Chapter 28: The Three Goddesses’ Gift

King Halo.
Even back in my world, he was a horse surrounded by endless debate.

A late bloomer, some said. Others argued he was best suited for short distances—or that he could handle long ones too, so why call him a sprinter at all?

And when it came to bloodline, the mysteries and arguments only deepened.

"King Halo’s coming up—King Halo’s closing in! What a terrifying late kick! The gap’s four… no, five lengths! Wait—down to three!"

His sire had six G1 wins, including the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. His dam had seven G1 titles in the U.S. On pedigree alone, he was flawless. Yet King Halo’s own record never quite shined.

In reality, his only G1 victory was the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.

But calling him weak would miss the point entirely.

"King Halo’s strong—King Halo’s strong! She’s pulled up alongside the leader, Hard Control! Can King Halo push past her?!"

Because of that incredible lineage, horses descended from King Halo as their broodmare sire have been thriving lately too.

Truly, a horse full of contradictions.

And fittingly, the Uma Musume version of King Halo is just as unique. Her distance aptitude covers a wide range, and with the right inheritance, she can handle anything except front-running strategies.

Yet all that potential is offset by how finicky her unique skill is to activate—and how awkward her gold awakening skill feels to use. Add to that a metagame where rear-chasers are weak in short races, and yeah, not great odds. If I were a unit in that environment, I’d probably be underpowered too.

Sure, the real King Halo was said to be a handful temperamentally, but they didn’t have to be that accurate about it!

"King Halo or Hard Control—who’s it gonna be?! Less than a hundred meters to go!"

And now, King Halo was thundering down the homestretch.

"King Halo! King Halo surges past to take the lead! The winner of the short-distance G1, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, is—King Halo!"

"I thought she specialized in miles or middle distances… What a surprise!"

King Halo, her second G1 title.

Yeah, I still don’t get it. Her last win was a middle-distance G1, and now she takes a short-distance G1 right after? Sure, she can handle short races, but come on—that’s still weird.

If aptitude alone guaranteed victory, no one would ever lose. The fact that her previous race was the Kikka Sho only makes the whole thing even more absurd.

"Never thought King Halo would actually win… Lux, did you see this coming? You seemed nervous about her entering short-distance events from the start."

"Ah, well, sorta. I figured King-senpai would probably be strong in short races, but I didn’t think she’d be that strong…"

Short-distance G1s tend to be underestimated.

Everyone assumes Sakura Bakushin O reigns supreme—so why bother? If no one can beat her, there’s no point in trying.

But the reality’s different.

I will be the one to beat Sakura Bakushin O.

Only true fools who believe that—and the true geniuses willing to bleed for that dream—gather here.

That’s what makes short-distance racing… a den of madness.

"To think she’d still have that much left at the end… She’s got serious guts. A real powerhouse."

"Ugh, just imagining facing both Bourbon and King-senpai at once makes me want to go bald… They both run from behind, so it’s gonna turn into a head-to-head chase. That’s terrifying."

"But you’ve gotten a little better at handling that kind of race, haven’t you?"

Yeah. Like in the Fillies’ Review the other day—I’d started managing those “closing battles” from behind a bit better now.

Still, I’m nowhere near comfortable being chased from behind.

Lately, I’ve realized I’ve got this… irrational fear of situations where “a rival I can’t see” is closing in from behind. But why, though?

"Anything longer than three seconds still wipes you out. And repeat duels? Forget it. …You’ve still got a lot of issues to iron out, huh?"

"Yeah, but actually, not as many as you’d think. Given Lux’s running style, if that many duels are happening, the race is already lost. That just means your acceleration wasn’t enough to pull ahead, right?"

Okay, fair. But that also means more “duel training” would be pointless.

"I figured you’d noticed, but I’ve already cut most of the one-on-one drills. I’m shifting that time into race analysis instead."

"I did notice that. But shouldn’t we still be working on acceleration training? It feels like we’re just spending more and more time analyzing data."

"Well, think about it. Do you know why King Halo won today?"

One major reason was her perfect sense of timing—knowing exactly when to make her move.

It was a razor-thin window. A moment later, and she wouldn’t have had enough acceleration—she’d have finished second or worse.

If she’d pushed too early, she would’ve burned out before the line.

And on top of that, her final burst was tremendous. She squeezed out every ounce of strength she had, then pushed even further on sheer willpower.

Those two factors—the timing and the guts—were what led King Halo to victory.

"Pretty much that. King Halo’s known for her guts, but honestly, I think she’s a lot more cerebral than people give her credit for."

"Exactly. You analyzed all that within minutes of the race ending. That’s rare. Lux, you’ve clearly become a racer who uses her head while chasing from behind. That’s why I’m focusing on strengthening your analytical skills."

The trainer was right.

In recent races, I’d been finding openings by controlling the horses ahead of me—predicting their movements, rhythms, even their breathing patterns.

…Wait. That actually sounds like a really advanced skill, doesn’t it?

