Chapter 181: Mihono Bourbon: Origin

"Hoshino Wilm."

I searched my memory storage for data representing the individual indicated by that name.

What surfaced in the results layer was not a single entry, but a vast mass of information—so much that it could hardly be neatly organized.

The time I lived alongside her was only one year.

Compared to the entirety of my life, it was not even a tenth of that span.

And yet… it was also the single most intense year of my life.

That is why I cannot forget the sight of her back.

She is a senior-class racing Uma Musume currently active in the Twinkle Series.

She is my senior within the same stable as myself, Mihono Bourbon, and the first Uma Musume discovered and contracted by Master.

A monster who adopted the irregular strategy known as "great escape," yet still achieved the most domestic G1 victories—nine wins in total.

She is my senior and possesses many qualities worthy of admiration. At the same time, she carries several small personal flaws, making her not some extraordinary being, but simply a girl—an extension of an ordinary person.

If I were to summarize it succinctly, that was the symbolic image that represented her, "Hoshino Wilm," to me.

At first, she was merely a predecessor who might be able to resolve one of my questions.

My uncertainty regarding the dream of the Triple Crown.

From a bloodline perspective, my aptitude for it could be described as nearly fatal in its lack.

Within that reality, I repeatedly found myself wondering whether continuing down this path was truly the correct choice.

The one I approached for advice in order to resolve that question… was her.

She came from a bloodline so obscure it might as well have been nonexistent.

Her running style—great escape—was ill-suited for pursuing the Triple Crown.

And yet, at that time she was the Uma Musume most favored to win the Satsuki Sho, and the Triple Crown itself.

Hoshino Wilm.

From my perspective back then, when I did not yet know much about her, she seemed like my ideal.

An Uma Musume challenging for the throne of the Triple Crown.

And at the same time, a challenger striving for the summit despite not being born with the appropriate aptitude.

That was the path I would someday have to walk.

If so, then perhaps even the anguish that arose along my own path… might have already been experienced by her—and perhaps she possessed the method to resolve it.

And in truth, she did respond to my worries.

She gave me confidence with words that sounded almost like conviction, telling me that I likely possessed the qualities necessary to win the Triple Crown.

…And then she introduced me to the person who served as the greatest basis for that belief.

Master.

The finest contract trainer—someone who truly believes in my Triple Crown dream and creates realistic plans to achieve it.

Master… Trainer Horino Ayumu.

A man who possesses an infallibly precise eye capable of quantifying the physical abilities and techniques of Uma Musume, and who prefers logical training methods built upon vast quantities of data gathered through that observation.

Although he was only in his fourth year working at Tracen Academy—still young enough to be considered a newcomer—he already possessed the methods necessary to train a front-running escape-type Uma Musume like Hoshino Wilm.

A trainer from a distinguished family.

In every respect, his capabilities far exceed what one would expect from someone his age.

He is a contract trainer who possesses high ability in almost every field.

But what was most fortunate… was that Master and I share similar thought processes.

I am often teased for thinking primarily in logic and theory, like a robot or cyborg.

Master thoroughly analyzes data and constructs theories from it, stripping away the veil of mystery that covers a race.

We can understand each other’s thought processes.

Because of that, we can omit unnecessary communication and attempt to train more efficiently.

For me, that is the most desirable arrangement possible.

And that is why I can believe that Master is irreplaceable—the only person worthy of being my Master.

And the reason I was able to form a contract with such a Master… was largely thanks to Senpai Wilm’s help.

Master is someone who dedicates himself entirely to the Uma Musume he trains.

For that reason, he was not inclined to increase the number of trainees under his care.

He wished to devote himself fully to training Hoshino Wilm.

Thus, when he hesitated to accept another contract, I asked my Senpai to introduce me to him.

She reacted with some surprise… but kindly agreed.

With her mediation—and persuasion from the chairwoman—Master ultimately agreed to accept me.

