Mejiro McQueen silently returned to Sakura Baimu.
"McQueen, don't be so down! Look at me, I haven't won a single match this year!"
Tokai Teio patted Mejiro McQueen on the back, making a self-deprecating remark.
Unfortunately, Mejiro McQueen didn't respond to Tokai Teio's teasing, remaining silent.
Upon seeing Mejiro McQueen's silence, the TCB Umamusumes were anxious but unsure how to comfort her.
This time, the gap between her and the Golden Crown Eagle was too great.
"McQueen, if you lose, you have to get your revenge. Golden Crown Eagle should be competing in the Japan Cup this November. Let's win back everything we lost today."
Sakura Baimu spoke to Mejiro McQueen in an unusually gentle tone. She had intended to reach out and ruffle Mejiro McQueen's hair, but withdrew her hand halfway through.
Tokai Teio and Satono Diamond standing nearby both witnessed this but quickly looked away without saying a word.
"Trainer, is it true that I can't beat her without a Zone?" Mejiro McQueen suddenly asked.
"Not necessarily."
"Is there any precedent? An Umamusume, without a Zone, defeating a Zone holder of Golden Crown Eagle's caliber?"
"Not today, but maybe tomorrow."
Mejiro McQueen paused, stunned by these words. She and the other TCB members looked at Sakura Baimu with surprise, somewhat confused.
"What do you mean by 'not today, but maybe tomorrow'?" Mejiro McQueen asked, puzzled.
"Trainer-san is probably joking…" Satono Diamond chuckled, trying to smooth things over.
"To be honest," Mejiro McQueen spoke, "I really don't have the confidence to beat her at the Japan Cup in November if I can't break through my current limitations."
"That's not necessarily true," Sakura Baimu said. "McQueen, you should remember that Golden Crown Eagle couldn't keep up with your speed during your first acceleration, which means her actual strength isn't as great as yours."
"That's true," Smart Falcon nodded in agreement.
"With your current strength, you definitely can't contend with Golden Crown Eagle. Opening your Zone is very much a matter of luck. If you're unlucky, you might never be able to open a Zone in your entire life."
The TCB members' hearts sank upon hearing Sakura Baimu's words.
These words not only failed to comfort them but actually made their hopes seem even slimmer.
"Trainer-san~~!"
Tokai Teio stamped her foot, feeling somewhat exasperated by Sakura Baimu's insensitive remark.
"However, although getting a Zone is difficult, if it's only to defeat Golden Crown Eagle, it doesn't necessarily require a Zone," Sakura Baimu said to her team members with a slight smile.
"Trainer-san, what do you mean?" Mejiro McQueen raised an eyebrow, looking up at Sakura Baimu.
"Before a Zone, isn't there another domain?" Sakura Baimu smiled.
"Aura?!" the TCB Umamusumes exclaimed in unison.
"That's right. McQueen and Teiō have probably felt it several times already. Among the Umamusumes you've encountered so far, besides Golden Crown Eagle, the one with the strongest aura is Rice Shower." Sakura Baimu snapped her fingers.
"Mental strength can be improved through training. In fact, the Spartan training I give you can gradually improve your mental strength."
"Once your mental strength is strong, you can resist much of the aura's influence after an opponent activates their Zone. If your mental strength far surpasses the opponent's, you can even influence them in return. Besides, improving mental strength also helps with speed."
"Logically, the Zones of ordinary Umamusumes shouldn't have much of an effect on us anymore, so why haven't McQueen and I mastered 'aura' yet?" Tokai Teio asked.
"This kind of thing is like the Zone. It's something I can't easily reveal to you. Knowing it wouldn't do you any good; it's better to figure it out yourself when the time is right," Sakura Baimu said with a smile.
"Trainer-san, are you even reliable? You haven't even trained a single Zone or Aura Umamusume yet; how do you know all this?"
Mejiro McQueen's eyes immediately turned deadpan when she heard Sakura Baimu use the same old excuse.
"You know I wasn't lying to you, right? Don't worry, I'll definitely make sure you beat her in the Japan Cup," Sakura Baimu said, patting Mejiro McQueen on the shoulder, promising.
"In the end, I still have to run myself. I don't know where your confidence comes from…"
Mejiro McQueen looked away and muttered under her breath.
There were no more matches for the rest of the day, so Sakura Baimu took her team to practice for a while.
They didn't let the exhausted Umamusumes go home until dusk had completely enveloped the sky.
The five Umamusumes on the team lived in the Kuri-dong dormitory, so Sakura Baimu said goodbye to them and boarded the tram to the hospital.
After Sakura Baimu left, Teio whispered to McQueen.
"McQueen~"
"What's wrong, Teiō? I'm so tired right now, I don't want to talk." Mejiro McQueen's ears were drooping, and her voice was extremely listless.
Today had truly been a terrible day for her.
"Just now, when Trainer-san was comforting you, she was about to reach out and pat your head~" Tokai Teio said.
"Huh?! Did that happen? I didn't feel anything—when did that happen?!"
Mejiro McQueen's ears perked up immediately upon hearing this.
Like a startled rabbit, she stared at Tokai Teio with wide purple eyes.
"It was after you came back from losing this afternoon, McQueen. Trainer-san was about to pat your head, but she pulled her hand back halfway."
"Yes, I saw it too." Satono Diamond nodded repeatedly.
"Thank goodness she pulled her hand back, otherwise I might…"
Mejiro McQueen instinctively wanted to be a little smug but was interrupted by Tokai Teio's words.
"For some reason, seeing Trainer-san wanting to pat your head but not daring to, I felt a little sorry for her."
"Huh?!"
McQueen was startled. After saying this, Teio quickly looked at Diamond beside her.
"Dia-chan, you think so too?"
"Yeah… actually, our Trainer-san is pretty good to us. Although she sometimes does some unexpected things, she doesn't seem to have done anything too outrageous." Satono Diamond crossed her arms and whispered.
"I don't know what the other teams think, but I feel that if I were a trainer, and I was even afraid to pat my Umamusume's head to comfort her, worried she'd get angry, then I'd definitely feel like a terrible trainer."
"That means I haven't built a good relationship with my Umamusume. Isn't that a pretty pathetic thing?"