At last, the dignified Empress voiced her thoughts.
Her face seemed to say, "I want her."
Air Groove, standing beside her, didn't react much. Instead, she covered her face as if she'd seen this coming.
Because this wasn't the first time.
The last time, it had been a local Uma Musume named Oguri Cap. She had tremendous potential, but instead of racing in the central circuit, she trained and competed in small local races.
After seeing Oguri Cap's potential, Symboli Rudolf couldn't bear to see such a fine jade go undiscovered. She decided that only the central circuit's top races were worthy of Oguri Cap, and invited her with a combination of gentle persuasion and pressure.
In the end, Oguri Cap's partner at the time was an inexperienced trainer who wasn't particularly capable. He chose to let her go, allowing Oguri Cap to leave the local circuit and join Tracen Academy, where she could take to a more dazzling stage.
Oguri Cap didn't disappoint Symboli Rudolf, either. She became a top Uma Musume who shone throughout an entire era.
She was even known as a "Superstar" for her popularity, and was in no way inferior to Symboli Rudolf, the "Empress."
And now, Platinum's talent was in no way inferior to Oguri Cap's. She might even have been better! She wasn't a student at Tracen Academy, either, and it seemed she hadn't received much training or guidance.
The situation was indeed somewhat similar to what had happened with Oguri Cap. No wonder Symboli Rudolf was once again wearing that "I want her" expression.
At last, Symboli Rudolf made her decision.
"Then it seems I'll have to meet that school doctor and get in touch with Platinum through him. We can't let such wonderful talent go to waste."
Several days later, inside the infirmary.
"Urgh... Ah!!!"
A loud cry of agony echoed through the infirmary.
Fortunately, the infirmary was well soundproofed, so it didn't carry into the hallway.
The owner of that cry had already come back several times over the past few days, and had screamed in pain more than once.
A moment later...
"Miss Tokai Teio, that's all for today's treatment."
Lin Anran lowered the needle in his hand and gave her a sincere smile.
In his eyes, Tokai Teio was a huge cash cow!
Compared to the cut of the prize money those American nobodies had mentioned, the share of the prize money Tokai Teio had offered seemed much more reliable!
So he had to provide her with perfect treatment, so she could recover and win her next race. That way, he'd make a name for himself, and...
The system's treatment rewards would make Platinum, who was already quite strong, even stronger, wouldn't they?
(The Triple Crown of Transformation is just around the corner!)
(What kind of treatment reward would I get for treating the great Undefeated Two Crowns Tokai Teio...)
Open reward panel!
12. Treatment Rewards—Could Big Red Be a Super Monster?
(What kind of treatment reward would I get for treating the great Undefeated Two Crowns Tokai Teio...)
Lin Anran couldn't help feeling curious.
So far, he'd only claimed the treatment reward for Secretariat. As for Tokai Teio's treatment reward, he hadn't claimed it yet.
Secretariat had looked quite imposing in Training Races, but she couldn't win. That proved her talent probably wasn't very good. At least she was healthy, and over all this time, she'd suffered no more than minor injuries.
Compared to Secretariat, who was both lousy and inexplicably healthy, the petite, adorable, powerful, wealthy... and fracture-prone Tokai Teio before him seemed far more valuable!
After all, Lin Anran couldn't count on the race winnings of a little filly who couldn't even win her Debut Race.
How much money could she have earned after getting injured in the collision that caused her Debut Race failure? Even a greedy doctor like him had lost the desire to charge her; he couldn't be bothered over a measly few coins.
But Tokai Teio was different. She was a true cash cow!
So Lin Anran treated the Undefeated Two Crowns girl, Tokai Teio, with a good attitude.
"Miss Teio, most of your treatment has been successful."
"You can start training again, but be sure to keep your training volume to no more than half of what it used to be."
"You'll need two more treatments, and then you should be completely recovered."
The greedy young doctor smiled as he explained her injuries to Tokai Teio.
His explanation filled Tokai Teio's delicate, slightly childish face with delight.
Even though, during her treatments over the past few days, she'd repeatedly asked this kind and handsome Doctor Lin, whom she considered a miracle worker, and learned that she'd probably be better in a few more days...
Hearing the same news again still filled Tokai Teio with joy, and she could hardly contain it.
After all, a week ago, several famous doctors had examined her injury and told her she'd need to rest for around half a year.
But now... Doctor Lin Anran was going to cure her in less than a month. Calling him a miracle-working physician wouldn't have been an exaggeration! How could the innocent Tokai Teio, who was devoted to racing, possibly stay calm?
"Thank you, Doctor Lin!!"
Tokai Teio climbed off the bed, beaming as she thanked Lin Anran.
The greedy young doctor simply waved a hand, his expression unchanged.
Overjoyed, she wanted to hurry back to the training grounds and resume training as Lin Anran had instructed, preparing for her next race!
