Having trained real horses, why are we now training racehorse girls after time-traveling?

Although Lu Duo was not entirely clear about many of the inside stories, she at least understood that Jin Lang's choice was correct and accepted by everyone.

"We're going to the Yayoi Sho tomorrow." Jinlang glanced at the date. The Kyodo Communications Cup ended with the East Blue Emperor's resounding victory, but now, the Golden Ship, which had been resting for a long time, still had no desire to train as always.

No… it’s more accurate to say that I have even less desire to train than before. In the past, when Jinlang was in charge, even though the Golden Ship was also a bit lazy during his active service, he would still seriously participate in training to some extent.

But now, it seems that Golden Ship has completely forgotten that he is going to participate in the Yayoi Prize tomorrow. He is generally idle and does not participate in serious training. In fact, Golden Ship's excuses are similar every time Jin Lang takes McQueen to see him.

"I don't want to train anymore. Lately, I've been pondering the mysteries of space exploration, old man."

"If you don't want to understand the question of the end of the universe, Little Golden Ship can't be put into training. It just needs some time, don't worry~"

However, judging from Goldship's expression and condition, Jin Lang couldn't help but believe that Goldship was in high spirits. Moreover, McQueen had been subtly indicating that she was keeping an eye on Goldship's condition, which reassured Jin Lang that he could focus on his own business.

However, even the day before the Yayoi Prize, the Golden Ship still showed no signs of being put into training mode, which made Jinlang worry about something.

...Is she planning to put on a big show for him at the Yayoi Sho?

It has to be said that Jinlang really understands the character of Golden Ship. Although Golden Ship has been relatively well-behaved until now, she has also lived up to expectations by showing her strength, allowing the audience to know the true strength of this racehorse girl born into the Golden family.

However, Golden Ship and East Sea Emperor are completely different. She never had any dreams of an undefeated three-crown. For her, she understood the "job" of being a "horse racer" better than anyone else. She knew very well that being a "horse racer" was her calling and her job, and she didn't need to compete so fiercely with so many other monsters of the same generation.

Originally, according to the Golden Ship's plan, her debut should have been the latest in the team. However, in order to encourage Meguro McQueen, who was distraught after the Hanshin Grand Prix, she resolutely chose to step onto the field early. Now, competing with Tokai Emperor is not the situation she wanted to see.

If Golden Ship truly lacks fighting spirit... then frankly, Jinlang doesn't know how to manage her. After all, Golden Ship is a racehorse girl, not a racehorse. She's a person with her own independent will, and even as Golden Ship's trainer, he can't force her to win, can he?

The race girls win in response to their trainers' expectations, but Golden Ship doesn't really want to... there's nothing I can do about it.

"I'm really worried... about the gold ship."

"..."

Meanwhile, Megumi McQueen was brewing cups of tea for Jinlang and Rudolf, but she remained silent as she overheard their conversation, and a sense of worry began to creep into her heart.

"Could it be that what I said back then affected the condition of the Golden Ship?"

In fact, this thought had been lingering in McQueen's mind for the past few days. She wasn't quite sure whether her final reaction to what she had said to the Golden Ship in her dorm was that she was really asleep or pretending to be asleep because she couldn't accept it. But in the end, she still revealed all her true feelings.

However, Goldship's recent behavior is indeed unpredictable. She didn't make a scene like McQueen had planned, nor did she train and play as if nothing had happened as before.

She seemed to have simply lost interest all of a sudden, showing neither sadness nor any particular commotion. Even Jinlang, who was arguably the most concerned about Golden Ship, couldn't figure out what Golden Ship was thinking.

Clearly, McQueen didn't know what was going on with the Golden Ship's condition either, and could only let out a long sigh.

"The Golden Ship... what are you thinking...?"

Perhaps the only thing we can do now is pray that the Golden Ship can be in a slightly better state for tomorrow's Yayoi-ko...

Chapter 459: Jin Lang: I knew this alien monster was going to mess with me.

