The whole debacle with Orfevre also affected the groups of the other two Trainers; after all, Orfevre was a member of their team. Although usually, the three Trainers mainly handled matters within their own sub-teams, they still helped each other when needed.
However, Ikezoe insisted on taking care of Orfevre himself, being incredibly stubborn about it, and both Wada and Imanami understood why. After all, if T.M. Opera O or Meisho Doto fell ill, Wada would naturally care for them day and night; Imanami, even more so—neither Teio nor McQueen could afford to get sick, and if Gold Ship fell ill, Imanami would probably not allow anyone but the doctor to disturb her.
After Orfevre recovered, everyone in the team breathed a sigh of relief; no one wanted to see something bad happen to Orfevre. This girl, who could become the strongest Uma Musume in Japan, certainly had a bumpy road ahead at first, but everyone believed that she and Ikezoe could overcome these obstacles together.
And currently, the most attention-grabbing group in Team Miracle was, without a doubt, Wada and his two assigned Uma Musume, who took first and third place in the last Satsuki Sho. Newspapers and online forums during this period were also incessantly discussing who would be the one to win the Japanese Derby.
In reality, although T.M. Opera O won the Satsuki Sho, as the first of the Classic Triple Crowns, the perceived value of the Satsuki Sho was slightly inferior to that of the Japanese Derby and Kikuka Sho; in fact, the Japanese Derby was the most challenging one among all of the Classic Triple Crown races.
The challenge did not lie in the strength required; the Uma Musume that could step onto the Japanese Derby in the first place were undoubtedly exceptional. Even on the GI level, each Uma Musume was a highly anticipated presence, but the value of the Japanese Derby lay in the fact that if one could win both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby, it meant that winning the Kikuka Sho would actually be a pretty likely scenario.
The Japanese Derby is revered as the most valuable crown among the Classic Triple Crowns; to win the Japanese Derby, one not only needs solid strength and ingenious tactics, but most importantly, luck. It is said that the fastest Uma Musume wins the Satsuki Sho, the strongest Uma Musume wins the Kikuka Sho... and the luckiest Uma Musume wins the Japanese Derby.
Yes, the Japanese Derby has the highest prize money among the Classic Triple Crowns, but it is also the most accident-prone race among them. To win the Japanese Derby, luck is indispensable, and luck... is indeed a bit too elusive. Therefore, all the Trainers challenging the Japanese Derby could do was to ensure that their Uma Musume's condition was at the best it could be by giving them reasonable training plans, plenty of rest periods, and figuring out who the biggest rival would be.
However, this didn't matter to Wada's Team... for they are the 'biggest rival' in this race. At the moment, Wada was actively preparing for the Japanese Derby, the second leg of the Classic Triple Crowns, with his two assigned Uma Musume.
"And... finish—that's enough, T.M. Opera O, and Meisho Doto, that's all for today."
It was another partner training, and this time, as always, T.M. Opera O won again. T.M. Opera O's astonishing final spurt left Meisho Doto, no matter how familiar she was with T.M. Opera O's tactics, far behind, and this time was no different, ending in T.M. Opera O's victory.
"Good work, you two. Have some water. Today's training is over." Wada handed them some water and towels he had prepared long ago, then turned to Meisho Doto and asked, "How is it, Meisho Doto, do you feel the gap between you and T.M. Opera O narrowing?"
"Mm, mm! Trainer's training is indeed effective; I feel like I'm improving every day..."
Meisho Doto also nodded happily; after the defeat in the Satsuki Sho, Meisho Doto reflected on herself and T.M. Opera O. She also realized that during their showdown in the Mainichi Hai, she had indeed surpassed T.M. Opera O, but this didn't mean that T.M. Opera O would be weaker than her forever.
After joining the team, T.M. Opera O received specialized training from Wada, and her rate of improvement shot up dramatically—Meisho Doto had never once seen an Uma Musume increase in strength so rapidly after becoming familiar with their running style. Coupled with her misjudgment in the Satsuki Sho, losing to T.M. Opera O was actually very normal.
However, this time, Meisho Doto was not discouraged; she knew that catching up to T.M. Opera O in such a short time might not be possible, but under Wada's plan, she found that the gap between her and T.M. Opera O was gradually narrowing.
"That's good, Doto, keep up the good work, and you will definitely shine on the Japanese Derby." Wada also nodded upon hearing this. Their relationship now felt like it had returned to when they were preparing for the Mainichi Hai; both of them were still striving to surpass T.M. Opera O, even though T.M. Opera O was now a member of his team.
