Compared to Orfevre, who was preparing for the Satsuki Sho, the atmosphere over on Wada's side was much more relaxed.
T.M. Opera O, with four consecutive GI victories, and Meisho Doto, with two GI victories, were now arguably the face of Team Miracle, with their race schedules becoming much less demanding as a result.
Now, they mainly only participated in GIs and the occasional GII.
However, there were only so many GI and GII races throughout the year, and trying to participate in all of them was impossible.
Therefore, after Meisho Doto's 'victory' at the Osaka Hai, she entered a rare period of rest and recovery.
Deep Impact had managed to leave an indelible mark on Doto, her overpowering Zone and one length victory constantly echoing within her mind.
Luckily, after spending some time with Wada's companionship, Meisho Doto managed to recover somewhat... still, it was definitely far from a complete recovery and would still take some more time.
As for T.M. Opera O, she spent most of her training time with El Condor Pasa, preparing for her expedition to France.
Though she had managed to adapt to the simulated track conditions, full adaptation will have to wait until she actually arrives in Europe.
And currently, as usual, El Condor Pasa was teaching T.M. Opera O about some of the commonly used running styles and experiences in European races.
"Hoo..."
"Alright, that's enough for today,!Opera-san, you did very well today, desu!"
"Even with my experience, you were no less than El Condo, truly worthy of being you, desu!"
In a small mock race with the simulated conditions they conducted earlier, El Condor Pasa managed to reach the finish line first.
Although T.M. Opera O almost instantaneously followed, she was still a step too late compared to El Condor Pasa.
However, T.M. Opera O wasn't discouraged at all, her face still filled with confidence.
"Hahaha, it's only natural! As the Overlord, no matter the track, I am completely perfect with no weaknesses!"
T.M. Opera O let out a haughty laugh, just as self-absorbed as ever.
"Hmph! Me and my Trainer will definitely conquer this expedition!"
"Ooo, very confident indeed. But at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, having no weaknesses at all is not only not enough, but also a kind of weakness in of itself, desu."
Not missing the opportunity to instruct T.M. Opera O, El Condor Pasa started telling her experiences without reservation,
"The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe track does not pose any challenge for those Uma Musume in Europe, yet the same can't be said for us."
"Although the l'Arc is unlike the speed-focused tracks in Japan, focusing more on stability, strength, and stamina, simply being stable isn't enough. If you want to win, you need to show lightning speed no less than if you were on Japanese turf!"
"And as for if you can do it, we'll just have to wait and see, right, desu?"
"Hahaha! It seems like you can't wait to compete with the Overlord, can you?!"
T.M. Opera O, of course, felt the fighting spirit in El Condor Pasa's words, and would, of course, not shy away from her challenge.
After all, she knew very well that if she could not defeat El Condor Pasa in the Aoba Sho, the expedition would surely be a failure.
Spending so much time training with El Condor Pasa, T.M. Opera O had a solid grasp on how strong she really was.
Compared to Grass Wonder, King Halo, and Seiun Sky of the same generation, El Condor Pasa should be the strongest in terms of raw power.
She was strong, her legs could run very fast, and thanks to her American bloodline, she could easily adapt to not only the turf and dirt tracks of Japan, but also to European tracks with ease.
With all of this considered, it should be said that she was an excellent choice for an expedition to Europe.
It was just a pity that her opportunity happened to overlap with the rise of T.M. Opera O; the spot belonging to her now resting snugly in the hands of the Overlord.
Of course, while T.M. Opera O was aware of El Condor Pasa's faint resentment, she knew that El Condor Pasa would not intentionally make things difficult for her.
This GII was a true trial to see if her expedition would end in failure or not.
Though she would surely be able to defeat El Condor Pasa, if it were on European tracks instead, which El Condor Pasa was more accustomed to, it would be difficult to say whether she could still perform just as well.
With the Aoba Sho in April just around the corner, it became a reminder for T.M. Opera O to catch up and even surpass El Condor Pasa's progress in order to have a chance to compete with the Uma Musume at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
"—Training is important, but you two also need to have some rest."
"Oh, Ryuji! You're here too!"
Hearing Wada's voice, T.M. Opera O and El Condor Pasa, who were talking, both turned their heads, seeing Wada, accompanied by Meisho Doto, walking towards them, each holding a drink.
Without hesitation, T.M. Opera O immediately stood up and eagerly rushed towards Wada, taking the drink from his hand and chugging it down without a second thought.
"Here you go, El Condor Pasa-san, this is yours."
"Thanks, Meisho Doto-chan, desu!"
Showing a toothy smile, El Condor Pasa took the drink from Meisho Doto's hand and started to drink it, secretly gazing at Wada and T.M. Opera O while she did so.
'How lovey dovey...'
"They have such a good relationship, desu~ It's hard to imagine that a bond capable of unleashing power capable of surpassing the Emperor exists."
Exclaiming with a sense of respect, El Condor Pasa couldn't help but curiously turn towards Meisho Doto.
"Meisho Doto, you were Trainer Wada's first Uma Musume, right? Aren't you angry that T.M. Opera O took your Trainer?"
"...I don't own Trainer, El Condor Pasa-san."
While Meisho Doto had not been expecting El Condor Pasa to ask such a question, she, who had long since accepted her place, had long prepared an answer to this question.
"Trainer is his own person; he should be allowed to choose who he wants to love."
"Since T.M. Opera O and Trainer are perfect for each other, who am I to interfere with them?"
"Eh? If I were you, I'd definitely be super unwilling. You were there first."
Hearing Meisho Doto's acceptance, El Condor Pasa was a little surprised.
Yet, glancing at T.M. Opera O and Wada, Meisho Doto silently murmured under her breath,
"...Actually, I was the later one, wasn't I?"
"Hmm?"
"—It's nothing. Are you hungry, El Condor Pasa-san? Trainer also bought a burger."
With El Condor Pasa's and Meisho Doto's conversation known only to them, Wada continued to chat with T.M. Opera O.
"By the way, I heard from Nase that she managed to get some very good resources from Shadai to help you in your expedition, but you refused them, why?"
"Hmph, Ryuji, we've delivered a resounding slap to Shadai's face. If we accept their help now, who knows what kind of hidden costs are under it."
T.M. Opera O, of course, knew that Shadai had a genuine simulated track with European conditions, something no one else in Japan had.
If they could get Shadai's support, their chances of winning would surely increase.
However, the reason why T.M. Opera O rejected Fumino Nase's help wasn't because of some hidden costs or anything like that, but...
'The victory I, the Overlord, want to pursue is a shared victory between only you and me, Ryuji. Even if we don't have any big backers, we'll go ahead and win anyways!'
"By the way, Ryuji, is that the Aoba Sho list in your hand? Let me see."
"...Actually, there's no need. I came specifically to tell you about this."
Taking a look at the list Wada handed to her, T.M. Opera O immediately felt baffled the moment she saw how blank the entire list was.
"—As expected, most Trainers chose to avoid the Aoba Sho after hearing your name."
"However, it seems we've underestimated how intimidating you are. The only other runner in the race is El Condor Pasa."
"This race will entirely be a one on one duel between you and El Condor Pasa."
"In other words, we'll need to make some adjustments to our strategy this time around."
"It seems we can only consider running as either a Runaway or a Front Runner."
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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.