Only One Year Left—I'll Become a Legendary Uma Musume!-Chapter 279: Only One Year Left—I’ll Become a Legendary Uma Musume! 2 [223]
Beneath her knees was the clear sensation of soft soil and grass.
Alright, truthfully it wasn’t actually that soft. Although it wasn’t obvious at first glance, when both knees pressed down slowly due to the weight of the girl lying on her lap, Gotham Song could still distinctly feel the hard feedback coming from beneath the grass.
Facing such a situation, Gotham Song could only sigh helplessly. How should she put it?
Back when she occasionally trained in Europe—especially at Dancing Brave-senpai’s home—she would lie directly on the ground after intense runs, breathing easier after taking a sip of water. Although even that soft grass would have traces of dirt, she had to admit, lying on it while gazing up at the sky was undeniably a first-class enjoyment, both physically and mentally.
But the grass here in Japan...
Heh. Honestly a bit heretical.
Anyway, Gotham Song dressed quite casually today, similar to when she’d visited the water park with Vivlos before the Dubai World Cup. Instead of wearing a skirt, she wore shorts that revealed her pale thighs, a loose jacket, and a simple white tank top.
Because of this casual attire, her calves were now fully in contact with the ground, feeling slightly cool.
But how exactly should Gotham Song describe her current mood?
Previously, she hadn’t observed carefully, but now, looking closely at Almond Eye, who still seemed dazed and unresponsive, her face flushed and covered in sweat from intense running—wasn’t this kid unexpectedly cute?
Gotham Song lightly poked Almond Eye’s cheek with her fingertip, watching the soft flesh gently indent under her touch, and then she couldn’t help but happily curl up the corners of her lips.
As expected, Uma Musume always feel so nice to the touch... Though due to some annoyingly inevitable circumstances, a certain part of Gentildonna’s forehead was frustratingly never fully visible to her, Gotham Song felt genuinely cheerful at this moment.
She could now somewhat understand how playful girls could get with each other. At least, giving a lap pillow like this didn’t evoke any heart-pounding or blushing feelings. Rather, it felt casual—just like...
The feeling of a big sister caring for a younger sister?
Yeah, let’s just go with that!
However, for Almond Eye, the impact she was experiencing was way, way too strong.
She absolutely couldn’t understand why Gotham Song had suddenly appeared before her like this. Why—right when she’d run to the point of collapsing, so embarrassed that she buried her face in the mud to avoid reality—would the trainer of her rival, the person who had previously encouraged her, appear before her again?
What even is this?
Have I, Almond Eye, finally gone mad?
Well, madness wouldn’t be bad. If madness meant being able to lie on Song-san’s thighs like this, then even if it cost me my—
No, wait!
Stop right there, Almond Eye! This is cold, merciless reality!!!
Panicked, Almond Eye tried to rise, but Gotham Song effortlessly shattered this attempt by pressing a single finger against her forehead.
Almond Eye would never yield!!
Although initially she hadn’t resisted at all, and her second attempt to rise had been purely instinctual, once she regained clarity, Almond Eye was determinedly struggling to sit up again. Facing this, Gotham Song gently furrowed her brows.
Clearly, at this moment she realized something important:
Even though her strength had increased gradually alongside her physical growth, compared to her height—which qualified as monstrous—her physical strength actually hadn’t grown much at all.
It had increased a bit—but only a bit?
Anyway, a single finger clearly couldn’t seal Almond Eye down to her lap...
So... maybe two?
Of course, Gotham Song didn’t use a second finger to press down on Almond Eye’s forehead. Instead, she quietly sighed in defeat, slid her other hand down from Almond Eye’s cheek, leaned forward slightly, and then sharply jabbed at the muscles on Almond Eye’s waist.
Almond Eye, mid-struggle, yelped loudly, instantly losing all strength to resist, collapsing softly back onto Gotham Song’s lap once more, completely limp—as if she’d just had her vital spot struck.
After strenuous exercise, suddenly stopping would naturally leave the entire body weak. At a moment like this, poking overworked muscles was practically torture!
Gotham Song... truly a terrifying Uma Musume.
Almond Eye had decisively formed this conclusion in her heart. But honestly, this realization was only superficial.
