"Gold Legend! Gold Legend has won the Kikuka Sho! The Triple Crown is achieved! It is a complete crushing of strength! Since Symboli Rudolf, once again, the birth of an undefeated Triple Crown!"
Only when the Commentator's voice, trembling with excitement, echoed did the audience return from their silence.
Then, sky-shattering cheers resounded through Kyoto Racecourse.
"Legend! Legend!"
Uniform cheers erupted at the scene, as the audience chanted the name of Legend in unison.
The cheers awakened Gold Legend, who seemed to have fallen into deep thought after crossing the finish line. She turned around calmly and smiled at the cheering crowd.
She raised her right hand high and held up three fingers, causing the scene to erupt again.
"A new Legend is born, a new era has arrived!"
"The world's gaze is fixed here; this is the pinnacle of Japanese horse racing!"
"Victory does not belong to talent and sweat; it belongs to Gold Legend!"
"Everyone! Cheer! This era is named Gold Legend!"
...
"Oh my, I lost after all." Phosphophyllite scratched her head and walked to Legend's side.
"Congratulations, you succeeded, the second undefeated Triple Crown winner."
"Thank you." Legend calmly accepted her congratulations.
"...That's really unexpected."
"What?"
"I thought you would be happy. Achieving such an accomplishment—if it were me, I would probably be too excited to speak." Phosphophyllite said in surprise.
"It is just a victory in a race."
"...This is the Kikuka Sho! The undefeated Triple Crown! This is a record that goes down in history!"
"It is just an undefeated Triple Crown."
"Listen to yourself, is that human language?"
I can no longer tell if you are being humble or arrogant.
"Alright, the road is long and difficult, and my path is still long." Legend waved her hand and walked toward the athlete's tunnel.
"Let's go, Ms. Phosphophyllite, we still have to prepare for the Winner's Stage."
"You actually remember my name?"
We haven't really interacted before, have we? Phosphophyllite said, somewhat pleasantly surprised.
"What foolish talk. Isn't remembering the names of your opponents a basic quality for an Uma Musume athlete?"
Without looking back, Legend continued forward on her own.
"...That assumes we can even count as opponents..." Phosphophyllite looked at the scoreboard, the words 'large margin' were so glaring.
"By the way, when did Gold Legend get highlights?"
Those few strands of white hair look quite stylish; maybe I should try it too?
...
In the spectator stands, where the legendary Uma Musume were gathered, silence fell.
"Rudolf, did you see that scene clearly just now?" Maruzensky's suppressed voice rang out, breaking the stagnant air.
"I saw it very clearly." Rudolf rubbed her brow and spoke slowly.
"That wasn't my hallucination, was it?" Mr. C.B. said with difficulty.
The feeling of the breeze brushing against the skin remained.
The beautiful scenery released by the flowers still lingered in the eyes.
The full moon hanging high above was like a brand, remaining in the mind for a long time.
"A domain can indeed create illusions, and powerful Uma Musume can even create even more magnificent seas of flowers, but... it's different. It's completely not on the same level."
It was too real.
Air Groove acknowledged that she could also use her aura combined with her domain to create similar scenes, but that was meaningless.
An illusion is, after all, just an illusion.
"...What exactly is that? Above the domain, what exactly is there?"
Tamamo Cross's tone was inevitably wavering.
"That is the manifestation of the heart."
Oguri Cap spoke up, her expression as usual, but her tone carried a hint of excitement.
"To understand oneself, to reach the peak, this can be called Ultimate Attainment." Symboli Rudolf seemed to have realized something, speaking with a sudden sense of enlightenment.
"Ultimate Attainment? Extreme mastery?" Oguri Cap nodded in approval. "There is no smile more fitting than this."
Rudolf remained silent and turned to walk towards the exit.
"The Winner's Stage hasn't started yet, where are you going?" Maruzensky, who had regained her focus, asked.
"To move forward."
