Uma Musume: Become a Legendary Trainer

Chapter 308: Let’s run again next time!

Tamamo Cross once thought that tears were only shed by the weak, so from the moment she decided to become a horse girl, she firmly believed that such weakness had nothing to do with her.

Hard training day after day, occasional scratches, and exhaustion every day.

There was also that time when I was accidentally involved in an accident during a competition and almost fell down on the field, causing my skin to be torn and even my bones to be broken.

And I lost the game in the past.

There is also the feeling of powerlessness in the face of various powerful predecessors during training matches.

Whenever I encounter these things, or when fatigue or weakness accumulates to a certain limit, my eyes and nose always feel sore, and my tear glands become uncontrollably active.

But she endured it all.

Then, turn all this patience into an all-out effort, rushing towards one finish line after another.

But if she were to still think that tears are only for the weak and are proof of weakness, she would never be able to say it out loud.

Because the one crying in front of her now was the opponent and close friend whom she had fought so hard to defeat.

If all possibilities had not been considered before the game and if he had not made a desperate effort in the end like gambling, it would still be unknown who would win the title of the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Award.

How could such an opponent and close friend, such an Inariichi, be a weakling?

Moreover, although tears were silently flowing down his sweaty cheeks, Inari had an extremely excited smile on his face.

"Inari...what the hell is going on with you...?"

The stunned King Inari and Tamamo Cross were puzzled, "Why are you crying and laughing at the same time...?"

"……what?"

With his mouth wide open, he was grinning like a fox that stole eggs. Inari was also stunned for a moment, "Why are you crying...?"

Subconsciously, she wiped her cheek, "Huh? It really is..."

Tamamo Cross was instantly at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and his previous worries about Inari's strange behavior were also swept away.

"So you don't even know what you look like now?"

"Why? Did you lose to me all of a sudden and you can't accept it?"

Feeling that Inari's condition might not be as bad as she thought, she couldn't help but make a joke.

She thought that her best friend had always been arguing with her, and no matter who won or lost verbally, she would never admit defeat in her heart.

It should be said that this joke of mine would be met with criticism in an instant.

But unexpectedly, Inari smiled even more happily.

"Yeah, I can't accept it."

This sentence made Tamamo Cross stunned, and Inari continued to smile:

"I can't accept that I took everything into consideration, but in the end I lost to your bold decision."

"If I'm not mistaken, the domain was used within the last 50 meters. Even if it was you, you wouldn't be % sure, right?"

"And even if you discussed this running tactic with Sister Katsumi and Uncle Kitahara, they might not agree with it 100%, right?"

"So, you guy, this is the Emperor's autumn viewing."

"This is the biggest reward among all the big rewards."

"If you win, you will be the unprecedented winner of the Emperor's Award for consecutive years."

"In this kind of competition, they dare to bet the outcome on the last 50 meters, less than 2 seconds."

“It’s really bold.”

"I really lost to you."

"Really... Well, actually, I can accept that."

Facing Tamamo Cross's increasingly surprised eyes, Inari rubbed the case randomly, just like a fox using its paws to wash its face after eating eggs, and wiped away the sweat and tears.

"After all, if it were me."

“I really didn’t necessarily bet that I could get into the field in such a short distance and in such a short time and win the race.”

"You win, Xiaoyu."

She smiled at Tamamo Cross, and Inari came over, took her hand, turned to the audience, and raised it high.

"The champion of the Emperor's Autumn Festival, the unprecedented champion of the Emperor's Autumn Festival, is you, Xiaoyu."

In the audience seats, the flowers, fireworks, glasses, hats and other things that had been flying around like scattered snowflakes have all fallen to the ground.

The cheers that shook the entire Tokyo stadium were like the waves of rice in the harvest fields in autumn, surging and unending.

He involuntarily turned to the enthusiastic audience seats along with Inari, looking at the attention and cheers of the crowd above, but Tamamo Cross's mind was completely on his best friend beside him.

This guy... did he react so quickly?
Inari was absolutely right. The decision in the last 50 meters at Tamamo Cross was indeed a desperate gamble that even she herself was not sure of.

Throughout the preparations for the game, she and Inari trained together for most of the time, but their tactical arrangements were separate.

This is also for the fairness of the competition and for a greater chance of winning.

Today, the fame of the Eternal Club is growing, and the active racehorse girls in the club are becoming stronger and stronger.

