"Who does Song think will win?"
"Ah…who will win, huh? That's really a tricky question to answer."
When the two of them watched the race, naturally there wasn't any tension at all. Not because Gotham Song didn't care about Van Gogh or Haya of Stars; rather, watching through the television instead of being at the track itself genuinely diminished the tension, leaving a relaxed atmosphere.
Even so, Gotham Song wasn't an ordinary racing fan. As a legendary Uma Musume who had battled through countless races herself, and as someone who closely watched Van Gogh and Haya of Stars, she didn't fall into hesitation for too long.
Evaluating Van Gogh and Haya of Stars purely based on raw strength alone, however—now that was a truly difficult question to judge clearly.
From a purely technical standpoint, these two Uma Musume were practically neck and neck. Van Gogh's Great Escape style and Haya of Stars's front-runner tactics both had their own merits, especially since the gap between these two styles was not wide enough to produce an overwhelming victory like Gentildonna's against Almond Eye.
But that was only assessing pure strength—based entirely on data and stable conditions, merely comparing them on paper.
Then, what was more likely to happen in reality?
As the TV showed the runners already entering the starting gates, red lights blinking at the beginning of the second act of the 2000 Guineas, Gotham Song gave her assessment clearly:
"As long as Van Gogh doesn't mess up, the Great Escape tactic should dominate completely over a 1600-meter race."
The name "2000 Guineas" could be quite misleading—although it contained "2000," it was actually a 1600-meter race.
And in a distance like this, the tactic with the greatest advantage was undoubtedly the all-out Great Escape. As long as you maintained top speed from start to finish, victory would surely be yours.
Of course, this was entirely based on the precondition of maintaining top speed—and not messing up.
But when it came to Van Gogh…well, not messing up… uh, hopefully she wouldn't, right?
Remembering the last race she'd watched involving Van Gogh, Gotham Song momentarily fell silent, unsure of what else she could possibly say.
Surely, it wouldn't happen again, right?
"Song, you don't look very well…"
"Ahem, well… Anyway, looks like the race is about to begin?"
Let's just watch the race first, watch the race first! Surely it couldn't happen like last time, right? Van Gogh, I beg you… Can't you throw away your brain and become an emotionless running machine? At least while you're racing?
Gotham Song was plunged into deep helplessness. Meanwhile, on the screen, the 2000 Guineas was just a split-second from starting.
"The gates open! First to break is…not Van Gogh? Van Gogh actually started sixth out of the gates?! Instead, it's Haya of Stars starting third and neatly positioning herself at the edge of the leading group?!"
The commentator's voice clearly echoed from the TV. Gotham Song's helplessness at this moment was completely undisguised.
As expected—this really happened again, huh…? Van Gogh, oh Van Gogh, why did you fail to hold it together at such a critical moment again?
Gotham Song suddenly didn't know what to say. How could she even describe her current mood?
As a legendary Uma Musume—particularly as one who represented the pinnacle of Great Escape runners—in that moment, Gotham Song could already clearly predict the outcome of this race.
"Song? Is the race already over?"
"Yeah, it's basically over… Van Gogh still hasn't managed to overcome her intellectual handicap, it seems."
With a resigned sigh, Gotham Song began to explain to Neo Universe just how she perceived Van Gogh.
What type of Uma Musume was Van Gogh?
Simply put, Van Gogh was the kind of Uma Musume who, if she didn't mess up, could easily dominate every other runner in her era. But the problem was…
Van Gogh perhaps might not mess up. But the idea that Van Gogh could consistently not mess up—that was absolutely impossible. The clearest example was the previous race Gotham Song had personally watched.
At that time, Van Gogh—a front-running Great Escape specialist—had started seventh out of the gate!
Yet even under those conditions, relying solely on her overwhelming strength, she'd somehow managed to win by five whole lengths.
So looking at it that way, wasn't starting from sixth place today slightly better than last time?
Better my ass! Last time, Van Gogh's opponents were a group of unknown Uma Musume. In other words, unless she was a hundred lengths behind—which was simply impossible—Van Gogh could start from dead last and still probably win!
But this was the 2000 Guineas. And who was Van Gogh's biggest opponent this time?
It was Haya of Stars! Even ignoring everything else, when it came to raw physical strength alone, Haya of Stars absolutely didn't lose out to Van Gogh.
Not to mention, compared to Haya, Van Gogh actually had two additional disadvantages.
One was the unavoidable disadvantage imposed by the racetrack itself.
The 2000 Guineas was an unusual race within modern Uma Musume competitions. More specifically, the 2000 Guineas wasn't like other races, which normally included a significant number of curves.
In fact, the entire 1600-meter course of the 2000 Guineas was essentially a pure speed contest. The faster you ran, the better your odds.
Because the 2000 Guineas was run entirely on a straight course, without a single bend…!
But if that were the case, wouldn't the straight track actually benefit Van Gogh enormously?
Not necessarily—because although the entire course was a straight line, the 2000 Guineas included numerous challenging slopes. And slopes like these were precisely Van Gogh's biggest weakness.
Van Gogh was an Uma Musume who required meticulous calculation of her stamina before every race. Gotham Song knew this intimately because she herself had experienced something similar before.
In other words—
Although Van Gogh's speed was sufficient, her stamina had always been a serious problem.
But beyond stamina and speed, there was another factor that had to be considered—Haya of Stars.
Haya of Stars shared similar endurance to Van Gogh's, but she possessed a talent that far surpassed her—and perhaps even Gotham Song herself couldn't match it.
That was her terrifying, innate adaptability to any racetrack, and her racing intuition.
