Uma Musume no Nama no Nichijou (Horse Girl), First and foremost

Do you want Rudolf to symbolize the direct and proactive sacrifice of the East Sea Emperor's interests for the sake of fairness?

Haha, really.

"Okay, it does sound like it's my fault, but I haven't figured out exactly what the problem is yet. I'll write a self-criticism later."

After all, it's a bit unpleasant to be criticized without fully knowing where you went wrong. But the problem is that, given that Chunbaima Niang's perspective actually makes some sense, it prevents her from maintaining the same proactive and assertive position in the conversation as before.

Sensing that the other party was beginning to admit their mistake, the triple crown horse girl stopped pursuing the matter and subtly changed the subject, continuing to ask about Oguri Hat's situation.

"So, even if there's a white disaster, are you still going to go and comfort Little Chestnut Hat?"

"This time, maybe we don't need to... Perhaps you're right."

Slightly scratching his cheek, Kim Seung-ri thought and thought, and finally came to the conclusion that it was indeed her fault.

In that case, it seems she doesn't have the face to meet Oguri Hat, since she would feel bad for him.

This made her think again: hadn't this Japanese Darby race deviated from the traditional meaning of horse racing in some ways?

It's no longer about focusing solely on running on the track; you must dedicate at least half, or even more, of your attention to guarding against your opponents and mastering your own winning formula.

And this is precisely the kind of match that Golden Victory, who is completely familiar with the techniques of momentum, excels at.

It can only be said that after being discovered by Dibao, who was a top player in the current version, she really went all out to support him, which gave her the opportunity to succeed.

Perhaps the reason Oguri Hat lost wasn't because she wasn't strong enough, but because she was stronger than the East Blue Emperor from the start...

After the race, the three racehorse girls on the winner's stage did not seem to have any problems.

But looking at the stage performance, which was even more popular and had a more enthusiastic atmosphere than in previous competitions, Golden Victory felt somewhat uneasy for some reason.

My left eye didn't twitch, my right eye didn't twitch, my left ear didn't move randomly, and my right ear didn't move much either...

But I really do have this feeling that something bad is going to happen to me or someone close to me...

An inexplicable, unclear sense of unease made Golden Victory inexplicably irritable, but such behavior would be considered provocative if it happened on someone else's winner's stage.

Even if two of the people on stage are their own female racehorses, it is still very impolite, or even worse. As a result, even if Golden Victory is really anxious, he can only endure it for the time being.

"what happened?"

Noticing that something was wrong with the other party, Representative Qianming asked a few questions.

"I don't know, but I just feel like something's not quite right."

Watching the performance, with the occasional head-grabbing and the strained facial expressions, it just didn't seem right.

...Was it because what I said earlier was too harsh?

It's unclear why the other party is behaving this way, but in Chiaki's view, the current state of Golden Victory is clearly quite different from the Pure White Horse Girl she usually knows.

Surely it couldn't have been caused by throwing a tantrum, could it?

"I don't know, but the performance by Darby in Japan was completely over."

"Even if they get injured on the field due to their physical condition, as long as there are no major problems, they can quickly get back into training after a few days of rest."

Upon hearing this, Golden Victory's response became somewhat subtle.

"Yes... then it should be fine."

Chapter 236 The Hand of Fate

After the race in Japan, at the racehorse girl rehabilitation center.

"So you're telling me now that her leg is injured???"

"Are you kidding me?!"

This is the first time a gold-winning player has expressed great dissatisfaction with all of this, and with the process of the horse race itself.

Why not send them directly to the hospital to rest after the competition? In top-level competitions, there are many examples of people activating their domains and racing against time.

Does that mean that as long as Uma Musume doesn't collapse and remain motionless on the track, you have to dance for the audience even if you're injured?

"As someone who has also questioned whether the post-race segment of Uma Musume Pretty Derby is appropriate, I can understand your anger right now, Miss Golden Victory."

