On a rather ordinary day, the track on Tracen saw another lap around it concluding, with Mejiro McQueen crossing the finish line first, marking the end of the partner training session.
After finishing, McQueen instinctively glanced back at T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto, who were close behind, followed by Orfevre and Curren Chan.
As for Gold Ship, she did not participate in the training, instead acting as the finish line alongside a cardboard cutout of Hishi Amazon.
"Opera-san and Doto-san, both of you didn't unleash your final spurt. Are you two going easy on me?"
"Hahahaha, this was a restriction placed on both of us from Trainer Wada. He wants us to not use our final spurt as much as possible during training to avoid injuries," T.M. Opera O replied with an exaggerated gesture. "As long as we train our stamina and strength, our final spurts will naturally improve alongside it. It's natural for our Trainer to not want us risking injuries to train something that could be trained without the risks involved."
"On the contrary, McQueen, you should be careful. Your burst earlier was indeed good, but don't overdo it!"
"—There's no need to worry about that. My Trainer has already planned ahead. I have my legs checked every day after training."
McQueen had been part of Imanami's team for some time now, and she continued to have unwavering trust in Imanami's training regimen. If there was one major change Imanami brought to McQueen, it was making her pay unprecedented attention to the health of her legs.
After that meeting between Imanami and her Grandmother, McQueen had finally fully understood her mission: to not just win the Tenno Sho and fulfill the Mejiro Family's mission, but more importantly, to retire healthily many years later, and with her uninjured legs, improve the Mejiro bloodline to cultivate even better descendants.
Since that day, McQueen had been extremely focused on the state of her legs, because she knew she had been given a new mission, and Imanami was her Trainer, her supervisor, and her planner—the key person for her to achieve this mission.
As for who would be her partner in continuing the Mejiro Family's bloodline in the future... to be honest, McQueen herself wasn't entirely sure, but she felt that if she were to truly fall for someone, she would definitely be attracted by their qualities and excellence. (T/N: son...)
The person she liked would absolutely not be an ordinary person! Although she didn't have any thoughts of dating right now, that was beside the point. Everything else can be dealt with after winning the Tenno Sho; as for what came after... her future self would have to deal with it.
"Oh! McQueen, you did great this run! Another new record!" Gold Ship, who was holding a stopwatch, stepped forward and said. Her gaze then turned to Orfevre.
"Hehe, Orfevre-nee, you didn't even catch up. That's quite unexpected. You were so gung-ho during your Debut Race; why are you so sluggish now?"
"Wh— GOLD SHIP!"
The panting Orfevre was instantly enraged by Gold Ship's provocative words, but despite her anger, when she looked up and saw Gold Ship's 170-centimeter tall figure, she immediately deflated, completely losing her temper.
Wuwuwuwu... You rotten Oldest Sis! Why did you make Gold Ship the temporary head of the family when you left... Gold Ship doesn't even possess an inkling of how to be the family head at all...
"Indeed... I feel that there's a big difference between Orfevre during her Debut Race and Orfevre during training just now."
Gold Ship's words piqued the curiosity of the other Uma Musume, and McQueen also subconsciously nodded and asked, "Orfevre, can you try to ignite that Aura you had during your Debut Race again?"
"I- I want to, but I don't know how to. No matter how much I imagine the finish line as Trainer Ikezoe, I couldn't ignite myself anymore... It's like it's suddenly closed off..."
Orfevre was also very aggrieved. As far as her eyes could see, whether it was McQueen, Gold Ship, T.M. Opera O, or even the timid Meisho Doto, they all appeared to her as formidable and unapproachable entities.
The only one whose strength was somewhat similar to hers was Curren Chan behind her, and even she felt like someone Orfevre couldn't provoke. Running with such a group of big shots, the pressure on her was immense. Usually, with pressure comes motivation, but despite Orfevre's best efforts, she couldn't ignite her race-day form, only barely able to keep up with them.