Just moments ago, Almond Eye had attempted to sit up, and Gotham Song had leaned down at the same moment. Though it lasted just an instant, something inevitably occurred, didn’t it?
What exactly had blocked Almond Eye’s field of vision?
It was... cotton fabric, wasn’t it?
Yes. Right? It must’ve been.
That soft, warm, impossible-to-tear-her-eyes-from cotton fabric... 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Almond Eye completely failed to realize that her current demeanor exactly mirrored the kind of roles she’d seen countless times in fanfictions about legendary Uma Musume.
Her expression, properly described as entranced, had firmly seized the high ground of intelligence!
Actually, Gotham Song hadn’t noticed this either.
For one thing, the two couldn’t make eye contact in their current positions. For another, Almond Eye’s expression management was still impeccable—even when utterly losing control. To outsiders, even her most terrible expressions were mostly just adorable.
How could something so adorably oversized even exist? Cute, innocent, yet surprisingly sensual when her cheeks were flushed...
Who exactly invented this Almond Eye?!
Fortunately, the mutual embarrassment between the two didn’t last too long. Clearly recovering first, Almond Eye rubbed her eyes slightly, then reached upwards, softly pressing her fingertips against Gotham Song’s cheek.
"I... didn’t mishear you, did I, Song-san?"
"You want me to transfer to Central Tracen and train under your guidance...?"
Gotham Song blinked, amused. Hoho, was the unexpected development making her doubt her own ears?
Honestly speaking, Gotham Song was fully aware just how dangerously ambiguous the current situation appeared. If it weren’t for Tokyo Racecourse being utterly empty after the race, a single passerby taking one casual snapshot could easily open up an entirely new shipping lane for her.
Gotham Song had a strong hunch: given her extensive experience with those dedicated fans on her forums, this particular pairing wouldn’t merely be popular—it’d definitely become an explosive hit!
Not only filled with master-disciple tropes, abduction plots, and all sorts of messy things, but more importantly...
It even held a certain forbidden charm!
What the heck am I even thinking about?! Gotham Song suddenly deeply questioned herself. Had she been browsing forums too much lately? Was she actually turning into one of those shippers who paired Gotham Song with literally everyone else?
Absolutely not!
That’s completely unacceptable!!
Gotham Song was aware that her actions might push Almond Eye’s attitude toward her into an entirely new realm—but so what? Or rather, given the current situation, what else could she even do?
A Trainer never runs away from a challenge!
"Are you unwilling? I was actually looking forward to it, you know."
"N-no, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just..."
Almond Eye sank into confusion. At this very moment, she didn’t know how to express her feelings at all. Or rather, she couldn’t tell if she was truly willing or unwilling.
After all, she had secretly—privately—imitated Gotham Song’s legendary Great Escape running style to soothe her wounds. It had been something she’d done thinking Gotham Song would never find out.
Even Almond Eye herself didn’t fully understand why she’d chosen to do that. Perhaps she thought running in that reckless way would calm her down?
When she finally snapped out of her daze, she had found herself standing at the starting gates of the Oaks, launching herself forward, desperately breaking into a Great Escape, trying to shake off everything weighing her down.
Then, inevitably, she lost stamina and collapsed—until Gotham Song appeared, giving her a lap pillow, and suddenly made that unbelievable offer.
"Of course, I’d like that. But... it’s just so sudden?"
"Sudden, huh? Maybe it is, a bit. But aren’t surprises and tomorrow always arriving together?"
Just like how you never know what others might be secretly thinking—or even what the person standing in front of you could be thinking.
Truthfully, Gotham Song rarely understood what unfamiliar Uma Musume thought, and this often left her frustrated and perplexed. After all, she wasn’t originally an Uma Musume herself; even though she enjoyed life as one now, fundamental differences in perspective still made certain things feel incomprehensible to her.
Uma Musume... These pure-hearted creatures sometimes held thoughts so straightforward they were impossible for Gotham Song to fully grasp.
But by the same token, Uma Musume probably also struggled to understand humans, didn’t they?
For instance, Almond Eye would never actively suspect URA of incompetence. She certainly wouldn’t imagine her own trainers at URA had secretly planned to assign her a support-runner.
