It was over.
The race, along with her original dream—it all ended in this moment.
The noble mission had failed before it could be fulfilled.
I really wanted to defend it... the Spring Tenno Sho trophy...
Mejiro McQueen lifted her head toward the endless blue sky.
A glimmer flashed at the corner of her eye. Sweat trickled down her cheek.
In the end... I still failed.
Remembering the power Rice Shower had displayed at the end, and the gravity that had bound her—she knew with absolute certainty that this defeat was no accident.
Even though the official margin was only half a length, the actual gap in their abilities was far greater.
Even if they raced again, the only question would be how much distance separated them at the finish.
There's nothing I can do. I executed this race perfectly, but she defeated me fair and square. I can only accept this loss gracefully.
She fought back the urge to cry, taking several deep breaths before barely managing to calm herself.
It was simply too hard to accept.
She had been one step away from achieving her dream. But that single step she couldn't take—and now she had to say goodbye to that dream forever.
"We lost, huh. Nothing we can do about it—Rice Shower's gotten even stronger." Tokai Teio walked up beside her.
She understood McQueen's feelings perfectly right now.
Why?
Because her own feelings weren't any better than McQueen's at the moment.
In the end, she could only watch helplessly as McQueen pulled farther and farther away. That feeling was completely different from losing to Rice Shower.
She had always viewed McQueen as her rival.
She believed that if she could defeat McQueen, who was evenly matched with her, she could reach a higher realm.
But in this race, she felt McQueen was in a place far more distant than herself.
This realization had hit her hard.
If she hadn't later seen McQueen get overtaken by Rice Shower, she'd probably still be drowning in self-doubt right now.
Currently, she was only suppressing her own emotions because she was more worried about McQueen's condition.
"..."
Teio noticed something at the corner of McQueen's eye. Her voice carried surprise. "Were you crying?"
In her impression, McQueen was always a proud lady who loved to save face—someone who would never show her vulnerable side in public.
Yet this McQueen hadn't been able to control her emotions.
It showed just how devastating this race's loss was for her.
"No, I wasn't."
McQueen denied it outright and turned her head away.
"Actually, your eyes are still red, you know."
Even without looking closely, Teio's eyes—rubbed hard earlier to hold back tears—were obviously red.
"Shut up. That's just from exhaustion. It's definitely not because I'm frustrated about losing to you."
Teio would never admit to such a thing.
As if she'd cry just from losing one race.
Besides, this wasn't even the first time she'd lost.
Damn it!
But she still felt so frustrated.
And moreover—
Who do you think I'm actually frustrated about losing to?!
Losing to Rice Shower—yes, that was frustrating, but it didn't produce these particular feelings.
Because she'd mentally prepared herself for that before the race even started.
What she couldn't accept was that she'd lost to McQueen!
And it was an undeniable, complete defeat!
Remembering how she'd given her absolute all during the race—
Only to fail to catch McQueen, and then get left behind—that scene made Teio want to flee this place immediately.
But she couldn't do that right now.
Because she clearly understood that McQueen must be feeling even worse.
McQueen's situation now was like if she herself had lost before achieving the Undefeated Triple Crown.
Though she'd never experienced such a thing, just imagining it made her feel suffocated.
"Losing to me?"
McQueen looked at Teio strangely.
Normally, in this situation, one would say they'd both lost to Rice Shower.
But the words that had slipped from Teio's lips were about losing to her.
Teio's current frustration came from losing to her, not from losing to Rice Shower.
Thinking about this, McQueen found it somewhat amusing.
Who would have thought that in her defeat, she could still find some small comfort from Teio?
"I see. So you're frustrated because you lost to me."
She spoke slowly.
"But losing to me in this race was inevitable. I never once doubted that I would beat you here."
Teio was strong—a rival McQueen acknowledged.
Their abilities were essentially at the same level.
But even at the same level, their performances in a single race wouldn't necessarily be the same.
Teio excelled at distances around 2,400 meters, while she herself was better at distances around 3,000 meters.
With equal ability, each would have the advantage in their specialty range.
So in this race, while McQueen had considered Teio a threat, it was only that—a threat. She had never thought she would actually lose to her.
Teio couldn't accept this.
She believed she had prepared thoroughly, that she had overcome her weaknesses, that she wouldn't lose to McQueen even in McQueen's specialty range.
But when the results came in and she discovered she'd lost by such a margin, she felt lost and unable to accept it.
Now, hearing McQueen say such things, she couldn't contain herself. Her voice turned stern. "What did you say?!"
"This race is my best distance!"
"What does that matter? I prepared for this race for so long!"
"Yes."
McQueen didn't dismiss Teio's efforts. She simply said calmly, "You prepared for a long time. But do you think I didn't put in effort too?"
"..."
Teio thought about her own intensive training—McQueen's training intensity had never been lower than her own. She found herself speechless.
"We're rivals. Either of us winning wouldn't be strange. But I know this track better than you!"
"...You have a point, but..."
"There's no 'but.' Or are you saying you're just a sore loser?"
McQueen's retort killed the argument Teio had been preparing.
