News of Tokai Teio's crushing defeat and fracture spread online, quickly trending to the top.
People felt sorry about it.
Who could have imagined that this former strongest would fall so rapidly at her peak with two consecutive defeats?
As for whether Tokai Teio could return after this, there wasn't much concern.
Illnesses that humans could cure, horse girls—with essentially the same physical structure—could cure too.
And because horse girls had stronger physiques than humans, their injuries healed much faster than ordinary humans.
Fractures like this, if treated promptly and without subsequent inflammation, could allow return to racing in one to two months.
If the injury was severe, the Committee would announce it.
Since the Committee hadn't said anything, it meant Tokai Teio's injury wasn't very serious.
Compared to the injury itself, people discussed more about Tokai Teio's two crushing defeats.
Though the fracture made her loss seem like an accident—
This was supposed to be a revenge match.
After her crushing defeat at the Japan Cup, followed by a fracture-induced withdrawal at the Arima Kinen.
No matter how you looked at it, this couldn't all be blamed on physical condition.
...
On the day she was admitted to the hospital, Tokai Teio was discharged after receiving treatment.
According to the doctor, the injury was only minor.
With active treatment, she could recover in a month at most.
But during this period, she absolutely must not train.
Though that last warning would be unnecessary for ordinary people, it was crucial for horse girls.
Because the doctor understood these horse girls all too well.
They often acted recklessly, relying on their strong bodies, turning minor injuries into situations requiring surgery.
In fact, Tokai Teio had genuinely considered running again.
Because there was something very important she needed to verify.
Without the doctor's warning, she might really have done something reckless.
After all, she couldn't feel much from her leg injury—it hurt even less than the injection at the hospital.
A month passed quickly.
Tokai Teio's left leg had healed.
Today she was at the training grounds, running for the first time in a month.
Trainer Okino beside her looked at the timer.
But his expression wasn't good.
Whether speed, time, or condition—
Teio's performance today was very poor.
That was even putting it mildly.
Accurately speaking, it wasn't just poor—it was extremely, extremely terrible!
This result was hard to believe as something Teio had achieved.
Could this fracture really have been that serious?
But it was just a minor injury that had already healed. Could there really be such severe psychological effects?
Trainer Okino felt the current Teio was even worse than when she had just debuted.
Or rather, this wasn't his feeling—one lap's timing was proof.
Tokai Teio, having finished one lap, was still gasping for breath in place. This unprecedented feeling of weakness made her extremely uncomfortable.
Even without checking the timing, she knew her performance just now must have been terrible.
Because she had felt it herself.
It was different—completely different from how running used to feel.
It wasn't the fracture's effect.
Others might not know, but how could she not?
Her body was fine. She had no psychological burden.
She was very clear on this.
Yet when running, her stamina consumption was abnormal—she felt her stamina had weakened significantly compared to before.
Would a month's rest really reduce stamina to this degree?
She had been doing fitness exercises to maintain stamina during recovery, only not using her left leg.
Her stamina shouldn't have dropped this much.
But now, her stamina was far weaker than before.
So my premonition was correct after all?
She remembered that race at the Arima Kinen, remembered the look in The Overlord's eyes at the end.
Something must have been done to her by The Overlord at that moment.
Because she had felt her power weakening at that time.
Though this seemed incredible, she was basically certain her current condition was related to that one.
Most importantly, she could no longer use ZONE or her skills.
The memories were completely gone!
Though she remembered once possessing them, she had no memory of how to use them.
It was as if her memories in this area had reverted to childhood.
She couldn't even perform the Teio Step properly anymore—only stiffly imitating something similar to before.
But was such a thing really possible?
Could there really be a technique that steals others' power?
She had heard Oguri Cap-senpai's ZONE was Devouring, with the effect of absorbing opponents' power during races to strengthen herself.
But that was ultimately only an effect during races.
Yet now, a month had passed since that race!
Could it be that the power I've lost... will never come back?
'What on earth was that?!'
Tokai Teio couldn't help but clench her fists.
Even if she said this aloud, no one would believe her.
Even her trainer, even her good friends.
After all, having power stolen?
She wouldn't believe such an absurd thing either if she hadn't experienced it herself.
But now the fact was before her.
There was no mistake!
She was certain The Overlord had stolen her power—this was something only someone affected could understand.
Damn it!
How could she fulfill her promise to McQueen like this? How could she compete with McQueen in upcoming races?
"Let's stop here for today. Your leg just healed—don't think too much. You'll recover."
Trainer Okino, seeing Teio's frustrated expression, didn't dare say much more and could only offer comfort.
But his words couldn't comfort Teio.
Instead, they made her more anxious.
"Recover?"
Tokai Teio's expression became somewhat bitter.
Trainer Okino had never seen Teio lose composure like this. He hadn't expected her current mood to be this bad.
Did I mess up?
Just as he thought this—
Tokai Teio said: "Trainer, you don't understand anything!"
"..."
Trainer Okino scratched his head helplessly.
It's just a decline in condition.
Though the situation did seem somewhat serious, was it really necessary to be this dramatic?
