...She won.
It's over.
She became... number one.
At this moment, she could barely register anything except her lungs desperately gasping for air, as if the fire burning in her chest had shifted entirely to her lungs. Her legs felt like lead, unable to take another step. She couldn't even lift a finger... her entire body was utterly spent.
Yet, right before stopping, she had looked like she still had plenty left to spare.
But she didn't need to think about that.
She'd won—that was all that mattered.
No social death, no ridicule. She had done exactly what she promised: openly and honorably defeated Narita Top Road. Her image remained intact.
And most importantly...
She could finally start slacking off!!!!!
This was the fucking best!!!
Since she'd already won her debut race… she could start slacking off right now, couldn't she?! Nothing else could stand in her way. She'd enter races only when she felt like it; everything was completely up to her now.
And Garden Gale wasn't planning to voluntarily enter even a single race again.
Right now, her only thought was… I can finally become a lazy bum.
Oh this is pure bliss!
"You really are... incredibly strong, Garden Gale-san." At that moment, Narita Top Road, reduced to second place, walked over, wearing a complicated expression. She hesitated for a moment before finally congratulating her opponent. "Congratulations. From now on, you're you can make your mark on the racing world."
Only by winning their debut race could an Umamusume race in the big leagues. Without this victory, the only races they could join were debut races.
It was extremely important.
Narita Top Road had nothing more to say. She'd given it her all. Though the result wasn't satisfying, she'd already done everything she could—her training, her attitude, even her performance today, a race in which she surpassed her limits and burned with determination—everything had been pushed to the max.
Yet she still couldn't beat Garden Gale.
There was nothing left to say.
She simply wasn't strong enough.
One of the two great prodigies of the Junior Division—the prodigy named Garden Gale—lived up perfectly to her reputation. Her arrogance and pride were fully justified by her strength. Perhaps it shouldn't even be called arrogance, but confidence.
…She was just too strong.
Narita Top Road completely accepted her defeat.
"Ahaha…"
Garden Gale awkwardly scratched her head, having snapped back to reality. At this moment, she was still socially anxious—a pathetic, weak, helpless creature. Narita Top Road probably didn't feel awkward at all, but for Garden Gale, standing in front of Narita was pure agony. Sure, she had her reasons for needing to win... but she'd crushed Narita's dreams!
Social anxiety was always like this.
Always worrying about others first.
Living humbly, to a fault.
The other Umamusume from the same race approached, congratulating the victor.
But now, being surrounded by strangers, forced into conversation, bombarded by camera flashes freezing her every awkward gesture... Garden Gale learned what it meant to suffer top-level torment.
This was absolute torture.
Goosebumps were about to break out all over her skin.
Someone, please save me…!
...
"Excellent."
Symboli Rudolf straightened her posture.
Then, turning to Tokai Teio, who seemed lost in deep thought, she asked gently, "What's wrong, Teio?"
"Hmm..."
Tokai Teio frowned slightly. "I don't quite know how to put this..."
"Then take your time." Symboli Rudolf gave her plenty of space to gather her thoughts.
She roughly guessed the direction Teio's thoughts were heading.
After a brief pause, Tokai Teio finally spoke. "I was thinking... why was Garden Gale using my running style? It was super obvious, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Symboli Rudolf nodded. "To be honest, I was just as surprised. Seeing her use your running style... and winning with it—that's something even I had never witnessed before. It's the first time I've encountered an Umamusume with that ability."
"And moreover—"
"You know exactly how flexible your body is. It's an incredible gift, something that cannot be learned, only born with..."
"By the way, how long have you known Garden Gale?"
Symboli Rudolf asked this question to measure Garden Gale's abilities.
Depending on how long it took her to learn Teio's running style, her talent could range from merely strong to suffocatingly powerful.
Tokai Teio thought about it briefly, then answered, "If we're counting from when we became friends... all together, just about seven days. And it seems my latest trump card—the skill I just recently mastered—was also copied by Garden Gale. That final straight sprint she used was my Sky-High Teio Step, although it's still a bit unrefined."
