"The Uma Musume are now entering the gates one after another! First up is the favorite, Admire Vega. She is looking very confident; she must be absolutely determined to win this race."
"Next is the second favorite, Narita Top Road. She has achieved consecutive wins in the Kisaragi Sho and Yayoi Sho so far, and she also looks quite energetic. There's no doubt that she'll put up a spectacular race for everyone!"
Under the commentator's voice, the Satsuki Sho was about to officially begin. The Uma Musume, after finishing their warm-ups, entered their gates one by one. The favorite of this race, Admire Vega, had earned this spot with her excellent performance in the previous Yayoi Sho. Although narrowly defeated by Narita Top Road in that race, it seemed that her faster acceleration time on the track made the audience still consider her the favorite to win the Satsuki Sho.
Narita Top Road's second-favorite status also highlighted the strength she possessed. While her previous performance might not be considered breathtaking, her consecutive wins in a GIII and a GII race led many to believe she was more capable of clinching the victory—perhaps not as visually stunning as Admire Vega, but in the end, winning is everything.
As for T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto, although they secured spots in the race, they were certainly not popular at all. T.M. Opera O ranked seventh due to her second-place finish in the Mainichi Hai, while Meisho Doto barely squeezed in, being the least popular at fourteenth place.
However, an Uma Musume's popularity ranking does not reflect their true strength; they are merely predictions. All the Uma Musume present were very clear about this. Even the first and second favorites, Admire Vega and Narita Top Road, knew that their biggest opponents were not the third or fourth-favorite Uma Musume, but...
Just as she was thinking of this, Admire Vega also looked at the approaching T.M. Opera O, not bothering to hide her voice, and said word by word, "Let's settle this, T.M. Opera O."
"—Hahahahaha! Then, as the Overlord, my answer remains unchanged: I will absolutely not lose!" (T/N: You could even say that she said... Nah, I'd win?)
However, T.M. Opera O merely paused her steps for a few moments upon hearing Admire Vega's declaration of war, then waved her hand with an exaggerated laugh. This incredibly confident, almost arrogant demeanor made Admire Vega slightly grit her teeth.
'You're always like this, T.M. Opera O, always having this confidence, as if you've already won the race before it even began.'
'Why are you so confident? You didn't participate in the Yayoi Sho, and you even lost to Meisho Doto in the Mainichi Hai. How can you still maintain your attitude?'
'What makes you have the right to be this confident? You don't carry a "mission" like me, and you haven't performed exceptionally well either. Why do you always think you'll win?'
Admire Vega didn't hate T.M. Opera O; she was simply just a little jealous—jealous of T.M. Opera O being so unburdened, so unbothered, always being full of confidence in every race as if her losing wasn't even a possibility.
T.M. Opera O was the complete polar opposite to her. That's why Admire Vega wanted to compete with T.M. Opera O. She wanted to see if T.M. Opera O could still maintain that confidence of hers even after being defeated by her.
"To fight alone... and to win alone... is the path I must take."
Admire Vega muttered to herself as she turned and walked towards her gate. On the other side, Narita Top Road, who was encouraging the scared Meisho Doto, looked at her deeply obsessive friend with some unease, feeling that her emotions were a bit unstable. (T/N: Obsession, huh... you could even say that she has a 'Blind Obsession')
Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, a completely different scene unfolded... "I see. It seems that Meisho Doto is indeed a troublesome child; she seems to be as difficult to reason with as my Vega."
Admire Vega's Trainer did not take Wada's cigarette; instead, she bought Wada a drink from a vending machine. After some small talk, this female Trainer was quickly charmed by the talkative Wada and began to share many stories about her time with Admire Vega.
"Vega is also a difficult girl to deal with. She's always brooding, doesn't like to talk, and is always under pressure. She trains so hard every day that when I first found her, she had trained so hard that she injured her own leg."
"It's only now after a whole year has passed that she began to warm up to me a little. Honestly, when I first became her Trainer, I really thought she might freeze me to death with her glare and attitude. She was truly as cold as a block of ice."