A sore loser?
Me?
Though she wanted to deny it, Teio knew perfectly well that was exactly how she felt right now.
Damn it. She really was hopeless.
"Besides, don't you think it's rather pathetic for two losers to be arguing about this here?"
McQueen didn't want to continue this topic.
It would shatter the composure she'd barely managed to recover.
"You're right."
Teio agreed.
She also felt continuing this conversation would be disastrous.
But just then, McQueen glanced at the results board. When she saw Teio's placing, her face showed surprise and curiosity.
"But Teio, what exactly happened that made you fall so far back?"
"...Didn't we just agree not to talk about this?!"
Teio's face flushed as she shouted.
She couldn't exactly say her emotions had taken a hit and she'd failed to maintain her racing state!
That truth couldn't be told!
If she said it, McQueen would definitely laugh at her!
"Fine, but are you really okay? If you want to cry, you should just cry. Don't mind what I said before."
Hearing this, Teio remembered what McQueen had told her the day before the race: Don't start crying if you lose. Her expression darkened.
"I'm not going to cry! You're the one who should worry. You're the one who's about to cry!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I came in second, after all. If I cried, what would all the runners who placed below me think?"
"...Go ahead and keep up that tough act!"
As they spoke, they both found themselves laughing.
Through this exchange, they released the pressure in their hearts.
Up in the stands, Team Spica watched the two girls smile, and the tension they'd been holding finally eased somewhat.
Though they'd anticipated Rice Shower might break through, seeing those two actually lose still left them unsettled.
Especially that moment when Teio lost speed—Okino had nearly trembled with worry.
At that moment, he'd wanted to go back in time and slap himself.
How could anyone call that "fine"?
What had he been thinking before, believing Teio would be okay even if she lost this race?!
If she hadn't been deeply affected, how could that Teio have made such a massive mistake during a race?
This wasn't like last time.
Last time was because of the Overlord's abilities.
But this time, Teio's loss of speed was purely a mental issue.
Okino understood instantly.
Teio simply couldn't accept losing to McQueen!
In that moment of realization, he had trembled all over.
He'd already been getting a headache wondering how to fix this problem.
But unexpectedly, those two had worked through it themselves. He felt a mix of lingering fear and relief.
I almost... did something irreparable!
From that day on, Okino would never act too rashly when handling matters between team members. He would always think three times before acting.
...
On another side.
After finishing the race, Rice Shower bowed to the spectators in the stands, then turned and walked toward the competitor rest area behind the track.
After resting and completing the winner's ceremony, on the way back, Rice Shower nervously shared her thoughts with her trainer.
She wanted to take a break after running the Takarazuka Kinen.
Or rather, if possible, she'd like to temporarily step away from her racing career altogether.
Because continuing to compete in this world was really just bullying everyone else at this point.
Hearing Rice Shower's thoughts, P was somewhat surprised, but after careful consideration, he felt her idea wasn't unreasonable.
With Rice Shower's current achievements, she could absolutely apply for early retirement.
However, retiring after just two years since debut...
Considering Rice Shower's accomplishments and fame, even if she could apply for retirement, he didn't think the committee would easily approve it.
For Uma Musume, the third year after debut was typically their peak period, with the fifth year being their complete form.
Generally, only around the fifth year would an Uma Musume's abilities plateau, unable to continue improving.
Of course, this wasn't absolute.
Some Uma Musume reached their peak earlier, while others didn't peak until late in their careers, continuing to improve even after their competitive years ended.
Rice Shower was only in her second year since debut. She hadn't even reached the third-year peak period, yet she'd already achieved all this. The committee would never agree to let such a star athlete apply for early retirement. While the committee didn't have the authority to stop her, they would certainly find ways to obstruct it.
But what Rice Shower wanted wasn't retirement—she just wanted to temporarily stop racing and rest for a while.
"Then let's only register for the Takarazuka Kinen for the rest of this year. You can rest properly next year."
Taking a break from racing wasn't actually uncommon.
While racing was the most important thing in an Uma Musume's life, this career occupied only a small portion of their entire lifespan.
Uma Musume actually lived longer than humans.
And their racing career, even including the Dream Cup series, totaled less than ten years. Most Uma Musume couldn't even last that long.
After all, not everyone who retired from the Flash series could participate in the Dream Cup.
After leaving racing, Uma Musume who hung up their racing outfits and running shoes ultimately returned to ordinary society.
So for Uma Musume, education was also very important.
Even though racing could earn some Uma Musume enough prize money to last a lifetime, not every Uma Musume could keep winning races.
Some might go five years without a single victory, then quietly leave the track.
If those five years were spent solely focused on racing with no studying, they'd suffer when trying to enter society afterward.
Though the committee did provide support for retired Uma Musume, that support was quite limited.
Especially for those with few achievements during their careers, the future was something they had to seriously consider.
So after becoming Uma Musume and discovering they weren't suited for racing, quite a few chose to take a break and return to their studies.
Whether to participate in races was entirely up to the Uma Musume themselves.
Neither the committee nor trainers had the authority to interfere.
...
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