Chapter 50: Make Debut – Tokai Teio

The Sprinters Stakes had ended, and the season was beginning to turn toward autumn. I’d come to watch a race.

Not for reconnaissance this time.

The battlefield today was Chukyo Racecourse—turf, 2000 meters. Mid-distance. No rivals of mine were entered this time. Well, maybe King Halo could have joined, but she’s been sticking to mile and sprint races lately.

So, who did I come to watch, then…?

"The top favorite for today’s race—Tokai Teio! The beloved protégé of Symboli Rudolf, aiming for an undefeated Triple Crown!"

"She’s really popular, huh, Teio."

"Of course she is! As the commentator said, she’s got Symboli Rudolf’s full endorsement! Plus, she’s my test subject!"

"Is that really something to be proud of? The magazines called your last experiment ‘disturbing’—the one where the poor girl was running around with electrodes on her head?"

Hey, don’t look away! Ugh—whatever. Focus on the race first.

I turned my eyes back to the turf.

Tokai Teio’s make debut was about to begin.

The weather was clear, but the track was heavy. Using the “Teio Step” here would strain her ankles.

I’d tried imitating that move during the Sprinters Stakes, but using it in an actual race was extremely risky.

Even I—while in my Zone—could only maintain it for a few seconds. Honestly, no sane Uma Musume would ever try it.

"So, does she have a strategy? It won’t be easy, you know. With this much attention, the others will be marking her hard."

"No need to worry! Teio-kun’s been through intensive training. Hehehe… Time to show you the fruits of my research!"

"…Why do I suddenly feel uneasy?"

No, that feeling definitely wasn’t just my imagination.

On the track, Teio was bouncing lightly on her hooves, warming up.

It kind of looked like prep for the Teio Step—but something felt off. What’s she doing?

"All right, time to load into the gate. So, what kind of race do you think Teio-kun will run?"

"Hmm… I’d say a front-runner. Stick close behind the escape horse, then overtake on the final straight—that’s the safest bet."

Agnes Tachyon grinned at that.

"As expected of my No.2 guinea pig! Sharp as always! I was planning that—at first."

"I knew it—wait, at first?"

"Teio-kun said she wanted to try mimicking a certain someone’s running style."

All the Uma Musume were now in the gate. A few seconds later—clang!—the metal doors burst open.

The race began. Only half of them managed a clean start—well, it was their debut, so that’s to be expected.

And Teio… what the—!? Why is she back there!?

"She’s with the rear pack!? Did Teio-san botch the start!?"

"That’s what it looks like, huh? Well, just watch."

The race moved through the opening and middle stages without much excitement.

With the heavy favorite, Teio, showing such a lackluster performance, the crowd’s disappointment was palpable.

She wasn’t making any moves forward, just hovering in the back.

Then I noticed the stopwatch in Tachyon’s hand.

"Wait… that time—she’s fast?"

"Oh? You noticed? You’ve got a bit of experience with this sort of thing yourself, haven’t you?"

"No way…"

No, no, no, no! Pulling that off in your debut? Impossible!

Even I had to run alongside Café and analyze Symboli Rudolf’s races to—

Run with Café… analyze Rudolf’s data…?

"That can’t be—but theoretically…"

"When you eliminate all impossibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. That’s what it means."

"…"

Yeah. I just realized it again.

Agnes Tachyon and Tokai Teio—absolute geniuses. Both of them, without question.

The race appeared uneventful until the final stretch.

"And here comes Tokai Teio from the back of the pack! What an incredible charge!"

"The Teio Step’s taking shape too—look at that acceleration!"

Leaving the others behind in a blur, Teio rocketed forward, seizing the lead in an instant.

That fierce comeback—I recognized it all too well.

"So she copied my running style. I’m impressed—Teio-san must’ve found it pretty difficult to replicate."

"Indeed. Making her run entirely by logic didn’t work, so I let her handle the critical parts herself and drilled the rest into her body. Still, I doubt she can adapt it much further."

Then Teio’s body began to spring rhythmically again—almost bouncing with power. Her acceleration surged to a new level. That was the Teio Step.

Using her supple ankles, she generated terrifying speed.

And yet, I could tell she was reducing the strain on her legs by adjusting her body’s movement just right. Though naturally, her acceleration wasn’t as sharp as the true version.

"Even so… to come this far…"

Seriously, who could’ve imagined she’d reach that level in such a short time?

"Thanks to your data, I learned quite a lot. Though, even Teio-kun could only grasp the surface of it."

"‘The surface,’ huh…"

"Exactly. Your move is refined to the extreme—minimizing presence and stamina loss. It’s impossible to imitate completely."

"Ah… yeah."

Even for me, without entering my Zone, the success rate was under 20%.

A junior-class Uma Musume shouldn’t be able to copy a technique like that. Especially one who hasn’t even begun to grasp the essence of her Zone.

Depending on its direction, she might never be able to replicate it in her lifetime.

Still—Tokai Teio was astounding.

Once she took the lead, she stormed past the finish line all on her own.

"Dominant victory! Tokai Teio was unstoppable! A performance that promises great things for her future races!"

"So that’s how it is. Look, Teio-kun’s flashing a peace sign at us—aren’t you going to return it?"

…Please don’t. That’s embarrassing.

If Agnes Tachyon allowed that kind of running, then the strain on her ankles must’ve been within acceptable limits. In that case, there’s nothing more for me to say.

"I won! I won! Wasn’t that amazing, wasn’t it!?"

"Looks like you followed my instructions and refrained from using the original Teio Step, hmm?"

"Yup! I had to think so hard during the race my head still hurts… I seriously need some honey drink to recover!"