The competition in Japan's Uma Musume racing world was now fierce. In long-distance races, there was the dominant Mejiro McQueen, who could defeat her. There were also terrifying juniors like Agnes Tachyon, freely showing off their talent.
And just a few days ago, the mysterious Dark Horse Platinum and Daiwa Scarlet had together delivered the most intense Debut Race in Japanese history!
With this great era growing ever more competitive, Tokai Teio didn't want to be left behind. She wanted revenge on Mejiro McQueen, and she wanted to measure herself against the juniors Agnes Tachyon and Platinum!
To do that, she had to recover as soon as possible, return to training, and get back on the racetrack!
"Then... I'll go train now!"
After thanking him, Tokai Teio turned and dashed toward the training grounds outside the infirmary.
Just before she left and closed the door, the petite Uma Musume glanced back at the young doctor she'd taken such a liking to, then couldn't help taking a deep breath.
(Am I imagining it? Doctor Lin's scent... seems even nicer than before?)
After watching Tokai Teio's figure disappear completely and hearing the door close behind her, Lin Anran finally looked away.
His gaze turned to the system screen that had just appeared before him, and he opened the treatment panel.
Note: The more Uma Musume a doctor treats, and the better the treatment, the more their Full Bloom progress and Inherent Skills will gradually improve.
Treated: Tokai Teio (fracture, 80%)
Treatment Reward: Slightly increased Platinum's Heavy Track aptitude, slightly lowered fracture probability, Horse Mint +4% (before transformation)
Treated: Misato Saegusa (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Horse Mint +1% (before transformation)
Treated: Shoko Nara (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Horse Mint +1% (before transformation)
Treated...
"Huh??"
Looking at the treatment rewards, Lin Anran had a vague feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Besides Tokai Teio, rewards for treating several other Uma Musume had appeared as well.
Tokai Teio had suffered a fracture, but the treatment reward she gave Platinum was... a lower fracture probability?
Wasn't that a bit of a dark joke?
And—
"Teio's treatment reward is much richer than those of the other unknown Uma Musume. That's normal, since her injury is more serious and she's much more famous."
"But why does Teio's treatment reward look... about the same as Secretariat's?"
That was what truly surprised Lin Anran.
Treated: Secretariat (minor injury)
Treatment Reward: Full Bloom progress +5%, slightly increased Uma Musume strength, Horse Mint +10% (before transformation)
That was the reward he'd received for treating Secretariat earlier.
Secretariat had only suffered a minor injury, just like those Japanese fillies.
But the other Japanese fillies' treatment rewards had all been negligible, vague things like "Horse Mint +1."
Big Red, Secretariat, who were supposed to be nobodies just like the others, had both given him rewards far greater than those of the other Japanese nobodies, despite having suffered only minor injuries. Their rewards weren't even much worse than Tokai Teio's...
"Something's not right!!"
"How come a nobody like Big Red gave me such a rich reward?"
The greedy doctor had discovered something interesting.
It seemed there were only two possibilities.
The first was that, since Secretariat was the first Uma Musume he'd treated, her reward included some sort of beginner's bonus. That would explain why the first reward had been so unusually generous.
The second possibility was that Secretariat wasn't the "nobody" he'd assumed she was. In fact, she might be even more powerful than Tokai Teio, the outstanding, great Undefeated Two Crowns heroine of the Uma Musume anime.
Once he'd considered these two possibilities, Lin Anran's expression turned extremely complicated.
"So... which possibility is it?"
For now, the greedy young doctor couldn't make a definite judgment.
But if the latter was true—if Secretariat really was some kind of super monster...
Then wasn't there a chance she could actually fulfill the promise he'd made when he'd casually abandoned her? Was it really possible she could reach the top?
The young man swallowed hard, then hurriedly shook his head and rejected the idea.
"Surely... it can't be, right??"
"E-even if there's a one-in-ten-thousand chance it's true, Big Red won't make any unreasonable or harsh demands of me, will she?"
"Probably?"
As he kept thinking,
he didn't know how much time had passed before a series of footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the infirmary.
Then, someone gently knocked on the door from outside.
"Hello, is School Doctor Lin here?"
"I'm the student council president, Symboli Rudolf. I'd like to discuss something with you."
13. Platinum's Contact Information—Let's Keep Winning!
"I'm the student council president, Symboli Rudolf. I'd like to discuss something with you."
Hearing the voice from outside the door, Lin Anran's pupils suddenly contracted!
The Empress? Symboli Rudolf?!
Even though the greedy young doctor had only watched the Uma Musume anime and skipped a lot of the mobile game's story, he still knew just how formidable Symboli Rudolf was.
At Tracen Academy, which was filled with generations of Japan's most talented Uma Musume, Symboli Rudolf was the student council president—and one with real power. Her status and achievements could be said to surpass those of every other Uma Musume.
When the reigning champions of Japan's Uma Musume world had won three, five, or even fewer GI titles, Symboli Rudolf had achieved the unprecedented feat of winning seven.
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