"Get back here, you damn tyrant!!!"
"As if Mejiro Rampage is getting caught by the likes of you!!"
"I will not lose to either of you!!"
"Maya won't lose either!!"
Rampage tore across the turf, pursued by a trio of relentless runners: Stay Gold, an unruly horse girl acting like a second-generation tyrant; Air Groove, the future Empress; and Mayano Top Gun, the resident genius.
The members of Team Pleiades watched from the sidelines. Some cheered loudly, others shouted words of encouragement, and many focused intently on engraving every detail of that stride into their minds. Among them was one diligent student taking rigorous notes. Aside from Air Groove, the most serious and dedicated member in Pleiades was King Halo—a horse girl striving to become truly first-rate.
"I see... so that's where she accelerates..."
"Oh! King, what ARE you doing?"
"I am recording data. Before my very eyes is a stride that transcends first-rate—a world-class performance. I intend to do everything within my power to learn from it."
"Huuuh~ King-chan is so diligent~... Wait, but didn't Rampage-san say she's recording footage from her drone, and anyone who wants a copy can just ask for it...?"
Rampage operated on a practical philosophy: use every tool at your disposal. Unless someone borrowed her personal drone, she regularly deployed it for Pleiades training sessions, recording from directly overhead, diagonally, and side-on to build comprehensive research material. Team members were free to view the footage whenever they wished, even in their dorm rooms.
Naturally, Special Week wondered why King was going through the trouble of taking notes by hand. But King merely offered a confident smirk, as if to say what a foolish question.
"Watching a video is easy enough, yes. But transcribing what you observe onto paper requires immense focus. Beyond finding the right words, you must analyze every minute detail of her movements. The simple act of moving your hand to write embeds the knowledge into your mind far more effectively."
"I-I see...!"
"Speaking of which! The Japanese listening practice demo I borrowed from Grass—it ALSO said writing things down is super important!!"
"It really is!" Special Week agreed earnestly.
King puffed out her chest proudly, but after a moment, her expression darkened.
This technique was something her mother had taught her. When King had declared her dream of becoming a splendid horse girl, her mother told her she would need to study relentlessly and pour in endless effort. Yet now... her mother did nothing but deny her. The more King thought about it, the heavier her heart felt.
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, when a pleasant chill touched her cheek. A cold drink had been pressed against her skin.
"Yo. Feeling happy?"
"Ah, yes! Look, Rampage-san—I've been organizing data on your running form."
"Hoh~ Let me see."
The mock race had ended in a dominant victory for Rampage. Maya came in second, but surprisingly, Stay Gold snatched third. By a razor-thin nose, Stay Gold had edged out Air Groove.
"How's that, Senior?! I came out on top!!" Stay Gold cackled. "For an upperclassman, that was downright pathetic~"
"You fool! It was a single run, and by a mere nose! What is with that absurd arrogance?!" Air Groove snapped, veins practically bulging. "Line up again! This time I'll leave you so far behind you'll need a telescope to see me!!"
"Bring it on, you bastard!!"
"WOW!! I'm running TOO!!" Taiki Shuttle chimed in.
"I won't yield the view from the front," Silence Suzuka added smoothly.
"Nnnngh! As a classmate, I refuse to be outdone~!!" Mejiro Bright declared.
"I won't lose either!" Mejiro Dober joined.
With that, a new heat featuring Air Groove, Stay Gold, Taiki, Suzuka, Bright, and Dober was set to begin, with Maya handling the starting signal. While the atmosphere grew increasingly lively on the track, Rampage continued scanning King's notebook.
"This is exceptionally well done. Your analysis is sharp, and your layout is clean. Plus, you've got illustrations? Just how high-spec are you, kid?"
"T-This much is only natural for someone who is first-rate!!"
Though King put on airs, her tail swished happily and her ears twitched with delight. Try as she might to hide it, praise clearly made her day.
...Or so it seemed, before her tail suddenly went limp like a deflating balloon and her ears drooped flat against her head.
"Hey now, I didn't say anything bad, did I?" Rampage asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Rampage-san... it's not you..."
"Your parent, huh?"
