"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Mejiro McQueen, and I will be joining this team. I look forward to working with you, seniors."
In the Team Sirius clubroom, Mejiro McQueen was introducing herself to the few people in front of her.
"Welcome. I never thought that just as this old man is about to retire, I'd get to see a horse girl with your talent join Sirius."
Oguri Cap's trainer said, giving P next to him a look that said, "You've really got some skills, kid."
Mejiro McQueen was currently the hottest star athlete at Chuuou. Her strength was at a monstrous level, even acknowledged by the "Emperor."
"Hello, McQueen. I'm Oguri Cap. Welcome to Sirius."
Oguri Cap paused her carrot-munching to nod at Mejiro McQueen.
"Hello, I'm Silence Suzuka..."
Although she was a second-year, Silence Suzuka, who had yet to make her debut, seemed a bit timid.
She had only joined Sirius a short time ago. She was originally a member of Team Centaur.
Aside from Oguri Cap and Silence Suzuka, the only other team member was Tokai Teio, who was still in the hospital.
"Don't mind an old man like me. I've already applied for retirement. I just came to take one last look."
Having accompanied Oguri Cap through her final Twinkle Series race, Oguri Cap's trainer no longer had any regrets.
"Then that just leaves me. I'm P, but you can just call me Trainer. Welcome to Sirius, McQueen."
"Then I'll be in your care, Mr. Trainer."
Mejiro McQueen said, taking a schedule from her school bag and handing it to P.
P looked at it, puzzled, and said in surprise, "Is this... your race plan, McQueen?"
The old man also saw the contents from behind and looked just as shocked. "Young people really are ambitious."
The Classic Triple Crown, domination of the Tenno Sho, the Spring and Autumn Triple Crowns, and the Arima Kinen!
What kind of demonic race schedule was this?
A normal person wouldn't even dare to dream of it, let alone actually try to achieve it.
These were all top-tier G1-level races.
For an average horse girl, winning even one of these races would be the highest honor.
The Triple Crown is a legend, and an Undefeated Triple Crown is a feat comparable to a miracle. But Mejiro McQueen's ambition was not satisfied with just an Undefeated Triple Crown!
Both trainers fell silent.
Could something this absurd really be possible?
"S-So amazing..." Silence Suzuka looked at the schedule, gazing at her junior with admiration and envy.
She was actually a fan of McQueen, too. That "Great Escape" running style was exactly her ideal way of running.
"Little P, don't let your horse girl down."
The old man said to P with a sigh. A monster-level horse girl like this wasn't going to be easy to handle.
P just smiled helplessly at his words, then his expression turned serious. "Yes, I'm well aware of that, Teacher."
Having studied under this old gentleman, he was different from most of the trainers at Chuuou Tracen Academy.
His dream as a trainer was to help horse girls achieve their dreams!
This was the philosophy of the old man's school of thought, but the old man himself was limited by his own abilities and hadn't been able to realize it.
But P was different. Because this young trainer was a true training genius.
After all, being able to enter Chuuou Tracen at his age was proof enough of P's talent.
P said to Mejiro McQueen, "Since this is your idea, McQueen, I will do everything in my power to help you achieve this plan."
Hearing the trainer's reply, Mejiro McQueen smiled.
This was the fundamental reason she had chosen Sirius. If it had been any other trainer, they would have definitely tried to criticize and change her plan.
"Alright, next up, Suzuka, prepare for your debut race. McQueen, let's prepare for the Japan Derby."
P wrote these two goals on the blackboard.
He then discussed the upcoming training plan with Mejiro McQueen. She had no objections to his arrangements.
After all, there wasn't much room left for improvement in Mejiro McQueen's abilities.
Even after self-studying for so long, she hadn't managed to grasp any new skills.
Although she had some thoughts about that state she was in during the Satsuki Sho, she hadn't been able to find that feeling again since.
...
Time passed quickly, and the day of the Japan Derby arrived.
Mejiro McQueen arrived at the racecourse. All the other competitors were secretly sizing her up.
Her gaze swept around, and she saw Mejiro Ryan. The other girl just nodded, not intending to say anything before the race.
There were familiar faces she recognized from the game, but also many horse girls she didn't know.
But being able to participate in this race meant their skills couldn't be too bad.
"That's Mejiro McQueen."
Even though Mejiro McQueen just entered normally with no extra movements, all the competitors felt a terrible pressure.
Because anyone who had seen the recordings of her previous races knew just how terrifying this horse girl's strength was.
