Chapter 12: Brat… Keep messing around and I’ll make you run faster.

In this world, everything ultimately comes down to winning or losing.
If you race, there will always be one first place—and everyone else who isn’t.
Holding hands and crossing the finish line together is something only elementary kids can get away with. At Tracen Academy, where even enrollment requires middle-school level and above, a staged result like that would never be permitted.

What the audience—and more than anyone, the racers themselves—want is a blood-stirring, heart-pounding clash. A battle where they tear through each other with everything their technique and bodies can offer.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who get hurt watching it.
For example, weaklings like me.

It’s honestly awful; I was born into a prestigious family of trainers, yet my personality is apparently not suited for being one at all.

…And yet.

There’s still a line I have to draw.
I’ve known for a long time that I’m not suited to be Horino’s trainer.
It’s precisely to smother that weakness that I put on the mask.

"Go win, Hoshino Wilm."

"Yes. I will."

With that, my charge hops over the outer rail and lines up at the white starting line.
She’s probably pushing down her emotions just like I am.

…Maybe she and I are more alike than I thought.
The thought crosses my mind for only a moment.

"Hmmph! I’m totally winning again today!"

"Well… now that it’s come to this, I just gotta do it…!"

"…It’s cold."

And with that, the stage is set.
Hundreds—yes, hundreds—of spectators watch from the sidelines.
The three-runner mock race is about to begin.

Time rewinds a little.

It was around the time the Yayoi Sho was drawing near.
That day, for once, I found myself watching Hoshino Wilm’s training.

I’d finished all the paperwork I needed to handle, and the useful parts of my research were wrapped up as well.
With nothing else to do, I figured it was better to observe her training than waste the time doing nothing.

…Not that observing training means much to someone like me—someone who reincarnated with an “app interface.”
Right now, I can literally see Hoshino Wilm’s remaining stamina, her failure rate, and her stat growth.
Watching her run through the corner is basically just me pretending I’m working.

While my eyes follow the chestnut color of her coat, my mind drifts to what lies ahead.
The Yayoi Sho, and beyond that, the Satsuki Sho.
Both are run on the same course as the Hopeful Stakes she competed in at the end of last year.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Hoshino Wilm already has more experience than the ones who didn’t run it.
Which means what I need to consider now is stability—and… unconventional tactics.

"…Hmm."

Hoshino Wilm is one of the pair known as the two strongest of her generation. Her spotlight is second only to Teio’s.
For both the Yayoi Sho and the Satsuki Sho, the other entrants will study her runs, pick apart her strengths, and probe for her weaknesses.
The Yayoi Sho might only be a G2, but the Satsuki Sho is one of the most prominent G1 races in the country. There’s a high chance someone will show up specifically to shut her down.

Up until now, Hoshino Wilm has entered official races undefeated, each won by a huge margin. She’s never had a bad start, never lost her composure.
She seems flawless at first glance… but she isn’t without weaknesses.

Once—only once—Hoshino Wilm lost control.
Well… not holding back in mock races is practically “losing control” too, but let’s ignore that for now.
In that mock race against Nice Nature, when she was pressured from behind, she clearly launched into an unreasonable, reckless burst.

Meaning Hoshino Wilm is vulnerable to pressure from behind; she’s easily baited into overextending herself.
It wouldn’t be strange if other teams have figured that out by now. I never asked Nature’s trainer to keep quiet about it either.

…Still. Panicking when being closed in on, huh.

At first, I thought it was just her obsession with victory pushing her into reckless behavior.
But lately… I’ve begun to suspect that’s not it.

If she were obsessed with winning, then winning—even by a small margin—should make her happy.
Yet she never looks happy when she wins. Not even slightly. Her expression doesn’t change at all, as if victory were merely a matter of course.

Which means, most likely, she isn’t pursuing victory in the first place.
If I assume that, then that frantic hunger that looks like a thirst for victory becomes much easier to understand.

My charge—the small chestnut-coated Uma Musume.
…Hoshino Wilm is extremely, overwhelmingly afraid of losing.

Seeking victory and fearing defeat—those may sound similar, but they’re completely different.
It isn’t that victory motivates her positively.
Defeat motivates her negatively.

She doesn’t run and win because it’s fun.
She runs because she has no choice, because she refuses to lose.
No wonder she says she’s never found a race enjoyable.

