"T.M. OPERA O! T.M. OPERA O! T.M. OPERA O!" T.M. Opera O's name was being chanted all throughout the racecourse, applauding the newly crowned winner with unprecedented enthusiasm, celebrating wildly as if a new king had been born.
For at this moment, this Uma Musume, who seemed rather flamboyant but otherwise unremarkable, had already secured two of the three Classic Triple Crowns. She was about to cross that final threshold, pushing open the door to one of the greatest honors for a Japanese Uma Musume—the title of "Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume."
In recent history, the only ones to achieve the honor of being a "Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume" were Symboli Rudolf, the "Emperor"; Mr. C.B., the Student Council President of the Tracen's branch school; and Narita Brian, the "Shadow Roll Monster." (T/N: Mr. C.B.'s the only one who doesn't have a cool ass title :()
Besides these three, no other Uma Musume in the current era, despite their strengths, strategies, or absurd luck, had successfully challenged the "Classic Triple Crown" in its entirety and won all three. Now that there was an Uma Musume who was close to achieving this Hall of Fame-worthy feat, how could they not be excited?
"The entire venue is chanting 'T.M. Opera O's' name! And it's completely understandable; this is the birth of a Double Classic Crown Uma Musume who had won the Japanese Derby with absolute dominance! And in October, she will most likely challenge the third and final hurdle of the Classic Triple Crowns—the Kikuka Sho!"
"And if she wins the Kikuka Sho, T.M. Opera O will become the fourth Uma Musume in recent history to have achieved the title of 'Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.' How can anyone not be excited by this?"
The commentators also announced the news with great excitement themselves. After all, there was an actual possibility for a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume to be born right in front of their eyes. As people who had worked in race commentary for so many years, their hearts were filled with immense excitement. They eagerly anticipated the rise of the next Triple Crown Uma Musume under their passionate commentary. To have their voices accompany the images and be a witness to a legend being created is a moment of immense glory for a commentator.
Yet, all of this held little meaning for the trembling T.M. Opera O. She was panting as if all her strength had been drained, and she murmured to herself:
"Didn't pass... Didn't pass..."
Everyone else only saw T.M. Opera O's victory, but only T.M. Opera O herself knew that she hadn't truly won—to be precise, she had failed to defeat "herself." That phantom of hers had maintained an absurd lead all the way from the final corner to the finish line. The entity she could easily defeat in the Satsuki Sho had completely crushed her in the Japanese Derby.
She had actually lost to herself. Why? Was it because her training wasn't enough? No, that shouldn't be... She had been following her Trainer's training methods, which she had already used since the Satsuki Sho with great success; why would she lose now?
"—Did you think you really could've won without Meisho Doto's help?"
At this moment, the figure of "T.M. Opera O" reappeared beside her. She saw the other party looking down at her and saying, "Meisho Doto shouldn't even have been in this race in the first place, just as you wouldn't have faced Mejiro McQueen here too. You were only supposed to face Admire Vega and Narita Top Road."
"But even without Mejiro McQueen, you still would have lost. If it weren't for Meisho Doto distracting Narita Top Road and Admire Vega this time around, you would have lost horribly—because you can't even surpass the current 'you'."
A subtle expression appeared on "T.M. Opera O's" face as she nonchalantly slapped her other self's face, saying word by word, "If you can't even surpass the current 'you', how can you even have the dignity to say you 'won' this race?"
"Keep working hard, me. If you continue to be weak like this, I'm afraid that Mejiro McQueen will defeat you so badly in the Kikuka Sho that you'll never even want to race again. After all, her abilities in a long-distance race are far superior compared to both you and me."
With that, the phantom of "T.M. Opera O" disappeared again, returning to T.M. Opera O's body. Yet, despite having this lengthy conversation, not much time had passed in reality. When T.M. Opera O came to her senses, she realized that everyone was still chanting her name.
She slowly turned around, and at this moment, the others had only just crossed the finish line. One by one, they also collapsed to the wet turf due to both their fatigue and their failure. Under such heavy track conditions, the race was already more physically demanding than usual, and all the defeated Uma Musume fell to the ground.
