Uma Musume: To The Top!!

The Irish Champion Stakes had drawn to a close.

That evening, Kuroha and Suave Dancer's training team took some time to rest at Gilltown Stud. Early the following morning, both groups boarded their respective flights and set out for the final battlefield of this expedition—France, where the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe awaited them.

Although Urban Sea and Sea the Stars were reluctant to see him leave, the two young horse girls obediently let him go.

"Come back again after your expedition is over, Kuro. There's something I want to tell you."

Before they parted, Urban Sea fidgeted bashfully and left him with that cryptic request before waving goodbye.

Kuroha gently agreed, then glanced toward Lis. When he saw her wink at him, a thoughtful look crossed his face before he turned and left.

...

Charles de Gaulle Airport, France.

Not long after everyone arrived safely and descended the boarding stairs, the thunderous roar of private jet engines echoed across the airport.

Aside from Suave Dancer's group, several other elite horse girl teams renowned throughout Europe had landed one after another.

Generous, Magic Night, Pistolet Bleu... even Elmaamul.

"They were actually at the racecourse yesterday. They secretly watched Suave and McQueen's entire race."

Maruzensky leaned close to Kuroha's ear. Her gaze swept over the teams disembarking in orderly fashion some distance away as she lowered her voice and shared the information she had inadvertently uncovered.

All of them had departed Ireland around the same time, which explained why their flights had arrived so close together.

"Mm."

Kuroha nodded slightly, paying the matter little mind.

He knew perfectly well what those teams wanted. They had merely seized the opportunity to collect actual race data on the two monstrous horse girls who had defeated Generous, hoping to use it as the foundation for their tactical planning in the Arc.

Those trainers and intelligence analysts might regard the information they gathered as the secret weapon that would carry them to victory.

But as mere "mortals" who could not directly perceive a [Domain], they could never truly understand the crushing pressure their horse girls had endured after witnessing that battle between gods with their own eyes.

Before overwhelming strength and those two invincible [Worlds], every scheme and tactical analysis amounted to nothing more than a futile struggle.

Even without invoking the power of [One with the Original], Kuroha could tell with his naked eyes that nearly every European powerhouse preparing for the Arc had a dark cloud hanging over her head.

Everyone except the cheerfully grinning Elmaamul, of course.

The British horse girl walked forward with both hands clasped behind her head, her steps light and carefree. Even when she spotted Kuroha's group in the distance, she still flashed them a radiant smile.

The elderly woman beside her let out a long sigh of relief.

She had been worried that yesterday's crushing defeat might leave Elmaamul too demoralized to recover, but the girl's mental state appeared stable enough.

But was Elmaamul truly "fine"?

As the girl walked, she raised her head to gaze at the sky, her clear eyes brimming with indolence and resignation.

No, she was not fine.

She had simply run out of options and decided to stop caring.

After being subjected to a succession of beatings from Oguri Cap, Generous, Suave Dancer, and Mejiro McQueen, the girl had finally come to understand one profound truth.

As an ordinary horse girl, she had no reason to confront one... no, two enemies she could never hope to defeat.

When her opponents' strength had become so absurd that it broke through the heavens themselves, even the proud, untamable competitive instinct flowing through a horse girl's blood would be crushed into submission.

Recalling the two horrifying [Worlds she had witnessed during yesterday's race, Elmaamul smiled in relief.

Were those two even horse girls?

They could be running normally one moment, then suddenly erupt with enough power to unleash a terrifying presence that engulfed the entire racecourse and extended for miles in every direction.

Even her own [Domain] had been crushed back inside her body. How the hell was she supposed to race against that?!

Just let the world end already.

She would treat this year's Arc as a vacation to France at someone else's expense.

No one knew about the colorful drama unfolding inside the British girl's mind.

Within the vast airport terminal, every team's gaze unconsciously turned toward Mejiro McQueen and Suave Dancer.

Their eyes were filled with profound wariness.

Before these two dominant horse girls, whose abilities placed them in an entirely different league from their peers, any team dreaming of claiming the Arc's crown would be chasing a fantasy unless they could find a decisive weapon to use against them.

Kuroha ignored the complicated gazes surrounding them.

Across the crowd, he exchanged a slight nod with Dancing Brave in the distance. Then, without hesitation, he led his team out of the airport.

As for where they would be staying during this expedition, Kuroha chose the same place as before.

The Chantilly Grand Estate.

Their previous stay had been quite comfortable, and its training facilities and services had been exceptionally satisfying. There was no reason to go through the trouble of finding somewhere new.

...

After several days of light rest, McQueen's training resumed in full force.

Now that she knew Suave Dancer's true strength and could anticipate the even fiercer offensive that would inevitably come one month later, the Mejiro girl did not feel nervous in the slightest.

Instead, her fighting spirit burned brighter than ever.

On the training grounds—

"Tap, tap, tap—!"

The figures of Mejiro McQueen, Folkqueen, and Sunday Silence wove around one another on the track.

Their powerful footfalls sent tremors through the earth.

Beside the track, Kuroha held a tablet and silently observed the three girls during their practice race, nodding from time to time as he assessed their condition.

Suddenly, someone tapped his right shoulder.

Resignation flickered across Kuroha's face. He turned to look to his left, only to find Godolphin standing behind him, eyes narrowed into crescents as she beamed brightly.

(End of Chapter)

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