"Second turn! Tokai Teio is trying to break through again! Although she failed to break out of the encirclement, she has reached the fourth position in the group!"
On the commentary stage, Misato Akasaka's tone became more and more excited as the situation became clearer. In just a few tens of seconds, Tokai Teio's predicament of being trapped in the crowd had been quickly resolved under a few turns!
For a moment, except for one escape horse girl who was still struggling at the very front of the group, only Nakayama Festa was still struggling to defend against her, but everyone understood that this was already impossible.
"Festa is too focused on her, to the point that she has completely fallen into her rhythm and given up her own mature tactics..."
In the stands, looking at Nakayama Festa, who was about to reach the last turn and face the final sprint of the Satsuki Sho, and even without a telescope, based on his understanding of her ability, he knew very well that she was at the end of her rope. Even the stamina of the Gold Family should be bottoming out at this time.
Seeing this, he couldn't help but sigh. And Silence Suzuka, hearing his sigh, thought he was sighing at the defeat of his side in this race and the loss of a great opportunity to increase his lifespan, and couldn't help but come forward to comfort him:
"It's okay, Trainer-san. I think there's still a chance in this race."
"Didn't you say before that the horse girls of the Gold Family are full of uncertainty? Perhaps she can be unexpected this time."
Of course, no one would believe this comfort. Because with a horse girl's eyesight, everyone could see very clearly that on the track, Nakayama Festa, who had been exhausted by Teio's rhythm, was probably having a hard time even running the full distance at this speed. Whether she could accelerate in the final straight was a question.
Even the potential of the Gold Family... probably couldn't turn defeat into victory when stamina was exhausted, right? Suzuka had originally had some expectations in her heart, but she also felt that her idea was too unrealistic and silently gave up.
"—No, I think there's still a chance. Look, isn't there still Gold Ship?"
And on the other side, Invincible, who was standing between Ardan and him, was also watching the rhythm of the whole field with rapt attention. Because Tokai Teio, this technical-style horse girl, was competing, she felt that her technique could provide a great reference for the middle-distance races she was still lacking in, so she had been observing with great seriousness from beginning to end.
But as she watched, she had to say, even if she was very unwilling in her heart—she couldn't imitate it.
It wasn't that she couldn't achieve the same effect as her, but that her ridiculous propulsive force was really not her area of expertise. What she was better at was relying on her abundant stamina and powerful acceleration. A tricky technique like hers, and a powerful breakthrough, was something she could not learn.
Therefore, midway through, she had shifted most of her attention to Gold Ship, who was a little behind the group but was now slowly approaching the outside, as if she was already planning to overtake from the outside and sprint with all her might in the final straight.
She had no hope for Nakayama Festa's performance in this race. If she had to choose one person who might be able to win against Teio in this race, then she felt that Gold Ship's probability was the greatest.
This girl... always made her feel a little inscrutable. Especially her sometimes-over-the-line, sometimes-distant attitude towards him made her feel a little bewildered. She considered herself to have seen many horse girls with strange personalities in China, but one like her... was really rare.
But she still trusted her strength very much. If she hadn't been unable to have a say in the matter of choosing a person, she would have actually recommended that he put more energy into Gold Ship, instead of the up-and-down Nakayama Festa.
"No, I'm not惋惜ing that she can't win the race, it's just..."
And he also shook his head, but in the end, he did not express the words deep in his heart—the reason he was disappointed was not that she could not defeat Tokai Teio, but that she had corrected herself too much in order to win against her.
She had forced herself to run at a rhythm she was not used to, and even followed closely even when she was being played with like this... this was not the "Nakayama Festa" way of racing.
Was it a problem with my teaching method? He couldn't help but doubt himself. However, perhaps because of his preconceived transmigrator thinking, or because he thought he knew her personality, he had never thought of the possibility that she "didn't want to win."
She must have wanted to win too much, that's why she became like this. Should I try to keep her from competing in the same race as Teio as much as possible? That way, perhaps she can give up the idea of "avenging herself" and find her own racing state first.
...After the race, should I talk to her alone? And just as he was thinking this, the Satsuki Sho finally entered its final stage. The time for all the horse girls to have a showdown had begun.
"Final turn passed—Tokai Teio has rushed out! In the final straight! She has easily bypassed Nakayama Festa!"
