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

McQueen noticed the other person out of the corner of her eye, and upon seeing their figure, her eyes narrowed instinctively, and she exclaimed in surprise:

“Sister Ryan? You—”

"Don't talk, McQueen. Conserve your energy. Watch out for the next bend!"

Meguro Ryan didn't give McQueen much time to react. Meguro Ryan's sudden burst out from the pack was something the other racehorses hadn't expected. In the blink of an eye, Meguro Ryan, with his strong physique and superb leg strength, overtook all the racehorses at the bend.

"Sorry, I've already reserved this spot!"

Ryan Megumi's gaze swept over the two racehorse girls. Although he maintained his optimism and friendliness, a hint of sarcasm lingered in his words. The next moment, Ryan took the initiative to stand in front of McQueen.

With Ryan's help, McQueen immediately felt that the wind pressure ahead had decreased significantly, and he began to feel much more relaxed while running.

"Sister Ryan...why?"

"—McQueen, you're better than me! I realized that back in the Kyoto News Cup, and now you're even better than me!"

However, Megumi Rayne, who was standing in front of McQueen at this moment, helping McQueen to occupy a favorable position and blocking most of the wind pressure, said despite the wind pressure:

"You are more likely than me to achieve the Mejiro family's goal! You have a real chance of winning this Chrysanthemum Festival!"

"—Besides, if an older sister sees her younger sister being bullied by other racehorse girls on the track and doesn't stand up for her, am I still a racehorse girl of the Mejiro family?!"

As he said this, Meguro Rayon unconsciously glared at the two racehorse girls standing to the side. At this moment, whether it was because the Meguro family members were all large horses, or because Meguro Rayon's rare anger frightened these racehorse girls, the two racehorse girls trembled when they noticed Meguro Rayon's gaze.

However, it was only for a moment. Soon, Ryan was leading McQueen for another distance. Soon, as they approached the third bend, Ryan spoke up:

“McQueen, this is all I can do for you. The rest... is up to you.” Ryan’s speed gradually decreased. Clearly, her stamina could only help her continue leading for this far.

"Good opera and Narita Road should be deciding their battle soon, right? Now is your perfect opportunity—McQueen, go!"

"I used myself as a stepping stone for you! So—go win, McQueen!!"

Ryan let out a roar, forcefully pushing the other racehorse away from the outside lane! McQueen seized the opportunity and, without hesitation, unleashed his pent-up power!

Ryan is right. Now is the perfect time. The good opera students and the Narita Road students still have potential. They are both exhausted now. Now is the best time to break out!

Without a word, McQueen unleashed his strongest power, hurtling towards the Good Opera and Narita Road!

"Mejiro McQueen is charging in! Mejiro McQueen is charging in! While Narita Road and Good Opera were locked in a stalemate, Mejiro McQueen seized the perfect opportunity and broke through!"

Mitsu Akasaka's voice resounded throughout the racetrack, instantly igniting a cheer. And without pausing, she continued, explaining to everyone:

"Metsugu McQueen is unstoppable now! Unstoppable! She has caught up with Good Opera and Naritaji—no! She hasn't stopped at all! She has already surpassed Good Opera and Naritaji!"

"Oh! It seems the battle between Narita Road and Good Opera has also come to a conclusion, Narita Road is slowing down! Is the long-awaited scene about to unfold? The final showdown between Mejiro McQueen and the King of Good Opera?!"

"Damn it—I just can't beat you monsters." At this moment, Naritaji, who was exhausted, had been fighting against Good Opera for quite a distance, but in the end she was unwilling to be suppressed by Good Opera and was forced to slow down.

She knew she had done her best, but now, even with all her efforts, she couldn't surpass a good opera, which proved that she still had a long way to go to reach the level of a truly great opera.

But she has fought hard and tried her best, so she can leave without regrets.

"It's time for me to leave... Well then, it's your turn to fight."

Narita reluctantly slowed down, while the opera singer merely glanced at him and smiled faintly.

"Not bad at all, Narita Road... the Three Musketeers, you have shown me, the overlord, a brilliance that even I envy."

Because you have real goals, real people you want to surpass.

And who am I trying to surpass? Perhaps... it's still ahead.

"Now is not the time to relax, my other self."

"Mejiro McQueen is catching up. Do you think you can surpass me?"

