Chapter 117: Rainbow Light of the Sky, Rainbow Light of the Earth

Make debut.
The Habotan Sho.
The Hopeful Stakes.
The Yayoi Sho.
The Satsuki Sho.
The Japan Derby.
The Takarazuka Kinen.
The Kikuka Sho.
The Japan Cup.
And then, the Arima Kinen.

Those are the ten official races Hoshino Wilm has entered so far.

On top of those, there were numerous unofficial mock races—events she hardly runs anymore, but that were held frequently in the past.

A few weeks before the Osaka Hai, while reviewing footage of all of them, a single question came to mind.

By what standard does Hoshino Wilm measure her own speed?

Uma Musume are said to outperform humans in many areas, but naturally, there are exceptions.

Take fuel efficiency, for example.

In exchange for our extraordinary physical abilities, we’re incredibly inefficient compared to humans. How much we eat varies from individual to individual, but at minimum, we consume about as much as a grown man. And if you’re on the higher end… well, watching Spe-senpai and the others the other day honestly scared me. They shoveled in portions larger than their own torsos without slowing their chopsticks once. Even after finishing, their stomachs only puffed out slightly. What kind of digestive system do Spe-senpai and Oguri-senpai even have?

Thinking ability is another example.

Our bodies are exceptional, but our minds are said to be average. Granted, being able to think calmly while running at 70 km/h might suggest a certain mental toughness—but in terms of raw processing speed, our brains are no faster than a normal human’s.

…With the exception of one particular individual.

The same applies to our senses.

Our hearing and sense of smell are exceptional. We can identify individuals by scent alone, though that fact is less widely known—perhaps because our distinctive ears draw more attention to our hearing. But beyond those traits, our five senses—vision, taste, touch, and so on—aren’t drastically different from a human’s.

They’re sturdy, like our minds, but functionally ordinary as sensory tools. Even our sense of time and balance generally falls within the human range.

…Again, with a few exceptions.

So.

Because our senses—especially vision and time perception—are essentially human, we can’t accurately measure lap times by feel while running. We can estimate our speed, but we can’t calculate it precisely. That’s why, during training or final workouts, our trainers time us with stopwatches.

Of course, those exceptions I mentioned—like Mihono Bourbon, whose senses are practically mechanical, or Wilm when she activates her enhanced thinking—could probably manage something like that.

…but that also means the opposite is true.

In the first half of a race, when Wilm isn’t using her enhanced thinking ability, she should be running like the rest of us—an ordinary Uma Musume. Broad adjustments are one thing, but fine-tuning her pace with precision should be difficult.

Uma Musume don’t run at a constant speed.

Track conditions, turf quality, weather, lane configuration, straights and corners—and the positions of other runners. We adjust our speed in response to all of it.

But front-runners are different.

They break ahead early and often open a gap from the start. That means they can’t directly compete with others to gauge an appropriate pace. As a result, they risk going out too hard and exhausting themselves—or easing off too much and getting caught at the end.

…That’s how it usually works.

Wilm, however, possesses another special ability besides enhanced thinking. It tends to be overshadowed by the latter, but “her hearing becoming absurdly sharp while running” is more than powerful enough on its own.

After witnessing her “presence cutting” at the Spring Grand Thanksgiving Festival, I was certain. With that hearing, Wilm can pick up the footsteps of runners within roughly ten lengths. Even without seeing or sensing them directly, she can grasp the movements of anyone within about a twenty-five-meter radius as if holding them in her palm.

So then—again.

What does Wilm use as her reference when setting her pace?

My guess is that she relies on her hearing early on. Before the gap to second place grows too large—while her hearing still reaches—she listens to our footsteps and adjusts accordingly.

This part is speculation, but perhaps she also uses course landmarks. Furlong markers. Slopes. Something like: “Open the gap to second by X lengths by this point.” By clearing those benchmarks, she likely locks in “her pace for that race.”

At first glance, that’s an enormous advantage. She can pinpoint the correct pace that front-runners usually struggle to grasp. An absolutely terrifying talent Hoshino Wilm possesses.

When I first realized it, my honest reaction was: Yeah… this is bad.

But then, after sitting with the thought for a while, something else occurred to me.

