"The Triple Crown of Transformation! Platinum has to win!"
"Waaah, Tachyon, my Tachyon... Now she can't hold on to her title as the strongest of her generation..."
"After decades of anticipation, a Japanese Uma Musume might finally have a chance to win the Arc de Triomphe!"
"Platinum, please don't get injured like Teio and Tachyon! Don't turn the Triple Crown of Transformation into the Phantom Triple Crown of Transformation!!"
Cheers and chatter rang throughout the stands!
With the Kikuka Sho still some time away and the Japanese Derby only just over, plenty of Japanese spectators had already let their imaginations race all the way to the Arc de Triomphe.
After all, they had waited far too long for another Triple Crown Uma Musume—and for a victory at the Arc de Triomphe.
Now Miss Heavenly Horse Platinum stood a chance of achieving both! Naturally, she was bound to attract countless spectators who would become her fans!
The year before Agnes Tachyon, the immensely popular Emperor's Heir, Tokai Teio, had suffered a fracture while pursuing the Undefeated Two Crowns...
So the Japanese fans had transferred their hopes for a Triple Crown Uma Musume from Tokai Teio to Agnes Tachyon.
After Agnes Tachyon had easily beaten nearly every rival of her generation in other graded races and even the GI Satsuki Sho...
Almost everyone had become convinced that, barring an accident, Agnes Tachyon would become a Triple Crown Uma Musume—and an Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume, at that!
But who could have guessed that the accident would really happen? It plunged the Japanese Uma Musume world into a deep gloom, as if they had fallen under some kind of curse.
But now... things were different. The Heavenly Horse had burst onto the scene, winning the Oaks and then the Japanese Derby. She was just one step away from the Triple Crown of Transformation!
As long as Platinum stayed healthy and really won the Triple Crown of Transformation, she would go down in history and become one of Japan's most popular active Uma Musume!
But the two great disappointments of Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon had doubled the hopes pinned on Platinum.
And with those hopes came the worry.
After all, even two geniuses like Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon had suffered fractures and injuries. Platinum had raced even more frequently than either of them lately. There was no guarantee she wouldn't suffer the same fate.
And before Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon, there had been the original Phantom Triple Crown Uma Musume, Harvest Moment, who had also missed the final race of the Triple Crown due to injury!
So now, the Heavenly Horse bore both the crowd's hopes and their anxious fears that she might get hurt.
The teenage Little Heavenly Horse was afraid of breaking a bone!
That was why countless spectators in the stands were shouting words of celebration, hope, and worry.
But Platinum herself reacted by saying—
"Hah, is that it?"
In the steady rain, the silver-haired girl stood beyond the finish line, her head tilted slightly upward, her expression utterly calm.
After crossing the line and claiming victory, her first instinct was to reach back and touch the quiver behind her.
But when her hand brushed against it, she felt nothing. The quiver was empty.
She withdrew her hand and thought back over the race, feeling fairly satisfied.
After all, she had successfully tested the "Transcendence Effect" of her Winning Live Costume—and witnessed more than just that one effect!
Her Heavenly Horse Vision domain even came with a "track effect." That was incredible!
(I think my domain-exclusive skills should be quite numerous, right? It probably picks the most suitable ones based on the conditions and running style.)
(Should I try running as a Leader or an Escape Horse next time, just to see the new skills and... how the Transcendence Effect changes?)
Miss Heavenly Horse had already experienced the costume's Transcendence Effect, and the way it worked with her domain skill had left her itching with curiosity.
Because she wanted to know...
If she started with a Big Escape, overtaking every rival right from the start—
What would the Transcendence Effect become?
Would it last the whole race, with the phantom effect appearing just once and firing all ten or twenty arrows from her quiver at once?
If that happened, could it even be called archery?
That would be more like firing a machine gun!
The thought of that possible scene had rekindled the Assassin Girl's interest in racing.
So far, she had mostly raced as a Late-runner or Mid-runner, sometimes switching to an Escape Horse. She had never truly attempted a Big Escape where she overtook every Uma Musume right out of the gate.
(For the final race of the Triple Crown of Transformation, the Kikuka Sho, I should try running as a Leader or doing a Big Escape!)
(I want to see what the Transcendence Effect looks like during my next Big Escape!!)
As Platinum lowered her head in thought,
the other Uma Musume crossed the finish line one after another, gritting their teeth. Most still looked utterly disbelieving and shocked.
Among them was Black Ship, the American Uma Musume!
"Hah... hah..."
"I never thought I wouldn't even get one of the first three places as a supporting dancer."
"What a disgrace. This is the greatest humiliation of my career!!"
Black Ship's face was full of frustration. She knew her aptitude for middle and long distances wasn't that good, but...
But she was an American Uma Musume, and this was just a race in Japan!
Hadn't Japan's strongest in history, the Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume Emperor, been soundly beaten in America?
So even though Black Ship had felt a little uneasy, she'd still entered the Japanese Derby with the confidence of a shark coming to feed in a fishpond.
Who knew there'd be a torrential downpour, turning the track into a Heavy Track that drained more stamina and made the race much harder?
That rain had ruined her Derby dream!!!
