"What do you mean? You... what do you know about Kitano?"
For a moment, the intuitive Nakayama Festa was at a loss. She suddenly realized that the person she had been watching and accompanying constantly since he entered the Gold Family's home had a secret she never knew.
What made her even more anxious and uneasy was... this secret wasn't revealed to her by Kitano, or even by Gold Ship, who was closer to him than she was. It came from Silence Suzuka... a horse girl who had only been on the team for three months.
Thinking of this, Nakayama Festa's attitude became uncharacteristically subdued. Given her understanding of Kitano, she didn't think he had any secrets that would require Suzuka to send him away just to talk to his contracted horse girls. That could only mean it was a secret he had privately told Suzuka alone.
...Does he trust Suzuka, who just joined, more than me? Why would he let her know first, but never mention it to me?
In reality, Nakayama Festa was completely mistaken. She considered herself the person who knew Kitano best, but if she knew that among the four present, she was the only one truly meeting him for the "first time," she would be shocked to discover that, from a "first life" perspective, her understanding of him, and the extent of his indulgence and trust in her, far exceeded that of the other horse girls.
Nakayama Festa didn't know she was the only one facing a brand-new exam paper. She thought she had studied hard, but most of the others in the room had already taken the same test once before.
From the moment the wheels of fate began to turn, the advantage of "time spent together" that Festa believed she had was already gone. She thought she had been with him the longest, but as more and more horse girls regained their past life memories, her advantage had vanished.
But even so, Kitano always remembered that she was the charge who needed his attention the most. In a way, her anxiety and insecurity had ironically won her the extra care she needed from him.
And now, she would be the first among them to learn his secret. Facing this hidden question on his "exam paper" for the first time, her reaction would inevitably be completely different, even unexpectedly so, compared to those on their "second try."
"About Trainer-san's constitution... Nakayama-san, Gold Ship-san, and Invincible-san, I don't know if you've noticed this."
"Trainer-san's condition fluctuates between good and bad, which is strange enough. But have you noticed that every time his condition improves, it's right after we've won a race?"
At this moment, Suzuka turned her gaze to the other three. She noticed Invincible's silence and Festa's daze, but when she saw that only Gold Ship looked surprised, as if hearing this for the first time, she felt a little strange.
"No way? You're saying Kitano-chan's illness might be related to the outcome of our races?"
"...At least, I think it's a possibility."
Faced with only Gold Ship expressing disbelief, although Suzuka felt something was off, she continued, "Remember when I won the Mile Championship not long ago? You should all remember his condition at that time."
"Come to think of it, that's right. At that time... Kitano-chan couldn't even stand up, but after Suzuka won the G1, he can even walk freely now."
Suzuka's words finally brought Festa and Invincible back to their senses. And Gold Ship, who had been following the train of thought, now wore an unprecedentedly solemn expression, all traces of her usual mischief gone as she analyzed, word by word:
"And back at Nakayama-nee's debut race... his condition was even worse then. My sister and I both thought he wasn't going to make it, but after she won, he was back to his old self..."
"His body really does seem to get better only after we win... especially after your G1 victory, Suzuka. He recovered even better than after my sister's win."
"Could it be... his illness, and the victory and grade of the race..."
"—But that's not logical!"
In a daze, the topic of Kitano's life finally pulled Festa back. At this point, even she could understand what they were implying. And from their reasoning, this answer seemed the most plausible.
His lifespan might be linked to their race results—at the very least, the improvement in his condition after their victories was an effect that couldn't be achieved by psychological factors alone. There had to be some other connection.
But when Festa realized that her debut race victory might have inadvertently saved his life, there was no joy on her face, only panic and unease.
Because she slowly realized that if this "trait" of his was real, from a future perspective, it might be his hope for survival—but from the present, it was a complete curse! An insurmountable curse!
Because the only ones who could race for him now were Silence Suzuka, who probably had only one year left in her career, and herself and Gold Ship. And on their shoulders rested the mission of how long his life could be extended!
But the problem was! The opponent they had to face was Tokai Teio!
This wasn't just a matter of one classic year. In their senior years, they would very likely face Teio in future G1 races, aside from the short-distance ones. Their duel wasn't for a year, but for their entire careers!
For their entire careers, they had to clash with the horse girl most likely to become the "undefeated Triple Crown winner." Any competitive GII or G1 race was almost unavoidable... How long could his life be extended?
And from the very beginning, Festa had been very clear about one thing—she was no match for Tokai Teio.
It wasn't that she thought she had no chance of winning against Teio, but she herself didn't know what conditions she would need to meet to be confident of victory. She didn't even know her own limits.
But she knew that winning against Teio was a low-probability event. In most cases, there was only one possible outcome—defeat.
It didn't matter if she lost, but what about him? What would happen to his life? If they couldn't win for him, would they just have to watch him die?
