[Chapter Nine: The Eternal "One Horse-Length."]
After typing the title, Fuka Shirayuki fell into deep thought in front of her laptop.
Her brain was spinning at high speed!
Damn it!
I'm way too smart!
Right now, Fuka Shirayuki was bursting with inspiration!
Even the "ending" she'd set up for Tokai Teio was something that had popped into her head in a sudden flash just now.
How should she put it?
"The eternal one horse-length"… was the Emperor—Symboli Rudolf—Teio's most respected idol's signature "coasting" style.
Back when Symboli Rudolf hadn't retired, she was absurdly strong—a seven-time G1 champion demon king, unquestioned. The one who stood at the pinnacle of all horse girls.
And yet, even a horse girl that powerful had a habit:
Once the Emperor was sure she could win even while half-assing it…
She'd deliberately slow down right before the finish line, instead of blowing the field apart with a huge gap.
Perfect control—release and restraint at will!
And isn't that also a kind of "humblebrag"!?
T.M. Opera O—also a seven-time G1 champion—had the same habit.
It was like they were both saying the same thing:
"Look—
I can beat you while I'm slacking off.
You mad?"
And…
The "one horse-length ending" Fuka Shirayuki had set for Tokai Teio was a mutated version—a one-horse-length defeat.
Meaning—
No matter how fast Tokai Teio ran, whether she slowed down, or whether she unleashed a late kick and exploded with power…
Fuka Shirayuki would always be exactly one horse-length ahead of Tokai Teio.
Forget everything else—just answer this:
Locking the gap at one horse-length so perfectly… isn't that control? Isn't that "masterful pacing"? Pure film-directing-level manipulation!
Buy EDG and let "7-Seven-Brother" carry you straight into financial ruin—right to the rooftop!
The more Shirayuki thought about it, the funnier it became.
When the time came…
Tokai Teio, that little foal,
that horse girl who treated victory as the most important thing in her life—
what kind of face would she make then?
What are those tears worth? Even if you cry like that, can you save the Earth!?
Holy hell!
Fuka Shirayuki was a genuine chaos gremlin—purely here for the laughs.
She couldn't wait for debut day, just to see Tokai Teio's reaction.
A thousand words condensed into three:
GKD!
(Hurry up already!)
Following the ending she'd written…
Fuka Shirayuki breezed through Chapter Nine and Chapter Ten, wrote a fuzzy outline of the debut race and its conclusion, fixed typos, considered it again and again—
then pressed the Upload button.
…
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
After finishing a sparring run with Dame-nin' (the Flower Queen), Tokai Teio collapsed onto the training grounds.
Sweat streamed down her forehead—she looked completely wrung out.
"Teio, you're really working hard," the Emperor noticed her expression and couldn't help sighing.
Looks like… the noise online was inevitably messing with Tokai Teio's mindset. She wanted to prove—through hard work and strength—that none of that would happen!
And as Teio sat there resting, she pulled out her phone.
Ding-dong.
A notification popped up:
[A novel you bookmarked has updated!]
"An update!?" Tokai Teio saw those words and, without hesitation, clicked in!
She wanted to see what kind of stunt that bastard could possibly pull this time!
Otherwise…
It'd turn into Tokai Teio showing up at the debut race shouting: "Where are you!? You weren't even in the race!"
But thinking about it—yeah right.
These web novels were written by shut-in dudes, weren't they? Creatures that die the moment they see sunlight—how could they ever step onto the debut race turf?
Let alone challenge Teio, who was destined for a great journey!
If you really show up… then I'll teach you what "cruelty" means!
Still, Tokai Teio kept reading, eager for the next plot beat.
She wanted to see…
What kind of "flower" this guy could possibly write.
When she read the contents of Chapter Six and Seven, she frowned slightly…
Somehow, deep down, she even felt this novel was… kind of interesting!?
When she herself wasn't appearing, what Shirayuki wrote was basically "fight monsters, level up." If you set bias aside, the story didn't collapse—after all, Fuka Shirayuki was a well-known web novelist. Writing little arcs like this didn't require flashy tricks; just straightforward storytelling was already good.
However…
When it reached Chapter Eight—
In the first half,
as Tokai Teio read an entire chapter hyping her up as unbelievably strong…
her face started blooming into a grin!
So you're not a hater—
you're an actual fan!?
Fuka Shirayuki: "Teio, I'm your fan!"
—like that wildcard-region "fan" in S6 who treated Clearlove like a soccer ball.
But…
When she hit the second half, Tokai Teio made a snap—
and nearly crushed her phone!!!
What do you mean—
"Unrivaled Under Heaven—Yet an Enemy Descends From Above"!?
Bastard! What the hell are you saying—are you talking nonsense?!
And what do you mean—
"A one-horse-length defeat ending"!?
You'd better pray I never find out who you really are!
I swear I'll whip you with a saltwater-dipped lash and "discipline" you properly!!
Her expression flickered between stormy and scorching, like a volcano about to erupt.
Beside her, Dame-nin' sharply sensed something was off. She couldn't imagine what Teio had seen on her phone that could trigger such a huge emotional swing…
So the Flower Queen couldn't help asking, "Teio?"
"Nothing." Tokai Teio forced out a smile. "Just some hater… trying to mess with my mindset before my debut."
She took deep breaths, adjusted her state, making sure all ten toes felt solidly grounded—not floating.
And then a solution formed in Tokai Teio's mind again.
It was simple:
Everything in that novel was made up.
Like that "unrivaled under heaven, enemy descends from above"… how could that even be possible?
Once Tokai Teio publicly announced her debut race date, all those little foals who also wanted to become pro horse girls would back off and give her space—no one would charge straight at her, right?
Then that's what she'd do!
She'd announce the debut race openly!!!
When the time comes, I'll see if you can still act arrogant to my face!
"Ah?" Dame-nin' made a meaningless sound.
She was genuinely curious what could make Tokai Teio's emotions swing so violently…
But she decided she'd ask later.
Teio wasn't in a good mood right now—if she asked directly, she might step on a landmine.
Once Teio won her debut race, she'd congratulate her, and then ask what happened…
After a whole day of sparring, the Flower Queen had basically grasped Tokai Teio's strength.
"Strong."
"Very strong."
No need for flowery descriptions—just that one reaction.
Even if Dame-nin' dueled Tokai Teio, she couldn't guarantee she'd definitely win against Teio in a debut race.
And Dame-nin' already had strength far beyond debut-level…
If the track conditions hadn't been bad, her first race should've been a win too.
No one could stop the birth of this "strongest generation"—
Orfevre, Ballerina, Dame-nin'…
Without a doubt: the strongest era of horse girls!
Tokai Teio strode quickly up to her big dad.
Symboli Rudolf couldn't help asking, "Teio, what's wrong?"
She'd already been sitting on the bench resting…
But—
When Tokai Teio came up to her, the Emperor's gaze shifted—
and out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed something familiar… a logo? a mark? whatever you called it—
glinting inside a trash can.
She froze.
If she remembered correctly…
That was the crest of the "Symboli" family—
the Emperor's unique insignia. Even Sirius Symboli had a different pattern.
Because night had already fallen, the glimmer inside the trash can stood out.
The only question was…
Why would my emblem be in a trash can?
"Chairwoman…" Tokai Teio was in the middle of complaining about those things—
But now, the Emperor had no time for Tokai Teio.
She simply walked over to the trash can.
Squatted down—
and without caring about the dirt and mess inside, slowly rummaged out a business card that had been torn into pieces.
A business card that couldn't be reassembled into a whole—
a card she'd personally handed out earlier that afternoon.
Symboli Rudolf fell silent.
-------
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