When Symboli Rudolf raised her question, Kitahara had already recovered from his initial surprise.
Indeed, judging from Mejiro Ardan's debut performance, if she had managed to seize the inside lane after the start, she would surely have saved more stamina throughout the race and been able to sprint much longer at the final stage.
But failing to grab the inside lane didn't mean everything was over.
"According to our pre-race analysis, no."
His gaze swept briefly across Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky, before finally stopping on Yaeno Muteki's trainer, Deno Yoshitaka. Kitahara calmly said:
"Yaeno Muteki is an outstanding horse girl. In February, she debuted on a 1700m dirt track with a seven-length victory, and in the subsequent Dirt Suisen Sho she even won by twelve lengths. Now it seems, she isn't just powerful on dirt—she's just as capable on turf."
"And from the way she ran at the start today, her marking was executed with breathtaking precision."
Hearing Kitahara describe his horse girl with such clarity, Deno's snow-white beard twitched. He briefly shifted his gaze from the monitor, nodded slightly, and said,"Chief Kitahara flatters me." Then he focused back on the screen.
Kitahara also turned back to the race. It was as though he was answering Rudolf's question, but it also sounded like he was muttering to himself.
"In this situation, Ardan may be stuck on the outside the entire race. Her stamina and explosive power aren't the strongest in Eisei. To try to win like this… there's hardly any hope."
Then, silently in his heart, he added:
But… in her debut victory, she didn't rely on stamina or brute strength.
She relied on precise information control and her tactical "Ballroom Waltz."
Since she couldn't grab the inside, then she should just go with the flow. Ardan, you must have realized this already.
While Kitahara's mind was racing, Mejiro Ardan herself was galloping, stealing glances at her front-right with the corner of her eye.
Her unique tactical training and physical qualities allowed her to remain calm in any situation—whether during the exhaustion of practice or the chaos after the start. She could always spare focus to observe both herself and her surroundings.
Right after the start, she had seen it clearly: the instant she tried cutting inward, a cold glance flashed at her from the right front, and the best line into the inside was blocked.
That was Yaeno Muteki's gaze.
In that moment, Ardan knew—this opponent would never let her take the inside, especially now, between the first and second turns, where Muteki still firmly held the ideal line she had predicted.
…So she analyzed my debut tactics, huh?
Managing stamina, arm swing, stride—keeping her body as light as possible to minimize the drain of running wide on turns—Ardan calmly studied Muteki's back.
Yes. That must be it.
On the surface, my debut looked like I was hugging the rail to save energy, waiting until the third turn to break out, then unleashing a full sprint at the end…
So she—or her team—must have judged that my tactic was a hybrid of Super Creek's "Swinging Maestro" and Oguri/Inari's late-sprint styles.
But…
Ardan's eyes shifted away. Taking a short breath, she sharpened her senses and "observed" the race in detail.
My "Racecourse Waltz" isn't some patchwork tactic…
Like Oguri and the others, she had undergone a period of "blindfold training." Though shorter than theirs, her mind for tactical battles let her extract more value from the same information. She might not be as practiced in info-gathering, but it was enough for now.
She quickly confirmed: among the twelve racers, none had chosen to go for the runaway strategy. The five at the front were all frontrunners.
Yaeno Muteki was in 6th—not hugging the rail, but running four to five horse-widths off it, constantly adjusting to block Ardan from cutting inside.
It was brilliant strategy. To pass, Ardan would need to either accelerate early or slow down. But if she sped up, Muteki could match her and still block; if she slowed, she'd be trapped among the six mid-packers and closers.
…A tough opponent. Without the "water-treading" stamina training I did, this would be hard to handle.
Having sized up the situation, Ardan grew calmer.
But tell me… do you really think you can block me forever?Or rather—can you keep this up forever, Yaeno Muteki…?
…Good. As expected, Chief Naise and Master were right: Ardan's tactical training must've been built on the strengths of other Eisei members.
Muteki felt the faint stare from behind. She didn't need to look back to know—it had to be Ardan.
But she wasn't worried. Everything so far was exactly what her team had predicted.
…According to Chief Naise, Ardan's strengths and weaknesses are obvious. From her debut, she's good at seizing moments, cool-headed, with a strong final kick.
But compared with her teammates Super Creek or Oguri, her stamina and power weren't as strong. So if Muteki drained her with blocking tactics, then in the final sprint…
Her eyes sharpened. She sneaked a glance back. Her lips pressed tight.
…That would be her advantage!
As the two dueled, they passed the second turn. A few hundred meters ahead lay Nakayama's brutal hill.
The commentator's voice rose with excitement.
"The runners have cleared the second corner and entered the far side!"
"Let's check the situation!"
"Leading is White Excite! Behind are Jungle Thunder, Mountain Breeze, Waterfowl Snow, and Green Rie! None of today's horses chose to escape; the frontrunners form the leading pack!"
"And right behind is the head-to-head everyone's been watching for!"
"From the start, the two most popular horses, Mejiro Ardan and Yaeno Muteki, have been locked in battle! Every attempt by Ardan to cut inside has been shut down! Both clearly studied each other's tactics beforehand!"
