"Platinum, she's done it!"
The announcer's words faded, but Platinum didn't quite register them.
Truth be told, she hadn't even been aware of how far she'd run or where the finish line was—she'd just been running, head down, pouring everything into the motion.
Put another way, her victory was an absolute, overwhelming domination. This wasn't a tactical win; it was purely… a massive chasm in raw physical ability.
Because of that, even after crossing the finish, Platinum kept charging forward at full speed for another two hundred meters before the roar of the crowd and the announcer finally broke through her focus.
I've already finished? It's over? Just like that?
Platinum glanced around, dazed, shifting her weight sideways.
With an awful grinding sound that made Fuji Kyoji and Leap of Faith's faces twitch, she brutally dug her hooves into the turf, tearing up a patch of grass behind her.
"I've never seen anyone treat their ankles like that…" Fuji Kyoji muttered under her breath.
Only then did Platinum's body seem to catch up with the moment.
She started breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly, sweat instantly blooming across her skin and soaking through her racing uniform.
Her body still radiated a frightening, scorching heat, the sweat evaporating almost as soon as it appeared, leaving a fine dusting of salt crystals on her arms.
"What a terrifying body…" Leap of Faith whispered, staring at the halted Platinum.
Platinum herself might not have realized it, but the two of them saw it clearly… This was total domination. A crushing victory of legs, of lungs, of bone and muscle.
In other words—Platinum's win was utterly deserved.
"First place goes to Platinum, second to Fuji Kyoji, and third to Leap of Faith. Managing to secure a placing even after fading shows Leap of Faith's considerable talent…"
"But… it's staggering. Every other runner was completely overshadowed by Platinum. This race became her solo exhibition. She beat Fuji Kyoji, the runner-up, by a full dozen lengths."
"And even after the finish, Platinum kept running for several hundred meters more. Could it be that she still had more to give?"
"Platinum! Platinum!" The chant rose from the stands, gathering force until it became a deafening roar.
This sound…
Platinum instinctively raised a hand and waved towards the crowd.
Seeing her response, the cheers from the stands swelled, wave upon crashing wave.
"Ha… haha…" A laugh bubbled up from her throat as she tilted her head back, a grin spreading across her face as she looked out at the spectators.
So this is what Leap of Faith meant…
When you're really running, you stop thinking about all those messy, complicated things…
I never knew running could feel this good.
"Tch, that girl…" Fuji Kyoji, still panting and wiping sweat from her chin, saw Platinum's expression and started marching straight toward her.
"Hey, let her have this moment. This is probably her first time experiencing it." A hand landed on her shoulder. Leap of Faith held her back, offering a wry smile.
"What? You want me to just take that kind of provocation lying down? She beat us by over a dozen lengths! We've been completely humiliated!" Fuji Kyoji shook off the hand, bristling like an angry cat.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
"—Are you saying that being beaten by a dozen lengths is about her not saving face for us, and not about us simply being outrun?"
Fuji Kyoji faltered, speechless.
"You ask if I feel ashamed?" Leap of Faith kept that same resigned smile, but her fingertips were digging deep into her own palms.
"Of course I'm ashamed! Not just ashamed, but frustrated! So frustrated I could die!"
"This was my second debut race. Losing this means I'll have to run a third debut race."
"Isn't that shameful?"
"But what can we do? Go up to her and say, 'Because you ran so fast, I can't make my debut?' Is that what you want?"
"We were outclassed. Plain and simple."
Leap of Faith let out a long, slow breath. "Right now, the only thing we can do is gracefully acknowledge her victory."
With that, Leap of Faith began to clap. Fuji Kyoji watched her for a moment, let out a disapproving 'tsk,' and reluctantly joined in, her expression sour.
"Don't take it too hard. Admitting someone else is special isn't the end of the world," Leap of Faith murmured, leaning closer to Fuji Kyoji.
"What do you mean?" The chestnut-haired Fuji Kyoji shot her a sidelong glance while continuing her half-hearted applause.
"I once ran alongside Seiun Sky for a bit."
"Wait… You mean the Seiun Sky?" Fuji Kyoji stared at her in shock.
That front-runner who crushed Japanese Derby winner Uma Musume Special Week in the Satsuki Sho and the Kikuka Sho, snatching two of the triple crown jewels?
In the Kikuka Sho, against Special Week, Seiun Sky's legendary front-running performance didn't just break the race record—it set a new world record. She was indisputably one of the strongest Uma Musume of her class, a world-class name.
For someone at their current level, she was practically untouchable.
"Not like that, we're not close. But we're both at Tracen Academy, so bumping into each other sometimes isn't that strange, right?"
Leap of Faith explained slowly.
"Once, during a morning run, I happened to meet Seiun Sky. We ran together for about ten seconds."
"You…! I'm so jealous!"
"Heh, right?" Leap of Faith stuck her tongue out playfully. "But in those brief moments running alongside her, I understood deeply the vast gap between us."
"Seiun Sky was kind, she even slowed her pace a little for me. But even at that reduced speed, it was more than I could handle. After just ten seconds or so, I was left behind."
"That's the difference between world-class and us… They can crush us without even needing tactics… No, it's more like they don't even notice we're there before we're left in the dust." Leap of Faith kept clapping, her eyes fixed on Platinum ahead.
"Today, I remembered that feeling again."
Platinum was still waving to the fans, the brilliant afternoon sun hanging right behind her, so bright it was almost blinding.
"You know, maybe it's not a bad thing we ran in this debut race today. We might have witnessed history—the birth of another world-class champion."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.