At that moment, Rice Shower stood bathed in thunderous cheers that echoed across the entire stadium.
This girl, who had been born and raised in her quiet hometown, had finally made everyone remember her name and her radiant smile.
Rice Shower waved gracefully to the crowd, then turned her gaze toward Kouki standing by the rail.
Kouki gave her a proud thumbs-up.
Rice Shower bowed deeply to him with a radiant smile.
“Rice Shower…” A familiar yet awkward voice called out from behind her.
Rice Shower turned around and saw the group of local Umamusume led by Shinjo Gyaru—even World Star, who had aggressively veered into her line during the race, was standing among them.
“You won…
You’re indeed incredibly strong…
You truly possess the speed of a Central Umamusume.” Shinjo Gyaru bit her lip hard, reluctantly admitting the truth.
A flood of thoughts had rushed through her mind when she was overtaken on the decline.
She had even contemplated doing what Rice Shower did—pushing herself to the absolute limit downhill to fight for a spot in Central…
but she simply hadn’t dared.
If her speed spiraled out of control, she would have crashed instantly, risking severe, career-ending injuries or even life-threatening danger.
For her, that sheer terror was overwhelming—and that fear was enough to crush her yearning for Central.
Performing a *dogeza* wasn’t inherently humiliating for her what felt humiliating was bowing down to Rice Shower, an Umamusume she had looked down upon and picked on since childhood.
That dramatic reversal of status was a bitter reality she had refused to accept before the race.
But now, everything was different.
Rice Shower was undeniably, overwhelmingly stronger than her.
No matter how bitter she felt, that was an unshakeable fact.
She simply lacked the qualifications to stand on the same stage as Rice Shower right now—that was the stark realization Shinjo Gyaru faced after the race.
Since she had lost the bet, she had to accept her punishment.
Shinjo Gyaru knew full well that defeated runners had no right to bargain with someone from Central.
If she wanted to continue training at the academy, she had to fulfill the demand set by the Central Trainer: perform a *dogeza* to Rice Shower.
“Shinjo-san…
everyone…
thank you for a wonderful race today,” Rice Shower said softly.
Shinjo Gyaru gritted her teeth, bracing herself to kneel down.
But hearing Rice Shower’s words—which contained not a single trace of resentment or malice—her body froze.
“What Trainer Kouki said earlier…
please don’t take it to heart.
Actually, he just wanted to find an excuse so everyone could race together with Rice.” “Onii-chan has always been worried about my lack of confidence, so he used everyone as a pretext.
I sincerely apologize on his behalf.” Rice Shower bowed politely to the girls and smiled warmly: “Well then, goodbye everyone!
I hope to see all of you running in Tracen Central someday!” After speaking, Rice Shower turned and jogged toward the athletes’ break room, leaving the group of local girls staring at each other in utter disbelief.
“Wait…
we don’t have to kneel after all?” one of the girls asked, completely bewildered.
“We lost…
completely…
not just in physical strength, but in heart and generosity…” Shinjo Gyaru’s eyes dimmed.
She had been utterly defeated by Rice Shower—total and absolute defeat!
‘At the very least…
I have to fight to preserve whatever little dignity I have left as a runner!’ Watching Rice Shower’s departing figure, Shinjo Gyaru gritted her teeth.
Under the astonished gaze of her peers and the entire crowd, she dropped to her knees on the turf, pressed both palms firmly onto the grass, lowered her forehead all the way to her hands, and shouted at the top of her lungs: “RICE SHOWER!
I WAS WRONG!
I AM TRULY SORRY!” The noisy atmosphere across the stadium instantly fell dead silent.
The fans stared at the girl kneeling in the middle of the track in utter shock, filled with questions.
As for Rice Shower, whether she heard the shout or not, she simply trotted away and disappeared into the tunnel.
“Hey, Shinjo!
What are you doing?!
Didn’t she just say it wasn’t necessary?!” Her teammates hurriedly pulled her back up to her feet, only to find a line of blood running from her bitten lip down to her chin.
“I am DEFINITELY going to Tracen Central!” Shinjo Gyaru declared, her eyes burning with a fierce, unbreakable fire as she stared toward the tunnel entrance.
