After Tokai Teio was thoroughly taught a lesson by Orfevre, it wasn't until that evening that a vehicle from the Mejiro Family finally pulled up to the school gate.
Soon, Gold Ship, Mejiro McQueen, and Imanami all stepped out of the car.
"Well then, we'll head back to the academy now, everyone. Thank you for everything."
"Have a safe drive back."
After thanking the Mejiro Family's driver, the group continued walking towards Tracen Academy.
As they were walking, Mejiro McQueen patted her chest, still feeling a lingering sense of relief, and couldn't help but say to Imanami beside her:
"I was so scared... I was sure Grandmother would scold us today."
"I didn't expect Grandmother to not only not blame us, but also keep us at home for a while… That really was unexpected."
"Trainer, why is it that despite me losing so many times, Grandmother not only doesn't blame us, but she also doesn't look unhappy either? Do you know why?"
"Well, McQueen, you don't think beating an Uma Musume like T.M. Opera O is that easy, right?"
"Even in long races, where you excel at, T.M. Opera O is by no means inferior."
Imanami wasn't as surprised at the outcome as McQueen was.
Although he initially went to the Mejiro Family expecting to be held accountable, the Mejiro Family Head's gentle attitude confirmed another one of Imanami's conjectures:
Aside from the Tenno Sho, the Madam didn't place much importance on races like the Classic Triple Crowns; McQueen's loss was fully acceptable to her, and maybe even fully expected.
After all, McQueen was still a distance away from her actual peak.
If McQueen wasn't an outlier of their bloodline, McQueen's true peak should be next year and the year after, when she would truly grow into a long-distance terrorizer.
As for the Kikuka Sho… even if McQueen won, she wouldn't have become a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume, so why lament over such a GI race?
In fact, the Mejiro Family Head was actually quite satisfied with McQueen and Ryan's performance in the Kikuka Sho.
When Ryan stepped up at the crucial moment to help McQueen break through the encirclement, the Mejiro Family Head understood that there was no longer a need to dwell on the outcome of this race.
For the Madam, there was no better sight than seeing her grandchildren helping and pushing each other forward together.
Thus, this time, she didn't scold anyone.
Of course, in a place McQueen didn't know about, the Mejiro Family still gave some reminders to Imanami.
"I don't really care much about these races, as long as McQueen can retire safely and healthily as well as win the Tenno Sho, that's enough."
"—But, such continuous defeats would still have some impact on our Mejiro Family."
"I know you're not afraid of Shadai, Trainer Imanami. I also know you have some sort of countermeasure against them on the track."
"But, I hope that in the next race, you and McQueen can bring back a victory that satisfies me. Then, I might not be so worried about the Tenno Sho."
Clearly, finishing second in the Japanese Derby and the Kikuka Sho, two consecutive defeats, left an unsavoury taste for some people.
Moreover, in both races, McQueen lost to T.M. Opera O, the new Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.
To put it bluntly, during her Classic Year, McQueen was merely a backdrop for T.M. Opera O.
Winning or losing didn't matter, but saying one would just be a background character for life was difficult for anyone to hear.
Imanami knew very well that the "Wada + T.M. Opera O" combination was indeed more likely to create miracles, but he wasn't the kind of person who would be genuinely content with just being a background character.
He was a pretty big hoshot back in the day, after all.
Although he had long since moved past that phase, his rejuvenated body had brought back some of the passion and impulsiveness from back then.
"McQueen, if all goes well, you and Ryan will also be invited to this year's Arima Kinen. Do you want to participate?"
"Of course. After all, this is a century-defining race between the Emperor and the Overlord. I want to at least be a part of it and feel the gap between me and the ones who stand at the peak."
McQueen nodded without hesitation.
Although she didn't think she would win, the Arima Kinen, a race decided by fan votes, would surely gather a large number of powerful Uma Musume.
This was an excellent opportunity for some on-field learning. Even if she couldn't win, she believed she would obtain significant gains after the Arima Kinen.
"Very good. Then, after the Arima Kinen, let's restart with the Hanshin Daishoten in March, McQueen."
"After that, we'll directly head towards the Spring Tenno Sho."
"Understood! This time, I absolutely will not lose!"
As soon as the Tenno Sho was mentioned, McQueen's eyes lit up. She now had a sufficient understanding of her own strength.
Perhaps competing for the position of the strongest Uma Musume of her generation would be difficult, but she was still in her growth phase, and her strength still had a lot of room to improve.
Next year, she would face her obstacles with a completely new attitude. The Tenno Sho, she would absolutely not lose it!
"Oooo~ you're full of energy, McQueen~ T.M. Opera O might even have to avoid the Spring Tenno Sho because of how scary you are~"
Gold Ship, who was beside her, looked at the very spirited McQueen and, as always, joked casually.
