As Kitasan Black and Duramente clasped hands, the other Uma Musume crossing the finish line one by one couldn't help but turn to watch them.
Gripping her sides tightly, breathing heavily in painful gasps, Satono Crown stared at them from afar. Her dangling hand clenched involuntarily, nails piercing deep into her palm.
Her temples still throbbed violently as if being hammered, sending numb shocks through her head.
With all her strength and remaining clarity, she wanted to understand only one thing at this moment—
Just what happened at the front on that final straight?
"…Crown? Crown…"
"Mm…ah?"
Startled back into reality, she turned toward the voice beside her. Realizing it was Satono Rasen, Crown tried forcing a smile—but her facial muscles felt frozen stiff.
"Wh-what is it, Rasen…?"
Satono Rasen fixed her gaze on Crown for a long moment, then glanced ahead at the two distant figures before turning her eyes toward the scoreboard opposite the stands. She gave a bitter twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"I lost to her again, huh…"
Stunned momentarily, Crown followed Rasen's gaze, her nails digging deeper into her flesh. She tried smiling again, but it still wouldn't come out.
On the scoreboard, the names at the very top were followed by "Satono Rasen."
Then, immediately after—"Satono Crown."
"…Congratulations, Rasen. But it really is…"
Turning her head slightly, Crown took a deep, heavy breath. Just like Rasen, she struggled again to tug at her lips.
"…A shame. If you'd just been a little faster, the family's dream of a G1 win—"
"It was never about that dream."
Rasen suddenly interrupted her, tightly pursing her lips. Pulling back her gaze, she looked past Crown toward Kitasan Black ahead.
"I…just wanted to beat her."
"But it looks like there's one more I need to beat now."
Realizing instantly who she meant, Crown fell silent.
Since childhood, she'd constantly heard about the family's earnest wish to produce a G1-winning Uma Musume. Of course, she was fully aware of this so-called dream.
Daily training, her winning streak before the Classic Triple Crown—she'd never admitted it aloud, but deep down, she'd quietly begun to feel she could fulfill that dream herself.
After comforting Rasen together with Opera-senpai and Satono Diamond several months ago, she'd grown even more certain.
Then after the Satsuki Sho—perhaps right after crossing the finish line, perhaps that night, perhaps through the countless days of training for the Derby—
Without realizing it, a new idea had sprouted in her heart.
She wanted to beat Kitasan Black.
Leaving the gates, fighting for position, cornering and uphill running, then the final sprint…
She felt she'd perfectly demonstrated every bit of her progress over the last two months—no, since the very start of her career.
The tactics centered around Kitasan had gone flawlessly, and after the last corner, she'd clearly broken through the pack and spotted that familiar back.
The family's trainers had analyzed thoroughly: Kitasan Black's greatest strength was her stamina. Her incredible endurance allowed more bursts of acceleration, tighter cornering, and steeper climbs.
But as everything has a price, this superior stamina inevitably came at the cost of "slowness" in raw speed.
Of course, this "slowness" was relative, visible only among the absolute elite.
And the truth supported this. Be it training data, race footage, observations, or even direct experience, Kitasan's pure speed never had an overwhelming edge.
This was precisely Crown's advantage.
If only she didn't let Kitasan open up another five-length lead like in the Satsuki Sho, she'd never repeat that defeat.
So then, what on earth just happened…?
Even if Kitasan's speed was exactly as the trainers described, what was with that bottomless stamina…?
What was going on…?
How could any Uma Musume have enough stamina left to sprint after failing a lead attempt and having to reposition again…?
How could she possibly accelerate multiple times, shaking off pursuits and enduring a second chase…?
How was it remotely possible to still have strength left climbing the final stretch of the Derby…?
Kita-chan…
Do you seriously not understand the meaning of fatigue…?!
And then…
Duramente…
I clearly saw her get trapped on the last turn, yet she…
How did she break free? How did she chase forward? How did she even catch up to Kita-chan…?
That kind of speed, and that aura…
What exactly was that…?!
Her brain, which had just recovered somewhat, clouded over again like oxygen deprivation. Lost in the haze, Satono Crown heard herself murmuring softly.
"That's right… not just Kita-chan… there's also Duramente…"
"Not only Kitasan Black…there's also Duramente…"
"The ones I want to beat…"
She abruptly trailed off.
Ahead, the two figures she'd been staring at had, at some point, walked over toward her.
Still dazed, Crown tried moving her lips. She vaguely heard her own voice, followed by replies from Satono Rasen and other Uma Musume nearby.
Something like "Let's continue together next time" seemed spoken, and she herself seemed to respond somehow.
That line must've come from Kita-chan; Duramente wouldn't say something like that…
This odd thought surfaced involuntarily. Managing a faint twitch of her lips, she watched the two figures before her walk toward the stands.
As Duramente headed toward the grandstand, she glanced several times at Kitasan Black beside her. Several times she opened her mouth, but couldn't manage to say the words she really wanted.
She didn't want to say, "Let's continue next race," or even, "Let's continue together next time."
What she truly wanted to say was, "Next race, let's continue—you and me."
She didn't understand why she wanted to say that. Nor when such thoughts first appeared.
Fastest, strongest, supreme. Duramente had always run wholeheartedly toward this goal.
Victory after victory—only that could fulfill her dream.
So, what was she supposed to do when she lost?
After her previous two defeats, she hadn't spoken about this to anyone, not even Air Groove-nee-san. Instead, she'd silently pondered this question alone.
But no answers ever came.
She never believed herself inferior to anyone else—actually, she'd never compared herself to anyone at all.
If the goal was fastest, strongest, supreme, she only needed to compare herself with herself, each run faster than the last.
That's what she'd always believed.
Yet running the final straight of the Satsuki Sho, suddenly, another figure entered that mindset.
No—maybe she'd intruded long ago.
"Hello! I'm Kitasan Black! It's nice to meet you. You're Duramente-san, right? Um… Dura-chan, can I call you that?"
The words from their first meeting abruptly resurfaced in her mind, along with the figure right beside her during their two battles and the small face desperately pushing forward.
Those words and images mingled with the low roar she'd heard crossing the finish line, replaying continuously in her mind, until she finally laughed softly to herself.
"Actually… it really is about continuing together with you, Kitasan Black…"
"There's really a lot of people here… it feels different seeing it now—Hm? Dura-chan, did you say something just now?"
Turning her head, Duramente saw Kitasan's puzzled expression. She shook her head gently.
"No, it's nothing…"