Chapter 147: Becoming the Blue Sky

It was one day in mid-June, with Wilm’s Takarazuka Kinen fast approaching.

I was lying on the grass along the riverbank, staring up at the sky.

"Man… the sky feels so far away."

"…………"

The man beside me offered no reply.

Only a faint air of confusion drifted over on the calm riverside breeze.

Even so, I refused to be discouraged and continued voicing my thoughts.

"It’s unbelievably blue, and it just goes on forever. Looking at it like this, it’s kind of grand."

"…………"

"Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I just calmly looked up at the sky. I’ve been pretty busy lately."

"…………"

"Ahh, blue. So blue. The sky is ridiculously blue. Super blue."

"…Horino-kun, want me to introduce you to a good doctor?"

"Isn’t that a bit rude?"

The one who had just said something rather awful was a personal friend of mine—the trainer contracted with Nice Nature and Rice Shower.

He was looking at me with faint concern in his eyes.

…Well, that was only natural. I had suddenly asked, “Do you have time today?” He’d agreed without much thought, only to be brought to a riverbank and made to lie on the grass staring at the sky.

If I didn’t know the circumstances, I’d probably think, Is this guy okay?

But this, too, was for the sake of my 담당 Uma Musume.

Surely that didn’t make me insane.

The trainer of Nature and the others let out a sigh and shot me a mildly reproachful glance.

"Well, that was a joke… but seriously, what’s going on, Horino-kun? Work?"

"I finished it."

"Oh. Work can be finished?"

His eyes suddenly went hollow.

Ah. So his camp must have had a rough spring as well.

For trainers, spring and autumn are absurdly busy seasons.

For those contracted with G1-level girls—especially the ones who rise to the top of popularity during the Classics—it becomes a brutal death march where even sleep is a luxury.

He had been handling Nature, who rested this spring, while also managing Rice Shower, who had positioned herself as a rival to Mihono Bourbon in this year’s Classics.

In other words, he had been training one of the most closely watched Uma Musume in Japan.

That had to mean a nightmare of work and preparation.

Source: me, last year.

Still, his camp’s spring campaign had ended with the recent Japanese Derby.

Now that it was June, I had assumed things had calmed down enough to invite him out.

"Were you still busy? Sorry for dragging you out."

"No, it’s fine. Things have settled down a bit. I actually slept properly yesterday."

"Oh, that’s good. Being able to sleep is important."

"It really is…"

He nodded, though his face still looked rather drained for someone who claimed to be sleeping.

Well, after a long stretch of sleepless days, it wasn’t unusual to feel worn down.

Again—source: me, last year.

Sensing the heavy mood settling in, he spoke up.

"So, what’s this really about? You didn’t bring me here just to lie around, right?"

"Of course not. I’m not going to pull something like Seiun Sky."

"She does things like that?"

Well… maybe.

At least, based on the impression I’d gotten from my past-life app, she felt like the type who’d skip training, flop down by the riverbank, pat the grass beside her and say, “Trainer~, there’s space right here~?”

That mischievous—no, free-spirited, catlike side of hers was part of her charm, but that wasn’t the point.

As he said, it was time to get to the real topic.

---

Still staring at the sky, I began.

"First off, thanks for coming. Embarrassingly enough, there’s something I don’t understand. I wanted to hear an opinion from someone other than myself."

"Something you don’t understand…?"

What was that look supposed to mean? Like, There’s something Horino-kun doesn’t understand?

Of course there is.

Since coming to the Central circuit, I’ve been learning new things every day.

He furrowed his brow, then lightly shook his head. Placing a hand on his chest, he smiled reassuringly.

"Alright. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll gladly hear you out."

"It’s not that dramatic."

Still, I was grateful for his seriousness.

I looked back up at the sky.

For once during the rainy season, it was perfectly clear—the blue vastly outweighing the scattered patches of white.

It was pleasant.

But to me, that was all it was.

And that was precisely why I needed another perspective.

"It’s about Happy Meek."

"Ah. Her. Wilm’s rival at the Takarazuka Kinen, right?"

Yes—Happy Meek.

Wilm’s rival, and likely a genuine threat.

Just like in my past-life app, she stood in my way again.