Leaving behind these cryptic words, Symboli Rudolf disappeared into the crowd.
...
"As expected, it was still too early."
In the pitch-black athlete tunnel, Gold Legend gently cupped her hair with one hand.
Part of the ends of her hair had turned transparent white, just like light feathers.
She extended a finger to press down on a white hair and gave it a light swipe; a bloodstain appeared on her finger.
Legend had no doubt that even if she took a sharp blade to cut it, what would be separated would absolutely not be this strand of hair.
[As gentle as flowing water, as violent as a raging fire, as heavy as a mountain, as shining as the sun and stars. Without a doubt, it is the breath of the wind.]
The voice of [Feather] was still as indifferent and ethereal as ever.
"Is this the true essence of Ultimate Attainment? The Dao follows nature?"
After taking that step beyond the dust, Legend had already understood the truth of Ultimate Attainment.
The domain merges with the world; from then on, wherever the mind reaches, your power reaches, which can be called authority.
"Is this f***ing really the worldview that Uma Musume should have?"
Did we really not transmigrate into some strange high-martial arts fantasy world?
[Who knows? Anyway, we're already here, what else can you do?]
The voice of [Flower] rang out, indifferent.
[Compared to this, what you should be concerned about is the assimilation of the world. Our domain is ultimately inferior to those predecessors; even if we have mastered Perfect Internal Harmony, we are still too weak when facing nature.]
[Feather] analyzed calmly.
[What are you afraid of? At this rate, it will take many years before we are assimilated.]
[Flower] interrupted with a laugh.
"Is there any way to solve this?"
Legend held the transparent hair up to her eyes, and under the light, the hair emitted a multicolored radiance.
[Our current situation is because the domain cannot bear the authority of the world, causing the authority to assimilate us through the gaps in the domain.]
[If my guess is correct, the breakthrough point should be "Seamless".]
"Senior CB's technique? In other words, we still need to take remedial classes?"
Throwing her hair behind her, Legend said knowingly.
[It's just a guess.]
"Regardless, let's try it first."
Legend whispered to herself and walked towards the preparation room for the Winner's Stage.
...
When the performances at the Winner's Stage were all over, this year's Kikuka Sho also came to an end.
After everyone from Spica returned to the Tracen training room, the Trainer quickly brought out the celebration feast that had been prepared long ago.
"Haha, sukiyaki is here!" Placing the last large pot on the long table filled with food, the Trainer stood with his hands on his hips, looking proud. "Are you ready? This is my masterpiece."
The hungry Uma Musume looked at the Trainer impatiently.
"Then! Let's warmly celebrate Gold Legend achieving the undefeated Triple Crown!" The Trainer clapped his hands and cheered.
"Oh!" The ready-to-go Uma Musume instantly surrounded the table.
"I won't be polite about the cake, desuwa!" McQueen occupied the dessert area without hesitation.
Her obsession with desserts allowed her to easily suppress Teio, who wanted to reach for the Honey cake.
She could even spare a hand to poke Gold Ship in the eyes.
Special Week displayed the demeanor of a strong person, attacking from both sides, holding a carrot in her left hand and chopsticks in her right, quickly sweeping up the meat in the pot.
"Hey, hey, this is what I worked so hard to make, leave some for me!"
Seeing that more than half of his masterpiece had disappeared in a short time, the Trainer couldn't even bother to speak and hurriedly joined the food-grabbing team.
...
"Truly supreme bliss..."
On an autumn night, the moonlight was cool.
Sitting on a bench by the grass outside the training room, Gold Legend patted her belly in satisfaction.
Although the amount of food she ate was second only to Special Week and on par with McQueen, Gold Legend's stomach did not swell like those two Fat Horses.
"Feels like... it's not quite enough..."
Picking her teeth, Legend held a toothpick in her mouth and looked up at tonight's moon.
"If you're not full, you can go eat some more. You finally won the Kikuka Sho, so just relax a bit."