To her, racing isn’t something to enjoy; it’s something she’s compelled to do to avoid defeat.
If I put it in human terms… it’s like everyone else studies for a test because they find it interesting, while she studies only because she doesn’t want her grades to drop.

Normally, someone like that would just think, “Then I just won’t take the test.”
But since she doesn’t choose that, there must be some reason she insists on entering races.
Maybe, to her, not running at all is like receiving a guaranteed zero—simply not an option.

…For now, though, all of this is speculation.

There was nothing in Horino’s historical data about an Uma Musume with that kind of mental profile.
I don’t know what happened during her emotional development, but it must be a very rare case.

…Which is exactly why it’s difficult.

Being afraid of losing is fine—I can accept that as part of her personality.
But being unable to enjoy running—that’s unacceptable.
An Uma Musume like that won’t last… or, if I put it in the harshest terms, she won’t “hold up” for very long.

If only I could create some kind of trigger—something that lets her enjoy the act of running.
But that’s a tall order. From my position as her trainer, I can’t reach into the deeper layers of her psyche.
All I can do is arrange situations that might give her the chance.

"…I drifted off-topic again."

"Huh?"

I’ve already thought this entire issue through. I concluded some time ago that there’s no way to solve it right now.

Back to the main point—the Satsuki Sho that’s drawing closer.
I said earlier her running could be shut down or her weaknesses exploited… but honestly, I don’t think many Uma Musume in this Satsuki Sho have the ability to do that.

At this time of year, there’s no need to worry about full-fledged race-makers yet.
What we need to watch for now is something else entirely: a one-man army…

"Tokai Teio…"

"Hmm? What?"

"No, just talking to myself."

Tokai Teio. A terrifying opponent.
I went to scout her just the other day, and sure enough, her stat gains have improved.

Well, it makes sense.
Until now, she only had weaker opponents around her, so her motivation lagged. But now someone who can rival her has finally appeared.

Of course she’d throw herself into training with newfound enthusiasm.

"Geez, why’d you suddenly say my name like that?"

"I was just thinking about the Satsuki Sho. Don’t worry about it."

Tokai Teio’s frightening quality is her consistency.
Her current record is three races, three wins. In the January open race, she won by over two lengths.
Undefeated. With that many wins, she’s caught up to Hoshino Wilm on paper.

In the app version it was particularly blatant, but even in this world, front-runners, mid-packers, and closers all struggle to maintain consistent performance.
If they get boxed in by the pack, they simply can’t push forward.
Unlike escape runners who—if their stats are high—can almost guarantee victory, consistency is rare.

For any non-escape Uma Musume to overcome that instability, she needs to break free from the pack when surrounded.
…But doing that is incredibly difficult.

There are two ways to break through a pack.

The first is what Hoshino Wilm did in her very first mock race: deliberately slip to the outside and escape the cluster, then sweep around in a wide arc.
But this method has huge drawbacks. Changing direction creates distance from the front, and taking the outside lane makes the total running distance longer.

I don’t have to spell it out—this is brute-forcing through superior stats.
Unless an Uma Musume has overwhelming numbers like Hoshino Wilm, she can’t pull it off.

…Though, honestly, it’s scary how many Uma Musume in history have done exactly that anyway.

The second method—the main one—is to squeeze through the tiny, fleeting gaps that appear within the pack and break forward in an instant.
You read the positions of the runners around you, imagine what they’ll look like a moment later while everyone’s moving at nearly 70 km/h…
Then find a gap as thin as a needle’s eye, twist your body, accelerate instantly, and slip through it.

If the first method is absurdly difficult, that doesn’t make the second one easy.
Situational awareness, imagination, judgment, acceleration, flexibility—it’s a technique worthy of being called an art.

And that is exactly why Uma Musume struggle when they’re marked.

It sounds contradictory, but the stronger an Uma Musume is, the harder her races become.
Especially for those using front-runner to back-runner tactics—once boxed in, they get swallowed by the pack and never recover.
Just like Hoshino Wilm in that very first mock race.

"The Satsuki Sho? Ohh, is that why you’re thinking about me?"

"Hm? No, I meant Tokai Teio."

Still, being weak to being marked is just common sense.
And absurd talent has a way of breaking common sense entirely.

Tokai Teio’s talent is exactly that.

