First place, Dream Weaver.
Since regaining consciousness, Tokai Teio had stood still, staring blankly at those words on the screen.
Her Satsuki Sho was over.
Her dream of an Undefeated Triple Crown was over.
For a moment, Tokai Teio almost felt like laughing. Was this the end for every dream—to be crushed by reality?
"Not going backstage to prepare? The Winner's Stage is about to start."
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind her. Tokai Teio didn't turn around. She didn't need to; she knew who it was.
The only person who'd still have the energy to play part-time emotional support after a race was Dream Weaver.
"That's the winner's stage. Has nothing to do with me."
"The top three are the main act. The girls after that are backup dancers. It's a stage where everyone can find happiness, Tokai Teio. We've already left the track."
Teio didn't respond to that directly. Instead, she parroted a theory Symboli Rudolf had drilled into her countless times.
"To crave the track. To crave rivals. To crave true, incandescent flames. That's what it takes to be a Triple Crown-class Uma Musume."
"When that burning heat called competitive spirit is thrown into the furnace that forges brilliance, the losers are just fuel. Only the winner gets to bask in the glory."
She paused for a moment.
"I always thought I'd be that genius, basking alone in that glory."
Tokai Teio turned her head. Transparent tears clung to the corners of her eyes, nearly blending in with her azure blue irises.
"Never thought I'd end up being your fuel instead."
Losing sucks. Dream Weaver figured she could understand where Teio was coming from.
"But this Satsuki Sho must have taught you a lot. A Zone is a symbol of strength. Now you've evolved from an unrealized genius into a true powerhouse."
"So what if you failed this time? There's always next time. The Classic Triple Crown is important, but your career isn't just about that. There's the Autumn Triple Crown, the Spring Triple Crown. Hell, even going overseas to chase the Arc de Triomphe—a crown no one in Japanese Uma Musume racing has ever claimed."
"This is only your second year. You awakened your Zone in your second year. No one can predict just how strong you'll become."
Dream Weaver even thought about bringing up Sakura Yamato as an example, to tell Teio her career was still long, anything could happen. But before she could get the words out, Teio cut her off.
"But I still lost the Triple Crown. I betrayed my past dream."
She let out a self-deprecating laugh, looking straight at Dream Weaver.
"I couldn't even withstand a single one of your strikes."
A lot of people can't withstand it.
Forget you, there isn't an Uma Musume in this generation, or maybe any generation, who could take a direct hit from the Divine Blade.
Dream Weaver instinctively thought that, her mouth opening to offer more comfort, but the words got stuck in her throat again.
"See?"
Teio pointed at Dream Weaver's eyes.
"That look. Again."
Dream Weaver instinctively raised a hand to her own eye corner, realizing a second later there was no way she could see her own eyes like that.
It seemed like every time she faced Tokai Teio, these eyes betrayed her, revealing her subconscious thoughts. But it was the truth. Dream Weaver couldn't lie to herself, not when she knew her own strength.
"Ever since the Niigata Junior Stakes, every time you look at your opponents in a race, you have that look. I've studied the tapes."
"It's like none of them are even rivals to you. No matter how hard those girls try, they can't put a shred of pressure on you. It's like…"
Teio bent down, picking up a bug that had somehow flown onto the track from who-knows-where. She held it up in front of Dream Weaver.
"It's like you're looking at us the way you'd look at a bug."
"I don't—"
Dream Weaver thought she held equal respect for all Uma Musume.
If someone's heart cried out for salvation, she'd walk right up to them and try to give them strength with her words.
"You do."
"You know who looks at people like that, hoping they'll improve? Elders. Teachers. Coaches. Lots of people."
"But never, ever does a peer look at a rival with those eyes."
"From the very start… you never saw us as rivals."
"So what are we to you, really? Background scenery for your victories? Offerings to fill the void in your empty heart?"
Teio stepped closer, closing the distance, and grabbed Dream Weaver by the collar, forcing her to lower her head and meet her eyes. She spoke, each word deliberate.
"Can't find enough meaning in your victories outside the track to fill that hollow chest? Do you have to turn the girls on the same track into tools too, trying to satisfy your own hollow wins by giving them false comfort?!"
Staring into those azure eyes, Dream Weaver's mind went completely blank.
She couldn't understand a word Teio was saying.
When had she ever done those things? Didn't every one of her victories have meaning?
To give everyone back at the apartment hope to move forward.
To live up to the expectations of the fans who loved her.
To let her mother, to let everyone who cared about her, see her shine on the track.
Wasn't that meaning enough…?
"Dream Weaver. What does running mean to you?"
It was actually an easy question. For any Uma Musume.
Every girl with dreams of the track had her own reason. A childhood yearning. An instinctive love. Something more complicated. Anyone could answer.
If you asked T.M. Opera O, she'd say she was the Overlord at the center of the stage—of course she had to run.
If you asked King Halo, she'd tell Teio she wanted to be a first-class Uma Musume, just like her mother.
If you asked Mejiro Ardan, she'd say she just wanted to run. Even if her glass legs made her fragile, she still wanted to run.
Orfevre. Nanno Sumire. It didn't matter what their talent was, or where they were born. If they were an Uma Musume, they had a reason to run.
But Dream Weaver froze.
She'd never dreamed of running as a kid.
Back then, her biggest life plan was to get into a good university, find a good job, and let her mother rest easy. She hadn't stepped onto the track because of some grand dream.
It was because she was an Uma Musume, and it was the only way she could think of to quickly scrape together the money for medical bills.
All along, she'd treated running like a tool to solve a problem. A ritual she could pour all her effort into to save her mother.
So when Tokai Teio suddenly asked that question, Dream Weaver was at a complete loss. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.