[Sorry for 1 chapter only]
On this day, the Eisei Team competed in three races at the Chukyo Racecourse. It couldn't exactly be said that each race was won more convincingly than the last, after all, Oguri Cap, Super Creek, and Mejiro Ardan each specialized in different running styles and adopted different tactics.
However, there was no doubt that they won all of them—and more importantly, judging from their post-race condition, each victory came more easily than the previous one.
After winning the championship by an absolute margin of more than seven lengths, Oguri Cap cleaned off the rainwater, adjusted her physical condition, and soon went over to the spectator area to express how extremely hungry she felt.
If she didn't still have to wait for her friends' races, she probably would've gone off on her own to find something to eat.
As for Super Creek and Ardan, after their races, whether it was their breathing, their stride, or their expressions, everything was unbelievably steady—so much so that it felt as if they hadn't even competed at all.
The extraordinary condition and race performances of these three horse girls left their teammates in awe.
"You three are insanely strong! I never expected that even with a last-minute change in running style before the race, you'd all manage to pull it off—and win so beautifully!"
When Tamamo Cross saw Oguri Cap and the others in the rest area, still wiping their hair, she excitedly grabbed the closest one—Oguri Cap—and shook her vigorously.
"It looked super fun and challenging too! I wanna try that next time!"
"Me too!"
As if annoyed that she hadn't spoken first, Inari One chimed in without backing down.
"If Oguri and the others can do it, then I definitely can too!"
"That way, whether it's the upcoming races or the ones even further down the line, I'll definitely perform even better!"
"Oh! Then you two have to work hard, Tama, Inari!"
After wiping her still slightly damp hair from the bath, Oguri Cap put down the towel and pumped her fist encouragingly.
"Even though in today's race, it was a bit hard to take the lead at the start…"
"But if you just keep charging forward like usual in a stalking position, it actually becomes pretty easy to surge into first place later."
"And after that it's even simpler—just focus on moving forward, and there won't be any problems at all!"
As she spoke, she showed a faintly nostalgic expression.
"Hmm… if that's the case, then today's race must've been really exciting, right?"
"I remember it was something like a seven-length victory—I've never opened up that big a gap before…"
Seeing Oguri Cap grow increasingly delighted—and a little puzzled—her teammates couldn't help but chuckle.
With a smile, Super Creek finished wiping her hair as well, set down her towel, and picked up another one from the vanity in front of her.
"Of course it was, Oguri. You've always been running in a stalking position, after all. From that position, it's a bit hard to open up a truly huge gap."
Holding a softer-looking towel, she slowly wiped her tail and smiled as she spoke to Oguri Cap.
"Pace Chasers usually conserve a certain amount of stamina and are always ready to overtake, right?"
"That means if your starting position is already relatively forward and advantageous, you don't need explosive power so much as high speed and excellent stamina."
"But you're special, Oguri—your real strength lies in raw power."
"That's why in past races, you always made your move at the very end."
"With only about 200 meters left, it's really hard to open up a big lead."
"And besides, the way you actually ran this race—wasn't it still Pace chasing, rather than a true runaway lead?"
"Ah… saying that now, I kind of regret it. If I'd chosen to run like you…"
Grabbing the tip of her tail, which kept swaying unconsciously, with one hand and slowly wiping it with the other, she shook her head with a tone that was half sigh, half joke.
"Then maybe I could've pulled even further ahead…"
"Huh? That's strange—when did my tail care lotion run out…? Super Creek, could I borrow yours for a bit?"
Just like Super Creek, Oguri Cap also switched towels after wiping her hair, preparing to clean her tail.
But after rummaging through her own vanity, she was surprised to find that the bottle of tail care lotion—which she remembered as having plenty left—was completely empty.
Holding the empty plastic bottle, she looked over at Super Creek with a helpless, almost tearful expression.
A horse girl's tail, like her hair, needs regular care; otherwise, the buildup of bacteria can cause inflammation.
And according to the horse girls themselves, if a tail isn't maintained for too long, the sensation of it swaying back and forth feels strange—almost like someone is grabbing it.
