"Alright, all runners have made a smooth start, and at the front we have…"
Rudolf ojou-sama, as always, was using her front-runner strategy. Right out of the gate, she stuck close behind the leading horse girls, calmly maintaining her position, showing no urgency to overtake—just quietly observing from behind.
Her rivals today seemed far more spirited than those she'd faced in her debut race. Even though Rudolf's performance today was more impressive and daunting than before, the other Uma Musume clenched their teeth and pushed forward with all their strength.
This was a 1600-meter race. At full speed, it would last barely two minutes. Not much time for gaps to open between competitors.
Rudolf maintained her forward position, patiently waiting at the front of the chasing pack for her chance to break through. Just as her trainer and Kagura had analyzed beforehand, Rudolf quickly recognized that none of her opponents today posed a real threat.
Although the Tokyo Racecourse track had plenty of ups and downs, Kagura's pre-race advice covered them all thoroughly. Rudolf hardly felt the strain of navigating this terrain.
What a shame…
Her eyes involuntarily wandered toward the Tracen student seating in the audience stands. She knew all her companions were there watching her—of course, Kagura and Maruzensky were among them.
If only the two of you were on this track too.
Winning was naturally a joyous thing, but the process itself was simply too easy, almost boringly so. Rudolf wanted to compete against someone who could pose a real threat—someone like Maruzensky or Kagura. Yet Maruzensky, for some special reason, probably wouldn't face her in future key races, and Kagura was still far from being eligible to compete on the track.
"Dammit…! Symboli Rudolf… don't even think…about passing me so easily!!"
The fierce, determined voices from beside her snapped Rudolf back to reality. Without her realizing, the other horse girls had already caught up, surrounding her left and right. Although these competitors looked nearly at their breaking points, the resolve burning in their eyes showed no sign of wavering.
"You even have time to space out mid-race… You really have some nerve!"
Another horse girl desperately pushed forward from behind, joining the pack closing around Rudolf.
Rudolf realized that her brief distraction earlier was somewhat disrespectful to her rivals. Seeing them burning with everything they had, she felt strangely touched.
"My apologies. I was disrespectful just now. Everyone here is shining so brilliantly. Allow me to respond with equal respect."
The horse girls surrounding Rudolf tried desperately to close ranks and trap her, but their condition was already stretched to its absolute limit. The moment they rounded the final corner and entered the last straight, their formation cracked, unable to match Rudolf's relentless pace. Naturally, Rudolf seized the opportunity immediately—
"—I'll crush you all with my full strength!"
In a flash, Rudolf surged forward through a tiny gap in the leading group. The runners ahead, who hadn't managed to open much of a lead, were overtaken almost instantly. As Rudolf entered the final straight, her momentum became unstoppable, launching into a breathtakingly swift dash.
"Symboli Rudolf breaks free!! So fast, incredibly fast!! She shows absolutely no signs of fatigue! The Tokyo Racecourse slopes aren't even slowing her down!!"
The announcer's ecstatic voice and the crowd's cheers erupted at the instant Rudolf broke free. The horse girls overtaken by her could no longer chase—they could only desperately try to close the widening gap.
——At the last corner, those horse girls were bound to show a gap in their formation. That child was sure to break through at exactly this moment. If the frontrunner couldn't build enough of a lead by then, it was already over.
Eclipse had predicted the race scenario earlier, and it unfolded exactly as she had foreseen: Rudolf broke free on the last corner, rushing with all her might toward the finish line.
Rudolf, sprinting at full force, showed no signs of fatigue. From her seat in the distant audience stands, Kagura heard only the deafening cheers around her. Clearly, most of today's crowd were indeed Rudolf's fans.
"Strong, incredibly strong! Unstoppable! The finish line is right ahead! No one can close the gap with Symboli Rudolf! Her condition today is perfect!!"
"She crosses the line!! Symboli Rudolf demonstrates overwhelming power, taking victory by an enormous margin!!"
The final sprint was utterly without suspense. Rudolf, in peak condition, charged directly past the finish line. Kagura looked up at the scoreboard overhead.
