Soon it was no longer was it just an endless laundry list of tests.
Because every single evaluation Kanzaki Sakura threw out, Garden Gale answered nearly perfectly.
For an Umamusume only six months into her racing career, these results lit a blaze in Symboli Rudolf's eyes. She'd always known the girl was terrifying—growing at a lightning-fast pace—but she hadn't imagined it would be this swift. An old saying came to mind: "One day apart feels like three years." Give Garden Gale a bit more time, and she might just trample the version of herself who won the Satsuki Sho.
She had entered a state of hyper-evolution.
When the Japan Derby arrives, Garden Gale would again strike with a brand-new form.
Nothing remained before them but the dazzling dream of the Triple Crown.
Almost.
Almost.
Win or lose, only five months remained.
Chairwoman Akikawa Yayoi, meanwhile, wore the excited expression of someone who'd spotted rare prey.
As the Academy Chairwoman, she grasped things even better than the Emperor. If Umamusume racing was a grand story, then Akikawa Yayoi had helped write its first pages, while Rudolf was merely a vibrant character who filled its chapters. Because of this, Yayoi fully understood how remarkable this girl's potential truly was.
Indeed, she was powerful.
Waving her fan thoughtfully, Yayoi silently agreed with Rudolf's earlier observation:
Garden Gale always shattered expectations, surprising everyone again and again.
—But perhaps that was enough for today. Although Garden Gale had reached the absolute peak a racer half a year after debut could attain, Yayoi still felt a pang of melancholy.
Because she knew:
Strong Umamusume weren't exactly rare.
Take the previous generation's B.N.W trio, for example. Individually powerful, they'd cobbled together a scattered Classic Triple Crown and achieved decent fame. But compared to the Emperor and Oguri Cap…? Not even close. It had been nearly seven years since she'd last witnessed such dominant strength, and it was becoming rarer still.
An aching nostalgia stirred inside Yayoi. As she gently waved her fan, a thought drifted into her mind: Just how far can Garden Gale go?
Well.
She wouldn't speculate. Time would give the answer.
However no one here knew a crucial secret, sealed airtight and utterly hidden.
Everyone assumed Garden Gale's current physical prowess came from about three years of training, including pre-debut preparation. After all, most Umamusume needed at least two-and-a-half years to prepare for their debut race, with additional time spent refining themselves to reach professional level.
However…
Garden Gale's total training time…
Had actually only been half a year!
She'd crossed worlds and started training just before her debut race—utterly different from everyone else!
If this ever leaked out...
It would completely obliterate every skeptical voice. To achieve this kind of power in just six months couldn't be described as merely terrifying.
...
Returning to the present.
Kanzaki Sakura's expression had already surpassed mere excitement. She desperately wanted to snatch this Umamusume up. More than anything, she yearned to take that monstrous talent and shape it with her own hands.
It would be the perfect fusion, a synergy surpassing all expectations.
Air Shakur glanced at the data and inwardly acknowledged Garden Gale's astonishing talent. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Is it over now?" Garden Gale asked, breathing heavily, sweat glistening on her forehead. She appeared genuinely exhausted. "Can I go now?"
She asked mostly as a formality; today's tests had drained her severely. And considering the exhausting chaos she'd endured earlier, she'd honestly reached her limit.
"Wait-wait-wait-wait!"
Unexpectedly, Kanzaki Sakura's reaction was immediate. She was still scribbling down data, and at those words, she sprang up from her chair, pleading earnestly, "Just one last test! Please finish it before leaving!"
"There's more?" Yayoi cut in, intrigued. "What else could there possibly be? Haven't you already tested every aspect of her physical abilities?"
"Well," Kanzaki Sakura replied, pulling a phone from her other pocket. The two LOCK team members began to grin, but Kanzaki's smile was especially radiant—almost disturbingly so. "This is a judgment test!"
Right.
That had been mentioned earlier.
"Situational decision-making"—how should that be explained simply? In more casual terms, it was something akin to 'court vision.' It encompassed strategic insight, spatial awareness, and decision-making prowess…
"It's an extremely valuable skill," Symboli Rudolf stated frankly.
All eyes immediately shifted to her, but Rudolf, poised calmly in her military-style uniform, continued without hesitation. "'Court vision' is an abstract concept. You can't measure it directly like physical strength. Yet, every racer must constantly make choices during a race."
"When to accelerate, when to conserve energy… or, to put it bluntly, how to avoid being boxed in—always leaving yourself room to break through. Racing intelligently, you might say."
"Simply put: a racer with exceptional court vision runs smoother. Absolutely. Back when the Emperor ventured to Europe, she nearly stumbled badly in a low-grade race precisely because her opponent was clever enough."
Having shared her insight, Rudolf looked toward Kanzaki Sakura. "How exactly do you plan to test this?"
"It's quite straightforward," Kanzaki responded immediately. "I've programmed a simulation—using massive amounts of data, along with Air Shakur's assistance—to replicate a complete obstacle-filled race scenario. The phone will display this simulated race, and at every decision point, Garden Gale will need to provide her judgment."
She spoke lightly, glossing casually over the phrase "massive amounts of data."
But Air Shakur shot her a sidelong glance, unimpressed. "You should realize how much blood, sweat, and tears we poured into this. Don't trivialize it. Six months of nonstop effort—from six in the morning to eleven at night. You went out to study racing theory, and I spent sleepless nights refining the models, crunching numbers until my head throbbed—because simulations never quite match reality."
"But we ensured it was as close as humanly possible. Everything culminates in this one obstacle-filled race."
Garden Gale looked lost.
So…
She just had to make judgment calls? They'd made it sound so dramatic.
Feeling puzzled, she reflexively opened the system panel, peering at the gentle blue glow.
[Judgment Successful—A Prodigy's Intuition Activated! Continuous Triggering!!!]
Huh? Why is it already active? I haven't even started running yet. What triggered it?
Garden Gale scratched her head, genuinely baffled.
She had no idea why she'd suddenly been promoted to Game Master mode.
---
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