"Tokai Teio! Nakayama Festa is catching up! Two lengths! One length! Can Nakayama Festa make it?! She can't—Tokai Teio has crossed the finish line!"
"The winner of the Japanese Derby is Tokai Teio! She has achieved her third consecutive G1 victory! And has achieved the feat of an undefeated two crowns!"
"What a beautiful victory! Second place is Nakayama Festa, third place..."
"Gold Ship, who had an outstanding performance in the previous Satsuki Sho with the second highest popularity, only finished fifth in the Japanese Derby. Tokai Teio is now only one step away from the achievement of being the second undefeated Triple Crown horse girl!"
Oguri Cap: "..."
A month later, at the bustling Tokyo Racecourse, a crowd several times larger than the number of seats had gathered. In this season where early summer had already arrived, and the air was filled with a slight heat, a crowd fanatical to the extreme had gathered here, just for the most popular race in all of Japan—the Japanese Derby.
The promotion for this race was indeed spectacular. Tokai Teio, who was aiming for the undefeated Triple Crown and had beautifully won the first crown, and Gold Ship, who had shone brightly in the Satsuki Sho, became the strongest resistance with any hope of stopping Teio from taking the undefeated title in this Derby.
However, what most of the audience did not expect was that Gold Ship, whom they were extremely optimistic about, had performed disappointingly on the Derby track. On the contrary, Nakayama Festa, who had targeted Teio throughout the Satsuki Sho and had lost speed in the final straight, had shown a strength not inferior to Teio's in this Derby.
In the final straight, Nakayama Festa's pursuit of Teio could be said to have made everyone's heart leap into their throats. However, in the end, what made most of the audience happy was that Tokai Teio still won the championship of the most popular Japanese Derby among the Classic Triple Crown. In a way, the most difficult hurdle had already been overcome by her.
The fastest horse girl wins the Satsuki Sho, the luckiest horse girl wins the Derby—countless powerful horse girls, just because they lacked that little bit of luck, could never win again.
And now, Teio's victory had already proven that she did not lack luck, and even less did she lack strength. This made countless fans who were cheering for her look forward to the last race of the Classic Triple Crown—the Kikuka Sho, even more.
"What a pity. It was just a little bit short at the end."
This time, accompanying Kitano, besides the few who were participating in the race, were only Mr. C.B., Oguri Cap, and Tamamo Cross. Because Special Week had failed her last mock exam, Suzuka was helping her with tutoring.
And Invincible, because Ardan had been tossing and turning in recent days and not resting well, had stayed by her side to take care of her.
And C.B., beside him, also felt extremely regretful about this race that was almost won. But soon, she noticed his expression, which was a little regretful but overall very calm, and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Aren't you disappointed, Trainer-san?"
After all, C.B. knew very well that the higher the grade of the race won, the more his lifespan would increase. Back then, when he was on the verge of death, it was her victory in the Satsuki Sho that had snatched his life back from the hands of the illness. And after the Japanese Derby, his condition had improved to about the same as it was now.
However, how could she know that the current Tokai Teio had already been secretly registered under his command by Rudolf? Just now, his lifespan had rapidly increased by two and a half years because of her victory in the Derby. Counting his original lifespan, he now had a full seven years and six months.
However, he was indeed still a little regretful. Faced with her inquiry and the puzzled gazes of Tamamo and Oguri beside him, he also explained, "A little, I guess. But this was actually expected. After all, the Japanese Derby is not their area of expertise."
He had long predicted that Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa were no match for Teio on the Derby track. The 2400 meters of the Tokyo Racecourse was her specialty. For her to set a heavy track record in the Japan Cup on the same course and at the same distance, which has not been surpassed to this day, this could be said to be her home ground.
And what about them? Their historical results in the Japanese Derby were fifth and fourth respectively. Although it could not be said that they were not good at it, their adaptability to the high-speed Tokyo Racecourse, which was more favorable to escape and front-runner tactics, was obviously not as good as Teio's.
Putting aside Gold Ship, who would slack off as soon as she got to the Tokyo Racecourse, for Nakayama Festa to be able to listen to his words this time, correct her mistake of overly targeting Teio, and adjust back to a tactic she was comfortable with, and even rush to second place, had already surprised him very much. After all, she was only one length away from tying with her.
And in this Japanese Derby, she had run the fastest last three furlongs of the entire field (time for the last 300 meters), a time of 33.7 seconds, which also proved that his guidance and tactical corrections were quite effective.
As for not being able to win against Teio, it could only be said that it was a hardware gap in raw strength and talent.
