Kuroha's brand-new life had only just begun when the heat and clamor belonging to the Umamusume came rushing right after it.
Three days later.
The eyes of the entire Central and Far East Umamusume world gradually shifted toward a grand event that had captured everyone's attention.
The very first Central URA Championship.
As the pinnacle event strongly championed by Yayoi Akikawa, the URA Championship was, without question, a carnival-like celebration that sent all retired Umamusume into a frenzy.
Even if not every retired legendary Umamusume had chosen to return to the track this time, the event's popularity had not diminished in the slightest.
The stands were packed to capacity.
The cheers rose higher and higher like tidal waves.
Media crews from every outlet had long since set up around every corner of the track, their camera flashes joining together into a dazzling sea of stars.
"The Emperor," Rudolf!
"The Supercar," Maruzensky!
"The Bewitching Beauty," Ramonu!
"The White Lightning," Tamamo Cross!
...
One famous name after another gleamed on the entry list.
Even with quite a few horse girls choosing not to participate, countless legendary Umamusume who had once carved out glorious reputations in the Central circuit had stepped onto the track once again.
That dreamlike feeling, as though the past itself had returned, made fans across the Far East value this race to a degree that even surpassed the Arima Kinen.
Of course.
Unlike the top active-racer events, where the competitors routinely awakened The Zone and turned races into overwhelming clashes between monsters, these legendary Umamusume were long past their peaks.
Having lost the Blessing of the Three Goddesses, they simply could no longer wield terrifying, excessive powers like The Zone.
Because of that, the intensity of these races was a notch or two below a standard top-tier G1 event.
Even so, these legendary Umamusume still displayed fundamentals far beyond ordinary runners.
They showed first-rate tactical mind games, along with a pure hunger for victory that lost to no one.
That stripped-back, back-to-basics beauty of competition left the entire crowd thoroughly satisfied.
As the schedule advanced, the crowns of each URA event were decided one after another.
Among them, the winner of the URA Final Series Turf Mile was "The Emperor," Rudolf.
Perhaps because Kuroha had briefly brought her back to her peak not long ago, Rudolf's overall condition was absurdly good.
Even without The Zone, she crushed every last rival on the final straight and took the title with ease.
Even Ramonu, another Triple Crown winner—albeit of the fillies' Triple Crown—couldn't catch up to her.
"The Emperor" had more than earned that name.
And besides Rudolf, there were two more URA race winners among Kuroha's acquaintances.
URA Turf Middle Distance winner—Maruzensky!
URA Turf Long Distance winner—Super Creek!
On the winners' podium, streamers drifted through the air.
These legendary Umamusume—who in daily life were commanding, carefree, or gentle in their own different ways—now each held up a gleaming golden trophy that symbolized G1 victory.
And on each of their faces was a smile as pure and radiant as that of a girl who had only just debuted.
For them, their glory had already long since been complete.
But to stand on this highest stage again after so long, and once more taste the fruit of victory, was itself enough to make the whole thing a joy worth laughing over.
High above the stands, inside a VIP box, Fumino Nase stood before the floor-to-ceiling window.
Her hands were clenched tight, her excitement impossible to hide.
"Creek... thank goodness!"
To many people, this race might have been nothing more than an optional sideshow.
But at least to Fumino herself, this was an absolutely wonderful afternoon.
After celebrating Super Creek's victory in her heart for several minutes, Fumino coughed lightly into her hand, then returned to her usual cool and aloof expression.
She turned on her heel, briskly pushed open the box door, and prepared to head downstairs to meet Super Creek.
Ding.
As she walked, her phone suddenly gave a soft chime.
She glanced down and saw that it was a private message from Kuroha.
[My Lil Horse: Super Creek won. Congrats, congrats. Oguri clasping fists in congratulations.jpg]
[Fumino Nase: You think I need you to tell me that? I'm here at the venue!]
[My Lil Horse: Why'd you come all the way there instead of staying home with March?]
[My Lil Horse: ...]
[My Lil Horse: Jealous?]
