Kitasan Black glanced back over her shoulder. She caught the stunned expressions on the other competitors' faces—they seemed utterly bewildered that they couldn't catch up to her, that someone who always brought up the rear had somehow seized the lead.
Honestly, this is ridiculous.
Did they really think they could win by completely abandoning tactics suited to their running styles and natural rhythms? If she didn't know better, she'd suspect they were putting on an act just to mess with her.
(How is this possible? There's no way Kitakami-san can run this fast!)
(I can't catch up! During practice, Kitakami-san always finishes dead last—why?!)
Disbelief spread like wildfire among the front-runners.
Because they all knew each other as classmates, Kitasan Black's performance shocked them to their core. It never even occurred to them that they might be the ones underperforming.
During regular training sessions, their teachers would guide them on proper running form and positioning. Even if they couldn't find the perfect style for their individual traits, at least they'd be running something reasonably close to their natural aptitude.
But in an actual race, without teachers standing by to supervise and instruct, they'd forgotten everything they'd learned. Their minds were consumed with one thought only: run faster. They paid no attention whatsoever to running strategy or race pacing.
Was Kitasan Black showing some hidden strength?
Not at all.
Her control over her own power was, frankly, inhuman—throttling her output was child's play. The performance she was displaying now was exactly the same level she showed during practice.
The only difference was that instead of running at the back of the pack as usual, today she'd chosen to lead.
She hadn't even intended to use a front-runner's tactics to control the race tempo, nor had she activated any breakaway skills. Yet somehow, the other runners had still let her leadership throw off their rhythm.
Give me a break. If they were actually trying, how could something this minor throw them off?
Kitasan Black was utterly exasperated.
At this point, she couldn't even fall back even if she wanted to—it would be far too obvious that she was doing it on purpose. Can't anyone just come up here and take the lead already?
As for the runners immediately behind her, she'd given up on them entirely. It would be a miracle if they didn't burn out early, let alone accelerate.
The current situation was something like this:
Uma musume who weren't suited for front-running had charged to the front, trying to compete with Kitasan Black for the lead. Meanwhile, the runners who actually had a front-runner's aptitude had been influenced by the others and fallen to the middle or even further back. As a result, none of them were performing anywhere near their potential.
Such a catastrophic mistake could only happen because they were, after all, just elementary schoolers—completely unable to control their emotions, unfamiliar with their own running styles, racing purely on impulse.
That approach wasn't inherently wrong.
But it required overwhelming strength and exceptional instincts. An uma musume with those qualities would already be classified as monster-level—there was no way one would show up in a place like this.
That said, a few runners near the back were doing quite well: Satono Diamond, Satono Crown, and several others.
Their natural aptitudes leaned toward chaser and stalker styles, so staying in the middle was exactly where they belonged.
They entered the first turn.
Kitasan Black's expression grew resigned.
She genuinely couldn't think of a way out of this mess. If she'd known these kids would make such fundamental mistakes, she should have done the same from the start. But she'd already shown her hand at the gate—pretending to mess up now would only make people suspect she was doing it deliberately. Better to maintain her lead for now and wait for an opportunity.
(Is that really Kitakami-san?)
From her position in the middle of the pack, Satono Diamond stared at the figure in the lead with undisguised surprise.
During practice, Kitasan Black had never once run at the front, so Satono Diamond had no idea her starting speed could be this explosive—seizing the lead in an instant.
At this age, nearly every student wanted to grab the lead. They didn't care whether they had the aptitude for it; they simply wanted to be ahead of everyone else.
That's why the front position was so hard to claim.
But conversely, any student who actually understood running tactics at this stage would dominate.
The reason Kitasan Black hadn't considered this was because she assumed these young ladies all understood these basics. After all, this was Uma Musume Development Elementary School—shouldn't the students here be the cream of the crop?
But she was wrong. Spectacularly wrong.
She should never have overestimated elementary schoolers. Their potential for chaos had no floor.
Though it wasn't entirely surprising that they didn't grasp the importance of running style—even some professional uma musume occasionally made such mistakes.
In reality, the penalty for running outside your aptitude was quite subtle. Take the earlier sprint race, for example: even using front-runner tactics for a short-distance race, Satono Diamond had still won handily.
For real-world competitors, running an unsuitable position or distance might feel somewhat more taxing, but it wasn't glaringly obvious how much their performance had dropped.
