Mejiro McQueen's dominance remained unshakable! She crossed the finish line with a massive, 28-horse-length lead!
Undisputed. This was an absolute, crushing victory! She is unrivaled!
"She crossed the line! Mejiro McQueen has crossed the line! It's an overwhelming gap! No rivals! Mejiro McQueen has no rivals in this race! Let's congratulate Mejiro McQueen on winning the Arima Kinen! She still maintains her all-win, undefeated record!" The commentator shouted, so excited he was standing on his desk.
Mejiro McQueen had been called the strongest horse girl of her generation online. After winning the Arima Kinen, this title was now an undeniable fact. As long as Mejiro McQueen took the Arc de Triomphe trophy next, she would be the "World's Strongest" of this era!
"She's too strong. It feels like they're not even on the same level." Even a rookie could see that McQueen's strength and her opponents' were not on the same plane. A lead of nearly 100 meters... her opponents didn't even get a chance to cross the finish line on camera. The gap was just too big. She was like a terrifying demon king who dominated the entire race.
"Are you new?" the person next to him asked. "I guess not? But this is my first time seeing Mejiro McQueen race in person," the rookie answered honestly. "Oh. You'll get used to it. This is the Young Lady's (Ojou-sama's) style." "Young Lady?" "It's Mejiro McQueen's nickname. According to some netizens, Mejiro McQueen's status at home is like a 'Young Lady's,' with supreme power. They say even the head of the Mejiro family has to walk on eggshells around her." "Ohh! So domineering! As expected of the Young Lady!" The rookie felt he had learned some strange, new knowledge.
Another fan next to them said, "It's a pity, though. Tokai Teio's comeback wasn't very impressive. I was hoping this 'Twin Star,' who was once mentioned in the same breath as McQueen, would do something amazing. But I guess my expectations were too high."
"I know the Twin Stars! I read that newspaper article about the Satsuki Sho. But you're right. Back then, Tokai Teio looked like she could challenge the Young Lady, but now the gap between them is this huge."
Watching this race gave you only one feeling: it was like watching an adult
bully a group of children. The other runners were no match for Mejiro McQueen. They all desperately tried to catch her, but McQueen just ran her normal race and left them all behind.
But when you think about it... Mejiro McQueen is the one who's only been a rookie for a year. In contrast, some of her opponents debuted much earlier. You can only say that McQueen is so strong, it feels like she's bullying kids.
The rookie thought about this, and suddenly had a more concrete impression of McQueen's strength. She was strong enough to crush all rivals in a G-grade race like the Arima Kinen, including many seasoned veterans. This is Mejiro McQueen's strength. No wonder so many people online thought she could become "The World's Strongest." Because she already had the power of a true champion.
The person who first spoke to the rookie said, "Don't say that. Tokai Teio's performance wasn't bad, was it? She clearly had strength to spare at the end. If her opponent wasn't the Young Lady, if she hadn't been left so far behind, her performance was actually very strong. You can only say she picked a bad race, one that clashed with the Young Lady."
Although Tokai Teio couldn't challenge Mejiro McQueen... At this point, does anyone really still believe Tokai Teio is on the same level as Mejiro McQueen?
She "almost" caught her in the Satsuki Sho, but in the end, she didn't catch her. The so-called "Twin Stars" was just something the fans made up. If you kept clinging to that, it would be disrespectful to both McQueen and Teio. The former's strength is undeniably the "strongest," but just because Teio isn't the strongest, does she deserve to be called weak?
Tokai Teio didn't get a finishing time, but her performance in the race was still commendable. And as for not getting a time... when you race against Mejiro McQueen, isn't that normal? Don't be too harsh on Tokai Teio. It's not her fault she can't be Mejiro McQueen's rival.
And as Mejiro McQueen's performances become more and more terrifying, any runner who can get a finishing time in a race with her is now seen as top-tier. And Tokai Teio... even though she was beaten by McQueen in the Triple Crown, and was injured... because of that, just by the fact she did get a finishing time in the Satsuki Sho, it's proof that she is not weak.
