"Something feels off?"
38. The Underdog, the Young Heavenly Horse
Why hadn't Lin Anran come?
This was the classic Oaks, after all!
Agnes Tachyon hadn't expected that warmhearted, kind young doctor not to show up.
Had something happened?
Agnes Tachyon rarely thought so highly of a human who wasn't an Uma Musume. Surely that young doctor, who had firmly refused to charge her for the medicine, hadn't simply forgotten and stood her up.
Or had something urgent come up that kept him away?
If he had a good reason, Agnes Tachyon could understand and accept it.
After all—she wasn't exactly normal herself, and she'd done similar things before.
Agnes Tachyon had once been so absorbed in her research that she couldn't be bothered to attend Training Races or Debut Races, nearly driving Symboli Rudolf to her breaking point.
The scientist girl lowered her head at once to look at her phone, paying no attention to the race, which was counting down to its start.
Her friend Manhattan Cafe, standing beside her, noticed the scene too.
The quiet, black-haired girl couldn't help feeling surprised.
(Tachyon... she's really interested in Doctor Lin.)
She knew Agnes Tachyon inside and out. She knew how much the scientist, who was even more obsessed with research than with racing, cared about a prodigy like Platinum, her body, and her Final Burst.
It seemed that, to Agnes Tachyon right now, Doctor Lin was no less important than an Uma Musume's race—important enough to rival one!
Just as Agnes Tachyon was about to tap the call button, her eyes suddenly narrowed as she saw a message.
It was... a text from Lin Anran?
Lin Anran: Something came up before I could get there.
Lin Anran: A few days ago, I asked a doctor I used to know in the US to gather information about tendonitis symptoms and case studies on treatment...
Lin Anran: The materials just came in. I started examining and researching them... and lost track of time. I'm already too late to make it.
Lin Anran: I'm really sorry, Miss Tachyon. I'm afraid I've let you down after you kindly invited me.
After reading the message, Agnes Tachyon's expression barely changed. She didn't look upset, either.
For the scientist girl, that was an acceptable reason.
After thinking for a moment, Agnes Tachyon calmly typed out a reply.
Agnes Tachyon: All right, I understand. I can understand that.
After all, she'd stood Cafe up like this more than once.
But this was the first time someone had stood her up in return. It gave her a curious sense that the natural order had been turned upside down.
And he was doing research that interested Agnes Tachyon too, working hard for the sake of her legs...
He didn't admire her running or her speed. He wasn't trying to become her trainer and win fame or a share of the prize money. He simply wanted to heal her—and he'd even missed watching a GI race because of it!
An indescribable feeling stirred in her heart.
After putting her phone away, Agnes Tachyon looked back at the racecourse. Her face remained calm, but a faint ripple had already stirred in her heart.
Sometimes, though, even the smallest ripple could grow into a wave, and then...
—turn into a tsunami!
(He won't miss the Japanese Derby next time, will he?)
(I should ask Cafe to book two more tickets.)
At that moment, the countdown to the race was reaching its end. The gates were about to open!
3!
2!
For more than half of the Uma Musume who favored the Leader or Escape Horse running styles, a good start was crucial. They couldn't afford to slack off for even a moment!
1!!!
As the gates opened, nearly twenty Uma Musume charged out together with incredible speed.
At gate three, the Silver-white Maiden made a perfect start. She was visibly a fraction faster than every Uma Musume around her, surging toward the rail first!
It was a stark contrast to her sluggish start in her first Debut Race, when she'd stumbled out of the gate and fallen behind, forced to run as a Late-runner.
The explosive start alone had the whole stadium buzzing.
Ever since Platinum had won a graded stakes race by a wide margin two weeks ago, no one had questioned her potential or her future.
But the main reason she wasn't favored to win... was her lack of racing experience and her youth.
Compared with the experienced Uma Musume who'd already reached Full Bloom, Platinum, who had only recently begun her Full Bloom, seemed like an immature child.
Yet this "child" had made a serious start—and was the first to charge toward the rail!
(The gate position's better than I expected.)
(Then... this spot will do. I'll try a new running style this time.)
Platinum, racing toward the rail, wanted to try a new style.
When she put in even a little effort, she couldn't possibly get off to a late start.
After all, as an assassin, she might not need to run fast, but she had to be quick on her feet and have fast reflexes. Otherwise, how could she assassinate anyone?
Her sharp reflexes and swift movements were instincts ingrained in this body!
Miss Heavenly Horse wasn't as carefree as she'd been in her Debut Race, and this time she was in the favorable third gate. She easily got the perfect start!
And this time, Platinum didn't race as casually as she had in her first competition. She was putting in a little effort.
(Then—Mid-runner style.)