The stage had changed—from the URA Finals to the Takarazuka Kinen—but for me, the Takarazuka Kinen was special.

It was the race where I truly recognized Wilm’s charm, and where I truly began becoming her trainer.

Happy Meek felt like the kind of rival who appears at the most crucial moments.

So I began investigating her.

And—

"To put it simply, I don’t understand Happy Meek."

"Don’t understand…?"

I didn’t.

Of course, I knew the basics.

Happy Meek. A second-year in the high school division. Distinctive white hair and a slightly airheaded aura. An original Uma Musume in the app—no real-life horse as a base—positioned as a rival character.

Her preferred running styles were leader and stalker.

But in terms of distance and surface, she could handle anything—from sprints to long distances, from turf to dirt.

An absurdly versatile runner.

In this world, she had fully leveraged that range, winning one G1 title at each distance—from explosive short races to stamina-testing long ones.

That was all.

That was all I knew.

…Or perhaps, all I could know.

I turned to my friend.

"What kind of runner is Happy Meek?"

"Huh?"

"Is she aggressive or passive? Does she control the race, or impose her strengths on it? Does she stay forward, or move cautiously? Can you describe her style concretely?"

"Well…"

His words trailed off.

He had faced Happy Meek in last year’s Arima Kinen while training Nature.

He should have measured her ability.

And yet—

Like me, he likely found no answer.

That was why he couldn’t give one now.

And I couldn’t blame him.

Even I, who had been personally taught by Horino Kaoru, couldn’t analyze her running.

It was no surprise that someone from a more ordinary background couldn’t either.

I pushed myself upright, shifting my gaze from the sky to the river.

"Happy Meek’s running is ever-changing.

She’s never at the very front or dead last, but aside from that—she’ll do anything.

She can sit in second with aggressive intent. She can break away from a strong position using raw power. She can wait in mid-pack and strike. She can grind forward from near the rear.

Which tactic she chooses depends entirely on the race.

And because she has both explosive speed and stamina across all distances, you can’t predict when she’ll make her move.

Reading her is, without exaggeration, nearly impossible."

Most people—and most Uma Musume—share one common trait.

They choose what is optimal for themselves.

In racing, that’s no exception.

Wilm overwhelms from the front, unaffected by the pack.

Bourbon runs her perfect lap pace, indifferent to others.

Nature controls the race itself.

Rice fixates on a single target and marks them relentlessly.

There are patterns rooted in stats and aptitude.

Because I can visualize their abilities, once I grasp their temperament, predicting race developments becomes relatively manageable.

…But there are exceptions.

Like Tokai Teio, who instinctively selects the true optimal solution—one she shouldn’t even logically be able to deduce.

Or Happy Meek, whose sheer breadth of viable tactics prevents me from narrowing her down to a single optimal answer.

"Her tactics are too diverse. Measuring her strength alone isn’t enough to predict her approach.

So I decided to analyze her personality as well. As a result…"

"…Wait. Are you profiling her?"

"A rough version of it."

Profiling—normally a criminal psychology method.

In this case, I simply meant inferring mental states from words and behavior.

Happy Meek wasn’t a criminal.

If anything, from what Wilm says, she’s an extraordinarily kind saint… saintly mare?

Anyway—

"She apparently has a habit of staring up at the sky, lost in thought. According to her roommate Wilm, she especially loves blue skies."

"Blue skies… Oh. That’s why today."

"It’s rare to get clear weather during the rainy season. I thought imitating her might help me understand her mindset."

…But I still couldn’t grasp her psychology.

To me, the sky was just a blue sky.

Was it because I had already lost that childish lens on the world?

Because her values were unusual?

Or because the worlds we saw were fundamentally different?

I didn’t even know that much.

As I stared upward with a troubled expression, he followed suit, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight.

"What people think when they see a blue sky, huh.

Generally? Freedom. Refreshment. It doesn’t usually stir up negative feelings."

"That’s true. If she likes blue skies, she probably doesn’t see them in a negative light. Of course, it could be some kind of compulsion—but that seems unlikely."

"And you don’t know what that ‘positive feeling’ actually is."

"Right. Why does she like looking at the sky? What about blue skies appeals to her?

