Chapter 49: Now You Are the Challenger, Taiki Shuttle
[She's crossed the line!!! Stardust Mirage exploded once more at the very last moment! She shook off the closing Taiki Shuttle, transforming into a gale and leaving everyone in the dust, successfully charging into the finish line in first place!]
[She did it! Just like Oguri cap had just retired, Stardust Mirage successfully defeated all her opponents, sweeping away the championship with overwhelming force!!!]
"OOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!"
Deafening cheers erupted as the winner of this race was decided.
In the spectator stands surrounding the track, regardless of who they supported, the audience now raised their hands high, frenziedly shouting their acclaim for the runners of this race.
Air Grove, who had just called for medical staff and was standing before the finish line, was utterly shocked by this scene. She stared dumbfounded at Stardust Mirage, unable to believe the result she had just witnessed.
Stardust Mirage defeated Taiki Shuttle and all the other runners, snatching first place in this race.
"How is this possible... this level of final kick, this..." she murmured to herself.
But Air Grove quickly snapped back to reality, urgently calling the staff beside her to chase after Stardust Mirage to prevent her from falling and getting injured due to exhaustion.
At this moment, Stardust Mirage had completely lost control of her body. She crossed the finish line, staggering forward from momentum for a distance, then suddenly collapsed to the side. Her legs were completely uncontrollable; only sweat continuously streamed down her face from her forehead. Even though Stardust Mirage wanted to reach out to support her falling body, she had absolutely no strength to do so, seemingly about to crash directly onto the turf...
But an arm caught her.
"It's alright, she's just exhausted," said Toyama Hikaru, who had been waiting here, catching Stardust Mirage's body and then informing the medical staff.
Close behind was Mihono Bourbon, who crossed the line in sixth place. She also ran over, her body going limp, caught by Toyama Hikaru's other arm.
Watching Angus Digital begin helping the medical staff move the two onto stretchers and check their physical condition, Toyama Hikaru, for once, didn't say anything inappropriate. Her tone was unusually calm as she spoke:
"Hey, Stardust Mirage."
"In the hundreds of sprint results from this week's training, I couldn't even see a single time that reached 34 seconds."
"But only this time, only this final time..."
"You ran the last three furlongs in 32.9 seconds, completely leaving the mile race queen, Taiki Shuttle, behind you."
"This race, you won."
This usually demon-like trainer, Toyama Hikaru, turned her back so others couldn't see her expression, offering sincere praise.
"No, it's not that I won."
Stardust Mirage spat out the remaining blood in her mouth onto the grass beside her. At this moment, she was so tired she could almost fall asleep on the spot. But upon hearing Toyama Hikaru's words, she still struggled to speak and refute.
"It's that we won, right?" Stardust Mirage replied.
In this race, whether it was the tactics formulated by Trainer Toyama Hikaru or the energy-saving, wind-breaking lead run Mihono Bourbon did for her, both played incredibly crucial roles. One could say if Stardust Mirage were to compete against Taiki Shuttle now in perfect condition, she wouldn't have the confidence to win.
During the race, although she finally erupted with that power called "fighting spirit," successfully shaking off Taiki Shuttle who had almost caught up, that was also because Taiki Shuttle's rhythm had been completely destroyed by the front-running tactic earlier, causing her stamina to also fail to hold out.
Therefore, Stardust Mirage didn't believe this victory could have been achieved by her alone.
But...
Stardust Mirage looked up at the azure blue sky above, revealed a smile, and relaxed, spreading her limbs out contentedly.
This feeling... she could never get enough of it, no matter how many times.
When the day finally comes for her to truly win the Classic Triple Crown, she wants to lie on the ground just like today, basking in the cheers of all the spectators in the stadium.
It's getting close… In just three months, she'll step onto that battlefield!
"Howdy~!"
Just as Star Dust Mirage was enjoying this moment of peace, the sky above her was suddenly mostly blocked by two round shadows.
She looked closely and saw none other than Taiki Shuttle, who had been competing with her just moments ago.
Taiki Shuttle was now standing overhead, looking down at her with a smile through those two troublesome bulges and greeting her.
"Star Dust Mirage, I lost to you in this race," the older sister said very casually, openly admitting her defeat. "To burst out with that kind of final sprint—it was really something that left everyone stunned."
Taiki Shuttle gave the runner who had defeated her a relieved smile and raised a thumbs-up with her right hand.
"That was just a stroke of luck," Star Dust Mirage replied a bit sheepishly.
Compared to her almost life-or-death craziness on the track, she wasn't usually that wild. Sometimes, she even felt annoyed when she remembered how arrogant she had been during races. At this moment, she felt slightly apologetic for her earlier bold words to Taiki Shuttle, so she took the initiative to say:
"Let's race together again in the future. When that time comes, I'll challenge you at your absolute best."
"This race has already said it all, Star Dust Mirage. Even if we compete again in the future, I'll be the challenger," Taiki Shuttle said with a smile, shaking her head. Then, she glanced around. "Besides, I'll be retiring soon. If we're going to compete again, let's save it for the Dream Cup. When the time comes, I'll challenge you again at my peak."
"Exchanges and competitions with the French team will be up to you all. It seems we're still far from mature enough… See you next time!"
With that, Taiki Shuttle waved her hand, turned around casually, and walked back to her team's rest area.
Medical staff quickly gathered around, massaging Stardust Mirage and Mihono Bourbon to relax their muscles and treating the bite wound on Stardust Mirage's tongue.
At the same time, Toyama Hikaru peeled bananas for both horse girls and handed them over along with sports drinks to help them recover their physical functions.
While chewing the banana, Stardust Mirage suddenly remembered what Taiki Shuttle had said earlier. She quickly swallowed and asked:
"Toyama, is it really our team that's going to exchange and learn with the French side? What if we embarrass ourselves?"
"So what if we embarrass ourselves?" Toyama Hikaru shrugged nonchalantly, looking completely unfazed. "Anyway, our team only has two rookie horse girls. It's normal if we can't match up to the strong French team, right? I'm not afraid of losing face."
"What's most important for you now is to exchange and compete with various opponents and gain more experience—especially you, Star Dust Mirage."
"You're a natural born competitor in actual races. I'll do everything I can to increase your race schedule, so be prepared!"
"Hahaha, Team Draco has successfully secured the exchange rights and will become the Japanese representative team to exchange with the French team soon~!"
Thinking about this, Toyama Hikaru couldn't help but grin like a devil again.
"…!?"
Air Grove, who had been standing nearby checking all participants for hidden injuries, froze in place upon hearing their conversation.
Star Dust Mirage's victory meant that this guy would lead the team to exchange with the French exchange team…
Just thinking about it made Air Grove's vision go dark.
It's over, completely over, everything is over!
The honor of the Japanese horse girl world, the honor of Central Tracen Academy… will all be destroyed by Toyama Hikaru!!!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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