gaze from the sidelines.
During training, she and her trainer would study the course and race tactics together.
In her spare time, she would sit alone in the library, and that clear head of hers would organize every piece of information about her opponents.
In the heat of battle, she would surge forward shoulder to shoulder with her rivals, hearts pounding like synchronized drumbeats, able to charge toward the finish line without the slightest hesitation.
Back in those days, she didn't need to do what she does now: counting the remaining days, wondering how much longer she could hold on.
Nor did she need to be like she is now...
Where just watching others run makes her chest heat up, as if it's about to burst into flames...
"..."
Arms folded across his chest, Kuroha looked at the envy written across the girl's face. After a brief silence, he let out a light sigh and spoke quietly:
"Come to think of it, you came to me around this time last year for treatment too..."
Super Creek blinked, then turned back with a small smile. "Yes, it was for the Tenno Sho (Spring) back then as well."
"Do you regret it?"
"...What?" the girl asked, puzzled.
"If you hadn't come to me for treatment back then and had just let the injury heal naturally, you would have missed the Tenno Sho (Spring), and maybe you wouldn't have had to clash with Inari One."
Kuroha's expression was calm as he spoke, as though confirming something:
"Without going through a race of that intensity, your peak period might have lasted longer, and you might have had the chance to win more races."
"Even now, with your power declining, you still have enough strength to defeat the vast majority of central-circuit Uma Musume."
At those words, Super Creek tilted her head slightly. There wasn't the slightest wavering in her eyes. "Regret? I've never felt anything like that."
A burning emotion rippled in her pupils, as if brilliant lightning might flash out at any moment. "Or rather, being able to go all out and run that race against her was already the greatest blessing I could ask for..."
She raised a hand and pressed it lightly to her heart, her voice very soft. "That feeling... that feeling of your heart almost bursting out of your chest, of your blood seeming to burn..."
"I am always, always grateful for it."
"Mm. Good."
After listening quietly, Kuroha leaned back and added a bit of advice. "When the time comes, Fumino might blame herself. With her personality and how much she cares about you, there's a very high chance she'll ask you this same question."
"Whatever you answered me just now, answer her the same way then."
Whether trainers or Uma Musume, each of them, one by one, has something a little off in their personality.
One is immersed in her dream of surpassing her own father. Another values others more than she values herself.
And then they both clam up like gourds with the stems still on, never saying a word, leaving everyone else confused.
If not for Kuroha, they'd probably only realize they were wrong after a tragedy had already happened.
"...I understand," she murmured.
The moment her own trainer was mentioned, Super Creek's whole aura obviously dimmed.
"Before that!"
Suddenly changing tack, Kuroha's tone sharpened again, making the girl snap upright.
"Things are different now. Your current condition is far more serious than it was last year!"
"When the time comes, I might try several different treatment methods and a combination approach including massage and medicine, so you need to be fully prepared!"
"M-massage...?"
Even after a year, Super Creek could still recall that "happy and super happy" shameful memory.
But she was quickly pulled back by Kuroha's stern gaze.
"O-okay! Kuroha-trainer..."
"Very good. That's the right attitude."
Kuroha rinsed two teacups, slid one over to Super Creek, and filled it to the brim with freshly brewed tea.
"Sit and rest for a bit first. I'll take a proper look at your condition later, so I can give Fumino a clear explanation too."
Watching Super Creek hold the teacup carefully in both hands, taking tiny sips with that adorably cautious expression on her face,
Kuroha was already planning out the treatment methods in his mind.
With the methods he knew at present, there was almost nothing that could stop an Uma Musume's peak period from ending.
Put bluntly, this was never some curse or illness.
On the contrary, it was a kind of blessing.
Those three years of blinding brilliance that a racehorse girl enjoys are born from this blessing.
Now, that blessing had simply reached its expiration date.
Going by Kuroha's original thinking, if one wanted to extend that blessing...
Short of awakening the power of a million horses, dragging the Three Goddesses out of whatever unknown domain they were hiding in, and beating them up until they were forced to reapply the blessing with their own fists,
There was almost no other way.
If it weren't like this, how could Kuroha possibly stand by and watch Sakura Chiyono O, Inari One, and Obey Your Master all retire just like that?
Directly restoring their soon-to-end "Three Goddesses' Blessing" was, for all practical purposes, nearly impossible.
But if the goal was only to extend it by a few days, just long enough to get through the Tenno Sho (Spring) a week from now...
He did have an idea in mind...
The Uma Musume's "Three Goddesses' Blessing" had dissipated.
But as for the human version of the "Three Goddesses' Blessing," he actually had one.
The [Fortifying Medicine] in his possession.
Its actual effect was to simulate the "Three Goddesses' Blessing," allowing a human body to achieve results far beyond those of ordinary trainers or Uma Musume.
Although he had already tested it before and confirmed that [Fortifying Medicine] had no effect on Uma Musume.
That was when they drank it directly.
But whether it was [Panacea] or [Fortifying Medicine],
In essence, they were both types of potion.
Kuroha even had complete formulas and manufacturing processes for them.
If direct ingestion didn't work...
What if he applied it externally instead, using a special guiding technique to drive the medicinal power through the skin and muscles, down into the deep meridians?
Or perhaps he could combine the pharmacology of [Panacea] and [Fortifying Medicine] to come up with a new [Panacea Fortifying Medicine]?
This idea was a bit bold, one could even say wildly unrealistic.
If it had been two years ago, when he had just gotten his hands on [Panacea] and treated Ardan for the first time, Kuroha definitely wouldn't have entertained such a risky thought.
But now, after two years of accumulation, his understanding of potion-making and medicine had reached an entirely new level.
He was no longer just a passive user of potions. He could grasp their inner logic, and was even starting to explore innovative applications.
If it was only to help Super Creek extend her peak period by a few days,
So that she could run in the Tenno Sho (Spring) in a relatively complete condition...
It wasn't something that couldn't be attempted.
Even though having only a week of preparation time was indeed a bit tight...
With that thought, Kuroha looked up again at Super Creek sitting across from him.
A formless, stubborn emotion was being clearly transmitted from her side of the table.
"Definitely worth trying. Or rather, we don't really have any choice but to try..."
(End of Chapter)
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