The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"After all, she idolizes me, and she would be very disappointed if she didn't see me in her once-in-a-lifetime debut battle."

"And she might just be able to steal that spotlight."

"Let me witness this moment of her stepping onto the stage, chug."

Hearing this, the black-haired racehorse girl, or rather, the vice president of the Treson student council, could only sigh and say helplessly.

"Who can stop the emperor from making a decision?"

She paused for a moment, then her tone gradually changed from helpless to serious.

"And what you're hoping for isn't just to watch, is it? If the emperor can truly seize that glory—"

Qi Cao pursed his lips, his tone becoming somewhat strained.

Meanwhile, Rudolf, who was facing her, had his face obscured by a dark cloud, and only his purple pupils, which shimmered with an unusual light, could be seen quietly staring at the gas tank.

"You'll get her into the game, right?"

Upon hearing the gas tank's words, Rudolf revealed a smile that was completely different from before.

"of course."

"She idolizes you, isn't this too cruel to her?"

"Air tank!"

Rudolf interrupted her, his tone as cold as steel.

"Now that you're on stage, you're no longer an ordinary racehorse girl."

"If she can seize that brilliance, she will gradually awaken that desire as well."

"boom!"

A thunderbolt flashed, and the sudden burst of light engulfed Rudolf's symbolic body. Under the white light, the light emanating from his purple pupils was even brighter than the thunder!

"A thirst for the racetrack, a thirst for rivals, a thirst for true passion—these are the qualities every female racehorse that can win the Triple Crown must possess."

"When the burning passion called competitiveness is thrown into this furnace that creates brilliance, the losers become fuel, and only the winners enjoy the glory."

"You understand what an air tank is, right?"

A flash of light passed by, and Rudolf's symbol returned to its previous appearance. The pair of strange purple eyes that had been shining just moments before no longer seemed like an illusion.

"Besides, that was after Empress won the Triple Crown. There are too many uncertainties in the race of Uma Musume, and even she is not guaranteed to achieve that glory."

After saying this, Rudolf chuckled lightly a few times, a gesture that was meant to be gentle.

"Who knows, maybe an even more talented contestant than the Emperor will emerge from this debut battle?"

Seeing that Rudolf's symbolic state had returned to normal, the stiff tone in his voice gradually softened.

"Stop telling those weird, lame jokes."

"How could the Empress possibly lose in her debut battle?"

Rudolf smiled symbolically, walked closer to the air tank, and pulled her to the window as well.

"Is it really that strange?"

"President, don't you realize that this kind of lame joke isn't funny at all?"

"It's always the same," Qi Cao replied helplessly. "This president of Treson seems to have no idea how bad his jokes are."

Rudolph stood symbolically beside the air tank, her gaze returning to the arena. She squinted and muttered to herself.

"However, I inexplicably sensed a familiar aura on the field..."

"The power that only powerful racehorse girls can possess, a power that even the current Emperor of the East Sea cannot reach, is called a domain."

"Is it just an illusion...?"

The gas tank next to him turned its head and asked.

"President, what are you saying?"

When Rudolf's symbolic soliloquy was interrupted, he simply smiled and waved his hand.

"It's nothing, maybe it's just that the rain is too heavy and it's making me a little irritable."

"The match is about to start, let's watch it."

Qisuo tilted his head in confusion. The VIP room should be soundproof, so you shouldn't be able to hear the rain.

Chapter Eight Red

"Contestant number 12, Donghai Diwang, has entered the gate. What kind of exciting match will she bring us as the last to perform?"

The enthusiastic female commentator is very good at stirring up the audience's emotions, or rather, she herself is one of those infected by these emotions.

After all, even the legendary emperor was present, so how could the female commentator, a die-hard fan of horse racing, not be excited?

After she finished speaking, the middle-aged male commentator, who was responsible for bringing the situation back on track, continued.

"Alright, contestant number 13, Xiu Xingmeng, has also qualified. The competition is about to begin."

"Ms. Akasaka, which horse girl are you most looking forward to?"

"Of course it's the Emperor of the East Sea! Does Mr. Sugimoto have any other choice?!"

"No, not really—oh, the race has started. Number two is leading the charge right now, using a runaway tactic. Will he be able to create some distance?"

Unlike the rational Sugimoto, Ms. Akasaka immediately launched into her signature enthusiastic introduction.

"The leading horse girls, headed by the Emperor of the East Sea, followed closely behind. It seems that the second contestant hasn't been able to pick up the pace!"

On the racetrack, the second racehorse girl cursed inwardly with some annoyance after hearing the commentary.

"How can we pick up speed in this rainy weather?!"

"Damn it, all that preparation for our escape strategy was ruined by the weather! This rain has destroyed my dream of making my debut—"

"You wretched Emperor of the East Sea! It must be you who brought the rain!"

Under the pressure of the bad weather and the Emperor of the East Sea, the second racehorse girl's mind wavered rapidly, and her speed immediately dropped to the back after just passing the bend.

Just then, the racehorse girls arrived at the bend, and the number two racehorse girl, who was venting her anger, suddenly sensed a presence coming from behind her.

If leading the race in front of the Emperor of the East Sea felt like facing the pressure of a genius, then what exactly is that ominous aura coming from behind me right now?!

She looked around somewhat frantically, trying to confirm from the expressions of the other horse girls that it was just her imagination.

But to her disappointment, every racehorse girl she saw, without exception, had the same unease in her eyes as she did!

Those on the field were the first to sense what was about to happen!

