"Second would be…"
Obey Your Master swiped her phone, switching to the next photo.
But when she spoke, something clearly flickered across her face—unnatural: "Second is this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe champion—Kelly Room."
When speaking about this new European overlord, there was a hint of confusion in Obey's tone.
"Compared to last year's Arc champion Toni Bianca, this year's one is honestly… a bit weak."
She never thought in her life that she would use the word "weak" to describe an Arc champion.
After a moment's pause, Obey continued:
"Converted to numbers, whether in Power, Stamina, or Speed, she's inferior to me."
"And because her temperament is rather impatient, she basically hasn't gone to Tokyo Racecourse for course-adaptation training."
"To put it plainly."
Obey's summary was incisive: "Though both are Arc champions, Kelly Room this year and Toni Bianca last year did the same thing."
"That is, neither did targeted prep for this far-eastern, high-speed track."
"The difference is that Toni Bianca was bewitched by the high-speed track."
"The pride born from her strength made her believe she was in perfect shape and only needed to rest well."
"As for this year's one… she's just lazy."
Kuroha nodded slightly, also recalling the overbearing European monarch from one year ago.
Beyond the high-speed track issue Obey mentioned,
Toni Bianca at her peak was far stronger than Kelly Room.
If she hadn't fractured her hoof in the final-spurt explosion last year, the result of that Japan Cup really might have gone either way.
"And she doesn't have a [Domain]!"
Obey added one last point.
As chasers of the light, one metric they used to judge a mare's strength was whether she had a [Domain].
You could call it a hard indicator.
Powerful horse girls almost always carried an era-creating talent; with just a little stimulus, it was enough to awaken the power of a [Domain].
Incredible as it sounds,
the annual Arc champion—Kelly Room—hadn't even stepped into that second stage, the [Domain].
"As for the third," Obey said softly, swiping to the final photo of a mare needing special attention.
"She's a horse girl named Ibubinch."
In the photo, a blonde beauty wore a white, ladylike dress—gentle and elegant to the eye.
But in stark contrast to the outfit, she had her hands on her hips, baring a wide grin full of white teeth, laughing with unrestrained, even boisterous joy.
"Her personality… mm, overabundant self-affirmation?"
The blonde girl used a very delicate phrase to sketch this rival's temperament.
"She's very strong—no flaws in either stamina or final-spurt punch. The one shortcoming is…"
Here, a playful smile rose on Obey's face: "She's an absolute Front Runner. Unless it's absolutely necessary, she doesn't want to see anyone ahead of her."
Then she added, "Coincidentally, Pirate Crowhawk is nominally a Front Runner/Pace Chaser type, but unless she meets a few domestic powerhouses, she runs a lead-from-the-front strategy in ninety percent of her races."
As she spoke, Obey lifted her head to meet Kuroha's gaze. Both of them spotted the crux.
Obey chuckled, meaningful: "Pirate Crowhawk does not permit personal provocation."
Kuroha followed her line, his smile deepening: "And Ibubinch is an absolute Front Runner. Put two such mares together…"
"And it—"
Obey thrust both hands outward in an exaggerated burst.
"Bang!"
"They blow up together!"
The Japan Cup in the Flash Series wasn't the same as the Constellation Cup in the previous life's game—there were no teammates.
In a top-tier individual event like this, two iron-willed leaders fighting for position early
—if neither yields—only forces the pace higher and higher, turning the field into little more than pacemaking accompaniment.
Trying to run a full-on runaway in a distance that can't support it leaves no outcome but mutual detonation.
And that "massive escape" tactic is usually a surprise ploy reserved for distances that are neither too short nor too long.
Most often Miles and around 2000 m.
But 2400 m… is an exceedingly delicate zone.
At this distance, the demands on a leader's stamina allocation are extremely harsh.
Even with Super Creek-class endurance, if you blast off near your limits from the gun, you'll have almost nothing left to kick with at the end.
If the race pressure is low, you might cling to a huge lead and last to the wire.
But if you try that in a monster-packed Japan Cup, it's no different from courting death.
"Exactly—mutual explosion."
Kuroha affirmed her judgment, wearing the same smile.
"One's conceited, the other's proud. Neither will want to give up the lead."
"Their early duel will do nothing but bleed away massive amounts of stamina; in the end, they'll be paving the road for someone else."
"Exactly."
Obey nodded, a strange light flashing in her golden eyes.
"Even if one of them endures the emotion, if someone on the side fans the spark…"
After this period of study, her research on these two Japan Cup threats was nothing short of exhaustive.
She likely even had her lines and gestures prepared for how to needle their emotions.
"Their self-detonation will scramble the rhythm from the very start. For us mid-packers, that's the best news."
"All we need to do is follow behind them, keep our own rhythm, and when they're spent—that's when we start harvesting."
Here, her voice carried the absolute confidence of overwhelming supremacy.
"They'll be the best stepping stones—sending the true strong to the final stage."
Just then, Kuroha asked, "Obey, who do you think the true strong will be?"
Obey froze. Lying in Kuroha's arms, she tilted her head back to look into his deep eyes; from that calm expression, she read something unusual.
"Is there really… another 'me' hiding in secret?"
Kuroha didn't tease a reveal. "I've organized the concrete info and materials. I'll send them to you in a bit. Look through them carefully."
"This afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse there's an open training session for the overseas mares. Go a little early and see her state in person."
"…What's her name?"
By now, Obey had put away every trace of a smile. She slowly sat up out of Kuroha's embrace, her face solemn.
Those blue eyes deepened, as if a storm were brewing within.
Kuroha fixed his gaze on her and enunciated the name that was destined to be etched into the record.
"The people's queen—the representative mare from New Zealand."
"And also…"
"One of the creators of this era."
At that, Obey's pupils shrank sharply!
(End of Chapter)
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