"W-What's this!?"
"No.4, Blossom Star! She's immediately taken first place!"
"This is--"
"A Great Escape!?"
The small crowd that'd gathered to watch the Debut Race immediately began cheering as they saw one umamusume charge forward, leaving the other runners behind. Chestnut brown hair danced in the winds as she raced forward, and her bright blue eyes almost seemed to leave behind a contrail as she ran.
That umamusume,
Blossom Star!
But amidst that excitement, Kitahara Jo unconsciously dug his fingers into his shoulder as he watched his second trainee charge forward with what looked to be reckless abandon. The announcer excitedly resumed his commentary, but most of his words were lost on his ears as his eyes remained focused on her.
Early on, the disparity between Oguri Cap and Blossom Star became clear.
Oguri Cap held monstrous talent. It was surprising, almost terrifying. Someone like her had no business being in a place like Kasamatsu—if she said she'd come from Central he wouldn't have batted an eye. The more he trained her, the clearer it became that she was born to run.
Blossom Star was different. She wasn't blessed with Oguri's monstrous talent, nor did she have the beastly instinct. If anything, she seemed a bit slow when it came to learning how to run, almost as if the usual instincts an umamusume was born with never arose within her.
But in its place was an almost obsessive resilience. Oguri Cap might outspeed her in every race, but Blossom Star could probably run double the length Oguri could and still go on for a few hundred meters more. The same applied to her training; if he wasn't there to actively remind her to stop at times, he was sure Star would've forgotten to eat or rest.
If he had to explain it,
Oguri might be a monster of Talent, but Star could be called a monster of Effort.
Then again, maybe that wasn't too surprising. She was a Filly, born from two human parents. Perhaps that unique environment had contributed to her unique approach.
It was this difference that led him to suggest she use the infamous Great Escape. Even after two weeks of training, she still hadn't been able to parse what style fit her best. But this was only her debut, and since she had stamina to spare, there was no reason to not immediately take the lead and maintain it until the end.
The only thing he'd been worried about was whether she'd also have a late start like Oguri did.
Thankfully, that didn't happen.
"No.4, Blossom Star! She's still in the lead! No.7, Rudy Lemono tries to catch up, but Blossom Star's lead isn't shrinking-!"
"No, not just that! It's still growing!"
"No.4, Blossom Star! Blossom Star!"
Down on the race track, Rudy Lemono grit her teeth as she watched Blossom Star speed forward, her back shrinking further and further as the gap between them grew. "Damn it…!" She hissed as she continued running, but no matter how much she pushed, Star's distant figure continued to shrink.
When she first got more information about her Debut Race, Rudy knew she wasn't going to win. Blossom Star was a monster who almost matched Fujimasa March's test race record; there was no way someone like Rudy could ever match something like that.
But even so, to see Star's figure practically vanish into the distance like a comet-
Damn it, who wouldn't feel annoyed by something like that!?
"No.7, Rudy Lemono has begun accelerating!"
"She's picking up speed! She's trying to catch up to Blossom Star!"
"There's still 600m left! Can she catch up!?"
Kitahara silently grit his teeth. It wouldn't be long before they entered the final straight. At this point, Star's reached her maximum speed, and she wasn't like Oguri who had her incredible second burst.
The lead Star's built up from her Great Escape—would it be enough to sustain her until the finish line?
"400m left! It's the final corner! All the runners have begun accelerating!"
"The gap to Blossom Star is shrinking, but she hasn't slowed down at all!"
"Her speed has been consistent throughout the race! How much stamina does she really have!?"
"Come on…!" Rudy shouted as she burst forward, using whatever she had to speed up. That previously distant figure was now growing larger, and for the first time in the race, she began to have some hope of catching up.
She didn't believe she could win. Her friends didn't believe she could win. But damn it she wanted to! She might not be as talented or whatever, but she was also an umamusume.
And all umamusume were born to run!
"Only 200m left! It's the final straight!"
Kitahara nervously tapped his foot as he watched the race track. "Come on…" He whispered, clutching onto his cap like it was his lifeline. He grit his teeth as he felt the pressure building in his chest, before he finally caved in and shouted. "You can do it, Star! You've got this!"
