Some time later, Takuya returned to Longchamp from Central. Thanks to the medical resources provided by the Racing Association, Kousei's surgery went smoothly.
Her voracious appetite also contributed to a remarkably swift postoperative recovery, allowing her to resume normal training after just one month. Even without her Adamantine Body, her regenerative abilities were top-tier among Umamusume.
After her surgery, Kousei received a staggering gift: during her preparations for the Arc de Triomphe, the former champions of the race offered to run alongside her. Though long retired and no longer at their peak performance, their experience and decision-making skills remained undiminished by time. For Kousei, who had never relied on raw talent to overwhelm her opponents, sparring with these Arc de Triomphe legends was sure to yield invaluable insights.
Time slipped by unnoticed as Kousei immersed herself in the exhilarating runs with the Arc de Triomphe veterans, completely losing track of the days.
"That's my win," Kousei declared, crossing the finish line first on the training track.
Rigantona stumbled into view moments later, panting heavily, her exhaustion far more pronounced than Kousei's.
"To think I'd lose in the final straight... I never imagined the gap between my current self and my prime would be this huge," Rigantona lamented. "Time truly spares no one."
Even the fastest Umamusume can't outrun the track of time.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone has their day," Kousei said, casually tossing a water bottle to Rigantona. The two of them plopped down on the grass.
"You know, at first, I thought you'd be hard to get along with," Rigantona admitted.
"Why's that?"
"Because before we met, all I knew about you were rumors from other people."
"Oh? And what kind of person did they say I was?"
"Arrogant, powerful, and looking down on everyone."
Kousei chuckled. She'd expected as much, but hearing it from someone else still felt different. Rigantona possessed a primal wildness, her aura more aggressive than that of the other champions. Her first impression was indeed quite intimidating.
Yet, in person, she was surprisingly easygoing—a classic case of a tsundere.
The other Arc de Triomphe veterans had already left Longchamp. Now, only Rigantona and Sea the Stars, who was also competing in the Arc de Triomphe, remained.
"Seeing you reminds me of the old days," Rigantona said, chugging water before letting out a satisfied sigh. "I see a shadow of an old friend in you."
"Yurei-nee told me you once went to the NAU."
"Yurei..." Rigantona murmured, her mind drifting back. "I remember her. We raced together in the second leg of the NAU."
Kousei was stunned that Rigantona actually remembered Yurei.
"What's wrong?" Rigantona chuckled lightly. "You look quite surprised."
"I am a little," Kousei admitted.
"I don't remember every Umamusume I've raced against, but she definitely left an impression. Not to brag, but I was in a league of my own at the NAU. I swept the entire field back then. The reason I remember her is because in the final straight, she was the only one desperately trying to catch me. The others had already lost their will to fight before they even entered the straight."
"Yurei-nee said she was just a minor character and that you wouldn't remember her. Looks like she was wrong."
"She may have lost to me, but she was no minor character. She held on for so long... Rukomachi is lucky to have her."
"Huh?" Kousei looked at Rigantona in surprise, only to see her eyes brimming with a knowing smile. The two shared an unspoken understanding.
"Honestly, I'm a bit curious," Kousei asked. "Why is Sea the Stars so determined to run in the Arc de Triomphe?"
Rigantona seemed to consider it for a moment. "Why... I suppose it's because Sea the Stars also refuses to lose."
"Huh?"
Refuses to lose? Against whom? Kousei couldn't make sense of it.
"Who knows~" Rigantona said playfully.
"Huh?" Kousei had said "huh?" one too many times today.
"At the beginning of the year, I had a long talk with Sea the Stars. She told me she felt she couldn't keep running on the track.
"I was shocked. She had just reached the pinnacle of her career, and her form was excellent. I thought she was joking, but when I looked into her eyes, they told me she was serious.
"She asked me if I'd ever felt like an invisible hand was manipulating our destinies. In that moment, any words of comfort I had died in my throat.
"Because I had felt that way.
"How can I describe it? Is there another world existing somewhere we don't know about? Is there another 'me' out there?
"Perhaps victory is inevitable because another 'me' has already won."
Kousei's mouth went dry, and a drop of cold sweat trickled down her temple.
"What if even our retirements are predestined? We don't win because we give our all on the racetrack. We win simply because we're following a script, so victory is guaranteed no matter what.
"We're just puppets in a play."
Kousei had always thought these champions were free from worries, but now it seemed their troubles ran far deeper than ordinary people's.
"Sea the Stars was in her prime; she shouldn't have retired so early. But as an Umamusume, she was slowly losing the Three Goddesses' blessing. She said she could feel herself gradually turning back into a human.
"She trained desperately, trying to hold on to everything she had worked so hard to achieve, but it was useless. She suspected it was because her counterpart in the other world stopped racing after the Arc de Triomphe—her story ended there. So, in this world, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape that tragic script.
"Including the NAU, I've run in plenty of races and picked up my share of injuries. So when I retired, even though I felt something was off, I didn't think much of it.
"But Sea the Stars was different. The sight of her crying alone on the Training Track... I never want to see that again as long as I live."
Rigantona looked at Kousei, her eyes filled with hope.
"So, we have you to thank for everything."
"Thank me?" Kousei was confused.
"Sea the Stars had already given up. If everything was predestined, she thought she might as well just follow the script.
"Until she saw you. We saw you.
"Kousei, you're special. We've been watching everything you've done. Thanks to you, Sea the Stars has decided to defy her fate.
"She said, 'If fate wants me to stop here, then I refuse. I'll end my own career on my own terms.'
"Sea the Stars wants to run one more race—a race that isn't in her destiny—with you. In her final moments, she wants to strike back at fate with all her might.
"So, I'm asking you to give it your all, too. I hope you can give Sea the Stars an ending without regrets."
Rigantona bowed deeply to Kousei. This rough, martial warrior possessed such a surprisingly delicate heart. Could Kousei accept this promise? It was so heavy, yet so fervent.
"Of course. I'll give it everything I've got.
"No matter what troubles she's facing, whenever I see her, she's always the magnificent King of the Arc de Triomphe."
Rigantona had selfishly planned to use the favor of running alongside Kousei as leverage, but Kousei's response was far more straightforward than she'd imagined.
A heart so pure, it has room for nothing but running. It seemed her maneuvering had been unnecessary after all.
Rigantona straightened up and looked at the sky. The sky over Longchamp had been this clear for as long as she could remember. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past, and Rigantona seemed to see something, smiling knowingly.
"Kousei."
"Hmm?"
"Having you in this era... that's what's truly remarkable."