Cling.
Arriving alone at the bar Tanino Gimlet had set for their meeting, Wada had already informed T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto in advance that he intended to come alone this time.
On one hand, a bar was not a suitable place for girls their age, and on the other hand... Wada felt that Tanino Gimlet probably wanted this conversation to be semi-private; otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen such a noisy place.
With the many noises mixing with each other, people would only be able to properly hear what the person directly next to them said, making secretly eavesdropping near impossible, akin to hiding a tree in a forest.
Secretly praising the innovativeness of this method, Wada began scanning the area.
Soon enough, Wada walked toward an empty seat at the bar table and sat down next to Tanino Gimlet, who was wearing casual clothes.
While guzzling down some alcohol, this eyepatch wearing Uma Musume finally noticed Wada's arrival and showed a bright smile, putting down her now, empty glass.
"You came, and I don't see your two girls here either, nice~! I don't like Trainers who get bossed around by their Uma Musume~"
"So, wat'cha wanna drink? Vodka? Whiskey?"
"...The strongest one this place has, two of them."
Having met Tanino Gimlet a couple of times now, Wada felt that he now had a decent profile on her.
Coupled with her rather brutish way of drinking she displayed earlier, Wada was sure that she was definitely a 'hard liquor' type.
So, to raise Tanino Gimlet's favourability, Wada catered to her preferences and ordered two servings of the strongest drink this bar had.
After a while, two small glasses were placed in front of them, which they promptly picked up, clinked together, and then downed all its contents in one gulp.
"Hahaha~ Not bad! You sure can hold your liquor; you didn't even cough once!"
Grinning and giving a nod of approval, Tanino Gimlet's initial impression of Wada was reversed to be a positive one.
From his attitude alone, Tanino Gimlet was positively certain that he was not the kind of pansy Trainer who lacked intelligence and was overly coddling of their Uma Musume.
"So, Trainer Wada Ryuji... you know what? Let's drop the formalities; I'll just call 'ya Ryuji. Ryuji, do you know why I wanted to see you today?"
Wada, seeing that Tanino Gimlet did not beat around the bush and quickly got to the main topic, endured the burning sensation in his throat as he replied to her.
"...If I'm not mistaken, it's because you're curious as to why I was so certain that Silence Suzuka would suffer a fracture at the Autumn Tenno Sho, which is still five months away, right?"
"—Huh? Nah, I don't give a damn about that at all."
Looking into the eyes of the now confused Wada, Tanino Gimlet showed what could only be defined as a 'shit-eating grin' as she purposefully accentuated each syllable she spoke.
"I'm not interested in questions I already have an answer to."
"Ryuji, if I'm not mistaken— you've received a blessing from the Three Goddesses, haven't 'cha? For lucky fellas like you, I'm never surprised by the kind of insane shenanigans you all get up to."
"WH— How did you know?!!!"
In a single sentence, Tanino Gimlet had exposed one of the two biggest secrets that Wada had.
After all, the matter of him and T.M. Opera O receiving a blessing from the Three Goddesses was supposed to only be known by the two of them; it was something that even Imanami and Ikezoe did not know currently.
—Yet, how was Tanino Gimlet able to see through this? Could she be a transmigrator? Or did she, like T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto, awaken the memories of their 'original selves?'
Thinking it through, Wada felt that... neither was probably the answer.
"Tch, what's all the fuss about? The way you act like it's a world-shaking discovery is annoying the hell outta me! I'm not a dumbass, you know?"
Placing her hand over her eyepatch, Tanino Gimlet's shit-eating grin grew larger as she continued.
"You are the youngest S-rank Trainer ever, someone who successfully fended against Shadai multiple times and even slapped them in their metaphorical face, even managing to train an Uma Musume to win the Classic Triple Crown, as well as defeating the 'Emperor' in the Arima Kinen. All in your first year as a Trainer."