“Ehh?!
What are you talking about?!
How could we possibly qualify for Central?!” “I want to go!
I want to get stronger!
I’m going to Central…
to reach Rice Shower’s side!” “I’ll become an Umamusume capable of running side by side with her!” *** Back in the break room, Rice Shower looked at her reflection in the mirror, let out a soft sigh, and whispered: “I told her it wasn’t necessary…
Shinjo-san is just so stubborn…” She had been startled when she heard the loud apology echoing from the track behind her, forcing her to pretend she hadn’t heard and rush back into the break room.
Reflecting on the race, her opponent had actually been quite capable.
Shinjo Gyaru had maintained her lead firmly throughout the early stages, preventing the second-place runner from overtaking her, and her handling of the final climb was commendable.
Even when Rice Shower accelerated past her, Shinjo Gyaru hadn’t panicked, holding onto second place all the way to the wire.
Furthermore, even though Rice Shower had explicitly waived the punishment, Shinjo Gyaru had still performed a public *dogeza* in front of thousands of spectators.
Even though Rice Shower hadn’t turned back to look, the sudden silence across the stadium proved that she had indeed knelt down.
‘Shinjo-san has always been fiercely competitive ever since we were little…’ Rice Shower suddenly recalled that back in their early childhood years, Shinjo Gyaru hadn’t bullied her at all.
In fact, she had taken good care of her.
Because Rice Shower was small but ate a lot, Shinjo would often share her own lunch with her.
The change in her attitude seemed to have started after Grandpa Trainer noticed Rice Shower’s potential…
*Why did things turn out like that…?* *Knock, knock, knock.* While she was lost in thought, a knock at the door interrupted her memories.
“Rice, may I come in?” A familiar, warm voice sounded from outside.
Rice Shower called out, and Kouki opened the door and walked in.
“A magnificent victory—six horse lengths ahead, exceeding my prediction by a full length!
As expected of Team Lord’s very first Umamusume!” Kouki clapped his hands with a bright smile.
If someone made a mistake, they should be forgiven if they repeated it maliciously, they should be punished and when they achieved victory, they should be praised unconditionally.
That had always been Kouki’s coaching philosophy.
He was never stingy with praise.
In Kouki’s view, a single word of genuine praise was far more inspiring than a hundred harsh insults, sparking a trainee’s inner motivation.
“Onii-chan…
stop teasing Rice…
Rice is still far from perfect,” Rice Shower said, blushing sweetly as she looked down with a modest smile.
‘Wait, no?
Were you peeking a few days ago when I was chatting on LINE with Silence Suzuka?
Why is your way of speaking so similar to hers?!’ Kouki mused internally.
“Speaking of which, that girl was surprisingly bold, performing a public dogeza in front of everyone like that,” Kouki recalled how silent the stadium had become during that moment.
“Geez…
Rice clearly told her it wasn’t necessary…” “Isn’t that amazing, though?
An arrogant bully humbling herself and asking for forgiveness in front of tens of thousands of spectators—that’s a historic moment that could make local headlines,” Kouki smiled.
“Onii-chan didn’t actually intend to force them to kneel, right?” Rice Shower asked out of nowhere, looking up into his eyes.
“Uh…” Kouki blinked.
“Rice-chan…
how did you suddenly become so perceptive?” “Rice knows!
The real reason Onii-chan wanted Rice to race against them was to help Rice regain her confidence, right?” “Even if they hadn’t picked a fight, Onii-chan would have definitely found another excuse to let Rice compete against the school’s runners.” “Onii-chan was genuinely angry at them for picking on Rice, but he also used it as an opportunity to set up the perfect stage for me.” “Rice knows everything…
because Rice is always watching over Onii-chan!” “So…
Rice also knows that if Rice had arrogantly accepted their dogeza…” “Onii-chan would have been very disappointed in Rice, right?” Rice Shower lifted her tiny face, flashing a radiant, knowing smile.
Looking at Rice Shower’s smile, Kouki felt his heart skip a beat at how charming and mature she looked at that moment.
Her little schemes couldn’t be hidden from him, yet she had willingly cooperated with every single arrangement he made.
‘I…