The race I had engineered stood before me.
Looking over the data for the starting lineup, the thought struck me anew: the URA Finals had no entry restrictions. It was a realm of pure, unadulterated freedom. The version of the Finals I had proposed was a radical drug to the URA's current administration—a dose so potent it threatened to shatter the very foundations of the status quo. One could even call my actions a rebellion against the era itself.
But so what?
"Alright, folks! It's finally time for the Dirt Qualifiers! We're kicking off the 1600m sprint! This dirt track features the highest number of entries from general education schools. Let's see what these five hopefuls can do!"
"I'm personally keeping an eye on our local Ooi Training Center talent. Who's going to seize that ticket to the Center?! Let's find out!"
Thirteen girls from general schools had entered in total, five of whom were competing here on the dirt. Even with the barriers removed, the reality remained that the upperclassmen dominated the field. Experience is a weapon in its own right. Time breeds maturity, and a matured spirit either grows resilient, becomes rigid, or begins to rot... It is at that razor's edge where a girl truly shows her strength. Of the five general entries, three were already veterans of the national circuit, hailing from athletic universities and powerhouse high schools.
(An unspoken agreement, I suppose. I'm surprised the Finals capped at university students while the 'Legends' came from the corporate leagues. I half-expected the working adults to try and run the Finals, too.)
Even for me, this was an unexpected development. The entry requirements were transparent to a fault, yet the girls had drawn their own lines in the sand. Perhaps it was pride—or perhaps a matter of generational gaps—but seeing things unfold exactly as I'd envisioned brought a flicker of genuine joy.
"In Gate 9, we have a dark horse from a general high school in Fujisawa! The High School Freshman: Snipe Soul! In the prelims, she pulled off a stunning upset, tearing through the pack from the very back like a literal bullet!"
"I caught that race," Inari chimed in. "That girl's got a hell of a set of legs on her."
"High praise from Inari! Can she become the North Star for the general students and snipe this victory?!"
"And in Gate 13, another rising star from the general schools. High School Sophomore: Axel Feel! A wild 'Runaway' girl who favors a relentless, breakneck lead. Watching her is like watching a certain someone we all know!"
"Now this should be fun," Inari chuckled.
"Stop looking at me," I snapped.
Girls who had never stepped foot in the Tracen Academy were outperforming those who had. This was one of the core purposes of the Finals: to unearth those who possessed the talent but lacked the circumstances to attend the Academy. Despite competing against university athletes and Ooi's own Tracen trainees, these two had fought their way to the final qualifiers.
"Still, it's something else to see this many outsiders beating girls who train at the Academy for a living," Inari remarked. "Makes you want to get fired up, doesn't it?"
The announcer found it difficult to either agree or disagree. While the success of general students was a feel-good story, it invited uncomfortable questions: Was there a flaw in Tracen's curriculum? Were their coaching methods outdated?
Of course, that was exactly the nerve I intended to strike.
"Upsets are a part of the game," I said coolly. "That's what it means to compete."
"You're one to talk," Inari smirked. "Coming from the 'Invincible Dictator' herself."
"Hehe. Oops."
It wasn't just the Central authorities that needed a shake-up; the regional circuits were no different. It's easy to point fingers at the "Central" elite, but many regional figures used that enmity as an excuse to ignore their own stagnation. My results would force them to feel the heat. I was a new gear, grinding into the existing machinery of the racing world—not to synchronize with it, but to disrupt it with a rhythm all my own.
Did the current era reject me? Did it cling to the present, or did it yearn to walk beside me into a new age? Only I knew the answer. As I sat in the commentator's booth, I kept smiling. It was a shallow, inscrutable grin—one that likely looked deeply unsettling to the URA executives watching.
"The gates are set!"
"The URA Finals, Ooi District Dirt Final Qualifiers!"
"Only one gets an invite to the festival! Who will it be?!"
Inside the gates, the girls steeled themselves. Some ran for the prize money, some to reclaim a dying dream, others to spit in the face of the Central elite. A thousand different motivations converged into a single point: the finish line.
"And they're off!!"
With the crack of the start, the Ooi Racecourse erupted in a roar so massive the ground seemed to tremble. A vortex of pure fever-pitch enthusiasm swallowed the stadium whole.
"Man, what a rush!"
"Thank you for inviting me," I said.
"Don't mention it. It was nothing."
The URA Finals qualifiers had been a resounding success. The representatives for the Finals were officially decided. In the end, most of the selected runners were from the Ooi Tracen Academy, with only the Turf Long-Distance slot going to a general student: Grass in Thousand, a member of a university track club. A predictable, yet formidable, outcome.
"Those two on the dirt were so close, though," I mused.
"Yeah," Inari agreed. "A real shame."
Snipe Soul and Axel Feel. I'd had high hopes for them, but they had been eliminated in the final stretch. Still, finishing 3rd and 5th was a monumental achievement. I'd already heard whispers of scouts from both Ooi and Central reaching out to them; their futures were now in their own hands.
"Regardless," Inari said, her voice dropping to a more serious register. "I can't thank you enough, kid."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For holding the Finals."
I tilted my head, confused by her sudden sincerity.
"I have a pal," Inari continued. "She was aiming for the Twinkle Series. But in her first year of high school, her knee gave out. It was bad... she couldn't even manage a light jog, let alone a race."
"That's..."
Even I, who had a colder detachment to racing than most, felt a chill run down my spine. To lose the Twinkle Series to an injury like that—it was a tragedy beyond words.
"She's still in rehab, working her tail off. She doesn't even know if she'll ever run like she used to, but she tries. But the stage she dreamed of... the races... she thought that door was slammed shut forever. And then, you opened the Finals."
Inari looked at me, her eyes soft.
"She cried when she heard the news. She realized she could still reach for her dream. You gave her hope for the future."
"I didn't exactly intend for—"
"Intentional or not, Rampage, you didn't just give them a race. You gave them hope. I'm grateful for that."
"Cut it out... you're making me blush," I muttered, turning away to hide my face.
But beneath the embarrassment, I was smiling. Hearing those words from Inari, it felt as though every grueling day I'd spent fighting to launch the Finals and the Legends had finally, truly been rewarded.
Broodmare Profile: Mejiro Rampage
Known for her legendary durability during her racing days, she proved just as resilient as a broodmare. After giving birth to the twins, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, she showed signs of exhaustion for a few days, but recovered her legendary vigor almost immediately. She has been observed doting on the twins with deep affection while simultaneously teaching them how to run.
She has also shown a natural talent as a "lead horse," even stepping in to care for foals who had been rejected by their own mothers.
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