"That sound is coming from the track. Are people still training this late?" Rudolf Symboli said.
"Judging from the sound, they're training on the turf." Maruzensky closed her eyes, carefully analyzing the footsteps coming from afar.
Rudolf Symboli crossed her arms and twitched her ears slightly.
"The start was good. The speed was slightly faster than normal race speed, but in the last few seconds the footsteps suddenly became dull, which should be because she was running uphill."
Maruzensky chuckled softly, "It sounds like the speed and time from the start to the climb haven't changed much each time. It seems like she's practicing her uphill running posture and pace."
Both at the pinnacle of Tracen Academy, Rudolf Symboli and Maruzensky were able to deduce the general situation of Sakura Baimu's practice simply by listening to the sounds coming from the track.
"How many trips has she made already? Doesn't she get tired?" Maruzensky was slightly surprised.
"Not only that, but her speed was maintained at a constant level before climbing the hill, and only changed while climbing," Rudolf Symboli laughed.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Let's go, I'm also curious about who she is." Rudolf Symboli nodded and walked towards the track with Maruzensky.
When the two reached the edge of the track and saw the person, they only saw an Umamusume wearing a hood and with a ponytail that looked even more azure under the moonlight, mechanically repeating the routine of "start-accelerate-climb-record," both of them simultaneously showed expressions of confusion.
"Who is this? I don't recognize her at all," Maruzensky said, a hint of confusion in her blue eyes.
"Judging by her height, she's definitely not from the Middle School...but there seems to be no one else in Senior High with a blue ponytail besides Amazon and Ardan." Rudolf Symboli was also somewhat puzzled.
"This is definitely not Amazon," Maruzensky said.
Maruzensky, Rudolf, and Amazon are all members of Rigil. They train together every day, so it's impossible for them not to recognize Amazon.
"Mejiro Ardan has always been in poor health, so it's impossible for her to train all night. Besides, her figure doesn't look like Ardan…" Rudolf Symboli frowned. "So there's only one possibility: she's not from our academy; she sneaked in."
"Hey, Rudolf, wait a minute, take a look first."
Maruzensky saw that Rudolf Symboli seemed about to ask a question, so she quickly stopped her.
"This girl is interesting."
"Why is she only practicing this short slope here? Is she training for the Japanese Derby or the Japan Cup?"
"Whether it's the Japanese Derby or the Japan Cup, that short hill only needs to be climbed once, so why doesn't she just run the whole course? I feel like she's not practicing for the Tokyo Racecourse race, but rather looking for the optimal uphill running method for other races with similar steep hills," Rudolf Symboli said.
"As expected of Rudolf," Maruzensky teased. "Rudolf, have you noticed something?"
"What?"
"Since we found her, she has run at least six or seven round trips, right? That doesn't even include the number of times she ran before we found her. That's already the distance of a full Tenno Sho, but she's still able to maintain her speed."
"Hmm…" Rudolf Symboli thought for a moment, then suddenly took out her phone from her pocket, turned on the timer, and pressed the start button after Sakura Baimu started running.
[0:29.89]
"Five hundred meters, at this speed, and there's a steep hill that's a little over one length..."
Rudolf Symboli's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, sensing that something was amiss.
This speed is something even a student who has only been in high school for a year or two, could achieve, let alone Maruzensky.
However, the person on the track achieved this result after running the 500-meter steep hill at least seven times.
This is a completely different matter.
"This speed is even faster than Mejiro McQueen, who just broke the Tenno Sho record."
Rudolf Symboli raised her head. Her gaze fixed intently on the figure in the middle of the track making notes in a notebook, her tone revealing undisguised surprise.
Of course, the result calculated this way will be different from that in an actual competition, but it is enough to show that the person's stamina, speed, and even strength are frighteningly good. Very.
"Actually, the flat ground was fine, but for an Umamusume who had already run quite a distance, that steep hill was a huge test for her heart. And she hardly showed any signs of slowing down while climbing the hill, and even after running it so many times, she didn't seem to be very tired."
Maruzensky's eyes grew brighter and brighter, filled with curiosity and surprise.
"Could it be someone from overseas? The Japan Cup is still six months away."
Just as Maruzensky and Rudolf Symboli were speculating about Sakura Baimu's identity, Sakura Baimu herself finally finished writing down her account of this run.
The notebook in her hand was already full of notes; she had run that distance at least a hundred times that night.
But there was no other way. Faced with a new track and a new challenge, she could only use this most basic method: experimenting again and again to find the fastest way to climb the hill.
"The speed has been alright these past few times. It seems that this method of climbing the slope is the fastest way to do so."
Sakura Baimu was somewhat excited, feeling that her efficiency tonight was exceptionally good; she had already achieved results in just about an hour.
She could now go uphill quickly with almost no loss of speed. Although this would put some strain on her heart, Sakura Baimu believed that Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen were physically capable of handling it.
She took out a small box of green juice from her bag, inserted a straw, and started inhaling it all down her throat.
"Ugh."
Sakura Baimu covered her mouth, feeling an urge to gag.
To save money, she usually doesn't eat cupcakes, so she enters a state of absolute refusal to eat them.
She clutched her chest for a while to catch her breath, then looked up and saw Maruzensky and Rudolf Symboli standing at the intersection of the campus and the racetrack, looking down at her from a high place.
"Hiss--"
Sakura Baimu broke out in a cold sweat immediately.
"Why isn't the student council president going home to rest so late? Did she get tricked by the old reckless driver next to her into going for a race and is now here to cool off in the night breeze?"
Sakura Baimu muttered a complaint, quickly stuffed her things into her bag, pulled down the hood of her hoodie, and prepared to leave with her head down.
"Hey, you!"
When Rudolf Symboli saw Sakura Baimu, she immediately called out to stop her as she was about to run away.
"You're not from our school, are you? Who are you?"
Rudolf Symboli stood still, her authority as student council president immediately radiating, making the somewhat guilty Sakura a little embarrassed.
Sakura Baimu didn't answer, but instead tugged at her hoodie to secretly peek at the distance they had traveled, wondering in her heart if she had any chance of escaping from the hands of this strong Umamusume.
"If you answer honestly, I won't pursue the matter further. If you don't say a word, then I'll have to call the police."
Rudolf Symboli's incredibly authoritative voice rang out, making Sakura Baimu's lips twitch.
"This time I really messed up!!!"