Almond Eye was obviously fighting all alone—or rather, the entire racing atmosphere in Japan actually encouraged Uma Musume to fight alone.
After ending the call with Secretariat, Gotham Song immediately returned to Mejiro Manor, went straight to her room, and began collecting all the relevant information.
Indeed, she'd always simply combined the basics she'd learned from textbooks and what she'd been taught by Dancing Brave, then applied her own race experience to help the Uma Musume on her team prepare for various races.
At most, she'd spent a significant amount of time researching and planning race strategies, but she honestly never paid much attention to the true state of affairs between Uma Musume and Trainers.
Driven by her sudden curiosity, Gotham Song quickly studied up on related topics.
Then, her face twisted into an indescribable expression.
How should she describe what she'd discovered?
In short, this was the first time she'd realized that, shockingly, Japan's racing environment wasn't even that bad?!
Indeed, results were probably the most important thing for Uma Musume—and under such guidance and promotion, Japan and Europe had actually developed into two completely different schools of thought when it came to achieving victory.
But what was the most significant and irreconcilable difference between these two schools?
Whether or not one should fight completely alone.
It was only at this moment Gotham Song suddenly realized something that made her both amused and speechless.
Hadn't she already encountered Europe's infamous tactical style at races like the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, something that had nearly been driven extinct in recent years?
The Wolfpack Tactic.
What exactly did this term refer to? Simply put, a Trainer would enter two or more of their team's Uma Musume into the same race. Before the race began, one of them would be designated as the team's "main racer."
And what was the responsibility of the main racer? To fight with everything she had to take first place. Whether it was breaking away or whatever other method, as long as she secured first, it counted as a victory for the entire team.
By now, it should already be easy to understand, right?
She was the main racer, but the race also featured multiple Uma Musume from the same team.
So, what about the other Uma Musume participating alongside this main racer? What was their role?
They became the sharpest blades on the track, the strongest spears—responsible for only one thing:
Helping their main racer eliminate every possible obstacle, blocking any and all threats, sacrificing their own rankings to ensure the main racer could achieve their predetermined goal. It was pure self-sacrifice.
This was the so-called Wolfpack Tactic: the main racer was the alpha wolf, while the others were her guardians. A strategy that pursued victory at any cost—so ruthless it was nauseating.
Gotham Song took a deep breath, gently rubbed her forehead, and leaned back against her chair, lost in thought.
It was only after becoming an Uma Musume herself… no, rather, only after becoming a Trainer responsible for several younger Uma Musume, witnessing firsthand the active racers—even retired ones—and their obsession with victory, that she truly understood just what "victory" meant to them.
Winning, taking first place, was everything to an Uma Musume. On the racetrack, even feelings for a lover probably had to be set aside temporarily when compared to coming in first.
After all, Gotham Song had even heard plenty of stories about Uma Musume who were close enough privately to share a bed, yet when they faced each other on the track, their rivalry became so fierce it felt like they'd tear each other apart.
Or rather—hadn't Gotham Song herself experienced a similar moment?
In the Arc, who had been the one burning away her own life, offering everything for victory?
In any case, there was a time when Europe's racetracks had been flooded with Wolfpack Tactics.
The reason was also quite simple; Gotham Song could easily understand. After all, a team-coordinated strategy like that was undoubtedly more effective in securing championships, glory, and prize money. Especially once the very first team used such a tactic…
It was Pandora's box. Even if the first user never repeated it, every team that witnessed the Wolfpack running rampant on the track would grow cautious, suspicious, fearful. Driven by the allure of victory—
They themselves became the second team to adopt this tactic.
This phenomenon continued for a very, very long time, growing wildly until—when exactly had it finally begun to decline, or even fade away entirely?
Probably around the time Dancing Brave emerged from nowhere, single-handedly crushing every Wolfpack beneath her hooves through sheer intelligence and raw power.
From Dancing Brave's crushing of the Wolfpack, to Gotham Song herself turning the Wolfpack into a laughable clown act…
Honestly, now that she'd learned more about it, Gotham Song felt slightly embarrassed. She hadn't even realized at the time what kind of tactical setup she'd so casually demolished during her days racing in Europe.
