Hishi Miracle's eyes darted around, scanning the clubroom as if to confirm Dream Weaver's claim that they were truly alone.
Once she realized that, aside from the two of them, there was only Dr. Sugar Lights—who had currently projected her consciousness into a mechanical Uma Musume—Miracle's first instinct wasn't to come clean.
Instead, she scrambled for a distraction, looking for any opening to slip away.
"Is... is that so?"
"Well, that's just terrible timing. I was actually just thinking my waistline has been expanding again, so I was headed off to find Miss Tachyon for some slimming medicine—"
Based on Hishi Miracle's experience, the moment she brought up her weight, Dream Weaver would inevitably shift focus to that topic. It was the perfect excuse to bolt for the training grounds.
But Dream Weaver wasn't about to be played so easily. Even as Hishi Miracle glanced fitfully toward the exit, she had already seen right through the ploy.
However, Dream Weaver didn't resort to threats like tossing her into the swimming pool. She simply rested her planning documents on her knees and spoke with a calm, steady voice.
"By all means, you're welcome to try and slip past me."
"That is, if you think you can outrun me."
Having just stepped out of a virtual simulation race, Hishi Miracle felt a wave of goosebumps prickle across her skin at those words.
Race the Trainer?! How could the world be so unfair!
Realizing there was no escape, Hishi Miracle averted her gaze and muttered with an awkward, tiny voice.
"Then... at least promise not to tell anyone else, okay?"
"I have no reason to. Rest assured, not a soul beyond the two of us will ever know about this conversation."
Hishi Miracle nodded at that. She scratched her cheek sheepishly; saying it out loud in front of Dream Weaver seemed to make her feel even more embarrassed.
"It's because... I wanted to try and beat the version of the Trainer from her G1 championship days in the virtual simulator."
"I figured that's the only way I could be sure I have the mettle to actually stand on a G1-level stage."
To say to someone's face that you intended to surpass them—even if it was just a version of them from the past—still made Hishi Miracle feel incredibly restless.
Whether Dream Weaver praised her ambition or mocked her for being delusional, either reaction seemed like it would leave her squirming.
But to Miracle's surprise, Dream Weaver didn't react the way she expected. Upon hearing the answer, the Trainer simply froze for a moment.
In those few seconds of silence, Dream Weaver recalled the data she had logged into the virtual simulation device.
The so-called "G1-level difficulty" likely referred to the data from the very first time she had won a G1 race.
Coincidentally, the stats in this scenario world were identical to those from her reality.
The first G1 race Dream Weaver had won was still the Hopeful Stakes.
This meant that when she won that race, she possessed the exact same attributes she'd had in the real world: three SS-rank stats and two B-ranks.
Realizing this, Dream Weaver shook her head, caught between a laugh and a sigh.
Her "G1-level" data wasn't something a normal G1 Uma Musume could ever hope to possess.
If Hishi Miracle intended to wait until she surpassed that before entering a G1 race, heaven only knew how long that would take.
It was entirely possible Hishi Miracle would reach retirement without ever catching up to those stats.
After all, those were the result of stacking attributes through four different scenario world experiences—they were, quite frankly, absurd.
"Have you tried challenging any other G1-difficulty Uma Musume?"
"No..."
Miracle's reply was strained. Though she considered herself a bit of a dimwit who had to rely on a "stubborn fool's focus" on a single point, admitting it out loud to someone else was still painful.
"I figured as much..."
Dream Weaver pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed.
If Hishi Miracle had tried challenging literally any other Uma Musume at G1 difficulty even once, she would have immediately realized that Dream Weaver's difficulty was completely off the charts.
Once she had that doubt, she would have inevitably verified it, discovered that the "G1 difficulty" data was a total outlier, and abandoned this overly ambitious goal.
"What I'm about to tell you might be hard to believe. For now, just sit down properly and hold onto the virtual pod so you don't bump your head."
Hishi Miracle looked at her with confusion, wondering why Dream Weaver's expression had suddenly shifted. She sat down in a daze and nodded.
"There's something I have to tell you—"
Dream Weaver took a deep breath.
"Listen carefully, and don't panic. You've had a bit of a misunderstanding regarding my G1 difficulty settings in the simulator."
"Yes, I know this might be hard to swallow, and you're wondering what exactly you got wrong..."
"I'm afraid I have to tell you: those are not attributes any normal G1 Uma Musume would have. Even the Triple Crown winners wouldn't have stats like that at the stage where they just secured their titles."
Hishi Miracle's breathing grew ragged. She had realized where this was going halfway through the explanation, and her composure was already crumbling.
Upon hearing the truth, she couldn't suppress the surge of emotion and began shaking her head violently.
"Impossible! There's no way!"
"I asked Dr. Sugar Lights before! She said that was the data from when the Trainer won the Hopeful Stakes! I might be slow, but even I know that's a G1 race you can only enter in your debut year!"
"It was just your debut year! How could the Trainer possibly be that overpowered back then?!"
Dream Weaver quickly reached out to steady Hishi Miracle's head, terrified that if this already somewhat simple girl took a tumble, her brain wouldn't have room for anything left besides sweets.
"Why do you think I was able to become a world-class Uma Musume?"
Because of pure, raw numbers, obviously.
Though Dream Weaver didn't say it, Hishi Miracle read the unspoken second half of the sentence in her weary eyes.
Miracle's mouth hung open blankly. She stopped struggling, and after a long silence, she asked in a hollow voice:
"Then... what was the point of all my hard work until now?"
"Well, it certainly built up your mental fortitude. I doubt there's another Uma Musume at this stage who is better adapted to handling pressure than you are."
Seeing that Hishi Miracle was no longer making a fuss, Dream Weaver let go of her head. She patted her on the shoulder and continued.
"Now that you've debuted successfully, you can start preparing for official races. With your current abilities, you should have a solid chance at winning G3 graded stakes."
"Keep at it. Even though you missed the Satsuki Sho and the Tokyo Yushun, you can still aim for the final leg, the Kikuka Sho."
"Before October, focus on winning graded races to earn your spot in the Kikuka Sho."
Having finished her instructions, Dream Weaver picked up her documents and left the clubroom.
She left behind a still-dazed Hishi Miracle, who remained in the room to slowly digest the staggering reality of what she'd just learned.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.