Mejiro McQueen stood there in a daze, the cheers from the crowd unable to affect her mood in the slightest.
'I almost lost...'
Although she had still won, there was no denying that Tokai Teio had truly put pressure on her.
Her mood was very unpleasant.
'Why? There was no gap in our stats! My skills were overwhelmingly stronger! How could I have almost lost?'
'And since Tokai Teio could do that, does that mean...'
'...that the other 'me' could have done it too?'
'Doesn't that mean I, myself, am weak?'
At this thought, Mejiro McQueen's expression became somewhat ferocious, as if she were about to eat someone.
Before the story mode began, she might not have cared. Back then, she didn't consider herself a genius.
Back then, she just thought she was a lucky person.
But it was different now!
She was born as Mejiro McQueen, experienced a new life, and her personality and spirit had been elevated once more.
The her of today believed she was the real Mejiro McQueen, and firmly believed she was a true genius!
But today, Tokai Teio's performance was like a slap in the face, telling her: "No, you're not!"
The real genius was Tokai Teio!
With no external help, she had used her own potential to nearly defeat an unbeatable enemy!
If she didn't have the system, could she really have done the same?
'...How ugly, Mejiro McQueen. Is it that hard to admit you're weak?'
'Weakness isn't scary, it's not even important! So what if I have a system and use external help? The system didn't just give me stats. My current stats and skills were all mastered through my own hard work over three years! There's no need to feel ashamed, is there?'
'That's right. None of that matters. Do I really care if I'm a genius?'
'No. I just hate losing. This anxiety and anger are really just about one thing—that I almost lost.'
'But right now, I am still the victor.'
With this thought, she walked over to Tokai Teio.
Tokai Teio was surprised to see Mejiro McQueen walking toward her.
She hadn't expected that McQueen to pay attention to a loser like her at a time like this.
"McQueen... haha, sorry. I provoked you earlier, and now I just look pathetic."
Mejiro McQueen felt very uncomfortable looking at Tokai Teio's forced smile.
"Tokai Teio!"
She had many dissatisfactions with her own performance in this race.
She also realized that her mind wasn't as strong as she thought!
When she was almost overtaken, she felt like her composure was about to break.
Therefore, she was very dissatisfied with this victory. This was not the kind of victory she wanted. Seeing Tokai Teio's startled look made her even more annoyed. She said: "Go to the hospital and get your legs checked, now. I don't want to hear that you've withdrawn from the next race due to injury. I am going to race you again!"
"...I get it, McQueen," Tokai Teio replied with a smile.
It was terrible. Her dream of achieving the Undefeated Triple Crown had been shattered in the very first race.
But after gaining McQueen's attention, she found that she wasn't as disappointed as she thought.
In fact, before the race, when she knew McQueen would be participating, she had a faint premonition that she would lose this time. After all, she had investigated McQueen and watched her race recordings; she knew the difference in their strength.
But she had come to challenge Mejiro McQueen with the full awareness that this dream might be shattered.
"Next time, the great
Teio will win."
"Don't make me laugh. I will never lose!"
Having said what she wanted to say, Mejiro McQueen left the track.
Although she had no interest in the winner's stage, given her position as a Mejiro horse girl, she couldn't skip it, even if she just went up to make an appearance. But while she disliked it, she didn't have much aversion to it. After all, it was just a matter of copy-pasting the songs and dances she had learned.
Tokai Teio was later taken away by Symboli Rudolf. It was said that her legs had already lost all feeling by that time.
Mejiro McQueen gritted her teeth.
Although she hadn't cared about this 'rival' at first, she now really didn't want to hear news of Teio retiring from racing due to her body. She would definitely, on the racetrack, crush Tokai Teio completely!
...
The Satsuki Sho became the hot topic for the following weeks.
Tokai Teio's burst was simply too spectacular.
Even Mejiro McQueen's fans couldn't help but want to cheer for Teio when they saw that burning moment.
In fact, at the venue, many McQueen fans had cheered for Tokai Teio.
After all, compared to the overwhelmingly powerful Mejiro McQueen, Tokai Teio's performance was like that of a hero challenging a demon king.
Although she lost in the end, her performance had successfully won over many spectators.
And in the audience of that race, two little horse girls were completely captivated by the charisma of Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio.
"Teio-oneechan is so cool, just like a hero!"
A small horse girl, Kitasan Black, watched the race recording on TV, her eyes sparkling like stars.
"No, McQueen-oneechan is the coolest! Elegant and overwhelmingly powerful!"
"It's clearly Teio-oneechan!"
"It's McQueen-oneechan!"
The small boat of their friendship was capsizing.
But childish conversations like this were not uncommon on the internet. Because of this race, many people got to know Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen. McQueen's strength needed no explanation; anyone who had seen her race knew she was a monster-class horse girl. And although Tokai Teio seemed to have a gap with McQueen, her performance in the final corner had already proven her strength.