Setting aside Curren Chan, who only had the stamina to run short distances, it could be said that among everyone in the three teams during training, she was the one performing the worst...
"Indeed, during races, Orfevre really lived up to her nickname as the 'Golden Tyrant'."
"Please don't use that term! What Golden Tyrant! I'm just an ordinary Uma Musume!"
At this moment, T.M. Opera O also recalled the newspaper from a few days ago; Orfevre's victory in her Debut Race, coupled with her fierce expression, had earned her the title of "Golden Tyrant," making Orfevre tremble from embarrassment and fear for the entire day.
She was afraid others would mistake her for the kind of Uma Musume who would mock others after a race; the title "Golden Tyrant" was truly unpleasant, and she certainly didn't want to be regarded as a bad person by other Uma Musume and be targeted.
"Hahahaha! Isn't that great?" However, T.M. Opera O seemed very excited, encouraging Orfevre, "There's no need for you to hide your talent and personality; just let it all out! I am the Overlord, and you are the Golden Tyrant. Strictly speaking, both of us are the same!"
"Absolutely not!" Orfevre immediately retorted.
"Um... I also think that Orfevre during the Debut Race is indeed a bit different..." At this moment, Meisho Doto also cautiously raised her hand and said with concern, "You were very strong on the racetrack... Although you didn't have much technique, you could control the rhythm of the entire race just by using your instincts, and the explosive power of your final spurt, I even feel like it has surpassed mine."
"The most important thing is that Aura... My Trainer said that T.M. Opera O and I both have this ability, but, but I feel that the gap between my Aura and Orfevre's... is still very large."
Although Meisho Doto's Aura had enough power to catch even T.M. Opera O off guard, in reality, after repeated tests, Wada had confirmed that Meisho Doto's Aura was, in a sense, a "screw T.M. Opera O in particular" ability.
Normally, Meisho Doto's Aura was incredibly faint, but once T.M. Opera O was on the same track, Meisho Doto would be stimulated to unleash her own Aura for counter-suppression. This characteristic surprised both Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O, and only Wada, who knew the truth, understood why.
Perhaps it was because she was so severely suppressed by T.M. Opera O in his previous world... that in this world, that resentment was inherited, and she specifically developed this Aura that counters T.M. Opera O... It's clear how significant the influence of this other-world karmic bond truly is.
"Then, is Orfevre also like Meisho Doto, needing stimulation to be unleashed?"
"But the pressure of us running together should be greater than during her Debut Race, right? If even this can't unleash Orfevre's potential... then it shouldn't be a pressure issue?"
For a moment, the Uma Musume also started to throw out guesses. After all, Orfevre's state was truly worrying; her performance was very unstable, which could cause her to miss her races.
Among the group of Uma Musume, only Curren Chan, upon hearing this news, did not show any anxious expression, nor did she gloat, but rather showed a slight incomprehension.
How could Orfevre, whom Onii-chan valued so much, only be capable of this much? Is she hiding her true strength? Was it because she felt she should keep a low profile in this team?
...No, she doesn't seem like the scheming type at all, but not being able to control her own strength... Could such a thing really happen to an Uma Musume? Performing well in races but terribly in training?
What exactly did Onii-chan value in her... I couldn't comprehend it at all.
However, Curren Chan did not voice these questions. She didn't want to discourage Orfevre; after all, she and Orfevre had no actual conflict. She was merely curious about the Uma Musume whom Ikezoe valued so much, as someone who lovingly regarded her Trainer as her "fated one."
But everything was still early; there was still a year of preparation to go. Curren Chan naturally trusted Onii-chan's judgment, but while she trusted Ikezoe, she didn't trust Orfevre...
If Orfevre's performance truly wasn't satisfactory... then... even if Curren Chan felt it was wrong, there were some things she would have to do.
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Orfevre is actually so smart that even we, as readers, can't even comprehend her motives.
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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.