Without Hoshino Wilm’s persuasion, the contract he formed with me, and his decision to train me, would never have existed.

Back when Senpai was still in Japan, whenever I said that, she would laugh and say:

"You don’t have to worry about it that much. I only introduced you because I thought Bourbon-chan might suit Ayumu too."

In other words, there was no need for me to feel indebted.

…But no.

For me, that was a past for which I should naturally feel immense gratitude.

The veteran trainer I had contracted with before Master once told me:

Considering Mihono Bourbon’s bloodline and running style, her optimal distance would be the mile, and she would become increasingly disadvantaged as the distance increased.

She might be able to mask that weakness through pure physical specs up to middle distances.

But long distances would be another matter entirely.

No matter how much Mihono Bourbon trained her body, the difference in innate talent could not be overturned.

She could not surpass the wall of a natural stayer.

Therefore, she should not aim for the Triple Crown. At most, she should consider success along the Tiara route.

It was a perfectly logical argument.

A correct conclusion derived from data.

A plan devised to maximize the value of the material known as "Mihono Bourbon."

From a purely rational standpoint, it was the optimal answer a contract trainer could produce.

As a racing Uma Musume who runs under the guidance of a trainer, I should have accepted it.

Because doing so would allow me to run better and stronger.

Because that is the form expected of Uma Musume.

In truth, I was unable to produce even a single theoretical rebuttal or alternative proposal to my previous trainer’s argument.

All I could do… was stubbornly cling to the Triple Crown dream and trouble him with it.

I believed that if I showed results—if I proved that I could win the Triple Crown—that would be enough.

So without consulting my trainer, I simply continued private training aimed at the Triple Crown.

…But thinking back, that was also an insult toward the trainer who existed to support every aspect of an Uma Musume’s life.

Unlike the silent understanding between Senpai Wilm and Master, built upon extreme mutual trust, where independent training was implicitly permitted—

From my previous trainer’s perspective, it was nothing more than a waste of stamina and time that should never have been allowed.

At the time, my narrow perspective prevented me from recognizing that properly.

But now, I am fully aware of it.

For an Uma Musume meant to walk together with her trainer, it was an extremely unhealthy and disrespectful attitude.

Thus, it was only natural that my contract with my previous trainer was terminated.

Even back then, I understood why he had grown tired of me.

And now, rather than resentment, I feel only guilt for having forced such a difficult Uma Musume upon him.

…However.

At the same time, losing my contract trainer was also a devastating situation for me.

To enter races in the Twinkle Series, one must have won at least once in a Make Debut race or maiden race, and must have a trainer contract.

Without a trainer, I could not race.

I could not even challenge the Triple Crown.

However, it was already widely known among Tracen Academy’s trainers that I was a troublesome Uma Musume—someone who insisted on the Triple Crown despite knowing my own unsuitable aptitude.

And given my obscure bloodline and unfavorable traits, who would willingly aim for the Triple Crown together with me?

…That was what I believed.

Until I learned that Master—Trainer Horino Ayumu—was supportive of my Triple Crown goal.

Horino Ayumu.

A monster, they said, who modified an obscure late-running Uma Musume into a great-escape runner and raised her to the G1 level.

A trainer with extraordinary observational ability and a perfectly composed character in both public and private life.

If he would affirm my dream of the Triple Crown…

Then surely he would be the one and only person worthy of being called Master to me.

And so I contacted Trainer Horino Ayumu—and was rejected.

…Even knowing it was not the proper thing to do, I relied on my Senpai.

And through that, I grasped my future.

Yes.

Now, as I stand having won the Satsuki Sho and the Japan Derby, and with the Kikka Sho just one step away—

Everything I have now exists thanks to Senpai Hoshino Wilm.

Without her, I would never have reached this point.

I might not even have been able to begin.

With all these memories, I formed my image of Senpai Wilm.

To me, Hoshino Wilm is a respected senior racing Uma Musume.

She is also the benefactor who brought me together with Master.