[Fumino Nase: Shut up!]
[My Lil Horse: ...]
Back at the Villa of Chasing Light, on a treadmill on the first floor, Kuroha jogged lightly while looking at the messages on his phone, a faint amused smile appearing on his face.
Still, he typed out what he'd originally wanted to say.
[My Lil Horse: What I actually meant is, school's about to start again. Since Creek retired, your team hasn't recruited any new trainees for more than three years, right?]
[My Lil Horse: You don't have any active Umamusume under you now, do you?]
[Fumino Nase: ...]
The beauty fell silent.
Holding her phone, Fumino let out a soft sigh.
It... did seem like that was true.
Last year, she had focused almost entirely on Super Creek and barely spared any attention for the younger Umamusume of the new era.
Much less recruiting any new girls into her team.
[Fumino Nase: So?]
The purple-haired beauty narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Based on her understanding of Kuroha, he might tease her from time to time, but when it came to serious matters, he was always reliable.
If he had raised a problem, then he definitely already had a solution in mind.
[My Lil Horse: Become my assistant trainer!]
[My Lil Horse: Be the second official trainer at Chasing Light!]
"..."
Looking at those two lines on the screen, Fumino fell silent again.
First she slowly came to a stop outside the path leading to the competitor tunnel.
Then she tilted her face up and stared blankly at the ceiling.
A moment later, she let out a long breath, a small smile of relief appearing on her face.
"You... idiot..."
[Fumino Nase: Then from now on, won't that mean I can only be under you?]
[My Lil Horse: ... March thinking.jpg]
[My Lil Horse: "Voice message"]
Fumino looked at the voice message, glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, and only then tapped it open.
The next instant, a familiar voice and tone sounded beside her ear.
"Mmm... well, if Fumino wants to be on top of me, I guess that's not impossible—"
Click.
With her phone screen now locked in her hand, cheeks flushed bright red, Fumino continued toward the competitor tunnel.
...
Back at the Villa of Chasing Light, Kuroha had already finished jogging and casually pulled over a chair to sit down.
"Hm. Fumino really didn't reply after that."
He took another glance at his phone and chuckled softly.
Over the past half month, he and Fumino had already laid everything out clearly with Eito Nase.
Though, as Fumino herself had put it, Eito Nase's opinion could be treated like background noise and ignored without consequence.
Even so, the date for the wedding had still been set.
It would be after Maruzensky's, in December of this year.
And ever since that date was decided, Kuroha and Fumino's relationship had officially gone from boyfriend and girlfriend to fiancés.
They were even living together now.
At most, a joke like that would just earn him a light pinch from Fumino when she got home later. It hardly came with any real side effects.
"Trainer~"
At that moment, a strand of silver-white hair flashed at the corner of his vision.
March came over carrying a cup of hot tea, smiling as she handed it to Kuroha before sitting down close against him.
Ever since getting married, this silver-white storm that once rampaged across the racetrack had become Kuroha's capable wife at home.
"Thanks, March."
Kuroha accepted the tea, rubbed the girl's head beside him out of habit, and took a sip while it was still hot to warm his stomach.
Feeling the warmth of the Umamusume at his side, and looking out at the clear blue sky beyond the window, Kuroha's heart gradually settled.
"At Chasing Light right now... once Oguri and Ardan retire at the start of next year, the only active Umamusume left will be McQueen and Teio..."
"Counting the time, Sis Fuji and I should be retiring too."
"Mmm... looks like I really need to start planning out the road for the new generation."
After thinking for a while, Kuroha paused slightly, struck by the odd feeling that he had forgotten something.
"...Forget it. If I can't remember it, then it probably isn't that important."
"Better to sort out McQueen and the others' race schedules and training plans first."
...
At that very moment.
Just as this island nation in the Far East was celebrating the successful conclusion of the URA Championship—
High above the Atlantic Ocean.
A red streak and a yellow streak, both glowing with a sacred aura, tore across the sky in an instant and vanished.
Their target: Central Tracen Academy.
(End of Chapter)
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