Chapter 34: About Bourbon and the NHK Mile Cup

My Unique Skill puts a terrifying strain on my body. I realized that a little while after the Oka-sho (Cherry Blossom Prize). I was constantly hungry for no reason, zoning out over nothing, and even started nodding off—something I almost never did before. When I checked things out, I found that my body had accumulated a considerable amount of fatigue. Given that, I’d say skipping the NHK Mile Cup was the right call.

"Um, here’s your coffee."

"……"

However, there was one Uma Musume who didn’t take that decision kindly—the G1 Uma Musume, Mihono Bourbon. After she confirmed her entry for the NHK Mile Cup and received the lineup sheet, she saw that my name wasn’t there and came straight to confront me. Ugh, this is so awkward!

"Uh… um…?"

"Why… why aren’t you entering the NHK Mile Cup? If possible, I wanted to run alongside you."

For Mihono Bourbon, it was rare to see her emotions so clearly on display. The feelings she directed at me could be read as anger—or sadness. And, well, she wasn’t wrong to feel that way.

"I wanted to try racing against senior-class Uma Musume too. But after deciding to skip the NHK Mile, I realized just how much physical strain and fatigue I’d built up. So I figured I’d rest for now and aim for the Yasuda Kinen instead."

"I see… My apologies. I was thinking only from my own standard."

Yeah, if we’re talking in Bourbon’s terms, she’d probably run both the NHK Mile and the Yasuda Kinen without hesitation. Hearing my words, Bourbon visibly slumped. She looked completely deflated—like swoosh, all the air had left her.

"Status: ‘Reflection.’ Father always told me not to impose my own standards on others, and yet…"

"Don’t worry about it. Honestly, if I could’ve, I’d have wanted to race in both the NHK Mile and Yasuda Kinen too."

Yeah… truly. Things between Bourbon and me aren’t settled yet.

"Bourbon-san, do you take sugar and milk in your coffee?"

"Yes, please. For optimal brain nutrition, make sure there’s plenty of sugar."

White swirled into the dark liquid. That moment when the color changed and a sweet scent mixed in—it never failed to soothe me. Hmm, this should do? I wasn’t exactly sure of Bourbon’s taste, so I had to guess.

"Here you go. Let me know if you’d like more of anything, okay?"

"Thank you. …This is delicious."

"You can tell? Hehe, it’s actually some pretty good beans. I bought them for guests, but I rarely get the chance to serve them."

Not because I have a narrow social circle, mind you! It’s just that I almost never invite people into my room to begin with. So yes, definitely not because my circle of friends is small!

"I’ve recorded this information about coffee. I’ll try making some myself next time. It’s convenient that it can be brewed without using machines."

"Ahaha, right. You’re not too fond of machines, are you, Bourbon-san?"

Talking with her like this makes it clear that she does have emotions—she’s just not very good at showing them. In fact, earlier, some of those feelings had spilled out without her realizing it. That was probably the real Mihono Bourbon.

"If you’d like, I can give you some of my spare tools. I started with beginner kits too, but once I got hooked, I bought proper equipment… and now the old ones are just sitting around unused."

And in that moment, I realized something—Mihono Bourbon and I are cut from the same cloth. A pair of race-obsessed idiots whose minds revolve entirely around competition. Our hobbies are training, and our idea of a fun day off is watching races. Yeah, that’s not really the lifestyle of a normal high school girl, is it?

So, as someone who finally found a proper hobby and learned how to spend her days off, I decided to share a bit of that joy with Bourbon.

"Um… are you sure it’s alright for me to take all this? Status: ‘Confusion.’ Isn’t this a bit too much?"

"It’s fine! Might as well let you get hooked on coffee too, Bourbon-san."

"But I…"

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I realize she’s a lot like me—especially in how stubborn she can be. But I know exactly how to deal with people like that. My trainer uses this trick on me all the time.

"These, these, and these! Oh, and this too! Honestly, keeping stuff you don’t use just clutters up the room. If you take them, that’d be a huge help for me."

You just need to give them a reason. That’s the right answer. I know firsthand how hard it is to accept something purely out of kindness or guilt. But if you give someone a logical reason, they’ll accept it without hesitation.