Someone I respect both publicly and privately.

And a predecessor who already reached the destination I must someday arrive at—the undefeated Triple Crown.

---

And now… there is one more image I have added of her.

"Can you believe it!? No—there’s no choice but to believe it! Because what we’re witnessing right now, this very scene unfolding before us, is reality!!

Before our very eyes… this is it!

Right now, Hoshino Wilm has done it—she has avenged El Condor Pasa!!

Carrying dreams, hope, and romance upon her shoulders! A Japanese Uma Musume has reached the summit of the world!!!

World, behold! This is Japan’s entrusted arrow! A brand-new page in the myth that has been woven!!!"

The commentary pouring from the television sounded almost like a scream.

Yet it seemed blurred and distant, as though melting away somewhere.

My brain could not fully process its meaning.

Not because the commentator’s pronunciation was unclear.

Nor because the volume was low.

But because the vast majority of my mental resources were focused on one thing.

The race unfolding before me.

…The overwhelmingly magnificent run of Senpai Hoshino Wilm.

I was captivated by it—

So completely that it felt as though my thought circuits might burn out.

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

It was one of the most incredible races I had ever seen—perhaps rivaling last year’s Arima Kinen.

The heroic Understandible, who carried the dreams of Western fans and ran as the overwhelming favorite ahead of even Senpai Wilm.

And Nedirika, the seventh favorite—a knight who, despite lacking extraordinary talent compared to Wilm or Understandible, displayed a destructive level of strength.

Every Uma Musume in that race was among the strongest in the world—figures of whom even Japan might have only two or three.

And yet…

The image burned into my eyes was not theirs.

It was the Uma Musume who looked happier than anyone.

More fulfilled than anyone.

…and above all, faster than anyone as she crossed the finish line.

Hoshino Wilm.

She was colored in red and pale gray, and for some reason, I perceived her as shining.

Like the glittering stars in the night sky I once looked up at in my hometown.

Like the blazing flames of firewood bursting and crackling in a hearth.

Her running—her very presence—seared itself into my retinas.

…And this sensation.

This feeling of my eyes being scorched—I had experienced it once before.

The day the dream shared by my father, Master, and myself began.

The great year-end race that determines the strongest in Japan—the Arima Kinen.

Running there… was the undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume, Symboli Rudolf.

Her posture was more beautiful than any curve.

Her speed seemed faster than any light.

Her expression looked more joyful than any moment.

And that Uma Musume… was stronger than anyone.

That is why—because of that—I came to Tracen.

To win the Classic Triple Crown…

And then, to face her. To face them…

"…………"

An unidentified emotion was detected within my mind.

…No. It is not unidentified.

I know it.

This emotion—this impulse—I know it well.

Master and Senpai Wilm once taught me what it was.

This… is heat.

The same heat that I—no, that all of us Uma Musume—feel during a race.

According to Master, it is a powerful surge of competitive instinct brought forth by the soul and instincts of an Uma Musume.

According to Senpai Wilm… it is the overwhelmingly powerful propellant that drives us to run.

The moment I understood the nature of that emotion I had felt on that day—

The moment I became consciously aware of it—

I felt multiple threads of reasoning suddenly connect within myself.

It was not divine revelation. Nor was it intuition.

It was a logical connection—what might be called a Eureka. Understanding… no, something closer to certainty.

A deeper comprehension of the Uma Musume known as Mihono Bourbon.

And of my own mentality.

---

People often say that I am like a machine or a cyborg.

Friends say it. Society says it.

My way of thinking, my speech, my actions—even my running style.

Everything about me is constructed from logic and theory.

They say that such precision lacks the warmth of human emotion and resembles a cold machine instead.

I myself had accepted that evaluation.

After entering Tracen Academy and interacting with many Uma Musume and humans, I believed I understood the difference between myself and ordinary people.

I believed I was different from the other Uma Musume.

A logical, cold, and stoic runner.

