Mejiro McQueen has won this Friendship Race! Let us congratulate Mejiro McQueen; she has defeated all the first-year students of Tracen Academy and successfully earned the honor of 'Tracen Academy's Most Outstanding First-Year Horse Girl'!
"Ha... Ha..."
However, Tamamo Cross's shouts, as well as the enthusiastic cheers and applause from the audience, could not reach the Horse Girls on the track at this moment. Mejiro McQueen was panting as if she couldn't even stand steadily, but she still supported herself with her willpower and struck an elegant victory pose.
Behind her, Meisho Doto and Tokai Teio, who had just crossed the finish line, collapsed directly onto the track, exhausted from the double blow of physical and mental strain.
"Damn it!" Tokai Teio pounded the track with her small fist in frustration, closing her eyes and saying angrily:
"I had a chance to win! I could have won! Why?!"
"—Because, Teio, you were too proud."
At this moment, Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove had somehow entered the track through another entrance. Symboli Rudolf, dressed in her race attire, slowly knelt before Teio, who was on the ground, and said, word for word:
"You knew from the beginning that your running style should be 'Leading' (leading), yet your focused attention and perfect start gave you an excellent beginning. All of this was good, but because of it, you temporarily changed your strategy and chose the 'runaway horse' (escape horse) tactic."
"A 2000-meter track is your home ground, yet your stamina and strength are simply insufficient to sustain you as an escape horse, enduring greater wind pressure. With your physical condition, even if you reached the final sprint, you probably wouldn't have the energy to make that final push, would you?"
"I..."
However, facing Symboli Rudolf's gentle rebuke, Tokai Teio opened her mouth but said nothing. She gradually realized that her perfect start had not been utilized well, leading to an outcome that was predetermined from the beginning.
If she had no energy to sprint during the final stretch before the finish line, the result would be the same: she would be overtaken by Doto and Mejiro McQueen. She still wouldn't be the champion—though the results for McQueen and Doto might have been different.
"And most importantly, Teio, you are too easily influenced by external factors." Symboli Rudolf gently ruffled Teio's head, not minding her sweat-soaked hair, and said with a smile:
"You knew that Curren Chan is a short-distance Horse Girl. You realized this before the Friendship Race began, yet when Curren Chan overtook you, you still panicked—did you think Curren Chan's lead could last indefinitely? Could she develop such stamina in just one short week?"
"When Curren Chan overtook you, not only did you not slow down, but you even tried to overtake Curren Chan, wasting a lot of stamina. Then, when Doto and McQueen overtook you later, you had already lost stamina, and your mindset was also affected."
"If you hadn't lost focus midway and slowed down to the middle of the pack, you wouldn't even have surpassed Special Week, and you wouldn't have had the stamina for the final sprint."
"P-President... I know I made a mistake..."
Although Symboli Rudolf didn't scold Tokai Teio harshly, Teio had already understood from Symboli Rudolf's words how many serious mistakes she had made in this Friendship Race. Each mistake was a huge blunder that could cause victory to slip from her grasp.
Tokai Teio also gradually realized that her current experience in races and the training she had received were far too little. Despite being supposed to be the most outstanding among the first-year Horse Girls, she had made so many mistakes!
"President, I... I will train even harder!" Tokai Teio immediately stood up from the ground, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said very solemnly:
"I will train hard and never be arrogant again. I... I will do parallel running training with everyone! I will never look down on anyone again!"
Teio actually knew that she had underestimated many Horse Girls, such as Curren Chan—she hadn't considered Curren Chan a competitor in this Friendship Race from the start, and she even initially disregarded Doto. Her only opponent was Mejiro McQueen.
But this race made her understand that all Horse Girls have the potential to turn the tide of battle, just like Curren Chan's initial lead, and Special Week's sprint, including herself.
If it weren't for her unexpected interference, the champion's position would probably have gone to Doto.
