Chapter 27 — The Emperor of Dirt (Tentative Title)
No matter how many times I enter a starting gate, it never feels like a pleasant place.
It’s got this atmosphere of: “Now then, let’s measure your abilities.”
I don’t like that.
Couldn’t they ask more politely?
Today, I’m running 1800m on dirt.
2-win class, ten-horse field.
The old me would’ve probably been thinking: “Hmph… these opponents are nothing.”
Actually…I’m probably still thinking that a little.
But my head isn’t the complete mess it used to be.
Tenzan Sakura had said:
“You just need to win where you belong.”
Golden Wing had said:
“Even if you’re depressed, you still get hungry.”
Those two always sound like they’re talking nonsense, but somehow their words stick with you.
Speaking of which…Golden Wing apparently won both the Yayoi Sho and the Satsuki Sho.
That horse who feels like a lazy afternoon on a porch…is now taking center stage in the Classics.
You really can’t tell the world by its appearance.
Still…I’m feeling pretty good today.
Well, not exactly good.
More like…
clear-headed.
Like I’ve finally accepted something.
I can only do what I can do.
I’m a horse from Sakurai Ranch.
I was raised there, getting scolded by Saku and the old man, treated roughly by big sister Stone, and sometimes respected or not respected by the foals, and that’s how I got here.
I think I understand now.
A race isn’t something a horse runs alone.
There’s the jockey.
The stable hands.
Okabe-san.
Saku.
Grandpa.
Big Sister Stone.
And all the noisy idiots back at the ranch.
You carry all of them with you when you run.
…Well, the foals are probably only thinking, “Sakuuu! Feeeeed us!”
But still, that means there’s only one thing I need to do today.
Win.
Preferably in spectacular fashion.
Actually, it doesn’t have to be flashy.
I just need to cross the finish line first.
Simple.
And honestly… I thought that was probably the coolest thing there was.
“Crown, you’re pretty calm today.”
The horse to my right sounded impressed.
A somewhat stylish-looking bay horse.
“Yeah.”
I answered shortly.
“Huh. I thought you’d be more of a loudmouth.”
“I can be.”
“What about today?”
“I’m here to win. I don’t have the luxury of wasting words.”
“…Oh.”
The bay horse fell silent.
I came here to win.
I always came to races intending to win, but that was especially true today.
After all, Saku and the old man are watching.
…Right?
They’re watching, aren’t they?
Probably.
Yeah. Probably.
And if they aren’t, I’ll complain later.
The jockey lightly patted my neck.
“Alright. You’re good today. We can do this.”
His voice was calm.
I think it’s a good voice.
I actually liked this guy.
He never got overly excited, but he wasn’t timid either.
Today’s rider understood me.
At least fairly well.
For some reason, he felt especially reliable today.
Then the fanfare sounded.
The crowd stirred.
No matter how many times I hear it, I always like this moment.
Everyone faces forward.
Even the horse beside me, who’d been complaining about how deep the dirt was a moment ago, was staring straight ahead now.
Good.
I don’t dislike this atmosphere.
The reins shifted.
The jockey spoke quietly.
“Let’s go.”
Yeah.
CLANG!!
The world opened.
Dirt flew.
Everything exploded all at once.
Ten horses lunged forward together.
Today, I broke cleanly.
Don’t fall behind.
Or go too far.
Good.
Two horses ahead, one beside me.
I settled perfectly on the outside.
The jockey’s weight didn’t interfere.
He wasn’t forcing me to hold back.
Wasn’t pushing me too hard either.
Just telling me: “This is where we belong right now.”
I get it.
That was exactly right.
We entered the first turn.
Dirt sprayed against my face.
Honestly, it was annoying.
Turf looks prettier, and I like the footing more.
But dirt isn’t bad.
The more I run on it,
the steadier I feel deep inside my legs.
The harder I push,
the more it pushes back.
Yeah.
Maybe dirt really is my surface.
The kings of turf shone brightly.
I still think about that.
But Emperor of Dirt sounds pretty cool too.
An emperor was an emperor, after all.
Honestly, that sounds even stronger than a king.
Backstretch.
The field settled.
I could feel the horse in the lead starting to struggle.
“Looking good.”
The voice from my back reached me clearly.
Yeah.
That alone made me a little happy.
Maybe I’m simple, but that’s how it is.
Third turn.
Wait.
Wait.
The old me would’ve screamed, “Screw this!” and charged ahead right about here.
Then reached the stretch and realized, “Wait, where’d my stamina go?”
Today, I would wait.
Fourth turn.
The jockey spoke again.
“Good, Crown. Perfect position.”
Yeah.
I know.
This feels right.
The stretch.
This is it.
The jockey’s signal changes.
Not hold back.
Can you go? No, that’s not it.
It was:
“Go.”
I answered immediately.
“BRRHHIIIN!”
To humans, it would probably sound like nothing more than horse noises.
But in my head it clearly meant:
“Leave it to me!!”
I dug into the ground.
One step.
Forward.
The response was good.
Actually…better than good.
Oh.
