Obtaining Great Escape for Silence Suzuka was not especially complicated.
First, she needed six consecutive graded victories.
That was troublesome because entering a race consumed a turn.
If a rainbow friendship training appeared during the same turn, missing it would be painful.
Zhou Yu’ang selected a mile-graded race as a warm-up.
“Before entering, we can check the predicted performance symbols.”
Racehorses received evaluations before competitions.
First came popularity.
Then came prediction marks.
In real racing, commentators used several symbols to assess each horse’s chances.
An X meant the worst possible evaluation.
No hope.
A triangle indicated weakness or poor suitability.
A dash represented average expectations.
A circle meant strong chances.
A double circle meant overwhelming advantage.
The most classic setup was:
First in popularity.
Double circle, double circle, double circle.
Perfect condition.
Every commentator said victory was guaranteed.
Then the horse finished eighteenth.
“Look.
We possess an absolute advantage.”
When Tazuna’s prediction screen showed favorable marks across every category, Zhou Yu’ang knew victory was secure.
This was not Aoharu Cup.
How could five double circles lose?
Charge!
Zhou Yu’ang immediately entered the race.
Silence Suzuka stood adorably upon the introduction platform before the Grade 2 event.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: No matter how often I see it, wearing a racing outfit outside a Grade 1 event remains conspicuous.
It had already looked strange during the debut race.
Every other horse girl wore ordinary athletic clothes or performance outfits.
Silence Suzuka alone wore her full racing costume.
A single red flower among ten thousand green leaves.
“This is a game.
During races, familiar horse girls may randomly appear as NPC opponents.”
Zhou Yu’ang explained while moving the cursor toward a switching button.
“Horse girls from completely different eras can appear.
Don’t find it strange.”
He pressed the button.
Another horse girl replaced Silence Suzuka upon the display platform.
At first, only generic NPCs appeared.
After several attempts, a familiar horse girl emerged.
[Invincible Seaside-sama]: Whoa!
The president!
Symboli Rudolf stood upon the platform in a performance outfit and waved toward the audience.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: Oh no!
The invincible president has come to arrest Silence Suzuka!
[Hates Flashbulbs and Lunatics]: This is only the game, correct?
Her stats are extremely low.
“Exactly.
It’s an NPC wearing the appearance of someone you recognize.
It isn’t the real Rudolf.
If the genuine president appeared, we would be doomed.”
Zhou Yu’ang remained calm.
Unexpected appearances were normal in games.
Maruzensky and Special Week could compete together.
Gold Ship could even spend time clinging to Mejiro McQueen.
“Would the Rudolf you remember possess an average stat value of only two hundred?”
Zhou Yu’ang pointed toward the panel.
There was no reason to panic.
[Tracen Pun Master]: Seeing an NPC wearing my appearance feels rather strange.
Rudolf smiled helplessly outside the screen.
The same situation would probably occur many times in the future.
Silence Suzuka herself must feel even stranger while watching an alternate version of her life.
The race ended in an easy victory.
It was not Grade 1.
The opposition lacked strength.
Zhou Yu’ang maintained a rhythm of training followed by racing.
Career mode was fundamentally a clicking game.
Several turns later, Zhou Yu’ang suddenly found himself drawn inside the game again.
This time, the visual perspective looked wrong.
A dim filter resembling an old memory covered the scene.
White haze framed the edges of his vision.
“This looks like a memory or something similar.”
Zhou Yu’ang sensed the abnormality and explained it to the audience.
The viewpoint moved into a stadium tunnel.
Horse girls passed through it before entering the grass track.
Silence Suzuka appeared before him.
She looked at Zhou Yu’ang.
“Trainer, I’m ready.”
“You’re ready?”
Zhou Yu’ang prepared to speak.
A single mandatory option appeared before him.
He could not move.
The game forced his character to deliver a line.
“What’s happening?
I didn’t do anything.
That sentence… Is this a compulsory scene?”
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: So that can happen.
The filter resembles a memory or dream.
It makes sense that you can’t move.
[White-Eyed H-Manga Sensei]: What?
The doujin protagonist is being forced… Scumbag, compulsion, memory…
“Who are you calling a doujin protagonist?!”
Damn it.
Zhou Yu’ang knew who she was.
