One trip to the display stage, and the system’s collected emotion points had already accumulated to 2764—more than what the old director and Miss Feiyuan-sensei and the others had given with all their intense emotions!
Seems like more people really does mean more quantity!
So—Little Kangbai-chan, go be cute and earn money!
Run around the display stage more!
Huh?
What, I am Little Kangbai-chan?!
Oh, never mind then.
Though she’d gained many emotion points and was very happy, a few minutes later Little Kangbai-chan became very unhappy again.
Because she was now in the starting gate, and though the upcoming debut did make her a bit nervous, the scene inside the gate instantly turned her nervousness into frustration.
The gate’s height was designed to match the average Umamusume—just enough to poke their heads out and see the competitors beside them and the track ahead.
Even shorter Umamusume could barely see around by standing on tiptoe.
But this meant nothing to Little Kangbai-chan, because she was too short—once inside the gate, looking left and right only showed metal partitions, and the front was completely blocked by the gate.
So frustrating!
“All contestants are now in the gate~ Our race is about to begin!” Regardless of Little Kangbai-chan’s feelings, the race proceeded on schedule, and the two commentators in the booth began their performance.
“This race is a 1600-meter mile-class OP event. The distance isn’t long, and with the sunny, mild weather, our contestants should perform well today.”
“Also, several of our contestants have high popularity—like our number one favorite, contestant number 12, Kusaka Ki—very active in OP events, with many cheering for her.”
“And our second favorite, contestant number 5, Hahahahaha—this contestant’s distinctive name has attracted a large fanbase.”
“Then our third favorite, contestant number 3, the energetic and lucky Umamusume—Haru Urara~”
Little Kangbai-chan listened to the commentators reading out the popular names and naturally knew she wouldn’t be getting emotion points—after all, as a debutante, she had no fame.
And that second-favorite one—could they please pick a normal name when coming to this world?
What kind of name was that?
“Now, the countdown is about to begin!”
Hearing she could finally leave this height-hostile gate, Little Kangbai-chan immediately adjusted her clothes to make sure her number tag wasn’t blocking her legs, then began thinking about which lucky Umamusume she’d make “friends” with.
“3, 2, 1—the race begins!”
Decided—it’s you, third favorite, the one who gave me a lollipop, Urara!
With “begin,” the gates flew open.
Little Kangbai-chan shot out immediately, then instantly fell into confusion.
—Wait, where’s the screen full of colorful skills crossing the sea?
Where are all those weirdly named skills?
Where’d they go?
Did Oguri Cap eat them?
Little Kangbai-chan shook her head to clear it.
She needed to know where that pink-haired, sweet-smiling Urara was.
Fortunately, Urara’s pink hair was very eye-catching.
Little Kangbai-chan turned and spotted the figure running hard.
Looked like Urara chose Late Surger or End Closer style—that meant their lateral distance should work.
Now, activate my skill—[Friend’s Sharing]!
The skill activated instantly.
Little Kangbai-chan immediately felt an invisible but real connection form between her and Urara, like a thread pulled by a legendary deity.
Urara seemed to sense something too and turned her head, spotting Little Kangbai-chan looking at her legs.
As if guided by fate, Urara also looked at Little Kangbai-chan’s short legs.
Though short, they moved like pistons in a car engine—fast.
Imperceptibly, Urara’s stride began to change, her running form becoming like Little Kangbai-chan’s—rapid and urgent, yet surprisingly stable.
“Hm? That’s?!” In the stands, the trainer Okino—who had met Little Kangbai-chan in the park yesterday and unfortunately fallen into the lake—watched Little Kangbai-chan and Urara with shock.
“Is that the Umamusume who got you all wet yesterday? Didn’t know you were into that!” Beside him sat a tall Umamusume with long gray hair, looking at Okino with amusement.
“…Hey, Gold Ship, is that really what you think of me?” Okino was used to this Umamusume’s behavior and remarks.
Though he denied it, he clearly didn’t care much.
‘That running style—it’s like mimicry—no, it’s like both of them copied each other’s best trait!’ Staring seriously at Little Kangbai-chan and Urara, the trainer Okino immediately noticed something.
That Little Kangbai-chan wasn’t suited for running alone—she was more like an Umamusume meant to make a “team” run better!