Ahaha…
Compared to that, Japan's environment emphasized individual heroism far more.
It was completely and absolutely solo combat—even teammates who shared the best relationships, once they faced each other on the racetrack, might ignite even fiercer sparks.
Of course, to avoid situations where both sides suffered needless losses, nearly all Trainers ensured their Uma Musume rarely participated in the same races.
From a certain perspective, Japan's racing culture was actually better than Europe's, wasn't it?
Gotham Song wasn't sure exactly how to describe it.
Perhaps because Japan remained further from internationalization, and its overall market structure was more fragmented, it didn't fully embrace the ruthless "victory is everything," "only first place matters" mentality found elsewhere. Instead, there were still more moments where dreams and passion mattered.
If we're really going head-to-head on the track, I'll defeat you thoroughly!
Leaving you in the dust and claiming first place—I want it all!
Perhaps due to these ideals, Japan's racing culture had somehow ended up being better in this regard.
Seriously, this situation arose entirely because URA's efforts to push marketization had been so utterly incompetent, inadvertently preserving more of the Uma Musume's original spirit of pursuing dreams.
Once Gotham Song realized this point, her expression turned oddly complicated.
What was this?
The URA being incompetent somehow made the URA... better?
Gotham Song came to a conclusion that left her both amused and helpless. But honestly speaking, she genuinely preferred Japan's current atmosphere.
Although, from the standpoint of pursuing pure victory, the Wolfpack Tactic was unquestionably superior to fighting alone—after all, Gotham Song's actual experience and mental age far surpassed her appearance, allowing her to clearly understand the mentality of those Trainers who employed the Wolfpack Tactic.
Yet even so…!
If it were some team competition—multiple against multiple—then employing the Wolfpack tactic would be perfectly understandable. But on the racetrack of Uma Musume, something like this was utterly disgraceful.
The reason was simple: for any Uma Musume, failing to achieve first place inevitably brought sadness and pain. These adorable, earnest children—no, for genuine Uma Musume, even legendary figures like Symboli Rudolf or an old bastard like Secretariat would still feel unbearable sadness from any loss, wouldn't they?
Gotham Song clearly remembered how Maruzensky-senpai had once casually mentioned Symboli Rudolf's intensely competitive past during a chat.
And as for Secretariat—wasn't the entire reason she'd sought out Gotham Song in the first place to experience an exhilarating, decisive battle? There was still a destined showdown awaiting them in the Dream Cup.
Thus, for Uma Musume, as long as they could run, there was never any reason to give up fighting for first place!
So indeed, yes—for Uma Musume, the Wolfpack tactic was truly cruel beyond measure…
To suppress the innate nature of Uma Musume, sacrificing supporting runners for the sake of the main racer… Even if the chosen "protagonist" managed to achieve first place, could a victory built on something so impure really make her happy?
Perhaps she'd experience joy the moment she took first place, but afterward? If joy only lasted that brief moment, was that truly enough?
She simply couldn't accept something as absurd and unnatural as the Wolfpack tactic—it fundamentally betrayed everything an Uma Musume stood for!
Gotham Song stared at the ceiling, sinking deeply into her thoughts. Honestly, compared to the cruelty of the Wolfpack tactic, she found Almond Eye's current situation even more pitiful.
After all, no matter how controversial the Wolfpack tactic was, at least those Uma Musume involved in it wouldn't normally feel completely alone. But Almond Eye?
If she had anyone at all to confide in, she never would've come seeking Gotham Song, would she?
This girl was lonely—or rather, she had no choice but to be lonely, with no spare time to become anything else.
Then, what was the cause and root of her loneliness?
First of all, Almond Eye absolutely wasn't an antisocial child. Gotham Song could confirm this clearly.
If she really were antisocial to the point of being unable to communicate normally, Almond Eye certainly wouldn't have called her, would she? Then, what could possibly cause a girl who wasn't antisocial—indeed, who was even cheerful and bright—to find herself unable to confide in any of the Uma Musume around her?
