"I'm afraid that scene of her looking back will haunt my dreams."
Even though I was only watching the race!
Daiwa Scarlet felt as if she could hear the competitors' cries of despair, sense the city crumbling apart, and see the victorious Platinum grinning viciously!
"Heavenly Horse... She's terrifying!"
Even Daiwa Scarlet, usually so resolute, couldn't help but feel how frightening Platinum was.
Then she gently patted her own fair, exceptionally ample chest.
"Phew—"
"Thank goodness there's only one Heavenly Horse..."
On the turf.
"That was a wonderful race. I don't think I'll ever forget you."
Platinum glanced back, then praised Mejiro Dober.
A great race couldn't have only one impressive protagonist. It needed other characters who shone, too.
If only one person stood out, it would just look like they were beating up on weak opponents.
As a favorite to win and the young lady of the prestigious Mejiro family, Mejiro Dober had put in an excellent performance, finishing well ahead of third place. That was proof enough of her ability, so no one would dismiss this as a race where Platinum had simply beaten up on weak opponents.
And even after winning by a margin far beyond expectations, Platinum had no desire to say something like, "You were weak," or "I'm invincible."
She'd already won the prize money. What was the point of provoking her opponents now? It wouldn't earn her any more money.
The cautious, steady assassin figured she'd be better off showing some grace than saying something like, "You were so weak I'll probably forget you by tomorrow."
Once she'd finished speaking, she turned and headed toward the winner's stage.
Mejiro Dober remained where she was. Hearing Platinum's praise eased the sting of humiliation in her heart a little.
But she knew the truth: she'd suffered a crushing defeat!
And that moment when Heavenly Horse Platinum looked back... would spread far and wide, forever engraved in history and remembered by the spectators and fans.
(The Fillies' Triple Crown has only one race left!)
(When I face Platinum again in the final race, the Shuka Sho, will I have a chance to get revenge?)
Mejiro Dober had no answer to that question.
"Defeated by a huge margin, and I can't even take the stage as a backup dancer!"
"Revenge... I'll definitely get my chance someday!!"
At that moment, the Mejiro family's genius girl's spirit was utterly shattered...
Some time later!
Though Platinum deeply believed the winner's stage was a rotten tradition, she still chose to appear, hoping to rake in fans' money in the future.
A race lasting a few minutes was nothing to her. The winner's stage, which lasted over half an hour, was the real ordeal!
Thankfully, it was finally over. She could clock out.
Like an overworked office worker, Miss Platinum left the stage and headed through the passageway back to the waiting area. There, she heard several URA staff members chatting.
"I'm Miss Platinum's dog!!"
"Didn't you say you were Miss Dober's dog before the race?"
"Gah, I'm all about whoever's strongest!"
The URA staff members stopped talking as soon as they saw Platinum.
One of the female staff members gave her an excited, delighted smile and spoke up.
"Miss Platinum, I'm a fan of yours..."
"Could you do a post-race interview now?"
"Don't worry. You can look over the questions beforehand, and we won't ask anything you don't like."
"Just simple questions, like what races you'll be preparing for next."
The One Below Platinum
"The questions for this interview include which races you'll be preparing for, which opponent you most want to beat, which race you most want to win, and what results you're hoping for."
"If there's anything you don't want to answer directly, you can just skip it."
The URA staff member explained with a smile, then handed over a sheet of paper and a pen.
A long list of questions filled the sheet. Miss Heavenly Horse could freely mark each one with a check or an X to choose which ones she wanted to answer.
If a more experienced Uma Musume saw this, she'd probably find it hard to believe. In the eyes of many people, even those inside Tracen, URA, the official racing organization, had always been extremely rigid and keen to flaunt its authority.
So even Uma Musume who won major graded races received no special treatment from URA.
After all, even Oguri Cap, the future superstar who'd once been immensely popular, hadn't been able to make URA bend the rules and let her compete in the Classic Races. That was proof enough of its arrogance and authority.
Only after winning a GI Races championship might a Uma Musume earn their respect, followed by an interview and promotional support.
To be able to choose which questions to answer or not answer... that was a privilege! There might not even be one or two Uma Musume in an entire generation who received that kind of consideration from URA!
In the past, the Uma Musume who enjoyed this privilege were usually top-tier competitors with extraordinary talent who'd won multiple GI Races. Only then would URA acknowledge and value them in this way.
Across Japan's nearly century-long racing history, there were only a handful of monsters whom URA had recognized after winning just a single GI race!