Belno Light nearly yelped when Kitahara suddenly shouted, but she soon joined in. "Go, Star-san!"
Oguri remained silent, but she too was gripping onto the railing in front of her seat. "Go." She whispered to the winds, confident in Star's victory.
"100m left! Just 100m left!"
"Every runner has sped up! It's now a race to chase the Great Escape!"
"Can they do it!?"
The crowd was screaming in excitement. Who knew this random Debut Race would present them with something so exciting? For most of them, they had never seen such a daring Great Escape, especially not for an umamusume who had only just debuted. And yet there she was, still in the lead!
Then-!
"Goal!!"
"The official sign has been lit!"
"The first place is No.4, Blossom Star! The second place goes to No.2, Jenson Spark! The third place goes to No.7, Rudy Lemono!"
The crowd's cheer grew even louder as they congratulated Blossom Star for her daring win. Meanwhile the runners who ran behind her all collapsed onto the dirt, too tired from trying to match the intense pace Star had set for the entire race. The score board lit up, showing clearly the gap between the 1st and 2nd place.
5 Lengths!
Rudy grit her teeth as she leaned on the railing. 3rd place—she didn't even get a 2nd! Because of her agitation, she'd accelerated too quickly and ended up burning through all her stamina. In the end she couldn't even maintain her second place and fell back to third.
Damn it.
Damn it!
She glared at Blossom Star's back, and her anger only grew as she saw the dazed look Star had as she stared at the sky. Her breaths were still light, and she was hardly sweating despite the 1600m they'd all just ran. It practically looked like Blossom Star hadn't even taken this race seriously.
But as for the umamusume in question?
Ow, ow, ow.
That was the only thing I could only think as I stared at the sky. My legs were burning, and it took me all I had not to drop onto the ground and scream. Kitahara had warned me that doing a Great Escape would be taxing even for my high Stamina, and now I understood perfectly.
No wonder most runners tended to try and conserve some energy through the race; running at full speed through it all was not sustainable.
[Mission Complete!]
[Rewards: SP Shop unlocked, +36 SP]
A small smile lifted my lips as the notification came up, but it was quickly wiped when a new Mission suddenly appeared.
[Mission: Idol Hero?
An umamusume isn't just a racer, but also an idol for the people to look up to! Ensure that your gratitude to your fans is clearly shown by giving a wonderful Winning Concert!
Task: Get at least a C-Rank Winning Concert
Reward: 24 SP, Hot Topic (2 Days)
Failure: 12 SP]
…ah, so this was the thing that'd been nagging me for the past few days.
Well.
This wasn't good.
"Star-san…!" I heard Belno call out, and I blinked as I turned to see her running up to me, with Oguri just behind her. Kitahara had also been descending, but in his excitement he'd slipped and banged his face onto the railing, causing him to have another nosebleed. "That was amazing!" Belno continued as she stepped onto the race track, her smile bright.
"Mm." Oguri hummed, sending me a thumbs up.
I chuckled weakly, still battling the immense burning I felt in my legs. "It's not that impressive." I humbly said. "If Kitahara hadn't told me to use a Great Escape, I probably would've lost."
I went quiet for a moment, before I decided to speak up. "By the way, do you have any songs I can sing?"
Belno blinked. "For what?"
I smiled wryly. "I never practiced for my Winning Concert."
Belno blinked, and then blinked again. "Eh?"
Oguri just stared, confused as to what a Winning Concert even was.
Then the words I just said finally registered in Belno's mind, and she screamed in horror. "Y-You're right! We never practiced at all…!" She quickly grabbed my hand, and dragging Oguri and I along, she brought us back to Kitahara. "K-Kitahara-san! The Winning Concert!"
Kitahara was wiping his nose when he heard what Belno said, and his jaw fell as his bloodied napkin fell onto the ground. Then he too began screaming.
And all the while, beneath the confused stares of the crowd, I could only copy Oguri and listlessly stare into the void as I pondered what I could even do for my Winning Concert. Because Oguri at least had her Kasamatsu Ondou, and while it didn't really fit the vibe, it was a dance.
Me? I had nothing.
…
Yeah, I was screwed.