In the midst of all that tense preparation, Symboli Rudolf's Japan Cup arrived right on schedule.
This race had already maxed out public attention long before it even began, so naturally the crowd today was unprecedented. The entire venue was packed three layers deep with spectators, and outside the racecourse there were even overnight campers sprawled out on the ground. According to the news online this morning, even the broadcast ratings had exploded. Kagura, who had come to watch in person, had almost failed to squeeze inside herself just because she had been a little late getting ready.
How terrifying...
Kagura had always known that Umamusume racing drew an unbelievable amount of public attention, but honestly, she had only ever seen a spectacle like this before at celebrity concerts or when certain game collaboration goods went on sale. She had never imagined a sporting event could command this much interest.
A lot of people from Tracen had come too. Besides the support teams for racers like Symboli Rudolf and Mr. C.B., plenty of students from the school were here as well. After all, this race was not only a showdown between two Triple Crown winners—it was also the best chance Japan's Umamusume had had in years to prove their strength. The racers had not even entered yet, and from backstage Kagura could already hear countless people in the stands cheering Symboli Rudolf's name.
"How are you feeling, ojou-sama? Anything bothering you?"
Standing in the entry tunnel and listening to the cheers outside, Kagura tilted her head up slightly to look at Symboli Rudolf in front of her.
There had once been a time when Kagura had needed to crane her neck way up just to see Symboli Rudolf's face. Now, all she had to do was lift her chin a little and she could meet her eyes.
"I feel excellent... I didn't expect I'd really recover in such a short time. Somehow, every time I think something's impossible, Kagura manages to create some miracle I never saw coming."
As she spoke, Symboli Rudolf smiled. She reflexively started to lift a hand to pat Kagura's head like she always did, then suddenly remembered how much taller Kagura had gotten. She was still shorter than Symboli Rudolf, but now Rudolf would have to lift her arm quite a bit higher than before to reach her head. Her hand rose halfway, then instead of resting it on Kagura's head, she wrapped it around her shoulders and gently drew her into an embrace.
"I always think of you as that little thing you used to be, and then I lift my hand and remember I can't touch your head so easily anymore."
Kagura's honkaku was probably the thing that had moved Symboli Rudolf the most during this entire stretch of time. She had watched the little girl who spent every day by her side grow into the young girl she was now. Though compared to Rudolf, Kagura was still short—really, all that had happened was that she had gone from a little girl to a normal, slightly taller little girl.
"Hehe~ Listen to them out there, ojou-sama. Your fans are all cheering for you."
Still in Symboli Rudolf's arms, Kagura smiled and patted her in return, then looked out toward the racecourse.
Symboli Rudolf followed her gaze. The cheers and expectations of countless people—those intangible, shapeless things—seemed to become real at that moment, settling on her shoulders with a strange heaviness, like pressure. But when she looked back and saw the smile on the girl in her arms—a smile that seemed to carry some calming magic—her nerves, which had been a little taut, immediately settled.
"I'll be cheering for you from the stands too, ojou-sama. Every obstacle has already been cleared away for you. All you have to do now is run with everything you have... and overtake them."
"I understand..."
Symboli Rudolf let go of Kagura, and when Kagura held a hand out to her, Rudolf reached out and gently took that soft hand in hers.
"I won't let everyone down."
"That's the spirit~ Good luck! And don't forget what Tojo-san and I reminded you about, okay?"
Only after Symboli Rudolf nodded did Kagura let go and turn to leave the entry tunnel.
At the very least, I have to live up to all the effort Kagura put in for me.
Watching Kagura leave, Symboli Rudolf thought that to herself. It struck her all at once that somewhere along the line, without her even noticing when, the girl who had once always spoken of winning for herself had started adding that gentle Umamusume girl to her goal every single time she raced.
And strangely, she did not dislike that feeling of being drawn into someone else's purpose. If anything, she rather enjoyed it.
All right... for the sake of making sure none of our efforts go to waste...
She clenched her fist, steeled herself in silence, then turned and stepped out onto the path that led to the track.
...
"And entering now is this year's Triple Crown winner, undefeated in eight races so far—the racer known as the Emperor, Symboli Rudolf!"
"This will be Symboli Rudolf's second consecutive race in recent form. Let's hope she's fully recovered!"