However, the next day, at the GII Yayoi Sho held at the Zhongshan Racecourse, the favorites of this race were undoubtedly the two rising stars who were considered the most promising of this generation: one was the "undefeated genius" Tokai Emperor, and the other was the "unsinkable golden ship," Golden Ship.

The two women's names attracted a large audience, and everyone was looking forward to a wonderful showdown between the East Sea Emperor and the Golden Ship. In the end, whether the Emperor continued her undefeated three-crown reign or the Golden Ship finally shattered the East Sea Emperor's undefeated record, everything seemed very reasonable.

However, the final result was a huge surprise to everyone, including Jin Lang and his group.

"How could this be—the Golden Ship! It's only ranked fourteenth in the GII Yayoi Prize! The unsinkable Golden Ship! Its performance has declined so rapidly today, it's truly unexpected!"

"And the Emperor of the East Sea has once again secured first place without any suspense! The goal of an undefeated triple crown is within reach! Can the Emperor of the East Sea press his advantage and directly claim the honor of an undefeated triple crown?!"

"..."

However, while Jinlang, McQueen, and Rudolf in the stands silently watched this scene, they were all in unison this time not focusing their attention on the victorious East Sea Emperor, but on the Golden Ship that had just reached the finish line, showing neither frustration nor much other negative emotion.

"It seems the Golden Ship's condition has declined significantly, which appears to be related to the recent period of complacency," Rudol said to Jinlang with a somewhat serious expression.

"Trainer Jinlang, if things continue like this, Golden Ship won't be able to participate in the Satsuki Sho, let alone compete with the Emperor. It might even directly affect her performance in future competitions."

"Although I haven't paid much attention to the training of the Golden Ship, which you have been personally in charge of, I feel that if things continue like this, it may be difficult to predict how the Golden Ship will perform at the Satsuki Sho."

Rudolph's understanding of Golden Ship is still limited to a relatively objective view: she's a troublemaker, always playing pranks on either Alice or her, and she's also the most mysterious horse girl from Treson Academy. However, Rudolph, having watched all of Golden Ship's races, does have an objective understanding of her in racing form.

"The Unsinkable Golden Ship"—this nickname is quite apt, it must be said. Rudolf, having witnessed the Golden Ship's numerous victories, observed its greatest strength: its sturdiness.

Her strength has always been exceptionally high, and most importantly, her displayed strength has always been at a level that is "just enough to defeat her opponent." Therefore, although Rudolf Symbol cannot see through the true strength of the Golden Ship, he is well aware that the Golden Ship is extremely powerful and has been hiding its true strength all along.

In this Yayoi Sho event, Rudolf Symbol believed that the Golden Ship would bring a surprise to her and the Emperor of the East Sea, and that by some accident, it might end the Emperor's winning streak and shatter the dream of the undefeated Triple Crown racehorse girl. In fact, Rudolf Symbol had already told the Emperor to be prepared for this.

The Emperor, who was facing the Golden Ship head-on for the first time on the field, was also fully prepared. Together with Rudol, he watched many races of the Golden Ship repeatedly, summarizing the Golden Ship's running style and tactics, and even taking into account the aspect of "momentum".

However, to the great surprise of both the Emperor and Rudolf, the Golden Ship performed terribly this time, showing no effort whatsoever in the match, and instead making it seem as if she had conceded the victory to the Emperor.

Such a mentality is difficult for Rudolf, a normal racehorse girl, to understand and agree with. If it is not for the sake of victory, then it is a desecration of the profession of racehorse girl.

However, Jin Lang shook his head and said:

"No, Golden Ship... her physical condition is definitely fine, but perhaps, there's something wrong with her mindset."

"I will handle this matter well, don't worry, I can manage it."

Jin Lang knew very well that if anything unexpected happened to Golden Boat in a race, it was largely due to external factors that severely affected her performance. But this time, Golden Boat went very smoothly before the race and during the gate entry, only faltering during the race itself.

So there's no doubt that Golden Ship is currently troubled by many other things. After all, Jinlang is Golden Ship's trainer, and under that premise, Golden Ship rarely throws herself around on a whim. This time, there must be other reasons as well.

