"Court vision."
It wasn't some vague concept, nor an intangible mirage unreachable even after a thousand explanations.
It was something real—utterly tangible.
Physical prowess set the floor, but court vision decided the ceiling.
...
After numerous mundane questions, Garden Gale was beginning to doubt the accuracy of Air Shakur's analysis. Was their data flawed? Or perhaps their expertise was limited. If not, surely they'd know which decisions were truly fatal, and which were simply a waste of everyone's time.
Is that really all this simulation has to offer?
Is it just going to end quietly?
Disappointment flickered across Garden's face—the final curve was approaching, and the race would end in just half a minute.
"Patience," Kanzaki Sakura whispered, noticing Garden Gale's frustration. Her lips curled into a knowing smile.
The real show was just about to begin.
Right now—
The moment she'd been waiting for!
As the final corner approached, another prompt suddenly popped onto the screen. Worse yet, in the top-right corner, a bright red countdown appeared—starting from ten, accompanied by a rhythmic ticking that echoed like a heartbeat, each sound resonating deep in their chests.
Garden Gale instantly snapped back into full focus, her eyes locked onto the screen.
Yet her attention kept drifting helplessly back to that relentless countdown.
She exhaled slowly.
Calm down.
A deep breath filled her lungs, clearing her mind and sharpening her senses.
Next came rapid reading, absorbing the text at lightning speed, seeking key phrases to decipher the intent behind each word. Or at least—that should have been the case. But this question was shockingly simple, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Even the Emperor bit her thumbnail slightly, frozen by the sheer simplicity and directness of the query.
What was the question?
[Question 1: Where is your opponent?]
Her opponent? Garden Gale faltered briefly, quickly scanning the minimized racetrack map. There were no sudden Runaways, no furious End Closers. The entire pack was running steady, cautious.
In that case…
Garden Gale thought for a moment.
Her opponents were all the other Umamusume.
…Is that it?
She summoned the keyboard, ready to answer—but paused again, fingertip hovering above the screen.
Suddenly, memories of all the previous questions flooded through her mind, each scenario dissected and analyzed. Her hesitation vanished as realization dawned brightly upon her.
No.
Her opponent wasn't everyone.
No one could keep track of the entire field. True elite racers narrowed their vision, hyper-focusing on a smaller, specific area. And she knew exactly who mattered here—the strongest racer on the field.
It hadn't been explicitly written out, but Garden Gale knew.
The strongest contender was the #8 Umamusume, just like how she'd once locked onto T.M. Opera O at the Satsuki Sho.
Lock onto her…
And victory would be certain.
With the timer almost expired, Garden Gale decisively keyed in her answer:
[#8—right behind me.]
Even through the screen, she felt a rush of danger, a primal instinct triggered like a beast catching scent of its prey.
...
Akikawa Yayoi saw the [Correct] notification flash on the screen and nearly dropped her fan in disbelief.
"So…this was just a memory test, huh?" she quipped. "If you didn't remember #8 was the strongest, you'd be screwed?"
"No," Symboli Rudolf interjected firmly, shaking her head. "In races, anchoring yourself to a single target is a perfectly valid strategy. No one's court vision is broad enough to monitor every competitor at once. Focusing sharply on one critical rival—that's true tactical awareness."
"Recognizing that…" Rudolf's voice trailed off meaningfully, leaving the sentence unfinished.
She'd become something of a riddler herself.
...
But the simulation wasn't over yet.
The second question appeared instantly.
[Question 2: Where is your path?]
—Path?
It sounded abstract, but Garden Gale understood immediately: What exactly would she do to claim victory?
She clearly grasped the essence of the question.
So she asked herself honestly—if all her advantages vanished, how could she possibly seize the glory of first place? Rely purely on speed? Impossible. She lacked overwhelming acceleration; her finishing kick alone wouldn't secure the win.
But before she could delve deeper—
The third question abruptly appeared alongside it.
[Question 3: If you follow this path, will you win this race?]
Two questions stacked together, but thankfully the oppressive countdown didn't appear this time. There was a five full minutes stretched out generously before her, leaving Garden Gale deep in thought.
If she had a blackboard in front of her right now, chalk in hand, she'd eagerly scrawl out her reasoning step-by-step.
But she couldn't write a single character.
Because right now, her mind was utterly blank.
She'd fallen into a deep, tangled contemplation of the problem.
These questions felt almost philosophical—there were hundreds, even thousands, of plausible answers, yet not one guaranteed victory. At best, each could only adjust the probability slightly.
She bit her collar lightly, knees drawn up to her chest, curled up on the bench like a tiny squirrel huddled protectively around its tail.
Garden Gale sat frozen, like Rodin's statue of The Thinker.
Kanzaki Sakura gave Air Shakur a smug, victorious look.
"Yes~!"
She even flashed a "V" at her companion, proud of her devious string of questions.
Even geniuses would stumble at this! Behind them, even the Emperor's face revealed deep contemplation, unable to immediately answer.
These weren't random questions—they'd been carefully crafted in advance. No cheap shots here.
Akikawa Yayoi waved her fan slowly, concern evident on her face.
Could questions this abstract really have a correct answer?
They couldn't.
But Garden Gale was still searching.
If nothing was on her side, how could she still seize victory? She couldn't rely on speed or stamina alone. Mental fortitude? Impossible—this was just a simulation. There were no burning lungs, no blazing heart chasing after glory.
She dismissed each possibility, one by one.
All answers seemed futile.
Rubbing her temples, Garden Gale felt a faint ache from overthinking. Breathing had even become difficult—the bench was too cramped with five people pressed together.
This cramped space—
A sudden flash of clarity sliced through her scattered thoughts like lightning.
Wait—space?!
She sprang abruptly to her feet, shouting with excitement.
Yes! That's it—space!
Where was space?
When would it appear?
And how could she race toward the future?
If everything was stacked against her, she simply had to run toward the future itself! Charge ahead of everyone, bringing the future crashing down upon her opponents, launching a dimensional attack from ahead in time!
The one who seized the best position wasn't her current self—it was Garden Gale three seconds from now!
No—
Not the best position.
She'd stake everything on taking the winning position!
That was the unbreakable law of victory.
She would—run toward the future!
---
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