“Entering the third turn now!”
“The leading Uma Musume is still Silent Suzuka!”
......
“The final straight sprint!”
“Will Silent Suzuka be the winner?”
......
A finish line pole appeared in Silent Suzuka's vision as she ran.
No Uma Musume doesn't want to win. The closer she got to the finish, the more excited Silent Suzuka felt.
But then she felt her legs heavy, a sense of powerlessness, and her speed slowly decreased.
“The Uma Musume behind are catching up!”
“The distance is still shrinking!”
......
“Oh oh oh!!!”
The race ended, and after a second of silence, the stands erupted in cheers.
Silent Suzuka stood in a corner, watching the winning Uma Musume face the audience, striking her exclusive victory pose.
“Thump, thump—”
In her world, the surrounding sounds faded, and only her own breathing and heartbeat grew louder.
In a trance, she seemed to hear Lu Jue's voice echoing in her ears.
“What exactly am I running for…?”
Looking at the excited audience in the stands again, Silent Suzuka's calm face showed a slight change of emotion.
She thought she had found the answer.
“Phew…” Silent Suzuka calmed her breathing and quietly walked towards the exit tunnel.
Even though she had failed again, her heart was more expectant for the next race than ever before.
......
In the exit tunnel, Lu Jue had arrived early to wait.
Silent Suzuka's failure was within his expectations and aligned with reality's trajectory.
“Fourth place, one minute forty-seven point eight seconds. You were just a little bit away from reaching the victory stage.”
“Lu Jue-jun…” Silent Suzuka heard his voice and, like a child, quickened her pace to run towards Lu Jue.
A smile was on her face, as if she had something very happy to share with him, or perhaps to give him a hug.
But when she really came before Lu Jue, she realized it was inappropriate and slowly stopped.
Just like Lu Jue, he really wanted to stroke Silent Suzuka's head, but his outstretched hand ultimately hung in mid-air, giving a thumbs-up. “Have you found your path?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“What path?” A discordant voice broke the atmosphere. The two turned to look and saw Tojo Hana approaching with the 'Rigil' group.
“Lu Jue, can you explain what's going on here?” Tojo Hana walked over with her arms crossed, looking at Lu Jue with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Hua, Hua… Sister Hua, hello.” Lu Jue chuckled awkwardly.
“I'm not doing very well.”
“Trainer, it was my own choice, and it has nothing to do with Lu Jue-jun.” Before Lu Jue could explain, Silent Suzuka had already stepped in front of him.
Tojo Hana looked at the two for a while, then finally sighed in compromise, “You two… don't let this happen again.”
Although Silent Suzuka only got fourth place this time, it was already much better compared to her previous five failures.
“Silence Suzuka, pack your things. We're getting ready to go back,” Tojo Hana said.
“Okay.” Silent Suzuka nodded. After Tojo Hana walked away, she timidly looked at Lu Jue, “Lu Jue-jun, will this affect you?”
She knew Lu Jue was currently just an assistant Trainer, still in the probationary stage.
“It's fine. Sister Hua isn't one to report small matters, and… didn't you do very well?”
“Lu Jue-jun…” Silent Suzuka felt she was still lacking and hadn't fulfilled Lu Jue's expectations.
“Silence Suzuka, do you have any other plans after you go back?”
“Not for now.” Silent Suzuka shook her head.
“Then, would you be able to go somewhere with me later?”
“Ah?”
Why did Lu Jue-jun suddenly ask that…?
Could it be a date, date, date… a date!?
A private date!? But… but they haven't known each other that long.
Silent Suzuka, lost in thought, pursed her lips, and her pretty face grew even redder, as if dyed with a blush.
“Lu Jue-jun, w-where are we going?”
“Hmm… The infirmary for now. Other places aren't convenient,” Lu Jue said after thinking.
“The infir-infir-infirmary!?” Silent Suzuka touched her burning cheeks with both hands, her eyes brimming with tears, almost overflowing.
Lu Jue's expression gradually changed from anticipation to confusion, then to calmness, and finally he panicked, flustered, “W-what are you so surprised about!? I just thought you had too much stress before and after the race, so I wanted to help you relax!”
“Pfft.”
Lu Jue came back to his senses and looked, not expecting Silent Suzuka to be covering her mouth and chuckling softly, like a string of wind chimes.
She hadn't expected the usually serious and mature Lu Jue to have such a flustered and cute side.
Some unknown attribute was awakening.
Lu Jue, however, was a bit embarrassed. He pursed his lips, “Silence Suzuka, are you making fun of me?”
“S-sorry.” Silent Suzuka wiped the corners of her eyes; the slight tear stains made her eyes look even clearer.
She quickly changed the subject, “So why do we need to go to the infirmary?”
“Actually, I wanted to give you a massage. I think this is what a Trainer… no, it should be what I, as a Trainer, should do.”
When it came to Trainer-related matters, Lu Jue could be described as responsible, and extremely so.
For instance, before this race, Lu Jue had closely monitored Silent Suzuka's weight, diet, and even the horseshoes on her attire and shoes… To Lu Jue, these were external factors, and as her Trainer, he had to be fully responsible.
Otherwise…
There could be no 'otherwise' anymore.
“I specifically learned some massage techniques before, which can relieve fatigue.”
“Lu Jue-jun, you wouldn't happen to also have a medical massage therapist's license, would you?”
“You know that? How did you know!?”
Silent Suzuka laughed again upon hearing this, “I guessed.”
When she first met Lu Jue, she thought he was the handsome, aloof type of boy, but she hadn't expected him to be so interesting.
“Alright.” Lu Jue rubbed his forehead and indeed pulled out a certificate from his bag, “So, are you free? If not, I have some other methods to help you relax.”
“I'm free.”
“That's good. Let's hurry and catch up, or Sister Hua will get angry again.”
“Okay.”
Lu Jue had just turned and walked a few steps.
Silent Suzuka, however, stood in place and called out to him, “Lu Jue-jun.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I think I've found the answer.”
Lu Jue quietly waited for Silent Suzuka's next words.
“I want to become an Uma Musume who carries everyone's dreams… and never give up the scenery before me!”
......