The changes in positioning on the track actually didn't need any commentary—both the spectators inside the venue and those watching from outside could see them clearly.
Under the blazing summer afternoon sun, the surface of the beach was drier than usual, and the structure of the sand was even looser.
On this kind of terrain, each stride the horse girls took required more effort, and the visual effect was correspondingly more pronounced.
Behind every one of the five competitors, it looked as if a small sandstorm was being kicked up, making their positions and approximate speeds obvious at a glance.
Precisely because of this, the moment Super Creek and Mejiro Ardan accelerated, the crowd instantly began cheering for them.
"Go! Creek! We came all this way just for you!"
"Lady Mejiro! I've been your loyal fan for ten years already! Go for it!"
Leaving aside the fact that Mejiro Ardan had still been in kindergarten ten years ago, unlike the spectators—who grew excited the moment they saw an intense scene—what filled Kitahara's mind was the state of the race itself.
After faithfully reporting the track situation, and while Akikawa Yayoi took over the race commentary, Kitahara began analyzing things silently.
So she's not slowing down after taking the lead… If this were a formal race, this kind of choice would be somewhat risky for Tama…
But in a relay race, with the certain advantage brought by Mejiro Ramonu and Oguri Cap's proactive yielding of position, maintaining the lead isn't entirely unfeasible.
Compared to her usual preferred running style, this tempo consumes more stamina, but it also forces the other opponents into a battle of attrition.
Besides, Tamamo's next runner is Tokai Teio.
That kid hasn't reached her peak yet, but her talent is simply outstanding—few in her current age group can match her.
In other words, even if Tamamo makes some mistakes near the end of her leg, the third leg can still handle it.
That team's strategy seems to be centered on overall victory…
Then what about Oguri Cap's team—what's going on there?
Shifting his gaze from the leading gray-haired horse girl to the one behind her, Kitahara frowned slightly.
Just then, Akikawa Yayoi's commentary came to a pause, and it was his turn again.
Holding the microphone near his ear, he smoothly continued:
"Currently still in the lead is Tamamo Cross. Under her guidance, this race is clearly being run at a very fast pace."
"Close behind her is Oguri Cap."
"Presumably for the sake of the team's overall victory, Oguri Cap originally held the lead after the baton exchange, but soon yielded that position and moved into second."
"However, compared to her usual performances on the track, this kind of front-running tactic looks similar, yet she's still running quite far forward."
"One can only hope that this choice is indeed made with team victory in mind."
"Further back are Super Creek and Mejiro Ardan. After their sudden acceleration earlier, the distance between them and Oguri Cap is now very small."
"This is also a more forward-running style than usual, possibly indicating a marking strategy."
"The pressure on Oguri Cap seems to be far greater than we initially thought."
"Inari One remains very relaxed. The gap between her and the competitors ahead is over six lengths."
"This is rare in her usual race scenarios, but considering her finishing kick in the Shining Star races, this distance is still very much catchable once the final sprint begins."
As he reported the race situation, the cheers rising from beneath the helicopter grew increasingly intense.
Indeed, at the beginning, all the spectators had been shouting the same name: "Oguri Cap."
Their yearning for an undefeated Triple Crown and the excitement surrounding the fact of an undefeated Double Crown, made such behavior unsurprising.
Likewise, compared to a one-sided spectacle, it was clearly more exciting for people to watch a closely matched, fiercely contested race.
That was also why the cheers were growing louder.
But in the eyes of professional trainers like Kitahara, or of the horse girls themselves, even though the race was intense and thrilling, it was far from ordinary.
Kitahara knew his horse girls well. His intuition told him that if nothing unusual had happened, they wouldn't be running like this.
So perhaps during these days of preparation—or perhaps right before the race—something must have happened between them.
While Kitahara was commentating and pondering in secret, back at the starting point of the second leg, two little insiders were watching the live broadcast and whispering to each other.
"Hey, hey—Opera O, why do you say that Oguri Senpai and the others are acting kind of strange?"
With one hand shading her eyes, staring at the vehicle-mounted screen in the distance, Special Week tugged at Opera O's arm with her other hand.
Although both horse girls were still in elementary school and hadn't formally studied the Twinkle Series yet, they had learned a lot of basic knowledge in class.
But when it came to theory, Special Week felt she was still a step behind Opera O.
It wasn't that she lacked talent—her exam results were actually quite good.