For a horse girl, that's extremely uncomfortable. Generally speaking, the tail is considered a "private area," different from hair.
If it's touched carelessly or feels abnormal, it can easily trigger an instinctive stress response—
Namely, the urge to kick something. In layman's terms from another world, it's called "bucking."
Unlike humans, horse girls' hair can be cleaned normally using standard shampoo.
But tails have a different structure, requiring wide-tooth combs or stiff brushes with larger spacing.
The towels are the same—those used for hair and those for tails can't be mixed.
The care lotions must also be specialized; there are dozens of tail-care products on the market specifically for horse girls.
This abundance exists because tail conditions vary widely—often, a single horse girl will stick to a few specific products, or even just one.
For that reason, when Super Creek heard Oguri Cap's request, her expression—which had looked slightly odd—froze for a moment. She then picked up her own tail care lotion and hesitantly shook it.
"I still have quite a lot left, but I use a brand from my hometown. My parents always used this one for me when I was little, so I'm used to it."
Then she looked at Oguri Cap, puzzled.
"If I remember right, Oguri, don't you also use a specific tail care lotion?"
"Is it from Kasamatsu too? If so, wouldn't using something else feel a bit off?"
"Oh, I don't use anything from Kasamatsu. They don't really have products like that back home."
With no lotion to use and no way to deal with her tail for the moment, Oguri Cap simply leaned over with her towel, peering at the bottle in Super Creek's hand.
"Ever since I came to Tokyo, I've been using a lotion recommended by Gold City-senpai."
"Gold City-senpai?"
Super Creek blinked. "Did she recommend it to you before retiring?"
When Kitahara, Oguri Cap, and Belno Light first arrived at the Central circuit, she had taken care of them a great deal in Ginjiro's place while he was competing in the U.S.
Later, during academy training, she relied on her connections to gather many friends and help the Eisei Team with various side-by-side training sessions.
However, affected by her close friend Sakura Star O's injury and recovery, Gold City gradually lost motivation in her later races and chose to retire around the time Ginjiro went to America.
At present, she pursued her old side job from her racing days—fashion modeling—on a whim, occasionally traveling around.
"Yeah! When I first came to Tokyo, Gold City-senpai helped me a lot."
Oguri Cap nodded repeatedly.
"When I was in Kasamatsu, my hair was still pretty short, and I liked tying it up."
"Later it got longer, and I started wearing it loose like now."
She gestured from her shoulders to the middle of her lower back to show the change, then continued:
"And then I didn't really know how to take care of it. For some reason, it kept getting caught on things and tangled up."
"But when I trained with Gold City-senpai, I saw how soft and beautiful her hair was—it never seemed to get messed up no matter the weather or conditions."
"So I asked her how she took care of it. She patiently taught me and even gave me the shampoo and care products she used."
With a grateful, nostalgic look, Oguri Cap nodded again.
"So ever since then, I've been using the care products she gave me."
"I see… In that case, mine might not suit you very well. But if you don't mind, you're welcome to use it."
With a look of understanding, Super Creek pushed her bottle forward slightly. Then, after thinking for a moment, she turned her head to the side.
"But if it's something Gold City-senpai usually uses, I remember that Ardan—you might have it, right?"
"Eh? Me?"
Mejiro Ardan, who had been smiling as she tidied her tail, paused her grooming when she heard that, then laughed softly.
"I do. Like Oguri, I really admire Gold City-senpai's poise and elegance, and I asked her about grooming too. I bought all the care lotions she recommended."
"My hair and tail aren't very picky, so I usually have quite a few different products."
"Why don't you come over and take a look, Oguri? See if there's one you're used to using."
As she spoke, she opened the drawer of her vanity and the cabinet below it, revealing rows of bottles and jars of all sizes.
Girls were all the same when it came to caring about their appearance. Ardan's vanity showed it vividly—every product imaginable, covering everything from head to toe, was neatly arranged in the drawers and cabinets.
Carrying all these grooming items around was obviously impossible, especially for horse girls who traveled constantly for races.
For convenience, each academy or training team had its own logistics system, and most trainers and horse girls entrusted these details to the academy.
