Only One Year Left—I'll Become a Legendary Uma Musume!-Chapter 266: Only One Year Left—I’ll Become a Legendary Uma Musume! 2 [210]
What was the very first thing Gotham Song did after sending Man o’ War off?
Disinfect and medicate her injured feet, of course.
In the small room of Flightline’s special hospital suite, Gotham Song helplessly held a medicine bottle, making an expression caught somewhere between laughter and tears.
Just what kind of ridiculous situation is this...?
After Man o’ War finished her speech earlier, she hadn’t left immediately. Instead, she’d helped Gotham Song bring Flightline back to her room—
And of course, Gotham Song thoroughly enjoyed watching Man o’ War’s stunned and bewildered expression upon seeing Flightline’s personal hospital suite. Didn’t that count as Flightline scoring a huge victory over Man o’ War, after all?
Clearly, this proved one thing: No normal Uma Musume, in any era, would have her own dedicated room permanently reserved at a hospital...
Anyway, after settling Flightline in, Man o’ War had politely excused herself, leaving first. Gotham Song then supported herself against the wall and fetched the medical supplies she needed.
Of course, she hadn’t been careless enough to walk barefoot on gravel all the way to the hospital; she’d shaken the sand off and carefully slipped her sandals back on. But even after wiping her feet clean at the racetrack with a handkerchief, each step she took had still hurt terribly. Just walking normally had been torture...!
As the cotton swab soaked in antiseptic approached her injured feet, Gotham Song had already inhaled deeply several times, bracing herself mentally—but when the antiseptic touched the raw, sensitive wounds, her expression still twisted sharply from the sudden pain.
How should she put this? If she’d still had her past life’s rough feet instead of these delicate Uma Musume ones, she probably wouldn’t have suffered so many tiny cuts from merely standing on a dirt track for a while. But right now, wasn’t this genuinely a disadvantage unique to her species?
Sigh...
Why, with all the intense running Uma Musume do, don’t we ever develop calluses from shoes or socks rubbing against our feet?
If they did, today’s events wouldn’t have happened, right? Think carefully, O Three Goddesses—perhaps your entire design has some issues.
Although, well, she supposed these soft, pale feet might, uh... suddenly turn certain people into something entirely different?
Gotham Song couldn’t say for sure, but she felt confident no one in her lifetime would get to enjoy such special treatment.
No one like that existed near her—and those types probably couldn’t even get close anyway... Ugh, weirdos with that fetish are disgusting.
Such absurd, wandering thoughts distracted her from the pain until she’d finally finished disinfecting and cleaning every wound thoroughly. Only then could Gotham Song relax, setting the medicine bottle aside and leaning back in the chair, gazing idly out the window.
Should she say she was lucky it wasn’t more serious? Honestly, if she’d still had her previous careless personality, she probably wouldn’t have even bothered with wounds this minor.
She hadn’t actually run barefoot on the dirt; she’d simply jumped down anxiously, then waited on the track for a short while, concerned about Flightline. Most of her wounds weren’t severe—only a few deeper ones. And since she didn’t have flat feet, the injuries were mainly concentrated in just a couple of spots.
Compared to the previous incident with Tokai Teio, this was nothing. Perhaps because her maturation phase had fully ended?
In any case, her physical resilience had improved significantly. Although still slightly inferior to other Uma Musume, her superior recovery was starting to become evident.
No, it wasn’t as if her wounds were magically closing at an extraordinary speed. Nothing that exaggerated. Yet just after sitting quietly with her feet suspended for around fifteen minutes, the bleeding had completely stopped, and the wounds already showed signs of scabbing.
If this continued at the current pace, she could probably return to normal by tomorrow—or at worst, the day after, right?
Uma Musume truly were miraculous creatures.
But full recovery was still a matter for tomorrow or the day after, and Gotham Song clearly realized something else important:
She probably wouldn’t be able to walk home today under her own power.
Ah well, what could she do?
After a quick phone call, Gotham Song gingerly slipped her sandals back on and stumbled along the wall toward the elevator.
