The cherry blossom season at Tracen Academy always carries a just-right laziness.
Pink and white petals fall onto the training track, swept by the breeze across the girl lying on the lawn sunbathing.
Chisato Ryo turned over, her fluffy silver hair spread out among the tender green grass, and two striking red locks on the right side swayed gently with the movement.
A small golden horseshoe hairpin was pinned to her hair—a welcoming gift from Symboli Rudolf when she enrolled.
She squinted her red eyes at the azure sky, hearing the footsteps of other Uma Musume training hard, but a lazy smile curled on the corners of her mouth as she slowly chewed the Strawberry Daifuku in her hand.
“Yo, is little Ryo slacking off again?” A playful female voice came from behind.
The soft purr of a red sports car engine gradually faded.
Maruzensky walked over in her small black leather shoes, her long brown hair draped casually over her shoulders, revealing delicate yet cunning brows and eyes.
She bent down and poked Chisato Ryo’s cheek, her fingertips cool from just gripping the steering wheel.
“The Trainer was just looking for you, saying he wanted to discuss your debut race, but look at you, hiding here sunbathing.”
Chisato Ryo lazily lifted her eyelids, her red eyes reflecting the flamboyant figure of Maruzensky.
Her voice was soft and sweet, yet carried an unquestionable laziness: “Well, what’s the rush for a debut race?
The sun is so nice, using it to sleep is the only way to respect spring.” As she said this, she didn’t forget to swallow the last bite of the Strawberry Daifuku, casually stuffing the oil paper into the trash bag nearby, her movements as elegant as if she were attending an afternoon tea party, rather than a training field where sweat should be shed.
Maruzensky raised her eyebrows and sat down beside her, her fingertips playing with the necklace on her chest: “Your talent has even been praised by the Chairman.
Your results in the entrance test were even more dazzling than that girl Rudolf’s in the same batch.
Do you really plan to keep slacking off?” She paused, her tone carrying a bit of teasing, “Or is it that you are waiting for a certain little one to start running first, and then you’ll slowly chase after her?”
Chisato Ryo didn’t deny it, just chuckled softly, a flash of complex emotion that was hard to detect appearing in her red eyes: “How boring to be in such a rush to debut.
To fight, one must choose the most dazzling moment.”
No one knew that this Uma Musume, known at Tracen Academy as the “Elegant Slacker Miss,” harbored the resonance of two souls within her body.
In another world without Uma Musume, she was called Lin Yao, having grown up in an equestrian club, relying on each other with a chestnut mare named “Wind Chaser.” Wind Chaser was delivered and raised bit by bit by her own hands.
They galloped on the track together and won countless youth equestrian championships.
Lin Yao once thought that her life would be accompanied by Wind Chaser, until that sudden accident—a cross-country race in a rainstorm, a sudden landslide on the track, and falling rocks smashed towards the unprepared Lin Yao.
Wind Chaser turned without hesitation, building a barrier for her with its body.
When Lin Yao woke up from a coma, she only saw Wind Chaser covered in blood, lying in a pool of blood, its breath already gone.
That was the darkest moment of her life.
She held Wind Chaser’s cold body, crying until she almost fainted, her mind filled with images of running with Wind Chaser.
I don’t know how long it had been, when a warm light enveloped her, and soft neighing came to her ears, as if it were the voice of Wind Chaser guiding her.
When she opened her eyes again, she had become the Uma Musume Chisato Ryo, and her body not only contained her own soul, but also fused with the soul of Wind Chaser—that horse who also loved running, but failed to win the championship on the track due to an accident.
The transmigrated Chisato Ryo, relying on her love and talent for horse riding from two lifetimes, amazed everyone in the entrance test at Tracen Academy.
It was also at that time that she met Symboli Rudolf, who was also starting to show her edge, as well as her senior, Maruzensky.
Maruzensky had enrolled a year earlier than them and was quite famous in the Academy for her sharp running style and flamboyant personality.
She was also known for the image of a “mischievous big sister”—always liking to tease her peers and juniors, but being exceptionally reliable at critical moments.
She first met Chisato Ryo on the side of the track during the entrance test, watching this girl with silver hair and red highlights and red eyes easily run a gap-level result, but immediately lay flat to sunbathe after the race.
She found it interesting at once, and from then on, she always liked to drive her red sports car around the training ground to tease this junior who was “gifted but didn’t like to work hard.”
As for the bond with Symboli Rudolf, it started with a chance encounter after training.
At that time, Symboli Rudolf had already displayed an Emperor-like aura, always the most diligent one during training, with an extreme desire for victory burning in her eyes.
The two collided at the corner of the training ground, and the training plan in Symboli Rudolf’s hands scattered all over the ground.
She frowned and was about to speak, but saw Chisato Ryo squat down and elegantly pick up the papers one by one, her movements gentle yet carrying an inexplicable certainty.
“Is your goal the Seven Crowns?” Chisato Ryo handed the organized plan back to her, her red eyes reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.
Symboli Rudolf was stunned for a moment, then straightened her back, her tone firm: “Of course.
I want to become the most dazzling Emperor in the history of horse racing.”
“What a coincidence.” Chisato Ryo smiled, that smile like the softest wind in spring, yet carrying a sharpness that could not be underestimated, “Then let me set surpassing you as my goal.
The day you stand on the peak of the Seven Crowns, I will personally pull you down.”
Symboli Rudolf raised an eyebrow, the first time she had met someone who dared to speak to her like that.