…This trait could be exploited.

It feels a little underhanded to capitalize on an opponent’s characteristics.

But the opponent is a dragon. The successor to the Eternal Emperor who brings absolutes to racing—my greatest rival.

To shatter the “absolute” of a newly born legend… I have to use everything at my disposal.

I nodded once and contacted Nature on my phone.

---

In this Osaka Hai, which Uma Musume is drawing the most attention?

Ask that question, and ninety-nine out of a hundred people would answer, “Hoshino Wilm.”

She’s the first undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume since the Chairwoman. She’s consistently lived up to that title, calmly winning mixed senior-grade races while still in the Classic division—a once-in-a-generation runaway specialist. After defeating Silence Suzuka, the former strongest runaway, at the Arima Kinen, calling her the strongest runaway Uma Musume in history wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Of course she’s under the spotlight.

On top of that, she’s coming off her first-ever defeat at the Arima Kinen. Fans are watching closely to see whether she has fully recovered and returned to form.

Naturally, she’s the overwhelming favorite—far ahead of me. In every sense, she’s an Uma Musume who never lacks attention.

Yes. Without question, the most watched runner in the Osaka Hai is Hoshino Wilm.

…But strangely enough, she isn’t the runner the other competitors fear most.

Wilm’s runaway lead is inevitable. No matter how much pressure you apply, she won’t hesitate or overreact—she simply runs on her own terms. Unless another runaway specialist challenges her, she won’t be stopped. Aside from the split second at the start, the only real opportunity to interfere with her is in the final stretch.

Being overly cautious of such an uncontrollable opponent brings no strategic benefit. It only divides your attention—and divided attention loses races.

Hoshino Wilm may be the “one to beat,” but she doesn’t drastically alter race development. She raises the overall pace, yes, but she doesn’t directly disrupt everyone else’s rhythm.

In that sense, her consistency almost makes her less threatening.

As a result, the attention that should be directed at her shifts instead to the next most dangerous runner.

In this race, that isn’t the number-one favorite Wilm.

It’s the number-two favorite.

Yes. Me. Tokai Teio.

And being closely watched means my movements are scrutinized… which makes the next step simple.

I get a clean start, then deliberately maintain a slightly slower pace. Just a fraction slower than the pack—subtly restraining them.

If I do that…

Everyone mistakes it for “the appropriate pace.”

It was easier to create that situation than I expected. Everything Nature had reluctantly drilled into me came together perfectly.

…Still, whether this would actually work on Wilm was a gamble.

I was confident in my analysis of Hoshino Wilm.

But I didn’t know how deeply Trainer Horino would read into my race design. It was entirely possible he would see through everything and overturn it with a strategy I couldn’t predict.

And even if Horino missed it, Wilm herself might notice. The deception was simple—so obvious that, in hindsight, you’d say, “How did I miss that?” But spotting that discomfort while running at full speed is another matter.

In the end, it became a race between two things: whether Wilm would open a decisive gap from second place first—or whether she would notice the anomaly first.

I wouldn’t know the answer until moments before the race began.

But in this case, the fact that Wilm had mastered a new starting technique actually worked in my favor.

My plan, in simple terms, was to slow the entire pack until Wilm opened a massive gap from second place. By doing so, I’d make her misjudge the proper pace and leave stamina unused. It was a bet on whether she would detect the pack’s sluggishness—or widen the gap first.

Seen that way, her improved start aligned perfectly with my strategy. It drastically shortened the time before she opened that gap—or, in other words, the time before she could sense something was off.

Thanks to that fortunate alignment…

My Osaka Hai plan succeeded.

---

"Although the field has stretched out vertically, this is an unusually slow pace considering Hoshino Wilm’s presence. After that explosive start, this development is unexpected. Is this the dragon’s strategy—or something else?"

Now.

In the direction of my gaze…

Wilm, commanding the lead freely, was running at a restrained pace.

Hoshino Wilm is a stayer. She possesses tremendous stamina, but in terms of explosive acceleration, she’s slightly behind the others. …Though compared to most Uma Musume, even her burst is impressive.

If things continued like this, she would have stamina left over. She wouldn’t fully utilize her greatest strength. And if that happened, my acceleration should be enough to overtake her.