As she stepped onto the track, Symboli Rudolf saw the one who had entered before her—today's top favorite, Mr. C.B. Though Mr. C.B. still looked somewhat tired today, she looked much better than she had a month ago.
"C.B.-senpai, your complexion looks much better."
"Haha! So you noticed too? Though with the time being this tight, I still didn't manage to recover all the way... But you—you feel like you show up to every race at a full hundred percent."
"Of course. Because I have the best supporter in the world. Victory in this race will definitely be mine."
By now, Symboli Rudolf could say that to anyone without the slightest hesitation. It did not matter whether there might be other Support Umamusume out there who were more capable. In her heart, Inari Kagura was the best Support Umamusume there was.
Whistle~
"Oho! Full of energy, huh? Good. I like that. But I won't hand victory over to you that easily either."
Mr. C.B. looked at Symboli Rudolf, who was positively brimming with spirit today, and she could already vaguely tell that she was probably going to lose this race. After all, fatigue did not lie. All she could do was sigh inwardly.
Honestly, she really did envy Symboli Rudolf, in more ways than one. You could tell just from Rudolf's mental state how well she had been cared for. After all, Kagura was standing behind her. That day, Kagura had only handed a bit of material to Mr. C.B.'s trainer, and it had still been enough to help her recover this much in just a month. So there was no need to mention how much more thoroughly Symboli Rudolf had been cared for with Kagura personally looking after her.
After a brief exchange, the two of them entered their respective gates. They had just said they would not hand victory to each other, but both of them knew perfectly well that this race did not contain only the two of them. Bedtime, the American runner sitting at second favorite, was still an unknown in terms of real strength. It was far too early for them to be focusing only on each other. Going by past Japan Cup experience, these foreign runners were the hardest opponents of all.
This feeling...
Standing ready in her own gate, Bedtime suddenly felt several faint pressure waves bearing down on her from different directions. She understood immediately—she was being targeted. That did not surprise her. According to the predecessors who had come before her and won the Japan Cup, being singled out by a pack of racers was perfectly normal for runners from Europe or America.
After all, strategically speaking, everyone naturally watched the most dangerous opponent. And for Japan's Umamusume—who had gone so many years without winning this race—a foreign runner, and especially one like her who was second overall in popularity, was certain to become a focus of attention.
Pressure.
In another gate, Katsuragi Ace felt the impact of those pressure waves too. It was just that she could clearly tell none of them were aimed at her—they merely happened to pass through where she was.
"So nobody's really paying attention to me after all... Well, I am only tenth favorite..."
Ha! Just wait. I'll show all of you what I can do.
Listening to the announcer reading off the course conditions, Katsuragi Ace reflected inwardly and, at the same time, was glad that her popularity was low enough that nobody was watching her. She made up her mind, then lowered herself into her starting stance.
Then, just as Katsuragi Ace had assumed everyone had already picked their targets, she suddenly felt one line of pressure aimed directly at her. At once, she realized someone had marked her. But who on earth would have the spare attention to do that, with two Triple Crown winners and a foreign runner here, and still choose to target the tenth favorite?
The feeling vanished quickly after that. Whether that racer had decided not to keep watching her, or whether something else had changed, she had no time to think about it. The start was moments away, and as a runner using a Runaway strategy, she could not afford to relax now.
...Focus!!
A few seconds later, with the crisp clang of the gates springing open, every Umamusume burst out of the starting gates in perfect unison.
"Good, a clean break..."
Up in the stands, seeing that all the racers had gotten out normally, Kagura let out a small breath of relief. Compared to the chaotic mess of a start they had had in the Kikuka Sho, the track conditions this time were much better. If every race had started off as crazily as that Kikuka Sho had, she really would have gotten high blood pressure. Fighting for position on the rail was exhausting work with little reward, which was exactly why she always preferred swinging wide around the outside. It was not just that she disliked that kind of scrimmage—Symboli Rudolf definitely disliked it too—so Kagura was very grateful they had not had a repeat of that same traffic jam disaster.
Not long after the entire field broke from the gates, one Umamusume burst out from the pack and shot to the very front. Kagura recognized her at once—Katsuragi Ace, a racer known for her escape style. But even after taking the lead, Katsuragi Ace did not ease off. She kept accelerating, continuing to widen the gap between herself and the pack behind.
