"Click."
"Ah, you're back, Ardan—sister?"
Night fell. Muteki, Gold Ship, and Nakayama Festa had silently left the scene and returned to their dorm before Suzuka and C.B. left the room. Muteki had been pondering everything Suzuka had said, still a little lost, when Ardan's return made her feel a little more relaxed.
Because Ardan had come with her as a guardian from the Mejiro family, and because of Muteki's own overly strong personality, many of the horse girls who had met her for the first time at the school festival had felt a strong sense of pressure. Therefore, after the festival, Rudolf had arranged for her to share a dorm with Ardan, who was now one of the only two people she could interact with.
Muteki naturally had no objection to this arrangement. She wasn't used to being in a room with strangers, and Ardan was undoubtedly the best choice. She wouldn't feel awkward or have trouble adapting... At least it was better than being alone with him and those other horse girls around him.
And when Ardan returned, Muteki had been about to ask why she had come back so late, since she hadn't seen her eavesdropping with them. But when she turned and saw Ardan's absent-minded, dazed look, for the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed her face.
"Muteki..." It was Muteki's call that slowly brought Ardan back from her confused state. But when Ardan's gaze met hers, Ardan, who had felt a strange sense of closeness to this girl from the first moment she saw her, just as she had with him, unnaturally averted her gaze.
"What's wrong?" Muteki naturally noticed Ardan's strangeness. But before she could ask, an unnatural apology appeared on Ardan's face. She said softly, "I'm sorry... Muteki. But I'm very tired today. If you want to chat, please, let's talk tomorrow, okay?"
Before Muteki could reply, Ardan began to untie the bow of her school uniform, intending to change into her pajamas and rest... Her mind was in a complete mess right now. She had no energy to think about anything else. Her mind was full of her conversation with C.B. and Suzuka.
That secret about him, the memories they seemed to all have, and... their decision.
"Senior C.B., our top priority right now should be to help him live. If he dies of illness again, just like in our past, then we can only repeat the same mistakes. And it will be even more impossible for him to escape this endless cycle."
"Yes... we were lucky to have regained our memories this time. But if we fall into the cycle again, will we be able to remember him next time?"
"So we should cooperate now," Suzuka had nodded, affirming C.B.'s concern. "It doesn't matter who he chooses now. We need to unite everyone on the team first and win as many races as possible."
"And we have to win as many G1 and G2 level races as possible. His health always recovered most noticeably after we won a G1 race. So I think it's also related to the level of the race."
C.B. and Suzuka had immediately determined their primary task. For now, anything related to jealousy had to be put aside.
"I can't race anymore..." C.B. said, clenching her fists with some unwillingness. She couldn't do anything for him now and could only place her hopes on Suzuka before her. Her tone even held a hint of pleading. "Suzuka, so now he has to rely on you. You're the only one on the team right now who can win a G1."
"...Senior C.B., if I could do it alone, I would step onto the racetrack even if it meant breaking a bone again. But the help I can provide him now is too little."
Unexpectedly, Suzuka, on whom C.B. had placed high hopes, shook her head with a desolate expression. Though she was also very unwilling, she had to face reality—she couldn't save him on her own.
"My distance suitability... is too short. He told me in the past that I can only perform at my full potential in the range of 1800 to 2200 meters. Even though I won a 1600-meter G1 last time, the number of races I can run is still too few."
"And the number of G1s I can participate in is even smaller. After this year, I don't know if my strength will decline next year... Even if it doesn't, I can only participate in a few G1s. Even if I win them all, how much time can I win for him?"
"So, Senior C.B., we can't do it alone. We have to gather all the strength of the team. Only they have a hope of saving him."
"Nakayama Festa and Gold Ship..."
Hearing Suzuka's words, C.B. couldn't help but murmur the names of his two charges from the Gold family. And she subconsciously ignored Muteki, mainly because although she was talented, she couldn't step onto the racetrack without being fully matured, and he would never agree to it.
But... thinking of the two horse girls from the Gold family, her expression slowly became as full of worry as Suzuka's. The main reason was that they both knew that the Gold family horse girls were a huge risk.
They did have recognized powerful potential. If they could unleash this potential completely, they would probably have a place in any era of strong competitors.
It was even possible for them to become the strongest of an era.
But the problem was, their performance was too unstable. They could often burst out with amazing energy and turn defeat into victory under certain conditions, even in desperate situations—but what he needed now was not a miraculous comeback, but a steady victory.
C.B. and Suzuka were very worried... whether Nakayama Festa and Gold Ship, who were not usually good but could create miracles at critical moments, were really suitable for him. Did they have to wait until he was terminally ill and in a dangerous situation to expect them to perform at their best?
Even so, could they really help him extend his life? But what if they made a mistake at a critical moment? If they lost, it would just be one loss. But he didn't have a second life to lose in this world. They couldn't afford to gamble.
"Then we have to tell them about him? Otherwise, they probably can't perform at their full potential in every race!"
"...Perhaps we should. But we can't tell them directly."