Thinking that, I gradually increased my pace—when suddenly…

"Entering the backstretch, Hoshino Wilm remains in the lead! Her deep blue coat gleams against the brilliant turf!"

"It’s difficult to gauge the gap from here, but she’s clearly shifted up a gear. Is she increasing the tempo from this distance?"

At around the 900-meter mark, Wilm suddenly accelerated.

"Tch…"

I matched her move, increasing my pace as well, maintaining roughly a thirteen-length gap while grimacing.

…She saw through it.

How? There were no nearby runners to compare pace with, and there was no way she could clearly hear the commentary without activating her enhanced thinking. Between the roar of the crowd and the thunder of our own footsteps, that should have been nearly impossible.

So where?

Where did Wilm notice it?

There had been no concrete reason for suspicion in her current state.

Which meant either pure intuition…

…or she had carried a seed of doubt from the very beginning.

…The latter, most likely.

My plan was simple. I can’t imagine Trainer Horino—who once traded strategies with Nature of all people—would fail to see through it.

He must have warned Wilm: "Tokai Teio might try to slow the pack’s pace."

Because of that, even if she couldn’t avoid being caught in the setup, she could still sense that subtle sluggishness in her own rhythm.

…Right.

The opponent I’m fighting isn’t just an Uma Musume.

It’s an Uma Musume—and the trainer behind her.

The “racehorse’s run” those two create together.

…And if that’s the case.

Then I’m allowed to rely on my own trainer too, aren’t I?

---

For a brief moment, I closed my eyes.

From here—the path that still leads to victory.
The image of reaching that brightest star.

If I’m being honest, between Hoshino Wilm and Tokai Teio… she’s stronger.

In physical specifications. In racing technique.

When we were hospitalized together last year, Wilm told me a little about her past. She said she had done nothing but run. No hobbies. No special skills. Just that kind of life.

She laughed self-deprecatingly as she said it.

But to me, it sounded incredible.

Because while I used to treat racing lightly—winning as if it were guaranteed—she ran as though staking her entire existence on it.

And even after I became serious, I lost time to long rehabilitation and experimenting with new running styles.

Of course I’m behind her right now.

…Which makes this a challenge to someone above me.

I have to prepare the stage, create perfect conditions, outmaneuver her with strategy—and only then do I earn a chance.

And I’ve already lost the ideal outcome where she would ease off before I closed in.

So how do I win from here?

"Hoshino Wilm might not be able to activate her Domain in this race."

My trainer’s words from two days ago echoed in my mind.

The steady voice of the man who once guided the Chairwoman to an undefeated Triple Crown.

"From what I’ve observed, an Uma Musume’s racing outfit likely alters the conditions under which she performs best.

When Rudolf wore her second outfit, she became slightly stronger in long-distance races—particularly the Tenno Sho (Spring).

This is only my personal theory—there’s no hard proof—but I don’t think the racing outfit only affects the Domain.

I believe it subtly changes the Uma Musume’s running itself."

At first, I chose him simply because he had been the Chairwoman’s trainer.

But he supported my training properly, showed consideration where needed, and scolded me firmly when I deserved it.

At some point, I began to see him as my partner.

That day, standing before the whiteboard with one finger raised, he laid out his analysis of Wilm.

"If I’m correct, Hoshino Wilm’s first Domain likely had relatively loose activation conditions, and its effect was moderate.

Given that she’s fundamentally a stayer, there’s a strong possibility her second racing outfit is even more specialized toward long distances."

There was plenty of optimism in that theory.

But he was known as the Emperor’s Staff.

I wanted to believe him.

More than that—I wanted to trust him.

"If the activation conditions for her Domain are stricter than before, and she’s grown accustomed to the previous threshold, then the mismatch between harsher requirements and race distance could prevent her from reaching it.

In that case, there’s a real possibility she won’t be able to use her Domain in the Osaka Hai.

…Of course, it’s still only a possibility."

Even knowing I might break my leg, he allowed me to run the Japan Derby because he understood how badly I wanted it.

He stood by me when I changed my running style midway through my Classic year.

And he believes—truly—that I can win this Osaka Hai.

