The day before the race two weeks later, just as expected, the excellent song Uchiage Hanabi brought Hokubu Genkoma plenty of new fans.
More than enough, in fact. By the third day after the race account posted the song, it had gained her over twenty thousand fans—enough to surpass the 24,000 required for a conditional race.
Her numbers kept climbing over the following days, reaching the cap of 30,000 new fans in one go. Hokubu Genkoma now had more than 40,000 fans in total.
The black-haired girl was naturally overjoyed by that kind of growth.
If you saw her grinning foolishly at her phone and muttering to herself, there was no need to wonder why. She'd almost certainly just spotted a rise in her follower count or read a compliment in the comments.
Yasui Makoto wasn't especially surprised. He knew better than anyone how much attention that song could bring.
If anything, he felt that a song that good had only gained her 30,000 fans. It was a bit of a waste of its potential.
But that thought passed quickly, and he soon turned his attention to the arrangements for the next day's race.
That evening, in the living room of Yasui Makoto's single room.
Hokubu Genkoma studied the diagrams and notes on the whiteboard beside Yasui Makoto, then said thoughtfully,
"...So I'll be running a little closer to the front than I did in my Debut Race?"
Yasui Makoto nodded.
"That's right. I've assessed the situation, and the strategy we used last time won't work this time. We'll need to make some adjustments."
Pointing to the handwritten list on the left side of the board, he explained,
"Unless anyone withdraws, these are the names of the girls you'll be racing against tomorrow.
"Unlike in your Debut Race, every one of them ran in a Debut Race last year.
"In other words, you'll be the only newcomer in the field who raced for the first time this year.
"That means they started receiving professional guidance from their trainers earlier, and some of those trainers are among the best."
He paused deliberately, stealing a discreet glance at Hokubu Genkoma's expression.
The girl bit her lower lip, her brows drawing together. Her hands, resting on her knees, clenched without her realizing it. She was clearly nervous.
Yasui Makoto didn't try to comfort her.
A race wasn't child's play.
On the contrary, every race was packed with lively young girls. At first glance, the event might seem as cheerful and relaxed as an idol audition.
In reality, at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, the competition was every bit as intense and dangerous as any other sport.
A little nervousness could help in a highly competitive race like this.
If handled well, the pressure that came with it could help an Uma Musume perform even better than she did in training.
That was one of the reasons Yasui Makoto had taken such care to explain tomorrow's race.
With that in mind, he continued,
"On top of that, your rivals have more racing experience.
"Only one of them has run in just a Debut Race, like you—but she did that last year.
"On average, your opponents have entered three races each. The most experienced has run six."
The black-haired girl was visibly getting even more nervous, so Yasui Makoto smoothly changed tack.
A little pressure was good, but too much could do more harm than good.
"But you don't need to worry. They aren't stronger than you, though they aren't far behind, either. Otherwise, you wouldn't be racing in the same event.
"And you don't need to pay attention to every single opponent. You wouldn't have the energy for that.
"Just keep an eye on these few."
As he spoke, Yasui Makoto circled several names with a dry-erase marker.
He had just put the cap back on when he heard Hokubu Genkoma murmur,
"...Satono Diamond?"
Yasui Makoto glanced at the circled name on the board, then smiled at Hokubu Genkoma.
"What's the matter? You know her? I thought you two weren't in the same class."
"Yeah, Diamond's in another class."
Hokubu Genkoma nodded.
"But I often see her when I go out with Light Diamond-chan or go play with Crown-chan. Sometimes I run into her when I visit their house, too.
"Diamond... I remember she's already raced a lot, and she's really good."
Yasui Makoto didn't contradict her.
"Five races: one first place, two second places, and two third places.
"Her first three were 1,800 meters in Sapporo, then she ran 2,000 meters in Chukyo and Kyoto. Her results got better each time.
"Satono Diamond really is outstanding, especially in adaptability."
Then he changed the subject.
"But let's not focus on her just yet. First, let's look at these two.
"Saint Martin and Touki.
"Saint Martin is the second most popular in this race, and the only Uma Musume besides you who has only run in a Debut Race."
"Second most popular... That's amazing."
Hokubu Genkoma leaned forward a little, then scratched her head sheepishly.
"I'm only ninth..."
Yasui Makoto didn't offer any comfort, acting as though he hadn't heard her. He pointed to the figures he'd written down.
"Niigata turf, 1,600 meters. Her finishing time was 1:36.7, which works out to 17 meters per second.
"That was Saint Martin's Debut Race.
"The most important figure is her Final Speed. Her Last Three Furlongs Speed was 33 seconds, which converts to 18.18 meters per second.
"If she can reproduce that performance, she'll have no trouble competing in OP-level races or higher.
"Similarly, Crush Rally, the most popular runner, had a Last Three Furlongs Speed of 17.9 in her previous race. That's an impressive finishing kick, too.
"What do you think, Xiao Bei?"
He looked at Hokubu Genkoma.
Though she still looked nervous, thoughtfulness had clearly appeared in her red eyes.
"I remember Yamato-senpai telling me during our running practice that if I faced an opponent with a strong finishing kick, I should work harder to maintain the speed I'd built up, and I should open up a bigger lead beforehand.
"So you mean... I should use that technique to deal with them?"
Without realizing it, Yasui Makoto nodded to himself, impressed by his Uma Musume's perceptiveness.
Hokubu Genkoma wasn't actually as slow-witted as she often claimed to be.
On the contrary, when it came to racing, she picked up on many things right away.
For example, she'd asked Yamato Akagi for advice on Escape Horse techniques. Yasui Makoto had planned to remind her, but she'd thought of asking on her own—and remembered what she'd been told.
Even more gratifyingly, she'd made the connection now, too.
And what she'd said was exactly what Yasui Makoto had wanted to explain.
"That's right. It's one of the reasons I want you to run a little closer to the front this time."
Yasui Makoto began writing more figures on the whiteboard.
"Besides those opponents with strong finishing kicks, there are two others you need to watch.
"One is Touki. She's only tenth in popularity, but I noticed that in her previous six races, four were 1,400 meters and one was 1,600 meters.
"Those races have a very fast pace. I think there's a good chance she'll take the lead this time—or that she might fall into the habit and take it without thinking.
"That's another reason I want you to run a little closer to the front."
"As I expected, the pace in this race will be much faster than last time.
"And one of your weaknesses is that you're slow to accelerate.
"If you fall too far behind, it'll be easy to misjudge what's happening. If you're even a little slow to get moving, you won't have much chance of winning."
With Yasui Makoto's subtle guidance, Hokubu Genkoma's thinking grew more and more focused.
"I see...
"So the key this time is to pinpoint when to accelerate more accurately than I did last time. Then..."
She looked at Yasui Makoto expectantly.
"Trainer, you should know when I ought to accelerate, right?"
Before you continue