Chapter 187: Why Can't You Be a Little More Straightforward?
By the time Makoto came out of the underground passage, the tenth race of the day had just about finished.
The St. Lite Kinen was the eleventh race. After chatting for a while with Manhattan Cafe and Agnes Tachyon—who had jumped into the conversation partway through—the broadcast soon announced that the racers should head to the paddock.
A short while later, on the giant screen across the stands, the girl the three of them had been talking about stepped into frame, facing the cameras.
"Now then, we've arrived at the G2 St. Lite Kinen, and here comes the top favorite!"
"It's said she's undergone extremely rigorous training in the mountains—will we see a performance completely different from the first half of the year, bringing us a brand-new race?"
"The number one favorite—Kitasan Black!!"
"Oho, that's quite the opening line," Agnes Tachyon said with a light laugh, clapping her hands as she glanced sideways at Makoto.
"So your training camp was in the mountains? Not by the sea?"
"Kitasan prefers the mountains anyway, and the academy doesn't really place strict rules on training camp locations…" Makoto replied casually, already pulling out his binoculars out of habit. He focused on the paddock, checking Kitasan Black's condition, and nodded slightly.
Unlike a G1 race, she wasn't wearing her Signature Racewear. Instead, she had on a simple athletic T-shirt and shorts.
Precisely because of that simplicity, her movements stood out even more—her steps onto the stage were light and swift, her figure tall and well-balanced as she stood at the center.
Especially her long legs beneath the shorts—the muscle lines wrapped in black athletic socks looked smooth and powerful.
'Very good. Anyone could see that she'd completely shed her rookie air…'
Makoto appraised the girl on screen from top to bottom and nodded in satisfaction.
Soon, after Kitasan Black's appearance ended, it was time for the second most popular racer to step out. Makoto raised his binoculars again to take a look.
The number two favorite was an old rival—Satono Rasen, who had already faced Kitasan Black twice before.
As Makoto instinctively recalled this Umamusume's past performances and the running style and tactics she might use this time, he suddenly noticed Kitasan Black, who was about to head backstage, pause—standing there blankly as if lost in thought.
'Hm? Did she run into something…?'
After a moment's surprise, he quickly understood what was going on.
Standing backstage were all the competitors in this race, lined up in order of popularity.
And among them was the opponent Kitasan Black was especially conscious of in this race—Ribbon Victory.
...
The instant she saw Ribbon Victory, Kitasan Black's eyes lit up.
But when she realized the other girl had noticed her as well—and after a second of hesitation quickly turned her head away—Kitasan Black's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed.
'Just like my trainer said… I'll have to wait until after this race to sort things out…'
With a complicated feeling, she let out a quiet sigh. Drawing her gaze back, she fixed her eyes on the underground passage leading backstage, took a slow breath, and walked forward.
Once Kitasan Black's footsteps had completely faded into the underground corridor, Ribbon Victory—who had been facing the wall—suddenly turned her head. She stared in the direction Kitasan Black had disappeared for a long while, then sighed with a complicated expression.
"…Honestly, Ri-chan, why can't you be as straightforward as I am?"
At the sudden, gloomy sigh beside her, Ribbon Victory jumped, then turned to see Angel Wing's resentful face. Her expression grew even more complicated, mixed with embarrassment.
Like someone feeling guilty, she glanced left and right. Seeing that the other Umamusume were focused on the paddock and that only her friend was nearby, Ribbon Victory gave a wry smile and lowered her voice.
"T-That kind of thing… how am I supposed to be straightforward about it? I—I never imagined things would get this complicated…"
"Maybe if it had only been Kita-chan, it would've been fine… but how was I supposed to know Daiwa-senpai was outside that day too…?"
"Ugh… if I'd known, I wouldn't have sulked like that. Now I don't even know how to explain things to Kita-chan, and I'm too scared to go back to the dorm and face Daiwa-senpai…"
"See, that's exactly why I keep saying your ostrich-like personality just won't cut it…"
Angel Wing had just finished complaining when she noticed Ribbon Victory's expression growing even more guilty and flustered. Angel Wing scratched her head and quickly changed her tone.
"But really, you don't have to think about it like that. I get the feeling Kita-chan isn't that hard to deal with. Didn't you say she has a really good personality? And Daiwa-senpai's personality is great too."
"So you should just go talk to them directly. And if they get mad…"
She suddenly slapped her chest.
"Then we'll just say it was all my fault! It was my mess to begin with anyway! I—mmph!?"
Her voice was a bit too loud, drawing confused glances from one or two nearby Umamusume.
Ribbon Victory hurriedly covered Angel Wing's mouth and whispered urgently,
"Keep your voice down! Everyone's looking over here…"
Only after Angel Wing frantically blinked, patted her hand, and signaled that she understood did Ribbon Victory slowly let go. She bit her lower lip for a moment, then suddenly took a deep breath.
"Actually… Angie, you're right."
"Jeez, could you stop covering my mouth all the time—gah?"
She had just complained when she let out a strange yelp, blinking in surprise. "I… what did I say that was right?"
"A lot of the time, I really don't know what to do, so I just pretend I didn't see anything happen…"
Turning her gaze toward the direction Kitasan Black had left, Ribbon Victory slowly clenched her fist.
"Like right now. It was obviously me who wanted to become someone like Kita-chan—strong and resilient—and to challenge that version of her. But instead, I let you go and write some challenge letter for me…"
"I… should've worked up the courage and said it myself."
"Uh, I do know Kitasan Black is strong, but resilient…"
After hesitating for a moment, Angel Wing snorted.
"Okay, fine, I heard from you that she wasn't great before her debut. But hey, I came back from being hospitalized for ages and still got two straight wins—that's not bad at all, you know?"
"So what exactly were you sulking about anyway…?"
Ribbon Victory looked over in surprise. Seeing her friend puff out her cheeks and stiffen her neck stubbornly, she couldn't help but smile.
"And, Angie… I think you're really strong too."
"R-Really? Hehe, you should've said that earlier…"
Her sulky look instantly melted into a silly grin. Angel Wing scratched her short hair. "Hearing you say that makes me feel like I don't have to worry about you performing badly later."
"So you were worried about me after all…"
Having long felt her friend's concern, Ribbon Victory felt a warmth spread through her chest.
Then she took another deep breath, clenched her fists, and looked once more in the direction Kitasan Black had gone.
"Don't worry. I'll give it everything I've got.
"After all, no matter how you look at it, she never returned the challenge letter to me."
"No—she didn't return it to us, did she?"
"That's exactly it!"
Angel Wing's face lit up. She snapped her fingers sharply, clapped her hands together, and started loosening up her arms.
"I told you—wouldn't it have been fine if you'd just been this straightforward from the start?"
"I really want to see just how strong this Kita-chan you're always talking about is, and while I'm at it, I absolutely won't hand victory over to you either, Ri-chan!"
Turning back, Ribbon Victory pressed her lips together and nodded firmly.
"Neither will I, Angie!"
<+>
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