It was just that compared to Hokkaido, the curriculum at Tokyo's horse-girl elementary schools covered more material. Having transferred schools for only one semester, she still needed more time to adapt.
The most obvious example was that in order to finish more homework than back home, or to prepare for exams, she always needed to spend more time.
As a result, she now went to bed much later, and sometimes even couldn't help nodding off during exams.
From their past interactions, she felt that Opera O seemed more adept at studying.
At the very least, whenever she asked her questions, Opera O always answered confidently.
And just as usual, Opera O reacted to Special Week's question the same way she always did.
"Ha! Hahahaha—!"
After her trademark loud laugh, Opera O tilted her head back, casually flicked her bangs aside, and said with absolute confidence:
"Isn't it obvious?"
"The senpais' behavior before the race made it very clear."
"They all want to be the protagonist of this magnificent performance!"
"And that's only natural. On any stage, there's always only one protagonist."
"When everyone wants to stand right at the center of the spotlight, of course, things are going to get strange."
She flicked her bangs again.
"After all, compared to the seniors, even I wouldn't hand over the role of protagonist—let alone horse girls as outstanding as them."
"And then there's Oguri Senpai."
"I feel like she doesn't really care about being the protagonist… at least—"
"At least before this race."
At first, Special Week felt awkward every time Opera O showed this level of self-admiration, inexplicably feeling secondhand embarrassment for her.
But perhaps because she had gone out with Opera O so many times, and seen so many strange looks from others, she had gradually gotten used to it.
"S-so that's how it is?"
Special Week looked enlightened. "If that's the case, then it actually makes sense…"
"Huh? Is that Special Week and Opera O? What are you talking about?"
The place where Special Week and Opera O were whispering was outside a tent beside the starting point of the second leg.
From there, they could clearly see the vehicle-mounted screen without missing any of the race.
Staff members nearby were also helping to maintain order, keeping spectators and fans over ten meters away so they wouldn't disturb the horse girls resting and preparing there.
Under these circumstances, the only ones who could come over and talk to Special Week and Opera O—aside from staff or trainers—were horse girls.
And not just any horse girls, but competitors.
"Ah! President Rudolf! And all the senpais!"
Turning toward the voice together, Special Week and Opera O instantly snapped to attention, standing straight like soldiers under inspection.
Opera O's narcissistic expression vanished in an instant.
In the hearts of horse girls their age, Symboli Rudolf and her cohort were not only powerful senpais, but also idols they admired and aspired to be.
You could say they had grown up watching their races.
"Well now, Rudolf, look at you—don't be so serious."
Before Symboli Rudolf could continue, Maruzensky suddenly bent her arm and nudged her best friend, laughing teasingly.
"See? Those two were chatting just fine, and the moment you show up and speak, you scare them into silence."
"No need to be so nervous, you two."
After teasing her friend and ignoring the awkward look on her face, Maruzensky stepped closer to Special Week and Opera O, suddenly straightening her waist to accentuate her toned abs.
"So? Want to go rinse off, soak up some sun, and do some skin and tail care together?"
"Not having to go on stage for a Winning Live after the race is just great—I've been wanting to relax like this for ages."
"So come on, join me. Let your senpai show you the adult world."
"And your Ramonu Senpai will be treating~."
Having just come off the track, Maruzensky hadn't changed out of her short-sleeved shirt and shorts yet.
But even in athletic wear, as she straightened up, her fit and shapely figure was on full display.
Special Week's and Opera O's gazes unconsciously followed her movements, bobbing up and down.
Perhaps dazzled, Special Week scratched her head reflexively and said a bit sheepishly:
"Actually… actually, Opera O and I weren't talking about anything special just now."
"We were just saying that Oguri senpai and the others seem to be racing a bit differently this time."
"Opera O said it's because all the senpais want to be the protagonist this time."
"And I feel like… she actually makes a lot of sense."
"The protagonist…"
Still smiling moments earlier, Maruzensky's expression subtly changed when she heard Special Week's words, and she turned to look at the vehicle-mounted screen.
Hearing the same words and noticing Maruzensky's reaction, Symboli Rudolf and the others also turned their attention to the race on the screen.
During their conversation, the second leg had already entered its middle phase.
It was clear to see that the distances between the teams' positions were subtly shrinking.
"Maruzensky, Oguri Cap's current running style…"
After just one glance, Symboli Rudolf frowned slightly. Without taking her eyes off the screen, she tilted her head and asked:
"Did you arrange this deliberately?"
