Chapter 32: Hoshino Willm

It’s dark.

I slow my steps and come to a halt. Before I realize it, I’m already there.

I look to the right—there’s nothing. I look to the left—there’s nothing. Naturally, there’s nothing ahead either. And when I turn around… there’s nothing behind me, where I came from.

It’s a vast, empty space—dark, hollow, and utterly devoid of anything.

"...What is this place?"

The moment I open my mouth, cold air rushes in. In an instant, my throat dries out all the way down, to the point it almost hurts. I hurriedly close my mouth, and only then do I understand.

This place isn’t just dark and empty.

It’s unbearably cold.

What is this place, anyway? And why am I here? My memory just before this is… um.

My thoughts are muddled. It feels like trying to think while severely sleep-deprived—sluggish and unpleasant. My thoughts sink and stall as if caught in mud, while the cold air interferes with my concentration.

I clutch my head and dig through my memories.

Remember. What was I doing just before this?

Right.

I remember now.

I was running in the Takarazuka Kinen.

The Takarazuka Kinen—the most difficult G1 race I’d ever faced—running together with McQueen-senpai, Ryan-senpai, and Sky-senpai.

And in that race… yes, Sky-senpai.

I fell for her trap, and she passed me. I failed to meet one of my conditions for victory.

…It’s cold.

I panicked. If I didn’t make my move, I’d be completely left behind. I wouldn’t be able to win.

But it was already too late.

I was too focused on Sky-senpai and misjudged the timing of my spurt. Because the overall pace was slow, I should’ve gone for a long spurt—but that realization came far too late.

And then… um, then…

…

Ah. Yes. That’s right.

After that, Ryan-senpai and McQueen-senpai passed me. Just like Sky-senpai, both of them opened their domains and effortlessly overtook me.

…It’s cold.

And then… then what happened after that?

My right leg, in the middle of the corner…

In the middle of it—what happened?

What… happened to me?

"So cold…"

The words slip out before I realize it. Cold. It’s far too cold here.

My thoughts stop.

They freeze solid.

Thinking can wait. I need to get out of here. It’s really… too cold.

I have to hurry… hurry and go back.

Go back?

…Back to where, again?

"...?"

I can’t move.

My legs… won’t move.

When I look down through my blurred vision, I see my legs—frozen solid.

No. It’s not just my legs.

I—my entire body—is already frozen.

"So cold…"

All I can move anymore is my mouth and my thoughts.

So this is it for me… I guess.

Honestly.

I really got carried away, didn’t I?

Thinking I was the strongest.

I knew it. I understood it all along.

…I’m nothing special. Just a nameless mob character.

I’m a reincarnator. I was reborn into this world from another world without any Uma Musume. I carried over my memories and personality—an “anime reincarnation.”

But my heart, my soul—there’s nothing special about them. They’re just those of an ordinary, forgettable extra you could find anywhere.

There was never an Uma Musume named Hoshino Wilm to begin with. That name never appears anywhere in the anime. And if you checked real history, there probably isn’t a horse by that name either.

I’m just an ordinary human inhabiting an empty avatar called Hoshino Wilm.

Of course I couldn’t obtain a domain. From the very start, I had nothing—no original existence, no inner landscape to draw from.

If anything, this emptiness suits me perfectly.

This nothingness—cold, dark, and empty.

The cold seeps into my thoughts.

The chill creeping up from my legs slowly forces my heart to give up.

...Ah. Ah.

It’s cold.

So cold.

And my body… it won’t move anymore.

...

If I just give up now… maybe it’ll be easier.

『Hoshino Wilm』

A dazzling light.

Light?

In this place of absolute nothingness… light?

I barely manage to lift my gaze upward.

There it is—a single beam of light shining down on me.

That is… what was that?

The light pours over my head, touching the top of it. It’s warm. And for some reason, it feels a little rough—almost solid.

This… this sensation—

What was it?

Something I definitely remember.

Something I loved dearly.

My place to return to.

I knew this warmth.

I knew something that would warm me like this.

…I know.

I know the person who still believes in me, who’s still waiting for me.

…I’m in love.

With the one who saved me—who’s honestly pretty hopeless, yet always did his best for my sake.

My contract trainer… Horino Ayumu.

"Trai… ner…"

…I know.

To be honest, I knew it all along.

Maybe I’m not supposed to exist in this world.

