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<>[Warhammer 40K: A Multiverse Saga] <>
<>[Warhammer 40K: They Said I Have No Soul] <>
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Crack—
The glasslike radiance and sakura-colored glow slowly faded away over the grass.
Sakura Chiyono O braced her hands on her knees, breathing a little heavily.
She looked at Mejiro Ardan, who stood a short distance away with one hand on her hip, gazing toward Fujimasa March and the others, and said with a soft laugh, "Ardan has gotten stronger again."
Hearing that, Mejiro Ardan turned her head. Those gem-clear eyes looked toward Sakura Chiyono O, and she answered across the distance:
"But it's still really hard to surpass you, Chiyono O."
"Hehe, that's not true at all."
Chiyono O straightened up and walked to Ardan's side. "Ardan, what were you just looking at?"
Ardan continued her post-training stretches as she chuckled lightly. "Nothing much, just checking how Popular Song and the others' training is going."
…And also at a certain someone who can't recognize what's in her own heart yet…
Ardan added quietly in her mind.
Beside her, Chiyono O quietly watched Ardan's movements, then glanced toward Fujimasa March and the others in the distance, and a knowing smile surfaced on her face.
Everyone's condition is good.
That's really great.
...
The afternoon training session passed by quickly.
By evening.
The setting sun coated the grass of the Mejiro training track in a layer of gold.
"Bye-bye, we're heading back first."
Berno Light held Oguri Cap's hand and waved goodbye to everyone.
"Trainer, looks like I can't head back this time." Tokai Teio left while scratching the back of her head, carrying quite a lot of stuff.
"Alright, be careful on the way."
Kuroha stood at the gate of the Mejiro training ground, nodding to them. Only after he watched them leave did he withdraw his gaze.
On the track, only Chasing Light's core members remained.
Fujimasa March and Inari One were doing their final cool-down run, their movements light yet powerful.
Ardan, meanwhile, had sidled up next to Obey Your Master, whispering about something or other.
"Trainer~"
A clear, crisp voice came from his side.
The orange-haired girl had her hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forward to peek at him, her face full of a gentle smile.
Kuroha smiled and reached out to lightly pat her on the head.
"Chiyono O, are you ready?" he asked softly, his voice carrying a depth of meaning that only the two of them could fully understand.
Chiyono O looked up at him. In her amber eyes, the afterglow of the sunset shimmered with a warm and steady light.
She didn't answer directly. Instead, she leaned just a little closer to Kuroha and gently rubbed against his arm.
"Mm." Her voice was very soft, yet filled with strength.
This would be her final bloom on the racetrack as a Uma Musume.
Feeling the warmth from his arm, Kuroha's heart was a swirl of emotions.
He turned his head and looked out at the other team members still running energetically on the training ground.
The war drums of the Arima Kinen were about to sound, and Chiyono O's retirement race was close at hand.
"Good work today, everyone."
Kuroha raised his voice and called out to the remaining horse girls. "That's it for today. Go back and get a good rest."
"Oh!"
"Okay."
"Got it, Trainer."
The horse girls responded happily in unison and left the track together.
...
Night.
Kuroha was sitting in a chair by the window, the warm halo of the desk lamp spilling over the open pages in front of him.
Outside, the night had deepened. Now and then, a cold wind brushed past the window, carrying the unique chill of winter.
Click.
The bedroom door was gently pushed open with a soft sound.
A pair of slender, fair legs stepped slowly into the room. Lapis-like long hair, still carrying a hint of moisture, glimmered faintly in the dim light.
Ardan, dressed in a simple silk nightgown, tiptoed over to Kuroha and then伸出 her delicate fingers to lightly hook his arm.
"Trainer, stop reading. It's time to get in bed and sleep."
Her voice was soft and pleasant, carrying a faint but unmistakable hint of spoiled sweetness.
"Alright."
Kuroha let out a helpless little laugh, closed the book in his hands, and placed it back on the nightstand.
Then he followed Ardan as they slipped together into the warm covers.
In the room, only the bedside lamp remained, casting a gentle, hazy light that wrapped their silhouettes in a cozy blur.
The girl happily rested her head on her trainer's chest, nuzzling lightly.
Then she took a deep breath, as if she were absorbing something. The air seemed to fill with a faint, soothing sense of peace.
"Trainer…" After a brief silence, Ardan suddenly spoke.
"Mm?"
"Trainer, if I only retire during the spring races next year, does that mean I'll miss the first URA Finals Series?"
URA?
Kuroha looked down at the Ardan nestled in his arms and immediately understood the meaning hidden in her words.
"What's wrong? Worried about Chiyono O?"
Ardan gave a small nod, her tone a little dazed.
"It really feels like time passed so fast. It's like my debut races were just yesterday, but now, I'm already close to the end."
With the end of her Senior Year approaching, Ardan had clearly felt the limits of her body these past weeks.
It wasn't as distinct as Chiyono O, who could clearly sense where her finish line lay.
But that gradually encroaching sense of depletion let her faintly glimpse the end of her career as a Uma Musume.
Her body wasn't like Inari One's and the others'. They might be able to maintain their peak for around a year.
But for her… she clearly had less than half a year remaining.
Kuroha looked down at the girl in his arms, who seemed lost in thought, and couldn't help but chuckle.
He reached out and gently pinched Ardan's small, perky nose.
"Meow…"
The sudden action made Ardan let out a cute little sound.
"Our young lady is overthinking again," Kuroha teased. "The finish line isn't even here yet, and you're already dwelling on retirement. Isn't that a bit early?"
"I'm not overthinking…" Ardan puffed up her cheeks and muttered a quiet rebuttal, though her voice lacked any real conviction.
She burrowed her face deeper into his chest and mumbled, "I just… felt a bit sentimental seeing Chiyono O."
Kuroha gently stroked her smooth, silky hair.
"Everyone has a different blooming season. Ardan just needs to shine with her own light to the fullest. Don't think too much, okay?"
"…Mm."
After a brief silence, Ardan lifted her head slightly again.
"Trainer, there's something I don't really understand… It's about Oguri Cap."
"Hm? What about Oguri?"
Kuroha's voice remained gentle as he patiently guided her to continue.
Ardan organized her thoughts and then spoke softly:
"Do you still remember the trigger for Oguri's awakening of her Domain last year? Back then, March told us that Oguri was running for herself, for happiness."
"And that pure feeling became the source of her strength."
Kuroha nodded. "I remember. That was before the Japan Cup. March even did special training with her for it."
"But…"
Ardan's tone was full of confusion. "During this half month of group training with us, I feel like she's changed."
"She's become extremely, extremely fixated on victory, to the point that it's actually affecting her condition."
"This afternoon, I saw her sitting alone on the grass spacing out, her eyes really lost."
"Obey said it's because she feels that if she keeps going like this, there's no way she can beat Fujimasa March. That's why she's so troubled."
She paused for a moment, then nestled her face back against Kuroha's warm chest, listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat, before voicing the deepest doubt in her heart:
"Why is that? Why would someone who already awakened the second stage of Domain, who's already found her own starting point, forget it again and again?"
"Shouldn't that be the deepest, most unshakable feeling of all?"
Kuroha fell silent for a moment at her words.
"Your original reason, huh…"
"That really is a good question."
(End of Chapter)
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