"I can't believe it! Two winners for the Japanese Derby!"
"King Halo and Seiun Sky!"
At Tokyo Racecourse, the commentator's voice reached the ears of everyone watching the Japanese Derby, leaving all spectators stunned.
For a long moment, they stared blankly at the central screen displaying the photo finish.
The Japanese Derby could be considered one of the most prestigious races in Japanese Uma Musume Racing. And this time, there were two champions.
Uma Musume races were different from other sports competitions. There were no overtime or tie-breaker rounds.
In all races, if two racers crossed the finish line at the same time, they would both be declared winners!
After a long pause, waves of cheers erupted over Tokyo Racecourse.
Unless they were close friends, family, or die-hard fans of other racers, everyone was cheering for Seiun Sky and King Halo, celebrating their shared victory as Derby-winning Uma Musume.
Moreover, what held greater symbolic meaning was that Seiun Sky remained an Undefeated Uma Musume, having now won both the Japanese Derby and the Satsuki Sho.
She was highly likely to become the second Undefeated Triple Crown winner after Symboli Rudolf!
Everyone with any knowledge of racing history felt they were about to witness a historic moment.
This was different from Barbatos winning the Japanese Oaks. No one thought Barbatos would lose that race, and she indeed won beautifully.
But this Japanese Derby was exceptionally thrilling. At one point, it seemed Seiun Sky might miss out on the Derby title entirely.
In fact, if the track had been another two or three hundred meters longer, Special Week might have caught up from behind, threatening the championship seats of Seiun Sky and King Halo.
A three-way showdown! Even though Special Week's final burst came a bit late, she had truly proven herself worthy of the title!
Now, standing at the finish line basking in victory were not only King Halo but also Seiun Sky, who was very likely to become the next Undefeated Triple Crown winner!
On the track, Seiun Sky looked up at the blue sky above Tokyo Racecourse, calming the exhaustion that came after pushing past her limits and unleashing her 'Zone'.
That deep weariness couldn't overshadow the joy of winning the Japanese Derby. She shifted her gaze to the spectator stands, to where her Canopus teammates were.
She saw everyone, saw her grandfather—who was pressing a hand on Barbatos's shoulder, tears of joy streaming behind his sunglasses—and saw Barbatos waving at her.
The first thing she wanted to do after winning was to reunite with Barbatos and share this moment of happiness with her.
But there were other matters to attend to first—the Winner's Stage.
"I almost got overtaken there. I won't give you another chance to catch up in the Kikuka Sho," said King Halo, the other Derby champion, walking over to issue her challenge for the final leg of the Classic Triple Crown.
"For the Kikuka Sho, I won't let you get ahead of me either," Seiun Sky replied with a playful grin.
Compared to the Kikuka Sho later in the year, even as they exchanged these challenges, they were still in that post-race relaxation. Off the track, they were still just friends and classmates chatting.
As she spoke, Seiun Sky turned to look in Special Week's direction. Special Week hadn't come over to greet them; instead, she chose to leave quietly, heading toward the competitor's tunnel.
Even among close classmates, even with Special Week's personality, after losing a race, she wasn't in the mood for extra conversation.
King Halo also watched Special Week's retreating back and remarked, "By the time of the Kikuka Sho, Special Week is going to be a terrifying rival."
"That final kick of hers…"
"No kidding," Seiun Sky agreed. Special Week's limit-breaking final spurt had shown signs of surpassing both her and King Halo. It was just that the final 50 meters weren't enough.
Furthermore, Special Week back then hadn't even been able to unleash her Zone yet.
Meaning, although her aptitude for long distances was unknown, if she could activate her Zone for the Kikuka Sho, she would be an even more formidable rival than King Halo.
If a Zone allowed an Uma Musume to perform at 120% of her usual capability, then the stronger her base form was without it, the stronger she'd be with it activated. That was just basic math.
No wonder Barbatos had called Special Week the 'final boss' back then.