…Though even if I figure that out, it doesn’t guarantee I’ll understand her racing."

It was pathetic, but I’d nearly exhausted my options.

Without narrowing down her strategy, I couldn’t form a race plan.

Without a race plan, I couldn’t tailor Wilm’s training properly.

In a sense, Happy Meek was simply a bad matchup for me.

If I told my partner Wilm that, she’d puff out her cheeks and say, "Then please leave it to me!"

But I wanted to avoid that future.

If I ended up relying on Wilm again—after already depending on Teio—then this spring, I would have done nothing for her at all.

A partnership where only one side supports the other isn’t truly a partnership.

As her trainer, as her partner, I wanted to be worthy.

That was why I was desperately staring at the sky.

…But honestly?

I still didn’t get it.

I’m not particularly strong at reading people’s psychology.

In that regard, I’ve always lagged behind my brother and sister.

As I sat there at a loss, Nature’s trainer suddenly spoke, as if something had just occurred to him.

"Speaking of blue skies, there are actually quite a few clouds out today. I wonder what kind of blue sky Happy Meek likes."

"What kind of…?"

"I mean the balance between clear and cloudy—the ratio of blue to white. Even when people say ‘blue sky,’ some think it looks better with a few clouds, while others probably prefer not a single cloud in sight, right?

I was just wondering what kind of blue sky Happy Meek prefers."

"Mm…"

I’m sorry to say, but only about half of his words truly reached me.

More than anything else, a single phrase had snagged in my mind.

Blue and white.

When I heard those words, something faintly connected.

Happy Meek’s hair—and her racing outfit—are white.

And the aquarium she supposedly loves… generally speaking, that would be blue.

The colors of the sky overlapped with the two elements most associated with her.

Was that merely coincidence?

From the perspective of my past-life app, it could simply be unified character design.

But this world isn’t a game.

It wouldn’t be strange if there were some deeper meaning behind it… would it?

If so, what would it signify?

Blue and white. What do those two colors symbolize to her?

Blue—the sky and the aquarium.

Things she loves. The distant sky. Water behind glass.

The shared image is something non-ordinary. Unreal. A faraway, beautiful ideal world… perhaps something like that.

White—her racing outfit. The clouds.

A racing outfit represents the Uma Musume herself. Clouds, meanwhile, obscure the sky.

If that’s the case, then white could symbolize herself—and the tangible obstacles of reality. The thing that prevents her from reaching that ideal.

Her own limits?

…This is just a passing thought.

It hasn’t even reached the level of a proper hypothesis yet. It’s nothing more than idle speculation.

But if that were true…

Then at her core—

"Longing… perhaps?"

"Horino-kun?"

It was only when he called out to me that I realized I’d been murmuring to myself.

Dragging someone out here only to drift off into my own head was beyond rude. I’d have to be more careful about that.

…Still, I owed him thanks for the spark.

"Thanks. I might have caught a glimpse of something."

"A glimpse of what?"

"Of the Uma Musume called Happy Meek. Just a little."

Of course, there was no guarantee this hypothesis was correct.

I would need to sit down alone and think it through properly.

But… yes.

At least I felt like I’d found an initial foothold.

---

As I carefully fixed that realization in my mind, determined not to lose it—

Nature’s trainer beside me spoke again, as if remembering something.

"For now, I’m just glad you’ve found some light.

…By the way, there was something I wanted to ask you too. Is that alright?"

"Of course. I owe you for coming all the way out here today. I’ll answer most things."

This man gave off the air of a gentle soul.

But he was sharper than he looked.

For the sake of supporting his trainee and helping her win, he wouldn’t hesitate to make blunt requests—even if it earned him some resentment.

If you let him build up a favor, he was the type who would show up a year later with a bright smile and say, "Right then, let’s settle that—interest included. Don’t worry, I just have a few things I’d like you to tell me and do."

Still, he respected proper boundaries, and everything he did was for the sake of his own Uma Musume.

Personally? I couldn’t dislike a man like that.

And I had known exactly what kind of person he was when I chose to rely on him today.

Naturally, I had expected some form of compensation.

As long as it didn’t interfere with Wilm or Bourbon’s training, I intended to oblige.

…However.

Contrary to my braced expectations, he gave a wry smile.

