At the commentator's prompt, the audience finally noticed the tiny pink-haired horse girl.
By now, Urara had already broken free from the congestion of the pack. She swung wide to the outside lane and sprinted forward with nothing in front of her to block the way.
The unfamiliar horse girl who had chatted with Urara before the race stared in disbelief as Urara shot past her.
She had originally planned to look after the little pink-haired girl a bit, to make sure such a small horse girl did not get knocked around by the others.
But why was she so fast?!
"Ngh..." The unfamiliar girl had completely run out of steam and could only watch as Urara pulled farther and farther away.
In barely ten seconds, Urara had rocketed from eighth place all the way up to second. She was only two lengths behind Happy Meek in first—and still closing fast.
"Bang!"
It was as if Urara were pouring out every last ounce of energy she had saved up until now. Her speed rose even further, unleashing a final burst so explosive it left everyone stunned.
"So fast, so fast! Haru Urara has blown past the runners ahead of her in an instant and is rapidly closing in on Happy Meek!" the commentator shouted excitedly, sending the atmosphere in the stadium soaring.
"Woooah—!"
The spectators gasped in amazement, utterly captivated by Urara's running form.
"Go, Urara!"
"Happy Meek, don't give up!"
The entire audience was cheering for the two of them now.
At this point, the other runners no longer mattered.
This race had become a head-to-head contest between Urara and Happy Meek!
"Mm..." Up ahead, Happy Meek sensed Urara bearing down on her from behind. She gritted her teeth and squeezed out even more speed by forcefully draining what remained of her stamina.
She had only two hundred meters left before the finish.
All Happy Meek needed to do now was hold on to first.
"And now we're down to the final hundred meters! Haru Urara has caught up right behind Happy Meek! She's almost past her!"
"Happy Meek has accelerated too, trying to widen the gap!"
"But Haru Urara is simply too fast! Happy Meek still gets caught!"
"They're side by side now! The finish line is right ahead!"
"They've crossed!"
"Whoa—!"
The spectators were stunned by what they had just seen.
Because at the final instant, Urara and Happy Meek had crossed the finish line at exactly the same time. With the naked eye, it was impossible to tell who had won.
After crossing, both horse girls gradually slowed themselves down.
"Huff... huff..." Happy Meek bent over, clutching her chest as she panted in exhaustion.
"I can't..." Urara was even more spent. She pitched forward onto the grass and collapsed face-first, completely unable to move.
Roughly a second later, Delicious Fresh crossed the line and took third place.
"Damn it..." Delicious Fresh clenched her fists as she looked at Urara and Happy Meek ahead of her, utterly unwilling to accept it.
She had lost...
Which meant the date with her trainer...
was gone too...
A wave of bitterness welled up in her chest, and tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes.
"And now, our official judges will review the replay footage to determine who crossed the finish line first," the commentator announced.
While the staff went to pull the footage, the stadium grew noisy with discussion, everyone arguing over who the champion would be.
"I think it was Haru Urara!"
"No way, it was definitely Happy Meek!"
"Delicious Fresh was first!"
The nearby audience members turned to look at the guy who had just declared Delicious Fresh the winner.
"Buddy, are your eyes okay? Delicious Fresh came in third. How could she possibly be first?"
But the man shook his head solemnly.
"I'm her trainer. Delicious Fresh did her best. In my heart, she's first place."
"I see!"
The crowd instantly understood.
"With a trainer that gentle, Delicious Fresh must be really happy!"
"Wishing the two of you all the best from here on out!"
The man nodded. "Thank you for your blessing!"
Tang Han: "..."
Why did this scene feel weirdly familiar?
At that moment, Aoi Kiryuin, standing beside him, turned her head and asked, "Trainer Tang, who do you think won?"
Tang Han gave it serious thought, then answered with absolute gravity, "I believe there are only two possibilities. Either Meek won... or Urara won."
"Pfft..." Aoi laughed. "Trainer Tang, you really are funny."
"How about we make a bet?" she proposed.
"A bet on what?"
"If Meek wins, you treat me to dinner."
"Sure." Tang Han nodded.
"And if Urara wins?"
"If Urara wins..." Aoi smiled mischievously. "Then I'll be your girlfriend. How about that?"
"Pffft—!"
Tang Han almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
What the hell was that supposed to be?!
Wasn't that wager way too unfair—and completely insane?!
"Grr..." On either side of him, Rice Shower and Tokai Teio instantly went on alert, glaring at Aoi Kiryuin with a faint but unmistakably dangerous light in their eyes.
But Aoi did not sense any murderous intent at all. She merely kept smiling at Tang Han's flustered expression, finding it rather amusing.
She was only joking.
She was not actually planning to become Tang Han's girlfriend, nor did she have that kind of intention for now.
After all, Trainer Tang was a man who could practically be her father.
And with Tang Han's intelligence, surely he would understand that she was just teasing him.
"So, Trainer Tang?" Aoi blinked playfully. "What do you think?"
Rice Shower and Tokai Teio each tightened their grip on his clothes just a little.
All the pressure was now on Tang Han.
"I refuse," Tang Han said at once.
The older trainers at Tracen had already said it: do not fall in love at Tracen Academy. Not between coworkers, not between trainer and horse girl, not male and female, not girl and girl, not boy and boy—none of it.
So for the sake of his own survival, there was absolutely no way Tang Han was agreeing to a bet like that.
Not even as a joke.
Girlfriend? Get lost.
"Haa..." The two horse girls finally let out breaths of relief.
"Hehehe..." Aoi laughed happily.
Trainer Tang really was easy to get along with.
And when he got flustered, he was kind of cute too.
If it had been that obnoxious Trainer Hiroshima instead, the moment he heard a bet like that he probably would have started praying for himself to win while staring at her with a lecherous look.
Aoi cheerfully proposed another version.
"How about this? If Happy Meek wins, then I'll treat you to dinner. But if you win, you become my boyfriend."
"How is that any different? I still refuse!"
"Hehehe..."
Just as Aoi continued teasing Tang Han, the staff finally finished reviewing the footage. After careful comparison, they announced the official result.
"After professional review, we have determined who crossed the finish line first!"
"The result of this race is..."
"Haru Urara and Happy Meek—joint first place!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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