The Eve of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
[Rice's Perspective]
"Haaa—I can't believe it! It's finally here!" Carnegie's voice practically sparkled with excitement. "Tomorrow is the start of Arc Week! I heard you're competing tomorrow, Rice, so you can count on me to be there cheering the loudest!"
"Thank you, Carnegie-san," I replied, offering a small, determined smile. "I'll do my very best to bring home a win."
"It won't be easy, though," another teammate chimed in. "This is the week where the best of the best descend on Europe from every corner of the globe. Your race—the Prix de Royallieu—it's not just French girls, is it?"
"Um... right. There are a lot of us," I said, mentally checking the roster. "From Great Britain, there's Abe Marlon and Krone. From Ireland, we have Clouroad, Anaheim, and Portes. Aside from them... let's see. Five from France, three from Dubai, and then me, representing Japan. It's a full field of fourteen."
"Ugh, just hearing it makes my head spin," Carnegie groaned playfully. "Every year it's the same—everyone who's anyone gathers here. Does Japan have anything like this?"
"Um... no, I don't think we do."
It was October 1st. My race was finally only a day away. Just as I'd told them, my rivals were coming from all over the world. The nerves were starting to prickle at my skin, but I felt a strange sense of calm, too. I'd been allowed to train at Longchamp Racecourse all week, and I felt like I'd achieved results that went far beyond mere mental imaging.
Still, you never know what will happen on the turf. I needed to have one last heart-to-heart with Big Brother.
"Oh! That reminds me!" Carnegie turned back to me, her eyes wide. "I wanted to tell you, Rice! I went into town earlier, and there were so many Japanese people there. And they all had this one weird thing in common."
"Oh? Really?" I asked.
"In common? Like what?"
"I saw it too!" another girl added, jumping in. "They all had these little blue rose keychains dangling from their bags. Every single one of them! Isn't that wild?"
I went silent, my heart skipping a beat.
Could it be...? Is it possible they're... my fans?
"Wait, aren't those your fans, Rice?" Carnegie asked, pointing to my hat. "Look, you've got a blue rose right there! It has to be them! Man, I'm jealous. Imagine having people fly across the world just to see you."
"...Yeah," I whispered, a warmth spreading through my chest. "I suppose it is."
"I hope I have fans like that someday!" Carnegie beamed.
"I'm sure you will," I said earnestly. "Because... you're all such wonderful people."
"Ugh, Rice! You're way too sweet!" Carnegie cried, suddenly lunging forward to pull me into a suffocating hug.
"Wha—!? C-Carnegie-san!? You scared me!"
"But that was your fault for being so cute, Rice!"
"Hahaha, she's got a point!"
"I—I don't know what you're saying in French! Please type it into the app!" I squeaked.
Even like this, I was managing to enjoy myself with my French friends. We had to rely on translation apps for the complicated bits, but they understood my personality. They were never mean; even when they teased me, I knew it was all in good fun.
"See you tomorrow, Rice!" Carnegie waved.
"We'll be rooting for you!"
"Wait, what about our senior's race? Aren't we cheering for her?"
"...Crap! I forgot!"
I watched them scramble away with a giggle. "À demain... phew. At least I've mastered the simple greetings. Okay... time to head to Big Brother's room."
— Hachiman's Room —
I stepped inside to find a very weary-looking Trainer.
"H-Hey, Rice..."
"Big Brother? Are you okay? You look exhausted..."
"Yeah... I've been interrogated about my training menus for days now. It's taking a toll. I tried to slip away to focus on our prep, but apparently, the local trainers took a liking to my methods. They won't stop cornering me with questions..."
"I'm sorry..."
"Nn... ah, forget it. I can't mope forever. We need to talk about tomorrow, right?"
"Right!" I nodded, straightening my posture.
"Okay," he said, his eyes sharpening as he shifted into Trainer-mode. "First and foremost: you have to save your legs. You need to have enough 'gear' left for the final stretch. Since we've been training on-site all week, I think you've got the layout of the False Straight etched into your brain."
"I do."
"Good. The key is to avoid wasting stamina. Back home at Kyoto for the Tenno Sho (Spring), the elevation change was about 4.3 meters. Here at Longchamp, it's more than double that—ten meters. If you burn your fuel on the climbs, you'll have nothing left to give at the finish. Conserve your energy. Stay patient."
"Save my legs and conserve stamina. Got it!" I hesitated for a second. "Oh, and Big Brother? Carnegie-san told me there are people from Japan in town. She said they were all wearing blue rose keychains."
Hachiman blinked, then a small, tired smirk tugged at his lips. "That's definitely your fan club. Man, first the blue rose letters, now keychains? They're getting creative."
"Do they really make things like that?"
"Who knows? But they wouldn't go to this much trouble if they didn't care. I wonder what's next? Maybe they'll start carrying around replicas of that dagger you wear with your outfits."
"Eek! No, that's scary! I hope they don't do that..."
Still, a strange, fluttery feeling remained in my chest. I wonder how they even made those?
Tomorrow. Finally.
Rice Shower was ready to run.
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