Did she believe he would not raid her home?
After he objected, a certain Empress immediately began condemning the doujin artist.
Zhou Yu’ang relaxed and returned his attention to the story.
“Of course I’m ready.
I’m going now.”
Silence Suzuka smiled at him.
[White-Eyed H-Manga Sensei]: Um… never mind.
The doujin artist reconsidered and remained silent.
She feared being gagged again.
A viewer with an extremely suggestive username had also pursued her through the comments and scolded her repeatedly.
“Do your best.
I hope you win the Autumn Tenno Sho.”
Wait.
Something is wrong!
The Autumn Tenno Sho?
Could this be that race?
The instant his controlled character spoke the words, Zhou Yu’ang realized when the scene occurred.
The horse girls also understood that they were watching something connected with the Autumn Tenno Sho.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: The Autumn Tenno Sho?
That means this is from Silence Suzuka’s older-horse season.
Will she display the same Great Escape against experienced opponents?
I’m excited!
[Starry Eyes] [Starry Eyes] [Starry Eyes]
In the real world, racehorses generally debuted at two.
Silence Suzuka had been born late and developed slowly, delaying his debut until three.
Two-year-olds normally used their first season to win lower-grade races and accumulate prize money.
The following year, at three, they challenged the Classic Triple Crown.
During the third racing season, the horse reached four and entered the older-horse division.
The Autumn Tenno Sho primarily featured older horses.
It took place in October, close to the Kikuka Sho—the final race of the Triple Crown.
The two competitions were too close together for a racehorse to recover properly between them.
The Triple Crown races involved horses of the same age.
Challenging trained older horses during the classic year was extraordinarily ambitious.
Only true geniuses could compete against older horses at three.
The audience became curious.
They also felt the strange abruptness with which a character could mature instantly during a game’s story.
“An older-horse battle?”
What would happen?
The real Silence Suzuka watched her other self preparing to compete and placed both hands over her chest.
Although she was not personally entering, she still became nervous.
Every horse girl viewer felt curiosity and excitement.
Only Zhou Yu’ang wore a troubled expression.
Without question, this Autumn Tenno Sho was the event remembered as Silent Sunday.
It was the story depicted in episode seven of the anime.
After escorting Silence Suzuka through the competitors’ tunnel, Zhou Yu’ang was transported into the grandstand.
Following the standard preparations, Silence Suzuka entered the starting gate alongside the other runners.
The gates opened.
She immediately launched into Great Escape.
Without hesitation, she widened the distance and maintained separation from the trailing field.
The commentator shouted her name.
Before this race, Silence Suzuka had already achieved six consecutive graded victories.
Every spectator believed that unless an accident occurred, she would certainly win.
Should I warn the viewers?
The spectators around Zhou Yu’ang were excited.
The horse girls watching through the stream were equally thrilled.
Telling them that Silence Suzuka’s racing career ended on this track would be cruel.
But they were about to witness it.
Silence Suzuka raced away at an unprecedented speed.
No one could match her.
“My body feels so light.
My steps feel effortless… I think I can run even faster!”
Seeing the empty road ahead and the scenery belonging solely to her, Silence Suzuka smiled.
She possessed no fear.
Nothing restrained her.
She only wanted to continue running until she reached her finish line.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster!
Only the wind remained within her ears.
She could no longer hear the spectators shouting beside the track.
She ignored the commentator completely.
Her eyes saw only the scenery at the very front.
She continued running.
She continued escaping.
She continued leading.
At that moment, she seemed to discover the meaning of her entire life.
Before everyone’s eyes, Silence Suzuka opened a lead of more than ten lengths over Offside Trap.
She completed the first thousand meters in 57.4 seconds.
“So fast… Could I truly run that quickly?”
The real Silence Suzuka stared at the displayed time in astonishment.
Then she looked toward the version of herself inside the screen.
Longing rose uncontrollably within her.
She envied that strength.
That smile also looked extraordinarily happy.
Like every spectator inside and outside the broadcast, she stared at the fleeing Silence Suzuka.
Suzuka continued smiling.
She continued using Great Escape.
Then came the blind spot before the fourth turn.
A line of trees blocked the spectators’ view between the course and the grandstand.
