"Hey, didn't you say you wouldn't say much?"
Ines protested, but Nearl's reproachful yet concerned gaze made her shrink back again.
"Right, I won't say much, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry. Seeing my friend charge headlong toward some goal, getting all battered and bruised along the way—do you think that makes me happy? Or do you really believe I can stay perfectly calm?"
"Mmph!"
Ines quietly averted her eyes, too embarrassed to meet Nearl's gaze now.
"Hold on tighter. If I'm the only one pulling you by the arm, it'll be uncomfortable for you."
Nearl's arm around Ines's waist tightened slightly, urging her to adjust her position.
"Okay."
The slacker gave a little hop.
"Sigh, I guess this will do. At least we can make it to the tunnel entrance."
What could Nearl even say in the face of her friend's utter reluctance to move?
'She must be sore all over. I should be understanding.'
She consoled herself with that thought, then tightened her grip around Ines's waist a little more, shifting her hold to make it less strenuous for Ines Fujin.
But what Nearl didn't know was that this caused Ines a different kind of discomfort.
'Her hand! Her hand is on my waist!'
Blushing, Ines Fujin lowered her head and saw Nearl's left arm wrapped around her waist, trying to shift her weight to make Ines more comfortable.
But to exert force like that, she had to press close. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal. Ines had her own little thoughts, but she could usually ignore this kind of physical contact.
'But this is totally different now!'
She was screaming internally. If not for the occasional twinge of pain in her legs reminding her that she genuinely needed Nearl's help right now, Ines would have pushed her away.
'Because my racing outfit exposes my waist! Her hand, her hand is directly on my skin!'
Feeling the warmth of Nearl's palm against her side, Ines Fujin's heart felt like it was screeching.
'It's kinda warm, but I just finished running. My body should be hotter. Why is the warmth from Nearl's hand so noticeable?'
She squirmed uncomfortably, but the friction against her waist nearly made Ines moan aloud.
This actually had something to do with Nearl herself.
As an Uma Musume who was skilled at all sorts of chores, Nearl's hands weren't as delicate as those of more refined, lady-like Uma Musume.
While her constitution prevented things like cracking, a slight roughness was unavoidable.
And Nearl herself didn't pay much attention to this aspect. She had no intention of wasting energy to make her hands perfectly smooth, which led to the current situation.
Every time Nearl's hand shifted slightly with their steps, Ines Fujin could feel a faint friction against the sensitive skin of her side.
'So ticklish! Why is my waist so sensitive all of a sudden?'
Feeling the occasional rub of Nearl's palm against her side, Ines Fujin felt split in two.
One half thought this was actually pretty nice.
She already had feelings for Nearl, and this wasn't really taking advantage—there were objective factors at play.
Her legs were genuinely weak right now. If she couldn't fight reality, she might as well relax and enjoy it.
But the other half, with all its maidenly shyness, wasn't used to this kind of contact. Especially since she'd just finished a race.
There wasn't a dry spot on her body; even her exposed waist was damp with sweat. Having Nearl's hand pressed firmly against it like this was something Ines Fujin truly couldn't handle.
'Is this some kind of humiliation party? Couldn't she touch me when I'm not such a mess?'
Alright! Conclusion reached. Neither side was opposed. Consensus achieved.
Ines Fujin surrendered.
"Fine, go ahead and touch."
With nothing more to say, Ines Fujin, having shed her shame, settled into enjoying this rare moment. She even snuggled a bit closer to Nearl's side.
--+--
"Then I'll leave her in your care. Please make sure Ines gets checked at the hospital."
Taking Ines Fujin's weight from Nearl's shoulder, a trainer with a somewhat fragile, almost small-animal-like aura bowed earnestly in thanks.
"Then, Lady Nearl, I'll take Ines-nee with me now. Please take care."
Watching the two figures leave, Nearl stood still for a moment, seeing them off. A strange feeling lingered in her heart.
"If I remember correctly, Ines's trainer is 24, right? She looks young, fine, but why is she calling Ines 'big sister'? Or did Ines deliberately pick a trainer like this?"
"Ah, well. Maybe Ines is just used to that dynamic."
Shaking her head, Nearl turned to walk back. Ines Fujin could go to the hospital now, but she couldn't.
Because she was the Uma Musume who had won by a huge margin.
According to the rules, the Winner's Circle performance was hers alone. If she slipped away, it would be a heavy blow to the audience (psychologically speaking).
"And when I expanded my Domain today, I could sense Ines unconsciously absorbing a huge amount of my energy to heal herself. She was already at her limit during the final sprint of the race just now."
"I can't always run in the same races as Ines. And her current physical condition… her body simply can't keep up with her speed anymore. If she pushes the acceleration, she'll break down first."
"Without my Domain to assist her, even if she could finish a race, she wouldn't be able to continue as an Uma Musume in the future."
Thinking this, Nearl felt a sense of urgency wash over her.
"My realm hasn't fully integrated with this world yet. The healing ability I can grant Uma Musume during races isn't fully deployable. I need to find a way to speed this up."
"Hey, Nearl, over here!"
A call from afar interrupted Nearl's thoughts. Looking up, she saw Kitahara and Oguri Cap with the others.
"No time to think now? Fine, I'll just toss this problem to Rea. She seems pretty idle lately anyway."
--+--
"Nearl, I f*&%ing... &%$# you…"
Centaurea, who had been lounging comfortably, suddenly felt a stream of information transmitted to her. A massive task had fallen from the sky, making her throw an internal tantrum.
"Sigh, I'm an idiot too. Insulting her is just insulting myself. In the end, I'm the one who loses out."
After venting her emotions fiercely, Centaurea reluctantly accepted the task. After all, no matter how you looked at it, this was also her wish.
"But 'accelerate the loading of healing rules'? How am I supposed to implement such a vague, intangible concept?"
Centaurea felt her days of leisure might be saying a permanent goodbye from this moment on.
"Master, I'm done practicing."
Special Week, who had been nearby, came over. Her face wore a rare, genuinely happy smile—an expression that had been hard to see since she began training under Centaurea.
"Oh? How was it? Is archery fun?"
"Fun. Definitely more fun than the Domain training, Master."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.