And Suzuka shook her head. Faced with C.B.'s anxious and confused expression, she said bluntly, "They would definitely be thrown into disarray. Miss Nakayama and Miss Gold Ship care about him a lot, but precisely because they care so much, if we suddenly tell them this, it might be counterproductive."
"Especially Miss Nakayama. She's not very confident in herself to begin with. Miss Muteki's arrival has already made her very uneasy. If she's crushed by this heavy pressure, she might not even be able to perform at her best."
"So, we have to let them slowly realize this, realize the difference in him... This requires us to push things along, Senior C.B."
"—I understand."
Though C.B. had been a little lost at first, with Suzuka's help and organization of her thoughts, she now knew very well what her future work was.
She had to do her best to teach the three charges in his team, to help them overcome their obstacles and become horse girls who could win G1s. Only with this new blood could he possibly escape the fate of an infinite loop.
"...But I think we should also have a backup plan."
However, whether it was because C.B. was too worried about his lifespan, or because she really didn't dare to trust the quality of the Gold family's output... she still took the initiative to mention her idea to Suzuka—a proposal that was a bit cruel to the currently harmonious team.
"We can't bet everything on Nakayama Festa and Gold Ship. Their performance... at least, I want to create more chances for him to live."
"...What do you want to do, Senior C.B.?" Suzuka was silent for a while, but she didn't deny her words. Instead, she tentatively asked for her thoughts.
And under Suzuka's gaze, C.B. thought for a long time. In the end, she seemed to have made up her mind. She clenched her fist slightly and replied with determination, "I'll go to Rudolf."
"Rudolf is the student council president. With her vision and connections, she can definitely help us find many excellent prospects."
"And Tokai Teio—this year, she, Nakayama Festa, and Gold Ship are all competitors for the same Classic Triple Crown. If I can persuade Rudolf and Tokai Teio to have her join his team, then at least this year, we won't have to worry about his safety."
"...But Miss Teio is very proud." But faced with this proposal, though Suzuka agreed, she also knew how difficult it would be to achieve these goals.
Who was Tokai Teio? Symboli Rudolf's direct disciple, an existence who had shown her talent even before her debut and was called the most promising to become the second "Undefeated Triple Crown horse girl." And the talent she showed told everyone that she indeed had this ability.
And Suzuka, who was on good terms with her, knew even better that she was a person who was warm on the outside but cold on the inside. To be recognized as a "partner" by her, one had to be talented and strong, a "genius," otherwise she wouldn't even be in her eyes.
As for a trainer, her standards were even more picky. She hadn't found a trainer until now, not just to emulate Rudolf's feat of winning the Undefeated Triple Crown without a trainer, but also for a more important reason: deep down, she felt that no trainer was worthy of such an excellent self.
Suzuka knew her standards. He had to be young and accomplished, flexible and relentless, with outstanding abilities. Even the team had to have only her as a charge.
—Suzuka believed that he could meet the first few requirements, but the last one, which was also the most crucial, was impossible for him to meet, and was naturally and undoubtedly passed by her.
"What's more, Senior C.B., your relationship with the president... it seems..."
"I'll give it a try," C.B. nodded. She was, of course, well aware of all of Suzuka's worries. But she felt that the probability of this matter was not zero. If she could explain everything to Rudolf, she felt she still had a chance of succeeding.
Didn't Tokai Teio become his charge in the past? Then there's no reason why it can't happen this time!
As for Rudolf... a flash of determination crossed her eyes. No matter what she was thinking this time, she had to have a head-on confrontation with her. She, too, had a reason she absolutely could not back down from.
...
"His lifespan... the race... victory... the cycle..."
"What is all this about? Could it be that I am also a part of his countless cycles?"
Late at night, Mejiro Ardan lay in bed, sleepless. At this moment, her mind was full of the many dreams that had appeared in her mind when she had first met him... She could clearly remember that in her dream, he was her trainer, that her sister had personally transferred him to her.
But now, C.B. and Suzuka also had experiences of him becoming their trainer... So that meant her memories were not groundless. She... could also be a member of the cycle?
Then... what about this child?
In her line of sight, Muteki was curled up on her side, asleep. Her sleeping posture was not good, even a little wild. Curled up in a ball as if she had no sense of security, the blanket on her body was about to fall to the floor.
Seeing this, Ardan couldn't help but slowly get up and walk cautiously towards her, carefully putting the half-fallen blanket back on her. And after doing this, a motherly smile couldn't help but appear on her face, and even she herself didn't notice it.
In the darkness, Muteki's brow, furrowed even in her sleep, was enough to show her current anxiety and nervousness. She seemed to be dreaming of some painful scene. A few muffled mumbles of sleep-talk slowly reached Ardan's ears.
"No... don't... leave me... Mom."
"I don't want to... lose again... please... I don't want to... don't be strong... don't..."
The night enveloped everything. Only a sliver of moonlight shone through the window onto the faces of the two girls in the room. And at this moment, with the sleeping girl's murmurs, the standing girl seemed to understand something in a daze. Because of these few words of sleep-talk, she stood frozen on the spot.
Under the moonlight, which illuminated the face of the girl with long, sky-blue hair who seemed to have thought of something, in that moment, her cheeks were even redder than the rising sun...
-------
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