"The G1 Satsuki Sho, the first step of my undefeated Triple Crown."
"Then he will definitely see it, right? My heroic figure that fulfills his expectations... He should be in the stands now, or in front of the live broadcast."
Or perhaps, he is watching me from heaven at this moment... I hope not. With a hint of determination on her face, Tokai Teio looked up at the clear, cloudless sky. She could feel her constantly accelerating heartbeat, feel a voice in her heart urging her to win!
Only victory could let her see the person in her dream, the person who, even after his death, she still wanted to fulfill his last wish for, the person who was like her "father"... that's what her heart was telling her.
So she had to win. No matter what, she had to win.
"She's scary, Nakayama-nee. Teio has transformed quite a bit during this period. Are you really confident you can win against her?"
However, behind Tokai Teio, Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa, who had also changed into the racing silks he had prepared for them, were at the back of the line. These two were both horse girls who had difficulty entering the gate, so their speed was a little slower.
This also made it convenient for them to discuss their tactics one last time before the race. And compared to Gold Ship, Nakayama Festa's expression was much more solemn. Because as someone who had already fought with her once, she knew very well that Teio was the strongest opponent she had ever encountered, bar none.
And in these few months, she had also seen her transformation and training intensity. This genius, who was more talented than her, was actually working harder than her. The gap between them now... she did not know how huge it was.
"But no matter what, we have to give it a try, Gold Ship. For Kitano, for him to be able to live, you know that, right?"
"As long as either of us can win the championship, he will be able to live—Gold Ship, I'll go try to block Tokai Teio's attack position. You can find a chance to rush out from the outside. Then with your stamina and sprinting speed, you can make it so she can't catch up."
"Huh? You want me to do it?" And Gold Ship was also a little surprised by her sister's choice. But soon, the reacting her understood that her sister was actually not confident in her own strength, so she hoped that she, who was stronger on the surface, could win the championship of this race.
And thinking of this, Gold Ship's gaze towards her sister, who was a head shorter than her, also became gentle for a moment. Her originally wine-red eyes also turned into a gentle, faint blue at that moment, her tone a little softer as she said:
"It's rare, Nakayama-nee. You clearly have a chance to win, but you're willing to risk not winning yourself and choose to let me win the race?"
"...You are stronger than me. I have to admit that." This gambler, at this moment, seemed exceptionally calm. Since that time, when she had learned about his special characteristic from Suzuka's mouth, she had completely understood that the stake he had bet on her was a principal she could not afford to lose!
But fortunately, now, under a series of coincidences, he had not only bet on her alone. What she could do now was to win all the bets she was sure to win. As for these bets with extremely high benefits and risks... let's just leave them to the person who is more likely to win.
She didn't dare to bet. His life... she couldn't afford to bet. Although he seemed to be much better now, the more she faced his seemingly unconcerned face, the more uneasy she felt in her heart... she had a premonition that no matter how much time he had left, it might not be enough!
She had to do her best to buy more time for him. And now, Gold Ship was the existence she considered most capable of replacing her in this bet.
"I've already fought with Teio. I know how strong her talent is. After a few months, under that kind of training intensity... her progress should be faster than mine."
"So, I'm leaving it to you, Gold Ship. You have a better chance of winning against her now."
"—Oh, leave it to me."
And at this moment, Gold Ship, whose pupils were flashing with a faint blue light, also nodded and agreed to her sister's request. She then took a few quick steps on her own, ensuring that the current her could not be noticed by her abnormality, and then she was heard saying to herself:
"When you mention the Hanshin Racecourse, you'll first think of me, Gold Ship—although I'd like to say that, but the little Gold Ship of the Nakayama course is not weak either. As long as it's not the Tokyo Racecourse."
"Well then, it's just challenging a race I've won once, and the opponent has changed, right? Easy, easy. So get ready to go!"
Saying something that probably only she herself could understand, however, in the next moment, perhaps because even though she had walked a few steps faster, the speed of the two girls was too far behind the team, soon, a few staff members came to their side and guided the two "difficult-to-enter-the-gate" girls into the gate, which was still some distance away.
Fortunately, neither of them was in the mood to make a fuss now. After entering the gate relatively smoothly, the two of them simultaneously prepared for the gate start, concentrating their spirit on the gate in front of them.
For a moment, in the moment when the whole venue fell into a silence and everyone held their breath, with the signal light turning a piercing red, the gates in front of the horse girls finally opened with a bang!
