"Track conditions, good. Weather, clear. 2000 meters, counter-clockwise direction."
On the Track, Kagura and Excellent Quality were already in position. Tojo Hana stood next to a Signboard (standee) of an Uma Musume by the Track, announcing the status information of the venue.
Rudolph Symbol and Maruzensky, who were still training, stopped and moved aside, watching this training race, which was said to be a friendly match, with great interest.
"Excellent Quality, Kagura, await the starting signal!"
Tojo Hana gave the prompt. She mainly wanted to remind Kagura, whose concentration was poorer. Excellent Quality was very focused right now, and it seemed she had no problems.
The two bent slightly, assuming their starting postures. Kagura even took a moment to glance at Excellent Quality next to her. Excellent Quality looked very serious, her eyes fixed straight ahead, completely unaware that she was being watched.
'Since I'm running a race... I can't lose face in front of Kagura!'
Excellent Quality stared straight ahead. She had always been looked after by Kagura before. Although she always wanted Kagura, who was two years younger than her, to treat her like an older sister, it was clear that in every aspect, Kagura was more mature than her, making her seem more like a younger sister instead.
'Why do you two, once you get on the Track, act like it's a professional race... We're supposed to be training, right!?'
Kagura, feeling the pressure, mentally complained with a face full of black lines.
She recalled when she ran with Rudolph Symbol and the others. Everyone had agreed to just run a training race, but as they ran, Kagura realized that these Uma Musume got more and more hyped up.
"Rudolph, who do you think will win between these two children?"
Maruzensky watched the two Little Horse Girls preparing to start with great interest. In contrast to Excellent Quality, who was dressed lightly and in full athletic gear, Kagura's maid outfit was quite unsuitable for sports. However, Kagura probably didn't have time to change into sportswear, which was why she wore that.
"I don't know Excellent Quality's strength, but if she wants to beat Kagura, she needs a certain level of skill. I personally lean towards Kagura winning."
Although Rudolph Symbol was not yet clear about Excellent Quality's level, she was sure that among Kagura's peers, those who could defeat her were definitely a handful. It just depended on whether Excellent Quality belonged to this type of genius.
The Track fell into a brief silence. A moment later, Tojo Hana's starting whistle broke the quiet. Excellent Quality, who was already prepared, immediately sprinted out. Kagura, as usual, stayed put for half a second before starting her sprint.
"Oh dear... This little sister's concentration isn't very good... And she's an Uma Musume who runs escape tactics."
Maruzensky was a little worried about Kagura. After all, from the current perspective, Kagura's start was almost consistently half a beat slow, which was not a good thing for her future development.
'Good... the start was perfect... Did Kagura have a late start? Or is she a chase runner?'
Excellent Quality reached the lead position. The perfect start made her slightly relieved. She didn't immediately notice Kagura's position. Kagura's footsteps were behind her. If Kagura wasn't slow-footed or using a chase tactic, then she had a late start.
Tojo Hana naturally noticed Kagura's problem. She pondered how to help Kagura improve this issue. Concentration training was not something that could be solved in a day or two; it required a long process. Fortunately, Kagura was still young, and she had plenty of time to correct her problems.
"This child... she didn't continue to contend for the lead?"
Tojo Hana had initially thought Kagura would, as before, accelerate madly to reclaim the lead, but Kagura didn't do so this time. She saw Kagura steadily following behind Excellent Quality, her speed far from as fast as when she ran the great escape last time.
Not immediately contending for the lead meant that Kagura had likely chosen a mid-pack or front-runner tactic this time.
'Should I rush past her?'
Kagura's main reason for not immediately bursting out this time was her unfamiliarity with the distance. The reason she dared to sprint all out before was that she had run 1600 meters, and she knew that running 1600 meters at full throttle wouldn't put any physical strain on her, so she dared to burst out throughout the entire race.
Now the race was extended to 2000 meters. Although Kagura felt the pressure wasn't great, she wasn't sure if such a fierce sprint would allow her to finish these 2000 meters. So, she decided to observe Excellent Quality's situation ahead before making a move.
"Excellent Quality... as the leader, she can't pull away from Kagura, who is still in the front-runner position."
Rudolph Symbol shook her head. It was not a good thing for the leader to be unable to pull away from the back.
