(Inherited Factor): Greatly increases the chance that the host's excellent traits will be passed down to her offspring. (Three Months' Paid Leave · One-Time Use): Originates from the ten years of leave Manner Radiant Light accumulated. Can be used to take three months of paid leave.
??
Lin Anran slowly typed out a question mark.
"Wait, is this even useful to me?"
PS: Hedgehog Cat settles the next day's attendance rewards at six in the morning, so the early hours don't count as the next day. I stayed up to finish the second bonus chapter, and now it's done!
Are you happy with this many bonus chapters? Send more votes, blades, and tips! The author can keep writing—more support means more chapters!
I've added 4,000 words so far! I'll get back to writing when I wake up and try to add another chapter, or maybe a big one!
61. Will Platinum's offspring inherit her factors? Can she win the Triple Crown?
"Wait, is this even useful to me?"
Lin Anran stared at the system panel's rewards and fell into deep thought.
What was this weird (Inherited Factor)? And what about this (Three Months' Paid Leave · One-Time Use)?
It was actually three months of leave that old Manner, that diligent wage slave, had spent ten years accumulating?
I was taking old Manner's vacation? Was this for real?
Lin Anran remembered that in one of Kazimierz's most famous scenes, Platinum was the ultimate wage slave. She was always working overtime and always fighting monsters stronger than herself.
Manner was a wage slave too. He barely got any time off, and it took him ten years on the job to accrue this much leave.
That land was terrifying, plain and simple!
Thank goodness she'd transmigrated into the Uma Musume world, full of innocent little horses and warm, friendly bonds!
Forget making money or taking time off—in that other continent, she'd be lucky to stay alive without a cheat! No wonder she'd managed to win Uma Musume races after transforming into Platinum...
As for old Manner's one-time vacation reward, at least nobody disliked a paid holiday! She could save it for a future trip or an emergency, then spend three whole months traveling around Europe or America!
But the other reward—the inherited factor—was something Lin Anran couldn't understand at all.
Was this system reward really useful?
It greatly increased the chance that her offspring would inherit her excellent traits, but she didn't have anything worth passing down, did she?
Besides, there was no way to know or guarantee which excellent traits they'd inherit, or what those traits might be.
And she was still so young. She had to focus on making money and fleecing these innocent little horses first.
By the time she considered getting married or going on blind dates, who knew how long that would take? Children were even further off!
What's more, plenty of GI-winning Uma Musume had offspring who couldn't even win a lower-tier GIII stakes race. So even if this reward strengthened anything, it probably wouldn't amount to much.
Assessment complete: useless reward (pending further review)! It probably wouldn't be useful for at least ten years, right?
The unscrupulous young doctor sighed regretfully. She had no interest in this inherited factor.
The reward had been given, so she might as well take it. Having it was better than nothing.
After checking the rewards, Lin Anran's attention shifted.
"Then I just have to wait for Teio to cough up some coins, and get ready for the final Kikuka Sho."
The Kikuka Sho was the real main event. She could ignore everything else, but not that race!
Once she won it, Heavenly Horse Platinum would complete her Triple Crown of Transformation!
Then she'd permanently obtain Intermediate Healing Ability and two uses of Advanced Healing Ability, finally becoming a miracle doctor!
She'd be able to treat more than just Uma Musume with minor injuries. She might even be able to treat the injuries and illnesses of those young ladies from prestigious families in Europe and America!
It sounded so wonderful that Lin Anran couldn't help looking forward to it.
So no matter what... she absolutely couldn't lose the Kikuka Sho. She had to win!
Lin Anran didn't think the Kikuka Sho would be easy, either. Agnes Tachyon wouldn't be there, but her friend Manhattan Cafe would!
She didn't know much about foreign Uma Musume who could earn her coins, but she knew plenty about the ones in Japan.
At this point in time, Manhattan Cafe seemed unremarkable, overshadowed by Agnes Tachyon and Jungle Pocket. But in the future, she'd become a monster whose name would go down in history!
The Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, and Spring Tenno Sho were Japan's only three long-distance GI Races.
Manhattan Cafe was one of the standouts who'd won that long-distance Triple Crown in the game's story, accomplishing a feat that many Hall of Fame Uma Musume in Japan had never managed.
So when it came to long-distance races, Manhattan Cafe was easy to underestimate, even though her true ability was terrifying.
The final Kikuka Sho would actually be the toughest race of all!
"It's a shame I mistook that Sunday Quiet for Manhattan Cafe back then. They look alike, but their abilities must be worlds apart, right?"
To make sure she earned her coins without a hitch, Lin Anran was being extremely cautious.
"Manhattan Cafe is really strong. I absolutely can't let my guard down in the final race of the Triple Crown of Transformation, the Kikuka Sho!"
So...
She couldn't let her guard down at the Kikuka Sho. She needed to switch to a racing style that'd give her a better shot at winning.
Late-runner style relied on explosive speed to charge from the back to the front, but it wasn't usually the best approach in the 3,000-meter Kikuka Sho.
On top of that, she wanted to try out the effects of another running style with Platinum's Winning Live Costume, which had the Transcendence Effect!
So she'd have to switch to another style for the race.
"Then... front-runner, or Big Escape!"
"Let's give that Black Skyscraper, Manhattan Cafe, a surprise!"