At present, in the same generation, there were no other horse girls who could compete with these two!
So now, the internet was basically divided into McQueen fans, Teio fans, or those who loved both.
...
The commotion outside didn't affect the Mejiro family's castle at all.
At the Mejiro family tea party, Mejiro McQueen sat alone off to the side, looking at the group of Mejiro horse girls.
Ever since she was young, she had hated tea parties and gatherings because she was not good at chatting.
To be more precise, she had no intention of learning skills like reading the room or making small talk.
She believed that in the world of horse girls, the rule was very simple: the winner is king!
"McQueen, are you planning to participate in the Derby next?"
"That is correct."
Mejiro McQueen, who was sitting as perfectly as a textbook example and drinking her tea elegantly, first put down her cup before answering Mejiro Ardan's question.
"I expected it, but I didn't think you would actually go for the Undefeated Triple Crown, McQueen."
The Mejiro horse girls had long known that McQueen had great ambitions.
But when McQueen really began to compete for the Undefeated Triple Crown and won the Satsuki Sho by a large margin, they were still shocked.
"Then what do you plan to do about the Tenno Sho, McQueen?"
They all knew that the adults had high expectations for Mejiro McQueen!
McQueen replied: "I will win the Undefeated Triple Crown, and I will also take the Tenno Sho!"
This wasn't a game.
There were no race schedule restrictions in reality. She could easily run the Tenno Sho after the Kikuka Sho.
She didn't feel that, having grown stronger again, there was any horse girl in this world, in this current era, who was her rival.
The only one who could be considered her rival was probably Tokai Teio, but even then, she was confident she could beat Teio in their next race!
In other words, there were no more enemies ahead of her, Mejiro McQueen!
"Well then, at the Japanese Derby, let's have a wonderful race."
Mejiro Ryan also planned to participate in the Derby, although she didn't have much hope of winning anymore. As her "sister," she knew very well how strong Mejiro McQueen was.
"Then challenge me with all you have," Mejiro McQueen said with a smile.
She didn't hate the feeling of being chased, but being overtaken was the one thing she hated most!
...
The daily tea party ended.
Mejiro McQueen took a car back to school.
She had already moved into the dorms. If she hadn't received a call, she wouldn't have gone back to the castle at all; she really wasn't interested in any of that.
She would rather spend that time in the library reading a few more books.
Coming out of the dorms and heading to the cafeteria, Mejiro McQueen saw Trainer P.
Mr. P looked at her with a complicated expression and asked, "I was wondering, Miss McQueen, what you have decided?"
If Mejiro McQueen hadn't not joined another team, he, having waited so long for a reply, would have suspected he
was being stood up.
Mejiro McQueen thought for a moment, took out the team application form, and handed it over. She had already made her decision.
P took the application. He had originally thought he was going to be rejected, but when he saw the name filled out on it, his face was instantly filled with joy.
"Are you really planning to join our team?"
Mejiro McQueen said calmly: "I was hesitating between joining Centaur, which is the strongest on the surface, or joining you at Sirius. But after the race with Tokai Teio, I've made up my mind. I've decided to join Sirius."
Although Tokai Teio's burst in the Satsuki Sho was likely power drawn from her own potential, McQueen had to consider whether Mr. P was responsible for that 'cheat-like' burst of potential.
"Teio will definitely be happy to know you're joining. By the way, because her fracture was treated in time, the doctor said it won't affect her future races." P deliberately told McQueen this information about Teio.
"I will greet the other members of the team tomorrow. From now on, I'll be in your care, Trainer."
McQueen was expressionless, showing no particular concern for Tokai Teio, as if she truly didn't care.
"Right. Let's work hard together with our Sirius partners."
Having gotten his answer, P excitedly took the application form to tell the other members and the "teacher." It was only afterward that Mejiro McQueen remembered that a "hidden master" type old man was also at Sirius—that man was Oguri Cap's former trainer.
Team Sirius was founded by him.
Oguri Cap was the team's first horse girl, and P was the old man's successor.
In other words, even without the "main character halo" buff, Team Sirius was not simple; it was in no way inferior to the so-called "strongest team."
Centaur was only the strongest because powerful horse girls like Symboli Rudolf were affiliated with it.
And that Tojo trainer only picked horse girls with excellent results to join the team. How could such a team not be strong?
But was there anything special about the trainers on this "strongest team"?
Mejiro McQueen thought about it and gave a definitive answer: no.
Is Trainer Tojo excellent?
Yes, she is excellent, but she is just an excellent honor student, nothing more.
And that Trainer Tojo was far too rigid.
This trainer would forcibly interfere with a horse girl's thoughts, arranging their career plans accurately and precisely based on her own ideas and vision. From a trainer's perspective, there was nothing wrong with this. The more capable and confident a trainer was, the more accustomed they were to doing this, because it was reasonable and correct. In fact, wasn't this the trainer's job?
But she was a horse girl.