There weren't many competitors today, only nine in total, because the rest had chosen to withdraw.
After Mejiro McQueen entered, many horse girls felt they had no chance of winning. So, rather than waste a race, they decided to prepare for other competitions.
There were so many races; it was impossible that they'd run into this monster, Mejiro McQueen, everywhere, right?
Mejiro McQueen ignored her rivals' stares. She just calmly did her warm-ups, enjoying the atmosphere of the racetrack.
As expected, it was completely different from training. This feeling, like an electric shock, was truly addictive.
She could feel the presence of the other runners, even clearly hear their breathing and the pounding of their hearts.
And right now, all of them saw her as their rival.
Heh, this was just perfect.
In the stands, the members of Team Sirius were watching the race together. Even Tokai Teio had come to watch, sitting in a wheelchair.
"It's such a shame. I wanted to run in this race too."
Tokai Teio stared intently at the white figure in front of the gate, desperately wanting to go up and run against her right now.
"Your health comes first, Teio. You don't want to be left behind by McQueen, do you? Your main task right now is to recover properly."
P was very serious, because the problem that had emerged with Tokai Teio was quite severe.
Tokai Teio's legs were too fragile. Although, it was also because of this that she possessed the "Teio Step" skill.
It was only after bursting with effort three times in the previous Satsuki Sho that Tokai Teio had exposed this problem.
Luckily, it was discovered early enough, and she received treatment in time. Otherwise, she might have really had to retire from her racing career.
P had flatly refused any of Tokai Teio's ideas about leaving the hospital or competing anytime soon.
In any case, Tokai Teio's dream had already been shattered by McQueen from the very beginning, so it was better to prioritize her health.
And now, Tokai Teio's only thought was to have one more serious race with McQueen, so she was being rather obedient.
It had to be said that being beaten down by reality was indeed the fastest way to make someone grow.
The originally somewhat arrogant Tokai Teio had suddenly become more mature and steady after the Satsuki Sho.
"Geez, Trainer, you worry too much. The great Teio's body won't be beaten that easily!"
Tokai Teio said playfully. Although her tone was similar to the past, P felt something was different.
She's grown up, Teio.
P felt a bit emotional. If possible, he really hadn't wanted to see Teio grow up because of something like this.
He had originally promised Teio that he would lead her to an Undefeated Triple Crown.
However, at that time, neither of them had imagined that Mejiro McQueen would also have the same idea of taking the Undefeated Triple Crown.
The hero, fresh from her debut, ran straight into the final boss before she even had a chance to level up. Her luck was truly something else.
Beside them, Oguri Cap was eating from a family bucket, her mouth stuffed full.
Silence Suzuka's eyes were sparkling as she watched Mejiro McQueen. Let me see that beautiful running form again! I can never get tired of watching it!
In her own debut race, Silence Suzuka had also used a "Great Escape" style, eliminating all her opponents by a large margin.
The reports all said she would be the next Mejiro McQueen, but only Silence Suzuka herself knew the gap between her and that person.
Even in training, she could only ever see that person's back.
She really wanted to know what the view was like from up there in the front.
The race began. A huge roar of support came from the stands, with everyone shouting McQueen's name.
And on the track.
The instant the countdown ended, with a "BANG!"
A white shockwave exploded outward, and Mejiro McQueen shot out, taking the lead.
The gap widened at a terrifying speed. The horse girls behind her had no choice but to grimace and accelerate along with her.
Because they didn't dare let Mejiro McQueen truly escape, all the runners were forced to disrupt their own rhythm right from the start.
"Mejiro McQueen!"
"McQueen-oneechan!"
The moment the audience saw this, they were instantly fired up.
This was it!
This was exactly the kind of magnificent running style that made them love Mejiro McQueen so much!
'Damn it! Why does the race feel so difficult when it's only just begun?!'
The runners whose rhythm had been thrown off showed strained expressions.
You have to understand, in a real situation, it's rare for a race to ramp up to this speed right from the start.
A horse girl's body isn't made of steel. They have to adapt bit by bit to be able to unleash their full power in the later stages of the race.
But now, because of Mejiro McQueen's influence, they were forced to push themselves to increase their speed and chase her from the very beginning.
Even though many runners had done specialized training with their trainers for this, it wasn't a problem that could be overcome so easily.
And the consequence of forcing themselves to speed up at the start was that by the time the race had only reached the middle leg, many of the horse girls were already starting to have stamina problems.