Maybe I’m just a rock that fell into the river, disturbing the course of fate.

The river tries to wash the rock away, restoring its natural flow.

And that’s only natural—maybe I’m the one in the wrong.

In the end, only one runner can win a race.

If I exist, if I win, then another Uma Musume has to lose.

Someone who was supposed to win might end up defeated instead.

…I say I hate “pointless despair,” yet just by existing, I give many Uma Musume emotions they were never meant to feel.

…Maybe me disappearing here would be the most natural outcome. The most rational. The most just.

A reincarnation-cheat Uma Musume… was never meant to exist in the first place.

…But.

Even so, I—

"I want to win… with you…!

This race… and every race from now on… forever…!!"

My frozen body, warmed by the light, begins to move—just a little.

So I reach out.

Toward that light.

Toward the light guiding me forward.

"I’m an Uma Musume too!

I was born into this world as an Uma Musume…!!

I want to win… even if it means defeating someone else…!!"

I won’t stop here.

I said I’d win—to the Takarazuka Kinen, and to my trainer.

…Even if the world won’t acknowledge me.

Even if someone denies my existence.

As long as he believes in my victory—

I can’t stop!

"‘I’… ‘Hoshino Wilm’… won’t break in a place like this!!!"

The instant my hand reaches toward the light—

The clouds surrounding me clear away.

"Where… am I…?"

I stare around in a daze.

This is no longer a dark, empty void.

Countless lights—stars—fill the sky and envelop me.

"Go—go for it!!"

One star urges me forward, its wish pouring down on me as heat.

"Pass them! Take it back!!"

One star longs for my comeback, its wish raining down as heat.

"You can do it! You absolutely can!!"

One star believes in me, its wish raining down as heat.

"Break the mold!!"

One star envisions a rule-breaking future for me, its wish raining down as heat.

"Snake, we’re counting on you!!"

One star places its hopes in me, its wish raining down as heat.

"Run away—then strike!!"

One star is captivated by me, its wish raining down as heat.

"Become the first Classic-class Grand Prix Uma Musume!!"

One star dreams of my bright future, its wish raining down as heat.

"Don’t give up!!"

One star spurs me on, its wish raining down as heat.

"Show us a run worthy of inheriting the monster!!"

One star overlays me with the past, its wish raining down as heat.

"Win it, Hoshino Wilm—!!"

One star… dreamed of my victory.

That wish poured down on me as heat.

"The stars… they’re…"

Those stars—those countless stars—had been there from the very beginning.

I was the one who covered them with clouds and refused to see them.

All this time, uncountable numbers of people—tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands—have wished for me, hoped for me, prayed for me. They rejoice at my victories, rage at my misfortune, mourn my injuries… and enjoy watching my races.

…They were watching me.

I… from the very start, from long, long ago—

I was loved by the world.

"…Will-chan, do your best…!

…If it’s you, who’s been trying so hard all this time, you can do it…!"

A faintly visible star in the distance said that. She’s never been good at shouting, yet she strained her voice with everything she had. That support carried more weight than any other, loosening the stiffness in my legs.

A senior I’ve known for so long, who’s looked after me all this time. One of my favorite Uma Musume—someone I can never thank enough.

I can’t betray Meek-senpai’s wish.

She patiently supported this troublesome junior for a year and a half. To repay that kindness… I have to go. Now.

"Wilm!! Don’t lose in a place like this!!

I won’t forgive you for losing to anyone but me—!!"

A brilliantly shining star shouted that.

…She probably hasn’t even fully healed her legs yet, and she still came.

Hearing that almost-tearful—no, desperate, tear-choked voice naturally warms my heart.

She wants her rival to win this badly.

Because I’m the one she has to defeat—and at the same time, a friend she races against and grows with.

…I’ll answer that expectation, Tokai Teio.

My strongest rival.

So that I can run with you again—and beat you again.

"Will, gooooo!!

Smash through that wallllll!!"

A star flashing dully, yet powerfully, cried out like that.

Screaming so hard you might wreck your throat is hardly fitting for an idol Uma Musume, but… hearing a voice that wants nothing more than my forward progress, without fancy words, makes my blood surge until my brain trembles.

You’re the greatest friend I gained in this life.

We’re always talking things through together—endlessly chatting, competing, and pushing each other higher.

