—They were born into the worst era!
Ginjirou's voice, tinged with a hard-to-name complexity, echoed through the quiet trainer's room.
Pinned by the veteran elder's probing gaze, Kuroha simply met his eyes, face unreadable. Silence pooled for a moment.
After a beat, Kuroha suddenly laughed.
"Heh…"
"'If only Chasing the Light didn't exist!' That's the funniest joke I've heard in a while."
He set his teacup back on the table with a crisp tok.
His eyes sharpened, as if they pierced the old man before him and saw the faces hiding in the shadows, cursing the heavens instead of themselves.
"Ginjirou-senpai, when did the horse-girl track turn into a safe harbor for people running from reality?"
On this, Kuroha had always seen things clearly.
In the original history, even without Chasing the Light ruling the roost, the "Eternal Big Three" led by Oguri Cap still pressed the whole of Central beneath their hooves.
In every era, a few peerless horse girls emerge. They stand on the world's summit and look down at all the fallen rivals beneath them.
The losers lurking in the shadows, jealous of those at the top, forget this: it is precisely the light of those stars that illuminates the path forward for horse girls.
Maruzensky was like that. Rudolf was like that. The original "Eternal Big Three" were like that.
If sympathy twists the very nature of competition, then what becomes of a horse girl's spirit?
Victory does not change because of pity.
The strong remain strong; the weak can only chase with everything they've got. That is the truth of the horse-girl world.
It is the living inscription of the plaque in Central Tracen's Student Council office: One horse in front—ten thousand left in the dark.
"The so-called era is carved open by the strong, and made magnificent by challengers charging it again and again."
Kuroha spoke softly, then rose and walked to the window, gazing out at the girls training by the track.
"Because the opponents are too strong, you give up? Because you can't win, you blame your own lack on an 'unfair era'?"
He turned back, his eyes alight, and faced Ginjirou.
"That is not the spirit a horse girl should have. And it is not the resolve a trainer should hold."
"I have never believed Chasing the Light hindered the brilliance of horse girls."
"On the contrary…"
"I planted a peak high enough for everyone to see."
"Do you cower at the foot of the mountain and complain it's too high, or do you light your fighting heart and wager everything to climb—then surpass it?"
"—That is the only line that separates the strong from the weak."
"Oguri Cap never complained. Super Creek never complained. They do one thing—find a way to get stronger, then come beat us."
Pride touched the corner of Kuroha's mouth.
"So, senpai—this is not the worst era."
"For the truly strong, this is the best era—one that tempers them to the utmost and lets horse girls take great leaps."
"…"
Ginjirou was speechless. After a long moment, he sighed. "Easy for you to say, kid."
Kuroha smiled and came back to sit.
These rumors—because of how they spread among trainers—Rudolf and Maruzensky knew them as well.
They hadn't brought them up to him just now, which only meant they saw it as normal.
Back in her day, Maruzensky once crushed a G1 by thirteen lengths.
Thirteen lengths—what does that even mean?
You stand by the finish, watch Maruzensky hit the wire, then space out for two whole seconds before the runner-up finally flickers into view.
That kind of domination made trainers and their girls across Central dodge en masse.
If Maruzensky was in a race, the field sidestepped it.
Compared to that, what Kuroha's Chasing the Light has done is far milder.
Because in this era, Oguri Cap and Super Creek are still there, strong enough to threaten his girls.
But in Maruzensky's day, there was no one who could really fight her.
One person scared an entire generation of horse girls.
And the sky didn't fall then, did it?
"Ginjirou-senpai, do you think Central is big?"
The sudden question caught Ginjirou off guard. He answered on reflex. "Of course it's big. It's the highest stage in the country—every horse girl longs for it."
"Is that so?"
Kuroha only smiled.
"To me, it's too small."
He lifted his cup, but his gaze seemed to pass through the walls toward something far away.
"Senpai, do you think ruling Central is… enough?"
Before Ginjirou could answer, Kuroha went on. His voice was calm, but the scale in it made the air thrum.
"To me, this island in the far east is tiny on the world's map."
"Ruling Central is just a waystation on my road—or, let's call it a pretty decent milestone."
Ginjirou went completely still. Behind the shades, his eyes finally showed true gravity.
He realized that perhaps he—and everyone in Central—had underestimated this man's reach from the very start.
"Then what's your goal… kid?"
At that, Kuroha finally drew his eyes back and smiled as if the answer were obvious.
"My goal?"
"The world."
"Europe's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. America's Breeders' Cup. Australia's Melbourne Cup…"
"There are too many peaks in this world. So many that not even Rudolf at her absolute height could touch them all."
Kuroha's voice was light, but it hit Ginjirou's chest like a hammer.
After a pause, Ginjirou asked, "You're going to wage war overseas?"
Kuroha chuckled. "Did you forget, Ginjirou-senpai? I'm from Tōkō. Honestly, these two years in Central have already been 'overseas' for me."
"…You'd spin it like that, huh."
Ginjirou nudged his nose bridge and gave his own cheeks a couple of token smacks.
"If you're set, then this old man doesn't need to worry."
He looked at the spirited junior before him—imposing, eyes set on the world—and then thought of his nephew back in Kasamatsu, who'd failed the Central license twice.
A headache bloomed.
"Alright. I'm old. Stop riling me up. Go home and drink your tea."
Tired of thinking, the elder shot Kuroha a glare, plunked the teapot practically against his face, and picked up a book.
"Uh…"
Kuroha blinked, then shook his head with a laugh. He refilled both cups and let his eyes wander the ceiling.
After a short rest, he left Ginjirou's trainer's room.
…
It happened to be break time.
Not only were Middle Division girls chatting and crossing the paths in twos and threes, but a flock of bouncy Elementary Division foals were scampering everywhere.
"Twin Turbo, don't run so fast!"
"Hee-hee, TM Opera O—catch up!"
Kuroha, walking along, heard the lively voices not far away.
He looked over. On a distant lane—
a blue twin-tailed bundle of energy was flying like an arrow off the string,
with a quiet-looking blonde puffing along behind in hot pursuit.
Kuroha stopped without thinking, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.
"Hey—Twin Turbo! TM Opera O!"
Just then, a slightly stern voice called from the side.
An adult woman—clearly a teacher—strode up, hands on hips. "How many times have I told you? No running in the corridors. What if you crash into someone?"
The two little horse girls froze like pups caught pawing the treat jar, drew in their necks, and lined up side by side.
"Sorry, sensei."
"Alright, back to class." The teacher's tone softened at their cuteness.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Hand in hand, the pair hopped away toward their classroom—
their lively steps plainly too bouncy to really stop.
No one would guess that these two unassuming little girls would one day stir tempests across Central.
"The future of a new era, huh?"
Watching their backs recede, Kuroha's smile deepened.
"Before the new era arrives… let's look forward to it."
"Arima Kinen!"
(End of Chapter)
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