The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"It's hard to imagine, isn't it? This is a mud race where the last player has to perform even more difficult moves, yet Oguri Hattori was able to unleash such power."

As Kitahara Yutaka spoke, a nostalgic expression appeared on his face, and Oguri Roman beside him couldn't help but follow his narration back to that era that was still full of miracles.

Young Roman Oguri watched the match on TV when her parents, who were talking about how a talented older sister had appeared among their relatives, pulled her to turn on the TV.

That was the first time Oguri Roman and Oguri Hat met. From that day on, she learned that one of her distant relatives was such a powerful racehorse girl.

After that, Roman Oguri kept an eye on Oguri's performance on the field, and even took a specially made Oguri doll from Kasamatsu to watch the game several times.

From Kasamatsu to the central government, from the local government to Arima Kinen, Oguri Roman practically followed Oguri Hattori throughout her entire career.

That figure with the swaying reed hat on the field was like a beacon illuminating Oguri Roman's life. When many people gave up because of Kasamatsu Tresen's unreliability, Oguri Roman's figure would appear before her whenever she felt pain and exhaustion, lighting up the road ahead for her.

For Roman Oguri, the Oguri hat is her guiding star.

So the Youth Champions Cup was special to her, as it was her first encounter with Oguri Hat.

But whenever Oguri Roman thinks about winning the Youth Champions Cup, that figure always comes to mind.

That unstoppable figure that left the other female racehorses hundreds of meters behind, the dazzling figure that helped Oguri Roman recover from her defeat in the Autumn Breeze Junior Race, will now become her greatest enemy.

Lately, Oguri Roman has been having a lot of wild thoughts in bed at night, wondering if he can really win the Youth Championship against such a formidable opponent.

Can I really win?

Seemingly noticing the unease hidden in Oguri Roman's eyes, Kitahara Yutaka hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Tell me again, why did you step onto the field?"

Upon hearing his voice, Roman Oguri, who was lost in thought, subconsciously voiced his longing for Oguri's hat.

After listening quietly, Kitahara looked at the calm river across the lawn and spoke slowly.

"It was because of Oguri Hat that I truly became a trainer."

Oguri Roman's ears perked up; this was the first time she had heard Kitahara Yutaka personally recount the story between him and Oguri.

"Back then, I was a naive fool who thought that the racehorse girls in Kasamatsu had no fighting spirit, but I didn't realize that my ambitions were already higher than the sky."

"But even with that kind of idiot, I think there's one thing he did right, which is to nurture new stars, to respond to any expectations, to be extremely charismatic new stars."

"That's why I was able to discover Oguri's hat."

Kitahara Yutaka paused for a moment before continuing.

"She and I are just like you see. She is a star who can shine on the field, and she can respond to whatever expectations everyone has for her. She is a star who carries everyone's expectations."

"Many people embarked on this path because of her, and were able to persevere on this path because of her."

Upon hearing this, Oguri Roman lowered her head slightly and mumbled something.

"You mean, my existence isn't special?"

Seeing that she had misunderstood his words because of her inferiority complex, Kitahara Yutaka quickly said something.

"No, what I mean is that so many people have been inspired by Oguri's radiance."

"That kind of brilliance doesn't put pressure on everyone, but rather gives them the motivation to move forward!"

"You are like this, I am like this, everyone is like this. Because we have witnessed the brilliance, because we yearn for the brilliance, because we are about to personally experience the brilliance, that's why we grit our teeth and take each step one by one!"

Kitahara Yutaka stood up and spoke loudly to the shimmering river under the setting sun.

"Everyone thinks Kitahara Yutaka is an excellent trainer at Central, but in my opinion, he's just a silly kid who's attracted to Oguri's brilliance!"

As he spoke, he turned around, pointed at Oguri Roman, and said loudly.

"In your eyes, Oguri Roman is just an ordinary guy who stepped onto the field because he admired the brilliance of Oguri's hat. But in my eyes—"

"Oguri Roman is a racehorse girl who can shine in her own way! She also has her own unique ideals and pride, and is a truly outstanding racehorse girl!"

Oguri Roman's eyes were somewhat unfocused; she wasn't paying close attention to Kitahara's words.

Instead, she looked somewhat bewildered at the finger pointing at her, a sense of pride and honor at having personally experienced the legend welling up within her.

Are these the trainers from the Generation of Miracles?

With Oguri Hat's trainer encouraging her right before her eyes, Oguri Roman silently clenched her hands. Was this the kind of environment in which the Oguri Hat she admired and looked up to gradually grow into a legend?

She suddenly stood up and, imitating Kitahara, shouted loudly at the river.

"I am Oguri Roman, and I will definitely become the winner of the Youth Championship, Uma Musume!"