"Very good." Symboli Rudolf also smiled faintly and nodded. Her judgment was indeed correct; after experiencing a harmless defeat, Tokai Teio had indeed grown rapidly, just as she had anticipated.
This child has such talent, perhaps... there are some hidden dangers, but Symboli Rudolf still hoped that Tokai Teio could mature quickly.
Since she couldn't stop this child from soaring, what she could do was watch over this child's back as she ran.
"All right, now stand up and shake hands with your opponents."
"Mhm!" Tokai Teio immediately regained her spirits and quickly got up from the ground. She was about to shake hands with Doto, who was beside her, to apologize for her earlier underestimation.
However, just as Tokai Teio turned to look beside her, she found that Meisho Doto, who should have been right there, had disappeared at some point.
"Huh? Where's Doto? Where did she go?"
"...While you two were chatting, I saw her walk out alone with her head down."
Air Groove, who was nearby, also shook her head helplessly and said to them: "I saw Trainer Wada has already gone after her, so there shouldn't be any problem, no need to worry."
"...Perhaps it's not bad. I hope Doto can also grow from this opportunity." Symboli Rudolf hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said: "She has a good Trainer. The victory that was within her grasp was lost due to her timidity, so she also needs to vent properly."
"Then I'll go find McQueen. I'll definitely defeat her next time!" Teio quickly turned her gaze to the other side. However, Mejiro McQueen at this moment didn't notice Teio at all and ran off in another direction.
"Gold Ship! How could you bring Mr. Imanami to the track?! His injury hasn't healed yet!"
"I asked Gold Ship to bring me. Thinking about it, I really should have come to watch Miss McQueen's race in person. It seems my decision was correct."
Imanami slowly dismounted from Gold Ship's back. Gold Ship was also quite exhausted—she had to run from the hospital. Although it was easy at her speed as a Horse Girl, it was difficult to shake off the doctors. So, Gold Ship simply picked up Imanami and started running, all the way to the track, and even ran a distance with McQueen.
Imanami first helped Gold Ship sit down to rest for a while before saying to a worried McQueen:
"McQueen, you won this race beautifully. I saw it all. You seized the final opportunity perfectly."
"It was just Mr. Imanami's reminder that kept me from wavering..." McQueen said, feeling a bit embarrassed, to Imanami: "When Teio rushed up, if I hadn't remembered Mr. Imanami's advice, I might have been surprised and scared..."
"—Regardless, a win is a win, Mejiro McQueen. You won beautifully."
At this moment, Symboli Rudolf also brought Air Groove and Teio to Imanami and his group. Symboli Rudolf's eyes held an extremely appreciative expression as she said to Imanami and McQueen:
"Your cooperation is incredibly synchronized. It's not an exaggeration to say that you are the most successful Trainer-Horse Girl combination I have seen so far. Trainer Imanami, and Mejiro McQueen, you have both proven your excellence with your abilities."
"So, now, proudly lift this honor."
Saying this, Symboli Rudolf took the medal, which solely represented honor, from Air Groove's hand and handed it to the two. After exchanging glances, McQueen and Imanami each took it with both hands, then together raised the medal high.
Accompanying their actions were cheers and applause that shook the entire venue. For a moment, the entire venue was cheering "Mejiro McQueen's" name—this was the honor she deserved as a victor.
"Imanami Takatoshi... that young man is really quite interesting."
At this moment, the Mejiro Family Head also nodded with interest, watching McQueen and Imanami, who were the center of attention. She seemed quite satisfied, then said to a girl beside her:
"Ardan, after the event, go find McQueen and her Trainer. On behalf of the Mejiro Family, invite that Trainer to be our guest at the Mejiro Family."
"Grandmother, are you thinking..." Mejiro Ardan was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then asked with a subtle tone.
"...A good Trainer is hard to find, and a Trainer who is so compatible with McQueen is even rarer. We should seize this opportunity."
The Mejiro Family Head also smiled slightly and said, word for word: "Bring him here, entertain him well. The future of our Mejiro Family might just be in this young man's hands."