Hot breath circulated between her nostrils and lungs. The splashing sand and gravel felt like molten steel scraping against her body. On the track of sand and dust, Minamino Sumire's eyes were filled with confusion.
She had thought that Celestial Weave might have more talent than them, that she might be a bit better. She and the others barely even went to the training grounds. How could they be faster than her, who trained every day?
She had already anticipated the gap before talking to her. It could be twenty horse lengths, or maybe thirty. In a proper race, that would be an unimaginably exaggerated number, but against a group of horse girls like them who barely even practiced, it was just right.
After the race, she could still say to her in a nonchalant tone, "You surpassed us by a lot, but so what?"
"The only reason for such a gap is that we, as your opponents, were too incompetent."
"In a more formal race, even just a central debut race, you would immediately become just one of the crowd."
But now, she couldn't say those words. The gap between them was not the difference between self-discipline and decadence, not even the difference between excellence and mediocrity, but—
The difference between a horse girl and an ordinary person.
She, a horse girl born with a body more suitable for running, was no different from an ordinary person in front of her speed. How could a horse girl like that appear in a place like Kasamatsu Tracen?! she thought, gritting her teeth.
But for some reason, this horse girl who had already given up on being a horse girl, under this desperate gap, did not give up as usual. Even though her lungs were burning, even though every step made her want to give up in pain, she did not stop.
She could no longer see her figure, but it was as if she were still chasing something. Not just her, but the other three horse girls as well. Even though their bodies were groaning from lack of exercise, their steps did not falter in the slightest. They even gritted their teeth and picked up their speed.
They hadn't run like this in a long time. After entrusting their remaining hope to Oguri Roman, it was as if they had completed their mission and could sit back and watch from the stands. But when they actually stepped onto the track and witnessed her speedy figure, they inexplicably wanted to chase after her. Like moths to a flame, no matter how unreachable, no matter how foolish, they wanted to get closer, to approach that brilliance.
The racetrack is a battlefield. Only one winner can be decided among all the horse girls. And at this moment, these losers who had already given up before the race even started, were still gritting their teeth and running even though they knew it was impossible. Their instinctive passion for racing was reawakening in their hearts. Even though they knew they couldn't win, they wanted to run with all their might. As her opponents, as fellow travelers of that shining light, they subconsciously didn't want to cross the finish line with that self-deprecating mentality anymore.
Time and distance became incredibly long in their pain, but they finally crossed the finish line. The figure who had passed everyone was now standing in front of the track, quietly watching them.
"Hah—" Sumire supported herself on her knees, panting heavily. Sweat blurred her vision. If it weren't for that little bit of unwillingness that came from who knows where, she would have collapsed on the ground long ago.
"Been a while since you've run?" Celestial Weave's figure appeared in her blurred vision. Her voice came from above her head, sounding like a high and mighty mockery to her.
"Mocking the loser... is the winner's right."
"I... have nothing to say." Panting, she said with difficulty. It was strange. She thought she would no longer have any emotions about racing, but when she said these words, her heart was still aching. This must also be the pain brought by racing, she thought unwillingly.
When she thought that she would be further mocked for her lack of foresight, she just smiled and said, "I thought you wouldn't last until the end."
"Didn't you say you've already given up on running? Why are you trying so hard?"
Sumire pressed her lips together. She also couldn't understand why she was doing this. Her body had just moved before she could think.
"I have a very proud friend who likes to call herself a king."
"She told me that it's not just the horse girls who can feel the brilliance in running."
"...What are you trying to say." Listening to her words, she had already realized her intention, but she still stubbornly refused to accept it.
"As a king, you have to spread your brilliance to all the audience."
"Only by letting the audience also feel bathed in this glory can you be called a king."
"In the past, I was chasing victory and couldn't understand the meaning of these words. But after coming to Kasamatsu Tracen, I think I'm starting to understand."
"The brilliance on the stage is not limited to the horse girls."
"The opponents who run alongside, the audience who watches, they can also feel that brilliance."
Gradually catching her breath, Sumire slowly straightened up. She looked into her eyes, her tone a bit unnatural. "Are you trying to say I was also infected?"
Seeing her still being stubborn, she smiled and extended her hand. "Welcome back to the world of horse girls."
Sumire turned her head away with a disdainful look, but still took her hand. "I was just frustrated."
This was originally just another one of her stubborn remarks, but it made Celestial Weave suddenly laugh out loud. "That's right! You should be frustrated!"
She spread her arms and looked around. On this small Kasamatsu Racecourse, everyone's eyes were on her.
"Do you have to be content with falling?! It's precisely because you're frustrated that you have to chase after it, right?!"
"You want to make Kasamatsu Tracen stand tall in the world of horse racing again, you want to charge onto the central circuit, you're studying equipment every day, everyone has this or that frustration in their hearts!"
"So why give up?! It's just the prestigious families! Let's pull them all down!"
Mimicking the T.M. Opera O from her memory, she encouraged everyone. Her speech was far from being as good as hers, nor did she have her seemingly unstoppable confidence. But her words still stirred everyone's passion. Her words were like a bundle of dry firewood. All it took was this spark to immediately ignite a raging fire.
"That's an exaggeration. There are only nine people at Kasamatsu Tracen. Are you going to take on the entire world of horse racing with just nine people?" Sumire, behind her, crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on her.
She didn't turn back. She looked at the empty stands as if she had remembered something, and said in a firm voice, "One day, I will make this place packed."
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (60 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (80 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it