"All right, that wraps things up."
With the paperwork sorted, the staff in charge of race registration were finally done for the day. Of course, going to watch the race of the young horse girls about to debut was not a bad option either.
"Thanks for your hard work, senpai. Want to go watch the race together?"
"No... I've still got something to do, so I'll be leaving first."
The woman they called senpai declined. The others did not press her and left chatting and laughing among themselves.
Only after everyone was gone did the senior staffer, who had been smiling as she saw them off, let out a heavy sigh.
It was not because the job was tiring. Quite the opposite—for her, this work was easy, and it even let her interact with these junior horse girls from a different angle.
Especially since she had met one particularly cute junior. When she praised that girl, the child had looked calm on the surface, but the wildly wagging tail had given her away completely.
As for herself...
She had to admit that Miss Hayakawa's makeup skills were incredible. Not a single person had recognized her.
And Rudolf really was something else. On one hand, she kept saying she had important work to do, that she trusted Teio's abilities, and that all she needed to do was congratulate Teio after her triumphant return. On the other hand, she had still asked her upperclassman to secretly come take a look...
Naturally, Teio herself had no idea that this free-spirited senior had disguised herself as staff. But judging from how Teio looked, it seemed she would be fine even without having Rudolf's words of encouragement passed on to her.
The "senpai" lady recalled the list of participants.
Even though she had long since retired from the racetrack, her experience with who knew how many horse girls had given her an eye for talent.
There were indeed a few gifted girls among them... like that little one named Zhigaotian. But she could also tell how inexperienced the girl was. She clearly had not received systematic training. Otherwise, that child absolutely would have had the ability to stand toe to toe with Teio.
Maybe...
Maybe she should imitate Rudolf and lure that girl into Tracen?
No, forget it. She would just mention it to Rudolf later. That was not something she needed to worry about herself.
Ah...
The horse girls were about to enter the track.
...
The effect of personality projection on her was very slight.
Maybe because it was her first time, she felt no discomfort at all. Problems probably only came from overusing it.
Still, there were a few unusual side effects.
For example, she instinctively found herself searching for the best places nearby to stage an assassination.
For instance, the lively little brat skipping along in front of her right now...
A smile rose to the girl's face.
How unfortunate for you, becoming my opponent...
"Teio-sama's legend begins here!"
Meanwhile, our self-absorbed Miss Teio was completely oblivious to the "danger" silently approaching from behind.
"When I win, I'll make the President clear an entire day just to spend with me as my reward!!"
"Let's do our best together!"
Honestly, using the silent steps meant for assassination just to tease a kid was overkill of the highest order.
"Wah!!"
A firm slap landed on her shoulder, yanking the girl straight out of her fantasy.
Tokai Teio turned around angrily, ready to see which idiot had dared to scare her—
only for her gaze to crash straight into Zhigaotian's eyes.
In the dim lighting, those eyes shone with tiny flecks of violet, like a whole starry sky caught inside them.
"What's wrong?" the purple-haired horse girl asked with a smile.
"Your eyes..." Under the dim lights, Zhigaotian's eyes were glowing purple. "Why are they shining...?"
"Maybe it's because I was born beautiful," Zhigaotian replied with a grin, then tilted her head and asked, "Do they look nice?"
"...They do..." Teio answered without thinking.
Then, belatedly, she realized something was not right.
Wait. The mood here was weird, wasn't it?
"No, hold on—why are you trying to scare me, you jerk?!"
"But if the 'Invincible Teio-sama' failed to notice me herself, how can that possibly be my fault?" the girl shot back with a smile, then imitated Teio's tone perfectly. "'When I win, I'll make the President clear an entire day just to spend with me as my reward!!'"
"Huh...? How did you do that?"
Kids had no resistance at all to mysterious tricks.
"Secret~" There was no way she could tell Teio this was technically part of assassination technique. "Though if Miss Teio can beat me, I might consider telling you."
"I'm not going to lose."
As someone who had set the undefeated Triple Crown President as her goal, Tokai Teio would never allow herself to fall at the very first step.
"Teio-sama is going to become an undefeated Triple Crown horse girl as cool and stylish as the President, okay~"
"Heh-heh..." Zhigaotian let out a satisfied laugh. Only an opponent like this was worthy of making her use personality projection. "In that case, how about we make a bet?"
"If I win, Miss Teio becomes my very first fan. How about that?" Those faintly glowing purple eyes fixed themselves on the genius horse girl before her. "And if Miss Teio wins, I'll grant you one request too~"
"Heh-heh... your words, not mine."
Tokai Teio did not think there was any chance she would lose. On the contrary, she liked her odds a lot.
"Then if Teio-sama wins, you have to teach me how to imitate people's voices that perfectly, okay~"
"Of course... Best of luck to our invincible Teio-sama..."
"You'd better not disappoint Teio-sama, either."
Though both of them sounded relaxed, the fighting spirit in their eyes did not lie.
Each of them had complete confidence in her own strength.
And perhaps it was precisely because they recognized the same thing in each other that, despite never having met before and never having raced each other before, both instantly regarded the other as the greatest rival in this race.
Maybe, somewhere in their hearts, each of them had already started thinking about how she would comfort the other after winning.
"Oh, right—I still don't know your name."
At the final moment before entering the track, Tokai Teio asked the question.
Maybe, without even noticing it herself, this girl who had teased her several times had already carved out a small place in her heart.
Whether because of the bet or the race, once it was over, the two of them would become friends.
"Zhigaotian. That's my name."
The purple-haired horse girl paused, as if considering something, then smiled and added:
"As for what it means... it's fire from beyond the heavens."
"You're still trying to act cool even now?" Teio grumbled.
The only response she got was the girl's light, cheerful laughter.
When Teio turned back, Zhigaotian was already looking toward the exit. The faint purple radiance in her eyes was weak, but to Tokai Teio, it seemed even brighter than the light pouring in from the entrance to the track.
As the pre-race music began to play, the horse girls—each carrying her own different thoughts and emotions—walked into the arena one after another.
"...Let's begin..."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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