"That must have been tough, senior. You should relax a bit too."
Admire Vega's Trainer poured out her heart to Wada, yet he remained very patient throughout, offering comforting words from time to time and being an excellent listener.
Perhaps it was because Wada and this Trainer were of similar age; the other party looked only about five or six years older than Wada. Coupled with Wada's humble demeanor as a junior, the female Trainer, who had accumulated a lot of stress lately, felt her goodwill towards him increase significantly.
"Yeah... I was also feeling that I should find an opportunity to take a vacation, take Vega somewhere to travel, and help her relax," the female Trainer said, leaning on the railing, clearly under a lot of stress.
"To be honest, though I can't really say it directly in front of Vega, I actually really hope that she could simply just... let go of her burdens. She's akin to a tightly wound spring right now, and I don't know when she might snap."
"You know, senior? I'm worried that even if Admire Vega could challenge the Classic Triple Crowns, she'll wear herself out first before she could even finish the entire thing. Wouldn't her struggles be all for naught then?"
At this moment, Wada's sudden remark made the female Trainer unconsciously freeze. She saw Wada with a half-smile on his face, no hostility, but he said with great confidence: "If T.M. Opera O wins, Senior, perhaps you could try to let Admire Vega put down her burdens?"
"Oho! You're very confident, Kouhai-kun! But my Vega won't lose, you know!" Wada's words also ignited her inner Trainer's competitive spirit, and she replied with a smile:
"However, if Vega really does lose, it might actually be good for her—of course, this is all under the assumption that your T.M. Opera O beats Vega."
"Hahahaha! Why are you two chatting so happily?"
At this moment, behind the two, a male figure walked over. He recognized them at a glance and immediately said, "Oh, isn't that Meisho Doto's Trainer? The one who beat Senior Hana Toujou—Wada Ryuji?"
"That's Narita Top Road's Trainer. He and I have been friends for many years," Admire Vega's Trainer said with a gentle smile. "We both entered the URA, then were assigned to Tracen Academy together. He's been bothering me to no end since elementary school."
"Don't mind the big oaf; just treat him like an idiot."
"...Congratulations, when's the wedding?" Wada immediately understood their relationship upon hearing this and asked with an ambiguous smile.
Wada, who got married at 21, knew very well the implications for a Japanese woman to address a man with such an ambiguous tone, it was definitely a done deal.
Sure enough, as soon as Wada spoke, the faces of the two in front of him visibly flushed. Narita Top Road's Trainer also scratched his head with a silly grin and said:
"Uh... no rush, no rush. At least not before Narita Top Road wins the Triple Crown first—Ouch! Why did you pinch me? Alright, alright, I won't say anything more! Let's just watch the race, the race!"
Wada's brief "misunderstanding" instantly elevated Narita Top Road's Trainer's goodwill towards Wada to a peak—when he first arrived and saw his childhood friend chatting happily with a young handsome guy, he was naturally unhappy and had originally planned to put the other party in their place.
However, Wada's immediate assist completely disarmed him, and he no longer felt any caution towards Wada Ryuji as a love rival; instead, he intended to look out for him more as a junior.
At this moment, everyone's eyes immediately turned to the track. Soon, with the sound of the gates opening, the Uma Musume all burst out from their gates!
"A perfect start! All the Uma Musume had an immaculate beginning!"
"Oh?! Admire Vega is trying to block T.M. Opera O? ...BUT T.M. OPERA O BYPASSED HER! A skirmish had just happened at the very start of the race! It seems like the competition for the Satsuki Sho will be very fierce this year!"
The commentator's words made Admire Vega's Trainer slightly stunned. She had instructed Admire Vega to focus on Meisho Doto since her Mainichi Hai performance was better than T.M. Opera O's. Why was she targeting T.M. Opera O now?
However, Admire Vega's actions brought a hint of confidence to Wada's eyes. He knew that, barring any surprises, the victory in this Satsuki Sho would belong to T.M. Opera O!
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Wada, where's my Doto glazing? I need more Meisho Doto glazing!
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.