At the starting point, Fujiwara Chiya gave the instructions.
Seeing that someone was about to race, the students who had been gathered around Shirayuki also ran over.
"Start!"
Two figures shot forward.
Fujiwara Chiya had chosen a sixteen-hundred-metre course for them, a distance suitable for undebuted uma musume.
Orfevre took the lead immediately, quickly opening up a one-length gap from Cesario.
Yesterday, Fujiwara Chiya had asked that instructor about Orfevre. From what he learned, she was an uma musume with a bad temper, an arrogant personality, and tremendous ability.
In the entrance exam at the beginning of school, Orfevre had beaten her opponent by five lengths.
Only then did Fujiwara Chiya realise that Orfevre was the same child Katsumura Youta had mentioned, the one who was both strong and had beaten up an instructor.
Fujiwara Chiya had not been present for that exam, so he did not know exactly what kind of strength she had. There had been cases in the past where the overall level of uma musume in an evaluation was not very high, and only one uma musume happened to stand out. That did not mean her strength was necessarily the strongest among all the new students.
If Orfevre was feeling pleased with herself just because of her entrance exam result, then she was wrong.
The moment she stepped onto the Central racecourse, her true ability would be exposed.
That was what Fujiwara Chiya had originally thought.
Until he saw Orfevre's movements.
Then he felt that something was off.
Surging.
Powerful.
And… wild beyond restraint.
Her running style already had its own character!
Generally speaking, an uma musume's running style would only gradually take shape after long-term training. Shirayuki, Grass Wonder, Dober, Seiun Sky, all of them had formed the running posture best suited to themselves only after a period of training.
In the early stages, their running movements were mostly similar. Aside from someone like Tokai Teio, who possessed exceptionally strong talent and displayed a highly distinctive running style through physical ability alone, most did not stand out so quickly.
But Orfevre's style was even more vivid than Teio's.
Her legs struck the ground with strength, as though the entire racecourse trembled beneath her powerful steps. Compared with her, Cesario's movements behind her seemed much softer.
Just from their running forms, the gap between the two could clearly be felt.
Soon, the race reached the curve.
Orfevre moved toward the inside.
And then—
Orfevre began drifting diagonally.
She drifted straight toward the middle of the track.
"…Hm?"
Seemingly realising her mistake, Orfevre shifted diagonally back again.
"Hmm?"
What is she doing?
Because of those two diagonal movements, Cesario had already caught up from behind.
Orfevre glanced back once, then turned her head forward again.
On the final straight, Cesario began to accelerate.
Just as she was about to catch Orfevre—
"It seems I gave you hope of victory."
Only those words were heard.
Then Orfevre's speed suddenly surged.
The gap, which had originally been less than half a length, widened to a full four lengths in just three short seconds.
Cesario's eyes widened.
Then she desperately chased after her.
However, no matter how she accelerated, the distance between her and Orfevre never shrank.
In the end, with a four-length lead, Orfevre crossed the finish line.
She stopped, taking a deep breath.
Then she walked up to Fujiwara Chiya.
"Well, Empress's Scepter? Have you witnessed my strength?"
How should he evaluate this?
Her physical ability far exceeded other uma musume.
But her race awareness was poor.
If Shirayuki drifted diagonally like that on the racecourse, Fujiwara Chiya would probably commit ritual suicide on the spot.
Orfevre folded her arms and waited for Fujiwara Chiya's answer.
"Excellent," Fujiwara Chiya said. "Truly excellent."
"However, you fail."
His tone shifted.
"What?"
"You achieved an unquestionable victory, but you completely fail."
Hearing those words, Orfevre froze for two seconds.
Then she strode right up to Fujiwara Chiya and grabbed him by the collar.
"Trainer, are you mocking me? Before my overwhelming strength, you dare say that I fail?"
"That's right."
Under Orfevre's aggressive gaze, Fujiwara Chiya spoke.
"Repeated mistakes completely wasted your stamina. On the curve, you could have built another one-length advantage and created a buffer for the final straight, allowing yourself to run more comfortably. But you wasted that chance. Twice. In contrast, Cesario lost the race, but she did everything she was capable of doing. In terms of race awareness, you fail, Orfevre. That will cause you to lose races you should have won."
Hearing those words, Orfevre gritted her teeth.
After facing off with Fujiwara Chiya for several seconds—
"Hehe… hahaha! Your mouth is stubborn indeed! Fine. In that case, before I conquer the world, I shall conquer you first!"
Orfevre pinched the man's chin and leaned closer, staring straight into his eyes.
Their faces were only a breath apart.
"I shall make you personally say the words, 'Orfevre is number one under heaven.' Remember that, Trainer."
Releasing her fingers, Orfevre gave a light snort and turned away from the racecourse.
Fujiwara Chiya touched his chin.
Her talent was immense.
Her presence was excellent.
If she could be cultivated correctly, she would absolutely become an extraordinary uma musume.
The problem was that her personality was terrible.
Fortunately, the one standing here was him. If it had been another trainer, they might have been too frightened by her just now to speak.
Most trainers had never endured a direct attack from an uma musume before.
After Orfevre left, Cesario came closer.
"Trainer…"
Her voice was very soft.
In the entrance exam, she had won by half a length over second place. Yet in front of Orfevre, she had been left behind by four full lengths.
Since the day Cesario first stepped onto the racecourse, she had never experienced such a crushing defeat.
"You ran well. Your time was one second faster than the average."
"Yes…"
She lowered her head.
"Are you sad because you lost to Orfevre just now?"
Fujiwara Chiya saw through her thoughts.
"Shirayuki was once the same. During a stage exam, she lost. She was defeated by Tokai Teio and Special Week."
Hearing that, Cesario's ears flicked.
She had never heard about this before.
Raising her head, Cesario looked at Fujiwara Chiya.
"Failure is a process every uma musume must experience. Every defeat is a refinement. It tempers your heart, makes you more resilient, and gives you greater determination to face the next race."
Fujiwara Chiya stroked her head.
"This is a good beginning. You understand the taste of defeat better than others now, so you will crave victory more than they do. Remember this feeling, and then come train."
Her clear purple eyes looked at Fujiwara Chiya.
The man smiled.
"Welcome to Team Pollux. From today onward, you are my uma musume."
"…Yes!"
On that face, usually as cold as a machine, a smile finally appeared.
In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived.
Shirayuki dressed early and went to the kitchen. After making breakfast, she carried it back into the room, just as Mejiro Dober woke up.
"Good morning."
"Morning."
Mejiro Dober sat in the chair, and Shirayuki helped comb her hair.
Today was an extremely important day.
The final crown of the Fillies' Triple Crown, the Shuka Sho, was about to begin.
This was the race where Mejiro Dober would reclaim her glory.