"Come to think of it, Team Draco's two horse girls are both front-runners, huh."
In the courtyard of Tracen's internal hospital, a staffer happened to meet Airy Digital, who was resting on a bench.
They'd chatted at yesterday's meet and recognized each other, so he started talking about the previous race.
"But since they're both rookies, that's tough even with a trainer, right? I've heard when there's no seasoned seniors on a team, training gets tricky because you can't do paired runs with seniors. True?"
Airy Digital, the horse-girl otaku, nodded. "That's right. Paired runs are a crucial part of daily practice. If there aren't seniors to guide rookies, it's hard for them to figure out enough technique on their own."
"And wanting to pair with runners from other teams also runs into the problem that, without seniors, you can't barter; few people want to let other teams' runners mooch like that all the time."
"I see," the staffer said, enlightened, then asked:
"Is that why Trainer Hotoyama keeps trying to organize practice races for her horse girls? Because her team lacks seniors?"
Airy Digital paused, then answered, "No, Trainer Hotoyama's team isn't without senior front-runners."
"Eh?" The staffer was puzzled. "But the roster and what I see in practice—there are only those two rookies."
"That's because the real front-run senior should still be recuperating in a specialist hospital."
Airy Digital's tone grew heavy. "And because of her injuries, there's no predicting her return."
"'The great escape in body and soul,' 'the Icarus who chases the sun'…"
"The runner who took the Japanese Derby last year with third-most popularity—Aines Wind God!"
"I still believe even now that Big Sister Wind God will rise again!"
——————————————————————————
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Stardust Mirage had never had such a miserable time front-running.
It wasn't that this bout was too intense for her. On the contrary, she could feel she was using at most fifty percent.
But she wasn't deliberately saving the other fifty. Someone was forcing that remaining half to stay locked in her body!
From the start of the bout, El Condor Pasa kept a 'stalking' position tucked right behind her, showing no intent to pass.
In theory, with no imminent overtake, she should have been able to lead more easily.
But the reality was the reverse. Stardust Mirage felt each arm swing and every stride was unimaginably hard.
It wasn't that her body had reached its limit. It was as if something bound her hands and feet; even a single step met a tug from behind… a tug from El Condor Pasa!
If she had opened her system panel at the very start, the cause would've been obvious:
From the first moment, red skill-trigger warnings kept popping up on the panel:
[Skill: Front-Run Strategy is triggered], [Skill: Front-Run Interfere is triggered], [Skill: Front-Run Pressure is triggered], [Skill: Whisper is triggered], [Skill: Sharp Gaze is triggered], [Skill: Schemer (Back) is triggered]…
Each debuff was like a chain. Stacked together, they swallowed Stardust Mirage's rhythm for the entire run.
Before she could even process what caused it, the finish line was right there—
"Then Condor will be going on ahead!" came El Condor Pasa's declaration behind.
A heartbeat later, the Monster Bird soaring the skies ripped past with a razor shriek.
For the first time, Stardust Mirage felt the thought: I can't catch her.
The chains bound her utterly. No matter how she drove her body, she couldn't reel in this powerful runner.
She could only watch as the other flew past and broke the tape!
Second across, Stardust Mirage stared blankly at her hands and feet.
The strange constriction vanished the instant the bout ended, but the feeling still coiled in her mind.
"What… was that?"
She couldn't help asking.
"That's malice—another power that rivals fighting spirit… I didn't expect El Condor Pasa to have cultivated her malice to that level," Hotoyama Scarlet came over to explain to her horse girl.
Before the Arc, El Condor Pasa—who had nearly ruled Japan—hadn't trained any malice-related arts.
But the strength she showed now…
Was it because she lost to Noble Clan?
"Compared to Condor's malice, Noble Clan's is more than ten times stronger," El Condor Pasa turned, flexing her somewhat weary limbs, and explained.
"Noble Clan's malice… has absolutely reached the level of a domain! In that race, if you say the Arc's super-heavy going affected me at a 1, then Noble Clan's malice—seeping unawares into my five viscera and six bowels, stripping my speed, strength, and stamina at full—hit me at a 100!"
"So you get it now?" Lifting her own scab and speaking of the Arc, El Condor Pasa lowered her head and took off her mask, revealing a solemn face as she continued:
"If you want to be Noble Clan's opponent, you have to find a way to overcome the effects of malice!"
"Only by crossing a domain-level malice can you truly stand on the same starting line with her and decide the outcome!"
"…" Stardust Mirage didn't answer at once. She looked at Hotoyama Scarlet, but found no cue in her trainer's eyes, so she could only ask:
"Uh… who's spreading it around that I'm going to square off with Noble Clan?"
That's right!
She'd wanted to ask earlier—why did El Condor Pasa think she could fight a horse girl on Noble Clan's level?
More to the point, who started the rumor that made people believe a fresh debut runner still only looking ahead to G1 starts could challenge the tyrant who reigns over the French circuit—Noble Clan?
"W-what?!" El Condor Pasa was so shocked she dropped the mask she'd just removed.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier, and still ran with Condor?" she blurted.
Hotoyama Scarlet shrugged. "We're short a guide for now. Why would we refuse free paired-run training?"
She didn't watch El Condor Pasa's reaction—just turned, pointed to the uphill practice slope, and said to Stardust Mirage, "Alright, time for the four uphill sets in today's routine."
[SIU—!]
"W-wait!!!" With the gale of the Monster Bird's passing, El Condor Pasa dashed to block the two, arms spread to stop Stardust Mirage.
She wore a tangled expression, thought a moment, then blurted:
"No! That puts Condor at a loss! So you absolutely have to challenge Noble Clan!"
"There's no reason to force a rookie to challenge that tyrant, is there? And like you said, Noble Clan is a front-runner killer—she hard-counters Stardust Mirage." Hotoyama Scarlet sighed, her face spelling refusal.
"B-but—!"
El Condor Pasa had no idea how to convince them.
She'd planned to arrange an exchange with the French team so she could challenge Noble Clan again, but that slot got stolen.
When she heard Stardust Mirage might race Noble Clan, she grabbed the errand and rushed over to do something—only to be told it was something someone else made up?
Wasn't she completely duped?!
Seeing El Condor Pasa's face twist in front of her, the rumor's culprit—Hotoyama Scarlet—smiled wickedly:
"How about this. You've retired, haven't you? Why not stay on to pace for Stardust and Bourbon. If you agree… we can consider directly challenging the French team. How about it?"
"Really? You'll challenge Noble Clan? Then Condor will help!"
The legendary Monster Bird's tone turned hot and firm at once; she'd found a new target and hope.
El Condor Pasa nodded rapidly, thrilled, and agreed on the spot.
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