The instant the gates opened, more than a dozen Uma Musume charged out!
What an incredible sight! Platinum, who'd earned the fifth-highest popularity but wasn't favored because of her lack of experience, had made a perfect start and seized the rail first!
The favorite, Mejiro Dober, was a little slower, but she also stayed close to the rail. Meanwhile, another favorite, Kyoei March, kept accelerating, passing the middle of the pack and pushing toward the front.
At this rate, a huge Mid-runner group would form. With the race covering a considerable distance, most of the Uma Musume had chosen to stay toward the rear!
The commentator's voice rang through the vast stands, describing the situation after the start.
And out on the turf!
Platinum had chosen the Mid-runner style and was calmly conserving her stamina, but before long, she raised an eyebrow.
She'd been the first to charge toward the rail, yet Uma Musume choosing the same Mid-runner style kept gathering beside her along the inside.
The assassin girl, with her sharp instincts and keen perception, suddenly realized there was a problem!
(There are too many people closing in on me!)
(There are people behind me and to my right. Two Mid-runners are ahead of me, too. If this keeps up... I might lose the chance to accelerate and have to wait for everyone else to make a move.)
In other words, she was about to be stuck in a "box seat," surrounded on all sides!
The apparently inexperienced assassin girl made a decision without the slightest hesitation. She immediately abandoned the Mid-runner style.
This wasn't good!
Retreat... no, advance!
In the next instant, she darted forward like a shooting star, accelerating all at once and overtaking Mejiro Dober, who stared at her in shock!
An assassin refused to be surrounded!
39. Can the Heavenly Horse with Monster Stats Beat the One with Broken Mechanics?
At first, the Silver-white Maiden had been considering the differences and characteristics of each running style.
Mid-runner... That meant holding back until the end, then winning with a Final Burst.
Platinum wanted to try all four styles one by one, then choose whichever was easiest and took the least effort—or whichever would let her clock out earliest.
This was still her trial phase!
But after quickly claiming the inside lane at the start, everything seemed to be going perfectly...
The Mid-runner Uma Musume who kept closing in and charging toward the rail made Platinum realize she was in danger.
It wasn't that she was worried she wouldn't be able to break through if she got boxed in.
She simply didn't like being trapped like that, unable to accelerate early and forced to wait until the Uma Musume around her made their moves.
That would make it harder to clock out early!
In a race like this, which was fairly long but depended on the Final Burst, the Mid-runner style had a significant advantage. So when several Uma Musume chose it, the ones on the inside could end up "in a box seat," blocked in from the front, behind, and even the sides!
That meant they had to judge the situation, wait for the right moment, and burst through when a gap opened up.
Platinum didn't want that to happen. She didn't want to think too much, and she especially didn't like being boxed in. Without the slightest hesitation, she abandoned the Mid-runner style and switched tactics at will, accelerating early!
You could say—
The Leader and Escape Horse runners up front only had to focus entirely on the race and take the lead. The Mid-runners behind them, on the other hand, had a lot more to think about.
Platinum didn't want to think too much. She accelerated, ignoring Mejiro Dober's astonished expression, and raced toward the Leader group ahead.
She'd been running at about the same pace as the other Mid-runners, but the moment she began to accelerate, she overtook several Uma Musume almost instantly.
Her freely starting and stopping, doing whatever she pleased with her running style, caught the attention of a certain scientist Uma Musume in the stands for a few extra seconds.
—If only she had a running style like that, and a body healthy enough to be that forceful...
Mejiro Dober, who had been beside Platinum, was also stunned.
(Huh—?!)
(She got out of the gate so fast! She wasn't even slower than a top monster of this era like McQueen, was she?)
(And why didn't Platinum accelerate at the start, only to speed up after the Escape Horse and Leader runners started pulling away?)
The many mysteries surrounding that silver-white figure were completely beyond Mejiro Dober's expectations.
But from Mejiro Dober's perspective, this... might not be a bad thing!
The Mid-runner pack was crowded, and runners often blocked and interfered with one another. Mejiro Dober was good at the Mid-runner style and used to it.
If the astonishingly strong Platinum stayed beside her, Mejiro Dober would have to worry about whether to keep an eye on her and stay on guard.
But if Platinum was inexplicably accelerating from behind the Mid-runner group and moving toward the Leaders... then that was good news!
Mejiro Dober figured she could hold onto her stamina perfectly and wait in the rear for her chance!
In this 2,400-meter race—the longest middle-distance race in the Fillies' Triple Crown—racing at the front wasn't necessarily the best choice!
(I can leave the temporary lead to Kyoei March and Platinum.)
(But the final victory will be mine!)
At the second bend, just past the halfway point of the race!
Before you continue