What on Earth Happened...?!
As Kitasan Black and Duramente shook hands, the Horse Girls who crossed the finish line one after another beyond the Finish Line could not help looking over.
Clutching her waist tightly, Satono Crown stared into the distance while gasping desperately for air. Her lowered hand slowly clenched into a fist, her nails digging deep into her palm.
Her temples still throbbed as though struck by a hammer, leaving her mind numb from the pounding.
Gathering every shred of concentration she had, there was only one thing she wanted to understand right now.
What... had happened at the very front of the Final Straight?
"...Crown? Crown..."
"Mm... huh?"
Snapping back to her senses, she turned toward the voice beside her. Seeing that it was her fellow family member, Sato no Takarazuka, Satono Crown tried to smile, only to find that her facial muscles had stiffened badly.
"W-what is it, Takarazuka...?"
Sato no Takarazuka stared at Satono Crown for a while, then looked at the two figures ahead before glancing at the display board opposite the stands. She tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"Lost to her again..."
Satono Crown froze for a moment. Following Sato no Takarazuka's gaze, her nails sank even deeper into her flesh. She tried to smile again, but still could not manage it.
On the Display Board, after the top two names came "Sato no Takarazuka."
And after that, "Satono Crown."
"...Congratulations, Takarazuka. But it's really..."
She turned her head slightly and panted heavily for a while. Like Sato no Takarazuka, she forced the corner of her lips upward.
"What a shame. If you had been just a little faster, that long-held wish of becoming a G1 champion..."
"It was never some long-held wish."
Sato no Takarazuka suddenly interrupted her. Pressing her