Uma Musume: To The Top!!

As it turned out, Suave Dancer was an incorrigible chatterbox.

Even though she was not particularly close to Kuroha, she could still talk without pause like an unstoppable social whirlwind.

Kuroha did not show any impatience.

He simply treated it as an opportunity to keep the injured Umamusume company while helping ease her anxiety.

As time passed, the two gradually became more familiar with each other.

Roughly half an hour later, Kuroha quietly watched Suave Dancer sitting on the edge of the bed, enthusiastically recounting her heroic performances during the first few races of her career.

A faint glow from [Body and Breath Perception] flickered in his eyes.

After carefully confirming her condition, he waited for a pause in Suave Dancer's story before speaking softly.

"Suave, your leg should be healed now. Stand up and try it."

"Hmm?"

Suave Dancer's energetic gestures abruptly stopped.

She suspiciously lowered her gaze, climbed down from the bed, and raised her right leg.

First, she cautiously tapped the floor with the tips of her bare toes.

She felt nothing.

"Huh?"

Thump!

She gradually increased the force, eventually stomping the floor twice so hard that the impact echoed through the room.

"It... really doesn't hurt anymore?!"

Utter disbelief appeared on her face.

Suave Dancer genuinely trusted McQueen and Kuroha.

However, that trust was primarily based on their character and accomplishments on the racetrack.

Deep down, she had remained skeptical of a mysterious medicine that supposedly could completely heal a hairline fracture in just half an hour.

Come on, everything had to obey the laws of science, right?

If such a miraculous medicine truly existed, she would have to wonder whether she had fallen asleep and awakened in some Western fantasy world filled with magic.

Yet her body was now faithfully and unmistakably telling her the truth.

The medicine was real!

Suave Dancer lightly clenched her fists.

She had probably been so engrossed in her conversation with Kuroha that she had failed to notice the changes taking place.

Now, her entire body felt unimaginably light!

It was as though an enormous burden had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders.

The exhaustion and hidden damage accumulated deep within her muscles from years of high-intensity training had disappeared.

Even the tremendous mental pressure and torment she had endured before the race had completely vanished.

"..."

Suave Dancer fell silent for a long time.

She slowly closed her eyes and rested a hand over her chest.

At that moment, she could clearly feel the powerful beating of her heart.

Her blood surged through her veins like a raging river.

It felt as though an overwhelming and almost terrifying power was coursing throughout her entire body!

After a long while, the French girl opened her eyes.

She gazed at the gently smiling young man before her with a complicated expression, unable to stop herself from asking, "Trainer Kuroha... are you actually one of the Three Goddesses descended into the mortal world?"

"...What do you think?"

The corners of Kuroha's mouth twitched.

Why does every Umamusume who drinks this medicine assume I'm one of the Three Goddesses?

Is my gender really that difficult to recognize?

Besides, the actual Three Goddesses were comfortably lounging on the sofa outside right now.

However, Suave Dancer's solemn astonishment lasted only a few seconds.

In the next instant, the tension in her expression melted away like snow beneath the sun.

With an ecstatic cheer, she launched herself toward Kuroha.

"Yahoo!"

The sudden movement caught Kuroha off guard. Acting on instinct, he extended his arms and caught her securely.

Yet the bold girl had never been one to behave predictably.

The moment Kuroha caught her, she leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek without warning.

Then she pressed her face against his chest like an overexcited cat.

"McQueen's trainer is the best! You're the best! Why don't you become my trainer too? Grandma would definitely be thrilled!"

Her whirlwind of enthusiasm left Kuroha momentarily at a loss.

Wait...

Wasn't she moving a little too quickly?

They had known each other for less than half a month!

Before the girl could push her luck any further, Kuroha firmly restrained the squirming Suave Dancer to prevent her from doing anything else unpredictable.

"Stop fooling around."

Kuroha pinched her cheek and spoke sternly.

"Since your leg has healed, put your clothes back on. We'll talk after we go outside."

"Okay..."

Suave Dancer obediently answered before landing on her feet.

Then, as delighted as a young deer, she skipped over to retrieve her clothes.

"Trainer, help me fasten the clasps in the back! They're hard to reach by myself!"

"...Do it yourself. Hurry up!"

Ignoring Suave Dancer as she waved cheerfully at him, Kuroha pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.

He had the faint impression that he had accidentally attracted yet another outrageous troublemaker.

...

A short while later, the changing room door clicked open.

Under the strange gazes of the Team Chasing Light members in the lounge, Suave Dancer strode out.

"Ta-da! Suave Dancer has made a perfect recovery!"

With her trademark uninhibited smile, the girl planted one hand on her hip and proudly proclaimed her resurrection.

However, she soon realized that the room was far too quiet.

McQueen, Maruzensky, and even Sunday Silence in the corner of the sofa were all staring at her with indescribably complicated expressions.

Suave Dancer awkwardly scratched her head.

"Wh-What's wrong? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

McQueen, who was sitting on the sofa and drinking fruit tea, glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

"Suave, you know the preparation room is soundproofed from the public corridor outside, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then do you also know..."