Flightline’s room was conveniently located—not on too high a floor and easily accessible. Gotham Song moved slowly but eventually reached the elevator.
Yet, on her way there, something felt oddly off.
Behind her—or perhaps among other passersby—the gazes directed her way seemed strangely peculiar. She’d felt something similar earlier that afternoon on her way to the racetrack, but the stares in the hospital seemed unexpectedly frequent?
She secretly stole a glance at one person’s expression and struggled to find an accurate description for it. If forced to describe it in one word, it would probably be something like...
Auntie-smile?
What on earth? Why are you people giving me such weird looks?!
Utterly baffled and unable to puzzle it out, Gotham Song simply gave up, limping into the elevator, then staggering slowly out to sit on the steps outside the hospital entrance. She dangled her legs lazily, finally able to enjoy a leisurely moment free from the pain of walking.
Resting her chin on both hands, she gazed at the clear sky, her heart gradually calming down completely. The wide-brimmed hat on her head slightly got in the way as she tilted her face upward, but she felt too lazy to remove it. Instead, she simply listened to the distant murmuring of the world around her and the gentle rustling of the wind.
Time passed slowly when one waited, yet felt fleeting when one wasn’t bored. Gotham Song hadn’t quite snapped out of this peculiar state of mind when the people she’d been waiting for finally arrived.
Mejiro Ardan and Manhattan Cafe practically leapt from the taxi as soon as it stopped—no, not practically. They literally jumped out in their haste!
Only after hurrying to Gotham Song’s side and confirming their little sister wasn’t seriously hurt did Manhattan Cafe gently lift Gotham Song into her arms, princess-carrying her straight back into the taxi. They returned home without further incident.
Surprisingly, Gotham Song wasn’t even scolded. After hearing her explanation, what else could her two elder sisters do but sigh with helpless yet doting affection?
If Gotham Song hadn’t acted that way, she wouldn’t be herself—and they wouldn’t have stayed by her side. In fact, if she hadn’t taken such responsible actions, wouldn’t that have been more deserving of scolding?
So they let it go this time. Didn’t they already know their little sister was foolishly stubborn anyway?
At home, Gotham Song got to enjoy being pampered once again after a long absence. Unlike her previous experience at Daiichi Ruby’s house, this time the caretakers were limited only to her two sisters. Still, all three Uma Musume seemed to delight in it thoroughly...
Maybe this isn’t so bad after all?
Now lying in bed, Gotham Song suddenly found herself with ample leisure time. With no ability to run and no pressing tasks, she had plenty of time on her hands—to go online and argue with internet users!
Out of sheer boredom, she even created a burner account just to argue anonymously under her own semi-public social media page, only to get thoroughly dogpiled and mocked mercilessly, reduced to a laughingstock internet clown.
Finally recognizing how absurd she’d become, Gotham Song abandoned that pointless activity and switched to another platform, quietly sneaking into her own fan community. She intended to secretly gather opinions about the cosplay incident at the recent convention.
Yet unexpectedly, the first comment she spotted was—
A color palette?!
The kind that only shows up when verifying whether an article was plagiarized?!
A color palette—in this context, it meant putting the accused and the evidence side by side, comparing them in an unmistakably direct way.
And what exactly were Gotham Song’s fans comparing in that color palette? 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Her own post of the Mejiro Ardan cosplay on her account—versus the photo from the convention, showing "Mejiro Ardan" dragging Twilight Song away.
So, in the end, was this the thing that made most people finally realize the truth?
You fans... it would’ve been so much better if you weren’t this sharp, sigh.
The comparison chart laid out countless points, but all of them converged on one undeniable fact:
From the outfit details, the accessories, and the near-identical body proportions, the conclusion was clear—
The Uma Musume in that photo was, for all intents and purposes, the owner of that account herself—
in other words, Gotham Song.
The conclusion stood there boldly, a banner of revelation, and the comments below it were in utter uproar.
Even by the following day, new replies kept pouring in.
And what were the most frequently repeated messages?