At that moment, another voice called "Good Opera" slowly rang out. It was clear that Megumi McQueen had surpassed "Good Opera" and was now leading the pack.

But Good Opera knows very well that it still has its last weapon, its last move, which can give it another burst of energy, and that it still has a chance to defeat Mejiro McQueen.

But... as another version of myself said, this is now the question that good operas think about the most.

Can I surpass myself?

"Good opera" can undoubtedly achieve that, but can I... do it myself?

Still feeling lost? My other self, the you right now, haven't you found the reason why you're running?

"Do you still think you can't surpass your peak?"

The sound of "Good Opera" echoed in her mind, and in response to the silence of her other self, "Good Opera" seemed to smile slightly and say softly:

"Have you ever wondered why I'm even in your mind?"

"Isn't it because you are another version of me?" the beautiful opera involuntarily answered in my mind.

"Ha, if I really were another you, wouldn't you feel why I could always break through my limits just when you were about to reach them, always coming out on top of you?"

"Didn't you ever have any doubts? If I really went easy on you, why did I always choose to win by the slightest difference in strength instead of directly crushing you with overwhelming power? Not even once?"

"Good Opera" fell silent after a series of questions. Then, in a slightly teasing tone, "Good Opera" chuckled softly:

"It seems... you've been completely fooled by me, my other self. You're even dumber than I thought."

“I am not the embodiment of your peak, but the embodiment of your regret.”

"The wounds, pains, regrets, and sorrows that you have already experienced but have not yet appeared in your heart have taken the form of me. I am the wound in your heart that you can never overcome."

"You are much stronger than you think, another version of yourself. It's just that you've forgotten your goals and your self-confidence."

"In your duel with me, do you still remember what you used to be like, that 'tyrant'? What a magnificent opera!"

“You don’t look like that ‘tyrant of the end of the century’ at all now.”

"!"

However, the words "good opera" kept echoing in Good Opera's mind at this moment. In a daze, she suddenly saw something clearly from these words, and suddenly... thought of something.

No, it was a memory. She recalled many things she had never experienced before. At this moment, on this field, she remembered many things about herself...

Chapter 182: At this moment, there is no perfect opera, but a dazzling overlord!

Has Good Opera ever failed? Of course it has. Otherwise, Good Opera wouldn't just be a contender for the next Triple Crown Princess, but would already be a contender for the "Undefeated Triple Crown Princess." Although the two titles differ by only two words, their prestige is indeed vastly different.

It wasn't just because Good Opera failed once in the Daily Cup; in fact, Good Opera's debut was not smooth sailing. She went through three debut competitions before finally debuting as Victory Horse Girl. In the context of Treson Academy, Good Opera's performance was indeed not outstanding.

Even so, some people still firmly believed that she could win the GI competition. The first person to believe in her was Hana Tojo. Therefore, Good Opera was very grateful to Hana Tojo for her affirmation. But even before Hana Tojo recognized her, she had always been so confident and had already begun to call herself "Overlord".

But in reality, Good Opera itself knows that its self-proclaimed title is more of a boast. Even though Hana Tojo thinks she has the potential to beat GI, she doesn't think she's particularly outstanding.

Until... she met a naive fool, someone who believed that she, who had achieved nothing at the time, could surpass the "Emperor's" seven-crown myth.

She didn't know why that fool trusted her so much, but she knew that in that moment when she looked at him, a mix of inexplicable relief, sadness, emotion, and joy welled up inside her...

Seeing that fool trusts her so much gives her the confidence to face any challenge she never dared to imagine before. As a result, she won the Satsuki Prize, the Japanese Derby, and now she stands on the Kikuka Prize track, becoming one of the strongest contenders for the Triple Crown.

But now that she has stood on this stage, why can't she, as the "Queen," sing this passionate and exciting performance of the century as before?

"Because you have fear in your heart, and I, another me."

“I am the fear and regret that has never appeared in your heart but can never be dispelled. You can escape these, but you cannot overcome them, because these are regrets that have happened to you. You can never surpass the stronger self in your heart.”

"You don't even believe in your own strength now, so how could you possibly beat me?"

At this moment, the sound of "Good Opera" kept echoing in her mind, and the race was slowly approaching the last bend. At this moment, everyone noticed that something was wrong with Good Opera.