Adjusting his glasses, he continued to reason with the racehorse girl in front of him with the air of a professional:

"In fact, this delay does not affect the immediate damage that can be detected after the match. Damage caused by the side effects of the domain will not be reflected immediately. More often than not, it will take 24 hours or even up to 48 hours of observation to determine how serious her injuries in the domain are."

"Oh? Are you really so sure that there's no way to detect it early?"

"I am a horse racing doctor, and I am also a doctor in the Horse Racing Association who is specifically responsible for the health and recovery of racehorse girls. I believe I have the right to speak on all the testing methods that Japan currently has."

Even when facing the infamous Gold Victory racer, who is now at the pinnacle of power in the horse girl community and whose power is still rising, she is the head of the new generation of the prestigious Gold family of horse girls.

This female horse doctor, who specializes in treating racehorse girls, showed no fear or compromise whatsoever, but judging from the expression on his face, he seemed more numb to his own powerlessness.

Well, after all, he's a doctor who specializes in treating racehorse girls, so he's well aware of how much this condition can affect a star racehorse girl's career.

"But, it's obvious that Aldan, Oguri Hat, and the East Sea Emperor all arrived at the finish line at roughly the same time, so how could their injuries be so different?"

"I would say I was quite surprised by the injuries of the other two. Although there is no statistical data to fully confirm the extent of their injuries, since we can't see what exactly happened in the area."

"However, based on past experience, their recovery time after injury is actually shorter than that of previous female racehorses, and their post-recovery racing performance can be viewed from an optimistic perspective."

The praise is for the protective effect that momentum techniques can provide to racers in terms of their domain, or rather, for reducing the side effects of the domain.

"Hmm, oh, okay, so how could the Empress be injured like this?"

However, these are more of a mystery to the main reasons for the injury suffered by the East Sea Emperor, which is the Golden Victory team is grappling with.

"The main cause of the injury that we can currently speculate based on the tests is that Donghai Diwang's development was not complete and her body structure itself is relatively weak in her legs."

"The domain state itself deals with the vast majority of top racehorse girls, and more than 99% of the top racehorse girls are already adult racehorse girls who have reached the peak of their individual growth."

"It's not that there are no other horse girls who participate in the competition six months in advance, like the Emperor of the East Sea. However, so far, she is the only one who has both weak legs and premature use of her domain."

The answer to Pure White Horse Girl is a series of tragic coincidences, and to some extent, these tragedies are related to the momentum and skills of the Golden Victory.

"...I understand. Doctor, what's the estimated recovery time?"

"Since a fracture has occurred, it will take at least four to six months, including a month of rehabilitation training,"

"Furthermore, given that he has already suffered a fracture, I cannot guarantee that Donghai Emperor will not suffer another injury due to a similar high-intensity competition in his next match, nor can I guarantee the recovery time and performance after the second injury."

"The prognosis for this fracture is still uncertain. However, based on the various new cases, I am optimistic, but only for this first case."

If none of this happened, even if the Emperor of the East Sea had hidden problems with his legs, from a doctor's perspective, as long as they are not detected, he could run until retirement without any issues.

The problem is that now that the first fracture has occurred, the chance of a recurrence in subsequent competitions increases exponentially, and a careful assessment of future performance is necessary.

The idea that repeated fractures make legs stronger and more functional is absurd and would be met with fierce criticism if applied to competitive sports.

"If the body recovers completely in just six months, will the recovery time also be shortened?"

The initial planned debut time was in the fall, and the competition in the fall wouldn't be too intense. The real top-level competition wouldn't start until next spring.

"It's possible, but I can't guarantee it. It requires a long-term follow-up period to make a judgment, so please, Ms. Kim Seung-ri, don't add anything to the patient's information without the doctor's professional knowledge."

That's a bit harsh, after all, it's not the first time he's seen similar situations with racehorses. There are always trainers who believe that as long as they keep encouraging the horse, it will recover better, and some even resort to threatening the doctor to coax it in order to make the horse happy.

