Rice Shower.
Her name was derived from the ritual of scattering rice over the bride and groom at a wedding, allowing them to be bathed in a rain of rice filled with blessings.
Yet the racehorse born with such a name, brimming with blessings and expectations, met a completely opposite fate on Earth.
Despite running with all her might to win the championship, she ruined the Triple Crown for her contemporary Mihono Bourbon and the three consecutive Tenno Sho (Spring) victories for her senior Mejiro McQueen, resulting in intense public backlash.
She continued to run without anyone’s expectations, and just when she finally managed to gather an audience that supported her, she suffered a fracture in her retirement race and was euthanized under the guilt-ridden gaze of her jockey.
She was truly an indomitable yet unfortunate horse.
So, what would Rice Shower be like as an Uma Musume?
The pre-race symphony echoed through the stadium, pulling Kaito’s consciousness back to the present.
The quality of the pre-race music in this world was much better than that of the JRA on Earth, at least pleasant enough to listen to.
As the music faded, the broadcast began announcing the competitors.
[Gate 1, No.
1, Beautiful Mind, 2nd favorite] [Gate 2, No.
3, Violet Street, 6th favorite] [Gate 3, No.
6, Old Town Street, 1st favorite] As each name was called, the Uma Musume stepped into their respective gates.
Some excitedly lifted their knees high, some nervously gripped their tails, and others took a deep breath, pressing their palms together in prayer.
When the highly favored Uma Musume entered their gates, the stands erupted in waves of cheering to match.
As the high-profile horse girls finished entering, the subsequent cheers died down significantly.
By the time the broadcast finally called out Rice Shower’s name, there were no longer any voices of support in the stands.
[Gate 10, No.
8, Rice Shower, 12th favorite] In a stadium devoid of cheers, a petite horse girl stepped into her gate.
Rice Shower had made her entrance.
She had the same long black hair as in the game, but her figure was just too petite, especially when compared to the early-blooming Uma Musume in the other gates.
Perhaps because of the lack of audience support, her already nervous eyes revealed even more insecurity.
Her right hand tightly gripped the hem of her white racing outfit, making her seem completely unnoticeable among the surrounding Uma Musume.
She was like an inconspicuous, unbloomed blue rose amidst a vibrant flower bed.
Kaito stared fixedly at Rice Shower, his gaze gradually shifting down to her slender, fair legs.
“What great legs…” They seemed perfectly suited for long-distance races.
But when these words reached Hana’s ears, they drew a vigilant glare from her.
Kaito quickly changed the subject.
“That girl named Rice Shower, doesn’t she have a Trainer working with her?” “Ah, that girl.” Hana frowned and sighed before explaining to him.
“Actually, during her debut race, she received some offers because she finished in first place.” “But she seems to have a somewhat inferiority complex.
She hesitated for a long time regarding the offers, and before she could make a choice, she suffered a crushing defeat in her next race.
After that, she placed outside the top ten in her following two Debut Class races.” “This caused her popularity to plummet, and the Trainers who had previously extended olive branches gave up on negotiations.” “Honestly, if you make an offer, you should see it through to the end…” Hana was quite dissatisfied with the behavior of the other Trainers.
But that was reality.
Whether it was a Trainer without seniority or a horse girl performing poorly, without solid results, they simply wouldn’t get any attention.
Perhaps it was precisely because she had no Trainer that Rice Shower’s subsequent races continued to decline, forming a vicious cycle…
As Kaito pondered this, he heard the synchronized sound of the gates opening.
[The race begins!] The stadium-wide broadcast suddenly heightened in volume.
At the same time, over a dozen Uma Musume burst out of the gates simultaneously.
If viewed up close, their figures would blur, engaging in a battle for position at speeds far beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
This was a speed of sixty kilometers per hour!
The horseshoes under the girls’ feet struck the earth, sending a dense, rhythmic tremor all the way up to the spectator stands, while the battle for position grew even more intense.