The Eisei Team was an exception. As the young lady of the Mejiro family, Ardan had dedicated staff handling logistics, and the team benefited greatly from that.
"Whoa! There are so many lotions I've never seen before!"
Oguri Cap exclaimed in amazement, then quickly grew excited.
"I see it—that one!"
"Can I use it, Ardan?"
"Of course. Use it whenever you like."
"Mm! Thank you so much!"
Happily taking the familiar tail care lotion from Ardan, Oguri Cap poured some onto her towel. Suddenly, her ears twitched.
"Oh right—Super Creek, didn't you say something earlier? Something about 'like me' or something…"
As soon as she said that, both Ardan—who had just handed over the lotion—and Super Creek, who had been smiling contentedly, froze.
"Ah… that…"
Tilting her head slightly with her palm against her cheek, Super Creek smiled, fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly.
"I was thinking that maybe in today's race, going all out like you did, Oguri, might be the best way to truly discover how far my real strength has reached…"
"How far your real strength has reached…?"
Now it was Oguri Cap's turn to be stunned. However, Mejiro Ardan—whose expression had earlier been slightly puzzled—suddenly smiled.
"You're thinking about the races ahead, aren't you, Super Creek?"
"The races… ahead?"
Oguri Cap was even more confused.
"Yes. It seems Ardan thought the same way. No wonder you had so much in reserve but didn't fully use it—honestly…"
Realizing that her teammate shared the same thoughts—or rather, that her earlier vague suspicions were correct—Super Creek smiled.
Her gaze moved from Ardan to Oguri Cap, then to Tamamo Cross and Inari One.
After congratulating them, those two had fallen into a discussion about whether they themselves could adopt other running styles, which had since turned into their usual bickering over "who's more suited to Pace Chasing."
But Super Creek's words quickly drew their attention—and the conversation that followed.
"That was an incredibly bold decision and action—testing your own strength in an official race, I mean."
"You're the same, Super Creek."
Ardan replied with a smile.
"If you went all out and fully utilized your endurance advantage, you could've taken control of the entire race by the middle—no, by the end of the opening phase, right?"
"Spending stamina to accelerate for over 1,000 meters—if you did that in a G1… no, even in a G3 or higher, it'd practically count as self-destruction."
"But in an OP-level race like today's, it's no big deal."
Her face carried a confident, proud smile, yet her tone was tinged with reflection.
"I think when it comes to our true strength—or rather, how far we can go if we give everything—we ourselves might understand it more clearly than the trainers do."
"That's not to say Chief Kitahara and the others aren't excellent."
"But having long held us to the highest standards, they may have somewhat forgotten that horse girl racing is, in reality, very cruel and very realistic."
"If you're not strong enough, you're not strong enough. If you're not fast enough, you're not fast enough."
"I'm not saying anyone isn't working hard. I just firmly believe that in this generation, we've already reached the very top of the Japanese stage."
"To verify our strength in an OP-level official race—that in itself is the confidence that lets me do this."
Horse girl races were always intense and full of unpredictability. No horse girl or trainer could guarantee constant victory.
As Ardan and Super Creek had just said, holding back in an OP-level race to gauge one's limits based on opponents and race conditions was undoubtedly risky.
But regardless of how the others viewed whether it was good or bad—and regardless of what Super Creek herself ultimately thought—Mejiro Ardan believed that this seemingly risky act would make her stronger.
Before today, she would never have done something like this. She had complete faith in her team's strength—their daily training and pre-race analysis were unquestionably world-class.
The key was that the change in running strategy before today's race made her vaguely sense that something had shifted on the trainers' side.
Otherwise, given their usual preparation style, arrangements like today's race would never have happened.
Trusting her instincts as a horse girl, she keenly felt that this race might be an experiment by the trainers—and also an opportunity for her to try breaking through her own limits.
With greater freedom granted in the race plan, when she heard Kitahara's reflections before the race, she realized that this race would largely depend on her own will.
If she wanted, she could've chosen the previous strategy, which still carried an extremely high chance of victory—perhaps even higher than the new one.
