A month's worth of preparation passed quickly for Tracen Academy.
After news of this mock race was released, it surprisingly spread like wildfire, attracting many students to spectate.
"There sure are quite a lot of students... people here really do have a lot of free time, huh."
Orfevre also arrived at the venue early.
Surprisingly, she was actually in a good mood today.
Over the past month, when she learned that the rules of this mock race made it a 'mounted duel,' she became excited for a while.
After all, she and Ikezoe had been doing something similar for a long time now through their unique training method!
If this mock race had been held a year earlier, Orfevre back then would definitely have rejected participating without a second thought.
At that time, she had only just joined Ikezoe's team, and their compatibility with each other was truly terrible.
Not only that, she still hadn't touched up on her talent yet during that time, so her willingness to even join a mock race would be questionable at best.
But this had all changed.
And now, she faced this mounted duel mock race with absolute confidence.
She and Ikezoe had already practiced countless times in the past, so they naturally had the advantage!
"Be careful, Orfevre. Although this is a medium race, that Maruzensky woman is very strong."
Curren Chan spoke with some seriousness.
As it was a middle-distance race, Curren Chan was not participating; instead, she decided to delegate herself to cheerleading duty.
Thus, this adorable and charming Uma Musume was currently wearing a very energetic, midriff-exposed, cheerleading outfit, looking even more nimble and playful than usual.
"Don't worry, Curren Chan, Ikezoe and I will definitely win!"
"Even if that old hag had practiced her heart out this past month, there's no way she could beat the year of teamwork Ikezoe and I have!"
"Just wait for us to bring those two Winning Outfits back with our own hands."
It was obvious that Orfevre was full of confidence.
It was unclear if this was because she had already entered race mode, or because she was competing against Maruzensky, a seemingly washed-up Uma Musume whose track record and fame she hadn't really heard much about.
Nonetheless, Orfevre, who was usually timid before a race, became exceptionally confident today.
To this, Curren Chan opened her mouth, but didn't know if she should really say it.
What she wanted to say was: "Orfevre, don't be so overconfident. Since you already know that you're good at this type of distance, shouldn't you suspect why Maruzensky specifically chose this distance?"
After Maruzensky declared the mock race, Curren Chan quickly started to do her homework, researching Maruzensky's track record.
And what she found shocked her.
An undefeated record. It wasn't a half-baked one either; she had won races by incredible margins and even won a GI.
Once she found out about this, Curren Chan immediately went and informed Ikezoe.
However, what she found strange was that her Onii-chan didn't seem to plan on telling Orfevre about this.
After she told him about Maruzensky's record, Ikezoe continued to act normal, training Orfevre like he usually did.
Thus, Curren Chan withheld this information from Orfevre as well. She unconditionally trusted her Onii-chan's judgment.
This was also the reason why she was one of the few people here that accurately knew the situation of this mock race.
On the other side, Ikezoe was also fully geared up.
He wore an outfit that bore a striking resemblance to his Jockey suit, wearing it for the first time in a long while.
With it, he instantly transformed from the pitiful Trainer who was tormented by Orfevre daily into a capable, professional Jockey.
After Ikezoe entered the training grounds, Orfevre immediately noticed his presence and fixed her gaze onto him, promptly shouting,
"Ikezoe! Over here, over here!"
"...It's amazing you recognized me at a glance."
Ikezoe sighed in his heart as he did some final adjustments to his outfit before he walked over to Orfevre.
After they looked at each other, they both instinctively raised their arms and fist-bumped.
"Ikezoe, let's win together this time! Together, we are invincible!"
"Y- yes, we'll win together."
Ikezoe nodded to the enthusiastic Orfevre, but in reality, he knew that they would most likely lose this mock race.
If Maruzensky was truly intent on giving them a good beating, the chance of him and the current Orfevre beating an all-out Maruzensky was very slim.
Not only that, Ikezoe actually tacitly agreed with his teacher's idea of humbling Orfevre a bit, which made him feel guilty when he saw Orfevre's joy-filled eyes.
...
"They are a really well-coordinated pair; they're almost like T.M. Opera O and Trainer Wada."
As everything was being set up, Symboli Rudolf was there, seated in the stands with Air Groove and Narita Brian beside her.
Having accepted Maruzensky's request, they were there to act as witnesses and judges.
Even for such a playful mock race, they still had to watch it seriously.
"GO!!! ORFEVRE ANEKI!!!"