[Beautiful Mind in Gate 1 had a great start, taking the lead to run as the front-runner, but White Kettle in Gate 7 is pressing close, not wanting to let her have her way!] [The heavy favorite Old Town Street, the 1st favorite, is in the stalker pack with no intention of accelerating, while Lycoris right beside her is keeping a close eye on her movements!] [Oh, Violet Street in the middle of the pack is starting to accelerate!
Is she trying to secure an advantageous position before the next straight?!] A 1000-meter race was merely a sprint for the Uma Musume, and in the blink of an eye, the dozen or so horse girls reached the two consecutive turns.
Following this was the straightaway leading directly to the finish line, and the horse girls who had been conserving stamina now began to accelerate.
“Go for it, Old Town Street!” “Hold on!
Beautiful Mind, hold on!” “Push forward, Violet-senpai!” In the stands, the crowd’s cheers grew increasingly louder, and the entire stadium fell into a frenzy of shared excitement.
[The Uma Musume have entered the final straightaway!
Old Town Street is accelerating, overtaking White Kettle in an instant!] [Lycoris is close behind, but her speed is clearly lacking!] [Violet Street and Rice Shower behind her are also accelerating, but it’s too late to catch up, too late to catch up!] The broadcast finally mentioned Rice Shower’s name.
Kaito looked over and saw that Rice Shower was trying to accelerate along with Violet Street ahead of her.
But when Violet Street suddenly pulled away, Rice Shower’s speed did not increase noticeably.
Although she showed no signs of stamina depletion, she could only gradually fall behind in her struggle.
“Her acceleration isn’t fast, but her stamina is excellent.” Kaito murmured softly.
[Old Town Street has caught up to the leading Beautiful Mind!
With only 50 meters to the finish, Old Town Street passes Beautiful Mind in the blink of an eye, opening up a two-length lead!] [Old Town Street is first!
Old Town Street is first!] The crowd roared.
As the first Uma Musume crossed the finish line, the crowd’s cheers reached their peak, with many supporters even embracing each other in tears.
After all, witnessing the Uma Musume you support claim victory was truly a moving experience.
[Old Town Street, the 1st favorite, lived up to expectations and took first place.
Second place went to Beautiful Mind, who chose the front-running tactic, and third place went to Violet Street, who arrived a bit late…] The broadcast continued to announce the remaining rankings, and the horse girls on the track slowed to a stop.
Old Town Street, who ranked first, excitedly greeted the audience supporting her.
The second and third-place finishers showed expressions of reluctance and disappointment, while some horse girls let their long hair cover their faces, wiping the corners of their eyes with their hands.
Excitement, thrill, joy, regret, frustration, pain…
A myriad of emotions played out across the stadium in an instant.
“What a wonderful race!” Hana, standing beside Kaito, couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“Several Uma Musume showed a level of performance that ranks among the top of the rookies, and the other horse girls also performed well.
As for Rice Shower…” Hana looked at the replay on the stadium’s large screen and sighed softly.
“Tenth place, huh.
It looks like it will be hard for that girl to continue racing in the central circuit.” “What do you mean?” “Racing in the central circuit is ruthless.
Uma Musume who fail to get results in the central circuit will be transferred to local circuits like Kasamatsu, Kawasaki, Nagoya, and others.
Although there are some horse girls who find a turning point after being transferred…” “But for them, the dream of winning a championship in the central circuit will remain unfulfilled forever.” Speaking to this point, Hana murmured with some regret.
“It seems I had the wrong expectations for that girl.
I hope she doesn’t get discouraged.” After saying this, Hana asked Kaito if he wanted to try approaching the Uma Musume who had just achieved good results, but Kaito politely declined.
Seeing this, Hana didn’t mind.
After saying her goodbyes, she left ahead of him.
The cheers of the surrounding crowd gradually faded.
The staff pushed the gates back onto the track, and the next race was about to begin.
The recent successes and failures, joys and regrets, were quickly left behind by the world.
Only one child remained standing on the track, lost and bewildered.
Kaito looked at Rice Shower’s petite figure.
That budding blue rose had not reached a blooming conclusion, and it seemed on the verge of wilting.
(Which uma you want the MC to train?
I want Tachyon, Cafe, Shower and Urara!)