What a bizarre running style!
Accelerating and changing form together with another Umamusume, like the result of long mutual training—yet the data showed Little Kangbai-chan shouldn’t know Urara…
“One horse leads, ten thousand horses fade… that doesn’t suit her.” Reciting Tracen Academy’s motto silently, Okino felt it didn’t fit Little Kangbai-chan at all—because she wasn’t an Umamusume suited to that rule.
He’d thought he found a promising talent, but this wasn’t just promising—this was a creation of a new era!
“What do you think about recruiting that kid into our team?” Okino turned to Gold Ship beside him.
“Hey, you’re not really into that, are you? I’m telling you, I’ll call the police! I absolutely will!”
Though her stats synchronized, Little Kangbai-chan still felt strange—she didn’t feel her stats rise much, just the 15% all-stat boost from the friend skill.
Did I support the wrong person?
Little Kangbai-chan wondered, but then figured it didn’t matter.
She wasn’t aiming for higher races anyway—picking up fans was enough.
Though Little Kangbai-chan didn’t care, the commentators and audience were boiling over.
They shouted loudly because before their eyes, a miracle was happening!
“Urara and Little Kangbai-chan are advancing together! Their speed increased! They’ve gone from last to eleventh! And still accelerating! Urara and Little Kangbai-chan are still accelerating! Passed tenth!”
“Go Urara!” The audience roared, more excited than the Umamusume themselves, faces flushed, more pumped than on stimulants.
“Go Little Kangbai-chan!”
“No way, no way? No way?!” The ninth-place Umamusume looked back to see Urara and Little Kangbai-chan running side by side like a three-legged race, but clearly faster than her.
Actually!
“Damn it, I, I need to accelerate, but, but…” As Urara and Little Kangbai-chan approached, she knew she had to speed up.
But after struggling, she could only cry out: “Im~pos~si~ble~”
Little Kangbai-chan didn’t understand why every Umamusume she passed cried “impossible”—in the BOSS battles, no one cried when she passed them.
Why here?
‘Short course, plenty of stamina, no need for Big Full Meal—let’s just run it out in one go!’ With Urara, Little Kangbai-chan kept running.
The finish line was ahead!
“Urara and Little Kangbai-chan are still passing! Now past fourth place! They can’t go faster, but they still have a chance! There’s still a final stretch!”
The commentators were fully focused on Urara and Little Kangbai-chan—what was happening was something the entire Japanese Racing Association had never seen!
Urara was running fast on a grass track!
Little Kangbai-chan knew the final stretch was ahead, but so what?
She had no final-leg duel skill, and Urara was just recovering stamina—they couldn’t accelerate.
“Go! Urara! Little Kangbai-chan!” The audience kept shouting, eyes locked on them as if they were the protagonists.
“Urara and Little Kangbai-chan accelerated again! The finish line is ahead! Go!”
The finish was ahead.
Urara had never felt she could run this fast, as if her legs were swapped with another pair, the wind in her ears filling her blood with joy.
…But that had to do with Little Kangbai-chan, right?
Urara looked at Little Kangbai-chan, who was still running hard.
She couldn’t accept winning like this—Urara thought, her legs unconsciously slowing to create distance.
‘This victory should go to Little Kangbai-chan!
I can just run again next time, and try practicing this style.’
Meanwhile, Little Kangbai-chan saw the finish line approaching and remembered the top three had to dance on stage…
Ah, that thing might give lots of emotion points, but—so embarrassing!
How could she accept that from the start?!
Watching was fine, but doing it herself was too much!
Better leave that to Urara, who looked perfect for being an idol.
So Little Kangbai-chan also slowed down, wanting Urara to take top three while she got fourth.
Thus, the third-place Umamusume watched the two beside her slow down in sync, falling behind her.
Third place: “?”
There was no more time.
Before third place knew what happened, she’d crossed the line!
“Though it’s a shame they didn’t make top three, Urara—she surpassed her limits! In this OP event, I’m honored to witness Urara’s race and Urara’s speed! Let’s give a big cheer for Urara in fourth place and Little Kangbai-chan in fifth!”
“Ohhhhh!” The cheers roared like fanatics, almost shaking the sky.
Below, Little Kangbai-chan looked utterly confused…