"Congratulations to Team [ ] for claiming victory in this tournament with an overwhelming margin!"
The announcer's voice was accompanied by cheers from the spectator stands.
"So this is what top-tier Uma Musume from other worlds look like? So strong—incredibly strong!"
"Damn it, after watching a race like this, how am I supposed to sleep tonight?! Also, how do you get tickets for this event series? Someone help me out!"
Many people cheered while simultaneously lamenting, realizing they had no idea how they'd entered this place—meaning they'd been randomly selected as lucky audience members.
But if they could only watch a tournament like this once, they'd never forget it for the rest of their lives!
Just as everyone was searching for staff members, Commentator Kojiro's voice rang out again: "Thank you all for your support! Although this tournament has concluded, you can check information about this event series anytime through the app on your phones. Tickets can also be purchased directly through the app. Please don't miss the upcoming award ceremony and Winners' Live! stages."
The big screen began playing a highlight reel of the race. No one knew how the organizers had managed to complete the editing so quickly—and make it so spectacular, no less.
"All competitors, please follow the on-site staff to the award ceremony stage."
The competitors looked up and saw it was Ms. Hayakawa again.
"Please follow me," she said.
Everyone followed Ms. Hayakawa to the center of the venue.
This had originally been the open area surrounded by the track.
The next moment, accompanied by a rumbling vibration, everyone noticed the ground was rising.
"Look—the track area is sinking!"
As the central area rose, the surrounding modules descended.
The ground stopped rising only after the track had completely disappeared from view.
The spectator stands rose along with them.
They arrived at the same height as the giant screen.
The vanished track began filling with water while mirror-smooth platforms floated up, connecting with the central area until the water level stabilized.
Suddenly, a stage resembling a castle rose from beneath the open ground. Simultaneously, the sky above the venue began to darken, transforming from day to night in an instant.
This heaven-and-earth-altering spectacle left many people slack-jawed, frozen in astonishment.
Without a doubt.
This was the power of the divine.
Even knowing this tournament had the Three Goddesses' sponsorship, witnessing such a display firsthand left many stunned.
At the center of the stage was the most prominent platform—the center position.
"Team [ ] members, please follow me."
After speaking, Ms. Hayakawa led Mejiro McQueen and the others onto this platform.
The moment they stepped on, fireworks erupted from all sides.
The big screen switched entirely to Team [ ]'s exclusive segment.
A gleaming trophy slowly descended from above, floating steadily before Mejiro McQueen without any visible support.
"Congratulations on winning this tournament. This trophy belongs to your team. Please accept it."
That's what Ms. Hayakawa said.
But Mejiro McQueen didn't immediately comply.
Truthfully, her heart was far less calm than her expression suggested.
Waves of emotion surged within her, along with an urge to flee immediately. This spectacle far exceeded her expectations.
She'd assumed that even with the System and Three Goddesses collaborating on this tournament, it would just be an ordinary sporting event.
But who knew that after the race, the Three Goddesses and System would create such an elaborate production! And surely the Three Goddesses weren't actually planning to watch the upcoming Winners' Live?
Thinking about how neither she nor Gold Ship were the type to perform with genuine emotion during Winners' Live, she was already breaking into a cold sweat.
Beside her, Gold Ship gazed thoughtfully at the trophy. She'd harbored irreverent thoughts for a long time now—she'd long wanted to challenge the heavens themselves. And now, the divine no longer seemed beyond reach!
Tokai Teio smiled and said, "McQueen, if you won't take it, shall I?"
"..."
Without answering Tokai Teio.
But McQueen's next action was answer enough. She extended both hands and received the trophy.
The instant her hands touched it, system windows appeared before all three of them.
[Tournament result confirmed: Victory!]
[Reward (Rainbow Carrot) has been delivered to System Space.]
[Rainbow Carrot: A divine delicacy imbued with godly power. Possesses incomparable flavor and the ability to heal all injuries and ailments.]
McQueen's notification had one additional line.
[Tournament Trophy: Can be exchanged for an exclusive title, a new racing outfit, and an Inherent Skill Learning Manual (single use only).]
The tournament rewards exceeded their expectations.
The Three Goddesses and System were truly generous. Though had they just received two sets of rewards from one tournament?
The organizers' reward was apparently this trophy.
Don't let the fact that it was "just" a trophy fool anyone—according to the System, this trophy had been personally crafted by the Three Goddesses. That alone made its value impossible to measure in money.
Not to mention it was also a functional item.
A title recognized by the divine.
A racing outfit personally bestowed by the divine.
And most importantly, an Inherent Skill Learning Manual.
Any single one of these rewards would drive Uma Musume wild. And they were getting all three at once.
The System's reward was equally powerful. The Rainbow Carrot's effects were priceless.
Setting aside whether the "supreme deliciousness" was a joke effect, the ability to heal all injuries and ailments was impossible to ignore.
The moment Mejiro McQueen saw the Rainbow Carrot, she thought of the Simulated Training Mode she hadn't entered in quite some time.
Simulated Training Mode caused damage to one's spirit. As long as you didn't push yourself to the absolute limit, the wear and tear could recover fairly quickly.
And injuries sustained in Training Mode didn't carry over to reality. But for McQueen now, if she couldn't enter her limits and surpass them, Training Mode was useless to her.
She'd always missed Training Mode's effectiveness, but fearing the side effects, she'd restrained herself from risking it.
But the Rainbow Carrot could heal even spiritual damage, which meant...
She could enter Training Mode without restraint again, pushing herself to surpass her current limits!