"No, it’s not like that this time… Well, I guess there’s something in it for me, but more than that, I wanted to hear your thoughts. For reference."

"My thoughts? Sure—but about what?"

Was it about Nature or Rice’s autumn races?

But it would be awkward for someone from another camp to weigh in on that…

Before my speculation could run too far, he pulled out his smartphone, tapped a few times, and showed me the screen.

Displayed there was footage of a race.

The text on the screen and the cheers echoing in the background—neither were Japanese.

And I had watched this footage many times myself.

A recently held overseas G1 race.

The Oaks Stakes—commonly known as the English Oaks.

"Oaks Stakes… the English Oaks."

"Knew you’d seen it too, Horino-kun."

"Of course. I watch all the major overseas graded races."

"Wait—every one?"

"At least every one with available footage."

After all, Wilm is scheduled to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe this year.

Neglecting prior research would be foolish.

Missing a G1 would be a catastrophic oversight.

Naturally, I had reviewed the Oaks held in Britain.

At Epsom Racecourse.

Eleven furlongs and 106 yards—roughly 2,300 meters.

The winner was the third favorite.

If she ran in the Oaks, then in my past life she must have been a filly.

She was relatively petite.

On her left ear were three connected, tiara-shaped white ornaments.

Her distinctive, slightly wavy blonde hair bore a single beautiful streak.

Golden eyes, filled with confidence and composure, remained fixed solely on the finish line throughout the race.

She ran just behind the front-runner.

Accelerated out of the final corner to take the lead.

Then dueled with the race favorite who came charging after her—

And with one furlong—200 meters—remaining, she accelerated again.

In an instant, she pulled away by three and a half lengths to claim the G1.

What was truly frightening, though, was the gap behind second place.

Only the race favorite managed to keep up with her.

The rest of the field completely exhausted their stamina.

From second to third, there was a twenty-length gap.

It was like the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe showdown between El Condor Pasa and Montjeu—

A match race between first and second alone.

And even then, the margin was enormous for a G1.

To be honest, this year’s English Oaks hadn’t featured an overwhelmingly dominant standout beforehand.

Even so, defeating G1-level Uma Musume by such a margin—

That was undeniably an emphatic, powerful victory.

No matter how large the gap had been in Wilm’s Derby, even the fillies behind Teio hadn’t been beaten by twenty lengths.

There are differences between Japan and the West in terms of environment, and I wouldn’t go so far as to say she surpasses Wilm in early development—but even so, she is unquestionably a once-in-a-generation monster.

A historic thoroughbred in the making… no, at this point, calling her a hatchling would be more accurate.

After confirming that I understood at least that much, he asked:

"Well? What do you think?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"Even if you watch the interview afterward, it’s obvious, isn’t it? She was running with Hoshino Wilm in mind."

Her running style was different—she favored front-running and stalking, and the scale of the race was different too—but in the final stretch, she battled the Uma Musume closing in from behind, then reignited at the very last moment to pull clear…

In that sense, her performance did remind me of Wilm.

And more than anything, there were the words she spoke—no, declared—in her interview.

"I am the new dragon-slaying hero! I'm a new dragon slayer!"

By “dragon,” she must have meant Hoshino Wilm, the one they call the Ashen Dragon.

After all, when it comes to the most famous dragon in the world right now, there’s no one else it could be.

Well, if we’re being technical, it’s ryū, not just “dragon,” and wyrm, not “dragon” either. That’s practically an easy question on the Level 5 Wilm Proficiency Test, so I’d appreciate it if you memorized that before you go…

But that aside.

I never expected her to be that direct—so openly conscious of Wilm, and openly provocative.

Thinking it might be some kind of misunderstanding, I looked into her background.

The more I dug, the more I found.

Since her debut, every time she’s been interviewed, she has talked about Wilm and about Japanese races.

She talks. And talks. And talks.

Ask her about today’s race, and she lines up Wilm’s lap times for comparison.

Ask her about a race that left an impression, and she praises Wilm’s performance in the Tenno Sho (Spring).

Ask her about rivals she’s aware of, and with a perfectly natural expression, she recounts Wilm’s career from her debut onward.

There are fans—and then there’s… whatever this is.

