"— That's quite an unexpected answer. Kouhai-kun, you really have that much confidence in your two Uma Musume?"
Although she had received the expected meaning, Maruzensky was still surprised by Ikezoe's words.
From what she knew of Ikezoe, he would absolutely not give up on his two Uma Musume, whom he loved like his daughters and relied on like family, but she hadn't expected him to have this much trust in them.
One must know, Maruzensky, as an Uma Musume who had many years of practical experience as well as possessing a robust amount of theory, has the abilities to dare say that, even if she was teaching an average run-of-the-mill local Trainer—she could ensure that they would at least become a central level Trainer in the URA in a few years, let alone a Trainer like Ikezoe who already had a good foundation and talent.
Yet, despite knowing this, Ikezoe still held absolute conviction in his words when he said that Orfevre had higher chances than him. It was clear how much confidence he had in Orfevre.
"Really... Kouhai-kun, you have been giving me nothing but surprises ever since you became my student. No wonder even someone like Rudolf would choose to trust in the uncertainties and send Teio to your fledgling team."
"However, your teacher is still very curious, my dear student. Why are you so confident? It's almost as if you've already trained Orfevre in a past life before."
'That's because I really did train her in my past life,' Ikezoe answered in his heart with a bitter smile, but such words could not be spoken.
The three of them had agreed long ago that they will only reveal this information to someone when all three people were present.
"It's just baseless intuition, Teacher. And actually, I've never really guided Orfevre. I don't even know where her limit is."
"Every time I feel she's reached her limit again, she always bursts out with greater power, exceeding my imagination again and again. Maybe... maybe I'm just a limiter?"
"A... limiter?" Maruzensky was slightly taken aback by his words and subconsciously repeated them.
"Yes, a limiter. A limiter that restricts Orfevre's performance and also limits her madness." Ikezoe also nodded, very clear about his own perceived weakness.
Ikezoe's skill as a Jockey was considerable. Even without riding Orfevre, the number of GIs he won was not less than when Wada was riding T.M. Opera O, which showed that his ability was slightly stronger than Wada's.
It could be said that on the racetrack, Ikezoe fully displayed the influence a Jockey can have on a Racehorse's performance.
However, ever since Ikezoe was entrusted with temperamental Racehorses, his significance as a Jockey underwent a huge change.
Most of these difficult Racehorses had astounding strengths and abilities, but these were completely buried by their temperaments, preventing them from performing at their full strength.
And Ikezoe was the limiter for these Racehorses, restricting their strength. While he might not allow them to display their full strength, he at least enabled them to show a part of their ability, suppressing their unruly natures.
Thus, Ikezoe never really felt that he had helped Orfevre much. He simply continued to be a good "limiter," and the rest was largely left to Orfevre's own hard work.
"Curren Chan is a good girl; she doesn't worry me one bit. She listens to my instructions and performs them to the best of her abilities. As long as she continues this, it won't be difficult for her to compete abroad, and she might even win several international GIs."
"But Orfevre… her personality is much more difficult. I have to appease her and punish her again and again to prevent her from going too wild and acting recklessly when racing."
"I might not be able to make her completely listen to me, but I wish to at least let her win as many races as she wants, and that's enough for me."
"Eh~ why won't she listen to you?" Maruzensky couldn't help but ask curiously.
In response, Ikezoe showed a knowing smile, one with a hint of bitterness but more so pride, and said softly:
"If she listened to me, she wouldn't be my Orfevre—but perhaps, it's precisely because she doesn't listen to me that she has the chance to become the world-renowned Orfevre."
...And at this moment, in room 002, after hearing Ikezoe and Maruzensky's conversation, Tokai Teio's face was flushed.
She covered her mouth tightly, but still couldn't suppress her excitement. After a long while, she finally spoke to McQueen beside her, still covering her mouth:
"McQueen, d- did you hear? Trainer Ikezoe's words?"
"Ah… 'my Orfevre,' he really went and said it." McQueen's cheeks also carried a blush. As arguably the most innocent person among those present, those words were basically a confession in McQueen's ears, making her feel quite shy.
"I didn't expect Trainer Ikezoe… to be this bold. I thought he was a dense person. Was he just pretending to be an idiot all along?"
"Well... um, I think Trainer Ikezoe hasn't actually realized anything yet... I think he's just treating them like a parent would their child." At this moment, Doto unconsciously raised her hand and said somewhat timidly and unconfidently,
"Our Trainer occasionally talks to T.M. Opera O and me like that too…"
"Ah… the scent of love is so sweet and sour, truly—wonderful." T.M. Opera O, however, was already immersed in this sweet and sour scent called "love."
She seemed unexpectedly invested in such topics. Maybe she was gathering material for a script for her next opera performance?
Imanami, on the other hand, looked at Wada beside him with a gaze full of meaning. Meisho Doto's words earlier made the old man sense something amiss, and Wada immediately waved his hand, indicating that he truly hadn't done anything.
He genuinely treated Meisho Doto and T.M. Opera O as his children… Although he realized that Meisho Doto might have feelings for him in "that way," he quickly maintained a distance from her.
He did not want these matters to affect her racing career. Love and romance matters could wait until they finished their Senior Year. Their immediate priority was training and racing; everything else could be put aside for later.
Wada knew that Ikezoe also thought this way. Although he was quite dense, there was no way he was so clueless as to not feel someone's obvious affection for him...
...Okay, maybe he might actually not know about Orfevre, but there's no way he didn't know about Curren Chan; she was practically flirting with him every day!
But Ikezoe remained silent about it, always using his perceived "low emotional intelligence" to mask his true thoughts. Perhaps this was what a mature man should do?
Click.
Suddenly, the door to room 002 opened. Curren Chan pushed open the door, looked at the bustling group inside, and then smiled, saying:
"Everyone, it's alright now. Thank you for coming along. Curren Chan's doubts have been answered."
"Huh? Where's Orfevre?"
Seeing Curren Chan's smiling expression made everyone eavesdropping feel quite awkward, but Tokai Teio looked around and, not finding Orfevre, asked curiously.
"After hearing Onii-chan's words, she ran off without a word," Curren Chan explained, still smiling.
"Perhaps Onii-chan's words were too embarrassing, and Orfevre got a bit shy. Alright, everyone, let's go back before Onii-chan realizes. Thank you all for your concern."
Saying this, Curren Chan also turned around with a smile. However, in that instant, her ears slightly flattened, and even the smile on her face took on a somewhat dangerous feeling.
'So that's how it is… Orfevre, I never would have thought.'
'Although I was prepared for you to become my biggest obstacle in getting Onii-chan, I didn't expect you to be this beloved by him.'
'Since it has come to this, I'm truly sorry, but I'm going to have to treat you like a real enemy now... an enemy on this battlefield called "love."
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Not enough bloodshed, put in Sweep Tosho, Durandal and Dream Journey as well.
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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.