"Ugh… it hurts…"
A young girl's tender cry of pain came from the men's staff dorms at Tracen Academy.
Fujimura Hikaru desperately wished this was all a dream—but the horse girl reflected in the mirror, cheeks flushed red, and the stinging burn radiating across his face left him no choice but to accept reality.
To wake up and say goodbye to his "little Hikaru" in one night—what kind of tragedy was this? Namu san.
"No, seriously, this makes no sense. Why me? Did that guy Okino switch careers and become a doctor in Thailand or something?!"
The last clear memory fragment he had was drinking with Okino in a little bar. After that, everything was a blank.
Sure, he liked horse girls—but not in the sense that he wanted to become one of them. Fujimura Hikaru had no complaints whatsoever about his own "Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon." Compared to turning into a horse girl, he'd much rather keep his "brother."
"Guh… kill me…"
Now a black-haired, long-haired beauty, he dropped straight to his knees on the bathroom tile. Tears of utter despair slid down his face.
The shock of losing the "brother" that had been with him since childhood hit harder than hearing yesterday that he had a terminal illness.
[Host has transformed into a horse girl. Distributing missions.]
"???"
The sudden voice in his head made him jolt. Before he could even process what was happening, a transparent blue holographic panel appeared in front of him.
[Mission: Accumulate 3 km of running. Current progress: 0. Reward: 10 basic attribute points]
[Remaining transformation time: 11 hours]
[Note: Rewards can only be obtained by completing missions while in horse-girl form]
"What is this… a system?"
He stared at the strange interface, his wine-red eyes flickering with unease. There was no doubt about it—his worldview was taking a direct hit.
He'd read the occasional light novel, so this kind of development wasn't unfamiliar. But novels were novels. Seeing it in real life was another matter entirely.
He raised a finger and cautiously tapped the panel. When it responded—when he realized he could actually drag and scroll—he began to study this system that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Remaining transformation time… so I can turn back."
Seeing the countdown, he finally let out a breath of relief. This form was temporary.
If he had to stay a horse girl permanently, just the identity paperwork alone would be a nightmare—and his job as a trainer would probably be gone, too…
"Being able to turn back is a lifesaver. I'm not trying to get unemployed this early."
Muttering to himself, he kept poking around. Before long, he more or less figured out how the system worked.
It seemed to have three modules: [Stats], [Missions], and [Achievements].
The [Stats] module was exactly what it sounded like: the attributes he possessed after turning into a horse girl. Completing missions granted attribute points, which strengthened his horse-girl side—and at the same time, would also improve his original body's physical condition to some extent.
The [Missions] module refreshed tasks at random. As long as he completed them in horse-girl form within the time limit, he'd get the corresponding rewards.
As for the [Achievements] module… honestly, he didn't understand what it was for at all. The panel was completely empty. Even if he wanted to experiment, there was nothing to test.
Maybe it required some special condition to unlock?
That was his guess.
"This setup is basically like certain MMO games. Still—having such a simple system is actually a huge help. It's easy to understand."
Once the initial shock wore off, his emotions gradually stabilized. He idly scrolled through the interface, checking whether there was anything he'd missed.
Then his finger froze in midair.
His eyes locked onto a line of text.
[Mission: Achieve an epic accomplishment. Reward: Universal Healing Medicine x1]
[Universal Healing Medicine: True to its name, a universal cure. It will unconditionally heal the user's body. Any illness will be powerless before it.]
"Th-this…?!"
His whole body lit up with excitement.
If he got that medicine, then his disease—his terminal illness—could actually be cured!
Just moments ago he'd thought he'd hit rock bottom, but now his eyes shone again. Right—if he could cure himself, he wouldn't have to think about replacing Anmu's trainer at all!
If he could get that medicine, maybe he really could heal his body… and the wish he'd always had—to stay with Anmu all the way to the end—wouldn't have to become an impossible dream.
In the face of a terminal diagnosis, he'd been forcing himself to stay rational. The fact that he'd already started considering a trainer replacement for Anmu said plenty.
Yes—if a trainer's health wouldn't allow them to accompany their assigned horse girl to the finish line, then switching to a new trainer was, objectively, the correct choice.
But even if it was correct… how could he not want to see it with his own eyes?
To see the horse girl he loved—his horse girl—standing on the highest stage.
If he could choose, he didn't want to compromise with illness at all.
And now, this system—this sudden miracle—was like a piece of driftwood thrown to someone drowning. If he grabbed it, maybe there was still a chance. So why wouldn't he grab it?
Maybe a happy ending was still possible.
"But what does 'achieve an epic accomplishment' even mean…? I've got no clue."
He stared at the mission description, completely lost.
He had zero idea what the system considered "epic." Who knew what the conditions were?
Did it want him to run for Prime Minister of Japan or something? Would that count as "epic"?
If that was the requirement… then yeah, he was doomed.
Beep.
Right as he was agonizing over what this so-called epic accomplishment could possibly be, his phone rang from inside the dorm room—someone was messaging him.
He pushed himself up from his kneeling position. It was a simple motion, but he did it in a clumsy, over-the-top way—he still wasn't used to this new, petite body.
