The night was deep and still.
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond arrived near Nakayama Racecourse via the subway.
It was late December, and the temperature gap between day and night was brutal.
Even as Uma Musume, they had bundled up in thick coats; as they stepped out of the station, every breath they hitched came out as a plume of white mist.
"Dia, why did they say we had to come over right now?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself."
Tomorrow marked the annual Arima Kinen, one of the most prestigious events in the Japanese racing world—a grand stage where only those with enough fan votes could set foot.
The fourteen Uma Musume competing were the cream of the crop among G1 winners, a true "All-Star" clash.
This year's roster included Tokai Teio, who had just secured the Classic Triple Crown with an undefeated record, and Mejiro McQueen, winner of a G1 and several G2 races.
However, the two young men who usually watched the races with them had insisted they head to Nakayama Racecourse immediately. Though they didn't understand why, the girls followed along obediently.
Near the subway entrance, they spotted the two men clad in heavy down jackets. They carried hiking backpacks that looked stuffed to the brim.
Seeing Kitasan Black approach, the leaner of the two beckoned them over.
"Let's move fast. If we're late, there might not be any spots left."
"No spots?"
Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond looked at each other in confusion. No spots? Had there been a change to the Arima Kinen? Was it happening a day early?
Even with their heavy packs, the two men moved at a brisk pace. Kitasan didn't have a chance to press for details and could only hustle to keep up.
The station was close to the track, and the group of four soon reached the outer plaza of Nakayama Racecourse. The area was brightly lit, and a steady stream of cars flowed into the nearby parking lots.
Vendors who would normally have packed up by this hour were still open for business, and scattered groups of people were busy buying supplies.
The two men didn't stop, leading the girls further in toward the entrance gates.
There, Kitasan Black saw it: people were already pitching tents, unrolling sleeping bags, and spreading out blankets to set up meals.
There were nearly a hundred people already settled in.
"Haha, looks like we're still a bit late, after all."
The man wearing glasses gave an embarrassed smile.
He'd thought they were getting an early start, but so many people had beaten them to it. Still, with this crowd size, they could at least secure a decent vantage point for tomorrow.
Kitasan Black: [?]
Satono Diamond: [?]
They couldn't wrap their heads around why so many people were camping out at this hour.
Kitasan finally couldn't help but ask, "But the race doesn't start until tomorrow, right?"
"If you show up tomorrow, you'll be stuck watching from the very back," the leaner man explained. "Didn't you notice how hard it was to get tickets this time?"
"Was it?" Kitasan asked. They had been so excited for the race that they'd bought theirs the second they went on sale.
Satono Diamond thought for a moment and added, "We only managed to get standing-room tickets."
They hadn't thought much of it at the time; whether sitting or standing didn't matter to them since they always ran to the very front to watch anyway. "So, is it because there's going to be a huge crowd?"
That seemed to be the only logical explanation. Usually, there were empty seats, and the racecourse never bothered with standing-room tickets. This was different.
Combined with how early everyone was arriving, it suggested that even the standing areas would be packed to the point where there wouldn't be an inch of space unless you claimed it now.
"Yeah. For this Arima Kinen, on top of the original 230,000 tickets, they sold an extra 50,000 standing-room spots."
"280,000 people?" Satono Diamond's mouth hung open.
The racecourse never saw numbers like that. Even for McQueen or Kitasan's idol, Teio, there were usually a few gaps in the stands.
The only time tickets had completely vanished was during the legendary rivalry between Grass Wonder and Special Week. Was it because of those two seniors again?
"280,000!" Kitasan Black's eyes sparkled. "Everyone really does love Teio!"
After all, she was here specifically to watch Tokai Teio seize the crown at the Arima Kinen.
Their conversation caught the ear of a young couple nearby. The boy, who looked like a college student, shared a look with his girlfriend and asked with a strange expression, "Are you guys fans of Teio?"
"Yeah!" Kitasan replied happily. "Are you fans of hers too?"
The question made the boy look awkward.
He had actually been tempted to warn the young Uma Musume not to watch the race, as it might be a bit cruel to witness.
Were they Teio fans? Honestly, it felt like there wasn't a single Teio fan in the crowd. At an event like this Arima Kinen, Teio fans were practically a rare species.
It wasn't just Teio; even fans of Grass Wonder or Special Week were few and far between.
If you had followed those two since their debut, you couldn't ignore that certain Uma Musume. And if you knew her, you knew the winner of this race was already a foregone conclusion.
The reason Nakayama was offering standing tickets—the reason so many people were waiting out in the cold—was all for her. They were all waiting for her return.
Tokai Teio? People might have cheered for her in previous races. But now? They didn't even know her.
"Haha, sorry. The girl I'm here for is Barbatos."
"Barbatos?" Kitasan Black felt like she'd been hearing that name everywhere lately.
"Is she... really that good?"
Ever since she'd started coming to the big city for races this year, the name Barbatos was constantly on people's lips.
People would sigh and say the current races weren't as exciting as the old ones, or that the current Uma Musume didn't have the same "level" as those of the past.
Kitasan had a phone and could have looked it up, but hearing people compare her idol to Barbatos—and claiming Tokai Teio wasn't even on the same level—made her feel a bit petty.
She'd stubbornly refused to search for the name.
Besides, Teio had just debuted and won the Classic Triple Crown undefeated!
The college couple stared at her, stunned. "You... you don't know?"
"Why should I?" Kitasan puffed out her cheeks.
The man with glasses thought for a moment before chiming in.
"Barbatos is actually like Teio—she's an Undefeated Triple Crown winner. But while Tokai Teio took the Classic Triple Crown route, Barbatos took the Triple Tiara."
Kitasan blinked. "Wow... that's amazing!"
She loved Teio, so she understood the sheer weight of being an "undefeated Triple Crown winner."
Even if she secretly felt the Triple Tiara wasn't quite as prestigious as the Classic route, those three words—"Undefeated Triple Crown"—were enough to prove Barbatos was a big deal.
"Of course she's amazing," the college student jumped back in. "She is the undisputed number one in the world!"
"Sixteen consecutive G1 victories. Forty-five consecutive wins in G-rank races, setting a world record that still hasn't been broken. The miracle is still ongoing."
"And just so you know, the previous record for G1 wins was seven—and those weren't even seven in a row."
"That means even if Barbatos retired right this second, her current record is already unprecedented. It's likely no one will ever catch her."
Kitasan Black stood there, dazed. It felt like she was listening to a fantasy novel rather than reality.
It felt as if her hero, Teio, had just stepped out of the starting village only to run straight into the world's final boss.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.