Without introduction, without preamble, the commentator simply shouted those few simple words with the loudest voice he could muster in his entire life.
The moment his voice fell, the crowd surged like a raging tide. Countless red banners, prepared long in advance, were lifted high, waving frantically amidst the deafening roars.
Sweat grew scorching, even the shouts seemed to transform into flames.
Those waving red banners, held aloft over the tens of thousands of people, amidst the stands filled with the fervent roars of everyone gathered, seemed to ignite the entire Tokyo Racecourse like a wildfire.
Seeing this scene, Shiragawa, for some reason, suddenly remembered the moment she first wanted to help Dream Weaver.
Back then, she thought Dream Weaver might be a new spark to ignite this oppressive world, and she was willing to give her all to help her kindle that light.
But before she knew it, that tiny new spark, only enough to illuminate those nearby, had already grown so fiercely blazing. Shiragawa even felt that the flames had touched her skin, as if about to set her entire being alight.
Otherwise, what was it now pulsing in her chest?
Wasn't that the very tinder that ignited this spreading wildfire?
Imitating those around her, she cupped her hands before her lips and shouted with all her might.
Truthfully, Shiragawa didn't even know what she was shouting. She simply wanted to convey the fuel of this passion, this fire burning in her chest right now, to Dream Weaver through her cries.
The power of one person might be insignificant.
Under the pressure of the European racing world, her stomach might knot itself into painful cramps. But standing together with so many people now, Shiragawa suddenly felt a sense of peace.
She was no longer afraid. Just as Symboli Rudolf had said moments before, what did it matter even if they failed?
As long as everyone was still here, as long as this wildfire still burned, they would have their day of victory.
Above the stands, where the scorching air danced like flames, Shinzan stood before the glass window, watching the crowd with a complicated look in her eyes. She had seen a similar scene before.
The day she first seized the Triple Crown, the day she won a Triple Crown again, the day she achieved the unprecedented feat of three consecutive Triple Crowns—people had shouted her name with the same frenzy.
But when she wanted to expand her influence elsewhere, to use that influence to help more people, Shinzan found she could no longer hear such shouts.
Audiences in studios would only smile and applaud.
The hosts holding microphones before her would always calmly recite their prepared scripts.
The directors and cameramen filming documentaries about her treated it as just another ordinary job, executing it with cool detachment.
Shinzan hadn't thought anything was wrong with it before. Wasn't such efficiency what she wanted?
Only this way could she make her name echo across the world faster, force the European Racing Association to bow their heads to her.
Was that wrong?
Shinzan didn't think so, yet she felt something was missing inside.
After leaving the racetrack, she no longer heard such cheers, such passion. No one would strive to shout her name anymore.
When facing those important figures, they would always converse in low voices, exchanging the information they needed. There, Shinzan's name was naturally spoken in hushed tones as well.
Over time, Shinzan grew accustomed to these low conversations, her own voice becoming softer and softer.
After all, given her status now, everyone had to prick up their ears and listen carefully to her words.
But for some reason, seeing this familiar scene before her, Shinzan suddenly wished she could, as she once did, join the cheering crowd after a victory and laugh out loud.
'Am I actually starting to miss the past now…'
Shinzan closed her eyes, turning her back to the staff as she muttered to herself.
--+--
In a room not far away, Anthony and Richard stood gloomily before the glass window, the champagne in their hands rippling from their trembling.
"A spectacle for the masses…"
Richard gazed at the spreading wildfire before him, his tone indistinct.
Anthony's reaction was more intense. He drained the champagne in his glass in one gulp, then slammed it violently onto the floor. Grinding the shards into dust under the polished leather of his shoe, he growled lowly.
"It seems ending Dream Weaver's winning streak isn't the final goal. People's hearts are already growing restless. We must do something after the Japanese Derby!"
Hearing this, Richard silently shook his head.
"No. We can't. Don't forget whose territory this is. With Shinzan here, many things we could do in other regions are impossible here."
In any other racing district, with the European racing world's control, they wouldn't give public opinion time to ferment.
They would immediately seize all news media, unite with the established local families who had remained to breed, control all personnel of the local racing association, and snuff out the trouble in its cradle.
But not here.
Shinzan wouldn't allow it.
As the only three-time consecutive Triple Crown winner, even the European Racing Association had to respect her opinions.
As long as she didn't explicitly raise a banner against Europe, the European Association had to cede some of its power in Japan to her.
At the European headquarters, many said Shinzan had essentially established her own domain, semi-isolating Japanese Uma Musume Racing from Europe, making it one of the few districts where Europe found it difficult to exert its full influence.
Anthony's expression grew even darker at Richard's words.
Although Shinzan had always cooperated with Europe's work, not deliberately provoking conflict, getting her to help them quell this matter wouldn't be easy.
"What else can we offer in exchange? If we keep compromising like this, we'll truly have nothing left in our hands!"
Seeing his flustered and exasperated appearance, Richard's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Don't view her as so formidable."
"No matter how strong Shinzan is, she is only one person. Her influence will inevitably fade with time, and her successors won't possess prestige like hers again."
"Shinzan was an accident. We will learn our lesson and prevent such an accident from happening again."
He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking out at the racetrack beyond the window as he murmured.
"It's Dream Weaver. We can't let her become the next accident."
"If she gains prestige like Shinzan's in the past, it definitely won't be like this."
Richard watched the red figure emerging from the competitor's tunnel and said softly.
"She's become the star admired by all now, hasn't she? Then we must pull this star admired by all down from the sky before everyone's eyes!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.