It’s a pointless hypothetical, but if Hoshino Wilm didn’t exist—and if Teio never got injured—an undefeated Triple Crown wouldn’t have been unrealistic for her.

Her childish behavior doesn’t match the razor-sharp instincts she displays in a race.
She never doubts her decisions, and she acts on them without hesitation.
And more than anything, she has the natural flexibility to pull off any reckless maneuver she chooses.

She’s a monster of talent.
No matter how tightly she’s boxed in, she slips through as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

…But it’s precisely because she’s like that that she can’t beat Hoshino Wilm.

That’s the interesting part of racing: matchups.

For example, Tokai Teio excels against race-makers—those who manipulate the flow of the race.
No matter how the others move, her talent allows her to break through, and her confidence keeps her from ever getting flustered.

And race-makers, in turn, are strong against Hoshino Wilm. Just closing the distance on her is enough to make her overextend, so depending on how the others move, she can be crushed easily. Right now she wins thanks to a difference in raw stats, but eventually, she’ll struggle badly against opponents like that.

…Well, the whole point of training her is to make sure that doesn’t happen.

In the end, Hoshino Wilm is—harsh as it sounds—strong against Tokai Teio. No matter how talented Teio may be, she can’t overcome Wilm’s overwhelming stats. The serpent outruns the emperor with nothing but pure, unadulterated speed—no tricks required.

Therefore…

"Hoshino Wilm losing to Tokai Teio is… well, it’s not something that’s likely to happen. But if there’s anyone we should still keep an eye on, it’s her."

"……Hmm. Is that so. You’re really gonna say that to me?"

…Huh?
Wait, did Nature always have a voice like that?

She somehow ended up standing beside me, so I answered her without thinking… but there’s no joint training today, right? And her tone sounds more childish than usual—like that puffed-up confidence I’ve heard somewhere before.

…Haha, no way.
I wouldn’t do something straight out of a comedy manga.
Sure, I was spacing out, but come on.

I’m a serious type—hardly the kind of guy who’d accidentally start talking to Tokai Teio standing right next to me without noticing.

I slowly turn my head.

She’s glaring at me with annoyed blue eyes. Her chestnut hair—lighter than Wilm’s—is tied with a ribbon, with one white strand falling loose. Her build is just a bit larger than my trainee’s: slim, refined, and athletic. And her cheeks are puffed up like a sulking child—on a face I know extremely well.

"…Tokai Teio!? What are you doing here!?"

"What, you seriously didn’t notice? Wow, people like that actually exist…"

So this is how I end up meeting Hoshino Wilm’s most likely future rival—her fated opponent. Our first encounter couldn’t have been any less dignified.

Sure, I embarrassed myself, but that’s that. Time to regroup. She doesn’t look like she’s enjoying this very much anyway. Besides, as Wilm’s official trainer, there are things I need to ask Teio now that she’s shown up unannounced.

It’s not like her reaction got to me so badly I almost teared up and immediately tried to change the topic. Absolutely not.

"Ahem. So—what brings you here, Tokai Teio? An inspection?"

"Nope! I’m the Emperor, remember? I don’t go around inspecting other girls. That’s what trainers are for."

Radiating confidence. That absolute conviction that everyone else is a commoner before her—her strongest weapon.

…Yeah. Looks like Teio still doesn’t consider Hoshino Wilm a rival. She’s aware of her, obviously—she wouldn’t have come otherwise. She finds her interesting, sure. But equal? Or heaven forbid, superior? No. Not in her mind.

That’s valuable information.

At this stage, Hoshino Wilm won’t lose to Tokai Teio.

"I’ve got the day off, so I came to play! I heard there was some clueless girl bold enough to challenge me!"

"Oh? Spending your day off like that. Must be nice…"

"Right!? Heheh! Teio-sama knows how to take proper breaks and keep a healthy balance!"

Honestly, the part I envy is that she actually rests on her days off. My trainee, even if I tell her she’s off for the day, ends up training harder than usual. Two days after telling her, “Rest well,” she shows up with even less stamina than before. Do you have any idea how that feels?

"So that one’s Hoshino Wilm? …Hmm. Yeah. She looks pretty strong."

Teio folds her arms as she watches Wilm run lap after lap. Wilm isn’t showing much speed right now—it’s just practice. Well, Uma Musume practice, so still fast, but you know. Yet Teio can still judge her strength?