The most recent one was Agnes Tachyon, who had won the Satsuki Sho.
In other words, in URA's eyes, Heavenly Horse Platinum was already on par with Agnes Tachyon! She had the potential to carry an entire era!
So, in the brief span between Platinum crossing the finish line as champion and the end of the winner's stage, URA had held an emergency meeting about her. They'd decided to devote the highest level of resources to promoting and cultivating this Heavenly Horse, who had the potential to surpass the Emperor!
"Eh?"
"I can answer whatever I want?"
Platinum took the form, looking a little surprised.
The staff members in front of her nodded. It was clear that they'd received official approval.
Platinum looked down at the form for a short while, then casually checked a few brief topics that she thought the public might find interesting.
"Then let's go with these."
"You can start asking."
Tracen Academy, near dusk.
By this time, the Uma Musume had usually finished training or classes. They were heading to the cafeteria or getting ready to rest.
Inside the cafeteria, the countless large screens were all showing footage of the Oaks from a few hours earlier!
Agnes Tachyon, wearing a white lab coat, had made a rare appearance in the cafeteria.
She loved research and often got so absorbed in her experiments that she lost track of time and missed dinner.
So Agnes Tachyon didn't visit the cafeteria as often as the average Uma Musume.
This time, after watching the race, she'd gone back hoping to see Doctor Lin in the infirmary again and learn more about the American treatment for tendonitis that he'd mentioned.
Unfortunately, the infirmary door was closed, and Doctor Lin wasn't there. It seemed he'd already gone home.
So Agnes Tachyon didn't return to her lab. Instead, she took the opportunity to stop by the nearby cafeteria.
"Doctor Lin gets off work so early..."
"I'll eat first, then. I'll look for him next time."
A little while later, Agnes Tachyon finished getting her food and found an empty seat. She looked up at the screen.
The broadcast had finished showing the race and switched to...
An interview?
Agnes Tachyon looked up, drawn by the change. At the surrounding tables, Daiwa Scarlet, Tokai Teio, and the others had also paused their meals with interest.
Miss Heavenly Horse was being interviewed for the first time. Surely she'd answer plenty of important questions?
On the big screen—
"Welcome, Miss Platinum! Congratulations on your overwhelming victory, with an incredible ten-length lead!"
"Here's our first question: what race are you planning to prepare for next?"
As soon as the first question came up, Agnes Tachyon heard the other Uma Musume around her grumbling and discussing it.
"Seriously? She just ran the Oaks. Do they really need to ask that?"
"Those old fossils at URA always ask the same stale, pointless questions. What else could it be besides the Shuka Sho?"
"Not necessarily. Maybe she'll enter the Kikuka Sho. If she can't win the Fillies' Triple Crown, she could switch to the Classic Triple Crown and enter its final race instead."
Before long, Platinum's cool, soft voice rang out.
"The Japanese Derby. The Triple Crown of Transformation."
An incredibly brief answer!
But even though it was simple, its impact was anything but.
Even in the cafeteria at Tracen Academy, home to the most experienced community of Uma Musume, the vast crowd fell into a daze.
The Uma Musume who'd been complaining about the pointless question a moment earlier fell silent. Their faces were filled with disbelief!
Even Tokai Teio stood frozen in shock.
"Huh??"
"W-wait, really? The Triple Crown of Transformation?"
"The Japanese Derby is only a week after the Oaks! There's just one week between them!"
"Two GI Races in a single week, then more Experienced Battles? Even the craziest monster couldn't manage that!"
"What is that Heavenly Horse thinking? She entered both the Oaks and the Japanese Derby—not to choose between them, but because she wants both?"
Daiwa Scarlet's ample chest heaved violently!
(Could she really be challenging for the legendary Triple Crown of Transformation?)
(Will there be more and more victims of the Heavenly Horse, or will her undefeated legend be shattered by taking on too many races?)
Suddenly, she realized—
If Platinum defeated the top Uma Musume of her generation in the Japanese Derby...
And if she beat them by more than five lengths!
Wouldn't that make Daiwa Scarlet's own five-length defeat in the Debut Race look even more impressive...?
Once she realized that could really happen, Daiwa Scarlet gave a slight nod. Her expression was complicated, but her eyes were full of confidence in Platinum.
"Platinum, keep winning by huge margins!!"
Could she become "the best Uma Musume below Platinum," with even more achievements stacked on top of her?
On the screen, the URA staff member conducting the interview took a deep breath before asking the next question.
"May I ask—"
"Which Uma Musume do you admire and like the most?"
Before you continue