But in fact, apart from her daily training, Wada hardly needed to worry about T.M. Opera O at all. As Wada had expected, T.M. Opera O's ability to learn on her own allowed her to grow astonishingly fast once she found a suitable running style and knew what direction she should strive towards. Wada merely helped T.M. Opera O avoid some detours, allowing her to reach the state of "peak T.M. Opera O" in his memory faster.
And the facts proved that Wada's idea was correct; the current T.M. Opera O, based on the template Wada had designed, has already started to show her 'Overlord' qualities. Now, she didn't even need much guidance from Wada, as if she already knew how she should train herself. Such strong self-management ability left Wada, who witnessed all this, dumbfounded. At that time, he muttered to himself:
"It seems my role as a Trainer is quite a useless one... If other Trainers knew that T.M. Opera O could become strong on her own even if I did nothing, they would probably become so jealous they'd form another encirclement."
However, this was also a good thing for Wada; he could confidently let T.M. Opera O challenge the Classic Triple Crowns, making up for his and T.M. Opera O's past regrets, while also teaching Meisho Doto, guiding her towards the direction she wanted to go.
Wada was conflicted; he felt that whether T.M. Opera O's journey towards the Classic Triple Crowns ends in failure or Meisho Doto ultimately fails in overthrowing the Overlord, it would definitely be difficult for him. But since he initially promised Meisho Doto to allow her to embark on the path to the Classic Triple Crowns, seeing it through to the end was now his responsibility as a Trainer.
"So, T.M. Opera O, how about you? Your final spurts have been consistently strong lately; do you feel anything?"
Wada turned to T.M. Opera O, but this time, T.M. Opera O unexpectedly did not answer Wada's question. Her gaze remained fixed on the track, lost in thought, as if something had captured her attention.
"...T.M. Opera O?"
"A-ah, Ryuji..." T.M. Opera O also snapped out of her daze at Wada's soft call, but her reaction completely lacked her usual exaggerated tone. There was no excitement or gloating after winning; instead, her horse ears drooped slightly, as if she was a little down.
"I... I want to get some fresh air, Ryuji; you and Meisho Doto can continue training."
"T.M. Opera O? Are you alright? You've been distracted these past few days." Wada was no fool; he could tell that T.M. Opera O's condition had been off lately. Although her progress was getting faster and faster each passing day, T.M. Opera O's mood was not high. It was as if... as if it was like back then, when T.M. Opera O knew he had lost a race due to an error in Wada's judgment again. If it weren't for the fact that T.M. Opera O hadn't lost a race since joining Wada's team, he would have thought he had made another error that dragged down T.M. Opera O again.
"It's nothing, I'm just thinking about some things..."
T.M. Opera O also didn't want to say much; she felt that even if she did, it would only make Wada more worried. It was better for her to handle this anomaly herself. T.M. Opera O slowly left the scene under the rather worried gazes of Wada and Meisho Doto. After Wada and Meisho Doto exchanged glances, Wada couldn't help but ask:
"She has been like this for several days already... What exactly happened to T.M. Opera O?"
"Trainer, why don't you find time to talk to T.M. Opera O?" Meisho Doto also nodded, saying with concern: "T.M. Opera O definitely cares for you; I believe if Trainer speaks, T.M. Opera O will definitely open up."
"...Then let's see tomorrow. Ikezoe's situation has just stabilized, and I don't want to see another Orfevre situation happen to T.M. Opera O next."
Wada sighed worriedly, feeling his inability to help T.M. Opera O in various aspects... At this moment, T.M. Opera O, who had left the training ground, quietly sat on a bench, and at this moment, the voice in her mind spoke again: (T/N: Yup, she's a schizo)
"You lost again this time, me."
"Yes, but as the Overlord, something as minor as this won't deter me. Next time, I will definitely surpass you." T.M. Opera O looked at the "phantom" beside her. Now she was certain that this figure was in a sense, herself—different in personality but seemingly more mature and experienced than her.
"She" was like a benchmark; whenever T.M. Opera O felt that her strength could surpass the other, the other would suddenly and sharply increase in strength by a large margin, making it seem like she's catching up, but never actually reaching "her." During this time, T.M. Opera O had been competing with "herself"; she wanted to surpass herself. She instinctually felt that if she couldn't surpass herself, she probably wouldn't have an absolute chance to win the Japanese Derby.
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This is getting out of hand... now there's two Manhattan Cafe's!
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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.