"And finish!"
With the call from Hishi Amazon, an Uma Musume temporarily pulled in to act as the finish line on Tracen's track, the first Uma Musume to cross the line in a mock race training stopped: it was Tokai Teio.
"Great! As expected, victory belongs to me, Tokai Teio!"
Although it was just training, Tokai Teio, who had come in first, still jumped with great joy.
Her flexible and extremely explosive leg structure allowed her to jump very high, and upon landing, she struck a victory pose she deemed cool, turning her head to look at McQueen and Doto, who had just crossed the finish line.
"Hehe, McQueen, it looks like you still have a long way to go on your weight loss journey. If you're still on this level, you won't be able to beat me in the mock race a week from now~"
Tokai Teio has a childlike personality that brightens everyone's day like a little sun. And her relationship with McQueen is both as a friend and a rival.
She chuckled a few times and said, "Did you not eat sweets, which led to a poor performance? If you want to eat, then eat. I won't be happy at all if I beat you when you aren't at your peak~"
"Hehe... Teio, this isn't even the mock race yet. Our competition has only just begun."
Although McQueen was panting heavily and her condition indeed couldn't compare to Teio's, a tired but confident smile bloomed on her face.
Tokai Teio didn't know, but McQueen was actually running with weights on. Although Teio had pulled ahead by about two horse lengths, she was confident that once the mock race truly began, she would absolutely have the strength to beat Teio if she just took off the weights! (T/N: McQueen is stealing Rock Lee's whole flow)
Doto, who was only slightly behind McQueen, also had similar thoughts. She was actually feeling more excited than her, knowing that the weights she wore were even heavier than McQueen's.
Imanami had adjusted the weights for the two Uma Musume according to their physique and weight, and Doto had privately requested slightly heavier weights.
Imanami, concerned about Doto's safety, only increased it slightly, enough for her to at least run one lap.
Even so, Doto found that she not only managed to keep up with the unweighted Tokai Teio but could even also almost surpass Mejiro McQueen... Could it be... what Trainer said was true? Could she really have a chance to win against T.M. Opera O?
At this moment, an unprecedented feeling of confidence emerged deep within Doto's heart... She really had a chance to win!
"Ha, ha... Please wait for Curren Chan~"
At this moment, far behind the group of Uma Musume, Curren Chan arrived late; her running speed was already similar to that of a snail—in fact, by the time she reached the last corner, Curren Chan was already in this state.
A 2000-meter medium-distance race was still too difficult for Curren Chan. Around the 1200-meter mark, Curren Chan's initial leading position gradually declined, and by the time she reached the finish line, she had completely lost speed.
"Ha... Ha..." When Curren Chan arrived at the scene, she was panting even more heavily than McQueen and Doto, who were wearing weights.
Though exhausted, she still revealed a uniquely cute expression as she said, "Really, everyone is so amazing. As Onii-chan said, Curren Chan is only suitable for short-distance races..."
"Hehe, Curren Chan is also very strong! Before the third corner, even I felt pressured by you!"
But towards Curren Chan, Tokai Teio showed a completely different attitude, giving a thumbs-up and encouraging her like a junior, saying:
"For sprint races, you will definitely be fine! If you train your stamina, it's not impossible for you to be able to compete with me on the same stage!"
"Hehe, Curren Chan will accept that as a compliment~" Curren Chan replied with a cute smile, but in reality, she knew that under current circumstances, it would be difficult for her to compete with these Uma Musume at their preferred distances.
She couldn't even finish a 2000-meter track, which clearly showed her extreme unsuitability for mile and above races.
—Thinking about it, Onii-chan really is amazing. He could tell at a glance that Curren Chan is an Uma Musume suited only to sprint races. Could it be that he has been secretly gathering information on her for a long time?
The more Curren Chan thought this way, the more she felt this possibility was high, especially since the first time she saw Ikezoe, she also felt that he looked incredibly familiar, and she sensed a naturally comforting feeling from him, as if they had known each other for a long time.
Although Curren Chan could guarantee that she had never seen Ikezoe before, this naturally comforting feeling made her imagination run wild.
Could it really be fate? Curren Chan thought this, and even felt much less tired, smiling exceptionally sweetly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the track, a female Trainer and an Uma Musume had watched the entire process.