"Good Opera seems to be acting strangely. After winning her duel with Narita, she didn't press her advantage against Mejiro McQueen, who had surpassed her. Instead, she maintained her speed and hovered behind McQueen." Akasaka Mitsuko, seeing this for the first time, commented with a hint of panic:

"What happened? Was the duel with Narita too exhausting? Don't you have the strength to continue sprinting?"

"The Good Opera's pace seems to be starting to wane." Beside her, Junko Hosoe spoke with a much more serious expression: "If this continues, the Good Opera will lose speed; we're already approaching the final bend!"

"Good Opera student..." On stage, Nu Tao, his eyes trembling, watched Good Opera, whose stamina was clearly waning, and said with concern:

"How could that be? With the stamina of a good opera student, how could he not have the strength to sprint? That's impossible!"

"At this rate, McQueen will win! Ahhh—although it's not bad, the opera didn't even give it its all!"

Meanwhile, the Empress of the East Sea was also in a dilemma, unsure of whom to cheer for. On one hand, there was her most admired rival, Mejiro McQueen, and on the other hand, there was Good Opera, who was about to achieve the Triple Crown of Mama Musume. Whether rationally or emotionally, the Empress of the East Sea was unsure of which path to take.

But she knew that on the competition stage, even good friends should give their all. However, given the current situation, it was clear that Good Opera had not performed at all, which made the Emperor of the East Sea start to worry about her condition.

"Ahhh! Never mind! Good opera, get going! Don't let your energy wane now! That's a triple crown!"

However, no matter how loud the Emperor of the East Sea cheered, it couldn't reach Good Opera at this moment. Even the shouts of Good Opera's fans in the audience couldn't reach Good Opera, who was lost in thought at this moment.

"What exactly happened... Good opera classmate." On the other side, Maki-rei said with considerable unease, while the Golden Master beside Maki-rei, unusually, understood perfectly and said:

"I think... a good opera is probably one that discovers its own inner voice during the competition, right?"

"Hmm?" Zhen Jiling looked at the Gold Master beside her with some confusion, but the Gold Master said quite solemnly:

"Although I don't know what I'm saying, I understand this feeling. During a competition, you always have random thoughts, but as long as you get out of this confused state, you will definitely become stronger."

"Ah—but it's a shame that Good Opera is so lucky to suddenly encounter this situation at the Chrysanthemum Festival. If she doesn't come to her senses quickly, she might lose the Chrysanthemum Festival to McQueen."

The Golden Master understands because, as a racehorse girl from the Golden Family, she has had similar experiences. Therefore, she can understand the current confusion of good opera, but she is not too worried because every time she falls into confusion, she can easily break free.

However, what the Golden Master didn't know was that it was precisely because her mind was empty that she could resolve things so easily each time. But the Good Opera, on the contrary, was trapped in this vicious cycle because she was too clever and couldn't break free for a while.

It has to be said that this is also a bug-like ability of the Golden Master. Every time she falls into confusion, she can quickly break free and become stronger again. This kind of transformation opportunity, which is rare for most racehorse girls, can be done by the Golden Master with ease, which is really enviable.

However, considering that even regular racehorses can't compete with the Golden Master in a race with an empty mind, this kind of talent is something that other racehorses simply can't learn.

"A fine opera..."

At that moment, Wada was in the audience, watching the opera with Naze Fumino. When he felt the opera slowing down, he really wished it were still a horse race, so he could ride on the opera and direct it to speed up, helping it break free from this confusion.

But now there's no way around it. He can't conduct the opera well from such a distance. A good opera can only break free from this curse on its own.

"Damn it—I still can't help you? So many years have passed, and I still can't help you at all? What a wonderful opera."

"Even if it's just once, good opera, let me help you win, let me help you realize the ideals we never achieved before... good opera."

So don't lose, great opera.

Go win, surpass the version of yourself that I've dragged down. I know, I believe in you, and you would undoubtedly be stronger without me.

You can win, great opera, I always believed you could win.

However, it is unclear whether Hotan's heartfelt words were truly conveyed to Good Opera at that moment, or whether Good Opera suddenly broke free from its confusion.

The next moment, a confident smile, uniquely hers, suddenly reappeared on the face of the opera singer who had been running with her head down. She slowly raised her head and said, word by word:

"—You're right, my other self."