“Your favorite Uma…” At six in the morning, the phone alarm pulled Kouki out of sleep Kouki glanced at the clock, turned off the alarm, and closed his eyes again Two minutes later, Kouki threw back the blanket, sat up, shoved his phone into his pocket, and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up While brushing his teeth, he scrolled through the news on his phone.
After finishing his morning routine, he changed into sportswear and went out for a jog Truth be told, Kouki wasn’t the kind of person who loved exercising—at least, definitely not when it came to jogging at dawn The only reason he dragged himself out this early was simple: he was going horse hunting A week had passed since Rice Shower won her selection race.
After a solid month of training, Rice Shower had crossed the finish line with a commanding three-length lead, completely crushing the other Umamusume whose names nobody could even remember Now, with commentators praising her performance and spectators cheering her on, popularity wouldn’t be an issue for her upcoming debut race.
On top of that, Kouki had also obtained a Random Encounter Ticket from the system Rice Shower’s first victory combined with a sweet system reward—two awesome, dreamlike events should’ve ushered in a bright and hopeful future.
So why on earth did things turn out like this?
*Damn it, why did this random ticket just display [Usage Successful] and nothing else?!* *At least give me a gacha pull animation or a character screen so I know which horse girl I drew!* For a whole week, Kouki had been suffering from paranoia.
Every Umamusume he laid eyes on felt like *his* designated trainee, to the point where he almost raided other trainers’ facilities just to scout them out Then, suddenly, he had an epiphany According to classic RPG mechanics, random event triggers probably couldn’t activate while he was stuck working at his desk So why not just head out early in the morning?
If morning didn’t work, he’d try the afternoon.
Besides, with only Rice Shower currently on his roster, his workload as a trainer wasn’t that heavy anyway That was the real reason Kouki was out running at the break of dawn.
Did anyone actually think he was exercising?
Hell no—he was out on a horse hunt!
Still, it was mid-February, and the morning air was bitterly cold.
What kind of Umamusume would even be out on the track at this hour?
As Kouki jogged slowly toward the training grounds, a lone running figure came into view Long reddish-orange hair, green ear covers, clad in a sleek tracksuit, sprinting effortlessly across the turf That iconic silhouette, practically etched into his DNA, allowed Kouki to recognize her instantly without even needing to see her face— Silence Suzuka!
Kouki’s heart hammered against his ribs.
He yanked out his phone to double-check this month’s racing schedule “Just as I thought…
the Valentine Stakes is coming up in a few days.” “Which means…
this is right at the beginning of Silence Suzuka’s Belno moment.” Kouki couldn’t play it cool anymore.
He immediately sat down on a bench by the track, pulled out his phone stopwatch, and prepared to record Suzuka’s lap time After Silence Suzuka completed a lap, Kouki frowned heavily “This timing…” Silence Suzuka’s lap time was decent by normal standards, but to Kouki, it was practically a joke for a talent like her Are you kidding?
Who was Silence Suzuka?
She was the absolute definition of an Escape runner!
In the Japanese racing world, whenever anyone mentioned the Escape strategy, the very first name that popped into anyone’s head was Silence Suzuka Even though many front-runners in later generations broke her raw numerical records, her status as the supreme Escape runner remained untouchable Yet right now…
1000 meters in 59.5 seconds?
What the hell was she doing?
Did a performance like this even deserve to carry the name Silence Suzuka?
“Hey!
What kind of run was that supposed to be?!
You’re doing it completely wrong!” Kouki called out directly toward Silence Suzuka on the track.
“Huh…?” Focusing entirely on her stride, Silence Suzuka was startled by the sudden shout, her tail shooting straight up in surprise She turned toward Kouki with a bewildered look on her face She didn’t recognize the guy sitting there in the tracksuit Still, since he was walking around the academy grounds freely, he was probably a trainer, right?
Did he need something from her?
Brimming with questions, Silence Suzuka picked up her pace and pulled to a stop right in front of Kouki “Excuse me…
Who are you?” Silence Suzuka wasn’t particularly good at socializing, but pure curiosity pushed her to take the initiative to speak “Silence Suzuka.
1000 meters in 59.5 seconds.
What on earth was that?” Kouki didn’t answer her question directly.
Instead, he spun his phone around to display the timer to her “You’re capable of running way faster than this!
Why are you so afraid to let go of the reins and just run freely?” Kouki knew full well why Silence Suzuka had struggled in her early races—it was entirely because of flawed tactical instructions From Kouki’s perspective, Suzuka’s current trainer was being completely ridiculous.
Forcing a natural Escape runner to hold back and save her burst for a final lap stretch battle?
Was he intentionally trying to make her lose?
Did he think every horse girl was Mayano Top Gun?!
This wasn’t just hindsight bias from his knowledge of real-life racing history; it was a firm conclusion drawn from Kouki’s own professional competence as a trainer That was why he was so frustrated—and why he had stopped Suzuka’s training session on the spot Her trainer’s flawed methodology had clearly bled into her daily workouts.
Suzuka was quiet and kept to herself, meaning the only person giving her guidance was her trainer And if her trainer was leading her down the wrong path, how could she possibly figure it out on her own?
“Is there…
something wrong with that time?” To Silence Suzuka, that lap time had felt pretty solid Most strong runners posted numbers around that range.
Was there really a problem with it?
“You can run much faster than that.
Why won’t you just let loose and run with everything you’ve got?
Do you still remember your dream?” Kouki looked straight into Silence Suzuka’s eyes as he spoke Staring directly at her put a tiny bit of pressure on Kouki.
Nothing major—just the natural nervousness any normal guy feels when looking face-to-face with a girl he admires He had to admit, Silence Suzuka was breathtakingly beautiful.
Elegant, quiet, yet endowed with speed and stamina that ordinary Umamusume couldn’t even dream of.
That slender yet powerful physique was not only her defining trait, but her ultimate weapon “Because…
my trainer told me that if I don’t conserve my stamina early on, I’ll get overtaken in the final sprint…” Silence Suzuka’s voice was soft, carrying a hidden spark of passion, yet laced with hesitation and uncertainty *She probably hates running like this too, doesn’t she?* Kouki thought “So, running his way—have you ever actually won?” “Eh…?” “What’s the difference between a race you win and a race you lose?
In the races where you held back, were you truly running with joy?” “I…” “If you’re worried about gassing out from an Escape run, then master your rhythm and breathing.
Don’t just burst out recklessly, and don’t doubt yourself.
Maintain a high-tempo Escape while pacing your stamina properly, then accelerate again in the final lap” “It won’t be easy, but I know you can do it” “Because you are Silence Suzuka.
If anyone can pull it off, it’s you” Kouki paused The morning sun broke over the horizon behind him, bathing the world in a warm golden glow.
Framed by the brilliant light, Kouki looked like a savior descending upon her world Silence Suzuka stood frozen, taking in every word of Kouki’s advice—words that would stay etched into her heart for the rest of her life “True to your name, you will step into the Silent Territory, where you will never again hear the footsteps of another Umamusume behind you.” “And from this day forward…
no one will ever be able to run side-by-side with you on the track.” “You’ll never have to yield the view up ahead to anyone else ever again” “Of that, I am absolutely certain”