Xingyun Liuge glanced over on instinct, then smoothly pivoted aside to avoid the Agnes Tachyon who was just about to crash into her. In the same motion, she reached out and neatly caught Tachyon by the back of the collar, seizing hold of her "fate."
To be fair, Agnes Tachyon flailing in midair was kind of cute.
But Xingyun Liuge thought mercilessly: She isn't doing this on purpose to act adorable, is she?
What kind of person was Agnes Tachyon? There was no way she would kick and squirm like a child.
On the other side, the blonde girl watching these two horse girls interact in such a bizarre way was no longer sure she had picked the right moment to say hello.
Had she come at the wrong time?
She had dazzling golden hair, the sort that marked her at a glance as a proper English girl. Pushing up the glasses perched on her nose, she studied the two of them with bright blue eyes, as though trying to determine their relationship just from this exchange alone.
Which was understandable. The first time Xingyun Liuge had come to Britain, she could practically be described as having only "one or two kittens" around her. Now she suddenly had an unfamiliar horse girl beside her. Even if they were only meeting as rivals, curiosity was only natural.
"A helper sent from Japan?" Liuge asked lightly.
Then she blinked and, deliberately putting on an expression of curiosity, said, "King Arthur?"
"...?"
The girl called Diminuendo froze on the spot.
They had clearly raced against each other in the 2000 Guineas. There was no way Liuge could have forgotten her that quickly, was there?
And why King Arthur, of all things? King Arthur was supposed to be a man.
Even if she was a bit on the flat side, so what? She wasn't wearing a Scottish kilt or anything, and her facial features were soft enough that anyone could tell at a glance she was a girl.
Xingyun Liuge grinned. "Oh, I meant the King of Knights—Artoria Pendragon, not Proto Arthur. You just really look exactly the part."
To be fair, that reference was from an entirely different universe. There was no Type-Moon here, nor any similar franchise.
"...?"
Diminuendo looked even more lost. Who in the world was this King of Knights?
"All right, enough joking," Liuge said. "Diminuendo, what are you doing here? Are you here for the Epsom Derby too?"
If she could fight an old rival again, Xingyun Liuge would be delighted. She still hadn't raced Diminuendo into tears, after all, and she was rather curious what this quiet, scholarly-looking girl would look like crying.
But she was destined for disappointment.
Diminuendo wasn't here for the Epsom Derby. She was entered in the Oaks, which was being run the day before.
Still, their "old acquaintance" Shardari would be running in the Derby, so the race wouldn't be dull. And besides Shardari, there was another heavyweight entrant this time—Kahyasi.
She was a descendant of Nijinsky, undefeated since her debut, and a truly formidable horse girl. Strangely, though, she hadn't made Britain's Triple Crown or Ireland's Triple Crown her goal. Instead, she was aiming specifically at the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby, as though she wanted to recreate Nijinsky's greatness in the Derby races alone.
Which made sense. The St Leger was too close to the Arc, while offering far less prize money and nowhere near the same prestige. Rather than grinding through the St Leger, it was much smarter to go all in on the Arc instead.
Perhaps that was one of the reasons no new British Triple Crown winner had appeared in so long. To win both the St Leger and the Arc within a month? The pressure was immense, and the risk simply wasn't worth it.
At the mention of that, Diminuendo covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"You defeated Secretariat-senpai's junior, Alysheba, in America. Now you're facing Nijinsky-senpai's junior Kahyasi. The newspapers have already started spinning stories about it—they're saying you're specifically targeting the descendants of Triple Crown legends."
And honestly, a little investigation was all it took to learn which Triple Crown champions had juniors racing that year. If someone had absolute confidence in her own strength and wanted to make a name for herself, choosing her targets that precisely would make perfect sense.
"Kahyasi?" Agnes Tachyon folded her arms without hesitation and dismissed the name outright. "She's just an ordinary horse girl unlucky enough to be born in an era that already has Miss Xingyun. Don't get it twisted—she's the challenger here."
As a researcher, Agnes Tachyon learned absurdly fast. When she had first left Japan, she couldn't speak English at all. Now? Not a problem. She'd learned it already.
Hearing that flawless American accent, Diminuendo almost thought Tachyon was an American horse girl herself—one who had followed Xingyun Liuge all the way to Britain out of some romantic obsession. Given that Liuge was already the American Triple Crown winner, it would hardly have been surprising for a fan to chase after her across countries.
Diminuendo merely nodded, showing no sign of disagreement, nor any intention of defending Kahyasi.
"That's true. Miss Xingyun is no longer just any horse girl now. She's a shining Triple Crown champion."
She had heard the stories. After news broke that the Epsom Derby had been postponed, a significant number of horse girls had withdrawn the moment they saw Xingyun Liuge's name on the entry list.
Turf racing and dirt racing were completely different, of course, and Epsom's course conditions would put enormous pressure on Liuge. After all, since debuting, she hadn't actually run that many turf races, and British turf was its own beast entirely.
But names cast long shadows.
Her crushing victory in the 2000 Guineas had already been frightening enough. Now she had gone and been crowned Triple Crown champion, becoming the first Japanese horse girl ever to conquer America. Her strength was obviously even more terrifying than it had been back when she ran the Guineas.
Who would dare stand head-on against a horse girl who now carried the glory of a Triple Crown?
Deploy the famed group tactics of British horse girls?
Please.
Xingyun Liuge had already smashed straight through that once in the Guineas. And Epsom, with its cruel demands on stamina, only made things worse. How were they supposed to win? More likely they'd be the ones shattered halfway through.
A considerable number of horse girls had no confidence in the slightest, so they withdrew immediately, just to avoid facing her.
Of course, there were also noble families hoping to use the opportunity to recruit her.
Lowering her voice a little, Diminuendo smiled and added, "I've heard the Royal Racing Association has already mobilized all sorts of connections. They're preparing to award you a title and a medal, to honor your achievements and glory. Naturally, that would be after you agree to transfer your registration here."
Because the Order of St. Michael and St. George had, from the very beginning, been awarded to people who rendered service to the Commonwealth or in foreign affairs.
Diminuendo's tone turned teasing.
"Miss Xingyun, that's the sort of supreme honor civil servants dream of all their lives. If you simply nod your head, a CMG is yours. And if you win the Epsom Derby, you might even be able to make a request and get yourself a KCMG as well."
"...?"
Agnes Tachyon frowned at once.
Something about this blonde girl was off.
Was this really the kind of inside information an ordinary horse girl would know?
She was absolutely a lobbyist for the Royal Racing Association.
Absolutely.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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