My first and last best friend.

You shout just to wish for my safety and victory, to give my back even the slightest push.

Because you’re a star to someone—a guidepost in a dark world.

…Just like Nice Nature is to me.

And then—

My first-magnitude star spoke, loud and strong.

"Don’t lose, Hoshino Wilm—!!"

…Ah.

At last—at last, I can hear it.

Not the shout of “Horino’s trainer,” but the cry of “Horino Ayumu.”

Your true words, from the bottom of your heart.

The person who saved me.

The man I love.

…My contract trainer. My destined one.

If that’s what you want—

…No. It’s what you and I want.

Let’s win.

Together.

I take one step forward.

My body isn’t cold anymore. There’s no trace of the chill.

My world—my domain—is complete.

What was once a dark, empty void is now illuminated and warmed by tens—hundreds of thousands—of stars and their wishes.

There’s nothing lacking anymore.

I can go anywhere.

So I start walking—

"────."

I stop in my tracks at the word spoken from behind me.

It’s a name no one in this world knows anymore. A childhood name given to me by someone who brought me into this world—before I awakened as “Hoshino Wilm.”

When I turn around… there are two stars.

Two stars, shining far, far away.

"Dad… Mom…"

A wave of nostalgia washes over me.

It’s been ten years since I was last called by that name.

I loved that name. I loved how beautiful, clear, and gentle it sounded.

…Come to think of it, everything fell apart after the name people used for me changed, didn’t it?

If I hadn’t been an Uma Musume of any note—if I’d been a girl who walked a path other than racing—

Maybe the two of you would still be alive, smiling.

But that didn’t happen.

I was a reincarnator. My mother grew jealous of that ability, and my father couldn’t accept my mother’s death.

If we’re talking about who was at fault… then it was probably me.

The one who intruded into this wonderful world and disrupted its order.

…Even so.

I’m alive now.

I’m sorry, Dad. Mom.

I can’t go there.

I want to live.

I want to keep living—with the trainer who picked me up.

"Thank you for giving birth to Hoshino Wilm. I loved you both.

But I want to move forward. I can’t stop here.

So… please watch from there.

Watch as your daughter becomes… the greatest Uma Musume you can be proud of."

Saying that, I turn forward once more.

I won’t look back again.

"Well then, I’m off!"

"Take care."

"Do your best."

…Ah.

Facing forward, I break into a run.

Toward the guiding star shining in the distance.

Amid a sky full of stars, as if flying through the heavens…

Farther and farther away.

Toward an endless future.

---

The star-filled sky I ran through eventually turns back into turf beneath my feet. And yet, at the same time, my world remains spread out before my eyes.

So this is… a domain.

I see now.

Everything really does feel different.

There’s no impatience. No regret. No sense of poor condition. No fatigue.

All I feel is pure fulfillment—and joy.

A race where I can unleash my full strength, alongside opponents worthy of it.

How wonderful. How radiant. How deeply satisfying.

"Trainer."

When our eyes meet again, my trainer looks different from just moments ago. His gaze is firm with resolve—the eyes of Horino Ayumu, who believes in me more than anyone and wishes for my victory.

…Yes.

I’ll make that wish come true.

I am your trainee Uma Musume.

The strongest Uma Musume you trained.

…And a reincarnation-cheat Uma Musume who came from another world, at that.

There’s no reason for me to lose!

So… now!

In this joyful race!!

"I’m going to win!!!"

In that instant, information floods my mind.

…No. “Floods” isn’t quite the right word. That makes it sound like I can’t control or process it.

More accurately…

It’s as if my field of perception has expanded.

I can see the turf far better than usual—many times better. Each blade of swaying grass, the sunlight reflecting off it, the ground peeking through the gaps. I understand all of it clearly.

And that’s not all.

My hearing range expands to an absurd degree—not just ten lengths, but far beyond that—and becomes far more precise.

…This goes beyond simple “hearing.”

From the echo of footsteps alone, I can tell the angle at which hooves strike the ground, even how well horseshoes or shoes fit. I almost suspect I’ve turned from an Uma Musume into a bat-girl.

Beyond that…

I can feel all five senses becoming extraordinarily sharp.

And yet, it doesn’t feel like I’m becoming vulnerable to overwhelming information either. I doubt strong light or loud noises would faze me at all.

What is this?

What’s happening?