"The gates are open! The horse girls have made a beautiful start—ah, no, Gold Ship's start seems to be a little slow, falling to the back of the pack! Will this affect her race later on?"
"Then let's turn our attention to the front pack! Oh, an unexpected scene has happened! Number 14, Nakayama Festa, from the outside, has actually cut in diagonally towards the inside! Is this really okay? This can't be explained as just a diagonal run!"
"Nakayama-san? What is she doing?"
However, the spectators in the stands were also startled by her actions. The people in the high places could see very clearly that she, who was originally on the outside, had almost rushed to the front like an escape horse, and then inserted herself into the inside with a "" shape, immediately running from the outside to the inside.
Especially in his team, a group of experienced horse girls were also startled by her... radical tactic. It could only be said that if it wasn't her, they would definitely agree that such a tactic was a bad move.
Such a diagonal insertion, let alone whether it was suspected of "obstructing other horse girls' progress." For her to be on the outside was already a very unlucky result. And she was not an escape-style horse girl, yet she had acted as one at the beginning to gain an advantage on the inside, sacrificing a large amount of stamina and leg strength to occupy the inside position.
"Should I say... as expected of a Gold Family horse girl? Her natural stamina is strong. If it were me, I wouldn't dare to run like this even if I had the stamina..."
And seeing this scene, Tamamo also didn't know how to comfort him. Because at least from her experience, her huge misjudgment at the beginning of the race, even if your stamina was really a little more than other horse girls, you had lost so much stamina for no reason. Could you still get good results in the final kick?
Moreover, staying on the outside and behind was also a tactic. At least you could bet on having a position in the final sprint. Since you chose Tokai Teio as your opponent and knew she wasn't a late-kick monster, why didn't you compete with her in stamina and late kick, but instead got entangled with the advantage in the early stages? You're not an escape horse.
"Festa... is she trying to have a fair and square showdown with Tokai Teio in the front-runner position?"
And he also couldn't help but frown and murmur his guess. Now he could only guess that one possibility. Otherwise, he couldn't explain why she had gone to such great lengths to squeeze into the inside. Although he did not interfere with the horse girls' own race choices, he had never taught this kind of tactic.
Then, his understanding of her line of thought was that she had to follow Tokai Teio closely throughout the race. When Teio accelerated, she would also accelerate, and compete with her with her stamina advantage—and by the way, try to suppress her attack route.
"But... Festa, Teio is a technical-style horse girl. If you want to obstruct her route, will she really let you have your way?"
"The you of the past would never have adopted such a tactic..."
He also couldn't help but murmur. He felt that perhaps the impression Teio had left on her in the previous Hopeful Stakes was too deep, so much so that her only goal in this race was Teio. She, who wanted to win too much, would choose this tactic that targeted her.
But... this is not the Nakayama Festa I know. Is she concerned? Did I give her too much expectation?
...
"Huh? She's getting closer?"
And Tokai Teio, on the inside, also had her pupils unconsciously turn to her because of her overly eye-catching performance. She had almost watched her approach from the outside, and then landed half a horse's length ahead of her, blocking her on her side.
And what a smart horse girl she was. Although her height was not tall, now with a glance around, she was clear that she seemed to be stuck in the center of the horse girls. Her breakthrough would be very difficult from this angle. The only thing she could do now was to stay on the inside and wait for an opportunity.
"But... I should still have a chance."
A faint smile appeared on her face. She had vaguely seen through Nakayama Festa's tactic. And now her heart, which had returned to a calm state, was also constantly sending her a message—defeat her!
Although she didn't know why, her heart told her so. Not only did she have to win this race, but she had to win in a way that was completely under her control, showing all her skills!
She had to crush her to the point of being completely defeated, so that she would not dare to be her enemy in terms of skills again. Only in this way could she get the most shining victory!
He must also be watching me somewhere. Then let me do it for him. His proudest horse girl will not be scared by such a small predicament!
"And the opportunity to break through... is on the turn!" X2
At this very moment, her inner voice suddenly overlapped—she was not speaking in metaphors. Her heart, at this moment, really had another "voice." Although the expression of this "voice" was always unclear, this was indeed a voice she had clearly heard from herself.
Quietly, her pupils also underwent a subtle change. One of her nimble, sky-blue eyes suddenly turned a dark black color for a moment—it became empty, uninteresting, but only in the race did it show an extremely strong fighting spirit.
That was not her voice, or rather, not the voice of the "current" her... "she" seemed to come from another world...
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