"Let's go prepare for the Winner's Stage. It's time to show everyone the dance of a true King," King Halo said in her usual manner, beckoning Seiun Sky toward the backstage area.
Watching King Halo walk ahead, Seiun Sky could probably guess she was already planning her training schedule for the Takarazuka Kinen.
--+--
The sun had dipped low in the west, evening approaching.
Under the gathered lights of Tokyo Racecourse, the Japanese Derby's Winner's Stage was nearing its end. Spectators, guided by staff, began to leave the venue in an orderly stream.
Before leaving, Barbatos glanced at the now-empty Winner's Stage, then looked down at her own hands. During the race, she had gripped the guardrail while deep in thought.
On that hard rail—made of some unknown metal—was now a faint handprint. It was from earlier, during the race, when she had gripped it too tightly out of nervousness for her girlfriend.
Uma Musume possessed far greater strength than ordinary humans, capable of pulling objects that would require dozens of adults to move. Leaving a handprint on a hollow metal guardrail was nothing unusual.
It was this superhuman strength and physicality that allowed them to run faster than cars.
If it were the Emperor—Symboli Rudolf—Barbatos could easily imagine her being able to kick a telephone pole in half with one leg.
But right now... Barbatos had a problem. Was this handprint a big deal? Did it count as damaging public property?
Following the crowd as they slowly left the racecourse, Barbatos felt the slight chill of a Japanese May evening.
At the front of their group, Twin Turbo was chattering non-stop, vividly describing the spectacle of her future debut race while also discussing where they should go to celebrate Seiun Sky's Japanese Derby victory.
Just as they were about to head toward the parking lot to have Minamizaka drive over and pick up Seiun Sky (who was still changing), a man's voice called from behind.
"Miss Barbatos, please wait a moment."
A fan? That was Barbatos's first thought. But when she turned around, she saw a man wearing a Tokyo Racecourse staff uniform. He looked amiable, his face wearing a somewhat apologetic expression.
Barbatos blinked, slightly puzzled. "Yes?"
"Um, Miss Barbatos, regarding the guardrail in the spectator stands... you were the one who damaged it, correct?" the staff member asked quietly, a hint of nervousness in his tone.
Hearing this, Barbatos scratched her head and openly admitted, "Yeah, that was me. I accidentally used too much force while watching the race. Do I need to pay for the repairs?"
Damaging the railing had been an accident; there was no point denying it. Probably just needed to cover the repair costs.
"Where are Barbatos and Seiun?! I'm starving!!" Twin Turbo groaned, slumping weakly onto the restaurant table.
At that moment, everyone except Barbatos and Seiun Sky was gathered in a private room at a hotel near Tokyo Racecourse, ready to celebrate Seiun Sky's Japanese Derby win.
Seiun Sky's grandfather was also there, and with his experience, he easily kept up with the Canopus team's lively banter.
His usual sternness was reserved only for his granddaughter's girlfriend.
Since Barbatos had been held back by staff regarding the property damage compensation, the rest of the group had gone ahead to a nearby restaurant, ordered food, and were now waiting for Barbatos and Seiun Sky to arrive.
They hadn't expected the two to take this long.
--+--
Tokyo Racecourse, Staff Office.
Seiun Sky sat beside Barbatos at a desk, speaking with the Tokyo Racecourse management representative.
Damage to public property wasn't a common occurrence at Tokyo Racecourse.
After all, most spectators were ordinary humans, and causing such damage was difficult.
Over the decades since the racecourse's establishment, they had developed a complete procedure for handling such incidents.
They wouldn't give a hard time to spectators who accidentally damaged things; a brief discussion and compensation were usually sufficient.
Moreover, Barbatos was a well-known Uma Musume. The racecourse officials certainly wouldn't make things difficult for her.
The compensation for damaging public property wasn't actually very high. As one of Japan's four major racecourses, they weren't short of the small sum needed to fix a guardrail.