No one could see how the horse girls passed through that section.
Zhou Yu’ang knew exactly what would happen.
The atmosphere around him did not feel exciting.
It felt painfully loud.
Unable to move, he stood quietly and waited.
“She’s appeared!
Silence Suzuka is approaching the fourth turn… What happened?
She’s slowing down!”
Everyone expected another beautiful Great Escape.
When Silence Suzuka emerged from behind the trees, the entire stadium froze.
She was rapidly losing speed.
Her running form had completely collapsed.
Her arms no longer moved in their original rhythm.
They resembled the desperate grasping motions of someone drowning and searching for anything to hold.
She tried to maintain her balance.
Even from a great distance, the audience could see that her steps had become chaotic.
She had suffered a fracture.
The double-edged sword of high-speed Great Escape had finally turned against her because of one moment of misfortune.
Every step now felt like walking upon needles.
She was in agony.
But she could not stop abruptly.
Stopping would make her fall.
Then more than her leg might break.
“Silence Suzuka!
Damn it!
I still can’t move?!”
What was his game character doing?
Why was he merely standing there?
Zhou Yu’ang wanted to slap his own avatar.
What could it accomplish?
Far away, Silence Suzuka slowed further and began to fall.
“Special Week!”
After several failed attempts to move, Zhou Yu’ang shouted toward the Special Week beside him.
Only then did she awaken from her shock.
At his cry, she sprinted toward Silence Suzuka and supported her before she collapsed.
“An accident has occurred!
Silence Suzuka… cannot continue the race!”
The grandstand fell into terrifying silence.
Silence Suzuka had suffered a fracture before entering the fourth turn and was forced to withdraw.
The shooting star crossing the heavens had fallen silent.
Darkness covered Zhou Yu’ang’s vision.
Then the scene changed to a hospital.
A doctor addressed Zhou Yu’ang and Special Week.
“I’m sorry.
Silence Suzuka has suffered a comminuted fracture.”
A comminuted fracture.
For an ordinary racehorse, it was effectively a death sentence.
It was not directly fatal to a horse girl.
But it could still destroy her competitive life.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: What?!
Damn it!
Why did this happen?!
I can’t accept it!
I can’t accept this!
No!
[Crying] [Crying] [Crying]
[Invincible Seaside-sama]: A comminuted… fracture?!
[Unbreakable Glass]: Something like this… actually happened?
[Grade-Skipping Genius Girl]: This is a joke, right?
How could it happen so suddenly?!
[Tracen Pun Master]: What AT warned us about has occurred.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: Stop!
No!
AT, didn’t you promise to support Silence Suzuka unconditionally?!
Why did she still break her leg?!
[Crying] [Crying] [Crying]
The comment section practically exploded.
No one had been prepared for Silence Suzuka’s sudden accident.
“This can’t be real!”
A comminuted fracture?
How could that happen?
The real Silence Suzuka’s eyes widened.
She could not imagine that the version of herself who entered the blind spot while leading with a smile would emerge with a broken leg.
For a horse girl, the injury could force immediate retirement.
Even after healing, she might never run again.
A future like that…
“No… I don’t want that!”
She still wanted to run.
Her heart pounded violently.
She instinctively clutched the front of her uniform.
Even if the danger did not currently face her, Silence Suzuka felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss.
If she could no longer run, how would that differ from death?
Her trembling eyes stared at the doctor’s merciless sentence within the dialogue box.
She did not dare.
She feared hearing the diagnosis confirmed again.
“This doesn’t make sense.
Everything was fine, and then the story suddenly entered a Bad End?”
Zhou Yu’ang’s head hurt.
The game had suddenly forced them to watch Silent Sunday.
Were the Three Goddesses terrified that nothing dramatic would happen?
Zhou Yu’ang attempted to calm the viewers.
“Everyone, relax.
This should only be part of the story.
Someone said the filter resembled a memory or dream, correct?
If that’s true, this is probably a Bad End caused by improper choices.
It isn’t real!”
After he spoke, his avatar and Special Week ran into the hospital room.
Silence Suzuka saw Zhou Yu’ang approaching.
The injured horse girl smiled and insisted that she was fine.
She did not cry.
Special Week cried first.
Silence Suzuka smiled while comforting her.
