Many reporters, government officials, and URA staff members shared the exact same sentiment: no one ever truly understood what Mejiro Rampage was thinking.
It was one thing to invent concepts like the URA Finals or the Legend Races, but nobody in their right mind could just manifest them into reality on a whim—let alone shoulder the immense burden of pulling them off single-handedly, even with the power to do so. In that regard, the consensus was much the same when it came to Mejiro Asama or Speed Symboli.
"'You don't know what she's thinking'? Well, of course you don't. I don't even know," Minamizaka replied, looking at them as if they'd just asked the most self-evident question in the world.
Right before the upcoming 2400m medium-distance race, a fellow trainer and a URA official had approached Minamizaka to question him, only to be met with that flat, unimpressed response.
"Come on, Minamizaka-san! You have normal conversations with her all the time, and you accept her wild antics without batting an eye!"
"E-Exactly! She pulls stunt after stunt that leaves us at the URA turning pale!"
"Even if you tell me that... Look, if a conversation with her doesn't seem to make sense, it's usually because the topic wasn't worth having a sensible conversation over in the first place. Most of the time, people just say something silly and end up annoying her. Though, honestly, actually making her angry is surprisingly difficult—usually, she just gets exasperated and ignores you. If all you want is a functional conversation, even Okino-san can manage that."
"I mean... bringing up a top trainer as an example doesn't really help us..."
"If I had to put it into words, it's simply about maintaining a highly flexible, broad mindset at all times—staying calm and forming appropriate plans no matter what problem you run into. In short: it's all improvised. Both for me and Rampage."
If one were to be completely honest, Rampage wasn't the type to overthink things. Rather than calculating several moves ahead to map out a grand strategy, she was the type who focused solely on how long she could ride the momentum of the present moment. Minamizaka was simply syncing himself to her wavelength.
"It's the exact same as front-running tactics. How far do you break away? Where do you push the lead again? How do you maintain the pace? Where do you take a breath?... That's really all there is to it."
"Calling that 'all there is to it' feels like a massive understatement..."
"Unfortunately, I don't have any grander answer for you than that, so I can't offer much else."
In truth, this mindset was the cultivated result of everything he'd been through during his time in America... Minamizaka turned his gaze toward the track as the race kicked off, his mind briefly drifting back to the memories of that incident.
"O-HOHOHOHO! Gaze upon my magnificent running form! GO SHOW RUN—behold it in all its glory, ladies and gentlemen~!!"
"And surging out to the front is Souma Fiore!! That run, that dramatic speech—she's the spitting image of Ib Binti, who once shook up the Japan Cup with a brutal pace that broke runner after runner behind Horlicks!! She's rapidly building up a massive gap!!"
"She mentioned in her interview that she's Ib Binti's actual disciple! By the way, Ib Binti herself is currently in Japan—though it seems she mistakenly believed she couldn't race without Japanese citizenship! However, we've received word that she plans to enter the turf next year!!"
"A debut we will eagerly anticipate!! Now, a horse girl carrying the legacy of a globe-trotting mentor holds the lead—and the pack pushes hard to chase her down! But Souma Fiore continues to accelerate!! Has she truly inherited her master's relentless style to this extent!!?"
"Completely absurd... but I love a good show! Now this is my kind of style!"
"It puts a great, healthy strain on the body, and I have plenty of confidence in my stamina. I didn't build these muscles just for show, after all!"
Watching her break away, reactions across the field varied wildly. Some accelerated to match her blistering pace and force a duel, others calmly consulted their own internal clocks to stay at a steady rhythm, and a few genuinely questioned if she was out of her mind—running like that in a 2400m race instead of a 2000m sprint.
"Wonderful, Fio! Keep up that momentum~!!"
"Understood, master~!!"
Fio—Souma Fiore—called back to a booming voice that resounded from the grandstands. Her mentor, Ib Binti, was standing right beside Oguri, cheering her on while happily indulging in a mountain of stadium food. Reinvigorated by her master's words, Fio dug deeper and accelerated once more.
"Haah... haah... haah...!!"
With the entire field dragged into an unusually high pace, the late-surging chasers and closers were already feeling the squeeze. To turn things around from here, they would either have to unleash an impossible late spurt or force their way up into the lead pack early. Among the runners making their choices under that intense pressure, one girl pushed forward through ragged, heavy breaths.
"Black Widow is making her move, followed closely by Headbringer... though Headbringer's stride appears a bit unstable!"
"Her true strength lies on the dirt tracks, after all. While she can handle turf reasonably well, she's clearly a step behind her usual performance here. Still, pushing this hard under these conditions is nothing short of impressive!"
"What's the matter... you looking down on me...!?"
There were still runners holding back in the rear—closers who clearly possessed supreme confidence in their final burst. To Headbringer, their calm patience felt like a direct insult to her own hesitation. She felt the same frustration toward the runners ahead; even those whose specialty lay in late-surging were pushing forward early. Was everyone silently declaring that she wasn't even worth competing against?
"Every single one of you... EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU...!!"
The low sound of grinding teeth echoed from her jaws. Irritation boiled over inside her. Why had she even entered a turf race in the first place? The self-loathing only grew thicker with every stride.
"Souma Fiore still holds the lead, maintaining a six-length gap over Black Widow and Towa no Primadonna! Is Souma Fiore going to runaway with this entire race!? Wait—someone is making a explosive drive from behind!! What an incredible surge! Clinging right to the shadow of Keyboard Pitch, she's slicing through the pack!! Headbringer has suddenly broken out and lunged straight at the lead group!!"
"I'm ending this right here and now!!"
"—Oh my, ending what, exactly?"
"!?!"
Standing right behind Headbringer was a sniper clad in a ghillie suit, slinging a sniper rifle over her shoulder. When on earth had she snuck up behind her!? How had she completely failed to notice her presence!?
Before Headbringer could process it, the horse girl spoke up with a voice full of playful mischief, like a prankster pulling off a successful trick.
"You totally forgot about me, didn't you!!"
"I didn't forget you—you weren't even in my sight to begin with!!"
"Works for me!"
"We've cleared the final corner and crossed into the home stretch!! Almas Liya—Almas Liya is exploding forward with a terrifying late spurt!! Incredible acceleration!! Very few horse girls can unleash a stride like that!!?"
"Forget about a sniper... and your race is over right then and there!"
"Scharfschütze has just passed Headbringer!! Scharfschütze is now shoulder-to-shoulder with Towa no Primadonna!! Souma Fiore is still holding the lead, with Black Widow desperately trying to stretch her stride!! Beauté Amour is clinging on with everything she has, but it looks tough!!"
The grinding of her teeth and the buzzing noise in her ears grew unbearable. The moment that sniper swept past her—as if shooting her down on the spot—Headbringer's legs suddenly felt like lead. Is this where it ends for me...?
Just as the thought crossed her mind—
"G5! GUNS FIVE!!"
A familiar face caught her eye in the crowd. It was the eyepatch-wearing horse girl she resented, yet couldn't help but feel grateful toward—her trainer, Liger Tale. Is she laughing at my run? She must be. That smirk says it all...
"Your real race starts NOW!! Now show them how we go on a wild field trip!!"
It was hardly what anyone would call a standard cheer, yet to Headbringer's absolute frustration, it fired her up beyond belief.
"Fine then—let's turn this place upside down!!"
"Headbringer has come back to life!? What an absurd late burst from Headbringer! Running like an entirely different person, she's pulled dead even with Scharfschütze!! Can she pass her!? Souma Fiore is finally hitting her absolute limit!! Black Widow and Towa no Primadonna are creeping up inch by inch!! Two lengths left!! Can she hold on to the lead!? And charging from behind with terrifying momentum is Headbringer—can she overtake Scharfschütze!? Almas Liya is currently in third!! Black Widow is running out of track!! Souma Fiore is still digging in with pure grit!! They cross the finish line in a chaotic mass sprint!!! The first to cross is—SOUMA FIORE!!! Souma Fiore holds on for the runaway victory!! Second place goes to Almas Liya, third to Towa no Primadonna, fourth to Black Widow, and fifth to Headbringer!!"
"I-I... I DID IT~!! I came in first place~!!"
Despite running at such a punishing, breakneck pace, Fio still had plenty of energy to celebrate noisy victory. She glanced up at the giant timer board.
The display read 2:22.5.
It was a time that came tantalizingly close to the legendary world record set by Horlicks in the Japan Cup that Ib Binti had run in—the very record that stood right before Rampage eventually broke it.
"Tch... damn it...!"
Headbringer slammed her fist onto the turf in frustration. Yet, despite her bitter action, her heart felt strangely unburdened. She couldn't understand why. It wasn't a bad feeling, but not understanding the reason behind it irritated her all the same.
"...Whatever. My trainer's going to chew me out after this anyway. That's the only reason..."
She muttered the words to hide her embarrassment, using it as an excuse even though she knew it wasn't her true feeling. And as she stared at the victor, she gave a rough, blunt shrug—silently offering her respect to the champion.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"