"Ardan! Centaurea missed the break!"
Sakura Chiyono O's brow furrowed as she watched Platinum start well behind Dicta Striker, lagging by more than a full beat.
"What do we do? Dicta Striker's final kick is in a league of its own—nearly impossible to catch up to normally. But now she's even slow off the mark—how is she supposed to catch up later?"
As she spoke, Chiyono O glanced toward Ardan, hoping to hear her roommate's thoughts.
But the Ardan before her now was nothing like what she had expected.
Her face remained perfectly calm, her captivating purple eyes holding only anticipation, not a trace of panic.
"Ardan?"
Seeing Ardan like this, Sakura Chiyono O's tone gradually returned to normal, no longer as flustered as before.
"Chiyo, do you know the differences between a race with few participants and one with many?"
Her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the track, Ardan asked the question without turning her head.
"Umm... the level of competition is different?"
Chiyono O's russet ears twitched atop her head. After thinking hard for a long moment, she finally offered that answer.
"Hehe, that's not wrong, but it's still a bit too broad."
Ardan chuckled softly.
"In my opinion, the fewer participants there are in a race, the less tactics and decision-making matter. In an extreme case like a one-on-one match, the only thing that determines victory is one's own raw ability."
"Huh? But even in races with lots of competitors, your own ability is still crucial, isn't it?"
Chiyono O scratched her head, not quite understanding.
Her slightly silly expression made Ardan smile with relaxed amusement.
"Of course, your own ability is the baseline—no tactical setup can go against that. But the more Uma Musume there are in a race, the more important your on-the-spot decisions become."
"Judging your opponents' strength, deciding whether to adjust tactics, judging when to accelerate, assessing positional advantages, reading when the formation on the track will shift, figuring out how you need to break out of the pack, gauging the pace set by the frontrunner—and so on."
"Conditions on the track change in countless ways. Tactics are just the foundation; what matters most is your real-time reactions—that crucial flash of inspiration."
"The more Uma Musume in a race, the more important this becomes. Without it, even the strongest contender can't fully display her abilities."
After saying all this, Ardan glanced at Sakura Chiyono O, whose face clearly showed she'd "learned something new," then turned her attention back to the ongoing race.
"But in this match between Centaurea-chan and Dicta Striker, do you think decision-making is important?"
Without waiting for Chiyono O's reply, she continued.
"Of course it isn't—or rather, it's not that important."
"In a two-person race, the track is almost completely unobstructed. There's no need to think about shifts in the pack or how to break free from it."
"You also don't need to judge positional advantages, because your opponent can't block your sprinting path. The only things left to pay attention to are your opponent's rhythm and your own timing for acceleration."
"In a situation like this, the advantage of your own raw ability is magnified to the utmost. You could say it becomes purely a contest of speed."
Ardan had defined the nature of this two-person contest, but that only made Sakura Chiyono O more confused.
"But if it's as you say, Ardan, shouldn't we be even more worried about Centaurea-chan? Doesn't that mean she has no chance at all to turn things around?"
Her cheeks puffed out as she spoke, which struck Ardan as odd.
"Chiyo, you could say Centaurea and I are close, so it makes sense that I'd support her. But you're on good terms with Dicta Striker, aren't you? Why does it seem like you're supporting Centaurea too?"
"Eh? Well..."
Ardan's question clearly flustered Chiyono O.
"It's because Centaurea-chan is cuter—she's like a big doll, makes you wanna ruffle her. And I always instinctively side with the underdog. Dicta Striker is strong, so she doesn't need me to worry, right?"
"Now, that's not necessarily true~~"
Ardan's tone was subtly suggestive.
"?"
"Let's keep watching. They've run almost 1000 meters now. Dicta Striker's signature move should be coming soon, shouldn't it?"
"Pretty much. That final kick she's so proud of—the one praised as 'like a bullet leaving the chamber.' She'll probably start accelerating around the 600-meter mark."
Sakura Chiyono O nodded in agreement.
The situation on the track hadn't changed much since the start. Dicta Striker was still leading Platinum by nearly a large gap.
'What's going on? I've opened up such a big lead, and I can feel I still have plenty left in the tank for my final kick. So why can't I relax?'
Dicta Striker pondered this as she raced at high speed. She could sense no movement behind her.
No pressure, no sound of footsteps, not even the faintest hint of breathing.
'Strange, has she fallen that far behind? That shouldn't be right.'
Anxiety gnawed at her from deep inside, and the urge to glance back was becoming harder and harder to suppress.
'No, I can't look back at this speed—that twisting motion would throw me off balance completely!'
Gritting her teeth, Dicta Striker forced herself to keep running as she was.
'Once I clear the curve ahead, there'll only be 500 meters left. I'll check on her slightly while going through the turn.'
'No need to worry. The straight after the curve is the best place to sprint. I'll go all out right there.'
"..."
Behind her, Platinum was utterly silent.
"Ardan, isn't Centaurea-chan being a bit too quiet? Why does she seem almost... relaxed?"
Sakura Chiyono O sensed something odd in the atmosphere.
"Is this what it's usually like when she runs?"
"It's here."
Ardan spoke up suddenly, her serious gaze locked on the race.
"The final sprint is about to begin."
"Ha! The final straight! I'll show that girl what the top looks like right here!"
Her expression grew wild, an untamable fierceness spreading around her.
Sharp, breakthrough, explosive, lethal, extreme speed.
All these words perfectly described her in this moment. Her mental state and aura began to feel distorted.
Just like a bullet.
She leaned her body forward, stretched her legs to their maximum angle, planted the balls of her feet firmly against the ground.
Dicta Striker had transformed herself into a bullet.
And now, the bullet was about to be fired.
Ardan and Chiyono O, watching from the sidelines, wore uncomfortable expressions.
"Whoa, this feels awful. This is it—that feeling coming from Dicta Striker again. It's just like when she was in Hakodate."
"Indeed, the pressure is overwhelming. If I were on the track with her, I might get suppressed to the point of stalling."
Both Chiyono O and Ardan noted that the race had now reached its final, decisive point.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.