Chapter 97. Unexpected Route Choice
Meisho Homura, who had taken the role of pace-setter in this race, maintained an exceptionally steady rhythm. The first 1000 meters passed in 60.8 seconds—a standard pace, leaning slightly slow.
"The ideal rhythm for Teio."
The moment Shuta An saw the split, he immediately reached that conclusion. Leaning against the railing, he narrowed his eyes slightly as the field continued along the bend beneath the clear Kyoto sky.
"If she could always encounter this kind of pace in domestic races, things would become much easier."
For Tokai Teio, who was running a Pace-chaser tactic, this pace was almost comfortable to the point of indulgence.
She barely needed to waste any stamina to maintain her position near the front. The distance between her and Meisho Homura never exceeded three lengths, allowing her to preserve a perfectly stable rhythm while calmly waiting for the final straight.
Once they entered Kyoto Racecourse's long outer stretch, she would only need a single acceleration to swallow the runners ahead of her and break the race apart completely.
Still, Tokai Teio had no intention of reproducing the crushing spectacle of her debut race.
"This time, five or six lengths should be enough."
Her footsteps remained light as she maintained her breathing rhythm.
"Trainaa didn't specifically tell me to hold back but the real target is still the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. There's no reason to waste too much stamina here."
While organizing those thoughts, Tokai Teio subtly drifted a few steps outward.
An acceleration lane opened instantly before her.
Meisho Homura, whose pace was already beginning to soften, would not become an obstacle. Neither would Daiichi Ogura directly ahead of her. As long as the timing arrived, she only needed to accelerate naturally and the race would end.
However—Tokai Teio's ears twitched slightly.
The atmosphere behind her had changed.
"Ah."
Only then did she realize her mistake.
By shifting outward early, she had already exposed her intention to launch.
Using the curve of the track as cover, Tokai Teio quietly glanced backward. Sure enough, both Soei Muteki and Emino Dictus had already begun adjusting their rhythm in preparation to accelerate.
"This is bad!"
Her expression tightened slightly.
"My race experience is still too shallow."
Even if everyone knew she would eventually pull outward to accelerate, she should not have revealed it this early. The timing now became awkward. If she accelerated immediately, the move would be premature and disrupt her own rhythm. But if she waited according to plan, the runners behind could easily pressure her acceleration window.
For an instant, hesitation surfaced within her chest.
Meanwhile, in front of the grandstand, Shuta An stared at the giant monitor overhead and frowned faintly.
"Tsk. Too obvious."
The runners behind Tokai Teio were not amateurs. Once her intentions became visible, they would naturally react first.
Closing his eyes briefly, Shuta An reconstructed the field positions in his mind and try to deduce the optimal path.
The order.
The spacing.
The timing of the acceleration.
Several seconds later, his eyes reopened.
"No. Maintaining her own rhythm is more important."
His fingers tightened unconsciously around the railing.
Whether in the Twinkle Series or the Dream Trophy Series, the most important thing for a runner was always preserving her own pace. Accelerating too early might avoid interference, but it would also destroy Tokai Teio's optimal rhythm. Compared to temporary obstruction from the runners behind, failing to fully unleash her own performance carried a greater risk.
"So what will you choose, Teio?"
Shuta An quietly watched the track.
At the same time, inside the Student Council office, Air Groove and Maruzensky were also watching the live broadcast with focused expressions.
"She revealed her intentions too early," Air Groove said, arms crossed tightly beneath her chest. "Accelerating ahead of schedule would probably be the safer choice."
"I think so too," Maruzensky replied with a nod. "With Teio's ability, once she surges forward first, neither Soei Muteki nor Emino Dictus should be able to catch her."
However—
"No." Symboli Rudolf calmly shook her head. "She won't change her rhythm."
The Emperor's gaze remained fixed on Tokai Teio's figure on the screen.
"Teio won't compromise simply because she made a mistake earlier. She believes she is the strongest runner on the track. Since she believes that, then naturally, she also believes the runners behind her cannot interfere with her acceleration."
Air Groove frowned slightly.
"Confidence like that can become dangerous."
Maruzensky only smiled softly at those words, seemingly recalling Tokai Teio's proud expression from earlier that day—along with the utterly defenseless appearance she showed after becoming dizzy during their drive together.
And soon enough, the race itself proved Symboli Rudolf correct.
Tokai Teio did not choose to accelerate early.
Even after realizing her own mistake, she forcefully restrained the urge to move first. Instead, she maintained her original rhythm exactly as planned, allowing both Soei Muteki and Emino Dictus to overtake her position temporarily as they approached the final corner.
Then—
At the moment the field exited the bend, Tokai Teio smoothly passed the fading Meisho Homura in a single breath.