[Song-chan is definitely a Ruka/Ardan shipper!!!!]
[Wait, no—Ardan as the top?! Absolutely not, I refuse to accept this!!]
It was that sort of nonsense, and Gotham Song’s lips twitched so hard she nearly strained a muscle.
You brainless CP freaks, get a grip! What do you mean I’m an Ardan-as-top supporter?!
First of all, that’s my older sister we’re talking about! Even if, hypothetically, things ever got to that stage, obviously Ardan-nee-san would be the one on the bottom, right?! I’m the person involved here, and I refuse to acknowledge any other possibility, got it?!
In this particular matter, Gotham Song truly did have the divine right of dictatorship.
Anyway, after scrolling for a while, she found nothing else worth her time. Once she’d skimmed through the general chaos, she simply closed the site.
Then came the usual idle web browsing—watching random videos, checking small updates, and doing bits of work she could manage without getting out of bed. For example, sketching out tactical plans for the upcoming—or rather, already imminent—second race of Gentildonna’s Triple Tiara campaign.
The second crown. The Japanese Oaks.
The Oaks—the second jewel of the Triple Tiara, held at Tokyo Racecourse. Left-turning course, 2400 meters. Judging by the time of year and the season, it would almost certainly be run on firm turf.
This track—this course—was one Gotham Song knew quite well. Why? Because it was almost identical to the Japan Cup course.
But of course, even if there were no real differences between them, that was her experience, not Gentildonna’s.
What Gotham Song could handle easily might not apply the same way to Gentildonna, so she had to make certain adjustments to the race plan.
At the very least, she needed to blend her own insights into the overall strategy—bring it to the proper level of refinement.
So, then. What defined Tokyo Racecourse—or rather, both the Japan Cup and the Oaks?
A flat course. Perfectly smooth. Not a single slope in the entire run.
And slopes, of course, were a nightmare for speed-type Uma Musume who lacked endurance. Though 2400 meters was still a fair distance, it wasn’t quite long enough to truly test stamina.
Which meant—this was ultimately a contest of speed.
And who were Gentildonna’s opponents this time?
Verxina and Almond Eye.
Given how Almond Eye’s pursuit-style strategy had failed last time, she would almost certainly switch tactics this time around.
And Verxina—having suffered such a humiliating defeat before—would surely alter her approach as well.
But, well, that was fine. Let them adjust however they pleased.
Because Gotham Song felt absolute confidence about the Oaks.
Why? Simple.
The previous race—the Oka Sho—had been one where victory depended entirely on tactics. Whether dealing with the uphill stretch that punished endurance, or the short 1600-meter course that worked entirely against Gentildonna’s nature, every element had been a disadvantage she couldn’t simply power through with brute force.
But the Oaks? The situation was completely different.
The Oaks was a 2400-meter race.
And what was Gentildonna’s biggest weakness?
Her maximum-speed potential required too long a buildup.
In a 1600-meter race, that was a crippling flaw.
But what about over 2400 meters?
Could she overcome it then?
The answer—of course she could!
Absolutely, yes!
This time, the plan was clear. She just needed to let Gentildonna run normally—to unleash herself according to her own rhythm.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, neither Almond Eye nor Verxina would stand much of a chance.
Gentildonna’s raw strength was never lacking—she simply had specific demands when it came to distance, that was all.
After jotting down her thoughts neatly on her tablet, Gotham Song organized them into a proper document and sent it straight to Dancing Brave.
Even though she was confident her strategy was flawless, it was always best to let that old veteran look it over. If there were any small oversights, it was far better to catch them now than discover them disastrously mid-race.
That kind of caution and discipline was a habit—a very good one. In every sense of the word, a healthy habit.
So, what exactly was the tactical plan for this race?
The answer: the greatest tactic was to have no tactic.
If they were expecting Gentildonna to pull off something clever and surprising, then the absence of surprises would be the ultimate surprise.
This time—they would go all in.
No trickery. No feints.
Just pure, unrestrained strength.
Let everyone witness it—
Gentildonna’s tacticless tactic.
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