Even though Biwa Heidi hadn't been lapped completely, she'd still fallen fifteen lengths behind. She'd always believed she was this year's protagonist, not comparable to those ordinary uma musume running around her. Until today, when Silence Suzuka and Fight Gulliver taught her a harsh lesson.
Geniuses and ordinary uma musume were different. They lived in completely different worlds.
If two of them were geniuses, then I suppose I was the one who survived being compared to them.
Supposedly, every uma musume had their name arranged when they were reborn into this world. Those blessed with names from the Three Goddesses had their destinies determined from birth, their paths already written.
So what about me? What am I? Just an ordinary uma musume who happens to have a name? A supporting character? Someone who exists just to make the protagonists shine brighter?
"Next time, next time I'll still—" Silence Suzuka was about to deliver her signature line.
"There won't be a next time."
Biwa Heidi cut her off with a bitter smile, one that never quite reached her eyes.
"Thank you for letting me witness such an amazing race. The two of you were formidable opponents."
She paused, then exhaled softly.
"But I've decided to give up on competing for the Triple Tiara. I'm going to run in the Derby instead."
Her gaze steadied.
"After all… It's every Uma Musume's dream."
The reason she'd entered the Oka Sho in the first place was that she'd thought the Triple Tiara would be easier than the Classic Triple Crown.
That had been her plan from the very start. If she failed at the Oka Sho, she'd switch tracks to the Derby. Even if she couldn't win it, that would be better than losing at the Yūshun Himba in front of everyone.
Biwa Heidi wasn't suited for middle to long distances anyway. She'd have to go back and train more, work on her weaknesses. Who knows, maybe she'd actually succeed.
Many uma musume shared this exact mindset. Lose at the Oka Sho, switch to the Derby. Not necessarily to win, but just to stand on that legendary stage.
"You're not running in the Yūshun Himba like us?"
"Nope. With a monster like two of you around, what chance do I have?" She said it with a laugh, though the sound came out slightly hollow. "You'd better give it your all out there. With your abilities, winning the Triple Tiara shouldn't be a problem at all."
Silence Suzuka thought for a moment, her expression turning contemplative. She wanted to be modest and say "not really," but remembering Hayato's words from before, she nodded instead. "Mm."
The Triple Tiara and all that... she didn't really have those kinds of grand aspirations. She'd just run in races that seemed fun, regardless of winning or losing. That was enough for her.
Challenging stronger opponents, earning more honors, receiving more applause from the crowd... that would make me happy, too. That's what Hayato had said to her.
And Hayato was right. She was happy now. Winning high-level races meant everyone would cheer for her, celebrate with her, and share in her victories.
"For everyone's expectations, I'll do my best." She clenched her fist tight, brimming with fresh determination.
[Silence Suzuka has won a GI race. 12 attribute points awarded. Silence Suzuka's affection level increased. Shop unlocked.]
The shop unlocked?
A new panel appeared before Hayato's eyes, displaying various goods arranged neatly in grid slots like a video game interface.
There were running shoes, inner and outer lane draw balls, sunny day dolls, cloudy day dolls, motivation sweets, and something called healing spring water.
There were even potions that directly boosted speed or power stats. The most outrageous one was a potion that temporarily increased stamina by a full 100 points.
Even factor inheritance was available for purchase, along with silver needles for opening acupuncture points in uma musume to unlock hidden potential...
So many items!
Seeing all this finally gave him that proper cheat-like feeling he'd been expecting. Every single item was basically equivalent to a cheat code, game-breaking in its own way.
Unfortunately, all these things required something called Legend Points, which could only be obtained by defeating Legendary Uma Musume.
Did it count if his own Uma Musume defeated them? Or did I have to defeat them myself somehow?
Did newly debuted ones count? What about retired ones?
After raising a whole bunch of questions in his mind, a Legendary Uma Musume leaderboard appeared in response.
[Uma Musume with 320,000+ fans qualifies as Legendary Uma Musume. Legend Points are determined by career prize money. Every 10,000 in prize money equals 1 Legend Point.]
Oguri Cap, Legend Points: 91,251.