"Can she still catch up? She seems to have lost speed! She can't catch up!"
"Damn it—" And faced with the easily bypassing her and leading Tokai Teio, Nakayama Festa, whose eyes were now bloodshot and ferocious, was completely at a loss. She had consumed a large amount of stamina to block her before.
Steps, started to become heavy... as if filled with lead. Every step felt so hard.
2000 meters... was it really that far? In the past, at home, long distance was no problem...
In the final straight, there was no longer any object that could hinder her progress in front. Nakayama Festa, who felt the wind pressure was unprecedentedly strong, also raised her head with great difficulty and looked at the back of Teio, who was gradually moving away from her. She couldn't help but reach out her hand.
Is the gap between me and her... that big? Why can't I stop her even when I try my best? Is a genius... such an unreasonable existence?
"Gold Ship! She has rushed out from the outside! She is approaching Tokai Teio! Teio is not to be outdone! The gap between her and Gold Ship is shrinking!"
"Can she catch up?! She is still accelerating! But there are only less than 100 meters left!"
By her ear, the announcer's voice, the cheers of the whole crowd, had now become a noisy ringing in her ears. At this moment, she felt as if she was in a closed space with countless mosquitoes buzzing around her. All the sounds around her made the exhausted her feel irritable and uneasy.
Especially since, faintly, some incomprehensible sounds had appeared in her ear... in front of her eyes, in a daze, there seemed to be a scene she had never seen before?
...
"With this price, I won't feel regret even if it can't become a racehorse."
"Well then, let Nakayama Festa be the second horse under your command. You have to work hard to make it win the race. Even if it can't win a GI, it should be able to win a major prize or something, right?"
"—Of course, I like her very much. I will definitely send it to the G1 racetrack."
In a daze, she seemed to have seen... a woman? For some reason, her perspective was actually much higher than this woman who was constantly patting her face, and she actually didn't hate being touched by her like this, just quietly looking at her.
"I will definitely make you shine, Nakayama Festa."
The woman murmured to herself, showing an exceptionally beautiful smile. And her smile... made her feel a sense of familiarity?
Slowly, the woman in front of her, and the smile of the most important person in her memory, and even the voice, overlapped in a daze.
They were very similar, no, almost exactly the same. They both trusted her for no reason, were optimistic about her for no reason...
Why does my heart ache faintly? Why do I feel breathless? What is this feeling of heartache, as if I'm about to lose everything?
In her pain, the dazed her could only keep running forward, running with the last bit of her strength—only in this way could she wake up from this dream, could she escape this nightmare that was torturing her.
And in a daze, what woke her from her dream was the thunderous applause and cheers. When she opened her eyes again, without realizing it, she had already crossed the finish line...
"She's crossed the line! The winner is Tokai Teio! She held off the impact from Gold Ship by half a length! She has won the first leg of the undefeated Triple Crown and also her second G1 victory!"
"Second place is Gold Ship, third place is Nakayama Festa, fourth place..."
Ah... did I lose?
Finally coming back to her senses, after hearing the results she had achieved, her whole body seemed to have been drained of all strength. She fell straight to the ground, her pupils vacant as she looked at the sky, her mind replaying everything she had just seen in her dream.
That dream, what was it about? Why did I dream of a woman? That daughter who seemed so much like Kitano... did the two have any relationship?
Or are they actually the "same person"? What do they represent to her?
All sorts of questions kept lingering in her mind. Her brain, her heart, seemed to be urging her to find the answer to this question. This answer, for her, might be more important than victory.
...
"It's over."
For the current result, he did not feel surprised. On the contrary, the performance of Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa this time was already surprisingly good. Especially her, after so many strange operations in the front, she could still chase to the third place, instead of losing speed midway. This already showed that her condition was quite good.
The problem is just in the tactics, and the hard power gap with Teio...
"Huh?"
And suddenly, he seemed to have noticed some change in his body. After feeling his breathing suddenly become a little smoother and his spirit seemed to have recovered a lot, he subconsciously turned his gaze to his arm.
And in the next moment, when he found that the countdown time on his arm, the more than four years of life his charges had worked so hard to accumulate for him, had suddenly skyrocketed to six years and one month, his pupils almost bulged out of their sockets, and even his breathing became heavy.
This—what's going on? Why did my lifespan suddenly increase just now?!
-------
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! (150 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 (170 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (150 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it