"So if that happens—if Hoshino Wilm’s Domain fails to activate—

Raise your pace immediately. By the final straight, close the gap to within four lengths."

I want to believe in my partner.

"I believe in you. The genius of the track—Tokai Teio."

---

Far ahead, where I fixed my gaze—

The distinct pressure of a Domain beginning to form gathered in the air… only to disperse without taking shape.

Just as my trainer predicted, Wilm failed to deploy her Domain.

For what reason, I can’t say.

But his prediction was correct.

Wilm passed the tenth furlong marker.

The distance between us—about twelve lengths.

There are still over a thousand meters to the finish.

From a stamina perspective, launching a long spurt now makes it uncertain whether I’ll have enough left for a full burst in the final straight.

…Yeah.

I’ll trust you, Trainer.

"Oh! Tokai Teio makes her move! For someone who usually sticks to orthodox tactics, this is bold!

They’re already heading into the third corner—is she pushing too hard?"

"It may be her judgment that defeating Hoshino Wilm—whose legs never fade—cannot be accomplished in the final straight alone.

How far does she intend to advance?"

"The field splits cleanly between those accelerating in response and those holding their pace! Has the true Osaka Hai begun?!"

…Stay calm.

Don’t panic. Don’t let your blood run too hot.

Once the others stop following, cut to the inside. Let the centrifugal force of the corner roll off smoothly.

It’s fine. I’ve practiced accelerating through corners countless times.

To reach Wilm’s back… perhaps eight lengths now.

Four more to reach the target distance. About four hundred meters left to make it happen.

From the thousand-meter mark, I closed nearly four lengths in about two hundred meters.

At this rate, it should be possible—

…No. It won’t be that easy.

Ahead of me, Wilm increases her speed.

"Tch."

Well. Of course she does.

Wilm’s effective hearing range is likely around ten lengths.

If I close the gap like this, she’ll naturally realize, “Tokai Teio is accelerating.”

And once she notices—if she still has stamina to spare—she’ll respond in kind.

Ah. This is bad.

If I match Wilm’s pace and try to close the gap further, my stamina probably won’t hold.

She’s a stayer.

I’m middle-distance.

In terms of endurance, I’m at a clear disadvantage.

If I simply chase her rhythm… I’ll be worn down, just like MacQueen always is.

If I want to unleash everything in the final straight, I should conserve stamina here.

But if I do that, I won’t fulfill the condition my trainer set.

To honor his plan, I need to accelerate now.

And if I do, my stamina almost certainly won’t last to the finish.

“…Which one?”

Which do I choose?

Stamina—or distance.

The orthodox approach—or my trainer’s strategy.

What I should choose is—

…No.

That’s wrong.

The premise itself is flawed.

Tokai Teio is a genius.

My trainer believes in me. Wilm wants me to be the one standing against her.

Without question—I’m a genius.

And if I truly am—

If I’m a genius capable of surpassing that Wilm—

Then I have to choose both.

Not one.

Both!

“Suu…”

I draw in a deep breath and pour every ounce of strength into my legs.

It’s fine.

I can do this.

Because I’m—

Tokai Teio!!

“Ha!!”

"Tokai Teio moves into second! She’s chasing relentlessly!! She surges forward, rapidly closing the gap to the leader, Hoshino Wilm! That looked like an early spurt, but she’s barely winded!

Will this become another match race between these two, just like the Derby?! Only the Emperor can challenge the Dragon—no other Uma Musume can even step into that arena!!"

"Hoshino Wilm has already lowered into a forward-leaning stance. How much ground will be gained before they hit the final straight?"

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Without oxygen, the body won’t move. So more. More.

If I have to, I’ll breathe until I’m nearly hyperventilating.

Move your legs faster.

The constant strain is numbing the tips of my limbs—but keep going anyway. Precise. Ferocious. Always forward.

Do both at once.

Recover your breath—while accelerating.

Otherwise…

I’ll never reach that dragon!

"Tokai Teio is closing in! She’s bearing down on Hoshino Wilm! Entering the final corner, 600 meters remaining—the gap is about five lengths! Will we see a repeat of that day? Or will the Emperor finally seize the crown?!"

“Ha—hk…!”

My brain feels cold.

My vision blurs and distorts.

