"What a fast-paced race! The Uma Musume are currently fiercely competing with each other! As expected, most of the Uma Musume have chosen to run as a Pace Chaser or a Front Runner this time. It seems a 1600-meter track isn't long enough to warrant them saving stamina."
"Right now, Seiun Sky is leading all the other Pace Chasing Uma Musume behind the Front Runners! Her speed is incredible! She's basically as fast as the Front Runners! Will she continue to maintain this advantage?"
"It seems there are some quite excellent ones among this batch of new Uma Musume." Although Wada hadn't heard any Uma Musume names that sounded familiar, as a Trainer, he still felt that the overall quality of this batch of Uma Musume was good.
Imanami also nodded slightly, his gaze currently focused on two Uma Musume below: Seiun Sky in the front-middle, and Orfevre, who was still lagging at the very back of the pack.
"...Gold Ship, you're Orfevre's younger sister, right?" Imanami suddenly turned to Gold Ship beside him and asked, "Have you ever run with Orfevre? Do you have any thoughts on how she runs?"
"Ah, Orfevre-nee... Hmm... I don't think I've really run many races with her..."
Gold Ship on the side was trying to recall her past memories with Orfevre when racing. However, her memories were full of sisterly squabbles—"today you hit me, tomorrow I'll hammer you" kind of memories. Memories about racing seemed to be very few.
"Oh! I remember now, it was several years ago! Orfevre-nee, Oldest Sister, and I ran a race together under Oldest Sister's guidance!"
Gold Ship suddenly clapped her hands and said to Imanami, "I remember Oldest Sister said at the time that Orfevre-nee had the potential to master all running styles, but her biggest enemy was only her own heart."
"Although I don't quite understand it either, Oldest Sister said those same words to me back then too. I suspect she says that to everyone in the Gold Family."
Gold Ship casually covered the back of her head with both hands, looking nonchalant. However, the "Oldest Sister" in her words caught Imanami's attention.
Based on Imanami's understanding of Gold Ship, the evaluation of this "Oldest Sister" in Gold Ship's mouth was indeed apt—for Uma Musume like Orfevre and Gold Ship, their biggest enemy was never their opponents, but themselves.
Orfevre's true potential was not about where her limits lay, but about what level she could push herself to. The wild beast within her was like an ocean, and how much could be drawn from this ocean depended entirely on how much Orfevre herself could scoop out with her own ladle.
And now, 800 meters of the 1600-meter distance had quickly passed. Time was running out for Orfevre... "Ha... Ha..."
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Orfevre had been running behind the pack for 800 meters, yet she was completely unaware of it, still immersed in the embarrassing moment of her delayed start, cursing silently in her heart.
She had actually made such a rookie mistake. Wouldn't Ikezoe make fun of her now? She had clearly promised to bring him victory, at least to be worthy of the running shoes he gave her, but she had messed up right at the start!
It's all that Seiun Sky's fault! She deliberately distracted me! It must be her fault!
However, Orfevre, with anger stirring in her chest, didn't notice that she had inadvertently overtaken several Uma Musume. Although her position was indeed still at the back of the pack, she was no longer in last place due to her delayed start.
Now, instead of running an End Closer, she had... joined the Late Surger queue, behind the Pace Chasers. It was just that there were no Late Surger Uma Musume in this race, so she hadn't noticed this.
And at this moment, Orfevre's mind also recalled what Seiun Sky had just said about the technique of running a chase.
"Stay at the back of the pack, conserve energy, and then sprint in the final straight."
"No... that girl deliberately distracted me back then; she's so sneaky, I won't listen to her!"
Orfevre's thought process immediately led to an answer: Seiun Sky was an Uma Musume who used dirty tricks for victory, completely disregarding sportsmanship. Even if her advice sounded correct, it was absolutely not to be trusted.
And so, a hint of a fierce smile appeared at the corner of Orfevre's mouth, hidden by her mask.
You want me to run an End Closer? Fine, I won't run an End Closer anymore!
Ikezoe was right; I don't have a preferred running style anyway, so why bother agonizing over which one to use—just charge straight ahead!
"Imagine Ikezoe at the finish line..."
Orfevre gently closed her eyes, imagining Ikezoe's face at the front of the track. Soon, a perfect outline was sketched in her mind.
The next moment, Orfevre suddenly opened her eyes and her legs also powerfully burst off at that instant! Her metal cleats stomped a clear imprint into the grass! The Gold Family's consistently powerful explosive strength was finally demonstrated by Orfevre at this moment!
"Get — OUT OF MY WAY!!"
— "How could this be! Orfevre! It's number eight! The second favorite, Orfevre! She has accelerated! Overtaking Uma Musume number five, six, and thirteen!"
"Fast! She's fast! Orfevre is already closing in on the Pace Chaser Uma Musume! She's completely made up for her delayed start distance in one go! What astonishing explosive power!"
"What?"
However, Seiun Sky, who was currently leading the Pace Chasers, behind the Front Runner Uma Musume who were shielding her from wind pressure and intending to conserve energy for a final straight, was startled by the commentator's voice. She instinctively looked behind her, only to meet the menacing eyes of the rapidly approaching Orfevre!
Wasn't she running an End Closer? Why did she suddenly accelerate? What kind of End Closer style suddenly bursts out halfway through the race! And this girl, she's fast! Really fast! How did she catch up so quickly!
In a flash, cold sweat was already beading on Seiun Sky's face. Orfevre, who was originally behind her, was now basically breathing down her neck. Seiun Sky could almost see Orfevre's figure out of the corner of her eye, bringing immense pressure.
Where the hell did this monster come from!
"Hmph."
And the moment Orfevre's gaze met Seiun Sky's, Seiun Sky clearly felt a hint of disdain from Orfevre. That scornful look... Could it be... this girl was messing with her? She was actually playing dumb to trick her? Seiun Sky's expression also darkened slightly. She never expected that as a senior, who was earnestly imparting experience to a junior, she would be outsmarted by this deceptive girl!
However, Seiun Sky wasn't one to give up so easily. She was Mr. C.B's disciple; how could she be defeated by such a dirty trick! Seiun Sky also gritted her teeth, while enduring Orfevre clinging to her, not daring to be careless. The situation was much like Meisho Doto's relentless pressure on T.M. Opera O back then.
However, it was regrettable that Seiun Sky was not the Meisho Doto in this situation, and Orfevre was not an Uma Musume who would calmly follow tactics, and whose tactics could be understood by watching her run. Orfevre's tactics were something even Ikezoe himself might not fully grasp: spontaneous improvisation.
"Bang!"
"What?!"
Suddenly, Orfevre stomped her foot hard again, and with a second burst of power, she completely shook off Seiun Sky. Seiun Sky gasped in surprise, unable to react to the scene before her.
"How could this be! Orfevre still hasn't finished her acceleration yet! She has already overtaken Seiun Sky and is running directly towards the Front Runners!"
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Orfevre is still accelerating! The leading Front Runner Uma Musume has lost speed! Can Seiun Sky catch up?"
"Of course I can!" Seiun Sky was so surprised by Orfevre's reckless running style that she almost started decelerating, but fortunately, she stabilized her mindset. At this point, she didn't care about anything else; even if it wasn't the optimal acceleration point, she had to burst and keep up.
If she let this monster charge through like this, her number one spot would be as good as gone!
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Orfevre: Tactics? Running styles? What's that? All I know is to just run!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.