McQueen drew a deep breath and ground her teeth.

"That the preparation room and the changing room inside it are not soundproofed from each other at all?"

"Uh..."

Suave Dancer's delighted expression instantly froze.

She remembered the half hour she had spent telling stories inside the changing room.

Then she remembered all the bold things she had said to McQueen's trainer only a few minutes earlier.

"Y-You heard everything out here?"

Her momentum vanished as she whispered the question.

McQueen rolled her eyes without answering. Instead, she looked past Suave Dancer toward the person behind her.

Kuroha emerged from the changing room at that exact moment.

Looking at everyone in the lounge, he casually nodded to McQueen with a smile.

"It's done. Her leg has completely recovered."

As he spoke, he placed one hand on top of Suave Dancer's head.

The previously fearless French girl immediately wilted like a frostbitten plant.

"By the way, Suave."

"When you get back, remember to settle the fee for today's treatment."

"Huh? I have to pay?!"

Suave Dancer looked completely bewildered.

"Of course you do."

Kuroha stared at her just as strangely.

"Both the medicine and my time are extremely valuable. Why would the treatment be free?"

"Then... how much do I owe you?"

"Pay whatever you think is appropriate."

Kuroha waved a hand unconcernedly.

At this point, worldly wealth had long since become nothing more than a series of meaningless numbers to him.

"If you truly can't decide, the prize money from today's race will be fine."

Suave Dancer nodded.

"Okay! I understand. I'll transfer it as soon as I get back!"

Her eyes then darted around.

She had been about to seize the opportunity to say something else that might bring them closer, but before she could open her mouth, McQueen strode over, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her out the door.

"Wait, McQueen!"

"No!"

...

A short while later, in the corridor, McQueen stood with her arms folded and glared at Suave Dancer.

Suave Dancer lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong, not daring to look up.

The two remained silent for a moment.

Finally, McQueen could no longer contain herself.

"I went out of my way to help you get your leg treated, yet you responded by trying to steal my trainer?!"

"...Doesn't that prove you have excellent taste, McQueen? Fine! I was wrong!"

Suave Dancer initially attempted to defend herself in a quiet voice, but quickly lowered her head in apparent sincerity.

Yet in the next instant, she raised it again and boldly argued, "But McQueen... is it truly impossible?"

"I heard Trainer Kuroha already has several wives in the Far East."

"And the law doesn't place any numerical limit on marriages involving National Treasure-class Umamusume, does it?"

"He is my trainer, not yours."

McQueen glared at her before helplessly pressing a hand to her forehead.

She had always known that her trainer possessed an almost supernatural attraction to the opposite sex.

Still, she had never imagined that even Suave Dancer could be won over in less than half a month!

And that was despite how little time the two had spent together.

If they had been around each other regularly, McQueen suspected the process might have taken a third as long.

After contemplating the matter for a moment, McQueen spoke in an emotionless voice.

Suave Dancer was not entirely wrong.

Her trainer already had many women close to him.

Adding one more did not seem like such a tremendous matter.

However!

"If you can make me feel that same excitement and pressure again at next month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe..."

McQueen narrowed her eyes.

Hum—

A terrifying pressure suddenly rose within the corridor.

It became almost tangible as it swept toward Suave Dancer.

At the sight of it, Suave Dancer's ingratiating posture abruptly stiffened.

Her lowered head snapped upward, and she bristled like a startled cat.

Boom!

In the next instant, endless streams of pure-white and crimson-gold light erupted within the narrow corridor!

Their two overwhelming auras collided once more, neither willing to yield.

"Hahaha! It seems that in addition to glory and revenge..."

Suave Dancer's voice instantly rose with excitement as she transformed once again into the proud, unrivaled Queen of France.

"...I now have one more reason why I absolutely must win next month's Arc!"

She stared directly into McQueen's eyes, her fighting spirit sweeping outward like a raging gale.

"Let me warn you in advance!"

"Thanks to your help, I'm in even better condition than I was before the Irish Champion Stakes! I'm bursting with energy!"

"And France is my home turf!"

"If you lose to me at the Arc, don't you dare regret saving me today!"

"How curious. You're merely the opponent I already defeated, yet you're acting even more arrogant than the victor."

A proud and exhilarated smile appeared on McQueen's face.

Crackle!

Their auras collided in midair.

With the two girls at their center, fierce, distorted ripples spread through the surrounding air.

Several seconds later, both withdrew the terrifying pressure—an aura powerful enough to leave an ordinary Umamusume struggling to breathe.

Suave Dancer giggled and turned away.

She began jogging lightly down the corridor, then looked back and gave McQueen a stylish farewell gesture.

"Then be a good girl and wait for me back at the dorm, McQueen!"

...

McQueen silently watched Suave Dancer's retreating figure.

She waited until the girl had completely disappeared around the corner.

A moment later—

"Aaaaaah!"

"What in the world was I saying back there?!"

Regret instantly flooded the purple-haired girl's face.

Her cheeks burning, McQueen covered her face and crouched in the corner to reflect deeply upon her words.

(End of Chapter)

[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]

[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]

[Thanks for Reading!]

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!