"Damn it—I lost again!"
Narita Top Road also collapsed to the ground with difficulty, panting and pounding the ground. Beside her, Admire Vega also laid on the ground, utterly exhausted, looking at the gloomy sky and murmuring:
"I'm sorry... I still... couldn't reach our dream..."
"To lose so pathetically as an Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family..." Mejiro McQueen was also very annoyed, but this race also served as a very important learning experience for her. To face an incredibly powerful opponent like T.M. Opera O, who was giving it her all in a real racing environment, would only strengthen Mejiro McQueen, not demoralize her.
Therefore, Mejiro McQueen raised her head again and said to T.M. Opera O, "T.M. Opera O, you really are strong, but the next time we meet again in the Kikuka Sho, I'll challenge you again with even greater resolve! I will do everything in my power to avenge this humiliation. As an Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family, I will never allow myself to lose to you again!"
...However, facing Mejiro McQueen's declaration of war, T.M. Opera O did not give her usual arrogant spiel for the first time ever. The warning from her other self was still vivid in her mind. T.M. Opera O didn't even have the confidence to respond that she would definitely defeat Mejiro McQueen. After all, she couldn't even surpass her other self yet. What right did she have to say that she'll win the Kikuka Sho against such a strong opponent as McQueen?
However, on the other side, Meisho Doto's figure finally appeared as she walked up to T.M. Opera O. At this moment, Meisho Doto's face was pale, and even her steps seemed a bit shaky. With labored steps, she slowly dragged herself in front of T.M. Opera O.
"Congrats... Opera O..."
"Doto?" T.M. Opera O immediately noticed Meisho Doto's abnormally pale face, which looked really bad. She quickly reacted and instinctively supported Meisho Doto's body, asking anxiously: "Meisho Doto, are you okay? Why is your face so pale?"
"I... I'm fine... I'm just feeling a little..."
Huh... why did everything in front of her suddenly turn black? Was something going on—?
At this moment, Meisho Doto's last consciousness flickered away, and her entire body slowly collapsed in front of T.M. Opera O as if she was a puppet who had her strings cut. T.M. Opera O immediately caught Meisho Doto's body, holding her up.
"MEISHO DOTO?!"
Just then, Wada, who had frantically run down from the stands, finally arrived at the scene. He immediately took Meisho Doto from the exhausted T.M. Opera O's hands, embracing his first Uma Musume without hesitation and started shouting with all his might:
"MEDIC! WHERE IN THE FUCK ARE MEDICAL PERSONNEL?!! COME QUICKLY AND HELP!"
"DOTO-SAN?!"
The slowly collapsing Meisho Doto had finally alerted the surrounding Uma Musume. In an instant, the Uma Musume who were still immersed in victory and defeat immediately rushed over anxiously, but completely lacking in medical experience, they could only fret helplessly.
Fortunately, soon, the medical team on standby quickly rushed into the scene with a stretcher. Imanami, Tokai Teio, and Gold Ship followed closely behind. The medical personnel quickly lifted the unconscious Meisho Doto onto the stretcher with practiced motion. One of the doctors briefly checked Meisho Doto's condition and then said to Wada beside him:
"Don't worry, Trainer, calm down. Your assigned Uma Musume has only fainted from exhaustion. There's no real danger. She just needs to get some good rest with some medicine, and she'll recover quickly."
"No, I want Meisho Doto to receive a comprehensive examination, please." However, Wada was incredibly anxious. The scene of her Aura-condensed phantoms colliding earlier made Wada extremely cautious. He was very worried that some hidden problem might arise in Meisho Doto's body after the constant collisions. He had to make absolutely sure that Meisho Doto was safe. "I must ensure she's okay, Doctor. Can I stay with her?"
"...You can."
The doctor nodded, and soon, the unconscious Meisho Doto was escorted out of the scene. And this event, which should have been a joyous victory, ended abruptly. But this scene caught the attention of many nonetheless, and who knows how many pairs of opportunistic eyes watched Wada, Meisho Doto, and T.M. Opera O leave.
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Depression, the chapter.
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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.