But she chose the second option. She wanted to take this chance—perhaps a sign of transformation within the team—to attempt her own transformation as well.
This was only an OP-level race. Win or lose, it was worth making this attempt.
She knew this way of thinking was actually quite arrogant. On the surface, arrogance had no place in someone whose goal was victory and bringing glory to the Mejiro name.
After all, the decisions and outcomes born from such arrogance were far too uncertain.
Yet miracles in horse girl racing often emerged from exactly this uncertainty.
The Mejiro family's past glory—the clan head and seniors winning the Tenno Sho (Spring) twice in a row, her sister Mejiro Ramonu becoming the first Triple Tiara mare—none of these achievements had ever been 100% certain beforehand.
Trusting one's team and striving for one's own limits and possibilities when the timing allows—these two things did not conflict.
She was a horse girl of the Eisei Team, and she would give everything for the team's victory.
And when victory was assured, she would also give everything to pursue her own limits.
Because she was not only a horse girl of the Eisei Team—
She was also a horse girl of the Mejiro family.
Today's race and the upcoming ones would not yet pit her directly against teammates like Oguri Cap and Super Creek.
But further down the line—the Kikuka Sho, the Japan Cup, the Arima Kinen—competition among teammates would be unavoidable.
And not just against Oguri Cap and Super Creek, but also against Tamamo Cross and Inari One.
With the support of the family's information network, she knew very well that those two teammates—who seemed noisy and constantly bickering whenever they met—were already locked in an intense rivalry in the outside world, dubbed the "Battle for Strongest Active Senior Horsegirl."
The title of "Strongest Active Senior Horsegirl" had once briefly belonged to Tamamo Cross after her stunning performance in the Tenno Sho (Spring), but following Inari One's brilliant showing in the Takamatsunomiya Cup, the title was once again up in the air.
The gap between classic year and Senior year couldn't be closed simply by training together every day.
Differences in physical development meant that older versions of Tamamo and Inari were, overall, stronger—and closing that gap required not only harder training, but also greater challenges to oneself.
Otherwise—leaving the Kikuka Sho aside for now, and even ignoring foreign opponents in the Japan Cup—
Facing two older, effectively senior teammates in the Arima Kinen, Mejiro Ardan could be certain that, just like in daily training, she would lose more often than she would win.
That made today's attempt necessary.
Admittedly, she knew she wasn't particularly good at leading from the front.
The headwind she experienced in the intense race conditions felt completely different from training—it was like the oncoming wind and rain were trying to push her backward, filled with an irresistible force.
Even when she tried to precisely assess her opponents' condition, the feedback from all her senses—their all-out efforts—made her, who was deliberately conserving strength, feel for a split second as if her heart were leaping into her throat, suffocating her.
On top of that were many other situations she lacked experience dealing with. Feeling these nerve-wracking sensations, she found herself instinctively wanting to retreat to a more familiar position.
But in the end, she overcame it all, and ultimately won the race while still keeping something in reserve—just as she had envisioned.
She knew that with this breakthrough, even if it took time to digest the experience, when she eventually stood on the stages of the Kikuka Sho, the Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen, she would undoubtedly benefit from everything this race had given her.
Before this, she had thought she would be the only one making such a choice today.
After all, although Oguri Cap spoke little as usual, the aura she projected remained just as pure and straightforward as ever.
This teammate simply wanted to win more beautifully—she wouldn't deliberately push herself or seek breakthroughs in a race.
But Super Creek's casual words just now clearly revealed that this teammate harbored similar thoughts.
After all, Ardan had listened to the entire race broadcast. In a middle-distance race, accelerating before the 100-meter mark of the decisive stretch posed no problem at all for Super Creek—
Especially when it was only an OP-level race.
However, despite maintaining acceleration for more than half the race, she still failed to secure a margin like Oguri Cap's—seven lengths or more. That alone could only mean one thing: Super Creek had held something back.
Even without knowing exactly what this teammate wanted to confirm, the fact that the winning margin was "too short" was proof enough—she must have been trying to verify something, and had deliberately conserved her strength for that purpose.