"Will this duel continue all the way to the finish?! We'll see!"
"And further ahead—oh! A change in the lead pack! Coming out of the second turn, Mountain Breeze makes her move, overtaking Jungle Thunder and White Excite to the front!"
"She's attacking the hill! The Nakayama slope starts mid-race—this part of the course really tests judgment!"
"If you don't use enough power, you'll fall behind. But use too much, and you'll burn out for the finish!"
"Will Mountain Breeze dash up the hill, trying to grab a breather before the rest?!"
"And what about the others—especially Ardan and Muteki locked in their duel—how will they tackle it?!"
The impassioned commentary thundered across the stadium. Spectators roared in anticipation of the slope battle. But in the VIP room, it was still calm, almost another dimension entirely.
"Nakayama's slope… yes, it's a brutal challenge for any horse."
Rudolf's tone carried faint nostalgia as she narrowed her eyes at the screen.
"From 800m to the 1450m peak, the elevation rises over four meters. Between 900 and 1100m it's especially steep. Every step there drains stamina."
Her voice was low, brows furrowed. "Many fail to pace themselves, burning out right after the slope. However…"
She glanced at Maruzensky, then at the others.
"I heard from Maruzensky and CB that both teams put their kouhais through slope training. So the slope itself shouldn't be an issue."
Her gaze lingered on Kitahara and Deno.
"So the real question remains: if Ardan stays trapped by Muteki's marking, then as Chief Kitahara said earlier—her chances of winning are nil."
…True. If she stayed trapped, Ardan had no hope.
Kitahara didn't answer immediately. He just watched the sky-blue-haired figure on screen. The pack was approaching the hill.
But as Rudolf said, the slope consumed huge energy. To maintain high speed after it required extreme effort. That left little room for calm analysis.
Yet Ardan was exactly that kind of horse girl. One of the few who could keep her cool even in exhaustion…
So aside from her, who else could?
Muteki… perhaps?
Kitahara glanced at Deno, tempted to ask about Muteki's traits. He had studied all available data, but true qualities could only be learned through training. And he knew Ardan's best chance to shake Muteki was on this slope.
But he held back—it wasn't the place to ask.
Then the stadium's uproar refocused everyone on the screen.
"Ardan and Muteki are making their move! They both accelerated on the hill at the same time!"
"Reports before the race said all runners trained for the slope, but clearly the two most popular horses trained the hardest!"
"They're adapting beautifully, surging faster, side by side, overtaking Green Rie, Snow, Jungle Thunder, White Excite, and Mountain Breeze!"
"The Nakayama slope is long and steep—this is risky! If they burn too much stamina, the endgame could be ruined!"
"Because after the slope comes the decisive final 400m!"
"They're almost at the 1400m peak!"
"They've crossed it! Onto the brief flat—Ardan leads by a length! She's handling the slope even better than Muteki!"
"How's their stamina?! Can they maintain the lead?!"
"They're holding! Neither has slowed!"
"So the decisive section is now—the 200m downhill and then the 200m-plus straight! If they can keep speed, they'll stay in front!"
"A duel! A full-race duel! From start to now, it's been head-to-head brilliance—who will claim the final victory?!"
…D-damn…
Muteki didn't even hear the commentary anymore. Or rather, she heard it, but couldn't process the words.
The long slope, the steep 200m climb—though she had trained for it, she had never imagined the exhaustion in a real race would be so severe.
She couldn't make out the commentary. She couldn't even clearly see the back just a meter or two ahead.
Not that she was out of stamina—she had enough for the sprint.
But her mind… her brain felt frozen, barely functioning. She was just running mechanically: arms, breath, stride, drive.
She couldn't play her blocking tactics anymore. She couldn't spare the clarity to think.
Worse, she was now the one stuck, pinned to the inside!
Her temples pounded as though hammered. Her vision blurred. She roared inwardly in frustration.
Damn it… does she have eyes in the back of her head?!
She's still analyzing the race?!Why—why after the slope, can she still calmly execute tactics?!
What Muteki didn't know was that Ardan too was exhausted—but in a different way.
Ardan felt her state was strange.
Her mind was crystal-clear—like a fresh morning on the paddock.
But her body was wrecked. Every muscle trembled, bones groaned under strain, nerves spasmed, blood vessels screamed.
Her mind's clarity came at the cost of her body's strength.
But that was both a weakness and an advantage.
She knew—if the race were 100m longer… no, even 50m, 10m longer—her body would collapse, her speed would plummet.
The turf was heavy, the rain-soaked ground pulling at her feet.
The finish seemed impossibly far, like another 100m away.
Her arms barely lifted, her legs barely moved, lungs bursting.
But wasn't this exactly what she had predicted?
A faint smile tugged her lips.
You couldn't hold me forever, Muteki…
I admit, after the slope, you had more stamina than me. Your breathing is steadier, your steps stronger…
And I know—you're gambling everything on your final kick.
But you miscalculated.
There's not enough distance left for you to pass me…
"Finish! By half a length! Congratulations to Mejiro Ardan, securing consecutive wins after her debut and earning priority entry for the Satsuki Sho!"
(End of Chapter)