Elsewhere.
In the garden of a villa belonging to the prestigious Satomi Family.
Kitasan Black, a childhood friend, was sitting on the sofa beside Sato no Diamond.
Kitasan Black had come to visit her friend after a long time apart. The petite, lively young Uma Musume was astonished to discover that pictures of Platinum, the Uma Musume who'd won two crowns through the Triple Crown of Transformation, covered the entire living room!
Kitasan Black's first reaction was delight. She eagerly looked over the pictures.
After all, she and Dia were both devoted fans of Miss Heavenly Horse!
After looking at the photos for a while, taking in the Heavenly Horse's handsome poses from every angle, Kitasan Black turned around.
She looked at Sato no Diamond, who was still sitting on the sofa with her head lowered, tapping away at her phone and apparently messaging someone.
Suddenly, Kitasan Black remembered something.
Dia...
Hadn't she used to be a devoted fan of senior Mejiro McQueen?
Why were all the photos on the walls and tables of Miss Platinum now?
Kitasan Black remembered that the last time she'd visited, the place had been filled with photos and merchandise of Mejiro McQueen and other stars.
Back then, Mejiro McQueen's memorabilia had made up a large portion of the collection, proving just how much Sato no Diamond liked her.
But now, there wasn't a single one in sight. Had Miss Platinum replaced all of them and taken over the whole place?
"Um, Dia..."
"You weren't this over the top even when you liked Miss McQueen!"
The petite, lively Kitasan Black stared at Sato no Diamond in confusion.
Without turning her head, Dia answered earnestly, still tapping at her phone as if replying to someone.
"She's not even from a prestigious family, yet she shines so brilliantly on the racetrack."
"Even when nobody believed in her, she went from winning her Debut Race by just five lengths to winning Looking Back at the Moon by ten lengths, then winning the Derby on Heavy Track by more than ten lengths!"
"That's because Miss Platinum shines so brightly! She's so beautiful, she seems like a creature that doesn't belong in this world!"
As she spoke, Sato no Diamond's breathing grew more rapid. She continued, her voice trailing off.
"If I can't snuggle up to Miss Platinum, my looks, my figure, my social graces, my beautiful character, and even my soul will all be ruined..."
She held up her phone and handed it to Kitasan Black, letting her see what she'd been doing.
When Kitasan Black looked, she saw a fan site with the headline "Protect the World's Best Platinum!"
Sato no Diamond had just been posting about her love for "Saint Heavenly Horse Platinum."
The post read:
Dia-chan: There's a concept in astronomy called the Roche limit. A planet and its satellite are drawn closer together by gravity, but there's a minimum safe distance between them. Once they cross the Roche limit, tidal forces tear the satellite apart.
Then the shattered, collapsed world turns into stardust, gradually gathering around the planet and becoming a ring that embraces it...
The strange post left Kitasan Black completely baffled. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Dia, what are you trying to say? Why can't I understand?"
Sato no Diamond shut her eyes and lifted her head, stretching out both arms as if she were going to embrace that shining silver-white Heavenly Horse.
"I mean: trading one complete shattering of my body for one eternal embrace from Miss Platinum would be worth it."
Kitasan Black's expression froze. The next moment, she jumped up.
"D-don't start acting crazy in here!"
Inside the student council office.
Symboli Rudolf, who'd been looking down at paperwork, suddenly raised her head.
She saw a woman in a green hat standing outside the door.
"Miss Shunkawa?"
"Is something the matter?"
Symboli Rudolf watched as Shunkawa Tazuna walked in with several sheets of paper in her hand.
"Yes, it's about URA and Platinum."
Shunkawa Tazuna nodded and began to explain.
"URA is paying extremely close attention to that Little Heavenly Horse. They're considering what level of publicity and promotion to give her."
"First: the standard resources for a Triple Crown Uma Musume, on the same level as Chimei Representative and Narita Hakujin."
"Second: a historic gamble. They'd go all in on making her a legend, hoping Platinum could achieve an unprecedented feat, just as you surpassed God Praise!"
God Praise had once been hailed in Japan as the Strongest Warrior. She was an all-around powerhouse who'd achieved incredible results and been considered Japan's Strongest in History.
Back then, URA's promotional slogan for the races had been plastered everywhere: "Surpass God Praise!"
In the end, the one to accomplish that great feat was Emperor Symbol of Rudolf, who'd replaced her as Japan's Strongest in History.
URA was taking Platinum so seriously that they were already considering promoting her at the level of a Triple Crown Uma Musume!
They were even considering giving her the same level of publicity as God Praise and Symboli Rudolf, the greatest in history?
If Platinum had already achieved a Triple Crown of Transformation that could rival the Triple Crown—or even an Undefeated Triple Crown—then URA's decision wouldn't have been surprising.
After all, it was a Triple Crown of Transformation, a feat that could be counted on one hand across the entire history of the world!
But Platinum still had one race left: the Kikuka Sho. It was a long-distance GI that had dashed the dreams of many two-crown winners, and the distance was a world apart from the middle-distance races she'd won for her first two crowns.
The running style, the distance, and the possibility of facing a terrifying Dark Horse—all these uncertainties made the Kikuka Sho incredibly difficult. And Uma Musume who won it were usually formidable in their own right.
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