Gold Ship and Tokai Teio had reached the same conclusion. All three, already driven to become stronger, were thinking the exact same thing.
...
After the award ceremony, though the stage was ready, the Winners' Live didn't begin immediately. The organizers had prepared rest time for the competitors who'd just finished racing.
As everyone entered the rest area—
Kitasan Black ran over to Team [ ]'s members and said excitedly, "Teio-san! McQueen-san! And Gold Ship-senpai! Your performances in the race were absolutely amazing!"
"Hmph!"
Gold Ship snorted coldly. She had no intention of engaging with Kitasan Black, sprawling across a bench with an expression entirely unbefitting a tournament winner.
She knew Kitasan Black was sincere, but being praised at a time like this brought her no joy whatsoever. After all, she was the loser of this race.
Tokai Teio awkwardly scratched her cheek with one finger. "Thanks."
She'd achieved her Awakening but still lost. And ranked behind the Overlord, no less. How to describe this feeling? Just thinking about it made her too embarrassed to mention her placement.
Losing to McQueen was understandable. But how had she failed to even outrun the Overlord?
Remembering her earlier confidence, this result dealt a critical hit to her heart.
And Kita-chan's praise inadvertently dealt another blow.
Because her performance in this race hadn't been cool at all...
Kitasan Black looked at Tokai Teio curiously. Why did Teio-san seem a bit down?
"Thank you."
Only McQueen's mood seemed relatively good.
While she'd certainly felt threatened by those two during the race, winning naturally lifted her spirits. And the stronger the opponents, the more intense the satisfaction and joy.
She hadn't expected to rediscover these feelings through a race against "herself." It seemed Gold Ship's words weren't entirely without merit—they truly were independent existences. Otherwise, she couldn't explain these current feelings.
Kitasan Black suddenly said, "Um... Even though I felt the gap between myself and my senpais, b-but next time, I'll definitely come back for a rematch!"
Upon hearing this, all three turned to stare at Kitasan Black. The pressure made her body tremble involuntarily.
Kitasan Black's expression was tense. As expected, her senpais' presence was overwhelming. She could feel it clearly now. But the fighting spirit in her eyes didn't fade—it was the expression of someone genuinely wanting to compete again.
Seeing Kitasan Black's reaction, the three let their auras subside.
Gold Ship's lips curled upward. She hadn't expected that after witnessing the three of them in action, this Kitasan Black would still have such courage. Completely different from the character in the anime who was always on the verge of tears.
No—comparing them was an insult to the girl standing before her.
She suddenly laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Hmph! Very well! Since you're that kind of fool, this great one will wait for you to come throw your life away again!"
"Uh..."
Kitasan Black genuinely couldn't tell if Gold Ship was encouraging her or mocking her overconfidence.
If it were the "Gold Ship-senpai" she knew, she could somewhat understand what that senpai meant. But this Gold Ship-senpai's thought process was completely beyond her comprehension.
Tokai Teio said, "Kita-chan, don't mind her. I look forward to seeing you challenge me after you've grown stronger."
"Yes!"
After hearing Tokai Teio's encouragement, Kitasan Black immediately forgot about Gold Ship.
McQueen said nothing.
Since Kitasan Black wanted a rematch, that made her an opponent. She wouldn't encourage opponents.
So all Kitasan Black saw was McQueen's cold expression.
She could only think to herself that, as expected, this McQueen-senpai was completely different from the "McQueen-senpai" she knew.
"Kita-chan, let's not disturb our senpais' rest."
Satono Diamond had been observing from the side for a while.
Seeing that Kitasan Black had said everything she wanted to say, she finally stepped forward to pull Kitasan Black away from this place.
The senpais were certainly cool, but that very coolness made them feel unapproachable.
If the senpais from their world were at least visible in the distance, then these three senpais had already run so far ahead that their backs couldn't even be seen anymore.
It inspired both longing and reverence.
After watching the two leave, Tokai Teio said helplessly to the other two, "Weren't you both a bit too cold to her? At this rate, you'll never make any friends."
"Hmph! Friends? Laughable! This great one doesn't need such things. Everyone need only submit to me or become heroes who challenge me!"
Gold Ship looked at Tokai Teio mockingly.
"As for you, second-rate nobody—how long do you plan to play house with these fools? Keep this up and you'll never catch up to us."
"...You really have some nerve saying that."
Tokai Teio's smile faltered.
Give you an inch and you'll take a mile, huh?
McQueen hadn't responded yet, but Tokai Teio no longer cared. She and Gold Ship were now locked in a staring contest, pressuring each other with their auras.
Though she hadn't used it during the race, Tokai Teio's mastery of gate techniques was actually no less than the Overlord's. While her skill levels weren't as high as the Overlord's, she'd mastered a greater number of skills.
McQueen ignored them both, sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed, entering rest mode.
The upcoming Winners' Live might be watched by the Three Goddesses. She couldn't afford to perform poorly.
Though she didn't worship the Three Goddesses, she maintained proper reverence for the divine.
Unlike Gold Ship, that lawless Overlord.
Even if she too harbored thoughts of challenging the Three Goddesses, she wouldn't show it at a time like this.
Soon, the Winners' Live began.
Unlike official tournaments, this event series' Winners' Live featured all competitors performing together in a grand ensemble—much to the delight of the fans.
After the Winners' Live concluded, this tournament finally reached its perfect ending.
Everyone was returned to wherever they'd originally entered from. Only the "Uma Musume" app on their phones proved that everything before hadn't been a dream, but a real experience.
Tokai Teio and the Spica members returned to Tracen Academy.
McQueen and Gold Ship returned to the System Space.
...
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