At those words, King gave a quiet, heavy nod.
Unsurprisingly, the relationship between King and her mother was strained to say the least. From what Rampage had gathered, her mother was hopelessly clumsy with her words, failing to communicate her true intent. Meanwhile, King took every harsh sentence at face value, reacting with fierce rebellion. To make matters worse, knowing King's stubborn refusal to give up, her mother had resorted to crushing her spirit rather than reasoning with her—hoping to force her off the track entirely. It was a vicious, endless loop.
"...She said it to me again," King murmured softly. 'You are not suited for racing. With your level of talent, forget G1s—even graded stakes are out of reach. Find a good stopping point and come home. Explore another path. If all else fails, you can simply inherit my legacy.'
What an extraordinarily tactless mother, thought Rampage, despite having lost her own parents long ago. The words were laced with venom and delivered with brutal harshness. Yet at their core lay an anxious mother worrying for her daughter's future—uncertain if King could ever match her own achievements, hoping her child would prepare a fallback plan.
Even so, the execution was abysmal.
"Am I truly... that hopeless...?" King whispered, staring at her hands. "If someone of my mother's stature looks at me and sees... no talent..."
It was a rare sight to see the usually unyielding King Halo looking so defeated. The recent argument must have been severe to cut this deep.
Rampage reached out and gave King's head a firm, steady pat.
"If you've got time to whine about what you don't have, lift your head, King. Life is about taking the cards you've been dealt and pulling off the strongest hand possible. Besides, does your mother have the right to decide everything about your life? Does she know every single thing about you? No. You made your own choice, didn't you?—To conquer G1s across every single distance."
The goal she had declared. The brutal, steep path she had chosen to prove herself to her mother. The vow she made to surpass even the world's fastest and strongest runner, Rampage. All of it came flooding back.
King looked up to find the Tyrant grinning down at her.
"You've got the ultimate card sitting right in front of you: me. You can use me however you damn well please. No talent? Laugh it off. Talent doesn't mean a thing when fate brings people together. So lift your head. Stand tall. Laugh right in the face of all the noise dragging you down. You're the horse girl who's going to surpass me—you're King Halo, aren't you?"
"—!"
Hearing those words, King quickly wiped away the tears welling at the corners of her eyes. She stood up straight, threw her head back, and let out a triumphant, sky-shaking laugh.
"O-ho-ho-ho-ho!! That's right! Hanging my head is utterly beneath someone like me!! After all, I am—I am! I am King Halo, the world-renowned, truly first-rate horse girl!! In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've already surpassed my mother!! After all, I built a personal connection with the Mejiro Rampage through my own merit and was directly scouted by her!!!"
"OH!! King seems super energetic ALL OF A SUDDEN!"
"King-chan! El and I are about to run a heat. Do you want to join us?!"
"Of course I shall join! I shall grant you both the absolute privilege of being crushed by this very King!!"
Just like that, her spirits were completely restored. In fact, after hitting rock bottom, her energy seemed to have rebounded to an even higher plane than before... Though, honestly, that dramatic flair was what made King who she was.
Rampage assumed King would immediately run after Special Week and El Condor Pasa, but King stopped in her tracks and turned back around.
"Thank you, Rampage-san. To tell you the truth... not having a roommate left me feeling a little lonely. Being alone has its perks, but Pleiades is always so lively that the quietness in my room felt a bit frightening. But I am fine now. I will work harder than ever before!"
"Is that so? Well then, let me give you a Tyrant Prediction. Next year, you're getting a wonderful roommate. A bright, cheerful girl who'll feel just like a little sister."
"Fufufu, that is oddly specific," King chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "I shall look forward to it, then. See you on the track!"
Rampage watched King dash off toward the turf. Feeling a slight pang of self-reflection—realizing she had been a bit too absorbed in her own training lately—she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Grandmother Asama, it's Rampage. Sorry to call out of the blue. Regarding the party for the Finals and Legend Races... I'd like you to extend an invitation to a specific person. Yes. No, well—you couldn't say she's completely uninvolved... Yes, that's right. Please handle it—for Goodbye Halo."
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