Kitasan Black's starting point was simply too high. Paradoxically, it made it harder for her to understand such basic things.
Why can't others do what comes so naturally to me?
What made it worse was that she never considered herself a genius. And that was the fatal flaw.
She knew she was strong, yet stubbornly believed all her strength came from her predecessors' training—that she herself was just an ordinary person. This contradictory thinking made it impossible for her to accurately gauge her own abilities.
(I knew it! You're not ordinary at all!)
Behind her, Satono Crown's eyes lit up as she locked onto Kitasan Black's back.
She wasn't the least bit surprised by this performance.
If anything, she felt Kitasan Black should be showing this level of ability—that only this made her worthy of being Satono Crown's rival!
But right now, I'm still stronger!
Satono Crown thought with absolute confidence. She'd been training longer and had better technique mastery. There was no reason she should lose to Kitakami-san at this point.
All she needed to do was stay on Kitakami-san's tail, then surge forward at the right moment and overtake her!
(Great. Of course those two noticed me.)
Kitasan Black had given up trying to think of solutions.
This absolutely wasn't her fault.
She couldn't understand how simply performing at her practice level with a different running style could so easily dominate her classmates.
In the stands, quite a few spectators were startled by her performance.
"Could it be that Saburo's daughter actually has talent?" Chairman Satomi murmured in disbelief.
As the husband of the Satomi family head, he considered himself fairly knowledgeable about racing and uma musume. He could clearly see just how impressive Kitasan Black's current performance was.
An elementary schooler, competing for the first time, not only keeping her composure but actually demonstrating control over her running style and race pacing...
Was this really the daughter of that common-born Saburo?
He didn't believe the techniques Kitasan Black was using had been taught by Saburo or his wife. And Kitasan Black had only transferred to this school two months ago.
Before that, she'd never received any systematic training. By comparison, the other students had been training for at least two or three years. Yet now they were being dominated by someone with only two months of practice. What level of talent was this?
Could it be...
Remembering what Saburo had been bragging about constantly on social media lately, Chairman Satomi felt his composure slipping.
(Could this girl actually have the talent to become a GI uma musume?)
Having realized this possibility, he should have been happy for his friend's good fortune.
But what was this sour feeling in his chest?
Was this... jealousy?
He was jealous that Saburo's daughter possessed such remarkable talent?
Damn it!
His own daughter Diamond's performance wasn't bad either.
But still...
(I see. Because of the curse, I feel that girl has a better chance of becoming a GI uma musume.)
He shouldn't believe in the Satomi family curse.
Yet deep down, worry gnawed at him.
Was the Satomi curse real?
He couldn't give a confident answer.
No!
Regardless of whether the curse existed, his daughter Satono Diamond would prove the worth of Satomi blood!
(Defeat her!)
(Diamond—)
(Defeat her!)
Chairman Satomi desperately wanted to see his daughter win this race!
Defeat this child with her GI-level talent and prove that you are the most brilliant diamond—Satono Diamond!
"Go, Satono Diamond!"
The chairman, usually so careful about his public image, suddenly shot up from his seat to cheer for his daughter. He simply couldn't contain the emotions surging within him.
He admitted that right now, he probably couldn't genuinely feel happy for his friend.
Because he believed with all his heart that his daughter, Satono Diamond, would be the diamond that defined this generation!
Beside him, Madam Satomi looked at her husband in surprise.
And in the middle of the race, Satono Diamond heard her father's voice. She could hardly believe it.
(Father...)
She knew her father well. He was a proud, image-conscious man who never showed his true feelings in public—stubborn as a rock.
Yet this same father was now cheering for her?
In that instant, her somewhat relaxed gaze sharpened into focus.
She had to win this race, no matter what!
(Yes, Father. I will win!)
The shift in Satono Diamond's aura immediately caught the attention of nearby runners.
Several students suddenly found Diamond-ojousama terrifying.
Satono Crown, positioned slightly ahead, also sensed Diamond's transformation.
(Finally getting serious, Diamond? But I'm not going to lose!)
Whether it was Kitakami-san or Diamond—today, she would beat them both!
The stands had been watching quietly, but Chairman Satomi's outburst set off a chain reaction. The first to respond were the thirty-odd brawny men from Kitasan Black's household.
"Go, little apprentice!"
