Chapter 106: The timing’s terrible—absolutely terrible.

The Twinkle Series holds two major fan appreciation festivals every year: the Spring Grand Fan Appreciation Festival in early April, and the Autumn Grand Fan Appreciation Festival in early September.

At its core, the racing business exists because of the fans who support the Uma Musume. This isn’t lip service or a pretty sentiment—it’s an undeniable fact.

The enormous costs of holding races and staging winning lives are covered by ticket sales and merchandise purchased by fans. Take it a step further, and even the operation of Tracen Academy under the URA umbrella depends on that same revenue.

Without the fans’ support, everyone involved in this industry would be unable to continue. We are always dependent on their goodwill.

Given that, it’s only natural—in a sense—to give something back on a regular basis beyond races and lives alone. And that something is the twice-yearly Twinkle Series Fan Appreciation Festival.

So, with that said.

Autumn is fine. Autumn is great.

Early September comes before the autumn G1 races begin. With events like the Sprinters Stakes at the end of September, the Mile Championship Nambu Hai in early October, and the Autumn Tenno Sho at the end of October on the horizon, this is the period when training gradually ramps up.

Since summer training camps run from July through August, the idea is to wrap up the fan appreciation festival after those camps end but before the race schedule truly heats up. In that regard, it’s an extremely rational choice. If I had to pick two dates a year myself, I’d definitely choose this for one of them.

…But spring is a different story.

The Spring Grand Fan Appreciation Festival is held in early April.

And early April lines up perfectly with the Osaka Cup, a senior-class G1 race. On top of that, it clashes with the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and sits uncomfortably close to Classic and Tiara races like the Satsuki Sho and the Oka Sho.

In other words, unlike autumn, the spring festival runs straight into major headline races.

…No matter how many times I think about it, I still don’t get it. Why is this thing scheduled for early April?

The Classic class is still manageable.

Out of consideration for Uma Musume running the Classic Road or Tiara routes, Classic-class runners aren’t forced to submit plans or participate in events at this stage. They’re even allowed to skip the festival entirely.

In fact, Will barely touched the Spring Festival last year, focusing almost exclusively on training to prepare for the rapidly approaching Satsuki Sho.

But once you’re dealing with senior-class Uma Musume, that leniency disappears.

The Fan Appreciation Festival exists, as the name suggests, to show gratitude to the fans. By the time an Uma Musume reaches the senior class—having gone through the Classics, Tiara races, and the Eight Major Races—popularity tends to concentrate heavily on a select few individuals.

If those girls don’t participate, it fails to convey appreciation to the fans. That’s why Uma Musume who’ve won G1 titles or achieved exceptional popularity are required to submit plans or take part in events.

Logically, it makes sense.

If someone like Will, McQueen, or Happy Meek didn’t show up, fans would understandably feel let down.

…But the real problem is the timing.

Early April. A critically important period with numerous G1 races looming. Some G1-class Uma Musume competing in the Osaka Cup or Takamatsunomiya Kinen are forced to head into those races already worn down from fan interactions and event preparation.

Seriously—no matter how you slice it, holding the festival at this time makes no sense. If it were in early March, or ideally mid-February, it would be a huge relief for both trainers and racers.

…Well, complaining won’t change anything.

From what I’ve heard, the URA’s upper management is already aware of these complaints from the field. Apparently, they’d like to change the timing themselves if they could.

Which makes sense—it’s not just the Uma Musume who get busy during this period.

The reason the schedule hasn’t changed despite that is a tangled mess of history, tradition, approvals, and other bureaucratic headaches. Those kinds of issues aren’t easily resolved overnight.

At any rate, the URA understands the heavy burden this places on the Uma Musume. That’s why—even though the timing itself hasn’t changed—the Spring Festival includes certain accommodations.

Chief among them are the academy-hosted, team-based competitive programs, commonly referred to as the Large-Scale Events.

---

"Man, things have been hectic lately."