…However, that understanding was mistaken.

If anything, Mihono Bourbon may be the most primitive and emotional Uma Musume of all.

Why did I fail to notice something so simple until now?

I eat more than most people. I run more than most people. And during races, I am overcome by heat more than anyone else.

What part of that could possibly be called mechanical?

Since childhood, I have had a faint sense of self.

Nothing particularly captured my interest. Nothing held my attachment.

My father worried about that.

But there was one thing.

Only one.

The figure of that Uma Musume I saw that day—and the one I am seeing now.

That alone burned itself into my eyes, my nerves, my mind, and my memories.

Together with the smile my father showed me, it eventually took shape as the dream of the Classic Triple Crown.

But the root of it was likely not the race itself.

It was the single Uma Musume who ran within it.

Just her back.

That back, praised by all, solitary, with none who could stand beside it.

That is the only thing to which I—Mihono Bourbon—have ever been able to cling.

For someone like me, who cannot become attached to anything else, that is all there is.

Perhaps that could be called a defect of personality.

I have heard that "normal" Uma Musume—like Senpai Wilm or Ms. Souri—hold interest in many things and pursue many different goals.

Their bond with their trainer.

Battles against powerful rivals.

Someone they admire.

A distant back they chase.

For each person it differs, and sometimes it changes over time.

That, perhaps, is what an ordinary Uma Musume is like.

…If that is the case, then someone like me—

Someone who has nothing but running—

May possess a flaw in her mentality as an Uma Musume.

But perhaps that is precisely why.

My obsession with that single point—running—loses to no one.

Because I hold no other attachments, the heat poured into that single point should surpass that of others.

In summary:

Compared to others, Mihono Bourbon possesses a thin sense of self as an individual intelligence.

And in exchange, her biological instincts as an Uma Musume are extraordinarily strong.

More biological than anyone else.

Further from a machine than anything imaginable.

That is the kind of incomplete temperament Mihono Bourbon possesses.

“…Ah.”

Beside me, Sub-Trainer Horino Masa raises her fist and shouts in triumph.

I can certainly perceive the scene.

I can hear the cheers.

…but at the moment, I cannot bring myself to feel interest in even that.

The reason is simple.

At last, I understood it.

The divergence between my world and Senpai Hoshino Wilm’s world.

Originally, it had been a question.

Why was the realm that Hoshino Wilm occupied so different from my own?

Hoshino Wilm’s was like a vast cosmos—brilliant with countless shining stars, warm and dazzling.

Mihono Bourbon’s, on the other hand, was an empty sky—dark, hollow, and devoid of substance.

The scenery appeared similar at a glance, yet in truth they were entirely different.

Once before, in order to understand and open my own realm, Senpai Wilm had shown me her own.

Because of that, it was only natural that the scenery of my realm had been influenced to some degree by Hoshino Wilm’s.

However, if that was the case, then why were their essences so different? What was the difference between the two? Why had it been born that way?

The answer was simple.

Senpai Wilm is an Uma Musume who looks toward many things and is guided by many things—an Uma Musume in the truest sense.

And so her inner universe is wide and warm, illuminated by countless guiding stars.

Mihono Bourbon, meanwhile, sees nothing but running. Nothing but a back that is far too distant… no, a back she does not wish to look away from.

That is why her inner universe contains nothing unnecessary.

Only the few stars—those backs she aims for.

“…Understood.”

This realization brought no change whatsoever to my physical abilities.

It was nothing more than a trivial insight.

And yet… perhaps—

It may have been a turning point that would drastically alter the path of Mihono Bourbon, the racing Uma Musume.

---

Several days later, following the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe,

Master and Senpai Hoshino Wilm returned to Japan from France.

Apparently, after completing a brief half-day trip, Senpai Wilm had been given leave—though judging from her usual behavioral patterns, the likelihood that she was actually spending that time resting seemed low.

While Sub-Trainer Horino Masa and I were conducting training at a rented training ground, Master appeared alone.

