Meanwhile, in Kitano's dormitory, a scene very similar to the one in the student council office was unfolding. A replay of the Hopeful Stakes, which Tokai Teio had won a few days prior, was playing on the screen.
Watching intently were Kitano and another participant in that G1 race, one who had been thoroughly overshadowed by Tokai Teio… Nakayama Festa.
"Aaargh! So annoying! I knew she was strong, but I still underestimated her!"
Witnessing her defeat once again, Nakayama Festa's mood was far from the cheerful acceptance she usually showed after losing to her Golden Family sisters. This G1 race, their first clash, had been a crushing defeat for Festa, making her fully realize the gap between herself and Teio.
"She's a cheat. The flexibility of her ankles is like having little springs. Every push-off and stride is a mini-boost. Over a whole race, she uses less stamina than a normal horse girl but achieves greater speed."
"And it's an advantage for her final sprint, too. While her finishing kick isn't the most outstanding, her stamina in the final stretch is much better than most long-distance runners."
"That's what a genius is." Nakayama Festa's resentful grumbling found resonance with Kitano's other Tantou horse girls. Silent Suzuka, her senior, nodded with a serious expression. "Teio-san's skill and talent are a dimensional-level threat to any horse girl using conventional tactics. Only an unexpected strategy has a chance of beating her."
"Exactly. Only with an unexpected strategy can we possibly defeat Tokai Teio."
At the same time, Kitano, having finished cleaning up the late-night snack leftovers from the table with Ardan and Chinami, chimed in. Wiping his hands, he analyzed the possibility of his two Tantou horse girls defeating Tokai Teio in the future.
Kitano had attended the Hopeful Stakes in person because Nakayama Festa was competing. He had been quite surprised to see Tokai Teio there. He knew that Teio's path to the undefeated Triple Crown was supposed to be a steady one; participating in a high-risk G1 race was unexpected.
However, this gave Kitano a good opportunity for Nakayama Festa to get to know her rival. Faced with his former genius daughter, now a formidable obstacle for his current Tantou, Kitano didn't hesitate to stand with his girls and strategize on how to defeat her.
After all, in this lifetime, Tokai Teio could only be his "daughter from the past." No matter how much affection he held for her, Kitano wouldn't side with her to achieve her dream; that would be a betrayal of the trust his current Tantou had placed in him. On matters of past and present lives, Kitano had always drawn a clear line.
The most he could do was to try and make Teio's path of growth a little less arduous… a final gesture as her former "father."
"I believe we have at least three ways to defeat Teio. And of these three, at least two are achievable for you, Festa, and you, Goldie."
"Three ways?"
Kitano's words immediately drew everyone's attention. Nakayama Festa and Gold Ship, who was helping to wipe the table, were especially stunned. They looked at Kitano with doubt.
Nakayama Festa, in particular, knew the gap between her and Teio all too well. It wasn't a small margin; it was immense. She had finished third, while Teio had left the second-place horse two lengths behind. The distance between Teio and Festa was at least four to five lengths.
In this situation, even Festa had to admit it was a difference in raw talent and ability. The race had left her so disheartened that she felt her chances of winning the Classic Triple Crown against Tokai Teio were almost zero.
The thought that she had used her best running style and her preferred distance, only to be crushed so completely, filled Festa with anxiety and resentment towards her own limitations—her "bottom-tier" talent among the Golden Family sisters. The idea that she couldn't win even a little more time for Kitano was agonizing.
But now, Kitano's words ignited a spark of hope within her—not just the hope of winning, but the hope of keeping Kitano alive.
"What is it? Kitano? How can I beat Teio?"
"Didn't Suzuka just say it? With conventional methods, it's almost impossible to beat Teio. Her skills and talent place her at the pinnacle of this era's Japanese horse girls. Unless you can completely overpower her in overall ability, a standard approach is unlikely to succeed."
Kitano placed the clean dishes in the sink, dried his hands with a cloth, and sat down next to Festa. The other horse girls instinctively gathered around, their ears perked, listening intently to his analysis.
"Unfortunately, we are facing one of the top geniuses of this era. We all have to admit that our natural talent isn't on par with Teio's." Kitano smiled faintly. As the trainer who had personally raised her, he knew just how incredible her talent was. But in the next moment, he offered a solution.
"But Teio's weakness lies there as well. Her techniques are almost entirely copied from Rudolf. Her best tactic, ultimately, is running as a Leader. Her strategy is fixed. What she struggles with is dealing with a disruptor."
"For example, a Great Escaper like Suzuka."
"Hm? Me?" Suzuka, suddenly the center of attention, blinked. As all eyes turned to her, Kitano nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, Suzuka. You're actually one of the horse girls with the best chance of winning against Teio."
"Teio's Leader style is heavily influenced by the pace of the horse at the very front. If the Escaper in front of her is running at a speed she can't keep up with or use as a reference, her rhythm will most likely be thrown off."
"Moreover, a Great Escape tactic like yours, Suzuka, creates a huge gap with the main pack by the mid-to-late stages of the race. Festa mentioned earlier that Teio isn't a horse girl who wins with her finishing kick. It would be very difficult for her to close the gap with you in the final straight."
"That's right," Chinami Representative chimed in, her eyes lighting up at Kitano's analysis. "I've met that girl. Teio's talent is indeed immense, but the traces of her imitating Rudolf are very deep. She doesn't have much experience dealing with unexpected situations."
