The instant she crossed the finish line and completed the Spring Triple Crown, Saint Halo felt her thoughts suddenly loosen.
The ecstatic joy she had assumed would come with victory never arrived.
Instead, her heart was strangely calm.
Even she found that surprising.
The grandstands around her roared even louder than they had after the Tenno Sho (Spring), but when Saint Halo turned to look, there was not much of a smile on her face. Was it because, when she first learned the Spring Triple Crown had even been established, she herself had never believed she would be the one to complete it?
At one point, Saint Halo thought that might be the reason.
But after the Tenno Sho (Spring), she had already begun to feel it coming, and had carried that conviction all the way to the end of June.
She lifted her head and looked toward the high stands.
She did not find the person she wanted to see.
The cheers in front of her rolled in wave after wave, urging her to respond, so the girl raised her hand.
Three fingers.
A girl of the Golden Generation now bore the glory of a triple crown as well.
"Congratulations!"
From behind her came Seiun Sky's voice.
Just like Saint Halo had once done, Seiun Sky had continued training alone, without a trainer, and in the first half of this year's G1 season, she too had come away empty-handed.
It was almost as if their positions had reversed.
Last year, Seiun Sky had been one of the brightest stars of the Classic season, while Saint Halo had won nothing at all, reduced entirely to running in support of others.
And now, Saint Halo stood as the visible summit of the new generation of Japanese horse girls, while Seiun Sky increasingly felt that she was beginning to struggle in these races against her peers.
She believed in her own effort. That lazy, half-serious attitude she showed the world was only an act. In truth, she had never once slacked off.
Her eyes turned to Saint Halo, who had just looked back.
To say she was not envious would be a lie.
But in the final stretch, she had not even managed to keep up with the front three. This defeat had come down to one thing only:
There was a clear gap in ability.
"You're seriously strong now."
The words were heartfelt.
Seiun Sky's emotions were tangled beyond easy sorting, and more than ever she found herself curious about the man named Terizumi Shinji.
How had he trained Saint Halo into this in such a short amount of time?
Even Grass Wonder, who had awakened her Domain and run the most orthodox, most ideal race this course could offer, had been unable to win.
That final burst, that utterly comfortable, commanding chase—Seiun Sky felt Saint Halo was beginning to show the outline of a strength that bordered on despair.
No matter what tactics you executed up front, as long as the home stretch opened in front of her, she would simply blow past you with that outrageous finishing kick.
At this rate, maybe the only girl left in Japan who could still hold back Saint Halo's charge was Offside Trap.
That thought crossed Seiun Sky's mind, and only then did she notice Grass Wonder approaching, looking as though her soul had been knocked loose from her body.
Grass Wonder, who had wanted to prove herself to Special Week, had awakened her Domain, and yet still failed to take the title she wanted. She bit down hard, but in the end could only suffer over the simple fact that she had not been strong enough.
By the final stretch, she had already built a large enough advantage. If even that had not been enough to stop Saint Halo's charge, then the difference between them truly was undeniable.
She walked over slowly.
The collision of Domains in the final straight was still fresh in her mind. Grass Wonder could clearly feel that her own Domain had been utterly suppressed by the other girl's. There had been a terrifying pressure inside Saint Halo's Domain, and even now, remembering it, made the skin on her back tighten.
That almost ancient, weighty feeling.
"Congratulations."
She was another runner of the same generation.
Grass Wonder had shown excellent form in this year's Takarazuka Kinen, but the girl before her had simply carried the perfect momentum of her spring straight through to the very end.
No matter how one looked at it, Grass Wonder had lost this race cleanly and without complaint.
"Thank you. Thank you, both of you."
Saint Halo looked at the two girls from her generation.
The pain from last year still sometimes wandered through her mind, but now she was fully capable of facing those memories head-on.
This glory had given her that confidence.
"Waaahhh!"
Not far away, Special Week had already collapsed to the turf and burst into tears.
Saint Halo vaguely remembered that after last year's Japan Cup, Special Week had cried like this too. This time, it seemed she had come into the race carrying some especially strong determination to win.
"Special Week's crying again. Aren't you going to go check on her?"
Seiun Sky had, of course, noticed too. She turned toward Grass Wonder with a trace of mischief in her smile.
The group of them often ate together, and as someone standing off to the side, Seiun Sky had seen quite clearly what was going on among them.
"What?"
"What do you mean, 'what'? Aren't you going over there to comfort her or something?"
Saint Halo was reminded as well of that day they had come to Hanshin to inspect the course, and how Special Week and Grass Wonder had behaved then. She still did not fully understand the intricacies of it, but she had a rough idea of what Seiun Sky meant.
"I'm not going."
Grass Wonder was in no mood for it.
She looked toward Special Week.
What she had really wanted, with this race, was to tell Special Week to stop looking only at her own feelings and start taking every opponent seriously.
But in the end, as someone who had failed to win herself, Grass Wonder no longer knew whether she had the right to say such a thing.
"I'm heading out."
She said it to Saint Halo, then turned and walked toward the underground passage.
Seeing that, Seiun Sky gave Saint Halo a little wave as well.
The rest of the time and the stage now belonged to Saint Halo. They had both already seen the host approaching with a microphone, and the countless reporters nearby raising cameras and hammering their shutters.
Watching her rivals leave, Saint Halo finally turned back around.
What greeted her was the smile of the man before her.
At once, her mood brightened.
She walked toward him.
Terizumi Shinji lifted a brow at her, and Saint Halo immediately felt a little embarrassed.
She had suddenly remembered those moments after Offside Trap's races, the little intimate gestures between Trap and her trainer. She had wanted, just a little, to do something similarly close—
But she could never quite bring herself to.
The host hurried over to Shinji's side. She had already noticed where Saint Halo had been heading, so once Saint Halo came to stand beside him, the woman gave her an encouraging little nod.
Saint Halo politely returned it, then looked at Shinji's arm.
Her hand twitched.
She lowered her head.
After hesitating for a moment, she raised it.
The host, who had been about to say something, suddenly stopped herself, a delighted auntie-smile spreading over her face.
The grandstands exploded into teasing cheers and whistles.
Saint Halo's face burned crimson, and she did not dare lift her head to look at Shinji.
She did not know why she had still gone through with it.
But she had really, truly wanted to.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 285
"Is this chat group even serious?" 150
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (This matter is completely finished.)
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 155
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 96
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi 51
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (This matter is completely finished.)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 100
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 120
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 95
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 60
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 45
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin