Guided by the staff into the gate, Musee Alien glanced to her right.
Her gate was number four for this race, with Jun Tsubasa in number two, separated by just one gate.
Barely two or three meters away, her friend hadn't noticed her gaze at all, eyes wide with excitement, fixed intensely forward onto the track. Her unruly short hair trembled with each breath, radiating impatience.
Smiling faintly, Musee Alien turned her gaze leftward, pausing briefly at gate number six, her expression turning serious.
Apart from Jun Tsubasa, the rival she took most seriously today was obviously Kitasan Black, followed closely by Satono Rasen in gate six.
This was another opponent who had defeated her before, and strictly speaking about late-kick ability, Satono Rasen was perhaps the most threatening competitor she'd need to stay vigilant against.
Today she was planning to run as a front-runner she had to carefully watch out for chasers like Satono Rasen.
Then, without shifting her eyes, she glanced slightly further.
Kitasan-san this time... gate thirteen, the outermost position.
The short slope after the gate in St. Lite Kinen and the wide curve afterward were unfavorable to runners on the far outside, while my position was exactly the opposite.
So I should smoothly seize the lead position, just like in the Japanese Derby—at least much quicker than Kitasan-san.
Then, I must not make the same mistakes again. I have to constantly stay alert about Kitasan-san's pace, rhythm, and stamina distribution...
Yes, if I could smoothly control the entire race's rhythm in my hands—even Kitasan-san...
…Should find it extremely difficult to respond effectively!
At this point, Musee Alien withdrew her gaze, looking forward beyond the gate, eyes locked onto the racecourse ahead.
Under the bright sunlight of the autumn afternoon, the turf course resembled a massive emerald carpet.
The innermost section bore marks from the previous ten races, but slightly outward, the track condition appeared quite good.
From the stands, the waves of cheering hadn't peaked yet but were already surging forward wave after wave.
Nearby, the orchestral entrance music had long passed its climax and was now easing into its finale.
But the commentator's voice, as if unwilling to let go of the music's rhythm, echoed across every corner of the racecourse with growing excitement.
"Dear audience!"
"All Uma Musume have entered the gates!"
"Every competitor is brimming with hunger for victory. Who will stand out and write her own chapter of glory today?"
"Now then, the G2 St. Lite Kinen, 2200 meters on Nakayama's turf course..."
"Start!"
Now's the moment!
With an inward shout entirely different from her usual hesitant nature, Musee Alien's eyes sharpened, every muscle trembling as if electrified. The gates swung open in an instant, rapidly retreating, opening up her vision—
Perfect! Just like this! Next...
Yet before the joy of a smooth gate-break spread in her heart, a sudden abnormal sound erupted fiercely through the space on her left, striking her eardrums like a thunderclap out of nowhere.
A shiver shot down her spine as she glanced in astonishment toward the sound's origin.
Like something catapulted from the gate, a black figure instantly burst forward, leaving distorted, blurred afterimages behind.
The afterimage leaned forward sharply, every step covering an extraordinary distance. In a flash, the figure had seized the lead position she'd targeted.
Kitasan…?!
Realizing who that shadow was—the source of the explosive burst—Musee Alien froze in shock.
Not just her—she heard confused breathing and erratic footsteps around her, signaling that all the other runners were equally stunned.
From the stands, too, came a brief moment of absolute silence; the spectators were clearly stunned as well.
Even the commentator went momentarily blank.
"Very well, all runners have successfully… Eh, ehhh?!"
After an abrupt pitch rise, his next words brimmed with disbelief:
"K-Kitasan Black…right from the start, she's already opened a gap of…"
"One…"
"Two…"
"Three…"
"Three-and-a-half lengths—?!"
Following a drawn-out scream, as if shocked by an electric current, the commentator snapped back, his voice exploding from the loudspeakers like an erupting volcano.
"Kitasan Black leads! Kitasan Black is now leading! She's opened a three-and-a-half-length advantage!"
"An incredible explosive gate-break! The other Uma Musume seem equally astonished, allowing Kitasan Black to immediately seize the front position and establish a significant lead!"
"This is a running style she has never shown in any previous race. With this gate-break speed, this sizable early advantage…"
"Could it be that in this St. Lite Kinen, she intends to run…"
As if shocked by the very words he was about to speak, the commentator's voice abruptly halted, and after a brief silence, he practically screamed:
"…A great escape?!"
To compete in the same race meant the Uma Musume had comparable abilities—victory usually decided by mere fractions of a second. Pulling away by a large margin was extraordinarily rare.
Moreover, running a great escape wasn't just about racing at top speed; it required exceptional talent. Such Uma Musume had been rare throughout the history of racing.
If successfully executed, the sheer distance opened up, as if racing in two parallel tracks, and the thrilling suspense of whether chasers with explosive late-kick could catch up made hearts pound with excitement.
Thus, like a dazzling meteor across the night sky, the spectacle of a big escape (oo-nige) was uniquely thrilling in the Twinkle Series yet exceedingly rare.
Prompted by the commentator's words, witnessing Kitasan Black adopt a big escape strategy right from the start, the stands erupted as if someone had ignited a powder keg. The spectators, who had briefly fallen silent from sheer astonishment, unleashed a tsunami of cheers.
"Great escape—! Great escape—!"
With perfect synchronization, the audience shouted themselves hoarse, their faces overflowing with irrepressible excitement.
At the very front of the stands, Agnes Tachyon jolted as if struck by invisible lightning, losing all her usual casual laziness in an instant.
Her eyes, previously half-smiling, widened dramatically, glowing red pupils blazing with intense fervor—filled not only with surprise shared by the crowd but with her own unique brand of madness and obsession.
Her lips trembled slightly as she muttered feverishly, voice quivering from excitement:
"I knew it…I just knew it…"
"Kitasan Black's potential is bottomless—she's nowhere near her limit!"
Her fists clenched tightly, knuckles whitening, her body leaning slightly forward, as if desperately wishing to rush onto the track and run alongside Kitasan Black.
"That's it! That's exactly it! Such power to shatter every constraint! Such speed to overcome every limit!"
Her voice rose into an almost hysterical scream, utterly consumed, as if the whole world had vanished, leaving only the race and Kitasan Black before her.
Unable to concentrate on the track anymore, Yasui Makoto pulled his eyes away from the binoculars, rubbed his ringing ears, and stared blankly at the suddenly crazed Agnes Tachyon.
"Tachyon-sensei… Were you always this insane?"
---
T/N: went back and change amakaze hayate to jun tsubasa which is the actual racehorse, i did it retroactively before but i assumed i already changed it at this point in the chapters but it seems not
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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