The man standing beside me says this while leaning against the fence. He’s a fellow trainer from my cohort—the trainer for Nice Nature and Rice Shower—and it’s been a while since we last met in person.

When was the last time, anyway… a month ago? He’d mentioned that the sub-trainer assigned to him was better suited for investigative work than daily duties, so he’d been holed up in the trainers’ office buried in paperwork. Looks like he finally made it outside today.

Honestly, it’s been even longer since I last saw him looking this healthy. At the end of last year, he looked like he was on death’s door. But between getting used to the job and this relatively calmer period, his complexion has improved a lot.

Of course, Rice’s Classic races are about to begin, so he’ll be busy again soon.

He’s my fellow trainer—the one supporting both Nature and Rice.

Ever since we trained together for our exclusive contracts, we’ve ended up spending a lot of time together. Last year it was Will and Nature as rivals; this year it’s Bourbon and Rice. That kind of overlap plays a role, but honestly? Our personalities just click.

So today, on the day of the Spring Festival, we decided to watch the events our trainees are participating in together. That’s why the two of us are standing here, looking out over the grounds.

"This time of year is always frantic. We’ve been scrambling to prepare for the festival, and four days from now it’s already the Osaka Cup."

"I’ve got Rice’s Satsuki Sho coming up too, and after that it’s the Derby. No room to relax. That said, Nature’s taking a full break, so my workload’s less than half of yours, Horino. …Wait. That means you’re doing twice the work I am. Are you some kind of superhuman?"

"I’m just an ordinary guy. …Though I’ve put in my fair share of effort."

"Oh? That’s a rare thing to hear you say, Horino."

"Is it?"

Effort isn’t really something you brag about. Still, it’s the kind of thing you can admit around someone you’re comfortable joking with.

As I tilt my head, Nature’s trainer gives a small shake of his and smoothly changes the subject.

"So—which events is Hoshino Wilm joining?"

I think about the events my trainee is participating in.

"Will’s in the morning presence-cutting challenge, two mock races at noon, and the ball-toss event in the afternoon."

"Whoa, that’s a lot. Honestly, kind of surprising."

Yeah. I get why he’d say that. A month ago, I never would’ve imagined it turning out like this either.

At the Spring Festival, beyond the events proposed by individual Uma Musume, there are also large-scale programs hosted by the academy.

Put simply, participating Uma Musume are divided into three teams—red, blue, and yellow—representing the Three Goddesses. They compete in various match-style events, earn points, and aim for team victory.

If you imagine a typical school sports festival or field day, you’re pretty much on the mark.

One key difference is that participation isn’t mandatory for all students. This is just one of many available programs, and naturally, individual Uma Musume and teams host plenty of their own events as well.

Junior-class and Classic-class students aren’t required to submit plans or participate either. As a result, overall participation in the large-scale events sits at around twenty to thirty percent.

That’s not particularly high compared to typical school events—but considering that still amounts to roughly thirty percent of the entire student body, it’s undeniably large-scale.

Another defining feature is that competitions aren’t limited to physical events.

Even within Central Tracen Academy, some Uma Musume possess G1-level athletic ability, while others don’t. If everything were purely athletic, the spotlight would fall exclusively on G1-class runners.

To avoid that, the large-scale events include a wide range of competitions beyond physical ones. Rapid-fire quizzes, speed puzzle-solving, eating contests, and even more unusual events like the Miss Contest (Miss Tracen Contest) are all part of the lineup.

It’s a team competition that tests not just athleticism, but knowledge, charm, luck, and appetite—a festive, student-like showdown.

The biggest advantage of these large-scale events is that neither trainers nor Uma Musume have to plan or prepare them themselves.

For trainers, there’s no advance paperwork or processing. For the Uma Musume, the time that would’ve gone into preparation can instead be used for training and final workouts.

Each individual event lasts at most around fifteen minutes, and participating in just one or two greatly reduces physical and mental fatigue.

In that sense, these events are meant as a consideration for us.

…At least, they’re supposed to be.

"Well, it’s the URA… They can’t exactly have most of the Horse of the Year candidates skip out."