A piece of cake was placed in front of Legend, and a purple figure sat down beside her.
"Forget it, it's just gluttony. But McQueen, you have the Emperor of Autumn coming up soon, is it okay to eat like this?"
Gold Legend reached out and poked McQueen's little tummy.
"That tickles!" McQueen slapped away Legend's lecherous hand and took the cake back. "It's just for today, it's fine to indulge a little."
Dexterously picking up her fork to finish the cake, McQueen returned to her usual elegant posture.
"Legend-san, you really did it, the undefeated Triple Crown... Congratulations."
McQueen said sincerely.
"Thank you."
Legend smiled and accepted McQueen's congratulations.
The two were silent for a while.
"McQueen..."
"For the Tenno Sho, Legend-san, will you come to watch?"
Looking at the clear autumn moonlight, McQueen spoke, interrupting what Legend wanted to say.
"Sure, I don't have any races recently anyway."
"That's true... Come to think of it, I've been present for every one of Legend-san's races, but Legend-san isn't necessarily at mine..."
McQueen's tone suddenly became somewhat resentful.
"Ah haha, well, that's not something I can decide..."
Legend tried weakly to defend herself.
"Anyway, in Legend-san's eyes, I'm just an insignificant friend character, right? Even if I lose the Tenno Sho and never recover, Legend-san wouldn't care about me, right..."
McQueen swallowed a large piece of cake in one bite, saying it in a self-abandoning manner.
"...Eating like that will make you gain weight."
Legend said gloomily.
McQueen shuddered violently, looking at the plate in her hand with some horror; most of the cake on it had already disappeared.
"...As long as it's not labeled, it's zero calories!"
"Self-deception is not good..."
Looking at McQueen beside her, whose eyes had turned into Rinnegan due to the confusion, Legend couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't laugh!"
"Alright, alright."
Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Legend gazed deeply at McQueen's face.
"As expected, McQueen is very beautiful."
"...What are you saying all of a sudden?"
"Me? I've always believed in you, McQueen."
McQueen suddenly raised her head to look at Legend.
Under the moonlight, the girl in front of her was dreamlike and breathtakingly beautiful.
McQueen could see the sincerity in the girl's eyes.
"From the first time I met you, McQueen, I knew what kind of person you were. Treating everyone seriously, giving your all in every race, an elegant young lady who lives up to the Mejiro name. Even now, McQueen is still the best Uma Musume in my heart."
In Legend's eyes, McQueen's light purple long hair was lifted by the breeze, shimmering with a dreamlike radiance.
"That's why I've always believed in McQueen. No matter what you've been through, no matter if you succeed or fail, McQueen will always stand back up and run with everyone's expectations. That is who Mejiro McQueen is, the Uma Musume who brings dreams, living up to the Mejiro name, isn't that right?"
Legend looked at McQueen firmly with a smile.
McQueen stared blankly at Legend, unable to speak.
For some reason, the corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably.
"...That goes without saying! I am Mejiro McQueen!"
"Come watch my race! Autumn Tenno Sho, I will win it! When the time comes, I want to say something to you, Legend!"
"Sure."
The two smiled at each other.
"By the way, McQueen, do you still want to eat this cake?"
"...Why don't you eat it, Legend-san? I still need to prepare for the Autumn Tenno Sho race..."
"Really?"
McQueen looked at the cake with conflict, steeled her heart, turned her face away, and stopped looking at it.
Legend smiled, picked up the fork, speared a small piece of cake, and put it into her mouth.
"...Legend, that fork, I've used it."
"It's fine, it's fine, we're close enough."
"Honestly..."
Looking at Legend with cream on the corner of her mouth, McQueen smiled helplessly, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the corner of Legend's mouth.
Not far away, Tokai Teio hid in a dark corner, holding the Honey cake she had secretly kept, watching the scene in silence.
---------------------------------
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