By the time Yasui Makoto came out from the underground passage, the tenth race of the day had just ended.
The St. Lite Kinen was scheduled as the eleventh. After chatting briefly with Manhattan Cafe—and Agnes Tachyon, who'd jumped in midway—the loudspeaker soon announced the runners' arrival in the paddock.
Shortly after, on the huge screen opposite the stands, the girl they'd been talking about stepped into view.
"And here we are at the G2 St. Lite Kinen, with the most popular runner stepping out immediately!
"After undergoing reportedly severe mountain training, will she show us a completely transformed performance from earlier this year, bringing us an entirely new race…?
"Number one in popularity—Kitasan Black!!"
"Ooh, quite a dramatic introduction."
As applause and cheers echoed across the stands, Tachyon chuckled softly, clapping lightly and glancing at Yasui from the corner of her eyes.
"So your training camp was in the mountains? Not by the seaside?"
"Kita-chan prefers playing in the mountains. Plus, the academy never specified the training camp location anyway…"
Already habitually taking out his binoculars, Yasui replied absent-mindedly as he carefully checked Kitasan Black's condition in the paddock, nodding slightly.
Unlike in a G1, the girl wasn't wearing her victory outfit but had opted for a simple athletic T-shirt and shorts.
Precisely because the clothing was so plain, it further emphasized how light and swift her steps were, and how lean and agile she appeared standing at the paddock's center.
Especially those long legs beneath the shorts; the muscles defined clearly through the black sports tights were smooth and powerful.
Not bad at all—she's completely shaken off her rookie vibe…
He appraised the girl on screen, nodding in satisfaction.
Soon, after Kitasan Black had completed her appearance, it was time for the second favorite to emerge, and Yasui once again used his binoculars to check.
The second favorite was practically an old rival by now—Satono Rasen, who'd already faced off against Kitasan Black twice.
Subconsciously recalling that Uma Musume's past performances and speculating about possible running styles and tactics, Yasui suddenly noticed Kitasan Black stopping briefly just before entering the waiting area, standing there frozen, as if spacing out.
Hm? Did something happen...?
After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly realized what was going on.
Standing in the waiting area were all the runners for this race, lined up according to popularity.
And among them was precisely the rival Kitasan Black was most concerned about in this race—Musee Alien.
...
At the instant she saw Musee Alien, Kitasan Black's eyes sparkled.
Yet, realizing the other had also seen her—and had rapidly turned her head away after a startled pause—her body stiffened slightly, then immediately relaxed.
Trainer-san was right. Seems it really will have to wait until after this race to clear things up…
Feeling complicated, she sighed inwardly, withdrew her gaze, and stared straight ahead toward the underground tunnel leading backstage. Taking a slow breath, she moved forward.
Only after Kitasan Black's footsteps faded completely into the underground passage did Musee Alien, who'd been pretending to stare at the wall, whip her head around, staring in the direction Kitasan Black had gone, and released a complicated sigh.
"…Seriously, Ali, why can't you just be as straightforward as me?"
A sudden gloomy sigh from beside her startled Musee Alien. She turned sharply, spotting the aggrieved expression of Jun Tsubasa, instantly turning awkward.
She nervously glanced around—like someone with a guilty conscience. Seeing the other Uma Musume were busy paying attention to their paddock appearances, and with only her close friend beside her, Musee Alien lowered her voice and smiled bitterly:
"H-how am I supposed to be straightforward about something like this…? I-I didn't know things would get this complicated…
"If it was just Kitasan-san, that would've been okay, but how was I supposed to know Daiwa-senpai was also there that day…?
"Ugh… If only I hadn't gotten angry on impulse. Now I don't even know how to explain myself to Kitasan-san, and I can't even face Daiwa-senpai back at the dorm…"
"That's exactly why I say you're hopeless with that ostrich-like personality of yours…"
Just after her complaint, seeing Musee Alien's expression grow increasingly guilty and panicked, Jun Tsubasa scratched her head, quickly changing the tone of her words:
"Actually, don't worry too much. I feel like Kitasan Black isn't really that hard to get along with—you did say she had a good personality, right? Daiwa-senpai is also pretty nice.
"So you should just talk to them directly. If they do get angry…"
She slapped her chest confidently.
"Then just tell them it's all my fault! Since I'm the one who caused this mess in the first place! I—mmph! Mmph!"
Her voice got a bit loud, attracting puzzled glances from a few nearby Uma Musume.
Musee Alien hastily covered Jun Tsubasa's mouth, urgently whispering:
"Keep your voice down! Everyone's looking…"
Only after Jun Tsubasa blinked furiously, patting Musee Alien's hand repeatedly to show she understood, did Musee Alien slowly let go. She chewed her lip for a bit, then suddenly took a deep breath.
"Actually…Hayate, you're right."
"Seriously, can you stop covering my mouth every—eh?"
Just as she started complaining, Jun Tsubasa let out a weird noise, blinking rapidly. "I… right about what?"
"A lot of times, I really don't know what to do, so I pretend not to see anything…"
Musee Alien turned her gaze toward the direction Kitasan Black had left, slowly clenching her fists.
"Like now—I'm the one who originally wanted to become as strong and determined as Kitasan-san, to challenge her properly. But instead, I let you write that silly challenge letter…
"I…should've gathered the courage and spoken up myself."
"Uh, I know Kitasan Black is strong, but determined…?"
Jun Tsubasa hesitated, then snorted lightly.
"Well, fine, you did say before that she wasn't that impressive before debuting—but hey, when I came back from staying in the hospital for so long, I also won two races in a row. That's not bad either, you know!"
"So why exactly were you sulking, anyway…?"
Musee Alien stared at her in surprise. Seeing her friend pouting stubbornly, she couldn't help but smile softly.
"Besides, Hayate… I think you're really strong too."
"R-Really? Hehe, you should've said that sooner…"
Her sulky expression instantly melted into a goofy smile as Jun Tsubasa scratched her short hair.
"Since you're saying stuff like this, I guess I don't have to worry about you not performing well later, then."
"So you really were worried about me…"
Already deeply aware of her friend's intentions, warmth blossomed inside Musee Alien's chest.
She took another deep breath, clenched her fists again, and fixed her gaze firmly in the direction Kitasan Black had gone.
"Don't worry—I'll go all out.
"After all, no matter what, she never returned that challenge letter.
"No, I should say…she never returned it to us, isn't that right?"
"Exactly!"
Delighted, Jun Tsubasa snapped her fingers loudly, clapped her hands together, and rubbed them enthusiastically.
"That's what I've been saying—wouldn't it have been easier if you'd been straightforward from the start?
"I'm super curious to see just how strong this Kitasan-san you keep talking about really is. Oh, and by the way…
"I'm absolutely not handing the victory to you, Ali!"
Musee Alien turned back to face her friend, tightened her lips, and nodded vigorously.
"Same goes for me, Hayate!"
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