Umamusume: Jujutsu Kaisen System! [3]

“THE LEAD GROUP HAS PASSED THE STRAIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STANDS AND IS ENTERING THE THIRD CORNER!”

“WE’RE PAST THE HALFWAY POINT!”

“KING HALO CURRENTLY LEADS, WITH SEIUN SKY CLOSE BEHIND!”

“IN THIRD IS KASHIMO, WHO FINISHED RUNNER-UP IN LAST MONTH’S G2 RACE!”

“SPECIAL WEEK REMAINS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK!”

“WILL KING HALO LEAD FROM START TO FINISH AND RECREATE THE GLORY OF LAST YEAR’S DERBY? WILL SEIUN SKY CLAIM HER SECOND CLASSIC CROWN? OR WILL SPECIAL WEEK PRODUCE YET ANOTHER MIRACLE, JUST AS SHE HAS EVER SINCE HER DEBUT?”

That’s awfully limited thinking.

Running in the lead group, Kashimo immediately rejected the commentator’s words.

Those three weren’t the only ones who could win!

Eighteen Umamusume had entered the Derby, and every one of them had a chance. That was the real answer.

In the world of Umamusume, anything was possible. An upset could happen at any time.

Just as, in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, a Grade 2 sorcerer could still be killed by a Grade 2 cursed spirit.

That was what she wanted to say, anyway.

But…

I’m the one who’s going to win this Japanese Derby!!!

Even when they mentioned her, they had to deliberately bring up her result from a previous race. Were they worried the audience wouldn’t know who she was otherwise?

It felt like they were looking down on her.

She clicked her tongue softly.

Not that she could blame them.

Nothing about her past record had been especially remarkable. Even when she had finished runner-up, the margins between the runners around her had been tiny.

For her still-developing body, the binding vow limiting her to ninety-five percent outside G1 races had simply been too crippling.

As Kashimo grumbled inwardly, she used the angle of the corner to search for Special Week.

Yes, she was a transmigrator. Someone who knew everything.

But this Japanese Derby was the one race where she could not be entirely certain of Special Week’s position or condition.

The version of the Derby she knew had been heavily altered for dramatic effect. In the first season of Umamusume, the race had included a monster named El Condor Pasa.

Reality was now making one thing very clear: El Condor Pasa was not competing, nor had she even qualified for the Japanese Derby.

Her information might not be completely reliable here.

So where was Special Week now?

For Front Runners and Pace Chasers, the only opportunities to judge the pack behind them came from the viewing angle while cornering and the sound of footsteps at their backs.

On a straightaway, it was difficult for runners near the front to observe what was happening behind them.

That was one disadvantage Pace Chasers had compared to Late Surgers. Their advantage was that they had slightly more room to react.

Before a Late Surger could overtake them, she first had to close the distance already separating them.

There she was.

The moment Kashimo pinpointed Special Week’s position, she followed King Halo and Seiun Sky into the final corner.

Current Positions:
Front Runner—King Halo
One length behind—Seiun Sky
Two lengths behind—Kashimo
Seven lengths behind—Special Week

Only the final third of the 2,400-meter Medium-distance turf race remained.

Someone’s about to make her move.

…

At the front.

After spending the entire race in front, with Seiun Sky—a Front Runner—watching from behind like a predator waiting to strike, King Halo was under more pressure than ever.

Though she still held first place, she felt none of the confidence she usually had during a race.

Front-running did not merely drain the body. It wore down the mind as well.

There was no one ahead of you. Unless you were the kind of Umamusume who genuinely enjoyed the view from the very front, the pressure of leading was unlike anything else.

Choosing to lead also meant giving up your final spurt.

Front-running and a final spurt were not inherently incompatible.

But if, after leading the entire race, you still had enough stamina left to unleash a final spurt equal to that of a Pace Chaser, Late Surger, or even an End Closer who had been conserving strength—

Then what was there left to say?

The title might as well be yours.

Farther. I need to pull farther ahead.

King Halo’s face twisted with strain as she pushed herself to the limit. Only now did she realize that she had chosen the wrong Style for this race.

But it was too late to turn back.

All she could do was keep running.

If she could build enough of a lead that even the runners behind her could not catch up with their final spurts, then she might still win the Derby!

“I won’t let you do that.”

Behind her, Seiun Sky narrowed her eyes like a cat having its belly rubbed.

As an Umamusume who excelled at front-running—as the master tactician renowned for her schemes—how could she possibly fail to understand what King Halo was trying to do?

She had spent a fair amount of stamina.

But she still had far more left than she usually did after leading a race herself.

With one chasing and the other fleeing, the pair led the pack through the fourth corner.

The Derby’s final straight lay ahead.

Before the runners of the new generation rose an absolutely brutal uphill stretch.

The instant King Halo stepped onto the incline, her speed visibly dropped.

It was not because she was poor at climbing.

Nor had she failed to prepare.

Her remaining stamina and current physical condition simply could no longer support a high-speed charge up the slope.

“I’ll have to close the gap from behind in one burst anyway.”

“So I might as well go now!”

Almost the instant King Halo slowed, Seiun Sky increased her cadence and surged after her.

There was no evenly matched contest.

No desperate back-and-forth struggle.

The moment Seiun Sky accelerated, there was no stalemate at all. On that uphill straight, she passed King Halo with ease.

She took first place.

She took the lead.

“OH! THEY’RE THROUGH THE FOURTH CORNER, AND SEIUN SKY HAS BEGUN HER SPURT!”

The commentator’s voice rose with excitement as he described the action on the course.

“SHE’S CAUGHT KING HALO! SEIUN SKY HAS TAKEN FIRST PLACE!”

“IS THIS THE END FOR KING HALO?”

“SEIUN SKY IS IN FRONT!”

“THE RUNNER IN THE LEAD IS SEIUN SKY!”

“WAIT—KASHIMO IS CATCHING UP TOO! IT SEEMS KING HALO’S FRONT-RUNNING PACE FAILED TO DRAIN MUCH STAMINA FROM THE RUNNERS BEHIND HER!”

“CAN SHE OVERTAKE KING HALO?”

…

“Coming through.”

The self-proclaimed king’s brown eyes widened at the light, airy voice.

Kashimo?

When had she—

How had she caught up?!

Like this. It was surprisingly easy, too.

For the brief moment they ran side by side, it was almost as though a private team channel had opened between them, each instantly understanding the other.

The oncoming wind swept across Kashimo’s gentle cheeks and tugged at her pure-white signature racewear.

She had not unleashed her final spurt.

She had not used cursed energy reinforcement.

She had not used her electrified cursed energy to stimulate her cells.

She had merely quickened her pace slightly, and that alone was enough to overtake King Halo in her current state.

It was not that Kashimo was vastly stronger than her. Having raced King Halo before, she knew that without the binding vow limiting her to ninety-five percent, a contest between them at full strength would likely go either way.

But the decision to lead had been fatal.

It was like Yuki Tsukumo following Tengen’s plan and facing Kenjaku without opening her domain.

King Halo’s front-running had failed to control the pace of the runners behind her, and she had not managed her own stamina properly.

It was as though she had done nothing more than run in front.

Had Seiun Sky taken the lead while King Halo ran in her usual Style, the current Kashimo would never have passed her so effortlessly.

“King, I’ll probably remember this race for the rest of my life.”

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，但系统是咒术回战 by 肥伦 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!