She wanted to win, even if her opponent was the powerful Xiuxingmeng. She would walk this path of glory, following in the footsteps of the legends, following in the footsteps of Kitahara Minoru and Oguri Hat, step by step into that glittering future, into the world she longed for.

The glorious beginning of the Youth Champions Cup is about to start.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Midway Through the Journey

The stands at Kasamatsu Racecourse were sparsely populated, with less than half of the seats occupied. The number of people still interested in local races is decreasing day by day. If it weren't for the special significance of the Junior Crown Cup, which features Oguri Kashima's glamorous appearance, perhaps even fewer people would have come to watch the race live.

Two petite racehorse girls stood on the stands overlooking the racecourse. One of them had long black hair with a faint golden streak at the ends. Dressed in casual clothes, she leaned on the armrest and spoke with ease.

"Hey, it's really great to be able to travel to different places and witness the races of horse girls in different regions."

"What do you think, Ah Chuan?"

Another racehorse girl, dressed in a gorgeous long dress and looking like a young lady, had long chestnut hair with a white streak in her bangs. She responded somewhat listlessly.

"For Sister Journey, this kind of competition is like a Super Saiyan 0 watching a group of humans with a combat power of only 5 fighting each other."

After listening to Golden Journey, he smiled and patted his sister's head, saying this to her.

"For Uma Musume, what truly determines victory or defeat is not fighting ability, but each person's will and spirit."

"Isn't it in the comics you read? Magic and miracles do exist."

"Magic and miracles are not free."

As she spoke, Golden Ship lazily rested her chin on the railing, the cool touch making her squint slightly.

If it weren't for the increasingly oppressive atmosphere at the Golden Family home lately, Little Golden Boat wouldn't be traveling around with the Golden Journey. For her, who couldn't understand the fun of local races, it was just another boring period of time.

That being said, Golden Ship felt that even the most boring times were still more comfortable than staying at the Golden House. After being hailed as the future of the prestigious family, the pressure on the master craftsman became increasingly heavy, and every day at home he was always training, training and training some more.

For the sake of that so-called golden glory, the entire Golden Family revolved around the master craftsman, carrying out one specialized training session after another. In such a tense environment, the Golden Ship naturally couldn't stay any longer.

She didn't even pack her luggage; she just wore her usual clothes and secretly ran away with Golden Journey. If Golden Journey hadn't found out and had her family send something over, Golden Ship thought her escape plan might have failed.

However, what she didn't expect was that the Huang family wouldn't really care about the two of them anymore.

After all, the most important task for the Golden Family right now is to improve the ability to train the Golden Masters. With a top-notch racehorse girl like Golden Journey taking the Golden Ship on its journey, nothing bad will happen.

And so, Golden Ship, carrying her suitcase filled with her usual dresses, followed the Golden Journey through one racetrack after another. Now, most of those dresses were wrinkled, and if they continued like this for a while, Golden Ship might have to wear those messy dresses.

But she didn't care. Anyway, with the physique of a racehorse girl, wearing a skirt wouldn't stop her from running around everywhere.

Golden Ship didn't particularly care about these clothes. After all, these dresses were specially made for her by her family to maintain the image of a noble lady, and she herself didn't feel anything special about them.

Looking at the bored-looking Golden Ship, Golden Journey poked her cheek with his finger and said.

"This time is different. Do you remember Little Chestnut Hat?"

"I remember, you were a super O person like me, right?"

"It's the same kind of goat hair."

Golden Journey smiled and tapped Golden Ship's head. Her younger sister's ideas were always so whimsical that she couldn't help but chuckle.

Golden Ship smoothed the tuft of white hair on his forehead, seemingly lost in thought, before Golden Journey continued.

"Today's match is the same one where Oguri Hat first showed his talent. Who knows, there might be some unexpected surprises!"

The Golden Ship gave a noncommittal grunt at the Golden Journey's words and then leaned against the railing, only occasionally shifting to find a cooler spot.

Seeing his younger sister, who looked like a caterpillar, Golden Journey could only smile helplessly before turning his gaze to the arena.

On the track, all the racehorses have entered and are waiting for the commentator's signal to enter the gate so the race can begin.

Oguri Roman spotted the figure she had been longing for among the contestants at a glance. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon, revealing the girl's fair neck. Her whole person seemed to be composed of only black, white and red, exuding a neat and tidy temperament.

Suddenly, she noticed that Xiu Xingmeng had a golden hair clip shaped like a crown in her bangs, and the small crown shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight.

For some reason, Oguri Roman's heart suddenly skipped a beat. After putting on that crown ornament, Embroidered Star Dream had gained an indescribable aura on top of the sharpness she showed in the previous debut competition.

For a moment, Oguri Roman couldn't tell whether this was a misperception caused by too much pressure or something that was actually happening. She looked away from Xiu Xingmeng and noticed that the other racehorse girls were also frowning and seemed to be feeling a little uncomfortable.

