"Hey... did you hear? I heard there's some girl in this year's Santa Anita Derby who just came back from studying abroad."
"Oh? Where'd she study, Europe?"
"No... apparently Japan..."
"Huh? Japan? Isn't it basically all turf over there? She studies abroad there and then comes back to race here? Is there something wrong with her head?"
"Who knows. But apparently there really is someone like that. She already won a G2 at Santa Anita before this, so she's got at least some ability."
"Psh. How strong could she be? Anyone who'd go study abroad in Japan can't be that big a deal."
Hearing the discussion around him at the Santa Anita Derby, Sakuraba Ryo felt a great deal more at ease.
He had been a little worried, honestly.
But after hearing that analysis, he relaxed immediately.
Come on—how was Sunday Silence supposed to win the Santa Anita Derby?
Oguri Cap and the others had really rattled him. Every time he looked at one of the Umamusume he'd invested in, he kept getting this feeling she might actually win...
That was a terrible habit.
Up to now, every one who had backstabbed him had been a gray Umamusume. Sunday Silence wasn't gray, so what was there to be scared of?
The thought put him in a splendid mood. Humming to himself, he began looking around the stands for a good seat to watch the race from.
And that was when he noticed a strangely empty corner of the seating area.
There, with her legs elegantly crossed, sat an Umamusume girl with a hot figure and long hair like flowing flame.
Judging from the uniform she wore, she ought to be a student at the American Tracen Academy...
But then why was no one sitting anywhere near her?
The thought struck Sakuraba Ryo as odd, but he didn't dwell on it. He simply headed over to a seat near the girl.
"Yeah, the view really is good from here. I should have Obey come sit over here too."
Once he reached the seats nearby, he couldn't help sighing in appreciation.
With a view this good, why wasn't everyone rushing to sit here?
Sakuraba Ryo looked around in confusion, only to find the spectators nearby looking back at him with very complicated expressions.
...Huh?
Could people not sit here?
Was it cursed?
Or was there some unspoken rule he didn't know about?
But that Umamusume was sitting here already... so it should be fine, right...?
"Oh my~? A foreigner?"
While he was still thinking about it, the beautiful Umamusume with the stunning figure had somehow come up behind him at some point. Smiling, she spoke to him in English.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Sakuraba Ryo shifted slightly to the side. For some reason, he had the distinct sense that the Umamusume in front of him had an unusually strong presence.
She was beautiful, yes—but her aura stood out in a way that went beyond that.
Somehow, the presence she gave off felt even stronger than Luna-san's.
Seeing him edge away, the girl stepped closer instead, shortening the distance between them.
"Of course not. You just looked like you had something on your mind, so I came over to ask what was wrong~~"
"I see."
Looking into the girl's amber-clear eyes, Sakuraba Ryo could not sense any dishonesty in them, so he answered honestly enough.
"I was just wondering why no one else was sitting over here."
"Oh~~"
The girl glanced at the spectators around them and smiled.
"Maybe nobody likes sitting here~~"
"Is that so...?"
Sakuraba Ryo had the distinct feeling she was hiding something, but he had no idea what. He just knew something felt off.
"Even though the view's this good? If you want to watch a race, this has to be one of the best spots."
"Maybe they just don't have any taste~~"
"No way..."
"Oh, by the way, what country are you from?"
Apparently the Umamusume in front of him didn't want to stay on the previous subject, so she smoothly changed topics.
"Japan."
"Ooh~~ Japan~ Then which Umamusume did you come all the way here to cheer for?"
"Hm... I don't know if 'cheer for' is quite the word, or 'invest in,' but there is one Umamusume I'm here to support."
"Her name's Sunday Silence."
"Sunday Silence..."
At that name, something flickered in the girl's eyes.
"I see... Then do you think she'll win?"
"?"
Sakuraba Ryo blinked at the question, thinking that if he'd just said he was here to support her, there was no way he could give any other answer now, was there?
Granted, deep down he absolutely did not think Sunday Silence could win—but obviously he couldn't say that out loud here.
"I'm just here to see how things play out."
A perfectly vague answer.
Not really a lie, either. Heh. Man, he was good.
"..."
The girl did not respond to that. She only gave him a look, then turned her gaze toward the track.
Seeing that she didn't seem interested in continuing the conversation, Sakuraba Ryo sat down a short distance away.
And just then, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
"Whoa, whoa, Sakuraba, why are you sitting there...?"
