Inside a classroom, Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky fell silent upon witnessing Sakura Baimu's behavior.
The awkward silence lasted for a while before being broken by Maruzensky's barely suppressed laughter.
"Hahahaha, I'm finding this little pony increasingly adorable," Maruzensky chuckled, feeling she hadn't laughed like that in a long time.
"Well… it's a clever way to avoid the competition, to prevent getting hurt," Symboli Rudolf said, her lips twitching slightly. She found Sakura Baimu's behavior rather despicable.
"But honestly, I'm quite looking forward to a match between the two of them. I'm really curious about Ogura's abilities," Maruzensky said earnestly to Symboli Rudolf after laughing.
"Let's go to the side of the track and watch. What if that blonde Umamusume really is the one targeting the academy's Umamusumes these past few days?" Symboli Rudolf said.
—
"Laughable. You want to race with me? Do you think I don't have any dignity?"
Sakura Baimu thought about how she had gotten a hundred yen for free tonight, so she prepared to leave quickly.
She wasn't sure if Golden Crown Eagle was the one who attacked Rice Shower.
Sakura Baimu harbored resentment toward the Umamusume who hurt Rice Shower, but she didn't have any particular feelings toward the others.
Besides, she already knew Golden Crown Eagle's name. She could find a picture and show it to Rice Shower to see if she was the one teaching Rice Shower about her Zone.
There was absolutely no need to race her.
On the nearby track, Golden Crown Eagle, who had been running for a while, sensed something was wrong. She hadn't heard footsteps behind her.
She turned around and saw that Sakura Baimu was standing still, having never intended to run with her in the first place.
"Now that I've caught you, do you think you can escape tonight?"
Realizing she had been tricked, Golden Crown Eagle smirked and turned to run toward Sakura Baimu.
"Oh no!" Seeing that she had been spotted by Golden Crown Eagle, Sakura Baimu grabbed her backpack and prepared to flee.
"Wait, wait!" Golden Crown Eagle blocked the exit in a few strides. "You think you can just run away after taking my money?"
"Uh…" Sakura Baim wasn't as close to the exit as Golden Crown Eagle to begin with, she became speechless now that she was blocked.
"To be honest, I'm really not interested in running with you." Sakura Baimu tossed the coin to Golden Crown Eagle.
"Got it. Let's make a bet then." Golden Crown Eagle smiled, looking at the coin in her hand.
"Looks like you're short on cash. Want to gamble? Just one match. If I lose, I'll give you 20,000 yen; if I win, you'll give me 2,000 yen. How about it?"
"Miss Golden Crown Eagle, so confident?" Sakura Baimu's interest was piqued by Golden Crown Eagle's words.
Tracen Academy doesn't allow Umamusumes to gamble, and since she wasn't a Tracen Academy Umamusume, and the other person was an overseas Umamusume, she had no qualms about it.
"Looks like you're interested. Come on."
Golden Crown Eagle saw the interest on Sakura Baimu's face and knew she wouldn't back down this time, so she pulled out two 10,000-yen bills and placed them at the bottom of her wallet.
"Since we're gambling, let's change the rules," Golden Crown Eagle said.
"This time, we'll compete in 2400 Meters; 2000 Meters isn't enough."
Sakura Baimu's eyes lit up. 2400 Meters—that was the distance of the Japan Cup.
Could this Golden Crown Eagle be the Umamusume who was about to participate in the Japan Cup?
If that was the case, then it matched her previous analysis.
Sakura Baimu didn't ask any further questions, but instead stood at the starting line as well.
This time, she was interested in playing around with this Umamusume.
Even if the other person wasn't the Umamusume who had harmed Rice Shower, 20,000 yen was still a considerable sum.
Sakura Baimu also took out two 1,000-yen bills and placed them at the bottom of her wallet.
The two stood at the starting line again, and Golden Crown Eagle took out the coin she had just used and flicked it into the air.
As soon as the coin landed, Sakura Baimu and Golden Crown Eagle dashed off together.
Meanwhile, many Umamusumes who had been strolling around the track excitedly shared the news with those around them upon seeing the race begin. They quickly made way to watch the two Umamusumes compete.
Tracen Academy Umamusumes getting such a close-up view of international Umamusumes was a rare opportunity.
Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky also arrived at the trackside. They witnessed Sakura Baimu and Golden Crown Eagle take out banknotes and place them on the grass and were immediately astonished.
"These two are going to gamble!!" Symboli Rudolf exclaimed, preparing to rush forward to stop them.
But before she could run, Maruzensky grabbed her.
"Don't waste your time, Rudolf. Neither of them are Umamusumes from Tracen Academy. If you intervene now, see whether that Ogura will ever show her face again."
Symboli Rudolf fell silent upon hearing this, a flicker of hesitation crossing her eyes.
Her duty as student council president clashed with her curiosity to uncover the two women's identities and strengths, but ultimately, curiosity prevailed.
"Ogura doesn't have a Zone, which is a huge disadvantage," Maruzensky chuckled.
"Hmm…" Symboli Rudolf didn't deny it. "But I feel this Ogura isn't weak either. She shouldn't be so easily intimidated by the opponent's aura or Zone that she loses her composure. It's a good opportunity for us to observe whether this Golden Crown Eagle truly intends to harm anyone."
—
Sticking to her previous strategy, Golden Crown Eagle chose to position herself as the front runner at the opening.
She opened up a position about five Lengths ahead of Sakura Baimu.
While Golden Crown Eagle excelled as a Pace Chaser, she felt there was no need to take Sakura Baimu seriously, as Sakura Baimu hadn't yet mastered this area.
Besides, although she appeared to be in the front-runner position, she would intentionally allow Sakura Baimu to catch up in the mid-to-late stage, so it wasn't a major problem.
Golden Crown Eagle ran while keeping an eye on Sakura Baimu's position behind her. Finding Sakura Baimu following, she relaxed.
In the blink of an eye, Golden Crown Eagle and Sakura Baimu had reached the second bend and entered a long straight.
"These two are already quite fast, but judging from their appearance, they haven't even started to exert themselves yet; they're running very easily," Maruzensky commented.
"That puts my mind at ease. If this level of speed is so easy for Ogura, then even if Ogura can't win when Golden Crown Eagle activates her Zone, she should be able to withstand it," Symboli Rudolf nodded and said softly.