"—Seven days!?!?"
The previously calm Symboli Rudolf was completely stunned.
Even her most optimistic guess had been at least three months—definitely not seven days!
After all she was the Emperor! Seven-time G1 Champion! An Umamusume who had raced through Europe! A top-tier Umamusume who'd stood at the pinnacle of the sport! She'd seen everything imaginable—yet someone mastering Tokai Teio's running style in just seven days, with such proficiency…
…Symboli Rudolf had genuinely never seen anything like it before.
Maybe Garden Gale had practiced secretly before, and these seven days were just polishing?
That had to be it.
But what Symboli Rudolf didn't realize was that Garden Gale truly had only spent exactly seven days.
Seven days to master Tokai Teio's running style.
Moreover—
Symboli Rudolf suddenly realized something else: if Garden Gale was already this powerful with just Tokai Teio's running style, then what was her true strength like? It was truly unfathomable! Though it seemed like she only barely defeated Narita Top Road, considering this factor, her performance was actually phenomenal!
To put it bluntly—
Garden Gale hadn't even used her full strength in this race.
Did she believe she could win anyway?
Then, what would Garden Gale at full power look like? Even Symboli Rudolf had no idea, but it had to be something she witnesses.
Fascinating.
The Emperor was becoming very interested in this Umamusume.
She stood up decisively, leaving the stands. Tokai Teio quickly trotted after her, tilting her head curiously but not asking their destination. Following Symboli Rudolf's gaze, it was obvious.
Symboli Rudolf was going to meet Garden Gale.
...
Sitting in the spectator seats were Curren Chan, Air Shakur, and Fine Motion.
The race had ended.
"See?" Air Shakur spread her hands with a grin, flashing her shark-like teeth. "I told you Garden would win! Remember to buy me ramen next time, Fine. Garden is incredibly strong."
Fine Motion only frowned slightly.
Then, she didn't say another word.
But everyone clearly understood that Garden Gale was incredibly strong—except Curren Chan.
It wasn't some contrarian impulse... maybe her expectations had been too high? After hearing so much about Garden Gale being one of the two great prodigies, perhaps she'd built her up too much. Now, actually seeing her perform, she seemed strong, sure... but not the overwhelmingly dominant powerhouse she'd expected. After all, she hadn't even won this race by much...
It seemed like she barely won...
Maybe her expectations had simply been unrealistic.
Curren Chan thought this through before asking aloud, "Was Narita Top Road-san actually just that strong?"
"Why do you ask?" Air Shakur was puzzled but quickly answered, "Well, as an Umamusume who hasn't officially debuted yet, Narita is indeed very strong. Back when I raced my debut, I was probably slightly weaker than her."
"I see."
Realizing this, Curren Chan nodded in understanding.
So it wasn't that Garden Gale was weak, but that Narita Top Road was just too strong! Well, that made things make a bit more sense...
But Air Shakur continued:
"Still, Garden is the real impressive one here! She didn't even use her own style; she defeated Narita using Tokai Teio's style. If Garden truly went all-out, I can't imagine how strong she'd be!"
Air Shakur's excitement was palpable.
"Ah?" Curren Chan caught the keyword, suddenly confused. "Garden Gale-san… used Tokai Teio's running style?"
Had she heard wrong?
Was there really an Umamusume like that?
Impossible...
While comforting herself with that thought, Air Shakur confirmed cheerfully, "Bingo~!"
"You got it! Incredible, right? She really did use Tokai Teio's style instead of her own. Imagine Garden at full strength—she'd be absolutely insanely strong…"
Curren Chan stopped hearing the words after that.
Her mind was filled with shock.
An Umamusume like this actually exists!?!?!?
Any previous doubts instantly vanished.
All that remained was astonishment.
Amazing!!!
---
T/N: Air Shakur is a very rough umamusume in terms of speaking she doesnt really use honorifics! and since she calls Fine Motion by only Fine I feel like it's either the first word for her or the whole name! thats why she calls garden gale by garden and stuff (this was a localization thing i added)