The victor had been decided!
Special Week had crushed El Condor Pasa by an overwhelming margin.
Strictly speaking, neither of them had been in peak condition for this duel. But precisely because the same was true of both runners, there could be no dispute over the outcome.
Anyone could see that Special Week's performance had been masterful. It had almost felt like watching an expert toy with a novice.
This was a one-sided slaughter.
El Condor Pasa—the American prodigy hailed as a future star, a gifted umamusume expected to conquer the world—had transferred to Tracen Academy. In her very first term, before she could officially set foot on Central's racetracks, she encountered an "unbeatable opponent" one afternoon after school and suffered the first defeat of her life.
Before the race, El had declared that someone like Spe would be an easy, effortless victory!
Afterward, El had only one thing to say to her former self: *You damn fool. How did you ever dare to be that arrogant?!*
In short, she regretted everything.
El's pride had been shattered. This had not been a hard-fought contest between evenly matched rivals. She had been crushed. Never in her life had she lost so badly.
Was this really Japan?
Was this really Tracen Academy?
Did Special Week's strength make any sense at all?
El stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly.
"I... lost just like that?"
Huh?
Who was she? What was she doing?
Oh, right. She had been dueling Spe.
And then she lost?
Hahahahaha.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
She had to be dreaming!
"Uwaaaah!"
El clutched her trembling head and began to wail.
Someone tell her this was only a dream!
A dream? An alarm clock?
That was it! The alarm clock!
The legendary alarm clock at Tracen Academy that could rewind a race! If she could get her hands on it, then she would not have lost yet!
El's expression gradually brightened.
"Congratulations. You've been accepted."
Hishi Amazon walked over and patted El on the shoulder.
"Cheer up. You may have lost your duel with that girl, but you passed the evaluation and became a member of Rigil."
"Huh?"
El turned her reddened eyes toward Hishi Amazon.
"What evaluation?"
She didn't know, desu.
Right now, she only wanted to crawl beneath her blankets and let everything out, desu!
Tears welled in El's eyes.
But she couldn't!
As long as she wore this mask, she could not reveal the weakness of her true self. The masked El Condor Pasa was allowed to cry only after taking it off.
Hishi Amazon's expression became difficult to describe.
"Hey. Don't tell me you don't want to join Rigil?!"
She showed El her fist.
Her meaning was obvious: think carefully before answering.
El frantically shook her head.
"No, senpai! I was only joking, desu!"
"Hahaha! Then you got a laugh out of me, rookie."
Hishi Amazon affectionately pulled El against her shoulder.
El's expression changed.
*Damn. This senior is really well endowed.*
Nice!
"Don't worry. Big Sis has high hopes for you. Forget about that duel. Winning or losing there didn't really matter. What you need to do now is accept the Trainer's guidance, recognize your shortcomings, and keep getting stronger."
"You haven't debuted yet. You haven't truly entered the world of umamusume racing."
El looked at Hishi Amazon in surprise.
Was her senior actually a good person?
"I understand, desu!"
El nodded firmly.
In other words...
She was supposed to take revenge on Spe in an official race later, right?
Exactly!
El looked toward Special Week with fire in her eyes.
*We'll settle this again when we race for real, Spe. Next time, I absolutely won't lose!*
"Congratulations, Special Week. You've passed Rigil's evaluation."
Fuji Kiseki welcomed her warmly.
Unlike Hishi Amazon, however, she did not act overly familiar. Her manner remained as elegant and courteous as a gentleman's.
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to me or any of the other team members at any time."
"Thank you."
Special Week's response was rather cool.
Rigil was indeed the best option currently available, but she did not particularly care whether she joined. Besides, Rigil might not truly suit her.
Later, Special Week and El attended their welcome party in Tracen Academy's cafeteria. The Emperor and Air Groove also appeared to acknowledge the new members.
An ordinary student might have been so excited by such a gathering that she would not know what to do. Unfortunately, neither El nor Special Week was ordinary.
One was an international student from overseas and cared little about the reputations of local celebrities.
The other was a reincarnator and felt even less reverence toward girls who, to her, were still ordinary people.
Neither of them was especially nervous.
That evening, Special Week revealed another of her talents: she could eat.
At first, El tried to compete with her appetite. Before long, however, she had collapsed across the table. Watching Special Week devour her meal, Symboli Rudolf could not help remembering certain things from the past.
"Do prodigies from the countryside all eat this much?"
Symboli Rudolf swept her gaze across the cafeteria. Sure enough, she found another familiar figure in a corner, buried behind a mountain of food.
Meanwhile, on their side of the cafeteria...
Special Week did not collect such a huge quantity all at once. But her hands soon seemed to leave afterimages, and empty plates piled into a mountain across the table.
The two girls' appetites were evenly matched.
Everyone watching found it unbelievable.
The next day, Special Week and El went to Rigil's clubroom after school.
Hana Tojo would be preparing personalized training plans for them. Both girls looked forward to seeing the results.
"These are your training programs. Follow them strictly. You are not permitted to slack off, nor may you secretly add extra exercises. If you believe something should be adjusted, tell me. If I agree that a change is necessary, I will make it. If I decide it isn't, you are not to act on your own. Is that clear?"
"Understood, desu!"
"Understood."
Both girls were excited to receive their training plans.
Special Week also looked forward to seeing how effective hers would be. Hana Tojo was a professional, after all.
She did not doubt Rigil's Trainer.
The rules were certainly strict. Even adding extra practice in secret was forbidden, but that was not impossible to understand...
At least, that was what Special Week thought before completing her first day of training.
