Five days later.
Tokyo, and even the entire nation, was swept up in celebration.
On the morning buses, the big screens flashed nonstop, showing the magnificent grandstands of Nakayama Racecourse rising like a titanic beast.
In the display windows of shopping streets, in the crowds at bullet-train stations, beneath the giant LED walls in city plazas…
The air itself felt feverish.
It was the heat of something called "Arima Kinen."
The tickets had been snatched up the instant they went on sale.
Fans who failed to squeeze into the venue could only gather by the tens of thousands in front of broadcast screens all across the streets.
Shoulder to shoulder, toe to heel, as far as the eye could see, it was an endless sea of heads.
And at the center of it all, Nakayama Racecourse.
As the year-ending finale of the Twinkle Series, the atmosphere inside had already reached a boiling threshold.
"Compared to many spectators who saw this moment coming, the 'handover of the era'!" The announcer known as "687" sent his crisp, excited voice surging across the venue. "Since Fujimasa March retired, and Oguri Cap and Mejiro Ardan declared they won't be racing…"
"Right here, at Nakayama Racecourse, the strongest active racer of the new generation will be born!"
"But this is destined to be a cruel trial!"
"This era doesn't just have the dazzling new wave. It also has towering swells that have surged shoulder to shoulder with multiple generations all the way to today!"
"The rapids of two eras will both become the waves that try to stop the new strongest from reaching the far shore!"
"Mejiro McQueen!"
The instant the name was shouted, the roar of the crowd nearly lifted the roof.
"The invincible Triple Crown Uma Musume, carrying the glory of raising Mejiro to its highest peak!"
"Today, can she break through every obstacle and achieve the feat of going undefeated all year, standing at the very top?!"
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"McQueen! McQueen! McQueen!!"
Over a hundred thousand voices answered in unison. Glow sticks and swirling colored clothing wove into a single ocean.
In this fierce world, the title "Undefeated Triple Crown" had already given McQueen, still only in her Classic Year, a legendary aura that didn't belong to her age.
She was the only "One Above" in the entire field. Not just in strength, but as the focal point where all glory converged.
…
In a corner stand drowned in noise and heat.
Just like last year.
Two girls from New Zealand leaned quietly against the railing, looking down on the arena erupting like the mouth of a volcano.
"So lively," Ellerslie Glory said, propping her chin on her hand with a smile. "It feels like everyone in the Far East is cheering for McQueen."
"This level of popularity is wild."
"Because she's the only trainee Uma Musume Kuroha has in this era. That's normal."
Beside her, Folkqueen narrowed her eyes slightly, then lifted her chin by a few millimeters.
"After staying at that man's side for two months, Ellerslie-onee-san, you should understand better than anyone."
"In this Far Eastern island nation, he's practically being treated like a 'God of Miracles.'"
"True." Ellerslie Glory nodded, then seemed to remember something and asked softly, "Queen, then what do you think? In this race… will McQueen really win?"
As a Uma Musume whose peak had already passed, Ellerslie Glory still trusted her own eye.
But facing a clash at this level, she knew she couldn't see through it as clearly as her younger sister, who was still at her peak.
If she stripped away the miracle-like halo that came with "Chasing Light" and "Kuroha"…
She couldn't judge whether the junior named McQueen could truly withstand the pressure of two eras colliding.
"…"
Folkqueen turned her head and looked at her sister. Something seemed to dim, ever so slightly, in the depths of her gaze.
Then she spoke softly.
"Even if miracles keep winding around the other Uma Musume, there's still no possibility of beating that Mejiro McQueen."
Ellerslie Glory froze for a split second, then simply chuckled.
"That's unexpectedly firm. You have that much faith in Kuroha?"
"It's not because of Kuroha."
Folkqueen looked back down at the track, her expression distant, as if she'd drifted somewhere far away.
"How should I put it… I just feel like there's nothing to be afraid of."
"That junior from Classic Year… in only two short years, she walked the road it took me four years to walk."
"?!" Ellerslie Glory's pupils tightened sharply. She whipped her head toward Folkqueen.
And all she saw was her sister, the strongest Uma Musume of the Atlantic and the ruler of the Japan Cup, wearing a look of release.
"…Youngsters are terrifying," Ellerslie Glory said after a moment of silence, shaking her head with a wry smile.
…
At the very top VIP stand of Nakayama Racecourse.
Click.
The heavy soundproof door opened, then shut again with a light, neat sound.
A glamorous Uma Musume with dazzling brown hair and a figure so stunning it bordered on criminal clasped her hands behind her back, stepping toward the floor-to-ceiling window with a playful rhythm.
There, a slender figure in a Chinese-style Tracen uniform stood with arms folded, quietly watching the chaos below…
"Sorry for the trouble, Rudolf."
Maruzensky leaned her head in with a bright smile, drawing close to that dignified, delicate face.
Symboli Rudolf had noticed her friend's arrival long ago. She offered a faint smile. "Mm. Maruzensky, good afternoon."
"Good afternoon."
Maruzensky shifted into a comfortable lean against the railing.
Symboli Rudolf glanced behind her, saw she'd come alone, and asked with a hint of confusion, "Why is it just you? Where are Kuroha and the others?"
"Oh, them?" Maruzensky waved a hand, light and breezy. "Kuroha's over in Victoria right now, keeping little McQueen company."
"I figured you'd already be here. Instead of being a third wheel over there, I'd rather come see you first, my old friend."
"…So now you remember me, and what's with 'third wheel'?" Symboli Rudolf pressed a hand to her forehead, her tone carrying a faint trace of grievance she didn't bother to hide. "Ever since you transferred to Kuroha's Chasing Light, the time you spend meeting up with me has gotten less and less."
"I thought you'd already forgotten you still have a student council president."
"Ehehe." Maruzensky covered her mouth with a laugh, and a strange, mischievous glint flashed through her mature, knowing eyes.
She looked Symboli Rudolf up and down, then smiled wider.
"Rudolf, you're still a cute young girl. There are some things you obviously wouldn't understand yet."
"…?" Symboli Rudolf's mouth twitched slightly.
Not understanding in the slightest, she wisely chose silence.
Then, with a helpless sigh, she turned back and cast her gaze down toward the more than hundred thousand frenzied spectators below.
She very clearly had no intention of continuing a topic with a friend who'd already fallen into a gentle, honeyed whirlpool.
…
Elsewhere, at the entrance to the contestants' area.
Kuroha stood quietly, watching the purple-and-white figure recede into the distance.
He didn't leave right away. He stayed where he was, silent for a moment.
After a bit, Kuroha raised a hand and brushed his lips. A faint fragrance still lingered there.
"Seriously… she'd even mess around in a place like this."
Kuroha shook his head, helpless, but the corner of his mouth lifted into a warm curve all the same.
"Go on, McQueen."
Only after one last look into the shadows at the end of the corridor did Kuroha finally turn and leave.
"Go to the era… that will belong to you."
(End of Chapter)
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