It won’t be long before Tokai Teio makes her name known as a G1 Uma Musume. Her performance made that future easy to imagine.

"Hey hey hey! After the live show, let’s go get some honey drink! You too, Lux!"

"I don’t mind, but…"

"Yay! I’ll finish the live quick, so wait for me, okay?"

"Make sure to change into your live outfit first, Teio-kun. You can’t go on stage dressed like that."

"Okaaay!"

And for the record—Teio’s live performance was flawless.

"Hachimi~ ♪ Haaachimi~ ♪"

"Teio-san, you really love that honey drink, don’t you? I have it sometimes too, but I’m more of a coffee person."

"I drink my honey every single day! Fufun, it’s the secret to the future Triple Crown Uma Musume’s strength!"

The “hachimi” Teio mentioned was a honey-based energy drink—famous from both the anime and the game versions for its ridiculous impact.

Yeah, and Oguri Cap actually finishes an entire one of those monster-sized cups. I glanced at the display samples near the register and couldn’t help thinking—those “Chomolungma” cups are practically the size of my and Teio’s faces combined.

"I’ll have it strong, thick, and heavy! Regular size!"

"I, uh… hmm…"

I hesitated. Probably safest just to match her order.

"Then, strong, thick, and heavy for me too."

"Got it! I’ll have those ready in a moment."

From the drink server, a thick, amber-colored liquid oozed into the cups.

We took them and sat down on a nearby bench, sipping through our straws.

"Whoa, that’s so strong… It’s pure sugar overload."

"Mmm! That’s what makes it work! Well? Isn’t it good?"

"It is good, but… isn’t this bad for your health if you drink it every day? I’m sure this is way too much sugar."

"I burn it all off during races, so it’s fine! I used my brain a ton today too!"

Well, she had a point there. Racing takes a lot of mental effort. After a run, I always crave something sweet myself. I even started keeping sugary snacks stocked in the waiting room lately.

Given how much thinking goes into her running form and her Zone, Teio probably uses her brain even more than most Uma Musume.

"Ugh, this is my first time trying the strong version—it’s so thick it clings to my throat… How do you drink this every day? Even a normal one feels like overkill once a day."

"Huh? I drink two cups a day, sometimes more!"

…What? Seriously!? And Tachyon just lets her do that!?

I immediately messaged Tachyon, and her reply came back with just two words: “No problem.”

Right. I’d almost forgotten—Tachyon’s the kind of person who replaces full meals with some kind of blended nutrient paste. As long as the nutritional balance checks out, she probably doesn’t care what form it takes.

…Though I’m not entirely convinced the “balance” part is actually fine here.

"So, uh, what about your meals, then?"

"Oh, Café-senpai handles that for me! She said she adjusts my meals to balance things out since I drink so much hachimi."

If Café’s the one managing it, then it’s probably fine… I think. At least, that’s what I told myself to relax.

Maybe I was low on sugar too—after all that mental strain from watching the race, I definitely felt calmer now.

"Come to think of it, you drink hachimi too, huh, Lux? I always thought you were a coffee-only type."

"Well, I suppose so. But I do love sweets, you know. I’ve got a whole stash of tea snacks to go with my coffee."

"Really!? Then that means if I go to your room, I can eat as many as I want!"

"No, absolutely not. There’s no ‘all you can eat’ policy…"

She always buys them along with her coffee beans, so some of those sweets are actually pretty pricey. Having someone devour them without restraint would be unacceptable.

Not to mention, a few of them are reserved specifically for serving to her trainer.

"So going to your room is fine then! Alright, I’m coming over next time!"

"At least give me some notice first, please…?"

Honestly, Teio sure is pushy!

She might look like a brat, but she’s incredibly sociable. Or rather… when it comes to racing, her selfishness really shows. That’s probably why she has plenty of friends but no dedicated trainer.

No wonder Symboli Rudolf always has a headache dealing with her. In that sense, it was a stroke of luck that she ended up partnered with Agnes Tachyon.

"Then let’s head to Lux’s room right now! Hehe, maybe I’ll just beat Lux up again today! Oh, I’m gonna swing by my room to grab my game first!"

"Sigh… well, fine. Just don’t make a mess, alright?"

"Of course! I know at least that much!"

"If you say so."

Well, it’s not so bad.

Having Teio look up to her like this doesn’t feel unpleasant at all.

And now she understood why Teio had praised her so much back when she imitated Symboli Rudolf’s running style.

It felt good—having a fellow Uma Musume who carried on her spirit.

Thinking that, Lux hurried after Teio, who had already sprinted off down the Uma-Musume-only lane.

【Debut Race Result】Tokai Teio Storms from Behind for a Convincing Victory

○ Month ○ Day – 16:50 Release | 38 Comments | UmaMusu.com

Tokai Teio dazzled at center stage during her winner’s live performance.

At today’s debut race held at Chukyo Racecourse, the heavy favorite Tokai Teio, who had fallen behind in the early stages, launched a fierce comeback down the stretch to seize victory. She crossed the finish line five lengths ahead of the fourth favorite, Jazz Step, to claim first place. The winning time was 2 minutes 05.2 seconds on a muddy track.

Tokai Teio, who proudly refers to herself as “the future undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume,” is well-known for her close friendship with Symboli Rudolf. She is frequently seen training alongside her teammate Agnes Tachyon, further fueling expectations for her future performances.

She told reporters that her remarkable late surge on the final straight was powered by her original technique, which she calls the “Teio Step.”

Her next race has yet to be decided. However, Teio hinted that she’s keeping her schedule flexible, with the Grade I Hopeful Stakes already under consideration.

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