But such words definitely couldn't be said now.
Because Teio's own feelings and fears weren't something he, an outsider, could understand.
"Alright, but now isn't the time to be dejected. Don't forget your promise with McQueen."
Okino tried to use this to encourage Teio.
He thought Teio's current situation was merely a condition issue—one that could definitely be recovered through training.
Tokai Teio silently clenched her fists.
Of course she hadn't forgotten!
Rather, she remembered it very clearly.
But lost power wouldn't recover.
What was lost was truly lost.
Even if injuries fully healed, those things wouldn't come back.
But even if she told this to her trainer, he wouldn't understand.
'The promise with McQueen... of course I haven't forgotten. I want to fulfill it too, but like this...'
It was impossible.
Even with her body recovered to health, she could no longer catch up.
Power decline, ability loss!
It seemed she could no longer run alongside McQueen.
"Sorry, Trainer. I want to be alone for a while."
Tokai Teio apologized after lashing out at Okino—she knew she was just taking out her frustration.
The trainer wasn't at fault.
"..."
Trainer Okino watched Teio's departing figure with concern.
What exactly happened? Why does Teio seem so certain she can't recover?
Even the doctor had said Teio's injury was minor.
Could this fracture really have such severe psychological impact?
But that shouldn't be the case.
That girl wasn't the type to break down so easily.
What else had he missed?
Trainer Okino felt Teio had actually wanted to tell him something.
But Teio had ultimately shown distrust toward him.
This was difficult.
What could make Teio feel that even telling him wouldn't help?
His trust with Teio shouldn't be affected by small matters. That meant it had to be something quite serious.
No choice but to gather everyone on the team.
Unable to figure out the reason, Trainer Okino decided to use his trump card.
That was getting everyone together to discuss this.
Meanwhile—
The Overlord was on another part of the training grounds.
Looking at The Overlord's current stats on paper, P had completely lost any desire to continue intensive training.
Because it was unnecessary—he felt this year's Spring Triple Crown wouldn't present any surprises.
Of course, that only meant things were fine regarding racing.
Problems in other areas were very serious.
He thought of the New Year's phone call with Rice Shower's mother.
According to her, the current 'Rice Shower' was indeed not the original Rice Shower, but she still hoped P could look after this girl.
Rice Shower's mother seemed to have noticed the problem with Rice Shower long ago, yet she hadn't shown much concern about it.
Compared to Rice Shower's mother's optimism, P's mood was much more worried. He was very concerned about what had happened to the original Rice Shower.
P didn't want the original Rice Shower to just disappear.
But he was also conflicted about how to discuss this with 'Rice Shower,' since this topic was rather sensitive.
Combined with his currently strained relationship with 'Rice Shower'—
Even if he wanted to get closer, the current 'Rice Shower' wouldn't give him the chance.
This is difficult.
P thought with a headache.
How should one get closer to one's contracted horse girl?
He had tried seeking advice from seniors.
But they had all laughed it off, saying he would naturally understand in time.
But P felt the seniors had definitely misunderstood something.
His situation was completely different from what they imagined.
He didn't want to reveal the dual personality matter to outsiders.
Though the Committee had no rules about this, he wasn't sure if it would affect Rice Shower's future races.
So he chose to keep this secret while searching for solutions himself.
The only assistance he could find was Rice Shower's family and his own mentor.
But unfortunately, this assistance wasn't very helpful.
His mentor suggested maybe consulting a doctor.
Rice Shower's family said both Rice Showers were their children and not to interfere too much.
P now didn't know how to interact with this 'Rice Shower.'
His perception didn't work well on the current 'Rice Shower.'
He couldn't tell at all what the current 'Rice Shower' was thinking, which made him even more helpless.
Just as P was thinking about these things, he suddenly noticed a figure near the training grounds.
Tokai Teio?
His first glance went to her left leg, finding the cast already removed—her injury had recovered.
Is she here to train today?
Since the injury had healed, Tokai Teio appearing at the training grounds was understandable.
But was she here for something? To observe 'Rice Shower's' training?
But they weren't doing any special training—ordinary daily training wouldn't reveal anything.
No.
Looking more carefully, P noticed Tokai Teio's emotional state seemed off.
What happened?
Tokai Teio looked like she was here to pick a fight. That anger made no sense.
'Rice Shower' might have switched personalities, but she was still quite well-behaved normally—there shouldn't be anything that would have provoked her.
P could guarantee this, having been monitoring 'Rice Shower's' situation.
The Overlord, having finished training, came to P's side and said coldly: "I've completed today's training."
"...Understood. You can rest today."
P retracted his gaze and replied flatly.
He looked at 'Rice Shower' packing up, wanting to say something but hesitating.
But Rice Shower's terrifying aura affected him, making P completely unable to continue.
The Overlord picked up the training equipment and headed toward the training grounds exit.
Tokai Teio followed.
P noticed this and hurried after them.
Though his relationship with 'Rice Shower' had made no progress, he was still 'Rice Shower's' trainer.
He couldn't pretend he hadn't seen something like this.
...
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