"In this race, Teio's performance was indeed perfect. But she was also forced by Festa not to make any mistakes."
He recalled that in the original story, Tokai Teio had been in a class of her own in the Japanese Derby. The jockey of her "father," Symboli Rudolf, Yukio Okabe, who had finished second in that race, had even commented, "Even if she had made three or four mistakes, I still couldn't have won."
Although this comment was somewhat of an over-praise of Rudolf's son by the radical Rudolf fan, Okabe, it was enough to prove Teio's strength, which could be said to be extremely dominant among the horses of the same generation.
But now, in this race, she had been forced by Nakayama Festa to go all out without making any mistakes. From the gap between them, this was already a victory in a certain sense. As a horse girl of the Gold Family, her potential had not yet been fully developed. She would have a great chance in the future to get her revenge on Teio.
But Teio... how much time did she have left? And how could he help her?
"...What's wrong? Kitano, you don't look so good."
Tamamo Cross, on the side, also immediately noticed the subtle change in his expression. However, as the only one in the team who was completely unaware of his lifespan issue and had not been told the truth by anyone else afterward, when she noticed the change in his expression, her heart also tightened slightly. A strong sense of crisis even made her subconsciously reach out to support him, as if she was afraid he would faint on the spot.
"Although it's a bit of a pity to lose, but don't take it to heart. Didn't you just say that the performance was very good, right? Don't mind it too much!"
"Hey, Oguri? Oguri! Stop eating! Go buy him a drink."
"...Oh."
Oguri Cap, who had been silent since the end of the race, finally made a move under Tamamo's command. After casually crumpling the empty packaging bag into a ball, she, as she had been told, slowly walked towards the vending machine at the racecourse.
Along the way, she was even more silent than usual. Neither the crowd passing by her after the race nor the surprised fans who had recognized her could attract her attention in the slightest. Her heart was now echoing with her own inner voice, some of her own kind fantasies...
"If I could still go on the field... if I hadn't announced my retirement so early, maybe I could have been of some help to him?"
"If only I had remembered all of this earlier. That way, I might have been able to do something for him, just like Suzuka."
"And now I can't help him at all. I've always been causing him trouble in the past. This time, do I not even have a chance to help him..."
Coming to the vending machine, inserting a few coins, and watching the selected drink fall down, all of Oguri's movements became extremely slow. She subconsciously looked at the newly healed wound in her palm, and in her mind, the "interaction" between him and Nakayama Festa that she had witnessed before echoed once again.
Oguri, who had always been calm by nature, did not tell anyone that in fact, in these recent days, she, like the unwell Ardan, had not been sleeping well.
Every time she closed her eyes, she would recall that scene. And every time she recalled her trainer, who belonged to her, being enticed by a horse girl who had taken her place in this time and space, doing things that only she should have been able to enjoy... her chest would feel extremely stuffy.
But she had to restrain her emotions. She knew that she couldn't help him with anything now. The only thing she could do was to manage herself well and not cause him any more trouble.
But... I'm still a little unwilling.
If it were me, if I were still in that position... I could definitely have done better. But why, when he was at his most helpless, was it also when I was most unable to help...
"As expected, a horse girl from a small family is no match for Tokai Teio."
"Yeah, I was so scared before. I almost thought she was going to catch up to Teio-sama, but as expected, she is still superior."
Not far away, two particularly harsh voices made Oguri slowly stop in her tracks. The recovering her discovered that she, who had been in a chaotic state of mind, seemed to have been delayed at the vending machine for a long time. Without realizing it, the originally crowded racecourse was now only half-full, and it was precisely because of this that she could clearly hear the conversation between the two fans not far away.
Clearly, these two were fans of Tokai Teio. And when she heard the discussion about his team, her steps also paused for a moment. But just as she felt it was uninteresting and was about to return to his side, a voice made her have to stop.
"Actually, I feel that if the two horse girls of the Gold Family had a different trainer, they might be able to do better."
"Ah, you're talking about their sickly trainer, right? I remember Silence Suzuka is also his contracted horse girl."
"..."
Hearing the news about him, Oguri also couldn't help but stop. She silently listened to the excited conversation of the two, and she also knew very well the topic that he had occupied in the Japanese horse girl news during this period.
After all, a person who had been in a wheelchair and was seriously ill could still become a central trainer. Such a person was too suitable to be used as a selling point for marketing.