And the first thing he said, after meeting my eyes, was:

"I want to apologize again, Mihono Bourbon. As your trainer, I should have been by your side—but for these past two months, I left your side empty."

"There is no problem. Even if it was through calls, Master still provided me with appropriate advice and planning."

Indeed, even while positioned somewhere that could practically be called the opposite side of the planet, Master continued to guide me properly.

His almost mysterious ability to understand Uma Musume even through a video call.

And the training plans he continued updating for my sake, even while preparing for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Through those efforts, Master ensured that my training continued at full capacity.

From a general perspective, such a feat should have been nearly impossible.

However, even that seemed insufficient for Master, as he slowly shook his head.

"No, there were flaws. Words and text alone couldn’t fully convey intent, resulting in two failures caused by communication errors. I attempted recovery as well, but it wasn’t perfect. As a result, your current development is showing a downward deviation of 2.8% from the original training plan."

"Th… then regarding that… I also… no, it was my fault. I was insufficient. I’m sorry."

Standing beside me, Sub-Trainer Masa bowed her head timidly toward both Master and myself.

However, I believe that apology was unnecessary.

"Master, Sub-Trainer Masa supported me with everything she had."

"I know. …Masa, raise your head. I know you worked hard. If you yourself can’t forgive your own shortcomings, then I won’t comfort you any further. Just use what happened this time as fuel and continue growing."

"…Yes. Understood."

Masa murmured quietly.

Her expression was colored with bitterness, regret, and what appeared to be anger toward herself.

Yet she still nodded obediently.

Over the past half year, Sub-Trainer Masa had shown a tendency to respond to Master in a straightforward manner.

More precisely, it seemed that as Master’s attitude and behavior gradually changed direction, her attitude toward him changed as well.

Perhaps even adults—and trainers—continue to grow and change day by day.

Perhaps that is simply what humans do, so long as they live.

…Just as I myself have changed greatly since the time I first entered Tracen Academy.

"In any case, Bourbon. From today, we’ll spend the next two weeks preparing you for the Kikka Sho once again. I intend to recover as much of the deviation in the training plan as possible. With that in mind—do you have any opinions or proposals?"

"…………"

At Master’s words as he turned toward me, I spent several seconds considering how I should convey my current self… and my objective.

Then I looked into Master’s eyes again and spoke.

"Master, until now I have set my sole objective as the 'Classic Triple Crown.'"

"That’s right. Which is why I’ve been preparing the optimal strategy for the Kikka Sho."

"There is no change to that.

To fulfill the dream shared by my father, Master, and myself—that remains my highest priority task."

…I do not want Master to misunderstand.

The passion I hold for this dream has not changed in the slightest. It will never cool.

To bring to fruition the smile my father once showed me—and the future Master believed in.

For Mihono Bourbon, that is the greatest goal currently laid before me.

However…

"At the same time, I would like to request the establishment of another task beyond that point."

"…Let’s hear it."

There was a change in Master’s eyes.

Until then, they had been strict yet gentle—eyes that somehow reminded me of a father.

But now…

They burned with a different kind of heat.

Not the heat of an Uma Musume.

But the heat of a trainer.

Perhaps he sensed something in my words.

Or perhaps something within my eyes.

At that moment, Master looked more like a contract trainer of an Uma Musume than anyone else.

And that is why—

Trusting Master, and without fearing misunderstanding, I was able to say it.

"After achieving the Classic Triple Crown—

Mihono Bourbon will defeat Hoshino Wilm.

Please lend me your support."

It seemed that Master perfectly understood the intention hidden behind my words.

His lips curved upward in a grin.

And then—

For the first time, he showed me the expression he had always directed toward Senpai Hoshino Wilm.

An expression he had never shown to me before.

"I’m glad to hear that, Mihono Bourbon. I’ll rise to meet that feeling. As your trainer, I swear I’ll prepare the best possible conditions for you."