October.
The first Sunday in France.
At Longchamp Racecourse, spectators had arrived early, filling the central stands.
Looking at the vast, surging crowd, Fujiwara Chiya guessed there had to be at least one hundred and fifty thousand people.
No.
At least two hundred thousand!
As expected of a top international event, the scale was truly grand.
Inside the venue was a tide of people. Outside the venue was a sea of cars. Even now, people continued to arrive one after another. The announcer was saying something over the broadcast, but Fujiwara Chiya could only understand a few scattered words, like "welcome" and "twenty-four hundred." Even now, his French was still not very good.
"Look, Trainer! Those people are like trash!"
On the fifth-floor observation deck, Gold Ship pressed herself against the glass and spoke with great excitement.
"Hey, don't say weird things."
This floor was a true VIP observation deck.
The people present were all elites, including racecourse management, famous media reporters, and several well-known trainers. With their experience, it would not be strange if some of them could understand Japanese.
"When can we build a platform this high back home too? I love the feeling of looking down on the common people."
"Please, just say a little less…"
Fujiwara Chiya sighed.
He had no mood to admire the race at all.
After all, he was also participating.
Right now, Fujiwara Chiya was so nervous he could barely stand it.
"Onii-sama."
Rice Shower held his hand.
"Relax. take a deep breath"
Following Rice Shower's movements, Fujiwara Chiya took a deep breath.
He felt the weight resting on his shoulders.
If he failed to win this race…
"It's okay, Onii-sama."
Rice Shower tightened her grip on his hand.
As if seeing through Fujiwara Chiya's worries, Rice Shower smiled.
"Onii-sama said it before, didn't you? Once an uma musume steps onto the racecourse and runs with everything she has, no matter the result, she is still the protagonist of her own life. There will always be a place where her own light shines. Rice Shower believes in Shirayuki-san. Rice Shower believes in Onii-sama. The two of you will bring this world a race that shakes the heavens and earth."
Listening to Rice Shower's words, Fujiwara Chiya's eyes moved slightly.
"Ah… yeah."
No matter the result, he first had to make sure his own efforts were not betrayed.
For this race, he had prepared for so long.
Even if they did not run a race that shook the heavens and earth, at the very least, he had to make sure he would have no regrets.
He stroked Rice Shower's head, then turned toward the racecourse with a serious gaze.
He would become Shirayuki's eyes and brain.
He would give her the most reasonable instructions.
And together, they would challenge that genius trainer and that genius uma musume.
Meanwhile, in the competitors' waiting room, Shirayuki was warming up her body.
She raised one leg slowly until it reached above her head, then stopped in place like a statue.
The greatest advantage of this body was its flexibility.
Even among uma musume, it was outstanding. It was also one of her rare talents.
Shirayuki had not wasted that talent. Every day, she trained her body's flexibility, because it allowed her acceleration to become even sharper.
Using one's strengths to attack another's weaknesses.
For an uma musume, this was not a negative phrase.
It was the same as controlling the rhythm. By dragging others into one's own pace, one could disrupt their stride. Talent worked the same way.
If she was good at final acceleration, then she would use her position to delay another runner's timing, forcing the opponent to confront her strongest point.
That was a kind of wisdom.
It was also a technique.
Her flexible legs would give Shirayuki a considerable advantage in straight-line acceleration. If there was nothing blocking her ahead, then her final kick would absolutely not be inferior to Trêve's.
Slowly lowering her leg, Shirayuki let out a long breath.
Then, there was a knock at the door.
"Miss Snow Dancer, the race is about to begin."
"Okay."
A message notification sounded from the table.
It was from Special Week and the others.
At Japan's Tracen, it was still deep into the night. The message only contained one very short sentence.
Do your best!!
Those girls were probably curled up in their blankets right now, watching her race.
After replying to them with a smiley face, Shirayuki left the room.
She was wearing her racing outfit, white like a formal dress. Around her neck was a necklace, and her pure white back was exposed.
"Oh~"
Trêve happened to walk out of her room at the same time.
When she saw Shirayuki's outfit, she quickly came over.
"So this is Shirayuki's racing outfit! It's so pretty."
"It's okay, I guess."
"Shirayuki, let's make a promise. If I win this race, you have to wear this racing outfit and dance with me."
Trêve still remembered how Shirayuki had once promised that if Trêve helped her, she would dance with her.
Now, she had added another condition.
"Okay."
"What about Shirayuki? If you win, what do you want me to do? If it's only me making a request, that feels a little unfair."
At this point, it had basically become an established routine.
Before a race, uma musume always had to make a bet.
Shirayuki thought for a moment, then tapped her hand.
"I want your shoes."
"Shoes?"
"There's that saying, isn't there? An uma musume will only give her shoes to someone special. They are her most important thing. So, if I win, I'll take away your most important thing… Hey, Trêve, don't look at me with those eyes. I just want to collect them! I don't have any weird thoughts. This is only my habit as an uma musume enthusiast!"
"Got it. If Shirayuki says so, then let's treat it that way. Do you want them original-scented?"
"Of course… No, wait! I already said I don't have any weird thoughts!"
Trêve let out a laugh as clear as a silver bell.
She ran ahead of Shirayuki.
"Then try it, Shirayuki. My shoes won't be that easy to take!"
When they arrived at the racecourse, the entire crowd erupted into passionate cheers.
Shirayuki covered her ears, which ached from the sheer impact of the sound.
The broadcasts on television were all noise-reduced.
The real racecourse was even louder than a battlefield.
People waved flags symbolising the uma musume.
Shirayuki's colours were blue and white stripes.
"Please welcome our second favourite!"
As the announcer's voice rang out, Shirayuki stepped onto the stage.
"The challenger who has come from faraway Japan! The super favourite among the overseas competitors! Snow Dancer!"
"OOOOOOOH!"
The fans cheered.
During her time in Paris, Shirayuki had also gathered fans of her own.
"And finally, the one about to appear is our number one favourite! She advances to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe undefeated! She has created an endlessly proud record! Looking across all of France, there is no longer any opponent left for her! Our Flower of France, the ruler of Europe! Trêve!"
Like thunder roaring through the sky, the turf of the entire racecourse seemed to tremble beneath the cheers of the crowd.
Unrivalled popularity.
Unrivalled strength.
Amid the roar of the human tide, the orange little foal stepped onto the stage.
Her azure eyes swept across the crowd.
In the end, her gaze landed on Shirayuki, who had stepped down from the stage.
The corners of Trêve's lips curved upward. She placed her right hand over her chest and made her signature gesture.
Right now, her condition was perfect.
Then came the gate draw.
Shirayuki took a deep breath.
If she could get an inside gate, that would be best. She would be able to quickly establish an early advantage.
A middle draw would be somewhat difficult. She would have to go through the most intense competition out of the gate.
As for an outside draw…
Shirayuki felt that her luck should not be bad enough to reach that level, right?
She drew her gate number.
Shirayuki opened it.
Then her body froze in place.
Gate number: Seventeen.