Chapter 21: Yayoi Sho and My Greatest Rival

Today, I was actually supposed to be sleeping in the trainer room, but somehow I ended up here at Nakayama Racecourse.

The race called the Yayoi Sho was one I might have participated in originally, but now King-chan and Spe-chan were both running.

Yesterday, King-chan had ordered me to come watch.

Apparently,

"You have a duty to watch this race. I will prove to you that I am worthy of being your rival."

That's what she said.

And when Suzuka-san even asked me to go along, there was no option to say no. She said it was partly to cheer for Spe-chan and partly to scout for next week's race.

I had set my alarm, but it wasn’t enough to wake me, so a fierce kick came flying from next door. Normally, it would have been just a pillow to the face, but the kick came because she’d been frustrated by four consecutive second-place finishes. I had heard that from her trainer when I went to give her some meat recently.

Before the race started, I decided I had to enjoy the food stalls and took my trainer around the grounds. Since I almost never come to Nakayama Racecourse without running myself, everything looked fresh and new.

But no matter what, there were too many people, and it was hard to see.

On top of the crowd, people would stop and stare at me like I was a panda, which made it even harder to get a clear view. They wouldn’t call out to me, but I couldn’t just ignore the little kids waving.

When I waved at a pink-haired horse girl who looked about elementary school age, she nearly fell over clutching her chest. I hope she’s okay.

Eventually, I realized the problem was my height—I was too short to see over the crowd. So I climbed onto my trainer’s shoulders to get a better view as we walked around.

Eel, amberjack, mantis shrimp, crab salad, herring roe on kelp, coffee jelly. Popcorn. And soft meat.

After enjoying all the gourmet food, I met up with Suzuka-san, and also Grass-chan and El-chan, who had come to cheer, and headed to the paddock.

It had been a while since I’d been on the viewing side in the paddock rather than being the one seen.

King-chan and Spe-chan looked more dignified than usual; the contrast with their usual selves was striking.

What surprised me the most was Seiun Sky, the ash-colored horse girl who always fought me for a napping spot. She had appeared in the paddock, and according to Suzuka-san’s trainer, she was one of the strong contenders.

Even in the paddock, she looked sleepy—would she start napping on the grass?

At the race, there was no need to worry. She got off to a great start and took the lead.

King-chan was right behind her, and Spe-chan was running farther back.

They circled the course in those positions, and just as they entered the final stretch, King-chan surged from the outside to take the lead.

The crowd went wild, and I couldn’t hear the sound of their hooves at all. I guess it’s usually quieter on the grass, but the cheering was incredible anyway.

Responding to the crowd, Spe-chan chased fiercely from the outside and finally moved into second place at the final furlong pole.

The distance to King-chan was about four lengths.

Spe-chan gradually closed the gap on the rest, but she reached the goal just as she caught up. Spe-chan had the momentum, but King-chan had already broken ahead, winning by a nose.

Even though the Yayoi Sho was over, my training didn’t stop. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the race.

Because of that, until the next Spring Stakes, I was stuck in a near-daily, grueling training regimen. And it was all swimming, to build stamina.

Every day, from one end of the pool to the other, I’d go butterfly or dog paddle back and forth.

Finally, after exhausting all options, I found a glimmer of hope.

Media appearances.

Until now, my trainer had handled almost everything, and I’d refused most requests. But looking at recent promotions and the amount of merchandise, I could tell there must be plenty of reporters who want to interview me.

If I played it right, I might be able to skip training just by handling interviews.

I even had precedent. Long ago, I had a photoshoot in my racing outfit for merchandise, and training was canceled that day.

Considering this, I boldly told my trainer that I wanted to do an interview.

As expected of a trainer ranked among the “Four Heavenly Kings” alongside the Oni, the Devil, and the English Teacher, the battle was tough. I thought so, but after about five minutes of fussing, he gave up, called someone, and made arrangements. If I didn’t act carefully, the Oni might have declared me the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Either way, I didn’t care—anything that let me skip training was fine.

The reporter came the very next day.

As planned, the interview was set to start one hour after classes ended.

At worst, this would allow me to avoid the pool.

The interview lasted about thirty minutes.

The conversation itself was pretty ordinary—jumping back and forth between racing and daily life—but somehow it passed in the blink of an eye.

I guess reporters really are good at conversation. I found myself adding extra details and talking more than I intended.

Every now and then, my trainer would chime in to clarify something, so whenever it got troublesome, I could just look at him and somehow manage.

As expected, my training was canceled that day.

I managed three interviews and one photoshoot this way, but eventually my trainer put his foot down. He refused all further requests, saying that anything more would interfere with training.

I pouted and protested, but sadly, my complaints were ignored.

The next day, I walked into the classroom and was met by King-chan standing there like a statue.

She had been in an excellent mood ever since winning the Yayoi Sho, and her booming laughter had been louder than ever. But today, her piercing, questioning gaze left me wondering what had suddenly caused this.

Worried that her eyes might be looking past me, I turned around—but no one was there.

When I turned back, she pressed a magazine right in front of my face.

The cover screamed in bold letters: "Hot Today: Uma Musume Special!" Photos of countless horse girls crowded the page, and among them was me, with a headline shouting "Exclusive Interview with Witolum Pedes."

"What on earth is this?"

Her voice carried not anger but something more fragile, like a dam about to break. It wasn’t the usual lecturing tone—there was a kind of earnestness, like a girl who had just caught someone cheating.

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I tilted my head in confusion. She carefully pulled out one of the several sticky notes attached to the magazine and showed me the page.

Sure enough, it was my feature page.

Reading through it, the content was typical for a magazine: my racing history, reasons for attention, how I run—standard stuff. I thought to myself, “They managed to write all this about my ten or so races?” Then I noticed the word Interview.

Ah, so that interview from the other day was already turned into an article.

Then my eyes caught a shocking headline: "Witolum Pedes Only Has Eyes for Seiun Sky." As I read on, I realized the interview sounded oddly familiar.

Witolum Pedes: "I’ve run with King-chan and Spe-chan several times."

Reporter: "Aside from those two, are there any horse girls you’re paying attention to?"

Witolum: "Seiun Sky-san."

Reporter: "She ran a powerful race to finish third. We’re looking forward to seeing her in the Satsuki Sho as well. What’s your impression of her?"

Witolum: "I’ve lost to her a few times, so I want to win next time. She’s my favorite."

Reporter: "Really?! You’ve actually lost to Seiun Sky-san? Then the Yayoi Sho must have been surprising for you."

Witolum: "Yes. I was surprised at the Yayoi Sho."

Reporter: "I see. So it’s a kind of rivalry, then?"

Witolum: "She’s my only rival. I can’t afford to lose if I want a good rest."

Reporter: "So as long as she exists, you can’t sleep soundly. Are there any other horse girls who might become rivals?"

Witolum: "I don’t think so. I don’t see anyone else competing with me."

Reporter: "So you’re saying they’re ‘not on your radar’?"

Witolum: "I think that’s right."

I remembered.

This was the conversation I had with the reporter while my trainer had an upset stomach and was stuck in the bathroom.

At the time, I thought we were talking about how to secure a napping spot on the old science classroom sofa…

Afterward, I tried desperately to explain to King-chan that it was all a misunderstanding, but my efforts were useless. She continued to doubt me until we went together to nap in the old science classroom during lunch break.

In the end, my little trick to skip training had only been temporarily successful.