"Yeah… I really do sympathize."

Unfortunately, when your trainee is Will—Hoshino Wilm, the second undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume in history—consideration only goes so far.

Her current popularity and the public attention surrounding her are frankly absurd.

After her loss at last year’s Arima Kinen, it seemed like the hype around Will had finally cooled off a bit… or so we thought. Instead, deeper analysis of the race spread the narrative that she narrowly lost while lacking her trainer and facing back-to-back races against Silence Suzuka and Special Week.

The otherworldly runaway and Japan’s greatest Uma Musume. A genuine monster capable of forcing those two—arguably the strongest active runners in Japan—to the brink.

A being who overturns the impossible, a star-bright ash-colored dragon, a living myth.

That’s the image Hoshino Wilm now carries.

Naturally, the URA wants to push her front and center. At the peak of popularity, the strongest reigning champion—there’s no better figure to energize the Twinkle Series. Someone like her won’t appear again for ten… no, probably twenty years.

That holds true for the Fan Appreciation Festival as well.

Right now, there’s no doubt she has the largest fanbase in Japan. Her running, her looks, her voice, her dancing, her movements, her personality, her interactions—every gesture captivates people.

Of course fans want to see her appear and shine at the festival. Which is why the URA and Tracen Academy want her participating in as many events as possible.

…Still, I never expected her to end up in four events when the usual expectation is one or two.

Well, to be fair, they approached us incredibly politely with a "We’d be so happy if she could do three…" And we’re the ones who pushed further, so I can’t exactly complain.

"Still, it’s all athletic events. For Nature, they specifically asked us not to lean too heavily into physical stuff, so she’s doing things like 'Measuring Local Love! One-on-One Rapid-Fire Quiz.'"

"Yeah… this was Will’s request. I had to push the URA a bit."

Originally, Will was limited to one athletic event.

The reason is simple—her physical abilities are so overwhelming that she risks turning any competition into a one-sided affair.

At this festival, fans come to see their favorite Uma Musume—but in the large-scale events, they also want close, exciting matches. Since it’s a three-team competition, a nail-biter is far more engaging than a total blowout.

That’s why exceptionally strong Uma Musume are sometimes asked to limit their participation in athletic events. It’s more of a request than a mandate, so you can refuse if you really push back—but still.

So why is Will in four athletic events? And why did I allow it?

There’s a very deep reason.

"Trainer… I want to do more athletic events…"

"Even so, those are the URA’s orders…"

"'Reward Ticket.'"

"…Okay."

And that’s how it went.

After receiving Will’s request, I humbled myself and begged the URA until they finally approved her participation in four athletic events.

In exchange, I got saddled with a few personal jobs… but for my adorable trainee, it couldn’t be helped.

…That said, I really don’t think there’s any demand for trainer ASMR recordings. Honestly, it’s mortifying, and I want to back out even now. I’ve barely done any acting, and the result is almost guaranteed to be laughably bad.

Anyway—setting my personal woes aside.

That’s why Will is participating in four athletic events today.

As her main trainer, I’ll naturally be watching over her and standing by in case anything happens.

Meanwhile, Bourbon—still carrying some fatigue from her recent race—won’t be participating. Instead, she’ll be enjoying the festival with Sakura Bakushin O, whom she apparently grew closer to after their last race.

As for Masa, once she finishes up her remaining work, she plans to look around the events in her own way.

I feel like it would be fine for her to take today off at least, but Masa’s far too serious for her own good.

When I suggested, "Why not push the remaining work to the day after tomorrow and just enjoy the festival today?" she brushed me off with a curt "Shut up."

Big brother here is worried about his overworking little sister.

As I’m mulling that over absentmindedly, the man beside me speaks up.

"So, Presence Cutting, huh. It’s a tricky event where luck and technique really intertwine. I’m guessing all eyes are on Hoshino Wilm—but do you think she can win?"

Presence Cutting.

Put simply, it’s a game where participants wear blindfolds, hold soft batons, and try to strike their opponent by relying on sound alone.