Four hundred meters remained to the finish line.
Ahead of her, Soei Muteki and Emino Dictus blocked the route forward completely.
But Tokai Teio's eyes never wavered.
"There's still enough room."
At this moment, two routes appeared before her.
The first was the inside.
If she shifted slightly toward the rail, she could use the softer turf to force her way through the narrow gap on the inside and overtake Soei Muteki directly. With Tokai Teio's excellent adaptability to heavy ground, slightly damaged turf would not affect her acceleration too severely.
The drawback was obvious as well. Choosing that route would likely reduce the margin of victory considerably. At best, she would probably only finish two or three lengths ahead.
"I'm getting greedy."
Watching the screen, Shuta An laughed bitterly at himself.
"In any normal race, winning by two or three lengths would already be overwhelming."
The second route was the outside.
She could sharply angle outward and circle around Emino Dictus instead. Although the maneuver would cost more distance and time, once she fully opened her stride on clean turf, extending the margin to four lengths—or more—would become completely possible.
Shuta An instinctively began weighing the advantages of both choices.
Then—
His eyes widened abruptly.
"Huh?!"
The sound that escaped his throat almost distorted midway.
At the same moment, the entire grandstand erupted.
"Tokai Teio—!"
The live commentator's voice cracked sharply through the stadium.
"She broke through from the center! Without angling to either side, Tokai Teio has directly split the gap between Soei Muteki and Emino Dictus! She's taken the lead! Still accelerating! Tokai Teio widen the gap! Three length! Five length! GOAL IINN—"
—
"How was that?! My choice for the final straight was amazing, wasn't it?!"
Tokai Teio walked several steps ahead before suddenly turning around, tilting her head with a triumphant smile as she looked toward her Trainer.
"Did Trainer think I was going to cut in from the inside?"
"I only considered two overtaking routes: the inside or the outside. I didn't expect Teio to force her way straight through the middle, so you really startled me there."
Shuta Ann shook his head helplessly, though the faint smile on his face showed he was not truly displeased.
"It's a good thing you managed to break through this time. If Soei Muteki and Emino Dictus had held their positions properly, you would've been forced to awkwardly circle around both of them. And if that happened, forget seven lengths—you probably wouldn't even have widened the gap that much."
"But I still would've won, right?" Tokai Teio blinked innocently, as though the conclusion was only natural.
"I only tried it because there was still room to recover if it failed. Don't worry, Trainer. If it's a real decisive moment where there's no margin for error, I won't take risks."
"For the next race, we're shortening the distance by another two hundred meters."
Shuta Ann adjusted the bag hanging from his shoulder as they walked side by side toward the exit corridor of Kyoto Racecourse.
"The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes is a mile G1 on turf. The pace will definitely be faster than today's race. Still, since all the participants are in their debut year, it probably won't become an extreme high-speed race. For Teio, a slightly more restrained position should suit you better there."
"Should I learn Dober-senpai's Sashi tactics?"
Tokai Teio spun around as she walked backward in front of him, her long hair swaying lightly behind her.
"I can do it, you know. Because I'm Teio. Whatever tactic Trainer gives me, I'll perform it perfectly!"
"I believe you."
Shuta Ann reached out naturally and rubbed her ears, his movements already far too practiced.
"Today, we've taken another step toward our first goal. So, where does Teio want to eat? My treat."
"I saw Nanzenji Yudofu in a magazine before, and it looked really delicious!" Tokai Teio immediately raised her hand excitedly. "Can we go there?"
"I thought Teio would choose somewhere more extravagant."
Shuta Ann sighed as though disappointed, though his tone carried obvious indulgence.
"But if we're going from Kyoto Racecourse to Nanzenji, we should head back to the hotel first, pack our luggage, and then take a taxi over."
"Yes, sir!" Tokai Teio gave a serious salute, though the grin spreading across her face ruined any sense of discipline almost immediately.
Shuta Ann eventually brought Tokai Teio to Junsei, a well-known yudofu restaurant near Nanzenji. Since they arrived before the evening rush, they did not need a reservation. A staff member guided the two toward a quieter corner of the restaurant, away from the busier central seating area.
The moment Tokai Teio picked up the menu, her eyes immediately locked onto one particular set meal.
"I want the Yudofu Shun Sai — Satsuki Gozen!" she declared without hesitation. "It looks amazing!"
Shuta Ann glanced at the menu, then silently looked toward Tokai Teio again.
He highly doubted she chose it because of the food photo.
"Satsuki..." the young man muttered inwardly as he rested his chin against his hand. "So Teio's already treating the Satsuki Sho as hers, huh?"
Still, he did not point it out aloud.
"A little extra luck isn't a bad thing," he thought as he continued scanning the menu.