I guess strong girls can read each other’s aura or something. Or maybe she has some insane dynamic vision and judged her muscle movement? That’d be impressive in its own way.

"Alright! Let’s do a mock race! A mock race! Teio-sama is always ready for a challenge!"

"Why would it come to that? No."

"Eeeeh!? You were the one who picked a fight with me first!"

Ahh, that sharp, addictive voice. Same as in my previous life.
Tokai Teio is Tokai Teio—exactly the Uma Musume I remember.

…Which is why defeating her hurts all the more.

"I won’t deny that I picked a fight.
But what Hoshino Wilm needs right now is training, not racing. You’ll have to wait until the Satsuki Sho."

"No waaay! No no no no! You’re her trainer, right? Pleeease?"

"Give it up, Tokai Teio."

This is just how Teio is. She’s the same grade as Wilm—second year of middle school—but she knows how to act spoiled, throw tantrums when she wants something, and she doesn’t always listen. Emotionally, she’s still a bit childish.

And when a middle-school Uma Musume clings to you like this, well… it looks bad. Her trainer must have it rough.

Alright, how should I convince her? Maybe bribing her with something would be fastest…
—or so I thought, until her next words made me stop and think.

"Nooo, I finally found someone who looks like they’ll be fun!
Come on, come on, pleeease? Let’s do a mock race!
You guys are entering the Satsuki Sho too, right? Think of it as a test run!
It’s super rare to get the chance to race against Teio-sama, you know!"

"Hmm…"

…Fun, huh.

Teio’s challenge… or rather, from her perspective, I guess it was Hoshino Wilm who challenged her.

Either way, there are several reasons I can’t accept her offer for a mock race. And the biggest reason is simple: I’m terrified of Teio awakening.

Uma Musume can, on rare occasions, let their spirit surpass their body. In Rice’s case, it’s when the “demon” takes hold of her. “Demon mode” is a bit long, so I always called it “awakening.”

When this kicks in, an Uma Musume displays absurd performance far beyond her stats. Even things that should be flat-out impossible can suddenly happen.

If I had to describe it, imagine a hidden parameter—another tier above the “Excellent Condition” motivation level. Something like that.

Judging from Horino’s experience so far, awakening is extremely rare. Most Uma Musume retire without ever hitting it. But once one does awaken, she becomes an overwhelming threat like nothing else.

Take Pampagrande the other day.

Her stats weren’t anything exceptional, yet from the start she was managing her pace and positioning an entire step above the rest. On top of that, her decision to break out of the pack early to set up her move, her recognition that her only winning line against Hoshino Wilm was to force a long-range sprint and crush her, and of course, the sheer running ability to make that happen. All of it surpassed her base stats across the board.

…And yes, I know I’m the one who can literally see their stats in numerical form, but even I have to admit there are things about Uma Musume that can’t be measured.

If there’s one stroke of luck here, it’s that an awakened Uma Musume is unmistakably obvious. They radiate an overwhelming aura of power.

If Teio ever brought that out, there’s a real possibility Hoshino Wilm might lose.

That would be bad. Extremely bad.
Hoshino Wilm losing would be unacceptable from any angle—her goal, her “putting her life on the line,” everything.

In short, there are two ways to raise Hoshino Wilm’s chance of victory:

• Compensate for her lacking stats and skills.

• Observe Teio’s stat growth and potential for awakening—and prevent it as much as possible.

…Though I really don’t want to rely on the second one. It doesn’t exactly feel fair.

So.

I honestly don’t know the exact conditions for awakening. But… probably two things are essential: pushing oneself to the verge of collapse in training, and focusing one’s entire mind on winning a race. Those two points feel mandatory.

Tokai Teio right now satisfies neither.

She can win races without training on the brink.
She can win races without concentrating so hard that she blocks out everything else.
Because she’s too talented, she can’t find a rival worthy of her. And so she can’t awaken.

…Or rather, that’s the case as long as she doesn’t properly face Hoshino Wilm.

If you asked people who Teio’s rival is, most would probably say Mejiro McQueen.
But I think Teio’s greatest rival is something else entirely.

Her injuries.

…Well, I never pulled Teio in the app, so I don’t actually know what her in-game story is. But from the history I looked up, Tokai Teio suffered multiple fractures and came back each time. And with every injury—every halt and regression in growth—the gap between her and the other Uma Musume closed, letting her obtain rivals in a more indirect way.