I’d been practicing consciously lately, but the success rate was far from consistent. Pulling it off in real races was practically a miracle.

"So yeah, I want to dedicate time to sharpening your analytical ability. That strategy you used in the last race—if we polish it up, I think you could go way higher."

"That one, huh… Well, it was based on Symboli Rudolf’s running form, with my own spin on it. Of course it’s strong—she’s a monster with ten G1 wins."

"Just being able to imitate it at all is already amazing, you know. Most can’t even try."

Being able to imitate the Emperor’s running form—that was mostly luck and compatibility.

If either of those had been missing, I’d never have mastered that technique, and I sure wouldn’t have beaten Bourbon in the Fillies’ Review.

When I think about it now… I still can’t believe I actually beat her.

"Thing is, though, if I keep that running style up for too long, I start getting headaches. It’s fine for short races, but anything longer than a mile and I just can’t stay focused."

"Yeah, that tracks. You’ve built up a lot of stamina—if it’s just about finishing a race, you could probably handle middle distances now. But…"

"But running with that kind of precision? No way. I wonder how you even train for something like that. No matter how much I work on my mental endurance, my concentration does improve, sure—but it never lasts long enough."

At this point, I’ve got no choice but to believe in the existence of aptitude.
The way my focus nosedives past middle distance… honestly, it’s freakish.

Take Sakura Bakushin O, for example. The reason she struggles past a mile is obvious—she just runs at full throttle the whole way and burns through her stamina.

But I’m not like that. My stamina’s fine. I can even pace myself decently. It’s just… my focus doesn’t hold up.

"Well, there’s no use worrying about that. Expanding your range too much only spreads your strengths thin. Narrowing down your distances is the right call—and it suits you, Lux."

The trainer had a point.

Most Uma Musume limit themselves to two distance types—usually middle and long, or middle and mile. That’s largely because of how the Tiara Route and the Classic Triple Crown are structured.

Come to think of it, since I can’t really handle anything beyond middle distance, that means both the Tiara and the Triple Crown are out for me, huh…

Well, it can’t be helped. Maybe if I aim for a “double mile crown,” there’s still a chance?

…Nah. Before I start dreaming about that, I should probably focus on just getting one G1 win first.

"Yeah, you’re right. Let’s stick with short and mile distances for now. First up—race analysis. There’s still a ton I want to study about Symboli Rudolf’s form."

"I’ve put together a report analyzing Rudolf’s data from my side too, so make sure you take a look."

"Wait, seriously!? You’re the best, Trainer! I love you!"

"Ah—yeah, uh-huh…"

And that’s how my training for the April mile race—the Oka Sho—kept rolling along.

…Or at least, it was.

"Huh…? Wait, what am I doing here?"

It was April—the season when Tracen Academy buzzed with the energy of new students.

And for some reason, I was standing before the Statue of the Three Goddesses. From afar, I could hear the lively voices of first-years full of hope.

Normally, the plaza around the statue was a popular hangout spot. But right now, it was completely deserted. Only a strange, hushed silence filled the air.

"Did something call me here…? No, that’s ridiculous. So why am I here, then? Wait—don’t tell me this is…"

An Inheritance Event.
In the app, it happens at the start of April—a kind of “power-up event.” You inherit traits or skills from your chosen parent figures, randomly improving your abilities.

In real life, that should be impossible. But this world runs on mystery. Uma Musume phenomena don’t exactly follow logic.

Then suddenly, my vision washed over in pure white—

Greetings, “Mithialx.”
We are the Three Goddesses.

You have answered our expectations—no, surpassed them.

We thank you. Please accept our blessing.

Mithialx, we are watching over you.

Continue to bring happiness to the Uma Musume… and grant their wishes.

"—Huh…?"

Whoa, I completely blacked out for a second there.

Spring makes you drowsy, as they say—and lately, more and more students have been dozing off in class. Some even snore before getting whacked awake by the teacher.

But almost falling asleep while standing? That’s a new one.

"Am I… tired? I mean, yeah, things have been busy, but I’ve been taking my breaks properly. I don’t feel like the fatigue’s carrying over either, so… what gives?"

Maybe I should talk to the trainer about it. If it’s some kind of illness, that’d be bad. An injury would be even worse. For an Uma Musume, a breakdown is the worst fate imaginable.

I looked up, and my eyes met the stone faces of the Three Goddesses.

A breeze rustled through the plaza—soft at first, then strong enough to break the eerie stillness.

"I could’ve sworn something called me here… Guess it really was my imagination. And unlike in the app, I’m not exactly feeling a surge of power either. Haah… Maybe I’ll just jog a little to shake off this drowsiness."

This marked the end of my first year—and what a year it had been.

Two more to go, whether I laugh or cry.

How far could I make it in that time?

Thinking of Mihono Bourbon, King Halo, and Sakura Bakushin O—the rivals who awaited ahead—I threw myself into training once more, readying for my next goal: the Oka Sho.