That child could, purely through imagination alone, enter a true state of meditative training.
So then, since she had already gained such an enormous advantage right at the start, just what kind of merciless, inhuman suppression would Haya of Stars unleash upon Van Gogh next?
That was the true basis for Gotham Song's judgment—the real reason she had been so sure that Van Gogh was doomed…
Because if a front-runner couldn't even suppress an escape horse that had failed to get away, then she might as well retire on the spot, right? Sorry, but it wasn't that Haya of Stars couldn't—it was that she definitely could.
As expected, the entire race played out exactly as Gotham Song had imagined the moment it began. After falling behind at the start, Van Gogh desperately sought an opening, trying to rely on her extraordinary speed to seize victory.
But the endlessly straight course was a brutal challenge for an escape runner. Even though Van Gogh ultimately managed to break through the pack with her own sheer strength, surging into the lead group near the end, that was the very limit of what she could do.
Because at the head of the pack, waiting for her, was Haya of Stars.
Still, it was breathtaking to watch—because even so, Van Gogh's performance was terrifying in its own right. From the very back, she had clawed her way forward, still with enough stamina to accelerate further. She'd crested the slopes, facing Haya of Stars head-on.
But that, too, was as far as she could go.
In the end, with no advantage in speed and no bends to exploit for escape, even her desperate, all-or-nothing decision to swing wide to the far outside was instantly read and mirrored by Haya of Stars. On the track of the 2000 Guineas unfolded a strange and unforgettable sight: the two leading Uma Musume, almost simultaneously, abandoned their advantageous positions and dashed madly toward the outer rail, making the spectators wonder if both were about to withdraw entirely.
But in the end, it was Van Gogh who relented. Because even if she kept stubbornly fighting on, the result would have remained the same.
No matter what she tried—even if she shifted to the outermost lane—on a fully straight course like this, Haya of Stars still ran ahead. The finish line drew closer and closer; there was simply no room left to overturn the outcome.
Since that was the case… she might as well face her defeat gracefully—
Like hell she would!
The moment Van Gogh realized this, she abandoned the outside path, pushing her speed even harder, steadily closing the tiny gap between her and Haya of Stars.
And as if sensing Van Gogh's resolve, the victory-assured Haya of Stars no longer held herself back either, unleashing her own top speed.
In the final stretch of the 2000 Guineas, the two sisters raced in perfect unison—
War.
"But in the end, the result still didn't change, huh? If Song were in Van Gogh's place, Song definitely wouldn't lose to Haya of Stars, right?"
"What do you mean, definitely wouldn't lose? Isn't that just bullying her?"
Gotham Song sighed helplessly at Neo Universe's sudden remark. Still looking at the TV, where Haya of Stars was now trotting proudly in her victory lap, she reached out and flicked Neo Universe lightly on the forehead.
First of all, if she were the one facing Haya of Stars—no matter how strong Haya's adaptability was—there wouldn't be even the slightest chance of her winning. The gap in ability was simply too absolute.
Even if Gotham Song started from behind, in Van Gogh's position, she would have chased her down and overtaken her. That was beyond dispute.
Moreover, from the era of Twilight Song to now, the truly terrifying part about Gotham Song wasn't just her speed or endurance—it was something rarely mentioned at all:
Her almost absurd, near-perfect stability.
No one had ever recorded it officially, but if someone actually checked the data, they would find—Gotham Song and Twilight Song's first-out-of-the-gate rate was 100 percent.
In other words, whenever she wanted, she could seize the perfect start and kill the race right then and there.
Van Gogh? If she could ever achieve that level of control, she'd be utterly unbeatable in any race under 2400 meters—no, under 2000 meters—in this entire generation.
Too bad… this true Great Escape idiot just wasn't capable of that, was she?
After thinking for a while, Gotham Song picked up her phone and set it on the table, waiting.
It was already late—around eleven at night—but for a disappointed filly, distraction was inevitable. Maybe she'd call someone else, but still—
Ah. There it was.
"I watched the race, Van Gogh."
The voice on the other end sounded dejected. Gotham Song was honestly surprised that Van Gogh would actually call her of all people.
They hadn't had that much interaction, and what little they'd shared hadn't exactly been pleasant, had it? Gotham Song thought so anyway. Shouldn't she be calling Astronomer or the others instead? …Well, whatever. Since she'd already called, Gotham Song might as well offer a little senior's comfort.
"T-then… Song-senpai, you must be really disappointed in me, right?"
"Disappointed? Hmm… how should I put it? I'm just a little helpless, maybe? Because honestly, if things didn't go this way, then you wouldn't be Van Gogh, would you?"
It might have sounded harsh, but Gotham Song knew she couldn't sound too soft or sympathetic right now. The first step was to catch Van Gogh's attention—
"Eh? S-so, I really am that kind of Uma Musume, huh…"
Just like that—her attention shifted. And that was when Gotham Song began gently, quietly steering her toward something stronger.
Heh… Van Gogh, my adorable, foolish kouhai. This is all I can really do for you—to make sure you stand firm again, to rise strong from your failures and setbacks.
Even though it seems impossible for you to ever race without leaving your brain behind… still—
Do your best to overcome those weaknesses. And then, truly rule your era.
"But precisely because you're that kind of Uma Musume," she said aloud, "that's all the more reason not to give up, isn't it?"
"You're a fool, Van Gogh. But fools don't stay down after they fall."
"Even fools have their own kind of charm—the kind that breaks through obstacles again and again and again, endlessly, until they finally grasp what they've always wanted."
"Embrace your clumsiness—and claim your pride."
"Van Gogh."
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl