Just as Oguri Cap had gone soft and limp like mochi, several horse girls watching the race from the northern mountain forests felt a bit weak in the knees as well.
"Are they… really horse girls from the same generation as us…?"
With her eyes wide open, her pupils seeming to waver, Sakura Chiyono O muttered in disbelief,
"This is just… just a relay race…"
"Are they treating this like the Arima Kinen or something…?"
When watching this relay race, aside from wanting to see her idol Maruzensky's heroic form, she had also hoped to get a sense of the strength of her peers—future rivals from the same generation.
But because she had been overly focused on her idol, Sakura Chiyono O had subconsciously overlooked just how intense the first leg of the race had been.
Now, after seeing Oguri Cap and the others' performance, she was shocked—and at the same time recalled that the previous leg had already exceeded the intensity a relay race should normally have.
She could understand the seniors going all out; after all, that generation's clashes were famously fierce, and as a horse girl, there was no way she wouldn't know that.
But the expressions on the faces of Oguri Cap and the others—who were the same generation as her—completely exceeded her imagination.
"Tamamo Cross-senpai and Inari One-senpai are one thing… but Oguri and the others…"
She hesitated before saying, "Aren't they trying way too hard…?"
"Or could it be that this level isn't even their full strength…? That in official races, they'll show something even more terrifying…?"
The mere thought of that made her uneasy, even a little panicked.
As classic-year horse girls of the same year, she, Oguri Cap, Super Creek, and Mejiro Ardan were classmates—and rivals on the track.
So far, she hadn't won a single head-to-head encounter, which made her deeply frustrated.
Because of that, she had long since resolved to pour in more effort than ever before, aiming to win the final leg of the Classic Triple Crown—the Kikuka Sho.
She had been acting on that resolve, and the current training camp had been designed for exactly that purpose.
But if Oguri Cap and the others truly hadn't shown their full strength just now, then she could only conclude that she had no chance of winning the Kikuka Sho at all.
Because she could clearly feel that, for her, the intensity of this relay race was already at her absolute limit.
If her opponents were even a little stronger—just a little—she would have no way to cope.
"If that's really the case…"
Still hesitating and flustered, she unconsciously raised her hand and began biting her fingernails.
"No, I don't think so. I believe that was probably Oguri and the others' full strength."
Yaeno Muteki suddenly spoke up beside her.
Sakura Chiyono O's attention snapped over immediately. She instinctively let out a sigh of relief, as if grasping at a lifeline, and asked for confirmation.
"R-really? Did you notice something, Yae?"
"Ah, I wouldn't say I noticed anything in particular…"
On the TV screen, the broadcast still showed an aerial view.
On the image, on the stretch where the beach transitioned into grass, the five horse girls who had just finished their relay leg were slowly walking along the track.
Beside them were the very familiar figures of Chief Kitahara and Director Akikawa Yayoi.
"Look—Chief Kitahara and Director Akikawa are over there right now."
Pointing at the screen, Yaeno Muteki said thoughtfully, "Normally, they should still have commentary duties for the final leg, right?"
"But instead, they've gone down onto the track. It looks like they're checking on Oguri and the others' physical condition."
"So, if we think about it optimistically, that race just now must have put a huge physical strain on Oguri and the others, and Chief Kitahara and Director Akikawa are worried."
"Although it's not great to say this, if we think pessimistically… maybe—"
She hesitated, pursed her lips, and continued, "Maybe Oguri and the others were injured… though that's probably not the case."
After giving such an ambiguous statement, she explained further: "After all, they're in the 'cool-down' phase now, and they don't seem to have any problems, right?"
"So they probably weren't injured."
She then returned to her earlier speculation. "So the most likely explanation is still what I said before."
"That race just now was hard even for Oguri and the others. Otherwise, they wouldn't be this exhausted."
"Thinking about it that way, the conclusion is pretty straightforward."
"That was their true strength."
"I see… ah, I guess I really overthought things just now."
Sakura Chiyono O suddenly felt embarrassed.
No matter how you looked at it, in that moment of hesitation, she had allowed herself to feel fear or retreat—and that was something a horse girl absolutely shouldn't do.
If she kept holding onto such thoughts, she'd never be able to win in future races.
Fear of one's opponents would gradually turn into a mental block, subtly affecting performance in both training and competition.
That said, even before hearing Yaeno Muteki's analysis, Sakura Chiyono O herself had felt it was unlikely.
She didn't have any concrete data, but her intuition told her that although the race had looked extremely taxing to her, she could still keep up.
Using races of this intensity as a basis for preparation, she would still have a chance to win future competitions.
And if Oguri Cap and the others really hadn't gone all out, then taking that assumption one step further would mean they were already on the same level as legends like Maruzensky and Rudolf Symboli.
If that were true, then no active racer could possibly compete with them, and there'd be no point for other horse girls or trainers to prepare for races over the next few years at all.
After thinking it through along these lines, Sakura Chiyono O quickly felt a sense of relief and then pulled herself together.
"But no matter what, Oguri and the others are already very strong—and they're still getting stronger every day…"
She clapped her hands against her cheeks, as if making up her mind. After tightening her lips for a moment, she clenched her fists.
"Alright! Since this relay race is basically over, we should go train properly too!"
Hearing this, Yaeno Muteki nodded.
"Mm. It's time to move on to more intensive special training."
Looking a little thoughtful, she rubbed her chin. "And… there's something that really caught my attention."
"Caught your attention?" Sakura Chiyono O froze slightly.
"I was thinking—this relay race doesn't have a clear finish line. I mean, before the final leg…"
As she spoke, Yaeno Muteki pointed at the screen, indicating she was referring to the just-finished second leg.
"But judging from the results… Oguri…"
"She seems to have lost."
Unlike formal races, relay races don't have finish lines or result boards between each leg.
So to judge who 'finished first,' you either look at distance gaps or check replays.
In Yaeno Muteki's view, it might be tricky to determine the exact order for some of the racers.
Super Creek and Mejiro Ardan had entered the exchange zone almost simultaneously.
Although Ardan handed off the baton a bit faster, determining who actually finished faster would still require data or replay.
Tamamo Cross and Inari One weren't slow either, but they were clearly a bit behind.
Oguri Cap's finish, however, was much slower.
She not only entered the exchange zone last, but also seemed to hesitate slightly when handing over the baton, likely due to her poor condition.
As a result, while the other horse girls in the third leg started fairly evenly, Oguri Cap's successor clearly started a bit late.
Yaeno Muteki vaguely remembered that the junior Oguri Cap handed off to was called Rice Shower.
In a normal race, that would've been considered a delayed start.
Not especially interested in the juniors' race at that moment, Yaeno Muteki glossed over Rice Shower and returned to Oguri Cap.
"As things stand, Oguri… she hasn't lost a single race yet."
"I think that, aside from the 'Gray-Haired Monster' label the outside world gives her…"
She sighed, her gaze drifting among her companions.
Looking at Sakura Chiyono O beside her, Bamboo Memory a little farther away, and Dicta Striker even farther, she sighed again.
"We should admit it—in our hearts, Oguri… really is a genuine monster."
"Uh… yeah, that's true…"
Tightening her lips again, Sakura Chiyono O sighed as well. "Compared to us, Oguri… it's like she's on a completely different level."
"She's a total anomaly. I've always thought that."
"Yes… I—I've thought so too."
Echoing her, Yaeno Muteki's expression suddenly grew complicated.
"But she didn't win just now."
"Uh… Yae, I feel like a relay race doesn't really prove anything, right? After all, it's not an official race."
Sakura Chiyono O hesitated, then replied in mild rebuttal.
"Yes, I know it's not an official race, but…"
After a brief silence, Yaeno Muteki's gaze became even more complex.
"But in the moment she fell behind, I suddenly felt…"
"She's not some kind of monster."
"She's the same as us—a normal horse girl… well, 'normal' might not be quite right. Let me put it this way: we're all horse girls, that's all."
"We win. We might lose. Sometimes we don't know what to do, sometimes we panic and retreat…"
"Chiyono O, you just hesitated and felt afraid for a moment, didn't you?"
"Ah… y-you noticed…?"
Embarrassed again, Sakura Chiyono O's ears twitched uneasily.
To cover her awkwardness, she laughed foolishly and scratched her head.
"I—I couldn't help it. I was thinking that if that race wasn't Oguri and the others' full strength, then if I race them again in the future, I probably…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but Yaeno Muteki nodded.
"Exactly."
"Retreating or feeling fear when facing something you can't handle—that's unavoidable for any horse girl."
"I think Oguri isn't some monster either. She must face situations like that too."
"And…"
After a slight pause, she continued, "And maybe Oguri's performance in this relay was because she encountered something she'd never faced before."
"If she were in her usual carefree state, I don't think she would've run like that."
"Huh? Now that you mention it…"
With just Yaeno Muteki's reminder, Sakura Chiyono O also began to sense something off about Oguri Cap's race.
After receiving the baton from Maruzensky, she had clearly been in the lead at first.
But she quickly ceded that lead to Tamamo Cross.
Then, at a somewhat inappropriate moment, she accelerated—but didn't commit to a decisive overtake.
It wasn't easy to notice while watching live, but thinking back carefully, such hesitant decision-making seemed abnormal for any horse girl.
"So what exactly happened to Oguri…?"
Unconsciously, Sakura Chiyono O looked back at the TV screen, as if trying to figure it out.
"At this point, it probably won't help much. The camera's likely switched to the race. If we really want to know how Oguri and the others are doing, it'd probably be better to talk to them directly later."
Seeing Sakura Chiyono O like this, Yaeno Muteki added casually:
"But before that, I think we should go find Chief Naise and the others."
"No matter what, Oguri and the others are strong opponents, and we'll be racing against them again in the future."
"It wouldn't be good to waste time."
"And besides, the races after this are all kids' races."
"Those probably aren't worth watching… right?!"
As she spoke, Yaeno Muteki followed Sakura Chiyono O's gaze and looked toward the TV screen.
The moment she clearly saw what was happening on-screen, she instinctively realized she had just said something utterly ridiculous.
If she really left now, she would miss something every bit as exciting as the previous two legs.
"T-this… this is the intensity of a race for girls who haven't even debuted yet?!"
Once again, Yaeno Muteki exclaimed in shock.
The TV signal wasn't great; the image flickered and snowed slightly.
But that did nothing to diminish the unmistakable intensity of what was unfolding.
On the somewhat crude grass track, the one in the lead was a small horse girl with long, pale purple hair.
Compared to fully developed horse girls, she looked rather small, with a slender frame.
Her flat figure from front to back made it obvious that she still had plenty of room to grow.
Yet the form she displayed was in no way inferior to any currently active horse girl.
It wasn't that her speed could rival active racers—rather, aside from speed alone, everything else she showed radiated professional beauty.
Her arms swung back and forth, leaving a trail of afterimages, yet there was no sense of disorder. That meant her arm-swing rhythm was exceptionally refined.
Like a fan spinning at a steady speed: when everything is normal, the afterimage is even; when there's a malfunction, disharmony appears.
The leading young horse girl's arm swing was exactly that smooth.
Then there was her stride—a textbook example of the "attacking step" commonly used by professional racers.
Her legs worked like a drawn bow, with the whole body coordinating its strength. Within each cycle, front and rear legs alternated perfectly, fully unleashing all the power contained within her body.
Arm swing and stride are the foundation of running form, tactics, and speed.
With the level this young horse girl displayed, even if her speed wasn't as high as her seniors', her future career was already easy to imagine—brilliant and dazzling.
What's more, even compared to true professionals, she possessed a uniquely striking presence.
She exuded a dignified, elegant beauty.
Yaeno Muteki couldn't quite describe it. It was different from the cultivated beauty that came from training—it was an innate talent.
With such talent, no matter where she stood, she would draw countless gazes, as if she were already on a grand stage.
And she would be the lead actress at the center of that stage.
Among horse girls of the same age, Yaeno Muteki remembered only one who possessed that kind of aura.
"Ardan's… younger sister…?"
Eyes wide, Yaeno Muteki suddenly understood why Bamboo Memory and Dicta Striker had remained silent during her earlier conversation with Sakura Chiyono O.
Their gazes hadn't shifted away when Oguri Cap and the others finished racing—they were still fixed on the TV screen.
The reason they hadn't spoken was the same as hers now: they were completely captivated by what was happening on-screen.
"Ardan's younger sister… what was her name again? I think I've seen her once…"
Watching the junior's performance far exceed her expectations, Yaeno Muteki couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment:
"So young? With talent like this?"
Her shock deepened when her eyes, drawn by that small purple figure, moved to the horse girls behind her.
They were all still undeveloped, pre-debut youngsters.
Yet every single one of them displayed form and presence—aside from speed—that were fully on par with any active racer in the Shining Series.
"McQueen. Mejiro McQueen."
"And the ones behind her, if I remember correctly…"
"Running almost side by side with Mejiro McQueen—that's Mihono Bourbon."
"The two close behind are Tokai Teio and Rice Shower."
"And the one chasing from the back… maybe a Pace chaser position—that should be Narita Brian."
At this moment, Dicta Striker, who had been staring at the screen the whole time, finally spoke.
As she did, her mouth twisted into a grin, teeth clenched together.
"What… is this supposed to be?"
"President Rudolf and the others being strong—that's expected."
"Oguri and the others being strong—we've already experienced that, so I can accept it."
"But now… even these kids are this outrageous?"
"Is this really what it's like over at Eisei—training together with monsters like these?"
"How on earth did they train them like this?!"
(End of Chapter)