Symboli Rudolf, Legend Points: 68,482.
Tamamo Cross, Legend Points: 62,361
Super Creek, Legend Points: 56,253.
Inari One, Legend Points: 55,660.
Maruzensky, Legend Points: 43,244
Ines Fujin, Legend Points: 24,440.
...
[Each Uma Musume's points can only be obtained once and must be acquired personally. The Uma Musume must be in excellent condition with a high fighting spirit for it to be valid.]
Legend Points weren't calculated based on an Uma Musume's strength alone. The system seemed to consider their achievements as representative of their ability, so prize money was converted directly into Legend Points.
The important question was...
What does this mean? I have to do it myself? As a human or as an uma musume?
Looking at all this, Hayato felt like he'd gotten excited over nothing.
Among all the Legendary Uma Musume listed, any single one of them was an existence he couldn't possibly beat in a race. Not even close.
Attribute stats were secondary. His human body had none of the excellent bloodlines that Uma Musume possessed. All his aptitudes were stuck at G-rank, the absolute bottom.
Improving aptitudes wasn't as simple as one might imagine, either.
The items inside the shop were incredibly tempting, but they weren't absolutely necessary for success. Even without these things, he believed his uma musume could still win their races.
Hopefully...
Just as Hayato was feeling thoroughly disappointed, he noticed another message appearing.
[Legend Points can also be obtained when your trained Uma Musume defeats other Legendary Uma Musume.]
Well, that works too. Hayato couldn't get on the track himself, but his uma musume could run for him. As long as he trained enough Uma Musume and raised them all into legends, Legend Points would flow in continuously, right?
No need to defeat legends yourself, because his Uma Musume would be the legends.
"Ahem." The very moment Hayato had that confident thought, he looked up to see Daiwa Scarlet approaching from the side. She coughed once beside him, the sound pointed and deliberate.
What's wrong? Not feeling well? Caught a cold?
"Ahem." Seeing Hayato completely ignore her, Daiwa Scarlet coughed again, louder this time. She was ready to punch someone at this point. Can't you see this young lady passing by right in front of you?!
Even if it's just a chance encounter, at least acknowledge me!
A greeting would be nice, wouldn't it?
Can't you see this young lady doesn't have a trainer yet? Shouldn't you at least politely ask?
Other trainers won't leave me alone, so what's your deal? Are you even a trainer?!
Daiwa Scarlet's persistent coughing made Hayato shiver suddenly. A chill hit him, and he realized it really was cold today. The final days of April, with these unusually low temperatures, made sense.
The sudden temperature drop had caused quite a few uma musume who'd been training too hard and hadn't noticed the cold to catch colds or develop fevers.
Daiwa, you should be more careful, too. Don't tell me you spent another night in the library?
This made Hayato a bit worried, though he didn't know what to say to her directly.
Too bad she's not one of my Uma Musume. Would showing concern seem excessive?
Hayato turned his head away, no longer looking at her.
Ignored completely by Hayato, Daiwa Scarlet coughed desperately, the sound becoming almost theatrical. She'd been trying to get Hayato's attention this whole time, thinking he simply hadn't noticed her yet, so she coughed a few more times for good measure. Then it became... habitual pneumonia?
Of course not.
She'd just overdone the act.
Hayato really wanted to say something. "Please, if you're sick, go home and take medicine. Why are you coughing around me? Trying to infect me?"
Hayato genuinely wanted to say that. No matter what, he would never imagine that Daiwa Scarlet was just trying to strike up a conversation with him.
"Daiwa Scarlet." Another uma musume approached from behind. The Student Council, Symboli Rudolf herself.
As the crowd had dispersed, she'd finally made her way to the front from the back where she'd been stuck. With so many people packed around earlier, she'd decided to wait patiently before moving, taking the opportunity to locate Hayato's group.
As soon as she arrived, she saw Daiwa Scarlet coughing repeatedly. Catching a chill from the cold night air, she knew that feeling all too well from her own recent experience.
"Daiwa, did you catch a cold?"
---
The Gulliver is just at the beginning of the zone opening, the peak will come in the next race (ch 150+) when it's with Air Groove. Three zones