"Wada Ryuji, your current status, along with that 'Overlord' of yours, would grant you a lifetime of honour and wealth. Even if you were to retire right now, you'll definitely be able to live the rest of your life out in luxury."
"So, why would someone like that risk everything for a random GI that's completely optional for them?"
"You even brought up a fracture. If that's not genuine concern, then it could only be interpreted as a threat."
"However, even if you really REALLY wanted to win the Autumn Tenno Sho for some reason, there was no need for you to resort to such underhanded tactics, right?"
"Thus, there's only one answer. Unless you've just randomly gone insane, then it must be because you were genuinely panicked."
"And, the reason you were so panicked must be, as you really said, because you had a premonition of the future— a phenomenon that can be reasonably explained as interference by the Three Goddesses."
"Although the probability is quite low, compared to you suddenly going off the deep end, I think the latter possibility is more likely."
Looking down at the now dumbfounded Wada despite being at a lower elevation than him, she quickly struck a cool pose, menacingly looking back at Wada.
"Don't underestimate your senior, junior Ryuji."
"...Yes, senior, I did indeed manage to see into the future because of the Three Goddesses' blessing. But it's only because I have a few unique qualities compared to ordinary people."
Though Tanino Gimlet's deduction was not entirely correct— for example, the real reason for his foresight being his status as a transmigrator— for a native in this world to have gotten this close to figuring out the truth was already mighty impressive.
Moreover, this provided a solid alibi for Wada's 'future sight.'
While the Three Goddesses were not entirely responsible, it could be said that their arrival here was due to them to a certain extent, right?
"Since you know the truth now, then Tanino Gimlet-senpai, I..."
"—I know, you want to change the future so that that Silence Suzuka girl doesn't have to suffer a fracture and potentially end her career, right?"
Given a confidence boost by Wada's affirmation, Tanino Gimlet nodded at him.
"I don't object; go for it. If there's anything you need help with, I'll help you."
"But you need to tell me your plan first, 'kay? And by the way, I'm only on your side when it comes to Silence Suzuka. I won't hold back when it comes to teaching Special Week for the Japanese Derby, understood?"
"That's more than enough!!! Thank you so very much, senior Tanino!!!"
Never expecting the conversation to go so smoothly, Wada was naturally overjoyed, even bowing to Tanino Gimlet.
"Heh. You're a kind kid. To go to such lengths for someone you don't even know that well. I suppose there truly are people who are willing to do such thankless work."
Despite there being a slight sarcastic undertone to her words, the now soft smile on her face proved that she truly admired Wada.
"However, don't be happy so soon. I have a condition. I scratch your back and you scratch mine."
"—What do you need help with? Don't worry, I'll also help you the best I can!"
"Well... it's not anything that important..."
Saying this, Tanino Gimlet ordered another strong drink mid sentence and drank it in one swig.
Her tipsy blush now several times redder, she finally continued with her request.
"You might not know... but I have a junior named Vodka... and we get along pretty well."
"But for some reason, I just feel a strange sense of closeness with her, and I don't think it's a coincidence. She looks just like me too."
"Ryuji, you got some inside intel from the Three Goddesses, right? I've heard of the leading theories about how we all have 'originals' somewhere and that Uma Musume as a species are a kind of 'replica' or 'vessel' for these 'original versions' of us. Do you know if my 'original' had some sort of special relationship with Vodka?"
"If you know anything, please tell me everything— and by the way, you saw the future, right? Will this girl become a powerful Uma Musume in the future? Does she win any GI races?"
"And... does she encounter any setbacks, similar to Silence Suzuka?"
In the end, Tanino Gimlet revealed her true purpose behind this meeting.
After all, despite her rude and don't-give-a-shit attitude... she still had people that she cared about.
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For all the shit I talk about how the author wrote Maruzensky, Silence Suzuka, and Fumino Nase, they sure are good at one-off characters like Tanino Gimlet.
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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.