Now, speaking together about her own decision and her speculation about her teammate, Mejiro Ardan spoke openly and straightforwardly, living up to the dignity and candor one would expect from her family name:
"I did this for a very simple reason, actually."
"I want to win. That's all."
"As a fellow Classic-year horse girl, I've already lost the Satsuki Sho and the Japan Derby. For the Kikuka Sho, I won't relax even the slightest bit."
"My blessing for Oguri to go undefeated in winning the Satsuki Sho and Derby is exactly the same as my own belief in winning the Kikuka Sho."
"That's why I adopted today's race strategy."
"Of course…"
Suddenly, she changed from her gradually serious expression, blinking playfully and smiling.
"The trainers didn't say I wasn't allowed to do it, after all."
"Since they didn't forbid it, I figured I'd take the freedom to go all out once."
That shift in attitude was clearly meant to soften her words—but the impact had already taken hold.
"Kikuka Sho, huh…"
Murmuring those few words under her breath, Super Creek lowered her head with a faint smile. As if easing her muscles, she slowly placed her hands on her thighs and gently rubbed them.
"Ha… looks like I won't have time to argue with you anymore, Inari…"
Still appearing carefree, Tamamo Cross laughed lightly, scratched her head, then clasped her fists together in front of her chest.
"That's true. No time to argue with you anymore. After the September and October races, it'll be the Japan Cup—where we'll all compete—and then the Arima Kinen at year's end."
Inari One seemed about to clasp her fists the same way, but halfway through, she stopped—apparently unwilling to be accused of copying—and instead pretended to casually touch the fox mask on the side of her face.
The atmosphere in the lounge clearly hadn't been softened by Mejiro Ardan's playful tone. Without anyone realizing it, it had already changed.
As her teammates—who trained together every day—began to shift, Oguri Cap, much like during today's Meitetsu Cup, found herself unusually deep in thought.
Kikuka Sho, Japan Cup… and the Arima Kinen…
That won't be like today, where it felt like I won without much effort…
While the horse girls of the team were each lost in their own thoughts, on the other side, the trainers were still completely unaware of the changes in their girls.
Their attention, instead, had been captured by several unexpected racehorse girls.
"Wait, aren't you student council members supposed to be busy? Why are all of you here in Nagoya—having a team-building trip or something?"
Standing before a helplessly scratching Kitahara was none other than Symboli Rudolf, who by all rights should have been busy at Central Tracen Academy.
Behind her were CB—who had previously "agreed" to help with training camp preparations—and fellow student council member Mejiro Ramonu.
Just these three alone, combined with Maruzensky, who had been following the Eisei Team recently, already constituted most of the academy's student council leadership.
And among this group—who looked suspiciously like they had come to Nagoya for a student council outing—there was one more racehorse girl who felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Kitahara.
Black hair tied in a high ponytail, wrapped with a vivid red headband decorated with festive tassels; white, full-coverage earmuffs.
Her tail, unlike her short hair, was long, thick, and exceptionally glossy—so smooth it made one instinctively want to reach out and touch it.
Of course, doing so would surely earn a kick from someone with domain-level strength.
"Team-building? That's actually a good idea, Kitahara. Once we're done with our work, we can consider it. Nagoya's quite nice—you can even play by the sea."
Symboli Rudolf smiled as she responded to his joke.
Then, noticing that Kitahara's gaze had drifted to the black-haired, black-tailed racehorse girl beside her, her expression turned slightly awkward. She raised a fist to her mouth and coughed.
"Cough… well, you're already familiar with CB and Ramonu, so I won't introduce them. As for this one… cough."
She cleared her throat again before continuing:
"This is Katsuragi Ace. From our year. Um… if it's you, Kitahara, you should be quite familiar with her…"
Kitahara was indeed very familiar.
Not only with Katsuragi Ace herself, but also with the obvious awkwardness Symboli Rudolf was displaying.
Kitahara understood the "Emperor" student council president well.
Despite how kind she appeared when interacting with members of the Eisei Team—especially Kitahara, whom she treated like a friend—that warmth was largely based on the fact that everyone in the Eisei Team, trainers and racehorse girls alike, was genuinely strong.
