The five Umamusume of TCB found a family-run restaurant nearby. After ordering, various delicious dishes were served shortly afterward.
Smart Falcon proactively ordered a cream parfait for the aloof Mejiro McQueen and presented it to her, who was already gazing at her expectantly.
The Umamusume ate and chatted about recent events.
"Speaking of which, Trainer-san isn't here today," Smart Falcon remarked.
"Don't worry about her. Ultimately, it's us who will compete. Whether she's there or not doesn't matter."
Mejiro McQueen scooped up a small spoonful of cream, put it in her mouth, and her eyes immediately narrowed, looking thoroughly as if she were enjoying herself.
"Speaking of which, McQueen and I lost at the last Takarazuka Kinen," Tokai Teio spoke, sipping her honey drink.
Mejiro McQueen's previously blissful expression gradually faded when Tokai Teio mentioned the Takarazuka Kinen.
"Rice Shower hadn't practiced uphill running techniques. I had already pulled ahead of her on the steep slope just before the finish line, but she managed to accelerate again and overtake me."
She put down her spoon, her expression turning somber.
"I glanced at Rice Shower when she caught up. She was deathly pale, her eyes bloodshot; she was clearly at her limit."
"Does a Zone really cause that much damage to the body?" Tokai Teio asked, puzzled.
"No way. Judging from what President Rudolf said, it seems Rice Shower's Zone strength exceeded her physical abilities, which led to this result," Mejiro McQueen said, frowning.
"However, it can't be denied that her Zone was terrifyingly strong."
"When Rice Shower caught up with me from behind, I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my throat. That aura and the pressure she exerted are still a bit terrifying to think about."
Tokai Teio recalled the Takarazuka Kinen and couldn't help but shudder.
Then she looked at Mejiro McQueen. "By the way, McQueen, when you competed against Rice Shower and Bourbon at Tenno Sho, were you also under this level of pressure?"
"How is that possible!" Mejiro McQueen exclaimed.
"Rice Shower a year ago was far weaker than she was at this Tenno Sho. If that was all, how could I have lost!"
"I see." Tokai Teio nodded, slightly relieved.
Mejiro McQueen had previously defeated the Zone Umamusume twice, but she had lost the first time she encountered it.
Now that she knew Rice Shower and Mihono Bourbon didn't possess this level of strength back then, she felt a little more at ease.
At least the gap between her and Mejiro McQueen wasn't that large at the moment.
"Zones… I wonder when I'll be able to master them…" Mejiro McQueen turned her gaze back to the cream parfait and murmured leisurely.
"It's still early. The president said there are two more stages before mastering a Zone. When your physical abilities exceed a certain limit, running will create air currents. Next is aura, which requires mental strength to exceed a certain limit, like Rice Shower. And finally, there's the Zone."
Tokai Teio had finished her honey drink. She sat there, resting her chin on her hand, listlessly biting her straw.
"But in my memory, Rice Shower used both aura and the Zone at Tenno Sho last spring," Mejiro McQueen said.
"Who knows if Rice Shower had already mastered aura long ago." Tokai Teio took another sip from her crushed straw; there was no honey left at the bottom, so it made a gurgling sound.
"Falco-senpai, I want more."
"Ah, okay."
Smart Falcon had been feeling completely overwhelmed by Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen's conversation, utterly unable to understand what they were saying.
Hearing Tokai Teio speak to her, she quickly ordered another honey drink from the staff.
"Seeing Rice Shower like this, I suddenly feel a little afraid to activate my Zone. It seems that no matter what, a Zone will always harm the body," Tokai Teio said.
"But sometimes there's no other way. If you reach a bottleneck and want to advance further, you have to break through your Zone. Almost all the legendary Umamusume in the academy have mastered their Zones. You and I are still quite far behind them."
Although Mejiro McQueen said that, she also recalled Rice Shower's miserable state at the Takarazuka Kinen and felt a little scared.
"Speaking of which, I wonder how Rice Shower-senpai is doing. Will she be unable to run anymore?" Satono Diamond finally found an opportunity to interject.
"Trainer-san and Bourbon are taking care of her. Should we give her a call and ask?" Tokai Teio said, pulling out her phone.
"Video call, video call~?" Smart Falcon spoke happily.
"Oh, Falco-senpai has perhaps already fallen for her~?" Tokai Teio looked at Smart Falcon with a smile.
"How could that be! Falco... Falco just wanted to report some good news." Smart Falcon blushed and quickly explained.
"She probably already knows..." Tokai Teio muttered softly, then made a video call to Sakura Baimu.
Tokai Teio propped her phone up on the table, and then the three Umamusume around her, except for Mejiro McQueen, all crowded into the camera's view.
"Isn't Miss McQueen coming?" Kitasan Black asked.
"No, I don't want to."
A moment later, Sakura Baimu and Mihono Bourbon's faces appeared on the screen.
"Oh, what's all this fuss about? Everyone's gathered together. I bet GG won, right?" Sakura Baimu said with a smile, seeing her teammates all together.
"Seriously! Falco was just about to say that!" Smart Falcon's excitement immediately dampened when she heard Sakura Baimu guess right away.
"I watched the stream. I told you you'd be fine." Sakura Baimu gave Smart Falcon a thumbs up.
"Hehe? It's all thanks to Trainer-san's sharp eyes?"
"But what happened with your start? How could you fall so far behind at the beginning? Who do you think you are? Gold Ship?"
Sakura Baimu's smile vanished instantly, and Smart Falcon's tail stood on end upon hearing this.
"Falcon was too nervous..." Smart Falcon muttered softly, behaving like a child who had done something wrong.
"So, how's Rice?" Tokai Teio asked.
"The doctor said Rice is recovering well, and she should be able to be transferred back to Tokyo soon," Mihono Bourbon suddenly said.
Hearing this, the TCB members all breathed a sigh of relief. If Sakura Baimu had said this, they might not have believed it.
But now that Mihono Bourbon had said it, it must be true.
Tokai Teio was about to ask another question when a faint voice suddenly came from the phone. Sakura Baimu and Mihono Bourbon on the screen turned around as if they had been electrocuted and looked at the hospital bed.
"Rice Shower is awake. See you in Tokyo," Sakura Baimu said, and then hung up the phone.
Seeing the video call end, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief again.
"That's great, Rice Shower seems to be recovering well. I can finally relax." Tokai Teio smiled at Mejiro McQueen across from her, only to see Mejiro McQueen's expression suddenly turn strange.
"Huh? McQueen, what's wrong?" Tokai Teio asked, puzzled.
"Nothing." Mejiro McQueen turned her head away, speaking curtly.
"Eh? Why are you suddenly angry? Rice Shower waking up isn't a good thing…"
Tokai Teio found Mejiro McQueen's behavior utterly baffling, but halfway through her sentence, her eyes flickered as if she understood something.
Her expression suddenly shifted from puzzled to amused.
Although Tokai Teio covered her mouth, she still spoke in a voice loud enough for Mejiro McQueen to hear, to the Umamusumes beside her, who was also somewhat puzzled.
"McQueen, she's jealous because Trainer-san didn't mention her~"
"Oh↗→→"
The three of them immediately understood upon hearing Tokai Teio's words.
"Nonsense! I'm not angry because she didn't notice me—I'm not angry!!!" Mejiro McQueen blushed and quickly retorted.
"Ah, right, right, McQueen, you're absolutely right."