Like a rookie piloting a Gundam for the first time: even walking normally looked awkward and unsteady.
He returned to the room, picked up the phone that was chirping nonstop, and woke the screen.
Messages flooded down like a waterfall.
Crap! Today's Monday! Work!
Seeing the barrage of reminders from his assigned horse girl, Fujimura's face went pale.
Turning into a horse girl out of nowhere, then the system appearing—one shock after another—and he'd completely forgotten that today was a workday!
No… my perfect attendance!!
He tumbled into the bathroom and rushed through the quickest wash-up he could manage. But when he tried to change afterward and found that his clothes were all a size too small, he understood immediately.
There was no way he could go to work like this.
He couldn't exactly show up looking like this.
"No choice. I'll have to take the day off."
He sighed, glancing at the system panel—still eleven hours of transformation time remaining.
Years of perfect attendance, broken today. Tragic.
"A reason for leave… right. I'll use sick leave."
With that, he sent a message to his assigned horse girl, asking for time off.
After confirming it had been received, he checked the mirror again. The pretty figure reflected back looked utterly ridiculous in ill-fitting men's clothes.
He sighed.
"Looks like I'm going to need to stock up on some women's clothes…"
—
"Huh? Hikaru actually took leave?"
On the training grounds at Central Tracen Academy, a horse girl frowned as she looked at the message on her phone.
Her chestnut-brown hair fell loosely down her back, and a white ribbon on her head added a hint of girlish charm. Most striking of all were her eyes—bright and dazzling, like starlight, with an unusual beauty to them.
She was Anmu—Fujimura Hikaru's current assigned horse girl.
"Sick leave, too… Did he catch a cold?"
She murmured anxiously. Since Fujimura became her trainer, this was the first time he'd ever taken a day off.
He was absolutely conscientious as a trainer. You didn't maintain that long of a perfect-attendance streak without serious professional dedication.
For someone that devoted to be too ill to come in… it had to be something serious.
Anmu felt her chest tighten.
"Yo! Isn't that Anmu?"
A male voice called out from the distance. Anmu looked up, and a man came into view—lollipop in his mouth, walking with a lazy, swaggering gait.
"Ah, Mr. Okino."
She hurried to greet him.
"Huh? Where's your trainer? He's not here? That workaholic is late? The sun must've risen in the west."
Okino glanced around, not seeing Fujimura anywhere, and couldn't help teasing.
"He seems to be sick. I don't think he's coming to training today."
Anmu answered with a smile. Her chestnut tail swayed happily behind her—especially after hearing Okino say "your trainer." The words made her tail wag even faster.
"Sick?"
Okino's expression turned a little odd.
He'd been the one to carry Fujimura back to the dorm last night. Back then, Fujimura didn't look sick at all…
Could it be one of those people who get sick after being hungover? That would be rough.
Okino filed that away. Next time he dragged Fujimura out for drinks, he'd make sure to mock him properly about it.
"That guy Fujimura never knows when to stop working. If his health's gotten worse, honestly, it's not surprising."
Okino shrugged. In his eyes, Fujimura was the genuine article—a true workaholic, the kind who made even capitalists want to cry watching how hard he pushed himself. In a weird way, it was impressive.
"That really is his personality."
Anmu just smiled at the teasing.
"You should really talk some sense into him, Anmu. When I remind him, he treats it like background noise. But if you say it, it'll actually stick."
"Okay. I'll definitely give him a good scolding."
"Oh, right."
Okino suddenly remembered something. He pulled out a thick stack of documents and handed it to Anmu.
"This is the training-material summary Fujimura asked me for a while back. If you're going to visit him, take this over to him for me."
"Leave it to me."
Anmu accepted the papers with a smile.
"After training ends, I'll go check on him."
She'd already planned to knock on Fujimura's dorm door after training—she'd just been struggling to find a proper excuse. This stack of materials was the perfect reason.
Hehe. Plan successful.
Of course, Okino couldn't read that little bit of scheming at all. He simply found Anmu's reliability a bit admirable.
—
"Brr…"
Somewhere on the shopping street, Fujimura—still in horse-girl form—suddenly felt a chill creep up his spine.
"Did the weather turn colder…?"
He was briefly puzzled by the strange sensation, but quickly forgot about it.
In his hand was a bag containing a set of horse-girl athletic wear he'd just bought.
To be fair, with how he looked right now, walking into a women's clothing store and buying everyday outfits would've raised zero eyebrows. But he still couldn't get over the mental hurdle. In the end, he'd gone to a normal clothing shop and picked out a couple of more neutral-looking athletic sets to make do.
A skirt?
Not in this lifetime.
So said Fujimura Hikaru.
Back at the dorm, he changed into the new sportswear, put on a baseball cap and a mask, and headed out again.
This time, he had only one objective:
To verify what the system mission actually meant.
He summoned the system panel and narrowed his gaze at the mission displayed at the top.
[Mission: Accumulate 3 km of running. Current progress: 0. Reward: 10 basic attribute points]
[Remaining transformation time: 10 hours]
Three kilometers, right?
Fine. I'll run it for you!
Ten hours—like hell I can't finish a measly three kilometers!
Don't underestimate me!
—
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