Silence Suzuka's running style was Front-Runner.
She made sure to show Garden Gale exactly what that meant—not that it was any big secret. In the era just after the Golden Generation, while Opera O's grand stage captured everyone's eyes, the single brightest star was undoubtedly the Umamusume named Silence Suzuka.
True, she lacked the legendary dominance of a Hall-of-Famer, nor had she amassed numerous G1 victories or trophies.
In fact, plenty of detractors openly hated Suzuka and her fans, claiming she was massively overrated—someone whose fame completely outstripped her achievements. Simply put, they saw her as the very definition of "overhyped."
But—she'd once had the most dazzling season imaginable.
Suzuka's journey had been rocky from the start.
After an explosive debut victory, high expectations followed—but then came her disastrous attempts at the Triple Crown route: defeats in the Yayoi Sho, the Japan Derby, and the Tenno Sho Autumn. Even her overseas campaign ended poorly. However, the next year brought a season that lit up the turf like a blazing comet.
Nakayama Kinen. Takarazuka Kinen. Mainichi Okan.
Every race she entered that year—
She won them all.
An undefeated streak—victory after victory, so perfect and absolute.
Yet Suzuka's destiny had never been smooth sailing.
Late that same year, disaster struck in the Tenno Sho Autumn. She sustained a devastating injury mid-race—a severe fracture. At the time, her massive lead had convinced everyone she could sweep every remaining race if only fate hadn't intervened. Tragically, this setback marked a pause in her dazzling story. Forced to retire temporarily, she went abroad to heal, patiently recovering...
And now, after a long rehabilitation, Silence Suzuka had finally returned to Tracen Academy.
She still loved racing. She wasn't ready to quit.
…I just want to run.
She unconsciously glanced down at her ankle.
Biting her lip slightly, she stayed silent.
With her backstory aside, Suzuka found herself rather liking the Umamusume before her—Garden Gale, wasn't it? Her expression softened unconsciously, revealing sincere kindness toward her new teammate.
...
The twilight gradually deepened.
What was once the glow of sunset had now turned fully into night, sprinkled with stars.
Was Vega, too, shining brightly tonight?
Their conversation flowed easily, deepening their connection with surprising speed.
Eventually, however, the passage of time forced Garden Gale to stand up reluctantly—it was getting late. She planned to return later for midnight training, meaning she had to sleep early.
Ah.
Today really was a fulfilling day.
Considering their brief acquaintance, Garden Gale didn't immediately try to mimic Suzuka's running style or act overly familiar. After all, there were still seven days until the Satsuki Sho; she could take things slowly. Still, watching Suzuka's running style stirred something inside her.
A front-runner, huh?
That truly is a beautiful way to run.
With those thoughts lingering, Garden Gale said her goodbyes. But just as she started to walk away...
Curren Chan suddenly appeared in the distance, running over frantically alongside Admire Vega.
It was glaringly obvious—they were headed straight toward her.
"Huh?"
Garden Gale froze in confusion. Was something wrong? She had no clue what could be so urgent.
"...This is bad!"
Curren Chan shouted as she approached, visibly flustered. "Garden-chan! We've got trouble—major trouble!"
Eh?
Garden Gale's bewilderment grew even stronger.
In that split second, she rapidly ran through every mischief she'd ever committed—like secretly replacing President Rudolf's speech jokes with terrible puns, or swapping Tokai Teio's beloved honey drink for something less sugary, justifying it as being "for her health."
She glanced toward Admire Vega.
Even the usually stoic Admire Vega wore an uncharacteristically strange expression—intensifying Garden Gale's anxiety.
Just what on earth is happening?
"What's wrong?" Garden asked hesitantly, tilting her head.
Curren Chan swiftly pulled out her phone. "Look—!"
"Someone called [The End-of-the-Century Overlord] just posted on the forum, declaring she'll defeat you at the Satsuki Sho and praising your 'courage' for stepping up as her rival and stuff…"
She handed the phone to Garden Gale.
One glance, and Garden felt like fainting on the spot.
This… this is way too embarrassing!
What was Opera O thinking?!
Openly challenging her? Making a huge public spectacle of their rivalry? She'd never imagined Opera O would pull a stunt like this.
The forum, previously calm, had exploded into chaos—like a tranquil lake suddenly bombarded with stones, sending ripples everywhere. Replies poured in every few seconds, and the post quickly gained a glaring [HOT] tag.
Garden Gale skimmed through a few of the comments—and felt her vision go dark again.
Why?
At Tracen Academy, Garden Gale had always been drastically overrated. Everyone believed she was incredibly powerful, equal to the likes of Tokai Teio.
They expected her to claim the Triple Crown easily.
Outside Tracen, she wasn't widely known—but these discussions were all internal. The commenters unanimously saw Opera O as wildly overestimating herself, openly mocking her audacity for challenging one of Tracen's "hidden geniuses."
[Opera O's going down!]
[Eh, at least she's brave?]
These types of comments piled up quickly, elevating Garden Gale higher and higher.
But the higher someone is raised… the harder they fall.
I absolutely cannot lose this race—!!!
Garden Gale's anxiety surged violently, clawing up her spine.
In an instant, she imagined vividly what would happen if she lost. Comments like "Garden Gale was nothing special after all," or "Is this your so-called genius? How disappointing…" would flood the forums.
Sure—she'd tasted defeat before in the instance, experienced those disappointed gazes firsthand.
She'd built some resistance.
But reality was nothing like a simulation! In the instance, she could comfort herself by saying it was Tokai Teio's loss, not her own. But now, she'd been placed directly in the spotlight—losing here would be a thousand times worse than the most dreadful nightmare!
Just what the hell is Opera O thinking?!
Glaring bitterly at the screen—Garden Gale made her decision.
She wouldn't head back to the dorm to rest. Instead, she focused entirely on that newfound crisis gnawing at her heart.
Turning swiftly she faced Silence Suzuka directly, declaring without hesitation:
"Suzuka, I'm a magician—want to see a trick? It's time for my grand debut!"
"Eh?"
Suzuka stared at her blankly for a moment.
Then Garden Gale proclaimed confidently—
"My magic trick is—perfectly copying your running style!"
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T/N: she's gone crazy