…Ah.

I see now.

I get it.

It’s not just that my senses have sharpened—though they have.

More than that…

My thinking speed has skyrocketed to a ridiculous degree.

Honestly, I’d kind of suspected it before.

Wasn’t I… kind of weak for a reincarnation-cheat Uma Musume?

I mean, maybe it’s nonsense to talk about “normal” in reincarnation stories, but typically reincarnators are absurdly strong.

They can do infinitely what others can only do a limited number of times. They possess magical power hundreds of times greater than ordinary people. They can create endlessly.

Usually, they have something that completely overturns the foundations of the story.

Compared to that, Hoshino Wilm’s reincarnation bonus felt… kind of underwhelming, didn’t it?

I mean, all it did was make my body strong.

And even then, if I ran the wrong way, I could easily lose.

Even with proper form—trained by the best partner possible—I still came close to losing.

Calling that “reincarnation-cheat Uma Musume” feels a bit…

No.

A lot weak.

At best, it’s more like “reincarnated pretty-strong Uma Musume.”

But now I finally understand.

I did have a reincarnation bonus.

It’s just that the stronger body was only a minor extra.

The true core of my reincarnation bonus is this overwhelming boost in thinking ability during races.

Come to think of it, there were signs.

During races, I could observe my surroundings unusually well. I could measure distances to opponents and remaining course length with impressive accuracy. My hearing would become unnaturally sharp—in other words, my ability to process auditory information increased.

All of that was just leakage.

Leakage from this sealed reincarnation bonus.

As for why it was sealed in the first place…

Well.

Yeah.

Now that I think about it, it’s obvious.

How did I not realize?

It was Dad.

That icy shackle of “not being allowed to lose.”

That “cold.”

It was essentially an extreme state of tension and concentration.

And when you’re tense, your thinking naturally stiffens and becomes less effective.

On top of that, concentrating your thoughts means forcing all that mental “water” through a single narrow pipe.

Yeah.

That’s what it was.

I froze an ocean’s worth of mental water solid with tension, then kept forcing what little remained through a thin pipe.

In other words…

I was wasting an insane amount of potential.

…Dad, honestly.

I mean, it’s not like you were a bad person. You weren’t.

But still.

Sigh.

Well, whatever.

I can use this thinking power freely now.

So Dad—reflect on things over there, alright?

On planting weird thought patterns in your daughter’s head.

And above all…

On not properly looking at your daughter.

I’ll keep reflecting over here too—on not being able to save Mom.

That makes us even, okay?

…Anyway.

All of that was just my parallel sub-thought process.

Amazing, isn’t it?

I can think like this using less than one percent of my capacity.

And my next step still hasn’t even touched the ground yet.

Just how far is this thinking speed going to accelerate?

And meanwhile—

The remaining ninety-nine percent—my main processing power—is devoted to analyzing this race.

My exact position, and the condition of the turf one step ahead.

The racing line stretching from here to the finish.

The distances to Mejiro McQueen-senpai, Mejiro Ryan-senpai, and Seiun Sky-senpai.

The sound of hooves from the Uma Musume closing in behind me.

The tactics available to me—and the tactics they might deploy.

The optimal spurt I can execute right now.

…And my right leg, which is on the verge of breaking down.

I compile all of it and examine the most efficient way to win.

By the time my next step touches the ground, the conclusion is reached.

From here, the probability of cutting past Seiun Sky-senpai is roughly seventeen out of a thousand.

In other words, out of one thousand simulated scenarios in my head, I’ve identified seventeen winning patterns.

Among them, I select the one that puts the least strain on my right leg—and still guarantees victory even if something unexpected is thrown at me.

All right.

Preparations complete.

The fans’ expectations. My friends’ voices. His wish.

I’m going to answer all of them.

…Here I go!!

"Is this the end for Hoshino Wilm, the Ashen Serpent—no, she’s accelerating again on the final straight! There it is, that forward-leaning posture inherited from the monster! After leading and then striking, can she reach the two Mejiros and the trickster!?"

"Will the miracle of the Japan Derby happen again!? The word ‘impossible’ no longer applies to her!"

…Amazing.

Even the commentary—which I usually hear only vaguely—is crystal clear now.

And wow, that’s embarrassing. ‘The word impossible no longer applies,’ huh.

Well. I’m about to make that true.