"What... Is Katsuragi Ace planning to do a Runaway?"
Kagura understood almost immediately what Katsuragi Ace's real strategy was this time. She glanced at the rest of the field behind her. For the moment, no one was trying to chase Ace down. They were still all watching one another, waiting for chances to pass.
"A RUNAWAY!! KATSURAGI ACE IS THE FIRST TO BREAK CLEAR! SHE'S STILL WIDENING THE GAP! BUT OVER THIS KIND OF DISTANCE, AND ON THIS KIND OF COURSE, IS KATSURAGI ACE REALLY PLANNING TO USE A RUNAWAY STRATEGY!?"
The commentator's voice came from the booth in open disbelief.
The Japan Cup was no mile race. Tokyo Racecourse's 2400 meters was a course notoriously unfriendly to escape-style runners. In the three previous Japan Cups before Katsuragi Ace, there had already been Japanese Umamusume who had thrown themselves into desperate Runaway breaks like acts of honorable suicide—only to lose speed at the end and sink back into the pack without exception. There was no way the racers in this field had not seen footage of those past Japan Cups. That was exactly why, even as Katsuragi Ace pulled farther and farther away, nobody was chasing her—everyone assumed she would end up just like those others had, fading silently back into the field at the end.
We can pass her whenever we want.
That attitude had spread through the pack behind her. And Katsuragi Ace, hearing no footsteps behind her, understood that in the eyes of the others, she did not matter at all. All they saw were the foreign runners... and the two Triple Crown winners.
So you all think I can't last the distance, huh... You really are underestimating me!!
That feeling of being looked down on infuriated Katsuragi Ace, but in a moment like this, being ignored was not necessarily a bad thing. Letting the pack behind her tie each other up would drain a great deal of stamina from those stronger Umamusume. As long as she seized this chance and pulled the gap wide enough, there would be no way the others—spent from checking and fighting each other—could still catch her at the end.
That was the strategy Katsuragi Ace and her trainer had come up with: hide the advantage of her stamina, take advantage of everyone else's underestimation, and by the time the distance truly opened up, it would already be too late for anyone to reel her back in.
But just as Katsuragi Ace believed everything was going according to plan, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her—
"OH! SYMBOLI RUDOLF IS THE FIRST TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE PACK!! SHE'S MOVED INTO AN EXCELLENT POSITION!! SHE'S ACCELERATING AND BEGINNING TO CHASE KATSURAGI ACE!!"
"Wh—"
Katsuragi Ace turned her head in surprise. Symboli Rudolf was actually accelerating to chase her down. It was a decision completely out of sync with normal race tempo. Under ordinary circumstances, a Pace Chaser would not be accelerating that early; the proper rhythm should have been to stay in the pack and jostle there a while longer. No matter how good Symboli Rudolf was at finding a strong position, there was no way she should be doing this now...
"No... don't tell me this is Rudolf's strategy!?"
Thinking back to that glance she had felt at the start, Katsuragi Ace suddenly understood who the one racer targeting her had been.
Ojou-sama, Ace-san is going to be a very troublesome opponent. Even C.B.-senpai is less of a threat than she is. You absolutely have to be careful. Don't get tunnel vision and focus only on C.B.-senpai. She isn't the only opponent on the track.
Running behind Katsuragi Ace, Symboli Rudolf kept to the rhythm she had used in training. At the very beginning, her attention had indeed been focused mainly on the foreign runners and on Mr. C.B., and that had also been what Tojo's tactical plan emphasized. But she had not forgotten what Kagura had gone out of her way to tell her. The moment the gap between her and Katsuragi Ace stretched to seven lengths, she decisively found a good lane, broke free, and began accelerating in pursuit.
Kagura said Katsuragi Ace wouldn't lose speed. If I'd spent that time focusing on C.B.-senpai and the others...
Symboli Rudolf glanced back toward the pack. The racers behind still showed no sign of accelerating. Clearly, they all believed Katsuragi Ace could not sustain a Runaway over this distance.
"MR. C.B.—MR. C.B. HAS ALSO BROKEN FREE FROM THE PACK AND STARTED ACCELERATING IN PURSUIT! THE PACE OF THIS RACE IS BEING DRIVEN EXTREMELY FAST BY KATSURAGI ACE!! ARE THE RACERS BEHIND REALLY NOT GOING TO SPEED UP!?"