…I know I’m pushing too hard.

Accelerating while maintaining steady breathing—that’s impossible.

If I were willing to destroy my legs, I could run like that again.

But I can’t anymore.

That long, soaring stride—

After many discussions with my trainer, I chose to abandon it.

Instead, I would build a proper running form—one that could rival it without sacrificing my future.

So…

Right now, I’ll run the best race I can.

Place each step carefully onto the turf. Push off deliberately.

Waste none of the recoil. Convert every fragment of force into forward momentum.

With everything I have, I chase Hoshino Wilm.

Just a little more.

Just a little—

I’ll reach her!!

"Four hundred meters remaining! Out of the corner and into the final straight! The gap between Tokai Teio and Hoshino Wilm is just four lengths!!"

I’ve reached it.

Four lengths.

Ten meters.

There—

The wall of “absolute” I’ve been aiming for.

Hoshino Wilm—the first undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume since the Emperor.

A dragon dancing alone in the sky.

An overwhelming runaway who crushes everything beneath her.

Heat surges up from deep within my chest.

The feeling of having come this far.

The resolve to finish it here.

And more than anything—

"Go, Teio!!"

The wishes. The hopes.

From the people who believed in me.

I want to answer them.

That heat—

Repaints the world.

---

A barren land, scorched by heat.

There, I stand alone.

…Ah. I see.

This wasteland is me.

Burned by injury. Having lost my running.

An Uma Musume who holds nothing but smoldering embers inside—no longer able to bear fruit.

But that ends today.

A brilliant light shines behind me, and I turn.

A single feather drifts down from the sky.

The loneliness of the sky I once leapt into.

The longing for a rival who soars freely through it.

And more than anything—the selfish wish to keep running, to defeat her.

I gather it all into my chest.

From my back, a pair of crimson wings unfurls.

I can’t bound freely through the sky like I did that day.

That required too steep a price—my legs’ very lifespan.

…But.

Even if I can’t leap without restraint—

For a single moment…

I can still fly.

I spread my wings and feel my body lift.

…I can do this.

No.

I will do this.

"I won’t acknowledge your ‘absolute.’"

I’ll fly—

Into that sky where my greatest rival, Hoshino Wilm, awaits!

"Absolute is me!!"

---

Just like that day, I run wrapped in wind.

I drive my feet into the turf with everything I have, converting every last scrap of strength into speed.

I open my Domain. I play my remaining cards.

And I close in on the low-flying dragon.

Three hundred meters remain.

Three lengths between us.

In terms of distance… it’s tight.

But—

…I can make it.

Somewhere in the corner of my boiling thoughts, a calm voice says so.

The turning point was probably my trainer’s tactic.

"Launch your long spurt early, from the 1000-meter mark."

The true intention wasn’t about the Domain at all.

It was about making Wilm panic.

At the Arima Kinen, she lost because she was too cautious.

So this time—at the Osaka Hai—she wouldn’t repeat that mistake.

She would move earlier. More decisively.

And when I attacked sooner than expected, she faltered.

Remembering her failure at Arima, she activated her enhanced thinking just a little too early.

Probably five seconds.

About a hundred meters sooner than optimal, she played her trump card.

Which means—

In the final five seconds, she won’t be able to maintain this forward-leaning spurt.

That’s enough.

Even if one length remains—

The me standing here now can overtake her!!

"Two hundred meters to go! The gap is just over two lengths! And now the final uphill stretch!!

She cannot lose—she will not lose! Tokai Teio roars as she charges up the slope!!"

I don’t want to lose.

I want to win.

Against her—

My highest goal.

The dragon who claims to be absolute.

My greatest rival.

So I empty my mind and run.

Forward.

Forward—

And then—

She glances back at me.

…Ah.

I know that look.

You’re the same.

Hoshino Wilm—

You’re running inside this heat too.

One, a six-time G1 champion.

One, a challenger without even a graded-stakes victory.

One, a reckless runaway.

One, the pinnacle of orthodox racing.

Opposites in position and style.

But our feelings are identical.

I want to beat the Uma Musume in front of me.

I want to surpass the one I admire.

That’s all.

So—

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!"

"Gaaaaaahhh!!"

Stripped of everything but instinct, we roar like beasts and run.