Gold Ship was incredibly relaxed. Her training frequency was probably the lowest in the entire team; she would only train diligently for short periods after being nagged by Imanami, but that was all it was—just training for a short while.
Luckily, her planned debut was still a long way off.
Although Gold Ship could technically debut at any time, but because of a whimsical plan she had cooked up, she decided to be the last one in their current team to debut.
Anyway, everyone is getting so strong nowadays, there was no need for her, the great Golshi-sama, to join the fun~
Gold Ship's idea was that she planned to make a sudden appearance when everyone else became weak, becoming a highly anticipated new star.
At that time, popularity, prize money, and everything else would come flooding in.
By then, those who should retire would retire, and those who should rest would rest. That would be the time for the great Gold Ship revolution to commence!
'Once that happens, the Old Man would definitely focus all his attention on me, Gold Ship, alone. After all, I would be the last and strongest ever Uma Musume in the team!'
'Hmph, as expected of the great Golshi-sama! Only I could've come up with such a perfect plan!'
Just as Gold Ship and McQueen were lost in their own thoughts, a sudden phone call interrupted them.
Imanami picked up his phone and answered:
"Hello? Ikezoe, what's wrong?"
"—Imanami, I'm very sorry, but I'll explain it later. Please come to our team's building immediately."
Ikezoe's extremely apologetic voice came from the phone. He sounded somewhat anxious as he said,
"Tokai Teio got really shaken after a mock race. Now, she has locked herself in your room and won't come out. I'm afraid something might happen to her…"
"—I'll be right there."
Imanami immediately realized the seriousness of the situation from Ikezoe's brief words.
He quickly hung up the phone and said to Gold Ship and McQueen beside him,
"Let's hurry to the team building. Teio seems to have had some trouble."
"Teio? Something happened to her after we were gone for only a few hours?"
McQueen was also startled and couldn't help but feel worried. She should have brought Teio with them to the Mejiro Family today!
"Then let's go, Old Man!"
Hearing this, Gold Ship immediately rushed forward, but then suddenly remembered something and turned around, effortlessly carrying Imanami onto her back.
She then said to McQueen:
"McQueen! Don't just stand there, let's go!"
"O- oh, wait for me!"
McQueen became slightly stunned by Gold Ship's familiar action of effortlessly carrying Imanami on her back.
But very quickly, she caught up with Gold Ship's pace, and the two girls ran towards the team building as fast as they could…
Bang bang bang!
"Teio! Please! Come out! We're all worried about you!"
Outside the door, it wasn't just Ikezoe and his two Uma Musume; Wada, with T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto, was also anxiously standing by.
Just as everyone was at a loss, the door to the building suddenly opened, and Imanami, carried on Gold Ship's back, along with McQueen who followed closely behind, finally arrived.
"How is Teio?"
Imanami ignored the surprised glances of the other Uma Musume, calmly got off Gold Ship's back, and asked.
"No movement… If it weren't for the faint crying, I really would've thought she fell unconscious or worse..."
"Then why don't you kick the door down?"
Gold Ship couldn't help but ask,
"We've got multiple Uma Musume here, right? Shouldn't it have been easy?"
"We've already tried kicking it, but even all four of them together couldn't open it. The door must have been modified; it's really sturdy."
Wada also helplessly waved his hand. Four incredibly strong Uma Musume had tried their best, and even they couldn't make a dent.
Clearly, this door was designed with anti-Uma Musume intentions in mind to stop Uma Musume from breaking in.
"Tch, let me try."
Gold Ship, however, sounded a bit unconvinced. She waved her hand, telling everyone else to step back, then aimed at the door and retreated a few steps.
The next moment, everyone felt a fierce wind suddenly rush over.
In an instant, Gold Ship sprinted forward, leaped into the air sideways, and kicked the door with both feet, creating a strong burst of air!
BANG!
"It opened!"
Gold Ship then landed with a superhero pose on the ground, having somewhat of a 'cool' aura around her.
Imanami, who was just about to take out the keys, looked at the door, which had two clear footprint marks caved into it, alongside the latch, which had been completely blown off.
He could only sigh as he strode forward and, with little effort, pushed the door open.
As the light from outside illuminated the dark room, Imanami saw Tokai Teio's small, curled-up body inside the room.
"T- Trainer…"
Tokai Teio, her eyes tear-filled, turned around blankly. On the floor of the room, papers covered with writing were scattered everywhere.
And on all those papers, Tokai Teio's often-repeated, unchanging dream was written:
"Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume."
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It's anti-Uma Musume alright, just not anti-Gold Ship.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.