Even in the game, the commentators showed a clear tendency to violate professional ethics, saying things like "Uma Musume of eternity" and "Uma Musume of beyond eternity."

This means that before participating in the competition, it is easy to imagine that the horse girls outside the club will more or less target themselves and Inari.

To win in this kind of competition environment, you must put each other and other opponents that you are familiar with together and plan as a whole.

If the other party knew about the plan, it would not only affect the confrontation between them, but also bring unnecessary risks in dealing with other Uma Girls because of knowing each other's tactics.

This is why I had the idea of ​​taking a gamble.

Just as Inari had guessed, his abilities in all aspects were very similar to Inari's. Without any special preparation, the outcome would depend entirely on fate, apart from the on-field condition and the opponent's performance.

The corresponding preparation is to lead the way before the opening and enter the field as late as possible.

From the beginning to nearly half of the middle, I was able to grasp the rhythm and state of most of my opponents.

Once you confirm that you have an advantage in physical strength and speed, rush to the front in one breath.

In this case, the one who could catch up would, as expected, be Inari Ichi.

And if you want to win in the final battle, you have to do it as late as possible.

Uma Musume's reaction time is limited, theoretically only a few tenths of a second.

In other words, it takes at least half a breath to realize the opponent's changes.

Coupled with the competition environment, fatigue at the finish line, and adjusting posture, strength, and speed, it takes even longer.

This is the only chance to defeat Inariichi in the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Tour, whose adaptability, endurance, burst, and competition experience are almost the same as his own.

The most risky point is whether the field can be successfully triggered in such a critical situation.

The plan is to trigger it at around 100 meters, or even earlier, so that the chances of success are greater.

But as soon as she rushed into the last bend, her desire for victory and her determination to achieve what she shouldered and wanted to achieve in the future made her feel a familiar sense of transcendence.

She knew that at that time, she could enter the field at any time.

But she held back. She knew that Inari would catch up with her soon and would enter the realm like her.

So you have to endure, and endure until Inari can no longer endure it. That is the key to victory.

Endure to 400 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters, 100 meters, and will soon reach 50 meters.

He was about to give up, because if he continued to hold back, the physical strength he would have consumed, as he was not very good at leading the way, would not be enough for the sprint to the finish line. At this time, Inari couldn't hold back anymore.

Then this is the time.

Entering the realm, Inari discovered, took time.

It also takes time to transition from regular sprints to domain sprints.

Sprinting is about converting acceleration into actual speed, which also takes time.

But for a horse racing girl who can sprint to the finish line at a speed of over 50 meters per second, 18 meters only takes more than 2 seconds and less than seconds.

Inari was too late.

and so……

"Yeah...we won..."

Finally shifting his attention to the noise on the field, Tamamo Cross glanced past the boiling audience and turned his gaze to the announcement board.

Tokyo Stadium, 10R, the 98th Emperor's Autumn Viewing.

Rank, 1.

Number, 9.

Tamamo Cross.

"We won, Inari... Komiya-san, uncle, everyone... and, old man..."

Suddenly, without any sign, those who once firmly believed that tears were the byword for weakness, now clearly won. They clearly used up all their energy, physical strength and even mental power to win the game, won the Emperor's Autumn Appreciation Competition, and achieved an unprecedented consecutive championship in the Emperor's Autumn Appreciation Competition.

Looking at the notice board, raising her arms high, with a bright and relieved smile, just like Inariichi before, Tamamo Cross smiled with tears in her eyes.

"We won."

"Yeah, Xiaoyu, you win... eh?"

He was just smiling and agreeing, but subconsciously turned his head away, and Inari was startled.

Then, she laughed again.

"Well, what's the matter? Why are you crying all of a sudden, Xiaoyu?"

"Ha, you are the least qualified to criticize me, right? Didn't you cry just now, Inari?"

"I really don't want you to say that, but... well, that's true."

"Hey, you're not willing to lose to me, right?"

"That's for sure. Is there any need to talk about this kind of thing?"

"so what?"

"So? Ah, yes, I suddenly realized that besides being unwilling to accept it, it was also a little funny. We were clearly on the same straight line in the end, and I had already thought about how to crush all my opponents one by one in the future, but in the end I lost to you, which made me even more unwilling to accept it."

"I see. What a coincidence. I also want to keep winning, no matter what competition it is, so..."