"With a Great Escape like Suzuka's, she might actually win!"
"Th-Thank you…" Suzuka nodded, a hint of joy in her eyes. But she quickly controlled her expression, her tone turning worried. "But… the chances of me racing against Teio-san are very low. Trainer-san, you're not suggesting that Festa-san and Gold Ship-san learn my Great Escape now, are you?"
"Of course not. I just want to show you all that Teio is not invincible." Kitano smiled faintly. He didn't reveal that in the same year, another horse girl named "Mejiro Mackeen" would become a major stumbling block for Teio. His goal now was to build Festa and Goldie's confidence.
"The second method also revolves around Teio's weakness in her finishing kick." This time, Kitano's gaze fell on Nakayama Festa. This was the strategy he had prepared for her, and he raised his voice slightly.
"Festa, you said it yourself. Teio's talent allows her to run a race with ease, with enough stamina left for a final sprint, right?"
"So, Festa, let me ask you: in terms of stamina, between you and Tokai Teio, who is stronger?"
"That would be me, of course." When it came to her area of expertise, Nakayama Festa, who now saw a glimmer of hope, answered without hesitation.
Festa admitted she was the least talented among the Golden Family sisters—her younger sister Gold Ship, Orfevre, and her older sister Dream Journey all showed more raw talent. But that didn't mean Festa had no strengths.
Her greatest advantage was her Gold Ship bloodline and the incredible stamina and physique honed from daily roughhousing with her sisters.
Festa was confident that if it came down to stamina, two Tokai Teios tied together couldn't outlast her. While she didn't have the insane endurance of Invincible or the long-distance prowess of Gold Ship or McQueen, her stamina was far superior to Teio's.
"Stamina is your greatest advantage, Festa. No matter how talented Teio is, she won't have as much left in the tank as you during the final sprint." Seeing that Festa had regained some confidence, Kitano felt a sense of relief and said with a cheerful smile:
"In the same mid-distance race, you have a stamina advantage over Teio, and your explosive power is greater than hers. Just like in this G1 race, your final burst propelled you to third place from around tenth. That's an explosive power Teio doesn't possess."
"A finishing kick…"
At this point, Nakayama Festa understood. Her only chance to beat Tokai Teio was in the final straight, using her finishing kick to settle the score, provided the gap between them wasn't too large. But even so, she knew her chances were slim.
Just keeping up with Teio's pace in the early stages was difficult enough for her. Her speed was still much slower than Teio's, and a final burst alone couldn't close that gap.
A shadow of gloom flickered in Festa's eyes as she couldn't help but think of her sister. If it were my sister Orfevre… she could definitely crush Tokai Teio with her explosive power, right?
Can I really do it? Is her stamina, which isn't the best in the family, and her finishing kick, which isn't the fastest, really enough to defeat Teio?
Festa's hesitation and dejection did not escape Kitano's notice. He wanted to say something comforting but didn't know where to start. In truth, he knew that at Festa's current level, beating Teio was still incredibly difficult.
Festa wasn't a natural long-distance runner. Her stamina was strong compared to most, but not enough to create the overwhelming advantage that Orfevre or Gold Ship could.
Most importantly, Nakayama Festa lacked fighting spirit—the "will to win" that would ignite her belief. Without it, her chances of beating Teio were minuscule.
And frustratingly, Kitano knew of only one way to make Nakayama Festa go all out—by sacrificing himself.
But Kitano didn't want to play such a dangerous game. He knew that faking an illness was a trick that worked once through deception; using it repeatedly would only erode Festa's trust. Besides, that kind of fiery burnout was a one-time thing. If possible, he didn't want to put Festa through such immense physical and psychological strain.
"As for the third method…"
"I know this one!" Just as Kitano was about to reveal the final method, Gold Ship, who had won a G3 race last month and extended Kitano's life by five months, excitedly raised her hand.
"Kitano-chan, you're talking about beating her using her weakness in endurance, right? The Kikuka Sho in the Classic Triple Crown is a race she'll definitely run. That's when Li'l Goldie will shine!"
"Hmph, hmph. With a 3000-meter track, even if I slack off a bit, Teio will probably be exhausted before the final sprint. That's when I'll win the race!"
"Don't underestimate Teio, Goldie." Kitano was pleased that Gold Ship already knew Teio's weakness. As expected of the smartest horse girl in the Golden Family; she had the makings of a trainer herself, combining stamina and skill. If she weren't so overly clever, she would surely have a place among the Hall of Fame horse girls.
Even so, Kitano didn't underestimate his former genius daughter, especially now. Teio's current training regimen and serious attitude towards racing made him realize that the undefeated genius was evolving into the indomitable emperor…
Could it also be the influence of a previous lifetime? Kitano suspected. Although he hadn't witnessed Teio's transformation in that life, he believed that with his influence and Rudolf's constant companionship, Teio had most likely achieved the undefeated Triple Crown.
"So, if we assume that the Teio of the previous cycle achieved the undefeated Triple Crown… then the Kikuka Sho isn't her weakness, but her peak performance?"
"That would be tricky… an indomitable emperor with no weakness in long distances… truly terrifying."
The thought brought both immense pressure and a sense of pride and relief to Kitano. He was, in a way, competing against the daughter he was most proud of.
It seemed that even without his companionship, Teio could grow strong and stand on her own. In that case, he looked forward to seeing just what heights his "daughter" could reach at her peak.
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