"I wonder if there are restaurants with meals named 'Derby' or 'Yushun.' If there are, I should probably bring Teio there too."
In the end, Shuta Ann ordered the Yudofu Ryori — Miyabi set, which came with several additional side dishes compared to Tokai Teio's selection.
Once the meals arrived one after another, Tokai Teio immediately pressed her palms together politely.
"Itadakimasu!"
Then, without holding back in the slightest, she lowered her head and happily began eating.
Across from her, Shuta Ann watched quietly for a moment before taking out his phone. He intended to snap a few pictures for Team Sadalsuud's official account.
Technically, it was Tokai Teio's turn to upload race-day photos and reflections today, but judging from the speed at which she was already attacking the food, the young man quickly realized there would be no aesthetically pleasing meal photos left on her side of the table.
In the end, he could only photograph his own untouched set meal to fill the quota.
"I really wish everyone in Team Sadalsuud had the same level of professionalism as me," Shuta Ann muttered under his breath.
"What are you mumbling about, Trainer?" Tokai Teio looked up curiously, cheeks slightly puffed from food. "Don't you like tofu?"
"No, I do." Shuta Ann put his phone down and shook his head lightly.
Though compared to the tofu simmering in the hot pot before him, there was another kind of "tofu" he preferred considerably more.
Naturally, that sort of topic was completely inappropriate to discuss in front of Tokai Teio.
—
The next morning, Shuta Ann woke up unusually early.
Since he had gone to sleep soon after returning to the hotel the previous night, he was already fully awake before sunrise. Rather than lazing around indoors, the young man immediately changed clothes and prepared to leave.
Last night, Nishizaki Ryu had sent him an invitation to attend this year's Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.
However, that was not the only reason Shuta Ann planned to head there today.
Symboli Rudolf had personally contacted him as well, asking him to represent the Trainers of Central Tracen Academy in greeting the overseas Trainers visiting Japan for the Japan Cup.
"There are definitely some familiar names among them" Shuta Ann murmured while adjusting the cuffs of his jacket.
For example, André Fabre—the renowned French Trainer who had sent the Baden-Baden Cup G1 winner, Borgia, to participate in this year's Japan Cup.
"I didn't enter any Uma Musume from Team Sadalsuud into the Japan Cup this year."
Shuta Ann glanced at his reflection in the car window before opening the driver-side door.
"So I'll probably end up answering a lot of questions about why Dober isn't running. Hopefully nobody gets too persistent."
After driving out from the garage and checking both sides of the road, the young man slowly guided the car toward Tokyo Racecourse.
To him, Symboli Rudolf's request naturally took priority over everything else.
So after arriving at Tokyo Racecourse, Shuta Ann did not immediately look for Team Spica, nor did he head over to meet Nishizaki Ryu first. Instead, he went directly toward the reception venue where URA officials and overseas Trainers had gathered.
The moment he entered the venue, quite a few gazes immediately shifted away from the URA Association representatives and landed squarely on him.
"Good morning, Mr. Shuta. I've heard a great deal about you."
The first person to approach him was André Fabre himself.
"I never had the opportunity to meet you previously, so I'm truly delighted we can finally speak in person this time."
"He's shorter than I expected," Shuta Ann thought instinctively the moment the French Trainer approached him.
"Good morning, Mr. André Fabre." Shuta Ann stepped forward as well, extending his hand politely. "I already knew your name back when I was studying overseas, so I'm very happy to meet you too."
"We actually could have met much earlier, during Miss Oguri Cap's active years in the Twinkle Series." André Fabre smiled as they shook hands. "Unfortunately, I had far too many matters that required my personal attention back then. So when Run to the Top and French Glory traveled to Japan in those years, I truly didn't have the spare time to speak with you properly."
Of course, the real reason was much simpler.
At the time, André Fabre had not believed the Japan Cup required his personal attendance.
Even after Run to the Top returned defeated in her first challenge, he merely concluded that she was not strong enough. It was only after French Glory lost as well that André Fabre finally realized how extraordinary Oguri Cap truly was.
But by then, Oguri Cap had already retired from the Twinkle Series.
And once the greatest target was gone, André Fabre naturally lost much of his interest in traveling personally to Japan.
This year, however, things were different.
Originally, he had sent Borgia to challenge El Condor Pasa.
Then El Condor Pasa abruptly announced her retirement.
Since the entry registration had already been completed, André Fabre ultimately decided to simply treat the trip as another confrontation against Montjeu while also taking the opportunity to visit Japan.
Now, however, he felt the decision had become unexpectedly worthwhile.
"At the very least," André Fabre thought as he looked at the young man before him, "I was finally able to meet Oguri Cap's Trainer in person."