Seeing this, McQueen couldn't help but think about her own actions. She was now almost certain that her words had affected the Golden Ship's condition.

Overwhelmed with self-reproach, McQueen tugged at Jin Lang's sleeve and asked softly:

"Trainer, how about I go talk to Goldship first? Perhaps I can find a solution to her imbalance."

“…Alright.” Considering the relationship between McQueen and the Golden Ship, Jin Lang decided to let McQueen give it a try first. He knew that McQueen must have his own way of saying that, so he entrusted the matter to McQueen with peace of mind.

Anyway, if McQueen doesn't perform, he can take over. There are still more than ten days until the Satsuki Prize. As long as we can stabilize the Golden Ship's condition, its strength will be demonstrated at the Satsuki Prize, which shouldn't be a big problem.

……

"Golden Boatman, are you... going easy on me?"

On the field, after achieving victory, the East Sea Emperor was not as happy as she had imagined. Logically speaking, as the strongest opponent among their peers, the East Sea Emperor was extremely wary of the Golden Ship, whose true strength remained unknown to this day.

As the bottom-ranked member of the "Miracle" team, Donghai Diwang has always felt that Golden Ship is actually stronger than her. Now, before the start of the Yayoi Sho tournament, she has done a lot of tactical preparations, just so that she can go all out and have a real showdown with Golden Ship.

This time, however, the Golden Ship suddenly faltered, catching the East Sea Emperor, who had made ample preparations, completely off guard. As a result, not only did she fail to probe the Golden Ship's true strength, but she also exposed her own peak power.

"Oh? Really? It's just that I didn't perform well today. Your Majesty, you did very well this time! I was unlucky and kept getting stuck at the back, unable to make any progress~"

However, when faced with the questioning of the Emperor of the East Sea, Golden Ship seemed completely unconcerned. For her, this Yayoi Sho was just a game. The prize money and popularity she had accumulated during the Year of the Horse were already enough for her to participate in the Classic Triple Crown. Moreover, she didn't care about the honor of an undefeated Triple Crown. This Yayoi Sho was just a casual event for her.

Moreover, even if she finishes at the bottom of the fourteenth place, it won't affect Golden Ship at all, because everyone can see that Golden Ship underperformed in this competition and it wasn't her true strength. When it comes to the Satsuki Sho, everyone should still support her.

She was just being a little willful, and she naturally had her reasons. At least, victory was definitely not the most important thing for the Golden Ship.

"However, this time it won't be my true strength on the Golden Ship, hmph, be careful, Your Majesty. When it comes to the Satsuki Sho, I won't hold back~"

"Oh, right, remember to wear the winning outfit Grandpa gave you! If so, I'll definitely run a race with you!"

Before the Emperor of the East Sea could even speak, the golden ship had already sped away. It hadn't even broken a sweat after the race, so who knew how much energy it still had left? Now, even if the Emperor of the East Sea wanted to chase after it, he couldn't catch up. He could only stomp his feet in frustration.

"Damn it—Golden Ship-san! This kind of victory! Even if we win, we won't be happy!"

"Just you wait! You'll regret this! The undefeated three-crown title is definitely mine to take!"

Chapter 460: One wave subsides, another rises

“Golden Ship, are you sure your actions today aren’t an accusation and protest against me? If so, there’s no need to choose this method. We still have a lot of room to maneuver.”

After the Yayoi Prize ended, while everyone at Treson Academy was still discussing the sudden decline in Golden Ship's condition, McQueen found Golden Ship immediately—not in the team room, nor in the dormitory, but in a small sandy area not far from the training ground, where explosive power and speed were trained.

When McQueen found the golden ship, it was trying to build a sandcastle. McQueen's first words to the golden ship were:

"This approach does no good for any of us; it will only harm you and your own honor as a racehorse girl."

“We can still talk, about the Golden Ship. At least you can choose other ways to accuse me.”

