"Moo~! She's too stronnnng~!!"
Lying face down on the turf beside the track, limbs flailing in protest, was none other than the undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl, Tokai Teio. She had arrived alongside Rice, and this was the scream she let out.
"What are you shouting for? Your voice carries just as well as always."
"Ah! It's Ran!! That's right, if it's Ran, you can do it! Yeah, definitely!"
Teio suddenly jumped up and grabbed Rampage's hands. What on earth had happened?
"W-What's wrong, Teio-san? Did something happen?"
"What do you mean 'did something happen,' Rice?! Suddenly, Sunday Silence told me to come to the track. When I got here, Kaicho [Symboli Rudolf], Ramonu-san, CB-san, and Ryan were all here too. I was wondering what was going on, and then she just said, 'Show me your power,' and made me race right then and there!!?"
"Ah..."
Rampage involuntarily let out a sound of understanding. It seemed Sunday, who had just been talking about wanting to test the ability of Japan's Triple Crown winners, had actually gone and done it. And she started with Teio.
"So, how was it? The American style of running?"
"No, seriously... it was insane."
Even Teio possessed ability that wasn't just domestic class, but world-class. Yet, even after challenging Sunday with her full-power Teio Step and full-body running form, the result was a defeat by six lengths.
"She's not just fast. Her running is rough, but beneath that roughness is genuine, refined technique packed in without reserve. And on top of that, they say her main aptitude is dirt? I don't get itttt~!"
Teio's usually high-pitched voice sounded unusually subdued. She knew her opponent was a big-name superstar from America, but to lose on turf when the opponent's specialty was dirt... she hadn't seen that coming.
When Rampage murmured, "I wonder if the horse girls felt like this when I first challenged dirt," she laughed, recalling the Tokai Stakes.
"Ah, aah... Ran... you're here too..."
"R-Ryan-san, are you okay!? You're super wobbly!!?"
"Ahaha~ I'm fine, I'm fine... Could I get a sports drink?"
"I'll get one right away~!!"
Stumbling over was the Mejiro Triple Crown winner, Ryan. It seemed her baptism by fire was over, but she looked incredibly unsteady. Rice fetched a drink from the cooler Ryan pointed to. Accepting it, Ryan downed it in one go and then collapsed face-first onto the grass.
"Aaargh, I lost too!!"
"Ryan lost as well..."
"Yeah. Four lengths."
"Muu... narrower than my gap..."
"Oi, Rice. Get me one too."
Sitting down next to Ryan was the Sunday Silence in question. Rice immediately brought a drink in response. Sunday thanked her, patted her head, and then took a swig.
"Teio. You're still green."
"Mmph. Even so, I am an undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl."
"Technically and physically, yeah. But mentally? You're garbage. You wavered way too much just because I put a little pressure on you."
Checking the details of the race from Ryan, it seemed Sunday was right. By aggressively pressuring the enthusiastic Teio, Sunday had shaken her up. Teio got distracted and couldn't display her full ability until the final spurt when she unleashed her full-body form and Teio Step—but until that point, her performance wasn't praiseworthy.
"But..."
"Are you going to make the excuse that you wouldn't have lost if I raced 'fairly'? Japanese races are interesting, but you guys are way too unfamiliar with 'Outlaw Debuffs.' Sure, 'fair and square' sounds nice, but sticking to that means abandoning methods that could help you win."
Rampage shared this opinion. In Japan, extremely few horse girls utilized debuffs. While this was a manifestation of their integrity as athletes, it also signified a lack of hunger for victory. From Sunday's perspective, debuffs were just another tactic; using them was legitimate, and not using them was questionable.
"Forcing your opponent into a disadvantage to create an advantage for yourself—that is tactics. Rampage's 'Phantom Escape' is the same thing."
"Well, I guess so..."
"Japan has a weird obsession with purity in strange places. Is this the influence of that 'Bushido' thing?"
"Ah... I can't really deny that..."
Overseas, horse girls naturally incorporated debuffs into their basic strategies. Rampage felt this was the first stumbling block for anyone going on an overseas expedition. If things went poorly, you might even face multiple debuffers sent out just to let their ace win. Well, in Rampage's case, she could just crush them all, so her stance was "come at me if you dare," but still...
"Anyway, Teio. If you have any intention of going overseas, don't neglect preparing for that. The way you are now, if you went abroad, you'd get beaten to a pulp. Content-wise, racing Ryan was more fun."
"Ugh..."
"N-No, I was just focusing on my own running, that's all."
"Exactly. That's it. You were able to stick to your own run by yourself. Basically, if you let someone else's pressure shake you, you can't show your true strength."
Teio, Ryan, and Rice all listened seriously to these words. If you are shaken by others, you cannot display your true ability. In fact, Teio had been bewildered by Sunday's debuffs and failed to concentrate fully.
"In that sense, Rice was perfect in the Kikuka-sho."
"Fueh!?"
"You were focused back then, weren't you? You only looked at the opponent you had to beat and directed your consciousness solely to running. In that state, even if I tried to shake you, it wouldn't have meant a thing."
In that sense, it made sense why Armed Links kept winning overseas; she had that mental fortitude. Sunday praised Rice unreservedly for displaying mental strength comparable to that, but Rice, caught off guard, was flustered. Seeing this, Sunday gave a wicked grin, scooped Rice up, and ruffled her hair roughly.
"Fueeeeeeh~!!!"
"I'm praising you! Be a little happier, you little rice grain~!!"
"Fueeeeeh Onee-sama~!!"
"That's about enough."
Rampage rescued Rice from Sunday's lap and placed her on her own. Rice didn't seem to dislike it, but Sunday's strength had been a bit much, leaving her hair messy. Thinking she would fix it later, Rampage petted her gently.
"Come to think of it, Turbo isn't here. Where is she?"
"She said she had special training for the Japan Cup, so I decided to save her for later."
"So, who are you running against next?"
"Let's see... I'm getting hungry and this is a pain, so I'll take them all on at once."
"Oi, oi, oi."
True to her declaration, Sunday took on Rudolf, Ramonu, and CB all together... and as a result, she snatched 1st place, beating the 2nd place Rudolf by one length.
"Hey, Madame Chairman. Don't get the wrong idea just because people call you 'Emperor' or whatever. You haven't mastered the summit yet. We horse girls keep running, after all."
"---Haha. You are absolutely right... Ramonu, CB... shall we start training seriously again for the first time in a while?"
"...Fine by me. I'm actually feeling a little motivated now."
"Same here... Hey, you'll run with us again, right?"
"Come anytime. I'll trample you again."
At her fearless grin, the three legends smiled back combatively. Their smiles held the sentiment that they could still run, and that next time, they would win.
Simultaneously, Sunday thought: Japanese horse girls are going to get stronger at an accelerating rate.
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