"Huh?"
At Obey Your Master's tone, Sakuraba Ryo lowered his head and looked around at his seat.
"So there is something about this spot? I was wondering why nobody else was coming over here..."
"The seat itself is normal, yeah... but that person isn't!"
Obey Your Master pointed at the Umamusume seated not far away, her face grave.
"That's the student council president at American Academy...!"
"Not only is she a Triple Crown Umamusume—when she won the final leg of the Triple Crown, she finished thirty-one lengths ahead of the others, and that record still hasn't been broken...!"
"She's America's undisputed living legend!"
"Secretariat!"
"?"
Sakuraba Ryo blinked, then slowly turned to stare at the Umamusume he had just been casually chatting with—this "Secretariat"—his mouth falling open.
"..."
Holy crap, she's that important??
Sakuraba Ryo stood there in complete disbelief.
No wonder nobody else had been willing to sit near that section...
American fans must respect this student council president so much that they intentionally left space around her to watch in peace.
Then why didn't anyone tell him sooner?!
Hadn't he just barged into her space and made a terrible impression?
Oh no.
...
Meanwhile, seated some distance away, Secretariat stared at the entrance to the track with a complicated expression.
Sunday Silence.
As the student council president at American Academy, she of course knew that name.
After all, the car accident Sunday Silence had been involved in had caused a tremendous stir at the time.
There was no way she wouldn't have heard of it.
Sunday Silence had been the sole survivor of that incident...
And because of that, Secretariat had gone and looked into some of Sunday Silence's past.
She'd had terrible luck ever since she was little.
People had labeled her a jinx and kept their distance from her.
Things at home didn't seem especially harmonious, either...
And then there had been the accident on top of all that, a disaster no one could have seen coming...
Any way you looked at it, she was a deeply unfortunate girl.
When Secretariat had seen that file, she'd been genuinely shocked.
How could there be an Umamusume who'd gone through something that tragic?
I have to help her.
With that thought in mind, Secretariat had gone looking for Sunday Silence, intending to offer her a hand...
But she had been too late.
By the time she found Sunday Silence's parents, they told her that Sunday Silence had already been sent off to some regional academy in Japan.
So the "jinx" the American circuit had rejected had ended up in the Japan Circuit...
Secretariat had found that deeply regrettable.
America had failed to treat that Umamusume properly. It had failed to give her any affirmation at all.
Truly...
A bitter thing to think about.
The reason Secretariat had even come to watch this G1 race was because she had unexpectedly seen Sunday Silence's name on the entry list.
What was that supposed to mean?
She'd gone to the Japan Circuit, only to come back and race in the American Circuit again?
Had she gone mad?
Secretariat didn't believe Sunday Silence could have received any particularly meaningful training in Japan.
Setting aside the difference in strength between the two circuits—the biggest problem was the track itself.
Japan's high-speed tracks and America's dirt tracks had almost nothing in common.
Unless someone had spent an absurd amount of money building a dirt course in Japan identical to the ones in America, it would be impossible to train there to a level beyond the local American Umamusume.
Unless she happened to be a once-in-a-generation genius.
Secretariat kept her eyes on the entrance, her thoughts running deep.
"So he's just here to see how things play out, is he?"
She quietly repeated the words Sakuraba Ryo had used.
To be honest, she couldn't quite make him out.
He had sat down beside her looking like someone who knew absolutely nothing, and when she'd gone over to speak to him, he had also seemed to have no idea who she was.
He looked every bit the outsider, and yet the Umamusume he had chosen to invest in was someone as unusual as Sunday Silence...
And on top of that, there was a certain air about him that made people want to draw close.
What a strange investor...
Why had he brought Sunday Silence back to America?
For revenge against America?
Had the jinx cast out by America now returned as an avenger?
If that were true, then what he'd said about "seeing how things play out" became very interesting.
How much faith would he have to have in Sunday Silence to say something so casually—as if her winning were only natural?
"Looks like that girl's luck hasn't been bad all the time, after all."
"Meeting someone like him... maybe that, unexpectedly, is its own kind of luck too."
Secretariat murmured to herself, tapping lightly on her thigh with a finger.
So which was it?
A clown, puffed up with arrogance, thinking she could challenge an American G1?
Or an avenger, who had sharpened her blade on an overseas circuit and returned?
In the race that follows...
Let me see what you're really made of, Sunday Silence!