There always seemed to be an endless mountain of things to do, but Dream Weaver truly didn't have the energy for any of it right now.
Once she finished checking her items in the Mall, the mental exhaustion from clearing the Scenario World finally caught up to her.
Without a moment's hesitation, Dream Weaver collapsed back onto her bed. After murmuring a quick "goodnight" to herself, she drifted into a deep, heavy sleep.
The next day, a revitalized Dream Weaver headed out, meeting the grandma's warm smile as she left the building. She caught a train to the hospital and soon found herself standing before the door to Tokai Teio's room.
Tokai Teio, who had only recently woken up, was currently staring blankly at the ceiling. Being an Uma Musume confined to a bed because of a fracture was, quite frankly, becoming unbearably boring.
Even though it had only been two days since the injury, she had the strange illusion that a lifetime had passed.
As Tokai Teio let her mind wander, a sudden thump echoed from the doorway.
Her ears twitched instinctively before her eyes even turned toward the sound.
"You again..."
Tokai Teio spoke in a low voice as she recognized the familiar figure.
Yesterday, Dream Weaver had arrived in a rush and left just as quickly, dropping a pile of nonsensical, cryptic remarks before vanishing.
Tokai Teio still hadn't figured out exactly how she was supposed to feel about her.
"Coming two days in a row... don't you have school or something?"
"I headed straight to Tokyo for the Derby right after my trip ended. I haven't actually been back to school yet."
"So, technically speaking, my leave isn't over."
Dream Weaver spoke casually as she shut the door.
This was exactly why she'd been able to sleep so soundly the night before; as long as she hadn't set foot in Tracen Academy, her vacation was effectively ongoing.
That was just the reality for an Uma Musume who was undefeated since her debut, had snatched three consecutive G1 victories, and had the backing of both the Student Council President and the Chairwoman.
"Ah, the evils of a society built on connections..."
"Coming from someone who treats the Student Council office like a revolving door, you've got no room to talk."
"Here, your medicine."
With that, Dream Weaver tossed a bottle to Tokai Teio. It was a "German-Developed Special Orthopedic Medicine"—an item whose packaging looked suspiciously like generic liniment.
Tokai Teio didn't catch her drift at first. She picked up the bottle, which looked common enough but was covered in incredibly dense, difficult text, and looked at Dream Weaver.
"What's this?"
"Special orthopedic meds from Germany. I assume the description is in German?"
"I can't read German! And besides, why would German medicine be packaged like this...?"
"Maybe to make it feel familiar to the target market?"
Dream Weaver recalled the item's flavor text and answered with a hint of hesitation.
"What is that even supposed to mean? I don't get it at all."
"To be honest, I don't really get it either."
She sat down on the edge of the bed and pointed toward Tokai Teio's fractured leg.
"But it should work fine for a fracture. Just pour the liquid on your leg, and you'll be good in a week. Supposedly, it even boosts bone density."
"Are you for real...?"
Tokai Teio's lip twitched. she held the bottle with its indecipherable labels up to her eyes, unable to see anything special about it. Moreover, the claims Dream Weaver was making were just too much.
Healing a fracture in a week sounded like a prank, but adding a magical "bone strengthening" effect on top of that?
Tokai Teio had been in school for over a decade if you counted preschool; there was no way she was falling for this.
Feeling her scientific literacy boiling over in her brain, Tokai Teio set the bottle down. She tried to set aside her previous annoyance and spoke in a gentler tone.
"Look, I get it. Maybe you feel like you're the reason I got hurt, but you really don't need to buy into this stuff."
"I don't care how intimidating that old man in the traditional robes with the white beard looked when he sold this to you—believe me, he's a total scammer!"
Back at Tracen, Tokai Teio had heard a faint rumor—one that seemingly originated from a certain Uma Musume with the surname Sakura.
It said that the legendary genius, the rising star of Tracen, Dream Weaver...
Was actually a bit of an idiot.
Tokai Teio hadn't really believed it before, but now she was starting to.
As if she had anticipated this reaction, Dream Weaver didn't rush to defend herself. Instead, she said calmly, "It's fine. I used to have some misconceptions about the level of technology in this world, too."
Before meeting Agnes Tachyon and Sugar Lights, Dream Weaver had once assumed the technological development here was no different from her previous life. But after seeing virtual dive equipment and all sorts of miraculous potions, she'd had to adjust her worldview.
"The more you talk, the more it sounds like you got conned..."
"Setting aside the 'reliable old man' for a second, a rogue scientist full of weird theories doesn't sound much more trustworthy either."
Facing Tokai Teio's skepticism, Dream Weaver didn't waver. She spoke with absolute certainty.
"She's not a rogue scientist, she's an Uma Musume!"
"Huh?"
"Right here in our school!"
"Wait..."
"If you want to meet her, I can drag her over here in a few days to show you. She's a genius who transcends generations! So, there's nothing wrong with the medicine!"
Dream Weaver knew that pulling out a "miracle cure" out of nowhere looked sketchy, so she had prepared her excuse in advance.
Since she had already decided to hand the Memory Storage Drive over to Agnes Tachyon, it wouldn't hurt to borrow her name as a shield a little early.
After all, the potions that girl whipped up in the Scenario World were just as ridiculous.
So she was tricked by someone at school. Did she hear that rumor too? Well, at least it's better than being scammed by a stranger... Tokai Teio thought to herself, becoming more convinced the rumors were true.
Dream Weaver, unaware of the other girl's pity, felt her mission was complete. She stood up from the bedside and turned to leave, but then paused as if remembering something.
"Oh, right. Once your leg is fixed, remember to give the bottle back. It's rare."
With that, she walked straight out of the room, not giving Tokai Teio a chance to call her back.
No, wait—she didn't want to call her back!
Tokai Teio gritted her teeth as she watched Dream Weaver's retreating back.
Once she was gone, silence reclaimed the room. Tokai Teio originally intended to ignore the bottle—which looked more like a fraudulent health supplement than medicine—and go back to staring at the ceiling.
Yet, somehow, her gaze kept drifting toward her broken leg.
Even though she knew it was unreliable, and even though her logic was screaming at her, she felt a strange, inexplicable impulse.
"Dammit..."
She muttered to herself. For some reason, she felt the "vibe" around Dream Weaver had changed. She couldn't put her finger on why, but her instincts told her the girl wasn't lying.
"Getting this cast off is going to be such a pain. The doctor is definitely going to scream at me later..."
With a sigh of resignation, Tokai Teio sat up in her hospital bed.
--+--
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.