Swing the baton carelessly, and the whooshing air immediately gives away your position. Even something as simple as walking feeds information to your opponent. As a result, both sides move with extreme caution… but with vision completely cut off, it’s not uncommon for someone to think they’re facing their opponent when they’re actually turned in a completely different direction.

That awkward absurdity is part of the fun.

Compared to humans, Presence Cutting tends to flow more smoothly when played by Uma Musume. Their hearing is far superior, allowing them to gather far more information about their opponent.

That said, losing vision—the sense they rely on most—is still a massive handicap, so the match inevitably turns surreal regardless.

"No, she’ll win. It’s Hoshino Wilm."

"That’s some serious confidence. …Honestly, I kind of get it."

If you asked people in Japan today, “Which Uma Musume is hardest to imagine losing?”, the first names you’d hear would be Symboli Rudolf and Hoshino Wilm.

And that image isn’t misplaced.

Even if the competition isn’t a race—even if it’s Presence Cutting—she’ll win.

That’s what I believe. There’s something about her that makes you believe it.

…Or maybe I’m just hopelessly biased.

"…Well, that said, she actually lost when we practiced yesterday."

"She lost? Ah—to Mihono Bourbon?"

"No. To me."

"To you?!"

Hey—was that really so shocking? That’s kind of rude, you know?

"I come from a proper family and I’ve trained in self-defense, you know? That reaction stings a little."

"Does learning self-defense really make you good at Presence Cutting…?"

"It does. There’s training that focuses on fighting without relying on vision, and once you go far enough, you start picking up on an opponent’s presence. Besides, Horino-style self-defense mainly uses baton techniques with special batons. It actually meshes pretty well with Presence Cutting."

"I… I see…"

Yesterday’s practice was a full test run in the trainers’ office with the four of us from my camp.

First, I caught Masa off guard—she’d trained in self-defense too—and took her out. Then I used a feint on a shaken Will to bring her down.

After that, I ended up in a standoff with Bourbon, who recovered instantly and locked down her defense. After about five minutes of probing, I finally managed to land a single clean hit.

Uma Musume hearing and strength are terrifying, but when they lack martial training, have their vision sealed, and are handed a difficult-to-handle urethane baton, their threat level drops—at least to some extent.

Bourbon, who stayed calm and adapted, was dangerous—but just barely, my accumulated training won out.

"…I didn’t realize there were physical competitions where you could beat an Uma Musume."

"It really depends on the situation. …Seriously."

Yes—exactly that. Situation and conditions.

Under the same conditions as today’s actual event, I would’ve been taken out instantly by Will.

---

After chatting with my friend for a while, the start time for Presence Cutting finally draws near.

Fans begin gathering around us, eager to catch even a glimpse of the Uma Musume.

Whether it’s because this is the Central Fan Appreciation Festival—or simply because it’s Hoshino Wilm—

Before we realize it, a crowd on par with an official race has formed around us.

"…That many people?"

"Outside of the noon mock races, which are always popular, it’s rare to see this many spectators. …Well, I get why people would want to see Hoshino Wilm do Presence Cutting."

Technically, three Presence Cutting matches are being held simultaneously in adjacent sections—but it’s obvious that Will’s match is drawing the most attention.

Not quite rush-hour train levels, but packed tightly enough that you can’t even shift sideways.

That’s the crowd now surrounding Will’s field.

"Good thing the field’s wide. If it were smaller, people in the back wouldn’t be able to see a thing."

"They probably designed it with that in mind. Classic Symboli Rudolf—neither too narrow nor too wide. Flawless."

This Presence Cutting match is being held on a fairly large field.

All participants are racing Uma Musume, meaning they possess heightened hearing and are unlikely to completely lose track of one another. To allow the match to function properly, a wide field makes sense.

And as he said, if it were too cramped, spectators in the back wouldn’t be able to see. A certain minimum diameter is necessary.

Even considering how vast Tracen Academy’s grounds are, dedicating this much space to a single event feels extravagant.

