Garden Gale tilted her head, utterly baffled. "Eh...?"
Had Air Shakur lost her mind?
Or did she mishear? What did she just say? "I'm genuinely a prodigy"? That can't be right... With that awkward display earlier, can anyone really call that "prodigy"? "Pro-trash" would be more fitting!
She was a bit confused.
...Alright.
More than a bit; she was completely stupefied.
Garden Gale truly didn't understand.
First off, let's face facts. Her running speed just now wasn't fast at all. It was literally her first training session after transmigrating; she'd pieced together a clumsy run purely from muscle memory and the experiences given by the System, even falling flat on her face once before slowly getting accustomed and speeding up.
And honestly speaking...
Even that "fast" was nowhere near actual fast.
It was simply becoming more accustomed to the posture and the feeling of running itself—barely reaching the level of an average Umamusume. How fast could it possibly be? Actually, scratch that, not even average—she was on par with the lowest-tier bottom feeders. She clearly remembered today's race: with her current speed, forget competing against Tokai Teio; even racing Air Shakur would leave her hopelessly trailing far behind, eating dust.
At this level...
Could anyone truly call it prodigious?
This was the kind of speed that screamed "trash" at a glance... Seriously, what was Air Shakur thinking?
As Garden Gale pondered, she knitted her brows tightly, her lovely face consumed by thought. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed in her mind—like a sudden inspiration, she seized it!
She soon realized something!
Air Shakur wasn't genuinely praising her by calling her a prodigy; she was being sarcastic!
No need to repeat the reasoning.
Considering her current trash-tier state and that Air Shakur saw her entire embarrassing training session, how big a liar would Air Shakur have to be to sincerely praise her? Impossible. They weren't even close friends, and there was no chance this shark-toothed delinquent would go against her conscience to compliment her. The only plausible scenario was—sarcasm.
She was sarcastically mocking her as a fraud.
Taking the inflated praise the outside world gave her and hurling it right back in her face as an insult.
Air Shakur clearly knew she was a garbage-tier Umamusume!
Ah...
That was surely it.
Garden Gale pressed her lips together, now feeling somewhat aggrieved. Gone was the cool girl image with her hoodie pulled up.
What she had desperately tried to avoid... still happened. Truthfully, even if she could fool everyone briefly, it was impossible to fool them forever. She couldn't actually evolve into a real prodigy. Winning her debut race might just lead to needing bigger lies to cover it up later, forcing her to win even tougher competitions. She might as well come clean now, tell everyone openly that she was trash, not a prodigy.
…It still felt awful, though.
Goosebumps spread instantly across her skin. She bit her lip, a wave of overwhelming shame threatening to swallow her heart whole. Her head spun with dizziness; her legs felt weak, barely able to keep herself upright.
Holding back this discomfort, she gathered her thoughts, ready to confess.
Prepared to apologize.
"'Eh?' Really is a cute sound," Air Shakur said with a broad smile, an unmistakably genuine smile, instantly recognizable. She laughed freely, saying, "Are you confused? Surely not about being called a prodigy?"
Still mocking her, huh.
Garden Gale clenched her fist and then let go, accepting her fate somewhat. She had no right to be angry. After some thought, she decided to simply come clean: "Yes, I'm confused about being called a prodigy. My speed just now... doesn't deserve that title."
She spoke calmly and evenly.
Leaving herself a shred of dignity.
Maybe… this way, Air Shakur could still somewhat respect her.
But Air Shakur was now confused.
Was she really that humble? Saying her speed earlier didn't deserve the title of prodigy? Come on, she'd clearly copied Tokai Teio's running style like a copy ninja! All she needed now was time to polish it and make it her own weapon.
Did Garden Gale actually feel dissatisfied with her own speed of learning?
It was already astonishingly fast.
She had mastered it in just a few hours… and she still wasn't satisfied, insisting she wasn't a prodigy.
True masters were always humble.
…She really had to learn from Garden Gale's example.
Air Shakur understood this clearly now—never arrogant, never complacent; remain humble, and grow gradually stronger. She was inspired by Garden Gale's sincerity. Right now, in Air Shakur's eyes, Garden Gale truly radiated brilliance.
Patience was key to life. Step by step, steadily moving towards your goal.
But still...
Some things had to be said.
Air Shakur took a step forward, closing the distance, her expression completely earnest.
…Garden Gale nearly thought this delinquent girl was about to attack.
She nervously took half a step backward.
Then she heard the torrent of words pouring out.
"No, Garden Gale-san, you truly are a prodigy—a genuine prodigy through and through."
Eh?
"Through and through—I've said it twice now, because you deserve it. No wonder there were rumors about you training late at night; it turns out you've been polishing other Umamusume's running techniques in secret, enhancing your own abilities without letting others see. Honestly, when you first started training just now, I noticed you right away..."
"At that moment, I thought you were really, really weak."
"But then I took a closer look—and realized you weren't even using your own running style!! It was Tokai Teio's! And within just one night, you managed to master her running form perfectly! Isn't this absolute proof of your talent and prodigious ability?"
"Even stepping back ten thousand steps—Tokai Teio's running style isn't something just anyone can mimic. Not everyone has that kind of flexibility."
"And an Umamusume with that kind of flexibility can't possibly be weak! Your control over your body has reached an incredibly fine level, far surpassing mine! I can't even begin to imagine how many Umamusume's running styles you've already mastered."
"One day—"
"Garden-san, you will surely shine brilliantly."
"Precisely because I specialize in analyzing data, I fully understand the value of your abilities. Learning various running forms from other Umamusume, extracting their strengths, and blending them into yourself—you're an evolving monster. Had it been someone else here tonight, they would've genuinely thought you were extremely weak, spreading rumors to tarnish your reputation. But you'll prove everything in your races, smashing all those rumors to bits, letting the entire world know you're truly a prodigy."
"I'm increasingly looking forward to your debut race in seven—no, six days."
Eh-eh-eh?
Just what kind of story did you imagine!?!!?!
Garden Gale couldn't believe it… Seriously… seriously, even this could turn into a misunderstanding!? Don't just casually fill in the blanks, you idiot!
...
Six days left until her debut race.
The pressure was back on Garden Gale, who was still nothing more than a little rookie.
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T/N: QUICK GET CLINGY!!!!
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