The sunlight was a little harsh...
But only a little.
"Although it's a sunny day, the turf quality on the track isn't especially good. So while the horse girls are giving it their all, they'll need to adapt to the condition of the course as well. I'm sure all of them will put on a wonderful race for us," the announcer said, introducing the state of the track while encouraging the girls making their debut.
That was true enough.
Standing inside the starting gate, Zhigaotian lightly ground the grass beneath her toe, feeling out the condition of the turf. Was it because several days of sunlight had dried out the moisture? She did not really have the technical knowledge to say for sure, so she could only guess.
Still, for her, it was not much of a problem.
The metal frame of the starting gate reflected her shadow. It was blurry, but good enough.
"Nervous?" the self in the reflection asked.
Zhigaotian gave a small shake of her head. This much was nowhere near enough to make her afraid.
But she did not answer aloud. If the horse girl in the next gate over heard her apparently talking to herself at a time like this, she would probably be written off as insane.
"No matter what, do your best." The other her in the reflection offered its blessing.
"Coming in at thirteenth in popularity is Zhigaotian. She has no prior training record to speak of, but judging from how calm and composed she looks, she may very well give us a performance worth watching."
Popularity rankings for debut races were always less reliable than they were in other races. After all, there were entrants like Zhigaotian—girls nobody had heard of before.
The purple-haired girl did not care about any of that, but she did feel someone's gaze on her from a certain direction.
When she looked over, it was Tokai Teio.
Teio covered her mouth in a fake show of restraint, but the moment she confirmed Zhigaotian had looked her way, she flashed her a brazen, shameless grin.
Of course Teio knew Zhigaotian's true ability was nowhere near last place in popularity. But if she had a chance to laugh at her a little and vent her frustration over being startled earlier, there was no reason not to take it.
Not long after that, the announcer introduced the most popular horse girl in the field—
Tokai Teio.
"And finally, our number-one favorite, Tokai Teio. As a rising star without question, what kind of performance will she bring us today?"
Hearing her own name announced, the petite horse girl inside the gate planted her hands on her hips with absolute confidence.
This little brat...
"All horse girls are now ready. The race will begin shortly."
The cheers from the crowd were chaotic, but Zhigaotian quieted her mind and listened to the information hidden within the noise.
"Oh, that girl."
From the stands, the disguised "senpai" watched Tokai Teio and Zhigaotian in secret. The moment she saw the state Zhigaotian was in, a pleased smile spread clearly across her face.
Just her presence alone was much stronger than the first time they had met... and hardly any time had passed at all. She had changed far more than expected.
Was she the type of girl who became a completely different person the moment she stepped onto the track?
Had she actually misjudged her too...?
If that was the case, then Teio might be about to suffer a bit.
When the time came, Teio had better not say she wanted to become Rudolf, only to end up becoming me instead...
Click!
The signal light turned from red to green, and at the same instant the gates flew open. Every horse girl launched herself forward as quickly as she could.
"All the horse girls are off! No one was late out of the gate!"
"And among all of them, the cleanest break belongs to Number Three, Zhigaotian. Her low popularity ranking has done nothing to affect her performance."
"Everyone is maintaining their own rhythm. Number Two, Tokai Teio, is among the front-running group, followed by Number Five, Nishio Victor, and Number Eight, Western Magazine. Meanwhile, Number Three, Zhigaotian, is lying in wait within the pack and has yet to make her move."
Mm...
Her condition was even better than she had imagined. The effectiveness of the projected personality was far better than expected.
Zhigaotian did not rush to accelerate. Or rather, the assassin persona she had synchronized with excelled at waiting silently for the perfect opportunity before striking down the target in a single blow.
And if she were to classify herself according to the categories of horse girl racing, then right now, she was best suited to the role of a closer.
She drew in a deep breath, just like the countless times she had raised bow and blade to aim at an assassination target.
In this race, that target was naturally Tokai Teio.
Mm... target confirmed.
And then...
Bowstring Extended
If the user has not entered Sniping Stance, enter Sniping Stance and designate the target.
Wait four turns?
No—
wait for the best possible moment to "kill" the target and secure victory.
As she entered her aim, everything in her vision became incomparably clear and sharp.
"Her presence disappeared..." the "senpai" in the stands murmured to herself, her tone full of delight. If she had not been watching Zhigaotian the whole time, even she might have overlooked her without realizing it. Of course, if this were on the track, that would be another matter—but even so, the senior horse girl felt a thrill at the ability Zhigaotian was displaying.
For a closer, the greatest danger was being boxed in or drained of stamina before reaching the phase where she could truly unleash herself.
And Zhigaotian's ability was practically tailor-made to deal with that problem. It was not just her form and posture—even the aura a horse girl naturally gave off while running had been hidden completely.
Tokai Teio felt that something was wrong.
As the most popular runner and a publicly acknowledged prodigy, being targeted by the others was perfectly normal. She had naturally been mentally prepared for every other horse girl to gang up on her.
Because she was Tokai Teio.
How could something like being targeted ever make the Invincible Teio lose?
But...
Something was off.
Her genius's sixth sense was warning her.
And yet she could detect nothing.
Hmph...
Whatever. If someone thought that was enough to beat the Invincible Teio-sama, then they were being far too naive~
Light Steps activated.
With effortless ease, Teio found a gap in the pack and pulled the rhythm of the race back into her own hands.
"Tokai Teio moves from third into second, and surges forward once again!"
That lightness, that agility—it was Tokai Teio's gift alone, a talent granted to her by the Three Goddesses. To Teio, the others trying to hem her in felt like giants: perhaps powerful, but unbearably clumsy.
At this moment, perhaps the only thing capable of striking the supernova at the front of the field was the rain itself.
But who could say for certain that, in this debut race, there was no killer hiding within the rainfall?
And if one arrow were concealed in a torrential downpour, then the girl named Tokai Teio might never understand, not even at the moment of death, from where that fatal rain had fallen.
This was the assassination art of Shi Association East Section 4.
And it was also Zhigaotian's assassination art.
Wind direction, confirmed.
Second turn...
That meant the openings Tokai Teio exposed were increasing.
But...
it still was not time to strike.
The "senpai" watched the race intently.
"Can you sense it, Teio? Before the blow that might knock you straight out of the sky arrives..."
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
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