The two quickly ran several hundred meters, and their respective strengths began to show. Kagura was still biting at Excellent Quality's heels in the front-runner position. Excellent Quality ahead seemed to be accelerating as much as she could within her capabilities, but she still couldn't pull away from Kagura.
"Rudolph, in your debut race, the leader ahead of you was just like Excellent Quality."
"...Maruzen, do you mean Kagura is as strong as me?"
"Who knows? What if she grows up to be even better than you?"
"That would truly be a blessing."
Rudolph Symbol smiled. She yearned for such an opponent. The Uma Musume in her debut race couldn't give her enough pressure; she couldn't even feel the thrill of the chase. But that day, chasing behind Kagura, she rarely felt a sense of threat and excitement.
—Catch her! Overtake her!
It was only when facing Kagura's great escape that she first had such a feeling. Before, only Maruzensky could give her such a sense of pressure.
'Why... why are Kagura's footsteps still so close?! Has her distance from me not changed at all!? How can this be... How is this possible...'
The greatest pressure right now was on Excellent Quality, who had just passed the second turn. She could clearly hear Kagura's footsteps constantly chasing behind her, and the volume of the sound had barely changed, indicating that the distance between Kagura and her had hardly varied!
For Excellent Quality, this was very bad news, because if the leader couldn't pull away, the probability of being overtaken on the final straight was very high.
'If I accelerate more... I'll lose speed at the end. But if I don't accelerate...'
Excellent Quality was evaluating how to run the last part of her race, weighing whether or not to accelerate with full force now to shake off Kagura.
But in that moment of her hesitation, she and Kagura had already entered the third turn together, with only the last turn and the final straight left to the finish line!
"Soshi — excuse me!"
Kagura had confirmed that the distance and stamina were in the right place. She lowered her stance and began to increase her speed.
The unchanging sound of footsteps in Excellent Quality's ears suddenly grew closer. Tojo Hana, Rudolph Symbol, and others watching by the Track couldn't help but widen their eyes. Kagura moved to the outside lane, then lowered her body and began to accelerate significantly!!
"So fast!! You're kidding me!!?"
In an instant, Kagura's figure flashed past like a shadow, appearing two body lengths ahead to Excellent Quality's right. And Kagura was still increasing her speed with terrifying acceleration, rapidly widening the distance between her and Excellent Quality!
Excellent Quality no longer cared about whether she would lose speed on the final straight. She had to immediately accelerate to catch up with Kagura, otherwise, if she continued like this, even if she had a final burst of speed on the final straight, she wouldn't be able to make up the lost distance.
"The distance can't be closed... How can this be..."
But what made Excellent Quality even more desperate was that she found her acceleration was not as high as Kagura's. Even though she was now accelerating with all her might, the distance between Kagura and her was still continuously widening.
At this point, Kagura, who was already four body lengths ahead, was the first to pass the fourth turn and step onto the final straight. Excellent Quality only heard a clear, delicate shout carried on the whistling wind, and Kagura ahead accelerated once again!
"This speed is too outrageous... This won't do!!"
Amidst Excellent Quality's desperate, oyster-like wails, Kagura, who had already pulled a very long distance from her, crossed the finish line first, while Excellent Quality, who had lost speed, took another four seconds and a bit to cross the finish line.
Kagura, who had just finished intense exercise, was breathing slightly rapidly. She took a few deep breaths and quickly adjusted her breathing rhythm, while Excellent Quality was exhausted, propping herself up on her knees, gasping for air.
"That's at least a 15-body length lead; what a terrifying landslide victory..."
Rudolph Symbol could imagine how much pressure Excellent Quality was under on the Track. It was clear Excellent Quality was trying her best to catch up, but Kagura's speed was simply too fast, too fast. She had no chance to counterattack. The moment she was overtaken after the second bend, the race was already over.
"Just like you, Rudolph. In your debut race, those Little Horse Girls behind you were in the same miserable state."
"...I know. I hope this won't make Fine Motion too sad. She actually ran really well; it's just that Kagura is too... sigh."
To be so mercilessly crushed by her good friend, Excellent Quality must have been very sad. Rudolph Symbol hoped this crushing defeat wouldn't have too much of an impact on the young Excellent Quality.