"This is simply incredible! Orfevre, who had a late start, has now surged to the front of the pack with astonishing power and speed! At this point, only Seiun Sky can keep up with Orfevre's pace!"
"It seems like the ending has already been decided! This time, the winner will be born from between these two Uma Musume, the first and second favorites!"
The commentator's voice brought the atmosphere of the entire Racecourse to its peak. A short distance of 1600 meters might still be somewhat unsatisfying for Uma Musume race enthusiasts, but the sudden emergence of Orfevre pushed this originally uneventful race directly to the peak of competitiveness!
Everyone was anticipating whether this Uma Musume, who had a very late start and was the second favorite only because of the "Gold" family name, could perform a thirteen-person overtake!
"Even I have to admit... What a frankly absurd final spurt…"
In the stands, watching Orfevre's mind-boggling acceleration, even T.M. Opera O, who had always maintained her confident overlord persona, couldn't help but be surprised. But she quickly regained her usual confidence, laughing heartily:
"Hahahahaha! Indeed! Someone deemed worthy by my Trainer couldn't possibly be an ordinary individual! It seems like the Overlord will need to remember her name. For she shall be one of the most threatening challengers on my path to becoming the Overlord!"
"H-how terrifying… A final spurt like that, has Orfevre really not undergone any training?"
Meisho Doto, who was beside her, was also startled by Orfevre's terrifying explosiveness. Although Orfevre's final spurt wasn't as powerful as hers or T.M. Opera O's, one must remember that Orfevre had been very lax with her training before this.
An Uma Musume who had barely trained, without any guidance, completely relying on her own judgment to unleash such an astonishing final spurt—it was simply astonishing. A final spurt places immense pressure on an Uma Musume; one misstep could lead to a fracture. Therefore, it's best to master the technique and method before trying to do it in an official race.
But in Orfevre's case… Meisho Doto couldn't see a shred of technique. She was running like a madman, completely without skill and almost entirely on instinct—a running style relying on pure feeling and physical ability; it was the most simple and crude method!
It was a running style that didn't hold a single thought in it! What Uma Musume would suddenly burst in the middle of a race? She wouldn't have the stamina to sprint in the final straight!
"Onii-chan, if this continues, Orfevre will run out of stamina to sprint."
At this moment, not only Meisho Doto but Curren Chan also noticed something amiss. She couldn't help but say to Ikezoe beside her with some concern, "Her stamina and explosiveness are indeed terrifying, but without endurance training, even a 1600-meter distance must be quite challenging for her, right?"
"…To be honest, I don't know either."
On the other side, Ikezoe's expression remained as calm as ever. Watching Orfevre's current pace and method, it was as if he was transported back to the first time he rode Orfevre—although his stamina management at that time was controlled by Ikezoe, Orfevre also completely disregarded convention in that race.
Their synchronization was practically non-existent. Even before Orfevre's Debut Race, Trainer Ikezoe had continuously worked with her, attempting to find a rapport. However, by the Debut Race, Trainer Ikezoe had given up and let Orfevre decide her own running style and only chose to manage Orfevre's stamina.
And doing so dramatically led them to winning the Debut Race, which even Ikezoe himself hadn't expected—but it was precisely because of this that he initially told Orfevre, in situations where she couldn't master a running style, to simply not choose one.
To simply just brute force through the entire race with sheer physical might was, in fact, the most likely way for Orfevre to win. In terms of technique, Orfevre, who hadn't trained much, couldn't be a match for these systematically trained Uma Musume. But when it came to the Gold Family's innate physical ability… even without training, Orfevre could still overpower these Uma Musume who were barely at Debut Race level.
Was Orfevre struggling? Of course she was! Due to her late start, she had to overtake so many Uma Musume while also maintaining her pace until the final straight. Even Orfevre, this stamina monster, found it quite challenging.