But that’s not the most surprising part.

"Now then! The Spring Grand Fan Appreciation Festival—Presence Cutting, C Block—will begin shortly! Hosoe-san, how do you see this match playing out?"

"Naturally, all eyes are on Hoshino Wilm. She looks fired up today—great expression."

"Hoshino Wilm represents the Red Team, currently in first place with a slight lead over the Yellow Team in second. Can she widen the gap here?"

…Somehow, there’s full professional commentary.

Wait—aren’t events like this usually narrated by enthusiastic student volunteers shouting things like “Go Blue Team!”?

Why is a famous commentator who regularly works official races here? Did they actually hire her—for the fan festival?

A massive field, Hoshino Wilm participating, hordes of fans watching—and now professional commentary on top of it all.

Naturally, the atmosphere around us has grown intense.

"This doesn’t really feel like a student festival anymore…"

"It’s basically an official match… no, considering the event, more like an arena. Feels like betting could start any second."

"There’s an official notice banning betting on races, but does that apply here?"

"…If someone can swallow the shame of betting on a student sword-fighting game, I guess?"

Most people are here purely to enjoy themselves, so nothing like that should actually happen.

As I think that and scan the crowd—

I spot a chestnut-colored Uma Musume I recognize.

"…Tokai Teio?"

A friend and rival of Hoshino Wilm.

A front-running Uma Musume who’ll be competing against her in the Osaka Cup four days from now.

I assumed she’d come as Will’s friend to cheer her on…

But contrary to my expectations, her gaze is sharp—focused, serious.

---

And then, finally, the Presence Cutting match my trainee is participating in begins.

Following the lively commentary explaining the rules, each Uma Musume ties on a black blindfold, grips their baton—a safe design that only makes you go “Ow” when hit—and spins in place to throw off their sense of direction.

Some of them wobble, dizzy—but Will regains her composure almost immediately, tightening her grip on the baton.

As expected of a top-tier racing Uma Musume. Her sense of balance is rock solid.

And the fact that Wilm had already regained her balance meant—

"Yeah. It’s over."

"Huh?"

After giving her head a light shake, Wilm broke into a run.

The Presence Cutting field this time was quite large. Large enough that an Uma Musume could jog lightly without any trouble.

And the fact that Wilm could run meant, in other words—

Thwack.

A crisp impact rang out across the field.

First down—Wilm struck the Uma Musume who had been closest to her.

Then, resetting her stance immediately, another. And another.

As the pleasantly sharp sounds of defeat echoed one after another, Wilm mercilessly cut down the confused girls. Her movements were flawlessly precise, as if she could see everything.

"Uh, um…"

"Unexpected… no, beyond what we expected?"

"…Yeah. Honestly, I didn’t think it would go this far."

At an easy jogging pace, yet with absolute certainty, Wilm advanced toward the remaining Uma Musume.

Watching this, the stunned spectators finally began to murmur in confusion. For someone whose vision was sealed, her movements were far too accurate. Could it be that her blindfold wasn’t secure—could she actually see?

Almost the moment that doubt surfaced, the situation changed.

Behind Wilm, an Uma Musume she hadn’t struck—no, one she had deliberately ignored—moved.

Until then, she had remained perfectly still, observing the situation. Sensing that something abnormal was unfolding, she swung her baton toward Wilm, guided either by instinct or by the sound of her footsteps.

A surprise attack from a perfect blind spot—one no one could react to, even with full vision.

Every spectator watching was convinced of Wilm’s defeat…

…And yet.

From behind, the invisible strike came—

And Wilm slipped past it smoothly.

Dodging something that would have been impossible to predict even without a blindfold laid bare just how abnormal Wilm truly was.

…No, even before that, everyone should have felt something was off.

Up until now, every Uma Musume Wilm had attacked had been moving. She hadn’t made any attempt to strike those who stood perfectly still, carefully observing the situation. More than that, it was as if she hadn’t even noticed their existence.

That’s right. Wilm wasn’t seeing anything.

