Mejiro McQueen stood frozen on the turf. The deafening cheers echoing around her failed to move her heart in the slightest.
I almost lost.
She had secured the victory.
But there was no denying the immense pressure Tokai Teio had forced upon her.
Her mood was incredibly foul.
Why? There was no gap in our physical attributes! My skills were overwhelmingly superior. How could I have almost lost?
If Tokai Teio could achieve that level of power through sheer willpower, did that mean the original Mejiro McQueen could have done the same?
Did that mean she herself was actually weak?
McQueen's expression twisted into a fierce, almost predatory scowl.
Before this Story mode began, she might not have cared. Back then, she never considered herself a natural genius.
She just thought she was a lucky gamer with a broken system.
But everything was different now!
Reborn as Mejiro McQueen, she had lived an entirely new life. Her personality and spirit had been fundamentally forged anew.
She now believed she was the true Mejiro McQueen. She truly believed she was a peerless genius!
But Tokai Teio's performance today felt like a violent slap to the face, screaming at her: "No, you are not!"
The true genius was Tokai Teio.
Without the aid of any external system or pre-programmed skills, Teio had burned her own latent potential to nearly defeat an invincible enemy.
If McQueen didn't have her system, could she have honestly done the same?
How ugly of me, Mejiro McQueen. Is it really so hard to admit my own weakness?
Being weak is not terrifying. It is not even important! So what if I have a system? So what if I rely on external power? The system did not just magically grant me these stats. Every attribute and every skill I possess was earned through three brutal years of my own blood, sweat, and tears in the simulation! There is absolutely no reason to feel ashamed!
Exactly. None of that matters. Do I really care if I am a natural genius or not?
No. I simply hate losing. This lingering anxiety and anger only exist for one reason. I almost lost.
But in the end, I am still the victor.
Having steadied her heart, she walked toward Tokai Teio.
Teio looked surprised to see the champion approaching her.
She hadn't expected McQueen to spare a single glance for a loser.
"McQueen... haha. I am sorry. I provoked you earlier, and now I look completely pathetic."
Seeing Teio force a fragile smile made McQueen feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"Tokai Teio!"
McQueen was deeply dissatisfied with her own performance today.
She had also realized her own mental fortitude wasn't nearly as absolute as she thought. When Teio nearly overtook her, she felt her composure completely shatter.
Because of this, she hated this victory. This was not the flawless triumph she desired. Seeing Teio look slightly intimidated by her sharp tone only irritated her further.
"Go to the hospital and get your legs checked right now. I refuse to hear any news about you retiring due to a career-ending injury. I am going to race you again!"
Teio blinked, then offered a genuine smile. "I understand, McQueen."
It truly was a terrible day. Her grand dream of claiming an undefeated Triple Crown was shattered in her very first Classic race.
But receiving McQueen's undivided attention made the defeat sting a little less.
Truthfully, even before the race began, she had harbored a faint premonition of her own defeat. She had thoroughly investigated McQueen and studied her race footage. She knew exactly how massive the gap in their strength was.
Yet, she still chose to challenge Mejiro McQueen, fully prepared for her dream to be broken.
"Next time, the great Teio will win."
"Do not make me laugh. I will absolutely never lose!"
Having said her piece, McQueen turned and left the track.
She felt absolutely nothing for the post-race Winning Live. However, maintaining the public grace of the Mejiro family meant she couldn't simply skip the concert. Even if she disliked it, she didn't harbor any deep malice toward it either. She simply went on stage and flawlessly copy-pasted the dance routines she had memorized.
After the event, Tokai Teio was quickly escorted away by Symboli Rudolf. Rumor had it that Teio couldn't even feel her legs by the time she left the stadium.
McQueen gritted her teeth.
Initially, she hadn't cared much about this "fated rival." But now, the last thing she wanted was for Teio to end her career over a physical breakdown. She was determined to face Teio on the turf again and crush her completely!
The Satsuki Sho instantly became the hottest topic in the racing world.
Tokai Teio's explosive final sprint was nothing short of breathtaking.
Even diehard Mejiro McQueen fans couldn't help but cheer for Teio when they saw her burning her spirit on the track.
During the live broadcast, many of McQueen's own supporters had genuinely screamed for Teio. Compared to the overwhelmingly dominant McQueen, Teio looked like a brave, tragic hero challenging an unstoppable demon lord.
Even though she lost, Teio's performance conquered the hearts of countless spectators.
Up in the grandstands, two very young horse girls had been completely captivated by the dual charisma of both racers.
"Teio-oneesama is so cool! She is just like a hero!"
The tiny horse girl, Kitasan Black, watched the replay on the stadium monitors with stars shining in her eyes.
"No, McQueen-oneesama is the coolest! She is elegant and overwhelmingly powerful!" her friend argued.
"Teio-oneesama is cooler!"
"McQueen-oneesama is cooler!"
Their ship of friendship capsized instantly.
Such childish arguments were exploding all over the internet. Because of this race, the entire nation now knew the names Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen.
McQueen's terrifying strength required no explanation. Anyone who watched her run knew she was an absolute monster. Meanwhile, Teio had proven her own terrifying caliber during that final corner, even if she still lagged slightly behind the champion.
It was clear to everyone that no other horse girl in this generation could even hope to compete with them!
The internet quickly divided into three factions. The McQueen loyalists, the Teio zealots, and the neutral fans who simply loved both.
None of this outside noise managed to penetrate the walls of the Mejiro family estate.
At the Mejiro family tea party, a large group of elegant horse girls gathered together. Mejiro McQueen sat quietly off to the side by herself.
Since childhood, she had absolutely despised tea parties and social gatherings. She was terrible at making small talk.
More accurately, she simply refused to learn the delicate art of reading the room.
In her eyes, the rules of the Uma Musume world were beautifully simple. The winner takes all!
"McQueen, do you plan to participate in the Derby next?"
"That is correct."
Sitting with textbook-perfect posture, McQueen elegantly lowered her teacup before answering Mejiro Ardan's question.
"We always expected great things from you, but I never imagined you would actually pursue an undefeated Triple Crown."
The girls of the Mejiro family had always known McQueen was fiercely ambitious.
But seeing her actually command the Satsuki Sho with such overwhelming force still left them in awe.
"What about the Tenno Sho, McQueen? What are your plans?"
They all knew the family elders held massive expectations for her regarding that specific race.
"I will win the undefeated Triple Crown, and I will take the Tenno Sho as well!" McQueen replied firmly.
This was not a video game.
Reality did not impose artificial schedule restrictions. She could easily run the Kikuka Sho and then immediately prepare for the Tenno Sho.
With her ever-growing strength, she did not believe any horse girl in this era could stand in her way.
The only runner she acknowledged as a true rival was Tokai Teio. And she was fully confident she would defeat Teio again in their next encounter!
Simply put, Mejiro McQueen saw no obstacles left on her path.
"In that case, let us have a wonderful match at the Japanese Derby," Mejiro Ryan said with a warm smile.
Ryan also planned to enter the Derby. As her sister, she knew exactly how terrifying McQueen's strength was, and had already abandoned any real hope of winning.
"Do your absolute best to challenge me," McQueen smiled back.
She didn't mind the feeling of being chased. But she absolutely despised being overtaken!
The routine tea party finally concluded.
McQueen took a car back to Trecen Academy.
She had already moved into the dormitories. If she hadn't received a direct summons, she never would have returned to the estate. She had zero interest in aristocratic formalities.
She would rather spend that time reading in the library.
Stepping out of her dorm and heading toward the cafeteria, McQueen spotted Trainer P.
He looked at her with a complicated expression. "Have you made a decision yet, Miss McQueen?"
If McQueen hadn't publicly remained a free agent, he would have assumed she ghosted him weeks ago.
McQueen thought for a moment. She reached into her bag and pulled out the team application form. She had already made her choice.
Trainer P took the paper. He fully expected a rejection, but when he saw her elegant signature on the dotted line, his face erupted in pure joy.
"Are you really joining our team?"
McQueen kept her expression completely blank. "I was hesitating between joining Team Rigil—the strongest team on paper—or your Team Sirius. But after my match with Tokai Teio, my mind was made up. I am joining Team Sirius."
She strongly suspected Teio's explosive awakening at the Satsuki Sho was her own innate potential. However, she couldn't dismiss the possibility that Trainer P's guidance was the catalyst behind that cheat-like power.
"Teio will be thrilled to hear you joined us. By the way, Teio's fracture was treated in time. The doctors assure us it will not impact her future racing career," P said, deliberately feeding McQueen the update.
"I will formally greet the other members at the clubroom tomorrow. I look forward to working with you, Trainer."
McQueen remained entirely deadpan, showing absolutely no visible concern for Teio's condition, as if the news meant nothing to her.
"Right. Let's do our best alongside everyone at Team Sirius."
Overjoyed, Trainer P hurried off to show the signed application to his team and his mentor.
Watching him leave, McQueen suddenly remembered a crucial detail. Team Sirius was home to a hidden grandmaster. An old man who was Oguri Cap's former trainer.
He was the true founder of Team Sirius.
Oguri Cap was the team's first reigning champion, and Trainer P was the old man's chosen successor.
That meant even without the aura of a main character, Team Sirius was an exceptional faction. They were not inherently inferior to the so-called strongest teams on campus.
Team Rigil was only considered the absolute best because legendary monsters like Symboli Rudolf were officially registered to their roster.
Furthermore, Trainer Hana Tojo strictly cherry-picked only the most elite, high-scoring runners to join her ranks. How could a team built like that possibly be weak?
But was the trainer of that elite team actually special?
McQueen thought about it and arrived at a definitive answer. No.
Was Trainer Hana Tojo excellent?
Yes. She was brilliant. But she was ultimately just a perfect, by-the-books model student.
She was far too rigid.
That trainer forcefully imposed her own ideals onto her horse girls, dictating their career paths entirely based on her own strict vision. From a managerial perspective, there was nothing inherently wrong with that. The most capable and confident trainers always operated that way. It was logical, correct, and technically the core definition of a trainer's job.
But she was an Uma Musume.