Thanks to Koji, Kazuomi experienced standing in the corridor as punishment for the first time in his life.
Even during high school, when he had been an exemplary student, he had never suffered such a disgrace.
Now it had happened because of this disreputable senior.
His career remained catastrophically ill-fated.
After catching them in the act, Ms.
Tojo had thrown both men out of the auditorium.
While Kazuomi stood there grieving over his fate, the other man’s skin was clearly much thicker.
They had supposedly been sent outside as punishment, but everyone else was inside attending the welcoming ceremony.
No one was present to supervise them.
In other words, the punishment relied entirely upon their own sense of discipline.
Therefore—
“Here.
Catch.”
The moment the terrifying Ms.
Tojo disappeared, Koji sat down on the steps outside the auditorium.
He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it toward Kazuomi without explanation.
Kazuomi saw a dark blur and caught it instinctively.
It was a horseshoe-shaped lollipop wrapped in colorful paper.
“This is exclusive merchandise from the central racecourse.
It tastes excellent.”
“…Thank you.”
Kazuomi slowly removed the wrapper and placed the candy in his mouth.
His eyes widened.
“This is really good.”
Sitting outside the auditorium and eating lollipops with his senior, Kazuomi tried his best not to consider how absurd he looked.
“Right?
It’s mixed fruit flavor.
The shops around the racecourse are constantly selling out.
I normally carry a few with me.”
Koji grinned.
“Want some more?
I have an entire box in the dormitory.
I can share.”
“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary…”
Kazuomi reconsidered.
“Actually, I’d appreciate it.”
Koji laughed generously.
“I told you, there’s no need to speak so formally.
You helped me last night, didn’t you?
Consider this a small token of gratitude.”
“I see.”
Koji was frivolous, unreliable, and more than slightly perverted.
Fundamentally, however, Kazuomi did not dislike him.
“Thanks, Koji.”
“Sure!”
At that moment, the academy song inside the auditorium came to an end.
The master of ceremonies began introducing the next portion of the entrance ceremony.
Although the two men outside could not see her, the gentle, pleasant voice clearly belonged to Ms.
“Want to look?”
Koji suddenly regarded Kazuomi with a mysterious expression and pointed toward the closed auditorium doors.
Kazuomi stared at him suspiciously, unable to understand what scheme he had devised.
“There’s a small window farther along the wall.
We can stand on the ledge and look inside.”
Koji was an experienced veteran of the academy and knew every corner of the building.
Kazuomi, however, hesitated.
“Isn’t that a bad idea?
Ms.
Tojo ordered us to remain here.
If we leave without permission…”
What would happen if they were caught again?
What if she reported him to the chairwoman?
“Don’t worry.
You don’t have to be afraid of her.
If anything happens, I’ll protect you.”
Koji slapped his chest and offered a confident guarantee.
There was a reason he dared to say so.
He was among the few people at the academy who knew exactly who had supported Kazuomi’s admission.
Moreover, Koji had calculations of his own.
“Even if you say that…”
Seeing Kazuomi remain hesitant, Koji lowered his voice temptingly.
“Don’t you want to see the academy’s strongest currently active student?”
“The strongest active student?”
“That’s right.
The senior-division students are all training at off-campus facilities for the April races.”
Koji gestured toward the auditorium.
“That means the newly appointed student council president of the junior division is unquestionably the academy’s most prominent Uma Musume currently present.
Aren’t you curious to see her?”
At those words, Kazuomi paused.
Then realization struck him.
“Koji, you don’t mean the girl from last year?”
Even on his remote island in the Seto Inland Sea, Kazuomi had heard of her accomplishments.
With Koji’s hint, he immediately remembered watching her race broadcast on the school cafeteria television.
Koji nodded in satisfaction at Kazuomi’s astonishment.
“Exactly.
After her debut last year, she produced one brilliant performance after another at the central racecourses.
She is currently the academy’s most highly anticipated racer.”
“She is also the first lower-year student in Tracen Academy’s history to become student council president.”
“Symboli Rudolf—the one known as the Emperor.”
Kazuomi fell silent.
“What do you think?
Tempted?”
“Wait.”
Kazuomi suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been standing behind the curtain watching from close range.
I might even have met her backstage.”
“Ah.
You noticed?”
Koji closed one eye and stuck out his tongue with infuriating playfulness.
A vein throbbed on Kazuomi’s forehead.
Inside the auditorium, Chairwoman Akikawa stood upon the stage. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Ha ha ha!
Everyone certainly seems full of energy.
Excellent!
That is exactly the spirit and vitality expected of Tracen Academy’s Uma Musume.”
“First, allow me to offer my heartfelt congratulations to every Uma Musume gathered here.”
“Welcome to Tracen Academy.”
“I am the chairwoman of this institution.
You may call me Chairwoman Akikawa.”
“I was once an Uma Musume who ran upon the racetrack, just as you do now.”
“In those days, my name was Northern Taste.”
The moment she said those words, the auditorium erupted.
In the history of Japan’s Uma Musume, Northern Taste was unquestionably a legend.
And that legend was this petite girl, not even one hundred and fifty centimeters tall.
Standing atop a wooden crate, she looked down upon the Uma Musume who represented the future of Japanese racing and smiled confidently.
“Hey, Kazuomi, stop pushing!
Don’t move around!”
“I’m not trying to!
The window is tiny.
If I don’t lean farther inside, I’m going to fall!”
The two men stood on a narrow exterior ledge beside the auditorium.
There was barely enough room for them, leaving both clinging to the wall and pressed awkwardly together.
At that moment, the chairwoman began her formal welcome speech.
“The fact that you stand here today means you have already taken your first step upon the path to success.”
“Next, you will make choices capable of affecting the course of your entire lives.”
“Trainers and Uma Musume will always help one another achieve greatness.”
“During the next three years, you will experience gain and loss, victory and defeat.”
“One among you may charge undefeated across every racetrack.”
“One may claim a Triple Crown, or even conquer every great race she enters.”
“Yet another may struggle to earn even a single victory.”
“Some may depart the stage without ever shining.”
“Others may see their careers end abruptly because of injury.”
Chairwoman Akikawa paused.
Then she pointed her folding fan toward the future.
“But that is competition.”
“That is what it means to be an Uma Musume.”
“Eclipse first, the rest nowhere.”
“One horse surges ahead; ten thousand others lose their light.”
“These words were spoken in honor of Eclipse, an Uma Musume whose legendary name became known throughout the world.”
“They are also the motto of Tracen Academy.”
“The future belongs to you.”
“When the fiercest winds begin to blow, that will be the moment when you shine most brightly.”
“You may resemble stars swallowed by darkness, uncertain where the current will carry you.”
“Ten thousand horses may lose their light—yet one will still surge ahead.”
The moment her speech ended, applause thundered throughout the auditorium and continued without pause.
The chairwoman was right.
That was racing.
It combined everything and allowed every flavor of life—sweet, sour, bitter, and painful—to settle together.
This was the world of the Uma Musume.