It's confirmed. This feeling isn't just something Oguri Roman can sense; all the racehorse girls present also noticed that inexplicable and indescribable mystical aura.

This discovery caused Oguri Roman's pupils to shrink slightly. Xiu Xingmeng hadn't even done anything; she had simply stood there. But even that was enough to make all the racehorse girls vaguely feel its terrifying pressure!

What would happen if she officially stepped onto the track? What would happen if she actually started running?

Unbeknownst to her, cold sweat had already seeped down Oguri Roman's forehead and soaked her bangs.

She wanted to follow the same path as the Generation of Miracles, to follow in the footsteps of Kitahara Yutaka and Oguri Hattori, and to tread this glorious path step by step.

But now, the image of Xiuxingmeng has unknowingly overlapped with that of Xiaolimao. Should she challenge the person she admires? Should she step onto the racetrack with such a racehorse girl?!

Oguri Roman bit her lower lip, not even noticing that she had bitten it until the skin was broken.

To win, to achieve victory, one must confront Xiu Xingmeng, whose image is gradually merging with that of Oguri Hat in one's eyes.

Even before I started running, my heart was already pounding.

Just then, a youthful female voice came from the Kasamatsu stadium; it was the commentator's voice.

"All contestants, please take your positions."

There was no time for hesitation anymore. Oguri Roman gritted her teeth and walked toward the gate that belonged to her.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Beyond Illusion (Third Update)

When will these days finally end?

Rin Akasaka looked at the script in her hand and thought to herself with some boredom.

As a newcomer to the commentary industry, the inexperienced Rin Akasaka could only work as a commentator at local events, surrounded by a bunch of old employees just going through the motions, and even the audience and horse girls during the matches didn't seem very enthusiastic.

I originally decided to take the commentator exam because I longed to shine on the field, but I never expected to be assigned to a place like this. Even doing odd jobs at the central level would be better than commentating at the local level.

Rin Akasaka sighed. The countdown on the display board in front of her was about to end, which meant that the commercials on the TV station were about to finish, and it was time to switch back to the scene and let the racehorses enter the gate.

She sighed silently to herself and brought her lips close to the microphone to speak.

"All contestants, please take your positions."

When will we finally be able to leave this place? Rin Akasaka thought to herself, resting her chin on her hand. Her eyes darted idly over the racetrack as she waited for the starting gun.

"Peng!"

As the gunshot rang out, all nine racehorse girls rushed through the gate. Just as Akasaka Rin was about to fill the time by introducing the ranking order of each racehorse girl as usual, a red streak of light shot out from the crowd with lightning speed, slicing through all the racehorse girls in an instant like a sharp blade.

Gazing at that streak of red light, all the racehorse girls felt as if they had truly been slashed by a blade, and had completely lost something.

The victory in this match.

Watching Xiu Xingmeng start her escape at an astonishing speed, even the dejected Akasaka Rin became somewhat interested. Such a spectacular running style is rare in local races.

She didn't look at the list of racers; her professional commentary skills had already allowed her to memorize the names of all the female horses in the race.

"Number Seven, Embroidered Star Dream, has broken out! Is she going to use a great escape tactic? Can she maintain such extreme speed until the end?!"

Just like Rin Akasaka's reaction, the audience hadn't seen such a spectacular run in a long time, and they stared intently at the race with wide eyes.

Even the Golden Ship, which had just looked bored, couldn't help but be attracted and unconsciously turned its gaze to the speeding figure on the track.

For spectators outside the arena, the escape tactic is interesting whether it succeeds or fails, and the suspense of not knowing until the last moment will arouse their curiosity.

But for the female horses on the track, the outcome was already predetermined.

Feeling the faint, heavy pressure emanating from above, all the racehorse girls unconsciously slowed their pace, leaving trails on the already hard gravel ground.

Even her usual training speed couldn't be brought into play. It felt as if a mountain of knives was standing in front of her, making her body instinctively feel wave after wave of danger, which made the racehorse girl subconsciously afraid to take a step.

As the red streak of light disappeared into the sand and dust, gradually becoming invisible, the racehorse girls realized their defeat.

As local horse race girls, they are not so obsessed with winning or losing. Once they realize their defeat, they no longer need to try their best.

Since your instincts are reminding you not to rush forward, just trust your instincts.

Gradually, the racehorses began to slow down, which further highlighted the distance between Xiuxingmeng and them.

But among them, there was one racehorse girl who still gritted her teeth and refused to give up. She squinted her eyes, trying to find her way in the sandstorm stirred up by the Dream of Embroidery Stars, enduring the sharp sand and gravel that slashed her cheeks, and charging forward regardless.

Oguri Roman had lost track of his location and couldn't even tell how many meters he'd run. Was it really the right thing to waste his energy here? Was sprinting at this point really a reasonable move?

She is no longer able to think about such questions.