It was precisely because she understood this that she subconsciously resisted this fact. She almost roared her rebuttal at Suzuka in a panic:
"That's impossible! A person's lifespan being linked to their charge's performance—if that were the case, why didn't he tell us?!"
"Yes, that's right! If that were the case, he should have told me and Gold Ship long ago! He should have made us run desperately to live, how could he—how could he..."
However, as if grasping at a lifeline, Festa subconsciously realized something. Her excited voice grew quieter, her mood more subdued... because the moment her words fell, she herself had found the answer to this question.
"...Nakayama-nee, maybe Kitano-chan deliberately didn't tell us so we wouldn't run ourselves to death."
At this moment, Gold Ship, with a rare bitter smile, finally couldn't help but shatter her sister's last fantasy. However, for this horse girl, who was arguably the closest to him, after the initial surprise, she now accepted this "inferred" fact with surprising speed, her expression showing only a hint of melancholy.
"No, or rather, he probably had that intention at first, the idea of letting himself live... but after he collapsed, he immediately abandoned that thought."
"It seems he knows about his condition and constitution. He just doesn't want to tell us, doesn't want us to run ourselves to death for him."
Gold Ship's murmur now fell on the ears of the other three girls, but inadvertently, she had dealt her sister another heavy blow—Festa immediately recalled the day he had collapsed. It was because of the heartfelt words she had uttered in her grief that his attitude towards her had changed.
Could it be... that she had changed his mind at that time? Her heartfelt words... had made him put his own life second?
"That guy—I'm going to find him! To ask him what this is all about?!"
"—If you want him to die sooner, you can run over right now. Do you think if he knows we've figured it all out, he'll let you run races, or will he restrict the number of races you run even more?"
Just as Festa was frantically about to go find him and ask for clarification, Invincible's cold voice once again pulled the helpless Festa back. This horse girl, who had always been cold towards him, now accepted the facts with surprising speed and said with extreme rationality:
"At this time, all of us can know about this, but he alone cannot know that we know."
"Otherwise, he will strictly plan our roster in the future and be on high alert. At that time, if we even propose to run one more race or add a little more training, he will suspect that we are doing it for him."
"At that time, we won't be able to save him. We can't just watch him die."
And after figuring all this out, although Invincible still hadn't mentioned his name once, her significantly softened words seemed to indicate that some obsession in her heart was slowly being released.
She didn't want him to die, and she especially didn't want him to pass away without even being able to answer her own questions after she had finally met him after all this. But... she also knew that in her current state, it was impossible to step onto the racetrack, and even if she did, she couldn't do anything for him.
"Now, whether he can live or not depends on you." After a moment of unwillingness, Invincible still chose to turn her gaze to the three girls in front of her. At this moment, her attitude was unprecedentedly gentle, the coldness that had kept others at a distance in her eyes had dissipated a lot, her tone filled with a plea and some complex emotions as she said in a low voice:
"I'm of no use now... so please, no matter what, you have to keep him alive. Otherwise, my... Ardan-nee, and Palmer-nee, they might be very sad."
"This is my purpose this time." And faced with her first plea, Suzuka's gaze towards her was filled with a hint of suspicion and speculation, but she still chose to nod at the first moment. She, more than anyone, did not want him to fall into this endless cycle again.
"Ah... if Kitano-chan dies just like that, my promise to meet him on the moon will be difficult. I won't let him wait so long alone."
Gold Ship also nodded with unprecedented solemnity. And unlike the solemn Suzuka, as she said this, a faint smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of her mouth—this was her serious expression. For this purpose, she would definitely do her best to protect him this time.
Of course, even without Suzuka, she had planned to do so from the beginning.
And among the group, only Nakayama Festa was still in a daze, her mind in a mess... And when she finally sorted out the information she had received in these few minutes, the first thing she did was to look down at her own legs... her most proud "weapon," but at this moment, it could not alleviate her anxiety and sense of crisis in the slightest...
This self... this self that can only burst out with its full strength when pushed to the brink... did he know all this and still choose her?
He bet his life on her... Until now, Nakayama Festa finally and completely understood what a huge stake he had placed on her when he chose her at the very beginning—she had been anxious about all this before, but after letting go, she had turned this trust into her own motivation, her own courage.
But now, understanding the truth, Nakayami Festa, looking back at this stake that was countless times heavier than she had imagined... she felt a sense of suffocation, a heavy feeling as if a mountain was pressing down on her.
Is she... really worthy of his stake? Is she really worth him betting his life on?
Can she really do it?
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (290 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (240 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (110 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (120 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (310 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (120 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (140 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(70 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (193 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (140 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (100 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (70 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (100 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (120 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (120 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (85 Chapter)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (60 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (70 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (120 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (120 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (60 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (90 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (90 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (70 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (70 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (70 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (70 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.