The two women were Hana Toujou and T.M. Opera O. They had heard about the mock race training here, so they specifically came to watch and, incidentally, scout T.M. Opera O's opponents.
"...Not bad at all," Hana Toujou said lightly, looking at the time on her stopwatch. "To be able to restore the speed of an Uma Musume who had been slacking off since her Debut Race to this level in such a short time, Wada truly lives up to his top three ranking."
"Hahahaha, indeed, the challenger to the champion should naturally show such promise." T.M. Opera O, upon hearing Hana Toujou's praise for Wada, also smiled and echoed, "If the challengers are all weak, then the champion's glory will also be dim."
"But such results are not enough to threaten you, T.M. Opera O. Meisho Doto's current level is still a long way from yours," Hana Toujou glanced at T.M. Opera O beside her and reminded her bluntly.
Hana Toujou had a feeling that T.M. Opera O was acting strange recently. Although her performance was the same as before, her running style seemed different.
Previously, Hana Toujou always had T.M. Opera O train using the Late Surger running style, because Hana Toujou felt that it was the most suitable running style for T.M. Opera O, and it was with this running style that T.M. Opera O won her Debut Race.
But in recent training, Hana Toujou found that T.M. Opera O's running rhythm had changed somewhat. Although it was still a Late Surger style, she always felt it was odd, as if... there was a tendency for her to shift towards a Pace Chaser style. (T/N: Opera has an A aptitude for Pace Chaser and Late Surger)
However, with races rapidly approaching, Hana Toujou decided that researching and teaching a new running style to T.M. Opera O would only worsen her performance. Therefore, she had recently been restricting T.M. Opera O's running style, and though her performance is still acceptable... Hana Toujou felt more and more that T.M. Opera O seemed to have an inclination to follow her own ideas more than before.
"T.M. Opera O, before the Mainichi Hai, you still have the Yukinayanagi Sho, which is about to begin. Therefore, I didn't sign you up for this mock race." (T/N: The Yukinayanagi Sho is not a race in the game but is one of the races that the real T.M. Opera O ran in.)
"Haha, what a pity. I wanted to personally experience the strength of the new generation." T.M. Opera O didn't mind; this was expected.
Although she was also considered to be a part of the new generation, with a race imminent, she certainly couldn't participate.
An Uma Musume expends a lot of energy when running a race. The URA also stipulates that after an Uma Musume finishes a race, she needs to rest for at least half a month before she can participate in another race—this is also to prevent unscrupulous Trainers from exploiting Uma Musume by frantically entering them in races to earn appearance prize money if their Uma Musume can't win races.
After the Yukinayanagi Sho, T.M. Opera O would also undergo a period of rest, followed by her next race, the Mainichi Hai showdown with Meisho Doto.
"Then Trainer, could I trouble you to watch the mock race for me?"
"There's no need for that." However, Hana Toujou was dismissive, saying lightly, "The mock race starts a week from now. Even if Trainer Wada excessively trains Meisho Doto for this one week, she won't improve much."
"Our victory in the Manichi Hai is already certain T.M. Opera O. Now, go prepare for the Yukinayanagi Sho. Remember, don't use a Pace Chaser tactic."
"As you wish, Trainer."
However, although T.M. Opera O outwardly agreed to Hana Toujou's request, a strange feeling grew stronger within her—a feeling of "wanting to run as a Pace Chaser."
T.M. Opera O didn't understand this feeling.
But every night after she fell asleep, she would vaguely dream of Pace Chaser running styles—racing in dreams, wasn't that magical?
Before this, T.M. Opera O had always used the Late Surger running style, but because of these dreams, she seemed to have instinctively mastered the essentials of the Pace Chaser running style...
On the other side, also from a high vantage point, the figure of an Uma Musume wearing a mask stood aloft, silently watching the entire mock race, then turned and left without a word, her presence unnoticed by anyone.
"She couldn't even run 2000 meters? It seems your judgment isn't that good, Ikezoe."
So, why did you still choose her? This was the question Orfevre, who had left the scene, did not voice aloud, but repeated in her heart.
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Huh, seems like chapter 21's title was incorrect.
Also, just finished Canto 9, shit was so fucking magnificent. PM has topped the previous Canto yet again.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.