"Understood. Estimating mission type: ‘Helping others.’ However, are these truly unwanted items?"

"Those are beans I overbought. And with the rainy season coming up, I don’t want them to go stale."

Truthfully, I just want more people I can geek out about coffee with. Comp—despite appearances—is a green tea person, and King’s apparently into black tea. None of my coffee comrades are outside of cafés!

"Thank you very much. I’ll make a cup as soon as I get home."

"Oh, I’ll write you a note with an easy and tasty brewing method, okay? Since… well, I doubt you’ll be looking it up online, Bourbon-san."

The misunderstanding with Bourbon was cleared up, and I’d successfully expanded the circle of coffee lovers.

And of course, the next thing for me to do was check the NHK Mile Cup entry list in the trainer’s office.

Since I wasn’t racing, I hadn’t bothered to look at it before. Scanning the page now, I spotted Bourbon’s name in the inner gate—number three.

"Hmm… judging from this lineup, the main contenders are Polite Salute, Nereid Rendezvous, and Bourbon, huh?"

Mihono Bourbon’s ability was a head above the rest of her generation. Actually, no—if I barely managed to catch up even after mastering my Unique, isn’t that kind of absurd?

I jotted down a few notes on the entry sheet with a pen, then pulled out the course map for the Tokyo Racecourse, the stage of the NHK Mile Cup.

"No uphill stretch before the goal. Lots of undulations throughout… That downhill just before the third corner’s going to be tricky too. Could turn into a stamina battle?"

If I were the one running, how would I approach it? While thinking through that, I started simulating Bourbon’s race in my head.

That’s when the trainer’s office door opened.

"Hey, Lux. What brings you here? Tokyo Racecourse—ah, you’re analyzing the NHK Mile Cup? But you’re not running, are you?"

"Ah, Bourbon came by earlier. She thought I was entering and looked so sad when she found out I wasn’t… So I figured, at the very least, I’d go watch the race in person."

"And since just watching would be a waste, you’re running predictions on how it’ll play out, right?"

As expected of my trainer—he knows me too well.

Besides, Tokyo’s turf 1600 meters is the same setup as my next race, the Yasuda Kinen. If Bourbon’s running that too, analyzing this one would be valuable prep.

Tokyo’s 1600-meter course is known for its constant elevation changes. The only truly flat stretch is right before the goal.

And with the biggest height difference reaching two meters, this might actually play to Mihono Bourbon’s advantage.

"If you had been running the NHK Mile Cup, Bourbon would’ve been your biggest rival. This course tends to favor late runners, but even accounting for that, Bourbon’s threat level is serious."

It seemed my trainer had reached the same conclusion I had.

One of Mihono Bourbon’s defining traits is that she doesn’t slow down on slopes.

That means on a hilly course like this, she’d be a terrifying force.

People always say I accelerate uphill, but honestly, it’s just that other girls burn through their stamina and slow down while I don’t.

Well—except when I activate my Unique. That’s the real deal; even a mountain slope can’t stop me then.

"Yeah, exactly. The only one who could really challenge Bourbon would be Nereid Rendezvous. She’ll probably go with a mid-pack strategy this time instead of pushing the front."

"Originally, she’s more of a mid-stalker type. Lately, she’s been running closer to the lead to counter Bourbon’s escapes, though."

"Right. But this time, conserving stamina and unleashing everything in the final stretch will be key."

Our analysis wasn’t wrong.

On race day, Mihono Bourbon seized the lead the moment the gates opened and maintained a flawless escape.

"Mihono Bourbon is strong—so strong! The others can’t keep up at all! It’s an overwhelming lead!"

"The Tokyo Racecourse has many ups and downs, and her strength on slopes is really shining through here."

And still, she showed no signs of yielding the lead. Without letting anyone so much as step on her shadow, Bourbon charged across Tokyo’s terrain.

Just as expected. Polite Salute, the second favorite, was also a front-runner, but at this pace, a comeback seemed impossible.

That meant the race would inevitably come down to either Bourbon’s runaway victory—or someone catching her in the final stretch.

