Random draw in progress...
The next moment!
The panel displayed more than a dozen images of characters who seemed incredibly familiar to Lin Anran, leaving him deeply shaken.
They were from the same game as Uma Musume, one he'd played for a while on his phone despite skipping a lot of the story. It was called... Arknights!
Like a gacha pull, the panel flashed one familiar character portrait after another—portraits he'd thought he'd never see again.
"Huh? Amiya? She's a donkey. She doesn't count as an Uma Musume, does she?"
"Linguang? Pantheon?!"
"Xiaguang?"
"The old lady? Kal'tsit?!"
"Wait, why is Uncle Manner here too? This isn't some 'Uma Musume'!"
The usually calm, calculating school doctor was left gaping in shock.
At last, the panel settled on a petite girl with a slender build and fair skin.
Her eyes were full of languor, and long, snow-white hair cascaded down to her waist. Her youthful figure hinted at the curves of a developing body, while her delicate waist remained only partly concealed.
She had the fresh, innocent air of a girl, yet an aura of "keep your distance" radiated from her. She seemed to have been through a lot, and her extreme languor made the contrast so striking that it was hard to forget.
With her doll-like, delicate features and white hair, she was the sort of girl people would want to hold close. Her appearance might make outsiders wonder whether she was physically capable enough to win a race.
Beneath the white-haired girl's portrait was the name—Platinum.
In the game, she was a sniper Operator who used a bow and arrow, and looked like a harmless, fragile, lazy girl.
The person he was about to transform into, the one who would race against other Uma Musume on the track, was actually...
Lin Anran's pupils abruptly contracted!
It was Platinum?!
Lin Anran had skipped a lot of Arknights' cryptic story, so he didn't know it that well, but he still knew a little.
As he remembered it, Platinum's real name was Centaurea. She belonged to the Kulantta, a race on the Terra Continent naturally gifted at running—the special race said to be modeled after "pegasi." Like Uma Musume, they had horse ears and tails, and looked exactly like them.
Centaurea had first been an Idol Knight, then become a high-ranking member of the assassin organization Mugyuu Alliance, earning the title of Platinum Grand Seat and the codename "Platinum."
But in reality, Platinum was an assassin girl who desperately wanted to slack off and do as little as possible.
"Can... she really win?!"
Real name: Centaurea Codename: Platinum Race: Kulantta Height: 160 cm Current Full Bloom progress: 5% Track aptitude: Turf (A), Dirt (B) Distance aptitude: Sprint (B), Mile (A), Medium (A), Long (B) Running style aptitude: Escape Horse (B), Leader (A), Mid-runner (A), Late-runner (A) Inherent Skill: ?? Note: The more Uma Musume treated by the doctor, the better the treatment and the more her Full Bloom progress and Inherent Skill will improve. Treated: Big Red (minor injury, treatment progress 100%) Treatment reward: Full Bloom progress +5%, a slight increase in Uma Musume strength, Horse Mint +10% (before transformation)
Staring at the personal status panel for the Platinum he could transform into, Lin Anran was dumbstruck.
Her distance and running-style aptitudes... she was practically an all-rounder?!
And Full Bloom was the high-speed growth phase of an Uma Musume, like a girl's adolescence. Platinum could enter it too?
And from the sound of it, the more Uma Musume he treated, the better the results, and the more generous the rewards. Would the Platinum he transformed into keep growing stronger, too?
But what did Horse Mint +10% mean? He'd only ever heard of catnip. It probably wasn't important. He couldn't sell it for money anyway, so he'd ignore it for now.
"Well, now this is interesting—!"
That meant that even if he transformed into "squishy ADC Platinum" and wasn't strong enough to win GI Races just yet, the more Uma Musume he treated, the better his chances would become!
So if he saved more fillies, he could win more races, earn more prize money, and improve his medical skills—creating a perfect cycle?!
The prospect made the black-hearted doctor's eyes light up, and his already meager sense of medical ethics surged dramatically!
After all, all he could treat right now were minor ailments. How much could he possibly earn?
Whether from Uma Musume's race winnings or from improving his medical skills to treat more seriously injured Uma Musume, he could make far more than he did now. And from the looks of it, as long as he treated more Uma Musume and entered more races, he could grow stronger as an Uma Musume while also improving his ability to treat them!
Thinking about races, prize money, and transforming, he sat back in his office chair and continued to ponder.
"Then I should make my debut as soon as possible..."
As Lin Anran thought it over, he heard footsteps drawing closer, followed by a knock at the door.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
The knocks were crisp and hurried, almost frantic, and immediately disrupted Lin Anran's train of thought.
Could it be...?
Had someone come in injured on his very first day?
After a moment of surprise, Lin Anran's heart leaped with joy, and he answered at once.
"Come in."
The next moment, the door swung open.
A petite, pretty Uma Musume entered, leaning on a crutch and limping.
"Doctor, is there any way... you can heal my leg?"