Run—

Run—

And finally, we reach the point where only one hundred meters remain in the duration of Wilm’s enhanced thinking.

Even so, Hoshino Wilm does not stop.

"Both of them are locked together as they charge into the goooaaal!! It’s too close to call with the naked eye, but the winner is… the winner is Hoshino Wilm!!! She takes this year’s Osaka Hai! The margin over Tokai Teio is a nose!

The second clash between the Dragon and the Emperor—decided here and now!!"

"What an unbelievable race to open the G1 season!

And with Mejiro McQueen joining the fray, the upcoming Tenno Sho is going to be spectacular!"

---

“Khh—ha, haa… guh—cough!”

As I gradually slowed, I tried to steady my ragged breathing.

Ahh… damn it. I lost.

I was the one running. I know.

I was just short of Wilm… by about twenty centimeters.

…Seriously.

I’m this exhausted, and I went and declared, "I won’t acknowledge your ‘absolute.’"

And then I lose. How pathetic.

Ahh…

Ahh, damn it, damn it, damn it!

It’s frustrating. So frustrating I could scream.

Just a little more—just a little more!

She was right there! Close enough to grab if I reached out, close enough to touch if my stride had stretched just a fraction farther!

And yet… that “just a little” never closed.

It was a favorable race for me.

The 2000-meter distance. Wilm’s new racing outfit. Her failed attempt to fully deploy her Domain.

The conditions were clearly in my favor.

And yet I still lost.

Honestly, the reason isn’t hard to see.

She should have hit her absolute limit.

But Wilm didn’t stop. She exceeded my expectations.

Wasn’t thirty seconds supposed to be her limit? Or had she been bluffing? Either way, it fell completely outside my calculations.

On top of that, deliberately slowing the pace early to restrain Wilm… in hindsight, that was a mistake too.

She caught on midway. Once she sensed me closing in, she accelerated. I couldn’t preserve my legs as much as I’d intended.

When you tally it all up, the negatives outweighed the positives.

Outsmarted by my own scheme.

…It looked simple, but executing something like that the way Nature does isn’t easy.

Maybe that really is a kind of talent.

Probably not a style that suits me.

There are countless other regrets.

Maybe I should have taken one deeper breath there.

Maybe I could have pushed harder at that moment.

They keep surfacing, one after another.

…But no matter how frustrated I get, reality won’t change.

I didn’t reach her.

Just a little… I didn’t reach her.

That’s what makes it hurt so much.

And yet—

There’s also a strange sense of fulfillment.

Like I gained something.

If I gave it everything and still lost… then so be it.

There’s a quiet acceptance in that.

And a burning resolve for next time—I will win.

So this is what it means to lose after giving it your all.

Understanding that somehow makes it hurt even more.

Seriously.

Having a rival this strong is exhausting.

---

“Haa… haa… whew.”

After finally catching my breath, I searched for Wilm.

Even with all those favorable conditions, she still beat me.

At the very least, I owed her a complaint or two—and a congratulations.

“Where are—”

And then, in the direction I looked—

Wilm was on the turf, hands and knees pressed against the ground.

…Huh?

Wait.

What?

Why?

Wilm should have more stamina than I do.

So why… why does she look like she’s in so much pain?

“Wilm?”

The word slipped out before I could stop it, and I ran toward her.

It wasn’t until I got close that I saw her expression clearly.

She looked as though she were enduring intense pain.

Her entire body was trembling.

The worst possible thought flashed through my mind.

…No.

No, Wilm.

That’s not it, right?

I haven’t beaten you yet.

I still want to race you—again and again.

There’s no way this can be the end. I won’t accept that.

"Wilm, Wilm! Hey—cut it out with the joke!!"

I grabbed her shoulders and shook her frantically, desperate for her to tell me it was just a prank. A mistake. Anything.

And then—

“Teio…”

“! What is it, Wilm?!”

Her hoarse voice made mine rise without meaning to.

“…C-could you not shake me… I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Huh?”

“I went a little too all-out… my head’s pounding… if you keep shaking me, I’m seriously going to— ah, sorry, it’s coming up.”

“What?”

She promptly vomited onto the turf.

I stood there, completely speechless.