The day of the Chukyo Junior Stakes finally arrived.
Fujiwara Chiya brought his team to Chukyo Racecourse. As the first OP race of the year, this race carried a lot of meaning. If they could win, it would give the whole team a major boost in morale.
After several weeks of training, when Fujiwara Shirayuki removed the weighted horseshoes once again, she felt as though her entire body had become weightless. She felt light, almost floating. Ever since training had been woven into her everyday life, her body had gradually begun to change.
Now, at last, she had the right to stand on equal footing with Spe-chan and the others.
"Want some candy?"
On the train ride over, Agnes Tachyon held out a piece of candy to her. Then, rather thoughtfully, she added, "I bought it at the convenience store just now."
Apparently she was trying to reassure Shirayuki that she had not mixed anything suspicious into it.
Honestly, Shirayuki was no longer worried about that sort of thing. After spending months together, she had already come to understand Agnes Tachyon's personality. Outside of experiments, Tachyon had little interest in most things. Everything she researched was done for one purpose only: making Uma Musume run faster. In a way, Agnes Tachyon herself was another kind of Uma Musume, simply racing on a different track from ordinary people.
But at her core, she was not so different from the others. She would never do something like drug someone before a race.
Unwrapping the candy, Fujiwara Shirayuki placed it in her mouth. The sweetness eased some of the tension in her chest.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome..."
Agnes Tachyon relaxed her shoulders a little.
"By the way, Shirayuki, I heard you've been looking for a way to enter the Zone."
Huh?
Agnes Tachyon even knew that term?
Most Uma Musume barely knew what the Zone really was. Trainers usually did not bother explaining it to them either. Something that vague and elusive was simply too unreliable. Even battle-hardened Uma Musume with years of racing experience could not guarantee they would enter the Zone every single race.
Because of that, almost nobody deliberately tried to chase after it. Ninety-nine percent of trainers just kept their focus on training steadily and properly.
"That's right." Shirayuki licked her lips lightly. "I feel like the Zone is the most difficult and mysterious part of being an Uma Musume. If someone could obtain that ability, they'd definitely become extraordinary."
"I see. So you think that too."
"Too?"
"I've always been searching for a way to make Uma Musume reach their absolute speed limit. One of those paths leads to the Zone. In other words, obtaining full control over the body. Human beings place a lock on themselves to stop their own strength from damaging their bodies. To some extent, the Zone removes those limits and allows an Uma Musume to break past her natural ceiling."
"Is... that really what it is?"
Fujiwara Shirayuki's understanding had only ever been based on the rough explanations given by veteran trainers. The trainer's handbook certainly did not go into that kind of thing. Since Agnes Tachyon approached Uma Musume as a researcher, perhaps she understood far more than ordinary trainers did.
The Zone was the unlocking of the body's restraints.
"Uma Musume who enter the Zone take on a certain amount of risk. Their own power can damage them. But then again, as long as an Uma Musume keeps running, how high are the odds that she avoids injury completely?"
According to statistics, the rate of fractures among Uma Musume was several times higher than among ordinary people, and their risk of developing chronic issues was far higher as well. Very few Uma Musume retired in completely good health. Most carried injuries with them throughout their careers. Sprains and bruises were as common to Uma Musume as eating and drinking.
Even bodies many times tougher than a human's could only take so much abuse.
"In a sport that is already dangerous by nature, chasing the Zone means willingly increasing your chances of getting hurt, all for the sake of breaking past the speed limit of Uma Musume. Shirayuki, even knowing that, do you still want to search for it?"
Fujiwara Shirayuki hesitated.
Then she remembered the image of Tokino Minoru standing there like a sovereign ruling the world.
After that, she answered.
"I think... since I've had the rare chance to become an Uma Musume at all, I want to understand everything there is to understand about Uma Musume."
Hearing that, Agnes Tachyon laughed softly.
"As if anyone gets a second chance to become one... Still, if you really want to pursue the Zone, then our goals happen to align. At first I only wanted you for the two-body experiment, but now perhaps I can expand the direction of my research."
Agnes Tachyon placed a finger against her chin.
"As far as I understand it, an Uma Musume's Zone is tied to the mind. What an irritating place to start. It lies beyond the reach of purely physical observation. So in that case, I'll need to investigate the mental sphere of Uma Musume."
"That sounds kind of abstract."
"I think so too. I've never researched anything like this before. But since you possess both an Uma Musume's mind and a trainer's mind at once, you should find it easier than most to detect changes in that mental sphere."
Her dark red eyes settled on Shirayuki.
"So then, Shirayuki, become my test subject."
"Aren't I already one...?"
"A double test subject."
Agnes Tachyon let out her characteristic sing-song laugh.
"I haven't worked out the exact experiment plan yet, but mental research will most likely revolve around interaction and communication. The deeper the bond, the easier it is to produce resonance."
"So you're saying I'll have to deepen my bonds with other people...?"
"For now, prepare yourself for that possibility. Just like you, I don't really understand the Zone yet. We'll have to feel our way through it step by step until the day we finally find an answer."
After saying that, Agnes Tachyon narrowed her eyes and leaned back against the seat to rest. She must have been up late experimenting again. Looking closely, faint dark circles were visible on her pale face.
Not wanting to disturb her, Shirayuki quietly waited for the train to arrive.
Once they reached Toyoake in Aichi Prefecture, the group got off and headed toward Chukyo Racecourse. Following the flow of people, they reached the entrance. Shirayuki turned toward the competitors' passage while the others gradually made their way to the stands.
Before parting, Mejiro Dober gave her a hug.
"I'll be cheering for you, Shirayuki."
"Okay."
"And this is a charm from Matikanefukukitaru."
Fukukitaru had wanted to come herself, but she had upset her stomach the day before, so she handed the charm to Dober and asked her to pass it along.
If the owner of the charm could get a stomachache while carrying it around, did that really mean the charm worked?
Then again, maybe Fukukitaru had poured all her luck into the charm and left none for herself.
After inventing that comforting explanation, Fujiwara Shirayuki slipped it into her pocket, said goodbye to everyone, and headed into the competitors' tunnel.
The moment she entered, she saw Special Week waiting for her.
"Shirayuki!"
The instant Spe-chan spotted the white figure approaching, her eyes lit up. She hurried over, grabbed Shirayuki's hand, and said, "I've been waiting forever. Come on, let's go to the track. The race is about to start!"
Looking at how close and cheerful she was being, Shirayuki had the sudden feeling that Spe-chan had not come here to race her at all.
It felt more like she had come to watch a race together with her.
Still, there was something about that bright, carefree expression of Spe-chan's that eased Shirayuki's tension too.
The racecourse was cruel.
Victory meant everything.
The strong reigned above all.
And yet, Shirayuki wished there could be more races like this one. Not races centered on victory, but races where she could simply run alongside her friends.
That was probably a feeling she never could have understood back when she had only been a trainer.
"Come on, Shirayuki."
The two of them ran side by side through the competitors' tunnel. Then the vast racecourse opened up before their eyes.
"Under the clear skies of Chukyo Racecourse, fourteen runners gather to take on the challenge! Who will claim first place in today's race!?"