Even though the one in front of me is also a racehorse girl, her injury is just too bizarre compared to other racehorse girls.

Injuries do occur, but most are external injuries combined with common muscle injuries from the field's side effects. Basically, as long as I survive and wake up, I can easily start resuming training—a level of health beyond comprehension.

Not to mention that this guy is still creating miracles even during his active career...

Even when Golden Victory suffered a leg injury that affected his performance and forced him to rest a while ago, his case was circulated among Dr. Ma as a milestone.

"I understand, and I will follow the doctor's advice carefully in this regard."

Nodding, he could only agree to this much since he wasn't a professional. But Golden Victory also had to think about how to deal with the East Sea Emperor, who was still unconscious after the surgery...

The deed has already happened, and what needs to be faced must be faced.

She arranged to meet Rudolph at a nearby coffee shop and told him the news directly. However, judging from the president's face, she didn't seem to be very surprised or angry about the news.

More often than not, it's just a gloomy sadness on their faces that they still find hard to accept.

Like the doctor, Rudolf, the student council president, has also witnessed countless tragedies in Uma Musume.

"The Emperor hadn't woken up yet before I left. The nurse said it was one of the side effects of the racehorse girl entering her domain state. However, they reasonably suspected that using aura techniques within the domain state would prolong the time needed to wake up in this regard."

When meeting with Kim Seung-ri, Rudolf, who was waiting outside the operating room, symbolically chose to tell him what he had heard, even though Kim Seung-ri was the one who was mainly meeting with the diagnosing doctor.

Basically, treating a racehorse girl requires the use of an entire medical team. Especially for racehorse girls from prestigious families, even if they have surplus manpower, they are often willing to invest in any factor that can help with the racehorse girl's surgery.

"Ah."

Nodding and sipping her coffee, the pure white horse girl hadn't rested much since the race ended, and she needed to replenish her caffeine to stay awake.

It's morning now, and the staff on the early Monday shift are beginning their various journeys.

"So, Rudolf, you also think that it's perfectly correct to throw the racehorse girl, who was nearly exhausted from running on the track recently, onto the winner's stage after the initial tests showed no problems? Couldn't we have made some preparations for treatment first?"

I hadn't thought much about this issue before, but after the performance, the expected progress of the treatment suddenly turned into a diagnosis of a fracture during the examination.

The image of the East Sea Emperor on stage, every tap-tap and jump, even the way he walked, involuntarily brought back memories for the pure white horse girl.

"It's pointless for us to discuss this now, White Disaster."

"In fact, other racehorse girls also participated in the winner's stage segment. Judging from the situation after Oguri Hat and Mejiro Ardan's races, this time it was more of an issue with the Emperor himself."

"It can only be said that the flaw of having the Emperor team play so early still exists, but it was easily overlooked because we were focused on the game results until now, when the problem has only surfaced..."

When Rudolf said these words, it was as if he felt a degree of guilt.

“I know that Di Bao’s legs are particularly flexible, but when I think about it, isn’t Xiao Li Mao’s goat hair thing similar? So logically speaking, there shouldn’t be anything that needs special attention.”

As a trainer, Golden Victory nodded somewhat solemnly.

How should I put it...?

Not long ago, Qianming, the representative, questioned my level as a trainer. She even went so far as to point her finger at me and berate me for being so bad that I didn't notice Oguri Hat's problem and was biased towards Teibo.

"It can only be said that no one could have predicted that incomplete development would lead to such drawbacks after a race that pushed them beyond their limits."

He spoke with great composure, but it was precisely this composure that revealed Rudolf's sense of self-reproach as the former emperor of the East Sea.

What's done is done. Aside from having the resources available to provide treatment, we can only place our hopes on Golden Victory's momentum and skill...

That's what I think, but judging from the expression on Pure White Horse Girl's face, which seems like she's always looking for a fight, the outcome in this regard is probably not very optimistic.