However, every time Tokyo Racecourse held a race, the spectator count never fell below 50,000. For G1-level races, there could be a full 100,000 or even many more. If everyone damaged something, or if it happened frequently, the costs would add up significantly.
Hence, the racecourse naturally had policies in place.
Of course, such policies existed at every racecourse. But at local tracks outside the 'Big Four,' it was almost impossible to identify who caused damage on the spot—the surveillance infrastructure was fundamentally different.
That was one of the reasons local racecourses were much more run-down compared to Tokyo Racecourse.
"Sorry to interrupt your plans," the representative said kindly from across the desk. "But we'd appreciate your cooperation with the standard procedure."
Uma Musume who raced at Tokyo Racecourse were essentially benefactors for the venue. Being a fan of horse racing himself, the representative's tone was naturally very friendly.
"No trouble at all. I was the one who damaged it," Barbatos said. "What do you need to know?"
"Well, Miss Barbatos, regarding the incident of you damaging the guardrail during the Japanese Derby event at Tokyo Racecourse, following procedure, I'd like to ask: Was this damage intentional or accidental?"
Faced with this question, Barbatos's mouth twitched.
Unless someone had a screw loose, no one would say it was intentional. This really was just standard procedure.
"It was accidental," Barbatos answered truthfully.
With a question like that, even if someone had done it on purpose, they'd claim it was an accident.
It's not like she could say, 'I didn't damage all the guardrails, just a small part, so only those who see it will know Barbatos was here watching the race,' right?
"And under what circumstances did this accidental damage occur?"
"It was because..." Barbatos gave concise answers. The representative could probably guess most of it already; this was just him completing his required tasks.
"Thank you for your cooperation. The estimated cost for repairing the damage to public property is 50,000 yen."
"Can I scan to pay?"
"Of course."
Barbatos took out her phone, scanned the code, completed the payment, finished the formalities, said goodbye to the representative, and left Tokyo Racecourse with Seiun Sky.
"The mighty Wind God damaging public property—if this gets online, your fans might revolt," Seiun Sky teased, glancing up at the night sky, starless due to the city lights.
"Revolt?" Barbatos pondered. "Wouldn't it be more like 'Male Role Model'?"
"Shocking! A Certain 'Ba'-Surnamed Uma Musume Reportedly Crushes Guardrail Bare-Handed Due to Overly Nervous Support for Girlfriend's Race!!!"
"That's not something anyone can imitate," Seiun Sky couldn't help but retort.
Leaving aside the exaggerated 'crushing' part, just leaving handprints on a guardrail from gripping too hard was something most adult men couldn't do.
Well, if such an article really appeared, there'd probably be comments about 'taking notes.' Then others would comment about needing a partner, or ask how to crush guardrails, right?
"By the way, Minamizaka sent the restaurant location. It's over there. Let's hurry," Seiun Sky said, pointing toward a hotel in the distance.
Although they had the GPS location and could see the general direction, the actual distance wasn't short. Usually, they'd take a taxi.
With modern technology, hailing a ride outside Tokyo Racecourse was easy. That was also why Minamizaka and the others had gone ahead to the restaurant instead of waiting.
"Okay, I'll call a ride," Barbatos said, reaching for her phone, but Seiun Sky stopped her.
"Let's just run there? Race to see who gets there first," Seiun Sky suggested.
"Huh?" Barbatos was surprised. After they started dating, they trained intensely together, but outside of training hours, Seiun Sky was still as unmotivated as ever. That was the real Seiun Sky.
The race had just ended; this evening was supposed to be for relaxation. Yet here she was, suggesting running to the restaurant.
Seems the pressure from King Halo and Special Week was significant.
"Alright then. But don't expect me to go easy on you."
Amidst the flow of traffic, many people driving home from work saw, through their car windows, two figures racing past on the pedestrian path reserved for Uma Musume.
The fading clip-clop of iron-shod hooves was swallowed by the roar of engines as the four-wheeled "steel beasts" were left far behind.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.