"Nine lengths… even more despair-inducing than her debut race."
Kagura stared at the glaring red "9" marking the gap between first and second place, sighing softly in astonishment.
"No kidding! Rudolf was frighteningly good today. You've taken such good care of her lately, little sis—no late nights, nutritious meals, regular eating habits—gah, I really want a Support Uma like you too!"
Maruzensky enviously rubbed Kagura's soft cheeks. She'd heard from Tojo-sensei how comfortably Rudolf had been living recently. Meals were managed by Kagura, an incredible chef. The room was meticulously cleaned by Kagura as well. Even tired muscles were soothed by Kagura's massages. Kagura had even crafted specific strategies for Rudolf's races.
It was as though Kagura had taken care of every single aspect of Rudolf's life aside from the actual training. Rudolf merely had to focus on her trainer's program and racing—it was practically only one step away from Kagura running the race herself.
"You're…so strong…"
At the finish line, while Rudolf was waving to the audience, the opponents she'd just overtaken slowly approached. Despite losing, they didn't look particularly disheartened; their faces carried some resignation but more clearly a sense of acceptance.
"Well…losing to you is just unavoidable, huh?"
"You all were amazing as well. This race shined because of how fiercely you all burned."
As she spoke, Rudolf reached out, shaking hands with the horse girls who had so fiercely pursued her.
"Ah, forget 'amazing'. A loss is still a loss. You won fair and square."
"Yeah, you better not lose any future races after leaving me behind like that! Or else you'll make me look pathetic!"
"…"
The always somewhat proud Symboli Rudolf was trying, for the first time, to truly listen to her opponents' voices—a suggestion Kagura had given her earlier. Building friendly relationships with rivals wasn't a bad thing. Rudolf realized that even weaker rivals shone brightly when they were pushing themselves to their absolute limits.
"Listening to your opponents might help you learn how to get along better with others your age, Ojou-sama."
Those had been Kagura's exact words. Thinking back now, Rudolf felt Kagura's advice was quite insightful.
After waving goodbye to the audience, Rudolf, who had to prepare for the Winner's Concert, entered the exit tunnel, seeing Kagura already waiting there with a towel and water.
"How are you feeling, Ojou-sama?"
"Great. Your race strategy worked extremely well. Really, it's thanks to you and Tojo-sensei taking such good care of me lately."
Rudolf took the bottle from Kagura and drank a few sips. The water was pleasantly warm, not too hot or too cold—clearly, Kagura had carefully controlled the temperature.
"Speaking of which, where's Tojo-sensei?"
"Right here. I was just a bit slower… Kagura-chan is an Uma after all, she's much faster than I am."
Tojo Hana appeared from behind a few moments later as Kagura wiped down Rudolf, who had knelt down.
"Congratulations, Rudolf. A splendid victory. Your observation of the race was impressive."
"I could win so easily because of your training and care, sensei."
"I only planned your training and stamina guidelines. You should really thank Kagura. To keep your nutrition intake perfect every day, she practically lives in the cafeteria now, not to mention taking care of your entire daily routine."
Originally, many of these tasks belonged to the trainer, but Kagura's presence as a Support Uma had significantly eased Tojo-sensei's workload. She genuinely appreciated Kagura's efforts.
Truthfully, Tojo-sensei found Kagura's abilities astonishing. No matter how professional the Symboli family's training was, Kagura was only eleven—her competence was simply unbelievable.
"I agree. Kagura, you really don't want anything?"
"There's nothing urgent, really…"
Kagura did have some wishes, but nothing achievable in a short time—like making Fo Tiao Qiang or refurbishing the shrine to properly enshrine Eclipse. She didn't want to trouble Rudolf with something like that.
"…After your Winner's Concert, I'll go prepare your—"
"Stop, Kagura. You rest tonight! We're eating out!"
Rudolf and Tojo quickly interrupted her. Watching Kagura work tirelessly lately, they firmly insisted on giving her a break.
"But…"
"Listen to me, Kagura. Take it as an order, alright?"
"…Understood, Ojou-sama. As you wish."