She was reacting to movement—to the sounds it produced.

From there on, Wilm’s extraordinary onslaught continued.

Jogging across the field—thwack, thwack, thwack.

She effortlessly dodged panicked, sloppy attacks, caught precise strikes aimed by sound, deflected them—and then delivered decisive blows. She scattered her rivals without mercy.

“This is terrifying momentum! Can she see!? No—even if she could, dodging this cleanly would be impossible!”

“So this is the true power of the Ashen Dragon, Hoshino Wilm. As if being unable to see is no handicap at all—how in the world is she pulling off the impossible?”

As for how—the answer is simple.

While running, she gathers information not through sight, but through hearing.

When Hoshino Wilm is in motion, her hearing sharpens dramatically. More specifically, within a radius of ten lengths—roughly twenty-five meters—she can distinguish whose footsteps she’s hearing, and even tell whether an opponent still has composure to spare.

She herself once reasoned, “The reason ‘Thought Acceleration’ only lasts thirty seconds is probably because my brain hits its limit. Enhancing auditory processing to this degree doesn’t put nearly as much strain on me, so maybe a small part of ‘Thought Acceleration’ is always active.” But well—the theory itself isn’t what matters here.

In other words, for a running Wilm, having her vision blocked isn’t a major disadvantage.

As long as the field is wide enough to run—and it is—Presence Slashing becomes a match where she alone effectively has sight… no, considering she can also detect sounds from behind, it’s an even more advantageous situation than that.

Of course, opponents who make no sound—who remain completely still—are harder for her to notice. Even so, the informational advantage she holds over the other girls is overwhelming.

Naturally, that leads to one-sided domination.

With their primary source of information—vision—sealed away, the other Uma Musume are overwhelmed without ever fully grasping what’s happening.

“…She really shows no mercy, Hoshino Wilm.”

“Yeah…”

An exasperated voice came from beside me.

Honestly, I agree—it does feel a bit unsporting. She’s already a top-tier racing Uma Musume with absurd physical abilities. Add in her one-of-a-kind information-gathering ability, and no one stands a chance.

And to make matters worse, although I told her not to use it today, she hates losing. If she sensed even the slightest chance of defeat, she’d activate “Thought Acceleration” without hesitation.

At that point… there’d be no hope at all.

When Thought Acceleration is active, the range of what Wilm can perceive through sound expands dramatically, and she stops wavering mentally altogether—or rather, she can stabilize herself within her accelerated thoughts.

In one-on-one combat, where inducing hesitation and psychological disturbance is key, that’s an absurdly powerful advantage.

Her biggest flaw—more accurately, her limitation—is that both her enhanced hearing and Thought Acceleration only function while she’s running.

That’s why yesterday, in the cramped trainer’s room with no space to move, she ended up getting taken out by me.

It really is a matter of timing and circumstances.

Seeing advantages and disadvantages swing this drastically depending on conditions is pretty rare.

As we watched Wilm’s one-sided rampage, I chatted with my colleague.

“But still, it’s a little surprising. I thought she liked evenly matched fights—she doesn’t strike me as someone who enjoys one-sided victories…”

“That part’s on me… yeah. She didn’t seem very fired up with the race coming up, so I told her, ‘If you win every event you enter, I’ll prepare a reward.’”

“So she got serious. …Well, the fans are loving it, so I guess it’s fine.”

At that moment, Wilm struck down the final remaining opponent, and the match ended.

The result: a decisive finish in just under twenty-three seconds.

A completely one-sided bout, with no time to even catch a breath.

The fans watching were ecstatic.

Most of them had come to see Wilm—and her performance—and being shown domination far beyond expectations, their excitement was only natural.

Even so, many must be wondering how she achieved such a victory…

But I’ll be giving them an answer to that soon enough.

“But still—are you sure this was a good idea? Anyone with sharp instincts could use this as a major clue to figure out her peculiarity, you know?”

Lowering his voice so no one else could hear, Nature’s trainer said that to me.

