After that long speech, Chizuru Haibara took a deep, ragged breath, as if the fear in her heart had nearly suffocated her.
Dream Weaver didn't respond, quietly waiting for Chizuru to recover. She knew this wasn't the end.
For a moment, the only sound in the entire office was Chizuru's heavy breathing. Even the leaves outside the window seemed to hold their breath, no longer rustling in the breeze. The whole world felt still, waiting silently for her.
After a long while, she finally regained some composure, though her face remained pale. Clearly, revisiting these memories was a heavy burden for her.
"Back then, I still dreamed of finding my own Uma Musume to train, of chasing dreams together on the central stage."
"But after witnessing failure after failure at Tracen Academy, my hope was shattered just like the Uma Musume's. I felt it was impossible to win in an arena dominated by elite names, so I slunk back to Kasamatsu with my tail between my legs."
"That's my story… the story of a coward."
Baring the most vulnerable part of her heart like this was naturally agonizing for Chizuru Haibara.
But now she was Dream Weaver's trainer. No matter how painful, she had to convey her thoughts.
Chizuru placed her hands on Dream Weaver's shoulders, looking intently into her similar dark eyes as she spoke seriously.
"But you still have a chance."
"The pressure that Central Uma Musume can put on Orfevre has its limits. Without those repeated failures and hard-fought victories after setbacks, even training can't maintain that terrifying aura of hers."
"Orfevre hasn't lost in a long time, and that's precisely when she's most vulnerable. This is the only opportunity to defeat her while she's grown complacent!"
"We can only win against her once—there won't be a second chance!"
"That's why I want to avoid Orfevre in the race schedule. Compared to the Satsuki Sho, the Japanese Derby will be an even bigger stage."
"And winning just once is enough! Then we avoid Orfevre in subsequent races, wait for her to regain form and achieve dazzling results—and our victory will shine even brighter."
"We'll become the only Uma Musume of this generation to have ever defeated Orfevre. All of Kasamatsu, the local circuit—everything will be revitalized because of you!"
Chizuru's grip on Dream Weaver's shoulders tightened, her nails digging in deep.
Dream Weaver looked at Chizuru—sweat tracing her cheeks, dark hair disheveled from agitation, pupils hidden behind dark circles burning with a flame called despair, like a terminally ill patient making one last desperate struggle.
One last time, and only one chance. That was Chizuru Haibara's understanding of Orfevre.
"Weaver! The chance to become a hero only comes once. We just need to win once!"
Once, once, again and again—the word repeated in Chizuru's mouth, as if stacking up repetitions could convince her of the rightness of her choice.
But both Dream Weaver and she herself knew that this so-called "one chance" was just evasion. It was precisely because she lacked the courage to face Orfevre directly that she sought victory through this almost opportunistic method.
Chizuru Haibara was afraid. She'd been afraid since years ago, when she was an assistant trainer observing at the Gold family's club. That's why she'd slunk back to Kasamatsu, why she'd sunk into this defeated hopelessness.
Even though Dream Weaver had already made her vow in her debut race, swept through the local circuit to become Kasamatsu's icon, even stormed the central circuit to decisively win the Kyodo Tsushin Hai—Chizuru was still afraid.
The moment she imagined Dream Weaver facing Orfevre, she was already planning an escape route.
For an ordinary person, running away isn't some great sin. It might even become a source of strength for future rise.
But Dream Weaver could not run.
She needed to earn the audience's recognition, so she had to defeat strong opponents again and again. She wanted to defeat Orfevre head-on, so she could never seek victory through such a weak-willed method.
She was an Uma Musume—one who had honed her blade on battlefield-like tracks, who had felt the boiling heat of rivalry and competitiveness in her own body. If she were going to run, Dream Weaver would have already fled in the rain of Tokyo Racecourse. There was no need to wait until today.
So she would absolutely not run.
Dream Weaver pushed aside Chizuru's hands on her shoulders, pressing her firmly back into the chair, aligning her gaze with Chizuru's fearful, uneasy face.
Chizuru was confused, scared, unsettled. She didn't understand why Dream Weaver seemed to have suddenly become a different person—the girl she could usually joke around with freely now radiated an indescribable sense of danger.
"Do you remember what you said to me when we first met?"
Dream Weaver's voice was cold as a blade, slicing through the haze of Chizuru's panic, making her answer almost reflexively.
"I wanted you to leave Kasamatsu… for the central circuit."
"Then why did you let me stay?"
Chizuru paused for a moment before replying.
"During your debut race, I saw your potential. Plus, what you said made me believe that even from Kasamatsu, you could break into the central circuit—even snatch a G1 title from the elites, let the local circuit—"
Before she could finish, Dream Weaver cut her off.
"Then why don't you believe in me now?"
Looking into Dream Weaver's abyss-like dark eyes, seeing her own wretched self reflected in them, Chizuru was at a loss for words.
But it was fine. Dream Weaver would voice the answer for her.
"Because I haven't shown the ability to surpass Orfevre yet, right?"
"Unlike the fans who enthusiastically place their trust and expectations on me, as my trainer, you can rationally see the gap between me and Orfevre."
"My abilities… haven't improved in a long time."
Hearing this, Chizuru instinctively looked away.
Kitahara Jo focused most of his energy on Oguri Roman, so he hadn't noticed. But she, who loved recording data and was Dream Weaver's main trainer—how could she not have realized?
This was the real reason she urged Dream Weaver not to face Orfevre directly.
After being defeated, Orfevre improved at an abnormal rate. But what about Dream Weaver? How would she break through her limits?
So in Chizuru Haibara's view, there was only one chance to be opportunistic.
It was the most rational strategy. But Dream Weaver had never cared about rationality here at Kasamatsu Tracen—otherwise, wouldn't she have left long ago?
Dream Weaver turned Chizuru's head, forcing her to look into her eyes, and spoke word by word:
"An Uma Musume's abilities aren't what decide victory. Watch closely, Chizuru. I will—"
"Seize Victory!"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.