The information of all the trainers at Tracen was confidential, but unfortunately, his past appearance in a wheelchair was too conspicuous. With the efforts of these tabloid reporters who were excited by any news, there was almost no news they could not find out—such a thing had already happened when he was still her trainer in the past.
However, she, who had been paying attention to his news all along, knew very well... the outside world's evaluation of him, although most of it was described in a positive way, such as "persevering despite being disabled," not all media praised his will.
Many media outlets, in pursuit of higher clicks and topics, had evaluated him, a seriously ill patient, from a more "professional" perspective, saying that he was not suitable for a job with such a heavy workload as a trainer.
And even, some media with excessive language had criticized his behavior as seemingly a manifestation of willpower, but in fact, it was irresponsible to his charges—and she had even seen more than once that some people questioned that his serious illness was just to attract attention, and that he himself was actually very healthy. This was just to create momentum for the horse girls under him.
For these remarks, she had also been angry. But with the experience of the last life, now facing these, she could also treat them more calmly.
But unfortunately, she, who couldn't help him now, was in a more depressed mood than ever before. And under the stimulation, she was also somewhat unable to control her calm state of mind...
"Seriously, if you're really a seriously ill patient, you should be lying in the hospital for treatment. Yet you still come out to be a trainer. Can you really manage so many charges?"
"I think, with that trainer's physical condition, managing a horse girl like Silence Suzuka, who doesn't even need to worry about her running style, is about it, right? Don't delay the two good seedlings, Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa."
"—But even if you try your best, you still can't win against Tokai Teio, right?"
The conversation between the two made Oguri clench her fists uncontrollably. What these two fans didn't know was that they had inadvertently poked at a psychological shadow in her heart—a period of time that belonged only to her and him.
Kitano, as the trainer who had been with her since she was at Kasamatsu, her outstanding performance had made her a star to watch from her time in the local leagues. After all, if not for her excellent ability, Rudolf would not have noticed her, a country horse girl from the local leagues.
However, her excellence and popularity, besides bringing her glory and admiration, had also, without her realizing it, brought a huge pressure and burden to him... From the local to the central league, along the way, she had heard such gossip more than once...
They said... a local trainer like him was not worthy of an excellent horse girl like her. They hoped he would transfer her to a central trainer to achieve greater achievements, instead of restraining her steps with emotion.
And when he became a central trainer and stood with her again, they still said... she could clearly be trained to be more excellent. A seriously ill trainer would only drag down such an excellent horse girl.
This phenomenon, as her popularity grew higher and higher, also intensified... perhaps because her "popularity was too high," most of the criticism of her would be bombarded by her vast number of fans. Even during the period when her condition was at its worst, she did not suffer any criticism.
Instead, it was him, the trainer she admired and cherished most, who became the target of public criticism in her place.
If she won, they would say that if it weren't for his limited energy, she could have performed better.
If she lost, they would also say that she was not at fault, but that his race schedule and training methods had dragged her down.
"What do you know... you guys who are outsiders, what do you know?"
"...Huh?" X2
Without realizing it, Oguri had already walked up to the two fans. With her standing height advantage, she looked down at the two who had spoken without thinking and warned them, word by word:
"Don't talk nonsense about things you don't understand at all, especially on the topic of my trainer."
Unlike her "Domain" on the racetrack, a thick black aura behind her, like a gloomy weather, enveloped the two fans who had unconsciously stepped on a landmine. At this moment, even her face was completely dark. She also issued a final warning.
"Please don't make such comments about my trainer in front of me... His excellence, his ability, you will have a day to witness it. Please understand that—alright?"
"Yes... we were talking nonsense. Please, please forgive us..." X2
"...That's fine."
Just as the two fans, who were scared out of their wits, nodded and apologized with pale faces, she did not choose to do anything more. She also didn't care at all what impact this matter would have on her image and popularity if it was spread on the internet—she couldn't be bothered with these.
She only knew that she should do something... if he couldn't be ruthless and be strict with his charges to save his own life, then she didn't mind playing the villain.
To save him, she was willing to tolerate anything... of course, as long as she could keep him by her side, she was also willing to do anything.
Even those "unprincipled" things... from the moment he disappeared from her life, her principles were only left with one last one.
She just wanted him to live. That was all.
-------
If you'd like to follow all of our other novels, you can subscribe in advance on our Patreon here. If you like a particular story, feel free to hit the heart button—we'll prioritize and focus on that one for you, as long as there aren't any issues with it.
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 (400 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 (172 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 (200 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! (160 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 (180 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 (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (57 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (67 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (80 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (60 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (70 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (60 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (58 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (75 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (53 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it