No time or spare energy?
Perhaps Almond Eye privately spent every spare moment desperately honing herself for the sake of victory…
Then, who exactly was the culprit who had pushed her into desperately fleeing as if chased by death itself?
Gotham Song suddenly let out a bitter chuckle.
Ah… So, was this trouble something I created for myself? Seriously, this is just…
Perhaps there might be some discrepancies, but it probably wasn't too far off the mark, was it? After all, wasn't she the one who'd sent URA plunging into despair…? Though, frankly, they'd deserved every bit of it.
Thinking of URA, Gotham Song suddenly had a new thought.
Since Almond Eye could be seen as URA's last desperate gamble, now that she'd lost the first two legs of the Triple Tiara, could the nervously watching URA really afford to keep sitting still so calmly?
Gotham Song couldn't say for certain, but she felt that scenario was rather unlikely. Yet she lacked further information, so for the moment, she could only fall into helpless contemplation.
As the unofficial "wild daddy" of the entire URA, Gotham Song could view any information that wasn't explicitly hidden from her. At the same time, being effectively the person of highest status within the organization, under normal circumstances, obtaining information should've been incredibly simple, shouldn't it?
A straightforward process: open the computer, log into the internal website, look up documents. At worst, she could directly storm URA headquarters and check their internal database to find exactly what she wanted.
That would normally be the proper procedure, right?
But!
But—but the damned organization she wanted to investigate just had to be URA!
Why did she say that?
Very simply: who would've thought that in a world already equipped with smartphones and even fully intelligent robots, a large and complex organization like URA still primarily used paper, fax machines, and physical documentation instead of digitally uploading everything into an electronic database?!
Thinking of this made Gotham Song nearly lose her mind. Forget checking some online database—even if she directly raided URA's headquarters, nine times out of ten she still wouldn't find the information she needed.
The reason was simple enough. They could casually remove documents beforehand, or simply never store them at headquarters at all—just letting responsible individuals take them home instead. Such situations were entirely plausible!
Gotham Song suddenly recalled that in the past, she'd inwardly marveled and laughed at URA's bizarre resistance to modernization—but now…
Now, she couldn't laugh anymore.
URA's absurdly backward methods had actually created a huge obstacle for her.
Oh, the me of the past… Could you ever have imagined something like this? To find yourself utterly helpless precisely because URA was too outdated…?
In fact, Gotham Song had urged URA several times before to embrace modern society and digitize their office operations, but obviously, if her urging had actually worked, then instead of Almond Eye launching such a desperate challenge, URA would've long since been forgiven and moved forward.
Actually, Gotham Song clearly understood her own feelings toward URA now. After the Japan Cup, their accounts had essentially been settled. Now, "Twilight Song" was practically Japan's rising new goddess, while URA had become no better than rats scurrying through underground sewers.
Even at this very moment—while Gotham Song sat deep in thought—who knew what kind of ultimate humiliation URA was enduring?
If URA had obediently listened and become more reasonable and accommodating, Gotham Song would've long since restored the Japan Cup's international standing.
But the issue was exactly that—in terms of "acting reasonably," URA had truly never disappointed her…
With no other option, Gotham Song finally stood up, having reached her decision.
Looks like I have no choice but to seek outside help.
"Guess it's time to pay a visit and check how salty URA tastes?"
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl
Okay, real talk: I am extremely hungry for money, so I'm raising membership prices soon.
BUT.
If you're already subscribed before the change, your current price stays the same as long as you remain subscribed.
So for example:
Person A is already subscribed at $7/month
Price later goes up to $14/month
Person A still pays $7/month if they stay subscribed
Meanwhile:
Person B was not subscribed before the change
After the price becomes $14/month
Person B has to pay $14/month
So yes, prices are going up, but existing members get to keep their current rate if they stay in.
Which means:
If you want the cheaper price, join before the change. Otherwise, if you subscribe later, you'll be paying the new higher amount.
Price changes happen on Monday 16th, North America time.
last day of ads