"It’s turned into quite a high-paced race, but Mihono Bourbon still hasn’t slowed down! An astonishing display of speed!"

"However, it’s not over yet. The Tokyo straight is long and flat—it’s famous for it. Someone from behind could still make their move."

As the commentator said, Nereid Rendezvous was lurking behind, eyes fixed on Bourbon.

She was clearly conserving her energy, waiting for the perfect timing to unleash her final spurt.

And sure enough, that moment came.

"They round the final corner and enter the home stretch! But wait—there’s a slope here!"

"Mihono Bourbon still isn’t slowing down. Incredible… most front-runners tend to lose speed on this slope, but she just keeps going."

Mihono Bourbon charged up the incline at the start of the straight stretch. Her stride showed not the slightest hint of faltering—exactly what you’d expect from someone nicknamed the “Cyborg.”

And then, from behind, a shadow surged forward at a blistering pace.

Nereid Rendezvous had launched her final spurt, determined not to let Bourbon claim victory uncontested.

"Oh! Nereid Rendezvous is closing in! But there’s still some distance between her and Mihono Bourbon! Can she catch up?!"

But that acceleration wasn’t going to be enough to overtake Mihono Bourbon.

The slopes along the course had drained more of Nereid Rendezvous’s stamina than she realized, leaving her short on speed when it mattered most.

Bourbon, on the other hand, still seemed to have energy in reserve.

The gap between them—three lengths—didn’t close. The two of them raced forward, but Mihono Bourbon maintained her lead all the way to the finish line.

"Mihono Bourbon keeps running! The gap with Nereid Rendezvous isn’t shrinking! This is the true power of the 'Cyborg' Mihono Bourbon!"

"A textbook example of front-running. Catching up to her is truly a monumental challenge."

The first to blaze past the finish post was Mihono Bourbon. A fraction of a second later came Nereid Rendezvous.

"Mihono Bourbon crosses the line in first place! Nereid Rendezvous takes second!"

It was, without question, a dominant victory.

Bourbon had clearly been holding back—if Nereid Rendezvous had gotten any closer, she would’ve found another gear and pulled away again.

If I had been in that race… could I have beaten her?

"Mihono Bourbon’s gotten even stronger than before… She’s definitely a serious threat now."

"Yeah. At this rate, she might awaken soon—like I did."

"You mean that thing you call a ‘Signature’ move, right?"

Bourbon’s Signature. She hasn’t awakened it yet, but even the thought of it is enough to make me nervous.

Seriously, it’s terrifying! In the app version, her Signature was a speed boost on the final straight, if I remember right. So she’d go even faster than this…? That’s nightmare fuel!

"I guess I’ll stick around to watch Bourbon’s victory interview before heading home… She’s honestly kinda scary now."

"Yeah, this means you can’t afford to slack off. Let’s hope you can find something useful in the Yasuda Kinen."

Then came Mihono Bourbon’s victory interview.

Calm and composed as ever, she answered the reporters’ questions one by one.

"That was a phenomenal race. Have you given any thought to your next one?"

Ah, I wanted to hear that too. I forgot to ask when she came by my room earlier. Judging from how she acted, though, I had a feeling…

"My next race will be the Yasuda Kinen."

"The Yasuda Kinen… That’s a Classic-to-Senior tier race. Do you believe you can win it?"

"Yes. I believe victory is my duty and my mission."

Just as I suspected.

Man, the Yasuda Kinen is going to be a battlefield. Mihono Bourbon’s participation is confirmed—and there’s a real chance we’ll see King Halo, Taiki Shuttle, and Grass Wonder joining as well.

Ugh, if I don’t master my Signature soon, I’m not even going to be in the conversation.

"The Yasuda Kinen’s shaping up to be quite the showdown. We might need to rethink our race strategy."

"I want to increase my pair runs to help trigger my Signature… but is anyone even available to train together this season?"

"I’ve already sent out a few requests, just in case, but… the responses haven’t been promising."

Nothing ever goes smoothly, huh?

With only a month left until the Yasuda Kinen, we could only rack our brains and give everything we had to prepare for victory.