Then Zhou Yu’ang comforted Special Week as well.
Once Special Week stopped crying, Suzuka told her not to worry and encouraged her to return and rest.
Special Week was reluctant to leave.
She looked back repeatedly while walking from the room.
Once she departed, only the Trainer and injured horse girl remained.
Zhou Yu’ang’s character spoke first.
“Silence Suzuka… are you truly all right?”
Sitting upon the hospital bed, Silence Suzuka looked out the window rather than at Zhou Yu’ang.
“I’m fine.”
Her voice remained steady.
“Really?”
The game’s Zhou Yu’ang did not believe her.
“Really.”
This time, Silence Suzuka’s voice trembled slightly.
“Look at me.”
Zhou Yu’ang’s character hesitated before delivering the awkward request.
“I’m fine!
I already told you I’m fine!”
Silence Suzuka suddenly shouted.
Then her voice gradually broke into sobs.
Crystal droplets struck the blanket one after another.
She turned toward Zhou Yu’ang.
Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
Frustration, agony, despair, and collapse were written across her expression.
Moments earlier, she had led the field with a smile, enjoying her own rhythm.
Then her leg broke.
She lost that rhythm completely.
While slowing, her mind must have become empty.
Only instinct remained, desperately protecting her body.
The pain eventually caused her to lose consciousness.
When she awakened, she found herself in a hospital bed.
The legs she took such pride in were imprisoned within plaster and splints.
It was like a painter losing both hands, a singer losing her voice, or a warrior watching their weapon shatter.
Only then could she process the tragedy.
No matter how fast she ran, she remained a fragile young horse girl.
Earlier, she had comforted Special Week instead.
That was already the limit of what a gentle person like Suzuka could endure.
Facing her Trainer, Silence Suzuka could no longer suppress herself.
She released a broken, unwilling cry.
“Trainer… am I… never going to return to the track?!”
Silence Suzuka gripped the damp blanket and stared at Zhou Yu’ang.
She did not know whether she sought comfort.
She did not know what Zhou Yu’ang could do.
She only wanted to cry.
As a horse girl.
As a high-school student.
As an injured child.
The game’s Zhou Yu’ang became completely clumsy.
Unable to find words, he stepped forward and embraced Silence Suzuka.
He became a temporary support and allowed her to release everything.
The real Zhou Yu’ang did not know what to say.
Like the horse girls watching, he remained silent.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: Tama-dammit!
No!
Gwaaah!
I don’t want to watch this!
The indiscriminate multi-oshi viewer expressed everyone’s feelings.
They could not endure this story.
Fractures were among the most serious fears for horse girls.
Any horse girl watching would be terrified.
While everyone remained anxious, a sharp alarm suddenly rang.
Zhou Yu’ang’s viewpoint changed.
He appeared inside what looked like a dormitory room.
He was lying on the floor while hugging a blanket.
An alarm clock rang beside the bed.
“An alarm… I can move again?”
Zhou Yu’ang stood, touched the alarm clock, and silenced it.
“Was that story a dream?
A nightmare predicting a Bad End?
Wonderful.
Truly wonderful.”
Zhou Yu’ang stared at the clock with a headache.
The Uma Musume game possessed an alarm-clock mechanic.
If a horse girl lost an important race, the player could consume an alarm clock and retry.
The story explained that the defeat had merely been the Trainer’s nightmare.
Players jokingly called it the Horse-Life Restart Clock.
[Horse Girl Enthusiast]: What?
It was a dream?
Excellent!
Wonderful!
The pink-haired girl nearly leaped into the air.
Any Bad End preventing a horse girl from reaching happiness could disappear forever.
[Unbreakable Glass]: Thank goodness the fracture was only a dream.
[Festival Girl]: Hooray!
Once they learned it had been a dream, many horse girls began celebrating.
The real Silence Suzuka also sighed in relief.
“So it wasn’t… Wait.
A Bad End?”
A bad conclusion.
If it was a possible ending, that meant it could still happen.
Silence Suzuka became tense again and stared at the screen without relaxing.
Can I take this alarm clock with me?
Zhou Yu’ang wondered whether he could steal it.
Then the phone beside the bed began ringing.
The caller’s name contained four words.
Silence Suzuka.
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