He’s one of the people who—together with Nature, who had been Wilm’s rival last year—figured out the sharpness of Wilm’s hearing at a very early stage. As a trainer whose charge stood in direct rivalry with mine, he showed no mercy in uncovering secrets…

And yet, at the same time, he’s my colleague, my peer, and a longtime friend.

That’s exactly why he’s frowning over this move—one that could potentially put my team at a disadvantage.

…Yeah. He really is a good guy.

Cold-blooded enough to choose any means necessary for the sake of his trainee, yet earnest enough to never shy away from effort. He draws a clean line between his charge and his personal feelings, treating each as its own matter.

That, too, is something I genuinely respect about him.

But—

This time in particular, his concern is unnecessary.

“It’s fine. I was planning to make it public soon anyway.”

“…You mean, that her hearing’s exceptional?”

“Yeah. Once you attract this much attention, any G1-class trainer or Uma Musume is going to study her thoroughly. There’s no hiding it anymore. So I figured—we might as well reveal it in a flashy way.”

“I see… Being in the spotlight really isn’t all upside, is it?”

Saying that, my colleague nodded.

…He must’ve had his fair share of trouble once Nature became famous, too.

Ever since Wilm gained notoriety, I’ve had my own headaches—strange fan letters, questionable fan behavior, social media posts, message boards… all sorts of things.

“…If I had to be greedy, I wish we’d gotten a little more used to being trainers before taking charge of girls like them.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I put Nature through a lot of trouble because of that…”

We exchanged wry smiles.

---

A few hours after Wilm’s overwhelming victory in Presence Slashing—

I praised her thoroughly, ruffling her head as she radiated a blatant “praise me more” aura. We grabbed an early lunch together—homemade by yours truly—in preparation for the afternoon mock races.

After finishing various preparations, Wilm and I began our strategy meeting for today’s mock race.

…Though, honestly, calling it a strategy meeting might be generous this time.

One of the large-scale events organized by Tracen Academy itself, the mock race differs from the usual format. Uma Musume and trainers can’t choose their opponents.

Instead, participants are broadly ranked using the academy’s rough classification system, then matched almost entirely at random through a lottery.

The problem is that the highest rank in this system is defined as “Uma Musume with experience winning a graded race.”

Even a single G3 victory automatically places you into this top tier.

…Which is to say—

“This time, even the strongest opponent hasn’t won a G2 yet. Even without any special preparation, there’s basically no way you lose with your specs. To avoid unnecessary information leakage, don’t use your Domain, Thought Acceleration, or that other thing… Run without them.”

Well… to put it bluntly, this mock race tends to turn into something resembling bullying the weak every year.

There are usually around a hundred mock races held besides the one Wilm participates in, but according to veteran trainers, for G3–G2-level Uma Musume, the prevailing mood is basically “please don’t get matched against a G1-class runner.”

…Am I the only one who thinks the ranking system could use some revision?

It might sound disrespectful to the other entrants, but frankly, there’s no reason to make Wilm go all out in this race.

At this point, Wilm’s running is worth more than vast fortunes—both as the run of the Ashen Dragon, and as research material.

Showing her true power here would be equivalent to handing other teams a massive informational advantage.

As a trainer, I can’t let her cross that line needlessly.

On top of that, the Osaka Cup is right around the corner—just four days away.

Letting fatigue build up here would be practically synonymous with defeat.

That’s why this time, she holds back.

No full power. Aim for a comfortable win—about a five- to six-length margin.

I’d already gotten Wilm’s agreement on this point too (after several dozen minutes of careful mood management), but—

During the strategy meeting, Wilm was looking down, lost in thought.

Then, after she finished listening to me—

With a resolute expression, she said this.

“Just one race. Just one… Would it really be so bad if I went all out?”

---

That day’s first mock race.

Hoshino Wilm ran with both her Domain and her new trump card sealed away—

And still won in overwhelming fashion, finishing more than twenty lengths ahead of second place.

…I really hate how soft I am when it comes to that girl.