She sized up the girl in front of her, silver long hair with two red locks, a sharp gaze hidden under an elegant posture, seemingly lazy, yet possessing a persistence similar to her own.
“Alright.” Symboli Rudolf reached out her hand, “I’ll wait for that day.
I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
The two hands clasped tightly.
At that time, both of them thought this would be an evenly matched contest.
But what Symboli Rudolf didn’t expect was that Chisato Ryo would completely turn on “slacker mode” after that.
Every day she was either sunbathing on the lawn or tasting various desserts in the cafeteria.
Even if she occasionally appeared on the training ground, she would only walk around slowly and then leave.
The Trainer had talked to her countless times, earnestly persuading her to cherish her talent and discuss the arrangements for her debut race, but she always responded with a smile: “Don’t worry, Trainer, I know what I’m doing.”
Maruzensky, on the other hand, enjoyed it, occasionally driving her red sports car to take Chisato Ryo out for a ride outside the school.
Although she would complain about her “wasting talent,” she was the first to stand up and defend her when others questioned Chisato Ryo: “That girl is just not serious.
When she really starts running, none of you will be able to catch up.” She also loved to tease Chisato Ryo, such as deliberately honking when she was sunbathing, or using desserts to lure her into short-distance sprints, laughing with her brows curved as she watched the girl get bristled and helpless.
Symboli Rudolf looked at Chisato Ryo like this, her heart full of confusion and disappointment.
She remembered the girl who had firmly said she would surpass her in the sunset, remembered the light flashing in those red eyes, but the current Chisato Ryo seemed to have thrown her former vows to the back of her mind.
But what Symboli Rudolf didn’t know was that every late night, when Tracen Academy fell into deep sleep, three almost transparent holy shadows would light up in Chisato Ryo’s room.
The Goddess of Victory, the Goddess of Speed, and the Goddess of Stamina sensed the special resonance of the two souls in her body and took the initiative to become her mentors, conducting extreme training for her in the spiritual realm—the Goddess of Speed tempered her explosive power, the Goddess of Stamina polished her endurance, and the Goddess of Victory guided her tactical thinking.
Every night’s training was a dual squeeze of spirit and will.
Sweat soaked her pajamas, and her consciousness was on the verge of collapse many times.
But whenever she wanted to give up, the image of Wind Chaser falling would flash in her mind, as well as the agreement with Symboli Rudolf.
“Hold on a little longer,” she told herself, “I must stand on that track with the most perfect posture.”
And her exclusive skill also gradually took shape in the day-after-day training—that power stemming from the obsession with victory and the promise to her partner was named by the goddesses as “Unchallengeable Emperor,” which could stimulate all potential at critical moments and compete with the domain of the strongest.
As time passed, Symboli Rudolf’s journey became smoother and smoother.
After discussing with her Trainer, she registered for various G1 Races one after another, and with her amazing strength and hard training, she moved step by step towards the goal of the Seven Crown Champion.
The entire Tracen Academy was cheering for her, and the media even surrounded her at the podium of the Kikuka Sho, with microphones almost reaching her lips.
“Contestant Symboli Rudolf, congratulations on winning the Triple Crown!” A reporter asked first, “You once mentioned a challenger in an agreement.
May I ask if you are still looking forward to her appearance?”
Symboli Rudolf’s fingers holding the trophy tightened slightly, a flash of complex emotions in her golden eyes, including disappointment and unwillingness.
She faced the camera, her voice clear and frank: “I used to look forward to it very much.
She has impeccable talent, and we agreed to meet at the peak.
But she has always been slacking off, avoiding training, and delaying her debut, wasting the talent bestowed by heaven.”
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of regret: “I admit, I am very disappointed in her.
The road to the peak is lonely and difficult.
I have been waiting for her to become an opponent who can stand side-by-side with me, but she doesn’t seem to cherish this agreement.”
The media’s camera flashes became dense instantly, and the headline “Emperor Disappointed in Mysterious Challenger” had almost taken shape.
Just then, a silver figure slowly walked out from the backstage, the two red locks on her right side particularly dazzling under the lights.
Chisato Ryo was wearing a simple training outfit, her red eyes fixed as she walked step by step towards Symboli Rudolf, who was surrounded by reporters.
Her pace was calm and firm, and a majestic aura gradually emanated from her body, which was on par with Symboli Rudolf’s “Emperors Majesty”—that was the aura belonging to the “Unchallengeable Emperor,” cold and sharp, carrying an unquestionable sense of oppression.
The reporters subconsciously made way, the whole place fell silent instantly, and all eyes were focused on this suddenly appearing girl.
Chisato Ryo walked to Symboli Rudolf, her red eyes locked tightly onto her golden eyes, and a confident smile curled on the corners of her mouth.
She ignored the surrounding cameras, just facing Symboli Rudolf, her voice clearly spreading throughout the venue and also through the lens to all of Japan:
“Rudolf, don’t be in such a hurry to be disappointed.”
“I have been waiting for you.
Waiting for you to climb to the peak of the Seven Crowns, waiting for you to stand at a height no one else can reach, waiting for the time when you feel lonely and have no opponents—”
She leaned forward slightly, her aura completely erupting, silver-white light flowing around her, vaguely confronting Symboli Rudolf’s golden aura:
“Then it will be me, personally pulling you down from the altar.”
After the words fell, she didn’t say another word, turned and left calmly, leaving behind the shocked reporters and Symboli Rudolf, whose fighting spirit was reignited.
And Chisato Ryo’s debut race was also, at this moment, endowed with unprecedented significance.