She'd come to feed on easy prey, only to run into someone who seemed to be cheating!
Wasn't the race ranking system a little too ridiculous?
Black Ship had only just crossed the finish line, and she hadn't even made the top three. She wasn't even qualified to be the second-place or third-place supporting dancer beside Platinum.
To Black Ship, this was an unprecedented humiliation.
But then, as if she had suddenly thought of something, she froze.
"W-wait a second. Platinum didn't win by nine or ten lengths."
"She won by... a full fourteen lengths! Even in America, a Dominant Victory by that kind of margin is a rare sight."
A victory by more than ten lengths triggered another hidden mechanic.
The legendary... Solo Dance!
That's right, a Solo Dance. On the Winners' Stage, the second- and third-place Uma Musume would lose their chance to serve as supporting dancers.
Platinum hadn't used Looking Back at the Moon again, and the margin she'd built over the others surpassed even her previous win at the Oaks. She'd won by more than ten lengths—enough for a Solo Dance!
Thinking of that, Black Ship's disbelief and humiliation eased a little.
"Jungle Pocket can't be a supporting dancer either... Well, then, that's fine."
"Losing to that monster isn't shameful. She really is that strong."
"I'm never facing that monster in a middle-distance race again! A defeat this humiliating is enough just once!"
Black Ship couldn't help admitting that she was inferior over middle distances.
But her pride hadn't been completely crushed.
"I'll switch to turf mile races or prepare for dirt races!"
"I refuse to believe I can't beat Platinum on my own turf, even if I run into her again. I absolutely can!"
Not far from Black Ship,
Jungle Pocket had crossed the finish line in second place, but the ferocity of her beastlike expression had vanished.
All that remained was... bewilderment.
Who was I?
Where was I?
What was I supposed to do?
Jungle Pocket couldn't accept that she'd lost—and that she'd lost so badly she hadn't even qualified to be Platinum's supporting dancer!
Her frustration surpassed even the remorse she'd felt after losing to Agnes Tachyon in the Satsuki Sho!
"I lost... and by that much?!"
Heavenly Horse Platinum was a monster so powerful she seemed to belong to an entirely different species from Uma Musume.
"The Kikuka Sho next time... Ah..."
Jungle Pocket had instinctively started to grit her teeth and talk about getting revenge at the Kikuka Sho, but then she came to her senses and stopped.
If Platinum could win both the 2,400-meter Oaks and the 2,400-meter Japanese Derby on a Heavy Track within a week, how could her aptitude for long distances possibly be poor?
Platinum might even be in better form for the Kikuka Sho than she had been for the Japanese Derby!
By then, Jungle Pocket might lose by more than fourteen lengths...
Realizing that—and that it seemed entirely possible—Jungle Pocket immediately changed her choice of words.
"Next time, at the Japan Cup or the Arima Kinen!"
"I'll get my revenge! I'll beat Platinum!"
Meanwhile,
in the chairman's office at Tracen Academy,
the petite, childlike chairwoman was out handling official business. Usually, the only person in the office was the green-hatted woman, Shunkawa Tazuna.
But at that moment, another tall, mature woman sat beside Shunkawa Tazuna. They were both watching the big screen, which showed the results of Platinum's victory in the Japanese Derby.
"Shunkawa... I'm still not used to your name."
The tall woman spoke casually without turning her head.
Shunkawa Tazuna chuckled and took off her green hat.
With the hat no longer covering her head, a pair of Uma Musume ears came into view!
Shunkawa Tazuna had once raced as an Uma Musume under the name Harvest Moment. She'd gone undefeated on the track and won the Undefeated Two Crowns, but an injury had forced her to retire early, keeping her from competing in the Kikuka Sho.
That made Shunkawa Tazuna the original Phantom Triple Crown Uma Musume. Agnes Tachyon had unfortunately inherited the same title.
In response to her friend's words, Shunkawa Tazuna smiled.
"I'm even less used to your name, Kurifuji..."
"No, you go by Nenfu now, don't you?"
Compared to Shunkawa Tazuna's racing name, Harvest Moment, the difference was enormous.
This tall woman's name had barely changed. Her real name was Nenfu, and she'd taken the name Kurifuji when she stepped onto the racetrack.
An unexpected injury had made Kurifuji miss the Satsuki Sho, keeping her from completing the Classic Triple Crown. So she had gone on to compete for the Triple Crown of Transformation!
This tall, mature Uma Musume had once been hailed as the first and last winner of the Triple Crown of Transformation!
"Nenfu, how does it feel?"
"You've held the Triple Crown all to yourself for so long, but it looks like you're about to have a successor."
"Doesn't it feel like a shame to skip watching in person and come to Tracen to watch the live broadcast instead?"
Shunkawa Tazuna asked her friend Nenfu.
Nenfu stared intently at Heavenly Horse Platinum on the screen, unable to look away for a long time.
"It's no shame, because this Little Heavenly Horse won't be able to win by a Dominant Victory only in this race."
"The Kikuka Sho will be Platinum's final challenge for the Triple Crown of Transformation. I can go watch her in person then, and it'll be just as good!"
"This little one might really surpass us—and even shake Rudolf's reign!"
Before you continue