April.
The American Circuit.
Santa Anita Park.
Sakuraba Ryo stood looking out over the vast dirt track before him, his feelings complicated.
"I didn't think my first trip to America would be to watch a race."
"Haha~ If you want to come here for sightseeing sometime, I can go with you too~"
At his side, Obey Your Master leaned in with a smile and traced little circles on his shoulder with one finger.
"Sightseeing, huh? Well, I guess that's not impossible."
"But you wouldn't need to come with me. If it's just for travel, I'd be fine on my own."
"What do you mean, no need?"
Obey Your Master blinked those sparkling eyes and patted her chest.
"I'm a real local here in America! I know exactly where all the fun places are. If you want to go anywhere, bringing me along as your guide would make things way easier."
"I guess that's true..."
Sakuraba Ryo nodded and turned his eyes back to the track.
"But that's not what we came here for."
And it was true. Sakuraba Ryo and Obey Your Master had not come all the way to America just to wander around.
Out on the track in front of them, Sunday Silence was running at an easy pace.
The one racing this time was not Obey Your Master, but Sunday Silence.
She was getting used to the track on the American Circuit.
Unlike Japan's high-speed tracks, which were basically turf laid over concrete, America's tracks were pure dirt.
And in complete contrast to Japan, dirt racing was the absolute mainstream here.
Most of the famous races in America were dirt races.
The American Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup—it did not matter which one.
They were all run on pure dirt tracks, with nothing to do with turf.
And precisely because the American circuit specialized in dirt racing, most of the Umamusume born here were masters of it.
The dirt races here were absolutely among the best in the world.
Someone like Obey Your Master—born in America, yet somehow seeming better suited to turf—was the real oddball.
"But if you brought me here to watch... that means you think Sunday Silence can win...?"
A bad feeling crept over Sakuraba Ryo.
The race Sunday Silence was about to enter was a G1 dirt race on the American circuit: the Santa Anita Derby.
It was the Kentucky Derby prep race in the American Triple Crown, and the Umamusume who won it would earn enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby and step onto that supreme stage—the American Triple Crown.
Those three races of the American Triple Crown were among the most prestigious in the entire world.
American Umamusume were overwhelmingly strong to begin with, and on top of that, those three races were all run within a little over a month, leaving barely any time for the racers to rest.
Running race after race within a single month put a clear strain on the body.
It took a full month just to recover back to normal.
Which meant that for any Umamusume aiming to become an American Triple Crown winner, the Kentucky Derby was the only race she would enter at full strength.
For the next two races, she would basically be running with the accumulated fatigue from the one before.
And among her opponents would be girls in peak condition, fresh and full of energy...
It was easy to imagine just how hard it was to overcome all that and actually complete the American Triple Crown.
"You're the one who had her enter the Santa Anita Derby?"
"Nope~"
Obey Your Master shook her head.
"That was the girl's own choice~ Tony and I just went along with what she wanted. Tony's actually been very invested in her, you know. If her foot injury didn't make long trips a bad idea, she would've come to America with us too."
"Her own choice, huh..."
Hearing that answer from Obey Your Master, Sakuraba Ryo relaxed a lot.
He had been worried that Obey Your Master and Tony Bianca had somehow trained Sunday Silence into something impressive enough to make them confident about running an American G1...
But if this was Sunday Silence's own decision, then he could rest easy.
Heh.
This is an American G1. The difficulty goes without saying.
Even with Obey Your Master and Tony Bianca coaching her, he wasn't worried in the slightest!
Rotten wood can't be carved!
Sunday Silence was one of the weak Umamusume he'd picked out on purpose in the first place!
If, after all the effort those two put in, she somehow managed to win a G2, he'd just have to grit his teeth and accept it.
A G1? Give me a break!
No way she was winning.
All right, all you American Nascent Soul powerhouses—front and center!
Here I am bringing a puny Foundation Establishment junior cultivator to challenge you!
Pseudo-spirit-root Sunday Silence was probably going to get taken down by those big shots with ease.
But that's fine.
If she's too upset afterward, I'll just take her out around America to eat and drink.
Food makes everything better.
And as for where to spend money... well, with Obey Your Master around as a local, I can have her take us to one of those absurdly expensive restaurants.
Heh heh. That ought to lose me a fortune on the spot.
The perfect money-losing plan!
While Sakuraba Ryo was still running wild with those thoughts, Sunday Silence stepped down off the track.
It seemed she had more or less gotten used to the surface at Santa Anita Park.
Obey Your Master walked up to her, looked her over, and gave an approving nod.
"Good. Looks like you're just about ready."
"Do you still remember everything Tony told you?"
At the question, Sunday Silence looked long and hard at the class assistant before her, then nodded.
Over the past few months, she had received training from both Obey Your Master and Tony Bianca.
Obey Your Master had taught her how to turn information into strength of her own...
And Tony Bianca had trained Sunday Silence's body with an intensity that bordered on absurd...
Under the two of them, Sunday Silence's strength had risen by leaps and bounds.
What Tony Bianca and Obey Your Master demanded of her was actually very simple.
Either do it, or do it better than anyone else.
If she wanted to stand proudly on an American track and compete with the runners here, then she had to master the Zone.
And the fact that Sunday Silence could now stand here on an American stage meant only one thing...
She had already completely mastered the Zone.
Standing on the track, Sunday Silence looked out over the course before her, her heart full of emotions.
America was her homeland.
And yet this land had never left her with happy memories...
But now she had returned stronger than before, with dependable companions at her side—and a place where she belonged.
Quietly, Sunday Silence stole a glance at Sakuraba Ryo, who was standing beside Obey Your Master and looking around.
Something small stirred in her heart.
If I win the Santa Anita Derby... he'll smile and praise me, won't he?
At that thought, the girl felt her motivation rise another notch.
---
T/N: i see i see wait... zone? MASTERED? HUH????????????????
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