Look at the runners who have faced McQueen. Besides Teio, only Narita Brian and Gold Ship have gotten finishing times. And one of them is a former Triple Crown winner, and the other is a "weirdo horse girl" who no one can predict, who can be either a god or a troll. When you look at it that way, you realize just how hard it is to get a finishing time in one of McQueen's races.
"Of course, I get it. I just think it's a pity. After all, Tokai Teio knew the Young Lady was racing, but she still insisted on running the Arima Kinen. So at first, I thought this genius was making her comeback to challenge the Young Lady. I just didn't expect her performance to be so... standard?"
"Hahaha, you're kidding, right? With the Young Lady's performance, who would dare say they could challenge her? Unless all the runners ganged up on her from the start... but you saw what happened to those 'Escape' runners."
"Yeah... An absolutely superior start, unparalleled explosive power... a horse girl like this is unprecedented. I can't imagine her losing. If that ever happened, my first thought would be that the race was fixed. The Young Lady probably has no rivals left in Japan."
The rookie chimed in, "In that case, do you two know if the Young Lady will challenge any overseas races?" "Uh." "Hard to say. That's up to the Young Lady herself. If the rumors online are true, I don't think even her trainer can order her to do it. So all we can do is wait and hope."
"I see! Thank you for the insight, senpais." "No problem. But speaking of which, are you new? Just returned from overseas? How do you not know this stuff?" The rookie nodded. "Yeah, I've lived abroad until now. I gotta go, senpais! I have to go get a good seat for the Winner's Stage! I'm really looking forward to the Young Lady's performance!"
As the rookie said this, he threw on a support jacket and quickly dashed into the crowd, disappearing. The two next to him were left stunned. A second later, they reacted, jumping up and rushing toward the performance area, their faces twisted with grim determination.
"Dammit! That damned kid! I thought you were just a rookie who didn't know anything!" "Are even the new fans this competitive?! Don't push! Let me through! I have to get a spot today!"
They had almost forgotten! Because of the stage's capacity, not all Winner's Stages could hold the entire audience. If you were late, you couldn't get in. You'd have to watch on the big screen in the plaza. No way! They had to see the race and
the Winner's Stage! This is what it means to be a proper Aemushi!
"Don't push! Let me through!" The fans fought tooth and nail for a spot. "Damn it! Why haven't the officials expanded the stage yet!" Seeing that even other horse girls were fighting them for spots, the fans directed their anger at the event organizers. After all, if they just built the stage as big as the stadium, or just put it in the middle of the track, there would be plenty of room!
This Winner's Stage featured Mejiro McQueen alone. Watching her perfect performance... The fans were mesmerized.
Although Mejiro McQueen herself felt her singing was emotionless, and it was just the event's theme song, it was completely "insincere"... her top-tier idol skills, trained from childhood due to her "perfect young lady" nature, were no joke. Plus, McQueen herself was a natural.
Who needs "emotion" with a performance of this level? The "value" of a solo performance alone was worth the ticket price!
Most fans couldn't tell the difference in emotion anyway. They just focused on whether McQueen looked beautiful on stage and whether her singing was good. After all, not all horse girls practice this stuff. Compared to that standard, McQueen's performance was god-tier.
Mejiro McQueen herself couldn't understand this. She considered these skills to be her weak point. She didn't like performing or singing. She only learned them because they were a "required skill" for a horse girl. With that mindset, she felt she was still a far cry from a "real" idol. And yet, her popularity was even higher than those top-tier idols. She felt she didn't deserve it.
So, for Mejiro McQueen, the Winner's Stage was torture. The only reason she could perform perfectly was because her "breeding" forced her to. Every time she stepped off stage, her expression would become blank and cold, simply because she wanted to escape that place as fast as possible. Standing on that stage was like standing on hot coals.
...
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