The star-filled void expands outward from me.

It collides with the domains of McQueen-senpai and Ryan-senpai, grinding against them—shaving them away.

Mejiro McQueen-senpai’s domain is a world of nobility.

She understands her own status and the responsibility that comes with it, and runs to fulfill that duty.

A domain shaped from her proud spirit itself.

From the fragments I carve away, her feelings reach me.

"I can’t afford to lose! As a Mejiro Uma Musume—no, as one Uma Musume! I won’t yield this race!!"

…Not being able to lose applies to me too.

"—!"

In a fleeting instant, without even running alongside her, I pass the silver-maned comet.

Mejiro Ryan-senpai’s domain is a world of training.

She tempers herself, chases someone far ahead, and runs to surpass that back.

A domain filled with admiration, inferiority, and the dream of overcoming both.

From the fragments I shave away, her feelings reach me.

"At this distance, I won’t lose! I’m not just admiring anymore—I’m a Uma Musume too! I’ll win this race and become a star Uma Musume!!"

…That dream ends here.

"—ngh!"

In a fleeting instant, without even running alongside her, I pass the chestnut meteor.

No one wants to lose.

There’s no hierarchy among wishes. Every wish is equal. Every one carries the same weight.

So what exists here isn’t justice.

Our fuel is pure egoism.

The simple desire to win—nothing more.

We crash those desires together, compete, and crush one another.

Only one can win.

Everyone else becomes a loser.

Dreams and hopes shatter into pieces, leaving behind only a sliver of joy and a mountain of tears.

…But that’s fine.

That’s our instinct.

We want to win—even if it means defeating someone else.

Simply… to run faster than anyone.

That is why Uma Musume were born.

"What an unbelievable sight! Classic-class Hoshino Wilm cuts down Mejiro McQueen and Mejiro Ryan together in just one hundred meters! Is she really only Classic class!? Her speed knows no ceiling—she’s within two lengths of Seiun Sky!"

"This is completely beyond common sense! This is the power of the unconventional serpent! This is the power of the undefeated two-crown champion!"

Two hundred meters to the finish.

Two lengths behind the leader—Seiun Sky-senpai.

At this distance, I should be able to reel her in with room to spare.

…Or so it seems.

I don’t ease up.

If anything, I keep accelerating.

Stamina isn’t a problem. I have plenty left.

I conserved it by not pushing too hard early on—and now, I can drastically reduce consumption.

If I perfectly control the angle and force of each footstrike…

Then the power simply flows downward.

There’s no excess fatigue.

…The only issue is my right leg.

Even with a low-strain running form, I can’t reduce the load to zero.

How much longer can I push it before it gives out?

Will this leg—hanging on by a thread—really last to the end?

No.

I’ll make it last.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

I will not lose.

Not this race. Not to Sky-senpai. Not to my trainer.

Not even to fate.

The distance to Sky-senpai closes rapidly.

Less than one length now.

At this rate, with under a hundred meters left, I should be able to pass her—

…If Sky-senpai had no plan.

"So you’ve come! …But from here!!"

"It looked like Seiun Sky was about to be overtaken, but she stretches even further! This is another dimension entirely! She’s opened a huge gap from fifth place and below—this is a battle in a different realm!"

"Don’t underestimate the stamina that let her lead all the way through Yodo’s slopes and 3200 meters! Will Seiun Sky hold on!? Will Hoshino Wilm cut past!? Or will Mejiro Ryan strike back—or Mejiro McQueen surge forward!?"

I knew it.

Seiun Sky-senpai was never going to let me have this easily.

Her first trick was erasing her footfalls—slipping past me cleanly while deploying her domain.

…And her second trick was abandoning her imitation of others’ running styles and reclaiming her original specs.

The false sense of security.

The assumption that I could reel her in as things were.

Then comes her true power.

The widening gap once more.

The despair.

The thought that it’s impossible—

That moment where you give up.

That was the race development she had laid out.

The Trickster’s sure-kill strategy.

…However.

I’m a reincarnated, cheat-tier Uma Musume, you know.

A plan at that level?

I’ll crush it with raw specs alone.

"Hoooo…"

I draw in a deep, deep breath, flooding my lungs with oxygen.

This is the final brief pause.

Under the glittering stars, my thoughts begin to race.

Uma Musume—beings with human bodies and the power of horses.