No, at this point it’s less “fan” and more something bordering on obsession. You could almost call it stalking.

And that same girl declared that she would be the one to slay the dragon.

That was clearly a statement of intent—"I will be the one to defeat the racing Uma Musume, Hoshino Wilm."

At her debut, she had made an outrageous claim: that she would win a G1 race every month starting in June and then compete in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe—reportedly leaving the entire venue in stunned silence.

But looking at that race result now, it would hardly be unfair to rate her as the strongest of her generation.

The talk of winning a G1 every month no longer sounds like a joke.

And even the Arc has suddenly begun to feel like a tangible possibility.

…Normally, neither of those are things you accomplish just a few months after debuting.

So.

As for how I feel about having such an Uma Musume publicly throw down the gauntlet at us—

"I don’t really feel much of anything."

To my own surprise, I was unmoved.

No… that’s not quite right.

I did think, Well, this should be interesting.

What would you even call this feeling?

If anything, it’s the same quiet resolve I felt when I found myself competing against Teio and Nature—the calm motivation that rises when you know a powerful rival is coming.

Perhaps puzzled by my composure, Nature’s trainer arched one eyebrow.

"Oh? From where I’m standing, she looked like quite the threat. And you’re saying you feel nothing, even after being provoked like that?"

"I’ll say this first—I absolutely acknowledge she’s a threat."

After all, she’s been active for just over a month and has already claimed a G1 in that fashion.

Her brilliance might rival Tokai Teio’s… perhaps even surpass it.

The overseas Uma Musume that Wilm’s fire had ignited—that’s what Teio had intuitively sensed the other day.

Among them, she likely stands at the very peak in terms of potential.

My knowledge, my instincts, even this so-called “app reincarnation”—all of it tells me the same thing: she could very well be the greatest threat at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

…And yet.

Gazing vaguely up at the sky, I voiced the thought that had long been sitting in my heart.

"I don’t trust my own abilities. I’ve made trivial mistakes, sure—but I’ve also made fundamental errors in judgment.

No matter how hard I try, I’ll never be a flawless, infallible being."

"That’s true for everyone."

"Probably. But the fact that others can’t do something doesn’t excuse me from being unable to do it.

At the end of the day, we trainers of Uma Musume should be capable of everything."

Everything rests on our shoulders.

The finite life of a single girl. The uncertain future of a single athlete. The fervent expectations of countless fans…

Perhaps even the development of racing itself in Japan—and whatever future lies beyond that.

All of it rests on us.

That’s why, as trainers, we have to properly recognize that responsibility—and carry it.

Forgetting that, and failing, is not something we’re allowed to do.

"…That’s why I don’t trust myself. As long as there’s a possibility that I could fail someday—and given that I have failed before—I can’t allow myself that trust."

"Honestly… you’re really hard on yourself, Horino-kun."

"It’s just the methodology of someone incompetent."

I’m not as naturally gifted as Wilm.

That’s precisely why I always have to prepare for my own failures.

That’s all.

…However.

That only applies when it’s just me alone.

"That said, even I have something I can believe in.

The one and only ‘running of the racing Uma Musume Hoshino Wilm’ that Wilm and I built together in this world—that alone, I can believe is close to the best.

So if it’s the two of us—Wilm and me—we won’t lose. No matter how extraordinary the opponent, no matter how unfavorable the field, even if the entire world stands against us… that won’t change."

As I said that, I turned my gaze toward the man beside me.

Then, directing a deliberately exaggerated grin at my slightly stunned friend, I smirked.

"So we won’t lose to Nice Nature or Rice Shower, either.

I’ll make her even stronger. Strong enough that she’ll never lose to anyone again."

He blinked in surprise.

…Then slowly, his expression shifted into a smile.

It was a smile I had never seen on him before—one brimming with fighting spirit.

"Feels like I’ve finally stepped onto the same stage as you.

Fine. As Nature and Rice’s trainer—and as a man—I accept your challenge."

Most of that, I could agree with.

But there was one thing I felt obligated to point out.

"…Hey now, being a man or a woman doesn’t really matter. It’s a gender-free world, after all."

"That’s not what I meant!? It was just a figure of speech! There was absolutely no discriminatory intent in that statement!!"