That’s my theory.
It might not be entirely correct, but at the very least, the Uma Musume version of Tokai Teio hasn’t displayed or trained that underlying potential at all yet. So I’m probably not far off.

…To experience multiple fractures severe enough to make comebacks difficult and still fight on equal footing with the great horses of her era—Teio of the previous world must have been insanely strong.

And that absurdity has clearly been inherited by the kid—no, the Uma Musume—standing before me.

That’s why, in the race where she suffers her first fracture… I’m pretty sure it was the Japanese Derby… at least up until that point, she shouldn’t awaken.

But now? Now there’s a snake in front of her—one that might surpass the Emperor.

If she recognizes that power the wrong way, she might awaken prematurely.

Obviously, I can’t just explain all this to Teio with a straight face, so I simply told her “No.”

"Sounds fun. …Tokai Teio, do you think racing Hoshino Wilm sounds fun?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, it sounds super fun! She’s fast, right? And finishing even faster than a fast Uma Musume and getting praised by everyone feels amazing!"

…Whether “being praised” and fulfilling her need for approval counts as “fun” is debatable.
But I see. Right. Fighting someone close to your level scratches the primal competitive instinct at the core of every Uma Musume.

If that’s the case, then maybe…

…But wait. What do I do? What should I do? Is it okay if Hoshino Wilm’s odds of winning go down? Is that acceptable as her trainer? Wouldn’t that be betraying her trust?

What am I supposed to…?

“Listen. I’m not telling you to win a G1. I’m not telling you to win any graded race either. You simply need to be someone who stands by the Uma Musume. And at the same time, be the guiding light that leads her. That is the ideal trainer, as envisioned by the Horino family.”

…Ah. That’s right.
There was no need to overthink it.

No matter what happens with Hoshino Wilm, no matter what happens with Tokai Teio…
I will continue to be the trainer worthy of the Horino name. That’s all there is to it.

“…Hmph. In that case, I suppose I can accept a mock race.”

“Really!? Alright, let’s do this!”

“Wait. There are two conditions.
One, it’s only allowed once. Considering Hoshino Wilm’s current load, I can’t permit her to run more than once.
And two… Teio, you need to get permission from your trainer first. You didn’t even ask before coming here, did you?”

“Ugh… how did you know that?”

“Well, I know you pretty well.”

Ah, damn. I said something weird again.

“Hmm… are you also a fan of mine? Well, I get it, admiring the invincible Teio-sama. But you should pay attention to your own charge, right?”

She’s teasing me a little… this kid, somehow being that kind and cheeky all at once really makes her character shine. I’m glad Teio’s self-absorbed; …well, being called a “fan” is partly true. I hope she stays as mischievous as this.
…And whatever happens, please don’t go all full sports-manga and awaken, okay?

“Then I’ll just get permission from my trainer! Even if you say no, I won’t listen!”

“It’s a conclusion reached after careful thought. It’s not going to change now.”

“Got it! I’ll get the permission right away, so see you later~!”

Teio ran off.
Well, even if she rushes, there’s setting up the ground, arranging her body, and all sorts of things—she won’t be able to do it today.
…But seeing that cheerful, excited face makes it impossible to say anything unreasonable.

“Alright, Hoshino Wilm…”

When I turned back, my charge…
had stopped running and was now watching me from the turf.
Her expression wasn’t her usual blank stare.
It was a mix of surprise, shock, fear, and panic—a negative expression.

…Huh? Why does she look so startled?

Seeing a face like that, I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you alright?”
But when she replied, “I’m fine,” there was nothing more I could press her on.
I didn’t know what about Teio had stirred her emotions so deeply, but… the matter was settled.

By the senior’s initiative, a mock race was arranged.
The day of the race: three days from now.

It would be a mock race between Hoshino Wilm, Tokai Teio, and Nice Nature, who had slyly insinuated with a terrifying grin, “You owe us one, right?”
The course: 2,000 meters, right-handed.
In other words, close to Satsuki Sho conditions, with the two strongest in their generation running.

…As a result, the number of spectators became absurd.
Not only the Uma Musume aiming for the Classic Triple Crown, but also most of the school’s trainers were likely in attendance.

Ah… facing this many Uma Musume and trainers, I’d have to reveal my hand.
I silently buried my face in my hands.