"Yeah, so..."

"Let's run another race next time!" X2.

After the Emperor enjoyed the autumn scenery, the routine winner's show naturally took place.

Just like the Emperor's Autumn Viewing Race, the songs performed by the horse racing ladies participating in this race also serve as the finale.

The song is the usual "Next Frontier" which is only for the Emperor Prize.
Just like reflecting the thoughts of Tamamo Cross and Inari Ichi after the game, "Next Frontier" also showcases the theme of "moving towards the next future."

The stage can only be reached by those who aim for the top and run towards it wholeheartedly, and it is only open to the tireless overlord.

Then, on the chosen path, run forward wholeheartedly, make up your mind, try your best, run forward, and stand at the pinnacle of this stage.

The center of the singing and dancing on the stage is naturally the champion Tamamo Cross.

The achievement of winning consecutive championships in the first Emperor's Appreciation of Spring and Autumn Festival also made the number of spectators on site no less than that of the spectators watching the game.

Including those who were outside the stage venue and could not enter, and those who were watching from nearby high-rise buildings with cameras and telescopes, and those who were gathered outside the venue to listen to the sounds, the number of people might be even greater.

Due to the congestion, traffic in the vicinity was unsurprisingly paralyzed.

It's not that there were no staff responsible for maintaining order. On the contrary, in addition to the URA Association, the Tresen College Board of Directors, the stadium and stage staff, the Transportation Bureau and other relevant departments also sent personnel.

But it was of no use. Regardless of whether they entered the venue or not, the number of spectators and fans had already exceeded 200,000, and together with the people selling cheering sticks and doll peripherals along the way, the number had exceeded the scope that each department could cope with.

If this situation happened at any other time, all departments would have been overwhelmed, but this time it was different.

Such popularity can be said to be the peak of the development of Umamusume in Japan. Even when the Ludo symbol was the hottest, it could not reach this level.

This is not difficult to understand. Now is the early stage of the bubble economy's collapse. People may not understand the economic principles behind it, so they will definitely be affected.

The bigwigs in various departments who understand the principles are really worried about how to stimulate consumption and hold on to the virtual funds that will be lost when the bubble economy bursts.

Coincidentally, thanks to the outstanding performance of a group of horse girls such as Tamamo Cross, Inari Ichi, Oguruma, Super Kobay, and Mejiro Altan, the economic situation of this industry is quite good.

It is as if it is not part of the economic chain, and the overall environment is thriving.

In this situation, as long as they are not stupid, the attitudes of all parliamentarians and ministers will be supportive.

So let the traffic be congested. People are willing to spend money on Uma Musume anyway. What we should be worried about is that the Emperor’s autumn viewing has become so intense that the audience’s enthusiasm has decreased instead of increased.

Those who are familiar with the development of the entire industry know that, perhaps not directly, the current popularity of the Uma Musume industry is related to a certain trainer who transferred from Kasamatsu to the central government at the beginning of the year.

In the opinion of these people, this has almost boosted the popularity of Uma Musume. At this moment, the stage venue is as lively as an autumn harvest. This trainer should be at the scene and feel the comfort it brings.

However, Narita Airport.

"Welcome, thank you for flying all the way here."

Kitahara, who was thought to be at the stage venue by many people, stretched out his hand and nodded, with a strange look in his eyes, "So, you didn't come here by plane with Moonlight Madness?"

Standing opposite Kitahara was a horse girl who was nearly 1.80 meters tall, not much shorter than Kitahara.

She was wearing an Italian military-style battle suit and her jet-black boots had high heels, which made her look almost as tall as Kitahara.

And this horse racing girl is none other than the Italian king, Toni Bianca, whom I met during my trip to Europe last year.

"She's on another flight. We're from different teams. But compared to those things, what else can we see if we rush to the winner's stage now?"

"I'm afraid there will only be some simple performances. After all, Tamamo Cross and the others should be finishing their repertoire as we speak."

Looking at Tony Bianca, who had arrived in Japan more than a month earlier than he remembered, Kitahara sighed secretly, but on the surface he smiled and shook hands with the other party, then led her aside.

"So if you want to go to the show, it's a little late now, but I can arrange it for you to go to the venue or rest in the hotel first."

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot one thing. I should have mentioned it first."

"Congratulations on winning this year's Arc de Triomphe, Tony Bianca."

(End of this chapter)