I’m a little better today.
I could see the finish line through the cloud of dirt.
Far away.
But somehow closer than it had ever looked before.
Two horses ahead.
One was already fading.
The other was fighting.
Good.
I can catch them.
“Crown, looking good!”
The jockey’s voice rang clearly through me.
And for some reason…that made me happy.
I stretched my neck farther forward.
Passed one.
Drew alongside the other.
“Here he comes!”
“It’s Mister Crown!”
I like that name.
Say it more.
That’s what I need.
Those are the kinds of lines a protagonist deserves.
Two hundred meters remaining.
The view from the middle of the stretch while leading…felt strangely different.
I’d been in front before.
But this was different.
My legs still had something left.
I could keep going.
The pressure from behind wasn’t frightening.
Dirt scattered everywhere.
The roar grew louder.
The grandstands buzzed.
Yes.
YES.
This was it.
This was exactly what I’d wanted.
Only a hundred remained.
Still in front.
Still leading.
But if I relaxed now, I’d absolutely get caught.
I knew that.
So I kept going.
Lower your head.
Push your legs forward.
Stretch your shoulders.
The jockey shouted again.
“Keep going!”
The whip cracked.
It wasn’t pain.
It was ignition.
So noisy.
I was already going, even without being told.
Still…I didn’t dislike it.
Because that strike carried the determination to win.
My legs weren’t comfortable anymore.
But they weren’t stopping.
And I wasn’t going to let them.
Class 2 dirt race.
Not a G1.
But so what?
I’m winning where I belong.
Tenzan Sakura.
Are you watching?
Golden Wing.
Your “eating fixes most things” theory helped a little.
Saku.
Watch me.
This is—
Fifty meters.
A horse was closing from behind, just a bit.
But it didn’t feel dangerous today.
I could hold him off.
No. I will hold him off.
Twenty meters.
The finish line rushed closer.
Closer.
Once I crossed it, it’d be over.
And I was first.
“THIIIIIIIS IIIIIIS IIIIITTTTTT!!!”
Finish.
I crossed.
First.
Properly.
Undeniably.
First.
For a moment, the world became incomprehensible.
My legs kept moving on their own.
I couldn’t stop.
But I knew.
I won.
I won.
Whether it was a Class 2 dirt race or not didn’t matter right now.
A win was a win.
That alone was enough.
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Of course, to humans, it probably just sounded like neighing and whinnying.
But who cares?
Are you watching, Saku!?
Tenzan Sakura!!
Golden Wing!!
THIS IS THE POWER OF THE EMPEROR OF DIRT!!!
The jockey laughed as he patted my neck.
“You did it!! Well done!!”
Yeah!!
Praise me more!!
Today was a day when I deserved it!!
First place on dirt!!
Today I was the King of Dirt!!
No—
The Emperor!!
The Dirt Emperor!!!
Mwahahahahaha!!!
◇
“Alright! Great job, Crown!”
I couldn’t help shouting at the TV in the stall.
I clenched my fist toward the small screen.
Crown had won.
Actually won.
A Class 2 dirt race.
Probably not a victory that would cause a huge public uproar.
Back during the Satsuki Sho, Kanemochi had actually called me and spent thirty minutes bragging, “Did you see MY Golden Wing!?”
So no, this wasn’t that kind of race.
But for our ranch?
This was more than enough.
I was genuinely happy.
“He’s probably yelling something like, ‘This is the power of the Emperor of Dirt!’ right now. Shame the camera’s too far away to tell.”
Stone, who had been munching hay in her stall, looked over at me a beat later.
“Hm? Did Crown win?”
“Yeah! He did great!”
“I see.”
Stone snorted in her usual slightly arrogant way.
But she looked a little pleased too.
Just then, an unusually loud voice came from near my feet.
“Sakuuu! Where’s Mom!?”
Stone’s foal looked around frantically.
“Turn around.”
“Ahhh! There she is!”
The foal spun around and happily shoved its head into Stone’s belly.
“Honestly…”
Stone sighed.
The young bay was the type who’d start screaming, “Mom’s gone!” even when she was standing directly behind him.
It was good that he was healthy, but he was definitely noisy.
Watching Crown on the TV, I suddenly remembered something.
“Now that you’ve foaled, it’ll be breeding season again soon, Stone.”
Stone immediately looked unhappy.
“…Hope it’s a decent stallion this time.”
“…Yeah. Fair point.”
Personally, I thought last year’s stallion had been pretty decent.
On the other side of the TV, Crown was probably still being loud.
“Well then.”
I smiled a little as I watched the screen.
“When he gets back, I’ll let him brag as much as he wants.”
Stone half-lidded her eyes.
“Don’t spoil him.”
“Come on, he won.”
“That’s exactly why he’ll get carried away. That brat’s always like that.”
“Maybe.”
I laughed.
“But today, he deserves it.”
Winter had already passed.
A breeze that felt halfway between spring and early summer drifted through the gaps in the stable.
The work at the ranch was as busy as ever.
But amid all that busyness, there was now one more piece of happy news to brighten the days.