But if Orfevre was considered tired, the others would be considered even more tired. Trainer Ikezoe could guarantee that the Uma Musume named Seiun Sky, after her rhythm was thrown off by Orfevre's acceleration, would definitely have no stamina left to overtake Orfevre again…
"Ha—ha—"
And just as Trainer Ikezoe expected, Seiun Sky, who was now one length behind Orfevre, no longer had the stamina to burst at the appropriate point that she and her teacher had planned during training.
To catch up with Orfevre, Seiun Sky had prematurely exhausted her stamina, but her burst was no longer the same level as Orfevre's—because she ran in the Pace Chaser position, her stamina consumption was greater than Orfevre's, and her burst didn't last as long as Orfevre's. This immediately put her at a complete disadvantage. (T/N: Pace Chaser is actually the most stamina-consuming running style.)
Watching Orfevre's back, Seiun Sky gritted her teeth, an indignant desire to catch up surging in her heart, but her stamina could no longer support her in doing so.
"No! No! I have to catch up!"
"My teacher—she's watching me! She's still watching me win this race!"
Seiun Sky kept shouting in her heart, trying to awaken a miracle with sheer willpower and belief—and it actually had some effect. Her strides became a bit more determined than before, and she slightly closed the distance with Orfevre.
However, this slight reduction in distance instead alerted the struggling Orfevre, who now thought Seiun Sky still had the stamina to overtake her.
"Tch!" The exhausted Orfevre at this moment seemed to release a trace of her hidden nature. Her face showed none of her previous meekness and timidity, but rather dissatisfaction and an expression as if she had been provoked—though mostly covered by her mask, making it hard to discern.
But Seiun Sky's actions at this moment made Orfevre nervous. She herself no longer had the stamina to continue sprinting. If Seiun Sky managed to overtake her now, she would lose!
Orfevre, of all people, did not want to lose to Seiun Sky—the one who caused her to be late out of the gate! (T/N: How long is she going to hold this grudge for man...)
No choice, she'll have to use 'that move' to scare her!
Thinking this, Orfevre's hand pulled down her mask, revealing her face, which the Oldest Sister of the Gold Family had described as the "Golden Tyrant" when they raced. Then, with a sudden turn of her head!
"PISS OFF, SMALL FRY!"
"!"
At this moment, Orfevre's ferocious expression during the race made the unprepared Seiun Sky's heart pound, and her pace instinctively slowed.
This… was utterly terrifying. She felt that if she were to overtake Orfevre, this girl would chase after her and bite her!
"—grhhh!"
Finally, Seiun Sky's last psychological defense was broken by Orfevre's "intimidation." Her speed instantaneously dropped; carrying a heart full of unwillingness and resentment, she was defeated under the intimidating appearance of the "Golden Tyrant."
At this moment, the distance between Orfevre and Seiun Sky widened. And under the unwilling gazes of all the other Uma Musume, she ran towards the finish line once more!
And this time, no one could obstruct her victory anymore.
"AND SHE CROSSES THE FINISH LINE! What a spectacular race! The second favorite, Orfevre, won this race without a shadow of a doubt! She has surpassed Seiun Sky by three whole lengths. The victory of this maiden race belongs to, ORFEVREEEEEEE!"
"Clap, clap, clap, clap."
At this moment, Symboli Rudolf and her companions, who were seated, also rose and applauded along with the surging crowd. Air Groove, while clapping, slowly spoke to Symboli Rudolf beside her:
"President, what is your evaluation of Orfevre now?"
"…Mindless, reckless." Symboli Rudolf used two rude terms to describe Orfevre's race this time. It was completely unlike the magnificent race she had imagined; it was almost as if this race was a parody of a real race to teach students how not to race.
There was no technique to speak of, a straightforward expenditure of stamina, and finally, she even used her appearance to pressure her competitors. It could be said to be a quite underhanded and brutish way of racing.
"…But perhaps this is why Trainer Ikezoe values her," Symboli Rudolf said with a faint smile. "If this is Orfevre's way of racing, then perhaps… in the future, every other Uma Musume will have to face an extremely oppressive opponent."
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If you knock on Orfevre's head, an echo will reverberate inside her empty skull.
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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.