"Welcome, everyone, to Tokyo Racecourse! The debut race for our Uma Musume is about to begin right now!"
"All the Uma Musume who've trained tirelessly for their debut will battle it out fiercely on this very track!"
The electrifying voice of the commentator echoed through the entire Tokyo Racecourse via the speakers, and the sun hanging in the sky seemed to grow even more intense under the heat of her commentary.
"I'm your live commentator, Akasaka Rin."
"And I'm your guest commentator, Sugimoto Kentaro."
After Akasaka spoke, a steady male voice followed. As they wrapped up their opening remarks, their voices merged into one.
"Together, we'll witness this showdown! Now, charge toward the real stage—who will make a successful debut?!"
On the track, Dream Weaver pricked up her ears, thinking the commentators' voices sounded somewhat familiar.
But before she could ponder it further, as the first contender, Dream Weaver was introduced.
"First up, the crowd favorite, Number One: Dream Weaver from a prestigious lineage! As King Halo's younger sister, can she redeem her sister's defeat from last year?!"
Dream Weaver turned to the crowd and gave a gentle wave.
In the stands, King Halo silently clenched her fists.
King Halo, who had always prided herself on being a top-tier Uma Musume and aimed to carry on her mother's legacy, had suffered a crushing defeat in last year's races.
Last year, King Halo only managed to win her debut race and the G3 Tokyo Sports Cup. As for the Triple Crown races—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any Uma Musume—she failed to secure a single victory.
A top-tier Uma Musume without a single G1 title to her name.
This was a devastating blow to King Halo, who had always possessed immense pride. Though she acted no differently around her friends and younger sister, the whitened skin under her clenched nails betrayed her frustration.
But after stealing a glance at her friends beside her and at Dream Weaver standing on the track, King Halo finally relaxed her hands.
She placed her hands on her hips and declared loudly.
"It's just a temporary setback! My glory is still out there, and I'll claim it myself!"
"After all, I am a top-tier Uma Musume! Ohohohohoho—"
Hearing that familiar laugh, King Halo's entourage promptly erupted into cheers.
"Next up, the second favorite, number two: Admire Vega. Can the rumored solitary genius seize victory today?!"
"Then we have the third favorite, number three: Narita Top Road. Will she channel the cheers of her fans into power and charge ahead like the dazzling sun she is?!"
When their names were called, Admire Vega and Narita Top Road also waved to the crowd.
After hearing their introductions, Dream Weaver slowly lowered her hand.
Uma Musume with high popularity before a race were usually the favorites. It seemed her intuition was right—these two were indeed strong.
But... Dream Weaver gently closed her eyes.
She stood quietly in place, waiting for the commentators to finish reading the list of competitors. Only when the announcement for the athletes to enter the gates was made did she open her eyes again.
In that very instant, every perceptive Uma Musume on the track sensed it.
The atmosphere at Tokyo Racecourse had shifted. Even under the blazing sun, not an ounce of warmth could be felt. It was as if a gleaming, icy blade had been drawn behind them.
Even standing still, they could feel waves of danger emanating from somewhere.
Narita Top Road and Admire Vega, being among the strongest Uma Musume present, naturally sensed it too.
In fact, they had already pinpointed the source of this pressure.
Staring at Dream Weaver, Narita Top Road was stunned.
She couldn't wrap her head around how this Uma Musume, who had just been chatting and teasing her moments ago, could transform into a completely different person in a matter of minutes.
Admire Vega's eyes flickered. This sudden emergence of a formidable rival made the seemingly within-reach victory feel distant all of a sudden.
"All contestants, please take your positions!"
Before they could process their thoughts, the commentator's announcement rang in their ears.
Though unease lingered in their hearts, Narita Top Road and Admire Vega stepped into their respective starting gates, quietly awaiting the sound of the starter pistol.
BANG!
Soon, the shot signaling the start of the race rang out, and all the starting gates flew open simultaneously. Every Uma Musume pushed off with all their might.
Posture's good, steps are solid! This start is perfect! Narita Top Road adjusted her balance flawlessly the moment she burst out of the gate.
But just as she was inwardly cheering her successful start, a red streak flashed past her like lightning. Before she could even blink twice, it had already left her far behind.
"Huh?"
The stark contrast made Narita Top Road doubt herself.
Did I mess up my start? Did everyone else sprint ahead and overtake me already?
She instinctively glanced around, searching for answers.
But what Narita Top Road saw wasn't an empty track; all the other Uma Musume around her wore similarly dazed expressions as they stared ahead.
If everyone was still nearby, that meant she hadn't messed up.
Then what was that red light just now?
At that thought, Narita Top Road shuddered inexplicably.
It was as if her instincts already knew, but her reason stubbornly refused to acknowledge it—as though admitting it would lead to something irreversible.
However, Narita Top Road's instincts and reason soon didn't need to wrestle with the question any longer.
The commentators, with their broader view of the race, couldn't wait to jump in.
"Number one! Number one, Dream Weaver, is bolting ahead! She's incredibly fast, leaving everyone behind in an instant! Five lengths! Six lengths! She's still accelerating!"
The excited female commentator grabbed her mic and launched into her commentary.
The guest commentator, who was supposed to provide calm analysis, couldn't maintain his composure either and simply kept calculating into his mic.
"Can she do it? Can she maintain this speed till the end? Should she slow down at the turn first—"
The spectators had gone wild. Who would've thought that casually choosing to watch a debut race would reward them with such a breathtaking bolt? Witnessing that red light cut through the pack of Uma Musume was worth the price of admission and then some!
In the crowd, surrounded by her cheering followers, King Halo blinked in disbelief, closing and opening her eyes repeatedly as if she couldn't trust what she was seeing.
But no matter how many times she blinked, the reality before her remained unchanged.
Her younger sister, the one she had always left in the dust during training, was charging through her debut race in such a manner.
"This... this is even more impressive than my own debut race..."
Amid the cheering crowd, King Halo muttered to herself, alone in her thoughts.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.