"Hah... This really is pushing it a bit. My body still hasn't recovered all the way after all..."
Mr. C.B. sighed after putting in some effort to break out of the pack and move up into third place. She could already feel that she was running out of strength. Only now did she truly understand the real meaning behind what Kagura had told her that day—By the time you feel something's wrong and start trying to deal with it, it's already too late. If she had started adjusting herself earlier, she would absolutely still have had the strength to fight Symboli Rudolf head-on right now.
She naturally saw the danger posed by Katsuragi Ace, but she did not have the power to deal with it—not at this stage. She simply could not accelerate as fiercely as Symboli Rudolf had. All she could do now was place her hopes on the home straight and see if she could charge through with the final spurt she was so proud of.
Looks like the ones behind me aren't all idiots after all...
Watching Bedtime accelerate up beside her, Mr. C.B. thought that to herself.
The field gradually approached the third corner. By now, Symboli Rudolf had closed the gap drastically—only three or four lengths remained. Up ahead, Katsuragi Ace was even slowing down, as if she were exhausted.
...
C.B.-senpai's condition... really was affected after all.
Watching Bedtime overtake Mr. C.B. and draw even with Symboli Rudolf, while Mr. C.B. herself still showed no sign of accelerating in response, Kagura immediately knew that Mr. C.B.'s condition had not recovered properly after all. She could only hope to reclaim the lead for herself on the home straight—but if her condition was already this bad now, what would happen later, once everyone started trading final spurts? Symboli Rudolf's final spurt was not weak at all.
Katsuragi Ace, who had been slowing down all this time, looked as though she were about to fade exactly the way everyone had predicted. The pack behind finally began to accelerate, trying to close the gap. But just when everyone expected Ace to crack, she suddenly increased her speed—and not just slightly, but to a level even faster than before. Only then did the Umamusume behind realize the truth.
They had been fooled.
Katsuragi Ace had never been losing speed at all. She had simply been conserving strength for the showdown on the home straight.
"You were right, Kagura. Thank goodness you reminded Rudolf. If she'd followed my advice and kept her eyes only on C.B. and the foreign runners, we'd really have been finished."
Watching the pack belatedly begin accelerating in pursuit—and knowing full well that at this distance they no longer had any chance of catching up—Tojo broke out in a cold sweat. She was profoundly grateful Kagura had specifically brought up Katsuragi Ace. If Symboli Rudolf had raced according to the strategy Tojo herself had set, then by now there might already have been ten lengths or more between them. And with Katsuragi Ace not fading at all, even with Symboli Rudolf in excellent condition today, there was no guarantee the victory would have come so smoothly at the end.
...
It's over... So my strategy's been seen through after all...
Feeling that sharp, cutting presence bearing down on her, Katsuragi Ace cried out inwardly. She knew that she was most likely finished as far as the championship was concerned. Without a truly massive gap in hand, there was no way she could beat a monster like Symboli Rudolf in a final spurt duel.
Even so, she poured out every last ounce of her strength and desperately fought to maintain her speed—but Symboli Rudolf's condition today was simply terrifyingly good. There was not the slightest sign that she had come into this off consecutive races. Katsuragi Ace could no longer hold the lead!
"SYMBOLI RUDOLF IS CHARGING UP!! BEDTIME IS RIGHT BEHIND HER!!"
"SYMBOLI RUDOLF HAS PASSED KATSURAGI ACE AND TAKES FIRST!! KATSURAGI ACE IS STILL HOLDING SECOND!! MR. C.B. IS ACCELERATING TOO, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SHE CAN'T QUITE CATCH THEM!"
"KATSURAGI ACE IS STILL TRYING TO RECLAIM THE LEAD!! BUT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH DISTANCE LEFT!!"
"THE FINISH!! SYMBOLI RUDOLF CROSSES THE LINE FIRST!! THE UNDEFEATED LEGEND CONTINUES!!"
As Symboli Rudolf crossed the finish line, the scoreboard lit up with the gap between her and second-place Katsuragi Ace—
When she saw that result, Symboli Rudolf, still breathing hard, broke out in a cold sweat all over again.
She understood at once: if Kagura had not reminded her to watch out for Katsuragi Ace—if she had accelerated even a little later—then the one standing here now would not have been her.