Tokai Teio's request to join the team wasn't a big deal, especially with Symboli Rudolf, the Student Council President, backing her up. The application was quickly approved, and Tokai Teio successfully joined Imanami's team.
Thus, Imanami became the first Trainer within Team Miracle to have three Uma Musume. According to the rules, if he were to take on one more Uma Musume, he would be fully capable of establishing his own team without Wada and Ikezoe.
"Should I persuade Dober to join too?" McQueen asked Imanami with a smile, looking at the approved application list and the overjoyed Tokai Teio.
"All of my sisters are quite capable, you know. Although Dober's Debut Race might still be a few years away, and she has a slight fear of men… but if we could get her to join, I think Grandmother would be very happy, you know~"
"Umm… I think I'll pass."
Imanami paused slightly. Looking at Mejiro McQueen's serene and kind expression, Imanami felt it was better not to accept the proposal.
No one knew if Mejiro McQueen was being sincere or just saying it casually, but at least, from Imanami's experience, Tokai Teio's arrival hadn't made this young lady as overjoyed as she had been showing outwards… Therefore, Imanami felt he shouldn't even think about a fourth Uma Musume. McQueen was quite strict about the requirements for who could be her Trainer. She didn't mind when Gold Ship was around, as Gold Ship's training was akin to slacking off, but if it were Tokai Teio… McQueen would probably be a bit displeased if he had to divert some of his attention to coach another Uma Musume.
Imanami understood where she was coming from; this child's competitive spirit was truly strong… "So, Teio, for your first training session after joining, where do you plan to start?"
"Of course, I'll run with everyone first!" Tokai Teio eagerly raised her small hand and said to Imanami, "I want to challenge T.M. Opera O! She won the Satsuki Sho in the Triple Crown! But the invincible Teio-sama will never lose!"
"Oh, Meisho Doto and Gold Ship too! Let's all go together! I will definitely beat you all!" (T/N: Girl has hachimi for brains)
"…I hope you won't regret it."
Imanami found it quite amusing, thinking that Tokai Teio was indeed arrogant and unwilling to admit inferiority. It was no wonder Symboli Rudolf had entrusted Teio to him—he was indeed good at disciplining children.
Although Ikezoe could also do it, his team wouldn't offer significant improvement for Teio right now, and Ikezoe still had his hands full with Orfevre's matter. As for Wada… he was already stretched thin just coaching T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto.
The task of educating Tokai Teio was thus left to him. Imanami clearly understood Symboli Rudolf's intention: she hoped that under Imanami's guidance, Tokai Teio would mature quickly, striving to make fewer beginner mistakes and undergo a significant transformation by her Debut Race in just over a year.
This was certainly not an easy task, but Imanami was confident that, at the very least, he could polish this rough gem, Tokai Teio, a little, so she might suffer fewer misfortunes.
"—In that case, let's go to the training grounds. Trainer Wada is already there training with Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O. Teio, you can start with them."
"Yay! Here I come!" Tokai Teio eagerly raised her fist and ran towards the training ground with high spirits.
This poor child clearly hadn't realized the monsters she was about to encounter. Behind Tokai Teio, Imanami and McQueen exchanged glances, both seeing a mix of amusement and pity in each other's eyes… Some time later, at the training ground, this internal mock race seemed to be nearing its end… "Teio! Your rhythm is off again!"
"Ah ah ah ah! It's all Doto's fault! She's messing up my rhythm—wahhhhhhh~~!"
Finally, after Meisho Doto crossed the finish line, the mock race ended with Tokai Teio's defeat. She couldn't even complete the entire course, completely running out of stamina during the final straight. Not only that, the distance of this mock race was only 2500 meters, one of Tokai Teio's most favored distances.
"Trainer, I won! I won against Tokai Teio!"
"Hmm, well done, Meisho Doto. It seems the targeted training during this period has been very effective."
Wada gently nodded and ruffled Meisho Doto's small head. Meisho Doto wagged her tail vigorously, enjoying the attention, almost like a small puppy.
Ever since the Satsuki Sho, Wada had noticed that T.M. Opera O's mood had been unstable. T.M. Opera O seemed to have fallen into the same trap as Meisho Doto once did, focusing solely on training when she was alone. However, whenever Wada worried about T.M. Opera O's condition, she would always brush him off with excuses.
But T.M. Opera O's daily training was the same as always, and Wada had observed that T.M. Opera O was indeed following her own training plan every day. For now, he could only put his worries aside and focus on coaching Meisho Doto.
And Meisho Doto didn't disappoint Wada. After her failure at the Satsuki Sho, she developed more of her other talents under Wada's guidance—for example, pacing. Although Meisho Doto's performance in this aspect was still a bit green, at least Tokai Teio was completely caught off guard by it, being led around by Meisho Doto's technique and running out of stamina before even reaching the final straight.
"Ha… ha…"
"You're s-so strong, Doto-san! Is this the strength of an Uma Musume who can enter a GI race? Am I really that far behind?" Tokai Teio asked, panting incredulously.
Tokai Teio had thought that even if her current strength wasn't enough for GI, participating in some GII races would be a piece of cake. That's why she so rashly challenged Meisho Doto, the third-place finisher of the Satsuki Sho, when T.M. Opera O happened to be absent.
However, in reality, even if Meisho Doto hadn't learned any new techniques under Wada's guidance, Tokai Teio wouldn't have won against her with just Meisho Doto's original strength. Meisho Doto was, after all, the third-place finisher in the Satsuki Sho. Although she had lost due to a misjudgement on her part, the strength gap between her and the current Tokai Teio was still very large—she had the ability to win GI, while Tokai Teio… she would struggle immensely even in GII; perhaps GIII would be more her level.
"Honestly—this won't do! Teio-sama is destined to be an Undefeated Triple Crown Uma Musume! I absolutely cannot lose like this!"
This mock race made Teio rein in her pride a bit. She somewhat realized that she was still far from the GI stage and needed more training.
"…Huh? Where's Orfevre? She was just here?" At this moment, Meisho Doto suddenly noticed the last participant in this mock race, Orfevre.
Orfevre had been doing self-training at the training ground and was pulled into the race by Wada and Meisho Doto. But now that the mock race was over, Orfevre was nowhere to be seen.
"I saw her leave halfway through; she didn't finish the whole course."
Imanami, who had been silent until now, noticed this. He hadn't spoken earlier because Orfevre's emotions were beyond their control; only Ikezoe could deal with Orfevre.
"I've already sent a message to Trainer Ikezoe on my phone to find Orfevre there. We can't do much to really help here, so let's continue training."
"Imanami's right. It's normal for Orfevre to be in a bad mood after losing a race."
And when this Uma Musume, who was currently the biggest problem child in the team, was mentioned, even Wada was helpless. If Ikezoe himself was at a loss currently, he and Imanami were naturally powerless. They could only hope that Orfevre would recover quickly. If she were to be defeated by such a temporary setback, the appearance of Japan's strongest Uma Musume would likely be delayed…
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Tokai Teio: Grahhh! Bring me more top-tier Uma Musume!!!! Deep Impact! Sunday Silence!!! Come here and face me!!!
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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.