Below them, the members of Team Miracle were also present; Tokai Teio in particular cheering for Orfevre incredibly loudly.
"GOOOO!! DON'T LOSEE!!!!"
"...When did Teio start admiring Orfevre?"
Symboli Rudolf asked, quite puzzled.
"It seems that after Orfevre completely thrashed her last time, Teio became fascinated with Orfevre."
Air Groove replied quickly, seemingly knowing more about the matter and continued,
"To apologize to Teio, Orfevre offered Teio to become her little sister, saying something about how the Gold Family needs to take care of others, which she later accepted, acknowledging Orfevre as her older sister."
"...I really hope Teio doesn't get too corrupted from hanging out with an Uma Musume from the Gold Family."
Hearing this, Symboli Rudolf was at a loss for what to do.
She could only watch Tokai Teio, who was cheering for Orfevre below, with a worried expression, hoping that the Gold Family's 'illness' was not contagious.
But... perhaps it could be a good thing?
Symboli Rudolf thought of the Gold Family's protectiveness and their propensity to slack off.
If Teio truly learns to relax more like them, then Rudolf would actually be thankful for them.
...
"Mock race... ah, here... And that's Orfevre's Trainer."
Just then, Nakayama Festa, dressed in her casual clothes, watched Orfevre and Ikezoe from far away, sucking on the lollipop in her mouth as she slowly evaluated her sister's Trainer.
"Hmmm... I thought he would be a bit more special considering Orfevre picked him, but he looks quite average."
"You shouldn't judge people by their looks, you know. I think that Trainer is... how do I say it... ah yes— very fun looking."
Beside Nakayama Festa was a very conspicuous figure.
The person wore a pitch-black raincoat; even though it was a beautiful sunny day, this figure still chose to cover themselves completely.
Their voice sounded cold, yet it held a surprising gentleness to it too.
It seems the other party was quite familiar with Nakayama Festa; the only bit of information that could be gathered further from this figure was that they were a woman who had long black hair.
Nakayama Festa glanced at the other party, then said indifferently:
"Whatever. I only did this 'cause Oldest Sis told me to bring you to watch this mock race."
"Thank you, Festa. You're a good person, just like Stay Gold."
"...Spare me. I'm not very good at dealing with you, and neither is Oldest Sister."
...
"Ah, Senior Maruzensky is entering."
Focusing back on the training ground, Maruzensky finally appeared in the flesh, and beside her was an Uma Musume who was much shorter and had a more modest build compared to her.
No, it should be said that the two Uma Musume were of completely different styles.
Maruzensky exuded mature charm, while the one beside her embodied timid innocence.
She had reddish-pink hair and a youthful, cute appearance.
Although she was wearing Tracen's school uniform, she still made a striking impression.
"A- are you... are you really okay with me riding on you, Maruzensky-senpai?"
"It's fine, Chiyono-chan~ I was the one who asked, and haven't we practiced for a long time already?"
"Don't worry about me~ just focus on not falling off me and your own safety."
As they talked, Maruzensky led the little Uma Musume to Ikezoe and Orfevre's side.
Seeing Ikezoe fully geared up like that, her eyes lit up slightly, and she smiled:
"Ah, my dear student, you really are well-prepared~"
"Oh, by the way, let me introduce you. This child right here is Sakura Chiyono O; she's the person I've chosen as my Jockey."
"There's no need to worry about us; despite her appearance, Chiyono-chan is very capable~ So let's race with all our might~"
"Enough talk, let's get started."
Orfevre couldn't be bothered to talk to Maruzensky.
She quickly patted Ikezoe's shoulder and, for the first time ever, very cooperatively bent down voluntarily.
Maruzensky also smiled as she watched Orfevre carry Ikezoe on her back.
She, too, without hesitation, very gently lifted Sakura Chiyono O up and directly had her sit on her back.
Meanwhile, T.M. Opera O, acting as one of the commentator for this mock race, picked up a microphone and stepped forward.
"Alright, please listen to this Overlord's word for this mock race!"
"Me and my subject, Wada will be responsible for the live commentary of this interesting mock race!"
"Since the participants are already ready... everyone to your positions!"
"...Alright, ready?! GO!"
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Chiiiiyo Chiyo Chiyo Chiyono O, dooki doki doki doki doookiii~
Chiiiiyo Chiyo Chiyo Chiyono O, suuki suki suki suki Chiyono O~
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.