"Trainer, I think there's a problem with my training program."
That evening, Special Week went to see Hana.
"There isn't enough training here. I could do ten or even twenty times the amount in this plan!"
This routine did not even match the morning training she had done back home.
It was far too conservative!
Hana Tojo stared at the aggressive Special Week and nearly suffered a stress response.
She had been reminded of Silence Suzuka.
No, this girl was even more willful. Suzuka had merely added exercises behind her Trainer's back. Special Week had marched up to confront her on the very first night.
"What problem do you have with the training program?"
"What problem? Everything is wrong with it!"
Special Week did not mince words.
"Training at this level could never make me stronger!"
Upon hearing the answer, Hana immediately understood what Special Week wanted.
Admittedly, if she considered the girl's demand, this version of the program could not achieve it.
But Hana had reasons of her own.
Special Week's current ability was already strong enough to achieve excellent results in her junior year and even in the Classic races afterward.
For now, Special Week should focus on her studies while adapting to a new environment. That was why Hana had not arranged any training specifically intended to raise her stats. At present, she did not need it.
Hana could also see that Special Week's body bore signs of extensive—excessive, even—training. In her judgment, the girl needed appropriate rest more than anything else.
"I believe this is the training program best suited to you right now."
"I don't!"
"...Nevertheless, I am your Trainer. On this matter, you should listen to me."
Hana spoke coldly.
She offered Special Week no explanation.
"..."
Special Week stared directly at her.
"If that's your answer, then I'll leave Rigil!"
Hana's chest rose and fell with anger.
Fine. Fine!
Now she wanted to quit the team?
Even among all the strong-willed umamusume Hana had encountered, this girl was one of a kind.
Yet Hana could not simply lose her temper.
She was an adult, and she was Special Week's Trainer.
As long as that remained true, she had a duty to consider what was best for Special Week.
Hana, who had originally refused to show weakness, finally yielded and explained the purpose of the current program.
She also told Special Week that once she had adapted to her new environment and her body had recovered, Hana would arrange more intensive training.
"You're saying my body needs rest?"
"Yes. That is the conclusion I reached through direct observation and after reviewing your medical examination."
Special Week grew impatient.
"No. I know my own body best. Besides, my medical results were excellent!"
"But the fact remains that your body has accumulated considerable fatigue. The doctor also recommended that you rest for a while instead of continuing to push yourself!"
"That's only what you believe!"
Special Week had always lived this way.
It wasn't that she did not understand the danger of overtraining, nor that she was unaware of the importance of her health.
But as she had said, her body had always remained healthy. The fatigue was there only because she tried to break through her limits every day.
It was not a problem.
She always knew what she could handle.
She also cooperated actively with every medical examination.
This was not enough reason to make her stop.
"...Fine. I can make reasonable adjustments to your training program, but increasing the amount tenfold as you proposed is absolutely impossible!"
Hana lowered her bottom line again. Special Week had refused to yield even an inch. If Hana continued acting tough, she could guarantee that a notice of withdrawal would arrive the next day.
Seeing the Trainer compromise repeatedly, Special Week knew she had gone somewhat too far.
Even so, the outcome still dissatisfied her.
Hana Tojo's approach to training was simply too conservative.
No.
Rather, Rigil's entire philosophy was unsuitable for her. Rigil sought to develop each umamusume's natural potential as fully as possible while guaranteeing her safety. That was precisely why Rigil recruited only gifted prospects.
An umamusume's talent was innate. Those born able to run were destined to win, and Rigil had been created for precisely that kind of runner.
But...
Special Week turned and left in silence.
Hana believed she had persuaded her for the moment. She did not know that Special Week had already decided to withdraw.
Special Week was not a genius of that degree.
She could not afford to lose.
"I expected too much from all of you."
She was not merely disappointed in Hana Tojo. At this moment, Special Week felt disappointed in every Trainer at Tracen Academy. Not one of them had recognized her true nature.
She was no genuine genius.
If she placed too much faith in so-called talent, all that awaited her was the future she had already foreseen. She would never accept that.
"If this is Tracen Academy's so-called training philosophy, then I'm truly disappointed."
What she needed was a rampage that could drive an umamusume beyond her limits—not this soft, comfortable school life.
Special Week returned to the dormitory.
Under Silence Suzuka's quiet gaze, she opened her computer and entered the academy website. She logged into her campus account, found the team field on her profile, and clicked the option to withdraw.
Then she began investigating Tracen Academy's gyms and training grounds, preparing to train herself. It posed no difficulty. She had done it countless times before.
She might have been disappointed by Tracen Academy's approach to education, but its resources satisfied her. As she learned about equipment she had never encountered before and the functions of the various facilities, excitement entered Special Week's eyes.
She could already see more possibilities for becoming stronger.
Teams and Trainers did not matter.
Even alone, she would grow stronger!
Just as she always had.
"Good."
Special Week looked over a routine with more than ten times the training volume of an ordinary umamusume and nodded in satisfaction. Her body already felt warm with anticipation.
"You can all remain buried in comfort."
"I'll climb somewhere higher."
"I can't wait for tomorrow."
While Special Week drifted into a satisfied sleep, Hana Tojo remained awake through the night, revising her training plan and preparing race materials.
It was not until work began the next morning and she picked up her Tracen-issued electronic handbook that she saw the notification and understood what had happened.
Hana nearly exploded with rage.
Fine. Fine!
So Special Week had gone back to her room and quit the team last night?
That attitude had not meant she agreed. She had already decided to leave!
"You think I'll let you get away?!"
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"