"That Shirayuki... she's amazing."
Gold Ship, who was warming up on the outer track, couldn't help but comment. From the initial start to the chase in the middle, Shirayuki had displayed remarkable skill. Her body was like a feather, gliding through the field with the wind.
"Is she really a new transfer student? Her movements don't look like it at all."
"Shirayuki-san was at Toritsu Sakuramachi School before. They shouldn't have any specialized courses for Horse Girls there..." Meisho Doto added timidly.
"Oh? Isn't that a really famous school?"
Although Tracen's status in Japan was unique, the school Shirayuki came from was also quite well-known. At least in Tokyo, anyone who could attend that school was well-off.
"That's what you call elite," Gold Ship sighed with admiration.
However, not everyone was surprised by Shirayuki's skill. Watching the snow-white figure, Rice Shower's expression grew more complex. While she had seen her train yesterday, it hadn't been anything spectacular; in fact, she had easily surpassed her.
But.
The ability she was displaying now was completely different from yesterday.
Onii-sama had clearly said that Shirayuki's fundamentals were poor and she needed to start by practicing walking. Of course, "walking" was an exaggeration—Rice Shower took it as a joke—but it still implied that her running was genuinely not good.
Yet, in just one day, she was showing incredible skill.
From Rice Shower's perspective, Shirayuki's form was perfect, far better than her own was when she had first started training.
Could it be? Did the two of them train secretly behind my back? Is that possible?
And this morning, Shirayuki had affectionately called him 'Onii-sama.' Throughout all of Tracen, only Rice Shower called him that.
A better, more perfect, stronger sister.
At that thought, Rice Shower's expression soured.
"Does that mean... I'm... oof!"
"Rice Shower!?"
Gold Ship, who was in front, stopped in her tracks. Meisho Doto stopped with her, but Rice Shower, lost in her thoughts, didn't see them and crashed right into Doto. The powerful recoil from Doto's rear end sent Rice Shower tumbling to the ground.
"I'm so sorry! It's my fault for not paying attention! I'm sorry, I'm sorry... A-are you okay!?"
"It's not your fault, Doto-san. It was me." Rubbing her head, Rice Shower forced a smile. "I've always been a very unlucky person, both in the past and now..."
"I'm so sorry, so sorry! It's my fault you're blaming yourself like this! Um... can you stand up?"
After a string of apologies, Meisho Doto offered her hand. Rice Shower took it, but as she tried to stand, a dull pain shot through her foot.
She must have twisted it when she fell.
See? I really am an unlucky child...
Meanwhile, on the track, the situation was changing again.
Seeing Shirayuki catch up, Symboli Rudolf and Narita Brian showed looks of astonishment. They hadn't expected a new transfer student with no prior training to keep pace, and with that kind of form!
It was beastly, monstrous—there was no professional term for it. Since so few had ever used it, most trainers never even mentioned it.
With her body nearly parallel to the ground, pushing off with her feet, she looked almost like she was crawling. Narita Brian used this posture because it allowed her to better exert power from her thighs. As for the legendary Oguri Cap, she used it because, in her own words, "it felt easier to run this way," so she had made it her primary running style.
And now, a third person had appeared.
Narita Brian's yellow eyes swept over Shirayuki's face, and the corners of her mouth curled into a smirk.
Interesting.
This kid might be worth savoring.
There were 800 meters left in the race.
At the edge of the track, Fujiwara Chiya was panting heavily, drenched in sweat. Although Shirayuki was the one running, the fatigue was transmitted directly to his body. His muscles ached, his mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood, and a heavy stone seemed to be crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.
In contrast, while Rudolf and Brian also had sweat on their faces, their breathing was steady. They still had plenty of stamina left.
It seems a gap in raw ability can't be bridged by technique alone.
Chiya tightened his grip on the stopwatch.
To accommodate him, the two Triple Crown winners had kept their pace just half a horse-length ahead, never intentionally speeding up.
Chiya's eyes scanned the track.
They were about to enter the final turn, the critical point that would decide the race. If he couldn't overtake them there, this training session would end in failure.
He couldn't forget: this was an obstacle course. It was a test of how a Horse Girl could overtake opponents and seize opportunities. The reason they weren't pulling away was precisely for this purpose.
They were waiting, waiting to see if Shirayuki could capitalize on a lapse from the two champions.
If that's the case...
Chiya took a deep breath. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would shatter his ribs, but he forced his consciousness to focus on Shirayuki.
Almost there. Once they hit the curve, their rhythm will inevitably change. That will be my chance.
Don't rush. Absolutely do not rush.
Only now did Chiya truly understand why Horse Girls so often mistimed their accelerations, why they kept making the same mistake no matter how strictly he told them otherwise.
The tension of the race severely impaired their judgment, preventing them from thinking calmly and causing them to get swept up in the emotions of those around them.
This was just a mock race—not even that, just a training run—and the pressure was already making his hands and feet go numb. He couldn't even imagine the pressure of running in an official race, watched by thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people.
He had been naive.
Watching and doing were two completely different things.
Raising a hand, Chiya and Shirayuki simultaneously wiped the sweat that blurred their vision. The moment the group hit the turn...
"There!"
Carried by the wind, Shirayuki heard Gold Ship's voice. At the same time, Chiya noticed it too. Rudolf and Brian, who had been running side-by-side to block the path, had split due to the curve. To conserve energy, Brian instinctively moved to the inside lane. The moment she moved, a space opened up next to Rudolf.
Seizing the opportunity, Shirayuki ducked low. Her ankles stretched forward and then recoiled. With the last ounce of her strength, she scraped a layer of turf off the ground, and her body shot forward like an arrow.
-------
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