Unliek Tokai Teio's cheerful personality, Mejiro McQueen walked through Tracen with an unnatural stiffness.
The area was filled with Uma Musume discussing who was stronger between her and Teio, their giggling voices left McQueen feeling utterly distracted and annoyed.
'It shouldn't be like this... I want a quieter atmosphere...'
To be honest, after seeing Tokai Teio's strength in the Osaka Hai, McQueen felt a flicker of panic in her heart.
That was because the Uma Musume who had defeated her in the Arima Kinen had been completely blown away by Teio.
Starlight turned her head slightly to look over, McQueen's preoccupation was plain to see.
In the evening, after training had ended, McQueen sat on a bench on the grassy slope.
She was slowly removing her running shoes, and the other members had already left.
The setting sun shone upon the purple-haired Uma Musume, her usual confidence having vanished into thin air.
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of footsteps approached, slowly blocking the sunlight that fell on McQueen.
As the shadow enveloped her, McQueen looked up in confusion.
Golden hexagram-shaped eyes met hers. It was a silver-haired Uma Musume with a faint smile, the gold at the tips of her hair shimmering.
"St-Starlight-chan? Why are you here..."
Starlight didn't say a word.
She reached into her pocket and pulled something out, then held out a set of weighted wristbands in front of McQueen.
"You remember how to use these, right? I taught you before..."
Staring at the wristbands in the fair, small hand, Mejiro McQueen's purple eyes froze.
She understood exactly what Starlight meant by giving her these.
Slowly clenching her fists, McQueen reached out and took them, nodding.
"I understand, Starlight-chan... Thank you..."
"Hehe, do your best. Just be careful not to overdo it. If you get injured because of these, I'll be so sad I'll start shedding little pearls from my eyes."
Holding the weighted wristbands in her palms, McQueen nodded solemnly.
Upon seeing her expression, Starlight couldn't help but open her mouth.
"Ahem! In case you've forgotten, I am Divine Starlight! The undefeated Triple Tiara Filly with an eight-race winning streak!"
"Mejiro McQueen, if you continue to be this depressed, I'll be disappointed in you. And I certainly won't accept your feelings!"
Despite the serious words, Mejiro McQueen couldn't help but burst into laughter, solemn expression turning into a smile.
"What are you laughing at! I'm being serious!"
"Haha... I know, Starlight-chan... but the way you imitated my way of speaking was just too funny."
Her face flushing slightly, Starlight crossed her arms, looking a bit miffed.
"No laughing!"
"Okay, okay, I won't laugh."
...
The two of them looked at each other for a long time.
The corners of McQueen's mouth turned up, her tone very soft.
"Starlight-chan, thank you. I won't lose to Tokai Teio in the Tenno Sho. I will win the race."
"Mm~ Good luck. I look forward to your victory."
The following afternoon, as soon as Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen arrived at the training ground, they began exchanging charged glances, sparks flying between them.
The sizzling tension made Special Week, Vodka, and the others feel a bit sheepish —except for Gold Ship, of course, who was busy tinkering with her own sausage roaster on the side.
"I'm not selling fried noodles this year, I'm selling hot dogs. Maybe they'll be a hit~"
As Ryo Nishizaki arrived, he gave Gold Ship a casual glance before ignoring her.
He looked at Teio and McQueen and spoke.
"Since the two of you are going to battle it out at the Tenno Sho, from this moment on, you can no longer act like friends. You must treat each other as rivals!"
"Hmph, of course! From today on, I'm not speaking to you anymore, Mejiro McQueen!"
"Heh, I had the same idea!"
"Eh? Do they really have to go that far? Well, I guess it is a race where they have to give it their all..."
Special Week felt herself getting nervous just watching them.
Walking up with a bag, Nishizaki handed it to Tokai Teio.
"Furthermore, your training plans will be different. Teio, this is yours—"
"Long-distance shoes?"
"Exactly. Since the Tenno Sho is a long-distance race of 3,200 meters, what you need to do is increase your stamina and get used to long-distance running."
Taking two horseshoes out of his pocket, Ryo Nishizaki walked over to Mejiro McQueen.
"These are yours..."
Clack—
When placed in McQueen's hand, the weight of the horseshoes was clearly noticeable.
"So heavy..."
"McQueen, you need to increase your strength and explosive power. Let's begin training!"
Nodding, Mejiro McQueen shot a glance at Tokai Teio and thought to herself gleefully:
'Hehe... Starlight-chan gave me the equipment she's always worn close to her body, while you, my friend... no, my rival Tokai Teio, you have nothing but your determination to win.'
'But I... I also have the power of love!'
Just thinking about how the wristbands on her arms were items Starlight wore for daily training, constantly infused with her essence and effort, McQueen couldn't help but feel excited.
She only needed to set them to the first level, which, combined with the weighted horseshoes from Nishizaki, was more than enough for her practice.
At that moment, just as Mejiro McQueen was adjusting her equipment, Gold Ship, who was still tinkering with her sausage roasterm felt a chill run down her spine and let out a sudden sneeze.
"A-achoo!!! Strange, is someone thinking about me?"
Scratching her head and thinking nothing of it, she placed a frozen sausage into the roaster, brushed it with oil, flicked the switch, and began grilling.
With a sizzle and a rotate, the sausage soon emitted a unique meaty aroma.
The scent drifted over to the training field on a light breeze, affecting quite a few Uma Musume.
"How much?"
Suddenly, Nishizaki appeared at her side at some unknown point, drooling slightly as he asked.
"Oh? Is the sausage roaster really the right move? Was fried noodles too old-school after all—Ahem, five hundred yen a piece."
Feeling a bit of a sting in his wallet, Nishizaki pulled out a thousand-yen bill and stuffed it into her hand.
"Give me two. Remember to brush on plenty of sweet chili sauce."
Giving an "OK" gesture, Gold Ship skillfully skewered them with bamboo sticks and handed them over.
Special Week: 'Slurp—I want to eat so bad...'
Mejiro McQueen: 'Strange, why is my mouth so dry...?'
Since Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet didn't have any races in the coming month, so they didn't need to strictly monitor their weight.
With decent self-control, they simply walked over to join the feast.
"Agh! Really! Trainer, I'm going to do extra laps!"
Letting out a shout, Special Week couldn't take it anymore and rushed over as well.
At this point, only Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen were left on the spot, staring at each other in mounting frustration.
"McQueen, if you want to eat, just go ahead. I'm not that hungry yet~"
"Hmph, mere sausages are beneath me. Why aren't you training yet, Teio? Could it be you can't hold back anymore? "
"Don't suppress it, holding it in too long is bad for the body. Just let it all out."
Tokai Teio quickly jerked her head to the side and swallowed hard.
"I'm going for my long-distance run, bye-bye—"
"I'm going to practice my power training too—"
"Wow, McQueen and Teio are amazing, being able to resist that..."
With her cheeks puffed out, Special Week watched the figures of the two Uma Musume training and marveled.
"Haha, not everyone is a glutton like you, Spe-chan~ Anyone else want one? Get in line. Buy three, get one free!"
"Is that so? Then give me one as well."
"Sure, sure—"
'Wait, something's wrong!'
The smile on Gold Ship's face instantly froze. She turned toward the speaker and her hair stood on end immediately.
"Sy-Symboli Rudolf!?"
"Who gave you permission to set up a sausage roaster on the training grounds?! Take that junk roaster of yours and report to the Student Affairs Office immediately."
"Noooo!"