This body’s shape. Its muscles, joints, and skeletal frame.

The blood vessels running throughout. The heart. The lungs.

Assemble all of it.

Forge it into a single form.

"My ideal way of running."

…I see it.

All-out, star-forged sprint—begin.

I drive my foot hard into the turf.

The absolute maximum output this body can produce.

I pour every last drop of it into the ground and kick off with everything I have.

Strangely, there’s no loud sound.

Almost all of that energy converts into pure forward momentum.

"I won’t… lose to youuu!!"

Of course, Sky-senpai isn’t an opponent who’d go down without a fight.

That all-out focus—she must have honed it through long years of experience and research.

Unlike the two I overtook with a surprise attack, the distance between us refuses to close easily.

…She really is amazing, Sky-senpai.

A Domain can only be maintained for a limited time.

Naturally so—sustaining that level of extreme concentration would overload both mind and body.

By the time I closed in on her, her Domain had already shut down.

Right now, she’s no longer within it. She’s being swallowed one-sidedly by my Domain, yet still running at nearly the same speed as me.

…Honestly, what “Trickster”?
She was ridiculously strong from the very beginning. A prodigy who could win even without tricks.

But even so.

I am loved.
By so many people—right here, right now.

I can hear them all. The voices wishing for my victory, the voices praying for my happiness.
…And the shout of someone precious to me.

All of them turn into stars, lighting my path and pushing me forward.
That’s why I won’t lose.

Hoshino Wilm will not lose!!

"Unbelievable finishing speed from these two—are they really front-runners!?"

"Their kicks are colliding head-on at a pace you’d mistake for a sprint race!!"

"Mejiro McQueen and Mejiro Ryan are charging hard from behind!!"

"Hoshino Wilm is closing in fast! The Takarazuka Kinen victory is right before her eyes!!"

"Fifty meters remaining—will she be the one bathed in the spotlight!?"

The stars shine brighter. Countless dreams illuminate the path to victory.

"This is…!"

Beyond the finish line awaits the brightest star of all.
As long as that first-magnitude star guides me, I will never waver again.

"This is Hoshino Wilm!!"

I slip past the ashen-haired giant star.

I cross the finish line—alone.

"Hoshino Wilm takes first place—GOOOOAL IN!!"

"Unbelievable—Hoshino Wilm, Hoshino Wilm!!"

"The Classic-class champion claims the leading role at Takarazuka, fulfilling the fans’ dreams and wishes!!"

"For the first time in history, the Takarazuka Kinen is won by a Classic-class runner—this girl, Hoshino Wilm!!!"

"Second place goes to Seiun Sky, third to Mejiro Ryan!"

"She has cleanly overtaken veterans, elites, and hidden powerhouses alike, proving there is nothing she cannot do!!"

"The serpent that crawled upon the earth has risen to the heavens, reborn as a dragon dancing in the sky!!"

"The legend continues—just how far will she carry our dreams from here on!?"

…It’s over.
Ah—it’s really over.

What a waste… how regretful.
I wanted to keep running. I wanted to keep running—forever—with that unbelievably strong senpai.

The Star-Canopy Domain loosens and dissipates into mist.
That’s a shame too. …I hope to see this sight again in the next race.

I slow my steps and come to a stop. Then… I turn toward the stands.

There, I see countless shimmering lights—everyone who supported me.
So much heat, so many feelings, so much love pouring into me.

With my Domain completely closed, I can’t distinguish each voice anymore…
But I understand perfectly that they’re celebrating me.

…So that’s it. I won.
Against the Takarazuka Kinen, against Sky-senpai and the others, against my trainer… and against my own fate.

As that realization finally sinks in, an unbearable heat surges up from the depths of my heart.

I won.
I won—I won—I WON!!

A race they said was impossible.
A race even my trainer said would be difficult.
A race against powerful rivals.
…This race. This race I wanted to win more than anything.

That joy breaks through my self-control, and I thrust my right arm into the air, acting purely on emotion.

Thoom—the air trembles.

…Haha. What an incredible roar.

Thank you, everyone.
Truly, thank you.

Thanks to all of you, I’m standing here now.

"With her right hand raised, Hoshino Wilm celebrates!"

"And her winning time is… two minutes, eleven seconds, two!!"

"She has shattered the twelve-second wall that only otherworldly escape artists could breach—right here, right now!!"