"Now following number 7 are number 5 and—what?! Number 13 has accelerated, and we're still in the bend! This is just too much!"

The usually articulate and calm commentator, Sugimoto, interrupted himself several times within a few seconds. He couldn't even control his own expression, staring blankly with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

At that moment, all the female horses on the track felt a chill and instinctively turned around to look.

The female horse runners at the back of the line saw it most clearly: a black figure darted across the narrow gaps between people with an incredible trajectory.

A hurricane suddenly erupted, and raindrops pelted their bodies, causing them to squint involuntarily. They could only see a blinding red streak of light, as if cutting through the rain curtain, leaving a deep mark on this gray world.

"How is this possible?! How could she possibly achieve such speed in the rain, especially on a curve! Isn't she afraid of being thrown off?!"

Now, Sugimoto has become the loudest commentator, and it's actually Ms. Akasaka who's giving the audience a detailed explanation.

"Number five, number seven, number ten! So fast, they crossed the entire pack of corvée horses in an instant!"

The outstanding individuals, who had just broken free from the encirclement of the police, were stunned upon hearing the explanation, only then realizing the source of the bone-chilling cold they had felt earlier.

Was it her? The image of the horse girl who had shown kindness to him kept flashing through his mind.

Why? It's like they become a completely different person once they're on the field?

Before she could even feel confused, the red streak of light sliced ​​through the rain like the sharpest blade, passing right beside Excellent Quality.

Even while running, You Su instinctively covered her cheek as the red light streamed across her face.

It's cold; it's rainwater.

But why do I feel like I've been cut open by a blade?

The person with excellent qualities raised their head and stared ahead in utter astonishment.

"Unbelievable, how could there be a racehorse girl like this in the debut battle?"

Standing in front of the VIP room, the air tank stared in disbelief at Xiu Xingmeng's rapid movement. Known as the "Empress," she was even more incredulous than the commentators and the female riders on the field.

The experience and knowledge she gained in the competition were constantly negating everything she saw.

But that red streak that almost sliced ​​the entire rain curtain apart was real.

"Her footwork is clearly immature, her rhythm hasn't been systematically trained, and she shows no basic understanding of chasing tactics, yet she can find the sprint trajectory almost perfectly. How is that possible?!"

The gas tank stared intently at the scene before it, which looked as if a primitive tribe that knew nothing had stumbled upon the method of making nuclear weapons by chance and actually produced them.

"Air tank, is there a file on her?"

Upon hearing Rudolf's question, Qi Kao immediately turned around and found Xiu Xingmeng's file among a pile of materials on the sofa. He handed it to Rudolf without even taking a look.

In the suffocating silence, the only sound in the VIP room was the rustling of Rudolf turning the pages of the archives.

A few seconds later, she slammed the file shut, grabbed it, and strode toward the door.

"President, where are you going?"

When asked by the gas tank, Rudolf Symbol didn't even turn his head.

"I want to see her as soon as possible."

"What about the game? Aren't you going to watch it?"

With a slam of the door, Rudolf's symbolic final words reached the air tank's ears.

"It's no longer necessary."

Meanwhile, on the field, the race had reached its final straight line.

The East Sea Emperor bit her lip, exerting all her strength to increase her speed. She even felt that she had surpassed her previous limits.

However, the intimidating aura emanating from behind showed no sign of dissipating; instead, it was hurtling toward him at a speed that made even the Emperor of the East Sea tremble.

Every flow of blood, every beat of the heart, seems to be an instinctive warning to the brain after sensing danger.

But it was no use, absolutely no use. No matter how hard my body tried to escape, I couldn't shake off the feeling of being attacked by a natural enemy.

Soon, that extremely sharp sensation rushed from behind to the front, and the impact made the East Sea Emperor's hair disheveled. In a daze, she even had the illusion of being in the midst of a natural disaster.

The red streak of light rushed towards him, and under this extreme pressure, the Emperor of the East Sea forced his hand out, as if desperately trying to catch the red light.

But he could only watch her disappear from his grasp.

How can it be……

The stands were now in an uproar. Most of them probably didn't understand the differences in tactics, the disadvantages of rainy days, or the pace and rhythm of the racehorses.

But the red streak that flashed on the track swiftly cut through all the racehorse girls with such force that even the most ignorant person could perceive the despairing gap.

"So cool! It's like a crimson comet!"

A boy who looked like a high school student shook his companion's shoulder and excitedly pointed at the track and shouted.

"It was more like lightning than a comet! It streaked across the track like a bolt of lightning in this rain!"

His companion, meanwhile, coldly pushed up his glasses and offered his opinion, though his slightly trembling hand betrayed his own excitement.

"Hiss, what terrifying sword energy! It's so sharp, even I, sitting in the audience, had the illusion of being cut."

Standing behind the two high school students, a middle-aged man with messy hair and beard gasped for breath while constantly rubbing his waist, as if searching for something.

"Fifty meters! Thirty meters! Ten meters! She crossed! Xiu Xingmeng crossed the finish line! Huge! Absolutely huge! That's at least ten horse lengths! So amazing! Seeing this would be worth dying for!"

After shouting a long string of words, the commentator slumped into his chair as if he had collapsed from exhaustion, a look of utter contentment on his face.

Ms. Akasaka, equally shocked, could only barely take the microphone and announce in her hoarse voice.

"Tokyo Racecourse! Uma Musume Debut Contest!"

"The horse girl who won first place is—"

"Number 13! Embroidered Star Dream!!!"

Chapter Nine Expectations