"…No. I didn't arrange any specific tactics or running styles for this relay race."
Still staring at the screen, Maruzensky also furrowed her brows. "I imagine you were the same."
"Trying to come up with a perfect tactical plan in just about two weeks is impossible. Being able to build good baton-passing coordination is already impressive."
"Besides, Oguri Cap is a bit like CB and Katsuragi—and also like me."
"She's not the kind of horse girl who adapts well to rigid frameworks."
"In the races Kitahara arranged for her in the past, aside from some strong, effective techniques and general running concepts, there were never any stiff rules."
"As for Rice Shower… that kid isn't very good at communicating."
"I tried guiding her to talk more about her thoughts, but she's timid, introverted, and sensitive—she always said she'd just do whatever Oguri Cap and I decided."
"Everyone's juniors are a bit different, but I think the situations we're facing aren't all that different."
Before this relay race, Symboli Rudolf did have some ideas—hoping her friends could help her with certain things.
But when it came to the race itself, whether it was Rudolf or Maruzensky, they all had competitive instincts.
Sharing race tactics was out of the question—doing so would reduce their chances of winning.
Still, having spent so many years together, they knew each other inside out. Even without explicit communication, they could roughly guess each other's approaches.
As Maruzensky quickly explained her arrangements, she cast a glance around, noticing her companions nodding slightly. She then continued with a frown:
"But even without deliberate arrangements, in my original thinking, I still believed Oguri Cap would run according to her habits."
"That is, keeping enough distance and running from the front."
"But now…"
"She's too close to Tama."
Unable to help herself, Maruzensky raised her hand and pointed at the screen.
"Running closely behind the leader can indeed reduce air resistance, but it also brings pressure from tailing too closely."
"When the distance is too short, one misstep can easily cause you to be dragged into the other's rhythm. But if you deliberately stagger your pace and rhythm, it's easy to lose contact."
"This makes the front-running position seem energy-efficient, but in reality, the psychological pressure is even greater."
"Especially on a unique surface like sand—where kicked-up sand severely affects visibility—being too close means you have to split your focus even more to adjust the details."
"I… honestly don't quite understand why Oguri Cap is running like this."
At that point, she paused, and her gaze slowly shifted toward Special Week and Opera O.
The two young horse girls looked a bit bewildered, clearly not fully understanding Maruzensky's analysis.
But Maruzensky's own eyes were full of clarity.
"However, after hearing what those two said, I think I understand."
"I think it's just like Rudolf, CB, and Katsuragi—just like the three of you…"
"That Oguri Cap, Super Creek, and Mejiro Ardan have finally realized something."
"No matter how strong the friendship off the track may be…"
"On the track, the cruel truth that there can only be one champion will never change."
"Huh? Really? But isn't that great? Races and friendships—that's exactly how they're supposed to be, right? Hahaha!"
As soon as Maruzensky finished speaking, Katsuragi Ace burst into laughter.
"That's exactly how it is between me, Rudolf, and CB!"
"We can watch race footage together, sing karaoke, even ride motorcycles together—but in a race, there has to be a winner!"
"Isn't that only natural?"
"…No, Katsuragi. You think it's natural only because you've already been through it."
Symboli Rudolf had been somewhat silent since Maruzensky began speaking. At this moment, she suddenly spoke up:
"But it's not the same for these juniors."
"Putting Tama and Inari aside for now, the main ones are Oguri Cap, Super Creek, and Ardan."
"All things considered, they've only debuted in the Central circuit for about half a year."
"In such a short time—and with consistently outstanding performances on the track—it's easy for them to overlook the meaning of competition between each other."
"In that respect, we were the same back then…"
She shifted her gaze from the race screen, sweeping over her former rivals and long-time friends, and let out a soft sigh.
"At the very least, I hesitated back then—I mean, before racing against you, Katsuragi, and against CB."
"Especially CB. At the time, she wasn't just my senpai, she was the most popular star in the entire horse-girl world."
"Thinking about it now…"
She suddenly gave a bitter smile. "For a while, I felt like the way others looked at me was the same way people look at the villains in those classic 'chosen hero' anime."
"Oh? You, Little Rudolf, having thoughts like that? That's rare."
As if seeing Symboli Rudolf for the first time, CB clicked her tongue in amazement.
But she quickly returned to her usual laid-back expression.
"Still, the grudges and rivalries of us old-timers are all in the past."
"These juniors, though… it looks like they're just getting started."
(End of Chapter)