Toward ordinary trainers and horse girls, this legendary figure was only gentle in public settings like entrance ceremonies. In daily interactions, her authority was overwhelming.
Just like Belno Light when she first met Symboli Rudolf, or Maruzensky and Mejiro Ramonu—most horse girls felt a mix of awe and fear toward her.
Oguri Cap, who was largely insensitive to status, and Tokai Teio, a devoted "fan," were exceptions—being able to chat and laugh with her at first meeting.
It wasn't that Symboli Rudolf abused her power; she was simply strong—strong enough that the dignity ingrained in her bones was impossible to hide.
And for someone with such regal presence, losing was something that couldn't be hidden—no matter how much she wanted to avoid embarrassment.
After all, as Japan URA history's first undefeated Triple Crown racehorse girl, among her sixteen races with thirteen wins—excluding her loss overseas in the U.S.—one of the opponents she lost to in Japan was none other than Katsuragi Ace.
"Yohoho~! Kitahara-san, I've heard your name for a long time! It's really lucky to finally meet you today!"
Almost the instant Symboli Rudolf finished speaking, the black-haired, black-tailed racehorse girl darted forward, grabbed Kitahara's hand, and shook it vigorously.
After loudly expressing her enthusiasm, she snapped one hand back and gave a sharp salute near her temple.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Katsuragi Ace—pleased to meet ya, bro~!"
Overflowing with energy—almost more like a boy than a girl—Kitahara immediately connected this Katsuragi Ace with the one from his memories.
Her real-life counterpart was famously fiery.
Easily agitated—according to jockeys, if she heard loud cheering during a race, she would enter an overexcited state, ignoring ability and instructions alike, charging forward with reckless abandon.
Insensitive to restraint, even without external stimuli, she could misinterpret jockey intent and suddenly burst into acceleration.
The original project built her character around this trait, creating a cheerful, tomboyish personality.
And in this world, Katsuragi Ace's experiences fit that image perfectly.
She grew up in rural fields, loved running freely by nature, developed a bright, carefree personality, and strongly disliked dull conventions and rigid rules.
If interviews were to be believed, she had always aimed to shatter that stagnation—to become an "ace" of the racing world.
After stepping onto the track, she truly did just that—most notably in the Japan Cup that shocked all of Japan.
That year's Japan Cup was the fourth edition open to the world, and the previous three had all been won by foreign horse girls.
What shocked Japan even more was that in the first two editions, not a single Japanese racehorse girl had even placed in the top three.
Under those circumstances, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Japanese racing world had lost confidence in itself—which was why the Japan Cup Katsuragi Ace entered drew such attention.
The hype wasn't because of Katsuragi Ace—but because CB and Symboli Rudolf were also competing.
By then, both had already achieved the Classic Triple Crown.
Naturally, everyone assumed that if Japan were to win the Cup, it would be thanks to one of those two.
As for Katsuragi Ace—2400 meters was a distance she rarely raced; she had recently shown temperament issues in the Tenno Sho (Autumn); and the foreign competitors were overwhelmingly strong.
That last point was the most decisive.
Even with two Triple Crown racehorse girls present, CB was the top favorite, while second and third favorites were still foreign entrants.
The future "Emperor," Symboli Rudolf, was only the fourth favorite.
Under all these conditions, no one believed in Katsuragi Ace.
Yet she won.
In any world, when she broke away early and claimed victory, the entire stadium fell silent in an instant—even her own camp stood frozen, unable to speak.
Only after what felt like an eternity did everyone realize what had happened.
Katsuragi Ace had defeated foreign powerhouses, beaten two Triple Crown racehorse girls, avenged her G1 loss to CB, handed Symboli Rudolf her first career defeat, and claimed Japan's first Japan Cup victory as a domestic racehorse girl.
Only then did thunderous cheers erupt.
Thinking of Katsuragi Ace—and that Japan Cup—Kitahara couldn't help recalling the entanglement between her, CB, and Symboli Rudolf.
