McQueen Would Never Waver

McQueen wanted to smile, but she couldn't. She stopped just short of the dormitory.

The sharks that had smelled blood had all cleared out. Now she and Zhou Yuang were practically alone.

She looked up at him. This time, there was no apology or uncertainty in her eyes.

If there were things she couldn't do, she would do what she could.

"Trainer... I don't think my next race has to be the Arima Kinen."

An Uma Musume had to prove herself through racing.

She knew that. It was why she had been so anxious before the Tenno Sho Autumn, why she had wanted so badly to win.

Winners were more easily forgiven, weren't they?

McQueen stared straight at Zhou Yuang, her eyes filled with resolve.

Next time, she would not make a mistake.

"Please let me run in the Japan Cup."

"...All right."

She had said only two sentences, but Zhou Yuang could read her intentions in that burning gaze.

She meant to wash everything away with a victory.

And the Japan Cup was no race to overlook.

The stakes of the Japan Cup had come up back when Air Groove raced. If McQueen performed well there and showed those foreign competitors what she was made of, public opinion across Japan would surely turn around.

A Japanese horse that won the Japan Cup would be hailed as a hero.

By then, everyone would surely act as though nothing had happened. The trouble was that the foreign horses were still far ahead of the local ones.

Historically, McQueen had finished fourth. The top three had all been foreign horses.

It was bound to be a hard fight.

"Thank you so much..."

She knew she was asking for something reckless. But looking at the trainer who had always accepted her, McQueen bowed.