"This... I can tell you something."
Hayato paused, running through the calculation in his head. Rudolf wasn't his enemy. She wasn't even really an opponent. With her connections and that brain of hers, she'd figure this out eventually, whether Hayato opened his mouth or not.
That Rudolf chose to speak to Hayato rather than Suzuka was no coincidence. It was respect, respect for him as a trainer.
"However, I can't just say it casually." Hayato met her gaze. "I need you to agree to one condition."
Maruzensky shifted from behind the sofa, the cushion dipping as she dropped into the seat next to Rudolf. "What condition?" Her smile had a dangerous edge to it as she reached for the teapot. "I'm quite curious."
The tea poured in a steady stream. She slid the cup across the table toward him. "Please, help yourself."
Hayato picked it up, the heat seeping into his palm. He took a sip. Expensive stuff, probably. "Have a race with Oguri Cap." Hayato set the cup down with a soft click, his fingers staying on the rim. "That's my condition. I think you won't refuse, right? You need this race too."
"Mm, no problem." Rudolf didn't even hesitate, and from the look in her eyes, she understood the implications completely.
Maruzensky leaned back against the sofa, looking pleased with herself. "Well, if that's the case, I'll participate too, maybe? Consider it payment for this little secret of yours."
They both wanted answers, that much was obvious. A single race wasn't much to ask for information like this.
"You've both heard the legend of the Three Goddesses, right?" Hayato dropped his voice, his eyes flicking to the door, then the windows, making sure they were alone.
"The Three Goddesses?" Rudolf's posture straightened as both of them leaned in. The air in the room shifted, grew heavier with the weight of what was coming.
"All uma musume originate from the Three Goddesses. But here's the thing some don't talk about." Hayato let that sit for a moment. "Some uma musume come from reincarnation. From other worlds. They've already lived entire lives somewhere else."
Every uma musume knew the basic story, three sacred trees left in the world, one in Tracen Academy, two in Europe. That's why shrines existed, why uma musume made pilgrimages every year. The story went that 2,900 years ago, someone ate the sacred fruit and got pregnant.
First uma musume, just like that.
Eating fruit to cause pregnancy sounded insane. The trees hadn't bloomed in forever anyway, but Uma Musume still brewed tea from the leaves and branches. Supposedly cured colds, kept your skin nice, and slowed down aging.
Don't let Maruzensky's face fool you, she was an old lady.
Though the real elder at Tracen? Tazuna Hayakawa.
'Hayakawa Tazuna, originally Tokino Minoru. Ten races, ten wins. Not small-time stuff either, Satsuki Sho, Derby, and the other major races. A genuine monster who could still outrun the Symboli Rudolf even now, and she wasn't even an uma musume anymore.'
'Only Akikawa Yayoi and Maruzensky knew who she really was. That secret alone kept anyone from messing with Tracen. Even the absurd behaviour of Gold Ship wouldn't dare do anything.'
Uma musume weren't immortal. After fifty, someone could wake up as an old woman overnight. The strong ones stretched their prime for decades, but eventually everyone aged out. Rudolf and Maruzensky hadn't been trained by Tojo Hana. Their trainer was from Rigil's previous generation, the same era as Roppei Ginjiro. That's why they kept their distance from Tojo Hana as Rigil Trainer unless necessary.
"Mm, I know this." Maruzensky's fingers drummed against the armrest, her impatience starting to show. "What then?"
"You are those uma musume." Hayato leaned forward slightly. "Reincarnated from other worlds. You had power in your past lives. It's still there, just dormant, and I know how to wake it up."
"Wait." Maruzensky's hand stopped mid-drum, her expression cracking as her eyes widened. "That's just legend. You can't seriously—"
"I've said what I needed to say." Hayato shrugged, as if the matter were trivial. "Believe it or not, it isn't my problem. If you want to avoid zone damage, develop your original power."
"But—" Maruzensky started, only to stop when Rudolf raised a hand. The rest of the words never left her mouth.
Rudolf's expression hadn't changed once this whole time. Unlike Marzensky's visible shock, Rudolf had to believe the reincarnation theory for a while now. "How do we awaken our abilities?"
Straight to business, as expected.
"Your ability is called Look at the Divine Power of the Emperor." Hayato met her gaze without flinching. "In the final corner before the straight, overtake three opponents one after another. Then activate it on the straight."
The conditions were brutally specific, timing and positioning had to be flawless. Even for someone of Rudolf's caliber, awakening it demanded the convergence of the right circumstances.
"Maruzensky, yours is called Red Flame Gear." He shifted his attention to her, making a motion with his hand like changing gears. "Final corner onward, if you're in the top five and at 50% ranking or better, you can shift your gears. Fifth place or better triggers it. First place counts too."
One of the strongest ultimate skills out there in uma musume game, from what Hayato experienced before.
"You've already awakened it, by the way." Hayato leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "That's why you can use great escape running style plus zone without getting wrecked like everyone else. You just never noticed it activating."
Maruzensky's breath caught, her eyes going wide as her pupils dilated. Realization hit her like a physical force. She'd always wondered why her running style felt smoother than what she'd seen from others, why she could push harder without the same consequences. Thought maybe her technique was just refined from years of experience. Turns out there was an actual reason.
Red Flame Gear. Her zone was red when she pushed it. All this time, she thought that was just her zone's color, nothing more.
'I liked the name. It fit me perfectly. But how did this trainer know all of this?'
"Regarding the race with Oguri Cap, I'll fulfill my promise." Rudolf's tone shifted, became more formal as her fingers steepled together. "But not right now."
Hayato's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening just a little.
Backing out? I'd already gone easy on her, to give her some face.
Hayato kept his expression neutral. "Why?"
"This year's Dream Cup. End of the year."
Rudolf rested her folded hands on the table, fingers lightly pressed together. Her gaze stayed calm, unwavering, and a faint smile curved her lips.
"I'll join those races." Her calm gaze stayed on Hayato. "And I'll face Oguri Cap there."
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