In the thick of traffic.
A red sports car weaved through the lanes at breakneck speed. No matter how strong Grass Wonder's nerves were, this kind of situation was hard to take.
Uma Musume's vision and hearing far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
If Grass Wonder were the one driving, she might not be so tense, but she was in the passenger seat.
Experiencing it from this completely different perspective.
No wonder... no wonder even the usually easy-going Miss Tazuna wanted to refuse a ride with Maruzensky-san!
"Hey, Grass-chan."
"Senpai?"
A slight tremble had crept into Grass Wonder's voice.
"Going up against this car—do you think you could win?"
Even though it seemed like they could collide with another vehicle at any moment, Maruzensky still turned her head to study Grass Wonder's reaction.
"Uh..."
Grass Wonder never expected her senior to ask such a question.
The answer was completely obvious.
Even though people often compared an Uma Musume's running speed to that of a car, and even in Kyoto or other big cities, an Uma Musume could easily outpace traffic...
That was only true in major cities, only in places dense with vehicles.
"Well... I'm just flesh and blood..."
"A race between an Uma Musume and a car is unfair from the start."
Even legendary Uma Musume couldn't win against a car with no restrictions.
"Haha, it was a bit of a mean question, wasn't it?"
"But, it's most important not to dwell on why you lost."
"I think when you lose, it's better to consider why the other side was able to surpass you."
"Rather than being afraid and blaming yourself, admitting your opponent's strength is perhaps even more frustrating."
Listening to Maruzensky's words, Grass Wonder's thoughts became a tangled mess. Surpass herself? Admitting her opponent's strength?
But she hadn't lost any races. Even though she'd suffered a leg injury, her record before that was still undefeated, just like Barbatos and El Condor Pasa are now.
So, what Maruzensky-senpai was talking about couldn't be...
"If you can't overcome the fear in your heart, you might not be able to defeat El-chan and Barbatos in the future."
"Maruzensky-senpai, are you talking about... the 'Zone'?"
"Ara, calling it the Zone is fine, I suppose."
"Actually, it's not just the Zone. There's also the innate fear of running after a leg injury. Whichever it is, it's something you must face from now on, Grass-chan."
"Your generation has quite a few rivals you need to watch out for."
As Maruzensky's words fell, the speedometer, which had been reading over a hundred, began to noticeably drop.
Grass Wonder let out a sigh of relief and finally understood why Maruzensky senpai had been speeding in a place like this. Was she trying to indirectly help her overcome her fear?
The fear that came from getting injured after entering the Zone?
That kind of fear... maybe it really did exist.
"Thank you, senpai. I'll return to the track as soon as I can. I won't lose to them."
"Good!"
"Then let's speed up even more!"
Another stomp on the accelerator. Grass Wonder shivered in her seat. "Uh, senpai, I understood what you said before! You don't need to drive this fast anymore!!"
"Don't be shy! This is the perfect time for a drive!"
"Besides, we just happened to pass a speed camera earlier!"
A light seemed to glow in Maruzensky's eyes. All the possible overtaking routes between the vehicles in sight materialized in her mind, just like during a race.
"Really, it's fine now."
Grass Wonder mumbled weakly in complaint. No wonder even Miss Tazuna was somewhat afraid of riding in Maruzensky senpai's car.
--+--
[Dramatic Development]
A headband wrapped around her head, her usual twin-tails completely loose, a bandage tied in place. She stared intently at the video on her phone, as if engaged in some kind of ascetic training.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
She lifted her head, her face serious. This time, she'd finally succeeded!
All this time, to face Barbatos directly, she'd undergone a unique kind of training. Not the conventional sort.
It was an unprecedented challenge.
As long as she completed this challenge, she believed that even facing Barbatos directly, she wouldn't be toyed with like last time.
This time, she would definitely have a proper race with Barbatos. Even if her current strength made it hard to achieve a good result in a G2-level race.
But at the very least, this time she wouldn't have a late start because of Barbatos.
On her phone screen, a "Try Not to Laugh Challenge" video was clearly displayed.
After this period of rigorous training, no matter what Barbatos said to her before the race, she wouldn't be thrown off like last time, resulting in a late start!
This time, she would compete with Barbatos fairly and squarely. Even if she lost the race, she would lose with honor!
--+--
There were still a few hours until the pre-race interviews would begin.
Tacit Accord, wearing her tracksuit, couldn't contain her restlessness. She excused herself from her trainer and headed out alone for a light jog.
It was just a G2. A G2 race she had won before.
Yet Tacit Accord still felt pressure. It was like when she participated in the Takarazuka Kinen before—this shouldn't be happening.
Even Barbatos couldn't compare to the monsters from that Takarazuka Kinen. Those were the true monsters standing at the peak of their generation.
Having raced against them before, she absolutely would not lose to Barbatos.
No matter how the rumors spread about Barbatos defeating Tamamo Cross senpai, that 15-length gap Tamamo Cross faced was real. Barbatos definitely wasn't as strong as the amateurs made her out to be.
Of course, her strength wasn't something to be taken lightly either.
So, even for someone like her, who had participated in the Takarazuka Kinen, she couldn't help but go for a jog now, could she?
That Takarazuka Kinen five months ago, facing those top-tier G1 Uma Musume... even though she finished 5th, it still put immense pressure on her and shook her confidence somewhat.
Now, even if there was a hint of "a senior bullying a junior," she would defeat Barbatos in this Keio Hai Junior Stakes, rebuild her confidence, and then challenge those G1 monsters again!
Before the pre-race interviews begin, she might as well use this time to get some good practice in.
She started running, leaving her hotel behind, and began jogging along the path reserved for Uma Musume. Soon, she spotted two familiar figures.
"You two, why are you also—?"
The ones running were Waterline River and Girl Smile, both also participants in this race.
Tacit Accord stopped mid-sentence, then simply smiled slightly, acknowledging the other two.
Yeah. Hard work was the cheapest thing, after all.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.