Katsuragi Ace and CB were from the same generation. By her own admission, Ace entered racing after being inspired by CBs running form.
They both competed in the Satsuki Sho and Japan Derby—both of which Katsuragi Ace lost.
Later, due to campaign planning, Ace abandoned the long-distance route and initially skipped the Kikuka Sho.
Yet during that period, she defeated CB in the Kyoto Shimbun Hai.
Fans began anticipating a G1 rematch. Katsuragi Ace entered the Kikuka Sho.
She lost again—this time catastrophically, finishing second to last.
Even that alone wouldn't have caused such explosive emotion over her Japan Cup victory.
The key was that the following year, she defeated CB again in the G2 Mainichi Okan—only to lose yet again in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).
In short, before the Japan Cup, Katsuragi Ace, her fans, and her camp all desperately wanted her to defeat CB in a G1—just once.
As for CB and Symboli Rudolf, things were simpler.
Like "why is there Yu when there's already Liang," after winning Triple Crowns in successive years, CB had never beaten Symboli Rudolf even once.
It was easy to imagine that—even without saying it publicly—CB desperately wanted a win.
And then, in the Japan Cup, Katsuragi Ace defeated CB—and inadvertently defeated Symboli Rudolf too.
That set the stage for an eagerly anticipated Arima Kinen later that year.
Especially since Symboli Rudolf insisted on entering despite medical advice to rest after the Triple Crown and Japan Cup.
In short, that Arima Kinen felt like a one-sided "love triangle."
The tension wasn't just between the racehorse girls—it sparked a month-long war of words among fans.
Katsuragi Ace: CB, face me!
Chimei Representative: Symboli Rudolf, this time I'll beat you!
Symboli Rudolf: Katsuragi Ace, I'll get my revenge at the Arima Kinen!
In the end, Symboli Rudolf won.
Katsuragi Ace retired as planned due to leg issues, and CB lost two major races the following year before quietly retiring as well.
And so, that dramatic rivalry finally came to an end.
With these thoughts in mind, Kitahara couldn't help but feel a smile forming—remembering something that made him happy.
But his effort to suppress it caused Katsuragi Ace to misunderstand.
After introducing herself, she quickly stared at his face and laughed.
"Ah, don't listen to Rudolf's nonsense—we didn't come just for you guys… well, not exactly not for you either. How should I put it…"
She spoke vaguely—not unwilling to explain, but unsure how.
Then she continued:
"It's about your team's current situation, and your opponents. Rudolf told us—"
"Cough, cough. Katsuragi."
Before she could finish, Symboli Rudolf coughed again, interrupting her.
This cough was clearly intentional—not embarrassment, but a deliberate signal to stop.
The awkwardness shifted instantly—from Symboli Rudolf's face to Katsuragi Ace's.
"Ah—ah… haha, um, I—I didn't say anything, Rudolf…"
She waved one hand frantically while scratching her head with the other, clearly flustered after nearly letting something slip.
"Uh, um… oh! Right! Kitahara-bro, Rudolf also found two juniors who want to try passing your team's evaluation."
"Well, uh… wanna take a look?"
Looking utterly relieved, she turned and pushed two young racehorse girls forward from behind the student council group.
To be honest, Kitahara was very curious about what Katsuragi Ace had almost said—and why Symboli Rudolf had stopped her.
The student council was usually serious—especially when many members were present.
It wasn't obvious at a glance. For example, the student council before training camp had seemed lazy.
But the details told another story—Maruzensky's constant support, CB's quiet presence, already regrouped with Rudolf without anyone noticing.
They weren't idle—they simply specialized in different things.
Now that nearly all key members were present, there was no way this was unimportant.
Especially given that what Katsuragi Ace almost said clearly involved the Eternal Team.
But Symboli Rudolf's stance was clear—for now, she wasn't going to explain.
So Kitahara didn't push the issue.
Instead, he turned his attention to the two horse girls just brought forward.
"Mihono Bourbon… Rice Shower…"
Rubbing his chin in surprise as he looked at one expressionless girl and another shy, timid one, he murmured:
"Why are you two here…?"
(End of Chapter)