"Orfevre, don't be sad. Although your performance in this race was... less than ideal, your foundation is still stronger than many Uma Musume. We should focus more on technique and strategy."
Ikezoe had been comforting Orfevre in the lounge. Her loss in this race, just as Ikezoe had expected, was a huge blow to Orfevre's newly established self-esteem. Ikezoe tried his best to let Orfevre vent.
However, Ikezoe's comfort had little effect. Orfevre hadn't spoken a word from beginning to end. She had been unusually silent since the race ended, and even her gaze was somewhat vacant, as if she had fallen unconscious after her failure.
Seeing Orfevre in such a state, Ikezoe felt both sad and anxious. He had never seen Orfevre so distraught... He even wished that Orfevre would kick him now; after all, it would be better than her current silence.
"...I'm fine, Ikezoe, I just have a small headache."
However, Orfevre was unusually gentle at this moment. She seemed genuinely uncomfortable, clutching her head, and said in a somewhat weak voice:
"My... my head hurts so much, Ikezoe, I feel unwell. I... I want to go home."
Orfevre's mind was in turmoil. After stepping onto the Racecourse and starting the race, she felt a strange memory fragment enter her brain, directly affecting her subsequent judgment in the race. In those memories... she saw many things, many of them she couldn't understand, but they were filled with countless voices of "failure" and "doubt."
These voices still lingered in her mind, leaving Orfevre in a daze and an unprecedented state of confusion. At this moment, she was incredibly fragile, feeling incredibly panicked and a sense of unease. She could only tightly grasp the hand of the person closest to her—the one she trusted and relied on most deeply—hoping he could share some of her burden.
"Okay okay, we're going home." Ikezoe couldn't bear to say "no" to Orfevre, who seemed as fragile as a child right now. He knew Orfevre needed to calm down. What she needed now was a warm and familiar environment, a place that could alleviate the gloom in her heart.
"Ah, Onii-chan."
Just as Ikezoe draped his jacket over Orfevre to warm her up a bit, intending to take her back to Tracen Academy, Curren Chan, holding gifts, happened to return and said with a smile:
"Onii-chan, what's wrong? Are you leaving now?"
"Curren Chan, Orfevre isn't feeling so well. We need to get back to Tracen quickly and have Orfevre checked out." Ikezoe, uncharacteristically, didn't ask for Curren Chan's opinion at this moment. He said to Curren Chan:
"Curren Chan, could you please call a taxi? We need to take Orfevre back now."
"Ehh..." Curren Chan instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but after seeing Orfevre, who was looking terrible, she ultimately didn't speak.
If she were to say something like, "But I want to have a good talk with Orfevre," Onii-chan would surely dislike her, right? Moreover, Curren Chan also noticed Orfevre's pale face and felt that she was genuinely in pain. Is she actually sick? Curren Chan wasn't sure, but at this moment, she couldn't say anything more.
Soon, with Curren Chan's help, a taxi arrived outside the Racecourse. Ikezoe and Curren Chan, with a sick Orfevre in tow, rushed back towards Tracen Academy...
"Just rest well, Orfevre; don't worry, you can sleep now."
It wasn't until evening that Ikezoe and his group finally reached Tracen Academy. The attending doctor also examined Orfevre's condition. After finding no external injuries and confirming that Orfevre only had a non-serious headache, Ikezoe finally breathed a sigh of relief.
And now, Orfevre lay on the hospital bed, completely engulfed by extreme fatigue, but compared to the mumbling and the occasional pained expressions she showed in the car, she was currently much better.
"Onii-chan, you're probably very tired now; why don't you go rest?"
Curren Chan tugged at Ikezoe's sleeve at this moment and said to him with concern: "Why not let me handle the rest? I'll take good care of Orfevre."
"...No."
However, Ikezoe, after a long pause, said faintly: "I'll stay here with her, Curren Chan. You go back to your dorm and rest."
"But..." Curren Chan opened her mouth, looking at Ikezoe's focused expression, and ultimately couldn't speak. But she also didn't intend to leave Ikezoe alone here. She wasn't the kind of girl who could sleep peacefully when a close companion was suffering. Even though she was somewhat wary of Orfevre in a certain sense, now that her friend was sick and her Trainer was taking care of her, she couldn't just leave.
"Then, I will stay here for the night. I'll also help Onii-chan take care of Orfevre." Curren Chan immediately said, "I'll go to my dorm to get blankets and some things, and I'll be right back!"
"...Thank you for helping, Curren Chan." Ikezoe nodded, accepting Curren Chan's kind offer.
After Curren Chan turned and left, Ikezoe's gaze once again focused on Orfevre, who was now sick. At this moment, Orfevre lay on the hospital bed, frowning tightly, murmuring uneasily in a low voice:
"I... I didn't... lose..."
"I will win... I will win..."
It's like this again. Ikezoe sighed with emotion at the sight. All along the way, Orfevre had mumbled similar words many times in her sleep—perhaps she was dreaming of a race? Or perhaps this race had struck her so hard that the event kept replaying in her mind. At this moment, Ikezoe's heart was filled with deep regret. If he had known, he shouldn't have let Orfevre participate in this race...
"Ikezoe... where are you..."
"—I'm here, Orfevre, I'm here."
And Ikezoe, upon hearing Orfevre's murmur, quickly walked forward, grabbed Orfevre's hand, and replied in a low voice. Orfevre also seemed to be slowly showing signs of waking from her dream. At this moment, she, still disoriented, slightly opened her eyes and asked in a dry voice:
"Ikezoe... did I... did I win...?"
"—You will win, Orfevre, absolutely." Ikezoe nodded, giving Orfevre the answer that would comfort her at the moment, saying word for word:
"You will win many races, not just the Classic Triple Crowns, but also the Arima Kinen, the Tenno Sho, the Takarazuka Kinen... I will lead you to win all the GI races."
"So, don't rush, Orfevre. This race is insignificant to you. Don't let this race make you give up."
"..."
However, this time, Orfevre did not respond to Ikezoe. She seemed to have fallen asleep once more, and at this moment, many strange memories appeared in her mind.
She saw... herself? Although Orfevre didn't know why that four-legged creature gave her the immediate feeling that it was her, she had a premonition that it was her. And those scenes depicted "her" arduous journey. The time when she first started to adapt to that man, her disobedience, resistance, and... her inability to unleash her own strength.
She saw herself losing race after race—races she shouldn't have lost, just like her race today—perhaps her losing this race was the reason these memories were brought into her mind? Still in a daze, she saw a scene that seemed to be a success, but everything around it was blurry. She didn't know what race was won, but she could see the man waving on "her" back... At this moment, Orfevre looked at Ikezoe's excited smile, and after a long while, she quietly said in her heart:
"I... I want to win too."
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Insert Choso losing his mind gif.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.