McQueen had actually considered how she would retaliate if the Golden Ship refused to accept her decision, but to be honest, while she had anticipated the Golden Ship causing a huge scene, she had never considered any action by the Golden Ship that would be intended to harm her.

Perhaps it would be an even more outrageous prank? Or perhaps the Mejiro family would be restless? It seems that no matter how much she thinks about it, the Golden Ship can only do so much. Of course, there is another possibility: from now on, the Golden Ship and she will be like strangers. This is the possibility that McQueen thinks will hurt her the most.

But she never imagined that the Golden Ship would "torture" her conscience in this way. To be honest, this method hurt McQueen even more than the previous one, because even though the Golden Ship loathed her behavior to the extreme, she didn't choose to harm McQueen, but instead chose to harm herself to express her indignation.

This approach only made McQueen feel more condemned. She knew that the Golden Ship was of great significance to her, and she also knew that if she expressed her thoughts about the Golden Ship, their relationship might become strained, but that wasn't what she wanted!

If she had known things would turn out this way, she would never have told Goldship about it. She would have chosen to keep her feelings hidden, at least until Goldship's career was over, before they confessed to each other.

However, faced with McQueen's words, the golden ship, which was trying to build a castle out of sand, turned its head rather strangely and couldn't help but ask:

"What are you saying, McQueen? You're suddenly saying a lot of things that even I, Little Golden Ship, can't understand."

“Don’t try to fob me off like that, Golden Ship. I know you heard what I said yesterday.” Seeing Golden Ship’s reaction only made McQueen feel worse. He said with a wry smile, “I’m here to talk to you, if you’re still willing to talk to me…”

"But I really don't understand what you're saying, okay?" The Golden Ship patted the sand off its hands, then suddenly remembered something and said with its hands on its hips:

"I understand! It's about what happened last night, right? But unfortunately, yesterday was my regular file cleanup time, Machine Gold Ship. After running out of power, Machine Gold Ship lost power and deleted all the memory files from yesterday."

"In short, regarding yesterday's events, when the mechanical gold ship transmitted data, it didn't send me anything, so I have no idea what you, McQueen, said yesterday~"

"Of course, if McQueen, you'd love to tell me more, I'd love to hear it. But if I get upset, I might delete files again. If I delete too many files and it causes a malfunction, I might not remember McQueen anymore."

Golden Ship's expression remained as relaxed as ever, as if it were a real thing, and even gave the impression that she could actually do it.

However, with just a little rationality, it's not hard to discern the meaning behind these absurd jokes—for example, McQueen now feels that she finally seems to understand the meaning behind the Golden Ship's words.

The meaning of the golden ship is clear: she had already heard about what happened yesterday, but she could forget about it now. However, if McQueen still wanted to tell her this, then she would probably "not recognize" McQueen.

The implication behind this "not recognizing" is quite obvious, and McQueen doesn't seem inclined to dwell on it. But at least, the Golden Ship has now made its point clear.

"...Then so be it, Golden Ship."

A helpless smile appeared on McQueen's face as he said softly, "As long as you can turn back, that's all that matters. The trainer, the Emperor, and I are all very worried about your condition."

"So please don't make me worry about you. You are a very special person to me and to us."

"Hehe, I'm so happy to hear McQueen say that!"

McQueen's words brought a relaxed smile to Golden Ship's face, but he seemed to be behaving no differently than usual. Seeing this, McQueen narrowed his eyes slightly, then sighed and shook his head.

"I really don't understand you... Golden Ship, nobody understands you."

However, this is good. McQueen has achieved his goal for this trip, and the condition of the Golden Ship is no longer a concern. McQueen believes that the Golden Ship can perform well at the Satsuki Prize this time.

In that case, there's not much to worry about regarding the condition of the Golden Ship. As for her... to be honest, McQueen isn't in a huge hurry.

Let nature take its course. Although it was also the first time McQueen had fallen in love with someone, she didn't want to take her away by hurting others, which is why she approached the Golden Ship, hoping to gain its support and approval.

However, it seems that this support and recognition will take time... at least... the Golden Ship needs time to accept it.