[Instance One]: A Genius's Journey Begins at Her Feet — Japan Derby
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"Tokai Teio… Can Tokai Teio catch up?"
"TOKAI TEIO... CAN TOKAI TEIO CATCH UP?"
"SHE'S UNLEASHED HER FULL POWER—HER [SKY-HIGH TEIO STEP] IS SO FAST IT'S LEAVING AFTERIMAGES—BUT SHE STILL CAN'T CLOSE THE GAP WITH CEDAR BLADE! CEDAR BLADE IS DETERMIND TO BECOME THE JAPANESE DERBY WINNER! THE FINISH LINE IS RIGHT THERE; WILL IT BE CEDAR BLADE OR TOKAI TEIO?!"
"CEDAR BLADE TAKES... FIRST!"
"TOKAI TEIO FINISHES... THIRD!"
The commentator's stunned voice rang out, astonished by this unexpected outcome.
In the simulation of the Japan Derby… Challenge result—third place.
Once again, the world shattered like a mirror.
[Sky-High Teio Step] ✖
[Next Attempt Available]: 8 Days.
...
"I knew it wouldn't work out."
Garden Gale woke from the instance, letting out a gentle sigh.
Glancing at Curren Chan, who still slept soundly beside her, she carefully stepped onto the balcony. The sky was slowly whitening like fish bellies under the rising sun. A biting gust of wind blew past, yet the girl stood firm in her silk pajamas, calmly brushing her disheveled hair behind her ears as she drifted into quiet contemplation.
As expected…
She still couldn't completely shake off the sting of disappointment from those watchful eyes after losing a race.
Garden Gale smiled faintly to herself.
Even though she had changed, her entire past life had been like that of a marionette, controlled entirely by those gazes. Now, despite the gradual shift in her personality, it was impossible to transform completely overnight. All she could do was manage her emotions, absorbing them slowly.
She had run the Japan Derby with all her strength.
Yet, the result was only third place.
But that was progress, at least—much better than her last attempt, when she'd dragged herself miserably across the finish line in eighth place.
She consoled herself with that thought.
....As for reality... I absolutely cannot lose.
Even if she wasn't as socially anxious as before, she still couldn't bear disappointing others. The reason she could shrug off a loss in the instance so quickly was precisely because it was just a fabricated story—but reality was different. Without realizing it, she'd fixed her gaze on victory and never backed down since.
But speaking of which…
Had she really overcome her social anxiety?
Sigh…
She couldn't sleep anymore.
Maybe I should train some more? Don't be ridiculous. That would turn into a full-blown triathlon. Proper rest was the only real path to improvement.
Actually, in terms of time…
It hadn't been very long at all since Tokai Teio and Air Shakur had visited her earlier that night. Morning had just arrived. At the time, Garden Gale had poured her entire focus into perfecting her running style for the Derby. After training, she'd quickly brushed off Tokai Teio and Shakur, impatiently retreating to her dorm to simulate the Japan Derby.
From then until now, at most, three hours had passed.
Suddenly, a faint rustling inside the dorm caught Garden Gale's attention. Turning back, she saw her roommate had woken up, sleepily putting on her socks, the faint rustle of fabric sliding over skin repeating softly.
"Didn't sleep?" Curren Chan tilted her head slightly, noticing her roommate on the balcony.
Garden Gale waved dismissively. "Not yet… Why are you up so early today?"
"Because it's our day off! Curren-chan promised her fans she'd film a lifestyle vlog today." Curren Chan thought for a moment, then perked up again. "Oh, Garden-chan, wanna come along? We're going shopping! All girls love shopping, right?"
"No, no, no—!"
Garden Gale hurriedly waved her hands, practically frightened.
Shopping…
Just the thought of it felt exhausting. Dealing with so many people… Just talking to people felt exhausting. An instinctive dread rose in her chest, tangled up with anxiety and aversion.
…Ah. Well, looks like I'm still very socially anxious after all.
"How many subscribers does your channel have now, Curren-chan?" Garden Gale asked casually, desperate to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Curren Chan paused to count, then cheerfully held up five fingers. "Curren-chan's almost at 500,000 subscribers! They're all here to see the adorable Curren-chan! …Okay, maybe some are here because of the upcoming G1 races."
…500,000?
Garden Gale felt suddenly overwhelmed.
Hadn't Curren-dhan's channel only had a few tens of thousands recently? Plus, some followers had only subscribed because of herself. Had Curren-chan really gained so many fans during the two months Garden Gale had spent preparing for the Satsuki Sho? Incredible—what an unbelievable growth rate! Then again, wasn't it obvious? Curren-chan's cuteness was absolutely top-tier! Who wouldn't want to follow her?
"Amazing." She gave Curren Chan an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Curren Chan happily returned the gesture.
With that, Garden Gale decided she'd rather focus on the sky gradually brightening beyond the window.
"Hehe," Curren Chan giggled shyly, scratching her head as she got dressed. "Oh, right! Yesterday, I found a really intriguing Umamusume—what was her name again… Ruined King?"
"Eh?"
Garden Gale suddenly made a bizarre noise.
"I feel like she's super cool! She seems like someone with amazing stories to tell. It's a shame she doesn't put much effort into her channel—if she did, she'd probably hit several hundred thousand subscribers effortlessly. But right now, she only has around one or two thousand."
Curren Chan's tone turned slightly wistful as she continued, "Curren-chan wants to be more like her—have more cool stories to share!"
Uhh…
Garden Gale never imagined Curren Chan would suddenly bring her up.
That's borderline rude, isn't it…?
But…
Several hundred thousand subscribers?
Was she serious?
Garden Gale's mind began to race. Did she… have fans? What would it feel like to have hundreds of thousands of followers?
Curiosity seized her. Her eyes lit up, voice tinged with eagerness as she pressed, "Why do you think she could have so many followers, Curren-chan?"
"Because she's genuinely cool!" came the eager reply.
Curren Chan continued earnestly, "Her experiences are things most Umamusume never get to have—like traveling to Iceland and Ireland, being into the same idols young people love, and having interests aligned with the mainstream. It's a perfect character setup! Even if her racing results aren't great, there's still potential as an Umadol. And most importantly—just her description alone feels super cool. Plus, her name is just… incredible!"
No, no, no, she's really not that cool—everything's totally made up!
Garden Gale sank into silent thought.
Should I… actually try developing that account? Fans… That sounded like such a beautiful thing—something she'd never experienced before.
She swallowed nervously. Her heart fluttered with excitement.
Not once did she consider the consequences of blowing her cover.
...
Years later…
On the day Garden Gale was finally unmasked, dying of embarrassment, she would surely recall this very morning—Curren Chan earnestly teaching her how to build her channel.
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T/N: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 posting earlier so bonus chaps will be a longer waitttt >:)
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