Symboli Rudolf had already found enough evidence proving that URA’s planned support-runner for Almond Eye was precisely this Uma Musume.
Learning this, Gotham Song felt only deep sorrow. To achieve their goals, they would secretly give Almond Eye an escort she didn’t even know about?
They would force a talented Uma Musume—someone who could have reached greater heights—to spend her career staring at another’s back?
URA... Oh, URA, how dare you?!
Because she knew the backup-runner plan had already reached its final stages—potentially even ready for execution—Gotham Song wasted no time, immediately tracking down Almond Eye and directly extending this invitation.
I know URA, lingering between life and death, desperately wants one last chance at redemption—but if I steal away your secret weapon, how exactly will you respond?
Well, URA’s response would be simple: they’d be completely paralyzed.
Hehe. I absolutely love watching URA panic!
"Not sudden at all, is it...? Well then, I accept."
"That’s right, not sudden at... Wait, you accepting so readily is pretty sudden too, isn’t it?"
Gotham Song laughed softly, lightly tapping Almond Eye’s cheek and playfully pinching it. Almond Eye, her cheeks squished so she couldn’t properly speak, let out only muffled protests. But she didn’t resist, merely blinking her eyes as she looked back up at Gotham Song.
Sudden? Not at all. For an Uma Musume like her, one without a permanent trainer, accepting guidance from any capable Trainer was perfectly natural, right?
Besides, the world of Uma Musume was filled with romantic stories like that.
Stories about an overlooked Uma Musume and a wandering Trainer suddenly meeting and climbing to the pinnacle of the world together—Almond Eye was certainly familiar with such tales.
But she proudly considered herself no overlooked Uma Musume. As a top-tier genius, a true genius among geniuses, pairing herself with an absolute first-rate Trainer like Gotham Song would certainly allow her to achieve even greater things, wouldn’t it?!
However, how to describe it exactly?
Almond Eye actually felt extremely relieved in her heart.
Because Gotham Song had specifically suggested transferring to Central Tracen Academy, personally offering occasional guidance—not explicitly asking her to join Eternal Beat.
How to put it...
Of course, Eternal Beat was an elite team—perhaps the best in the world as far as Almond Eye knew, possibly the absolute pinnacle. But she genuinely didn’t want to join Eternal Beat.
At least not now.
The reason was simple: She was Almond Eye, the current generation’s greatest genius, Almond Eye.
As a genius, she naturally possessed pride and dignity that belonged only to her. And the very first thing she would inevitably face upon joining Eternal Beat was:
How exactly was she supposed to confront Gentildonna?
Should they become friends?
Perhaps that was possible—but just the thought of it made Almond Eye instantly reject the idea, even detesting it deep down.
It wasn’t that Gentildonna herself had done anything to make Almond Eye dislike her. Rather...
They’d faced each other twice on the track, opponents who’d desperately gone all-out trying to defeat each other.
As rivals—no, as the opponent Almond Eye absolutely needed to overcome—joining the very same team as Gentildonna, having to become harmonious teammates, at least on the surface...
That was absolutely impossible. The more she thought about it, the more utterly ridiculous it felt!
Was this the reason why Gotham Song-san had thoughtfully only offered occasional personal training, instead of pushing for something more permanent?
She really is such a kind Uma Musume...
Almond Eye thought to herself. But then she suddenly became acutely aware of something, subtly curling her lips upwards into a small smile—a shockingly savage emotion momentarily flashed across her delicate and lovely face.
At that instant, Almond Eye, filled with fierce ambition, suddenly understood something very important:
Gentildonna had worked so incredibly hard, striving to win races and surpass everyone. Considering Gentildonna’s personality, surely she would also be looking forward to eventually challenging her own Trainer, wouldn’t she?
Challenging the very same Gotham Song-san whose lap Almond Eye was currently resting on... Right?
Oh, good—very good. Gentildonna, you’re the best.
Wild ambition burned fiercely inside Almond Eye’s heart, while her lips curled up, almost dancing with delight.
If that was the case, how exactly should she respond to Gotham Song’s invitation?
Or rather, now that she had a perfectly legitimate excuse—what should she actually do with it?
Gentildonna, I’m going to defeat you. I’ll take everything away from you.
Not just on the track—but outside of it too.
This is war.