The petite girl looked up at Lin Anran in the infirmary, anticipation and nerves written all over her face.
Lin Anran immediately recognized her.
Wasn't this Tokai Teio, the top Uma Musume he'd been eyeing as a source of prize money? Had he really run into her on his first day?
The black-hearted doctor suppressed the upward twitch of his lips and his delight, then nodded seriously.
"Yes!"
"With a doctor's compassion, just entrust your body and your prize... I mean, your worries, to me."
2. The Black-Hearted Doctor's Treatment, the Pegasus Descends
Tokai Teio!
One of the inspirational protagonists of the Uma Musume anime, a super-talented racer who'd moved and stunned everyone by overcoming three fractures and making a miraculous comeback!
But!
Emotion, dreams, miracles—all those things were precious to young girls and boys. They had no place in the cold, hard world of adults.
As the black-hearted doctor, Lin Anran focused on one thing: three fractures!
That meant this super-talented racer, who could win GI Races and earn enormous prize money, might get injured again.
It was a nasty way to think, but with Tokai Teio's running style, there was no telling if she'd become a repeat customer!
Lin Anran had gone to America with a long-term plan to reel in the big fish, hoping to find Uma Musume who could win major races. Instead, he hadn't even seen any G2 or G3 racers.
And now, on his very first day in Japan, he'd met Tokai Teio, who could win the highest-tier GI races!
She wasn't just an Uma Musume. She was the long-awaited, beloved patron he'd been dreaming of!
Firmly believing that the customer was always right, Lin Anran looked at Tokai Teio with boundless warmth.
In a righteous, earnest tone, the black-hearted doctor gestured for Tokai Teio to come closer.
The petite girl nodded gently and limped toward him, a glimmer of hope in her heart.
(Is this the doctor from overseas the student council president mentioned...?)
(I wonder if his medical skills are better than those of the other doctors. Can he heal my leg?)
In reality, Tokai Teio didn't dare hope for much. She'd already consulted several doctors, including internationally renowned specialists whom Uma Musume from overseas traveled to see.
But even the famous doctors had all given her the same diagnosis... she needed nearly half a year to recover!
And after the injury healed, she'd still need time to get back into form. She'd be unable to race for at least six months.
What did six months mean?
Most Uma Musume had careers lasting only two or three years! Six months would cut off one-sixth... or even one-quarter of her career!
No matter how strong-willed an Uma Musume was, she couldn't calmly accept that result.
So, when Tokai Teio remembered that Symboli Rudolf, the student council president she admired, had mentioned that an interesting doctor from overseas would be joining Tracen, she'd hurried over.
Tokai Teio would have been happy even if he could shorten her recovery by just a month!
"At the Spring Tenno Sho not long ago, I lost to Mejiro McQueen, and afterward, I felt..."
"My leg..."
Sitting before Lin Anran, Tokai Teio took out her medical report and regretfully explained her injury.
A moment later.
After examining her injury, Lin Anran's expression grew a little more serious. He couldn't help calculating his options.
As a black-hearted doctor, he might be greedy, but he still needed to be able to treat his patients.
If he couldn't cure them at all, then trying to make big money would make him a fraud, not a black-hearted doctor.
So, faced with his first heavyweight patron, Lin Anran got serious.
(As expected, a top Uma Musume in Japan wouldn't come to a newcomer like me unless her injury was serious.)
(This fracture is already affecting her racing career. Even an experienced doctor can't do anything, and it's beyond what my Primary Healing Ability can handle.)
But... he still had one trial card!
Lin Anran had never used the Intermediate Healing Ability, which he'd been allowed to use once when he first activated the system.
The few small-time Uma Musume he was close to—Big Red, Bully, Dahlia, and the others—might not have had much talent or speed, but their legs were in good shape.
And with Lin Anran's careful care, none of them had suffered any major injuries beyond the reach of his Primary Healing Ability.
Tokai Teio's fracture, on the other hand, was unquestionably serious. Only the Intermediate Healing Ability could treat it.
There was no doubt about it. Tokai Teio, who could win GI Races, was the perfect candidate for his trial card—that one use of the Intermediate Healing Ability!
"To be frank, Teio, your injury is very serious."
"Healing it will be extremely difficult. Very difficult."
Lin Anran first put on an air of concern.
The hopeful look on the innocent girl's face instantly froze, even though she'd long known this would probably be the result.
"Ugh... I understand. If there's nothing you can—"
"Who said there's nothing I can do?"
After dashing Tokai Teio's hopes, Lin Anran changed tack and began hinting at a solution.
"It's just that the treatment will be very difficult, and will take a tremendous amount out of me."
"I'll only be able to do it once in the near future."
A conflicted, troubled look appeared on Lin Anran's handsome face. He let Tokai Teio, who stared at him in stunned silence, see it for herself.
But in reality, he'd already decided: he absolutely had to heal Tokai Teio!
Before you continue