Fujiwara Chiya lay flat on his back, and beneath him, Nase Fumino was breathing heavily. As a trainer, and a female one at that, her strength was already less than most, yet she had still used everything she had to pull him back.
From the start of the race, she had noticed something off about him. The amount he was sweating had clearly gone beyond simple nervousness. It was no exaggeration to say that even Uma Musume who had just finished training would not sweat this much. While watching the race and keeping an eye on him, she noticed something strange just before Shirayuki crossed the line. He suddenly lowered his body and stamped his foot hard against the ground.
A bad feeling rose in her mind. Without time to think, she rushed over and grabbed his shoulders. At that exact moment, he lifted his foot. Using all her strength, she forcefully dragged Fujiwara Chiya back from the edge of the stands, where half his body had already gone over.
The two of them crashed heavily onto the ground.
Looking at Chiya, who was still shaken and pressing down on her stomach, Fumino instinctively tried to push herself up, only to realize that her arms would not move. Forcibly stopping a full-grown man in mid-motion had put tremendous strain on her. Both of her arms had suffered varying degrees of strain, and she could no longer move them properly.
"Trainer Nase!?"
Hearing her breathing behind him, Chiya quickly rolled over and got up, leaving Fumino beneath him.
"Sorry, just now…"
He tapped his head. Due to the intense mental strain, his consciousness had once again synced uncontrollably with Shirayuki. That mistake had nearly caused him to fall from the three-meter-high stands.
"I'll help you up."
Seeing her try twice and fail to support herself, Chiya finally realized that she had injured her arms trying to stop him.
I'm such an idiot.
Cursing himself, he carefully helped her up.
She's so light…
Even for a woman, Nase Fumino felt unusually light.
"Are your arms badly hurt?"
"Probably just a strain."
"I'll take you to the infirmary."
"No." Fumino shook her head, her gaze as calm as ever. "I can manage on my own."
"This is my fault. Just now… I saw Shirayuki fall and panicked… anyway, let's go. You can't even treat yourself like this."
Chiya led her away from the track. At the same time, the race results were announced.
"First place, Tokai Teio. Second place, Special Week. Third place, Fujiwara Shirayuki. Fourth place, Seiun Sky…"
Hishi Amazon read out the results, while Shirayuki, who had been lying on the ground, was helped up by Special Week.
"Shirayuki, are you okay!"
Special Week looked extremely worried.
"I'm fine…"
When Chiya lost his balance, that same sensation of weightlessness had affected her as well. Her final step missed the ground, causing her to fall. If her balance had been better, this would not have happened.
No, not just balance.
Shirayuki tapped her head.
There was also the issue of synchronization. If she could fully separate herself and him without interference, this situation would not have happened.
"That was really dangerous. Shirayuki, you slid seven whole meters!"
Even the judges and Tokai Teio had been stunned. A white blur shot past them out of nowhere, startling Teio so much that she jumped right after crossing the finish line.
"Really? I can slide pretty far then."
Shirayuki muttered. Her chest stung with pain. The skin underneath was probably scraped raw.
I'll put some medicine on it later.
Thankfully, Tracen's training uniforms were custom-made and extremely durable. Otherwise, that fall might have reduced her B cup to an A cup.
Wiping grass juice off her face, Shirayuki looked at Tokai Teio as she approached.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
For an Uma Musume, minor scrapes were nothing.
Hearing that, Teio relaxed and immediately puffed up with pride.
"Hehe, Fujiwara Shirayuki, looks like I came out slightly ahead this time. But don't be too discouraged. Losing to me, Tokai Teio, is only natural. Hahaha!"
Hands on her hips, she laughed loudly.
Although Shirayuki liked Uma Musume, seeing Teio mock her after winning still made her a little irritated.
This brat really needs some discipline.
After laughing enough, Teio straightened up.
"Fujiwara Shirayuki, even though you lost, I admit you have some ability. If you're not satisfied, come challenge me again!"
She thumped her already flat chest and pointed at Shirayuki.
"I, Tokai Teio, have recognized you as my rival!"
After declaring them rivals, she ran off excitedly.
"Wait… wasn't I second place? Why am I being ignored?" Special Week pointed at herself, completely confused.
In the stands, Hayakawa Tazuna and Symboli Rudolf exchanged complicated looks.
"That result was a bit unexpected…"
"Indeed."
At the moment Shirayuki bent down and lifted her leg, Rudolf had already felt that Tokai Teio might lose. But just as Shirayuki was about to accelerate, her foot slipped and she went sliding forward across the ground. If she had managed to kick off properly, the winner might not have been Teio. After all, by simple calculation, Shirayuki crossed the line before Teio while sliding. That alone showed just how powerful her acceleration had been.
Rudolf had thought her evaluation of Shirayuki was already high, but in the end, she had still underestimated her.
Shifting her gaze from Shirayuki to the girl in the crowd shouting "President," Rudolf sighed.
"No matter what, Teio won this race. Luck is also part of an Uma Musume's strength. She will receive the recognition she deserves."
"You take good care of Teio."
"Clear rewards and punishments are the proper way to lead. I am only fulfilling my role as student council president."
"If you say so." Tazuna smiled. "Then I should go comfort the one who lost."
"Shirayuki?"
"Yes."
"You seem quite concerned about her."
"Of course. The one she admires is Tokino Minoru. I want her to achieve her dream."
"She admires Tokino Minoru… I see." Rudolf gave Tazuna a meaningful look. "That means she's been following Uma Musume for quite a long time."
"What do you mean? Rudolf, why does admiring Tokino Minoru mean that? She's not that old. It's only been ten years. She's still in her twenties."
Ten years. How many generations of Uma Musume had passed since then? There had been four Triple Crown winners and one Triple Tiara winner. How many people still remembered Tokino Minoru?
Seeing the dangerous smile on Tazuna's face, Rudolf coughed lightly.
"You're right. That era wasn't that long ago. I still remember it clearly."
"Exactly."
Satisfied with the answer, Tazuna left the stands, and Rudolf finally let out a breath of relief. Even as the first undefeated Triple Crown winner, she still felt wary of Tazuna's presence.
Uma Musume could compete under their real names, but they could also use aliases, names used in news reports, newspapers, and public references. In history, there had only been two Uma Musume who raced under aliases.
One of them was a legendary figure who transcended eras.
Alias: Tokino Minoru.Real name: Hayakawa Tazuna.