"A new legend, a new record is born before our eyes!!"

"Inheriting the otherworldly, surpassing the otherworldly—she has proven her singularity at this very moment!!!"

---

The underground passage.

After leaving the turf and heading back toward the waiting room, I spot him as usual.

Horino Ayumu.
My contracted trainer—and the first-magnitude star who guides me.

"Trainer!"

"Don’t run."

"…Yes."

Come on, it’s fine to get excited today of all days.
I pout internally, but his point is perfectly reasonable, so I reluctantly head toward him at a walk.

Or at least, that was the plan…

Before I can reach him, the trainer jogs over to me instead.
He usually just waits until I come to him.

…Hehe. Maybe that means he really acknowledges me now.

"You did it, Hoshino Wilm."

"Yes, I did, Trainer."

"No, you didn’t. That was a forward-leaning spurt. You really went and did it."

"…………"

Well, okay, sure, I did.
But that wasn’t just a forward-leaning spurt—it was the improved version: the Celestial Star Spurt.

Isn’t that cool?

A spurt guided by the stars of heaven—so, Celestial Star Spurt.
Even I have to admit, that’s top-tier naming sense. Hehe.

…No, wait, that’s not the point.

First-ever Classic-class victory at the Takarazuka Kinen.
Beating McQueen-senpai, Ryan-senpai, and Sky-senpai head-on.
There are lots of things worth praising here, right?

Before scolding me, at least.
Right?

"Well, fine. Either way, you’re getting a full medical exam tomorrow."
"Until then, no ‘welcome back,’ no head pats, and no reward privileges. All postponed."

…Honestly, this man.
Could he not notice the maiden’s heart that just wants praise from the person she likes?

"…Um, isn’t there maybe something else you could say?"

"I worked really hard and won, you know."

"Of course there is."

With that, the trainer…

He drops to one knee and lowers his gaze to meet mine.

…Eh? Huh?

W-What—what is happening!?

As I panic at how close his face suddenly is, the trainer slowly takes my hand.
Ah… warm, rough, and kind of nice to hold—

No! That’s not the point!

"What!? What is this!?"

"I made a serious mistake at the very beginning."
"I thought I should support anyone, no matter who they were…"
"Even if that’s the Horino family creed, I shouldn’t have believed it so easily."
"A trainer and their Uma Musume share a one-of-a-kind bond."
"I… didn’t truly understand what that meant."

Saying that, the trainer gently cups my hand with both of his, his expression earnest.

"Watching your final run today, I realized something."

"I want you."

"I want to raise you. I want to see you win—and keep winning."

"So… I know this might sound late coming from me."

"But please, walk forward with me."

"Let me be your trainer."

…………

Ah, geez.

He really is unfair.

He always says exactly what I want to hear.
He naturally gives me exactly what I wish for.

I almost let my grin slip, but I steel myself and force my face back into neutrality.

Okay.

"Of course."

"This was a promise, after all."

"If I won the Takarazuka Kinen, you would acknowledge your own efforts—and make me your Uma Musume."

"I expect you to honor that… properly."

This is getting embarrassing to say.

No, endure it, me.
This part is really important.

For Trainer Horino Ayumu.
And for racing Uma Musume Hoshino Wilm.

This will surely become the most important moment for both of us.

"…Ahem."

"I also… yes, I also want to win with you."

"I want to keep winning, guided by the training and strategies you give me."

"So, Horino Ayumu…"

I step closer, pressing gently against his side.

And whisper into his ear.

…Honestly, I’m pretty easy.

Because it’s him…

I found myself wanting him—and only him—to know the real me.

"Please take care of me from here on out."
"No—please take care of Hoshino Wilm."

---

The happiest ending imaginable.

That is the end of “my” story.

I’m no longer anything special—just an Uma Musume living in this world, with a few memories from a past life and an extraordinary amount of power.

From here on, there will surely be unpleasant moments, painful trials, and hardships.
My existence might even warp history itself.

…Even so.

Together with Trainer Horino Ayumu…
As Hoshino Wilm, I will live on in this world.

And then, the very next day.

"It’s broken."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"No mistake. Your leg is cleanly broken."

"For now, let’s get you hospitalized."

"As for the Kikuka Sho… I’m afraid that will be difficult."

…Wait.
Is this really how “my” story ends!?