"Charge, little apprentice! Keep it up!"
Though other parents started cheering for their children too, they couldn't compete with the sheer lung power of those thirty-plus enka singer trainees.
For a moment, the training grounds echoed with the chorus of her senior disciples.
In the middle of the race, Kitasan Black suddenly wished she'd called in sick today.
Not only was she being frustrated by her opponents, but now her senior disciples were adding to her misery.
Please stop cheering! If she'd just quietly lost the race, this would all be over. But with all this attention, even if she lost now, she'd still be the most talked-about competitor!
Damn it, old man, what are you doing? Stop those idiots!
"Go, Kita-chan! Dad's right here!"
You've got to be kidding me!
Hearing her father's voice, Kitasan Black felt like she was going to lose her mind.
Damn it, I really don't want to run anymore.
Racing isn't fun at all!
Just as Kitasan Black's mood continued to plummet while her opponents pushed hard to catch up—
The race finally reached the halfway point.
The principal was also watching.
Looking at Kitasan Black still maintaining her lead, she smiled. "This child is performing quite well."
The class instructor agreed with some surprise. "Yes, I didn't expect Kitakami-san to do so well today."
"Hmph, compared to Kitakami, those others make me want to assign extra training!" The PE teacher mentioned the dreaded topic that made all students pale.
The counselor spoke up in the students' defense.
"Actually, the children are all doing fine—no worse than previous years. It's just that this cohort happens to have a few exceptional ones."
The teachers knew perfectly well that the other students' performances were normal for elementary schoolers.
It was Kitasan Black and the two Satomi young ladies who were the outliers.
If the other students might someday become uma musume with a slim chance of reaching GI level, these few were certain to become uma musume with an excellent chance of becoming GI competitors!
The class instructor's eyes gleamed with pleasant surprise. She wasn't surprised by the Satomi girls' performance, but Kitasan Black's showing today was truly remarkable.
Though Kitasan Black's current ability seemed a step behind those two young ladies, that was simply because of the difference in training time—it didn't mean her talent was inferior.
If Kitasan Black knew how the principal and teachers viewed her now, she'd probably be unable to keep up the act. Because at this point, what difference was there between this and being completely exposed?
But she didn't know yet.
Throughout the race, Kitasan Black carefully controlled her output.
Just as she was worrying whether she might actually win, a thunderous set of footsteps erupted behind her.
"Now!"
Satono Crown burst from the pack, surging up the outside lane.
She easily passed several runners, sprinting to third place.
Now she was closing in on Kitasan Black's back.
The second-place runner's face flushed red as she watched Satono Crown catch up.
(Damn it! Why? Why can't I catch her?!)
Being overtaken by Satono Crown wasn't surprising, but what she couldn't accept was that she couldn't catch Kitakami-san—no matter how much she admired Kitakami-san's studious attitude, she couldn't accept losing to the girl who ranked dead last in every class assessment!
But this frustration couldn't make her faster. The reason she was performing so poorly was precisely because she wasn't running at her full potential. And the only reason she'd lasted this long wasn't out of desire to win—she just didn't want to be last.
That mindset guaranteed she wouldn't perform well today.
Satono Crown reached third place going into the final turn.
As they entered the home stretch, Satono Diamond finally made her move. Her carefully conserved closing speed exploded without reservation, quickly catching up to Satono Crown.
Kitasan Black sensed the two presences closing in behind her. Though she didn't understand why these two young ladies were radiating such intense auras, she figured this was perfect—losing now wouldn't seem strange at all.
So she began gradually slowing down. At this distance, given her usual demonstrated ability, it was time to show signs of fatigue anyway.
Soon, Satono Crown and Satono Diamond passed her one after another.
(!)
The moment Satono Crown overtook Kitasan Black, an uncomfortable feeling stirred in her chest.
It had been too easy.
She'd felt no resistance at all. It was as if Kitasan Black were nothing but air, not even on the track—like she'd just passed a mirage.
She couldn't help looking back.
She caught Kitasan Black's utterly calm gaze.
(...)
That momentary distraction made Satono Crown ease up.
And Satono Diamond, who'd been right on her tail, seized the opening.
The final result: Satono Diamond claimed first place. Satono Crown had to settle for second.
As for Kitasan Black, whose performance had been so impressive earlier—fatigue in the final stretch cost her speed, and she dropped to sixth place.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"