Her father's final words left Fumino utterly bewildered as she decided to just leave it to future her with Wada being unaware of anything.
Soon, as time passed, the time for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) finally arrived.
"Weeeelcome everyone to the Tokyo Racecourse! We will be bringing you live commentary for the highly anticipated GI race, theeeeeAUTUMN TENNO SHOOOOO!!!"
"The Uma Musume are currently preparing for the race and will appear shortly."
"Ah, this year's Tenno Sho is truly intense, many exceptional Uma Musume, with even some from outside Japan have eagerly signed up, hoping to win this GI race!"
"Exactly, this race is full of talents, both brilliant and hidden."
"Of course, the most anticipated one is—"
"—It's none other than Meisho Doto, who has fought several times against T.M. Opera O, known as the 'Overlord' and who is about to challenge the Kikuka Sho for the title of the Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume!"
In their booths, the commentator and analyst were enlivening the atmosphere through their conversation.
They knew what the audience wanted to hear.
For the spectators of this race, there was no doubt that Meisho Doto, one of T.M. Opera O's main rivals, was the main attraction.
"Although she lost to T.M. Opera O in both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby, her performance is not to be underestimated."
"Even now, many fans believed that, if Narita Top Road and Admire Vega hadn't blocked Meisho Doto, the winner of the Japanese Derby might well have been Meisho Doto."
"Indeed, however, it seems like her path has diverged from T.M. Opera O as she has entered the Tenno Sho instead of the Kikuka Sho."
"It seems she is fully confident in winning this GI race to avenge her past defeats."
"But, as the top favorite in this race, Meisho Doto's biggest enemy might not be the other Uma Musume, but another obstacle..."
"...Yes, the 'demon of Fuchū'—the curse of the Tenno Sho, where the top favorite hasn't won for over twelve years." (T/N: Fuchū is the place where the Tokyo Racecourse is located)
"As this year's top favorite Uma Musume, can Meisho Doto achieve a sweeping victory? Or will she, like her predecessors, fall prey to this curse?"
...
At this very moment, in stark contrast to the lively atmosphere outside, Meisho Doto, dressed in her racing outfit, was making her final adjustments in the lounge.
She checked every facet of herself to ensure nothing was off.
This included things like if her horseshoes was coming loose from her running shoes, an issue that could greatly impact an Uma Musume's performance on the track.
"Good... no problems."
"Now I can go on stage with peace of mind."
Meisho Doto nodded reassuringly.
This wasn't her first time on a GI race, but it was her first time on a GI race without T.M. Opera O competing.
Losing T.M. Opera O as a target, surprisingly, made Meisho Doto relax quite a bit.
Meisho Doto had already tested it; even without T.M. Opera O, her Aura would be at it's peak performance regardless.
And for most of the Uma Musume in this race, although she didn't know them, she had enough confidence to win this time.
But just then, in the lounge, a knock on the door made Meisho Doto instinctively look up.
Before Meisho Doto could even react, a slip of paper slid directly under the door and landed at Meisho Doto's feet, wedged in the gap of her shoe.
Meisho Doto picked it up, puzzled.
However, she saw a line of text clearly written on the paper that left her bewildered.
"No 2, 4, 6̶, 7, 12, 14, Shadai Uma Musume, avoid race, encirclement..."
Meisho Doto softly murmured the words on the paper, quickly realizing their meaning.
She immediately went to open the lounge door, intending to see who had given her this note.
But as Meisho Doto opened the door, she directly bumped into Wada's chest, who had been about to enter.
Boing
A strong softness first made Wada instinctively take a few steps back, but it didn't knock him over.
Seeing Doto leaving earlier than usual, Wada couldn't help but ask:
"What's wrong, Meisho Doto? What happened?"
"Ah, ah, ah, ah... Trainer, are you, are you alright?"
Meisho Doto also realized she had bumped into Wada, instinctively covering her chest, which had taken the initial impact.
Her cheeks slightly flushed, she stepped forward, and after her gaze swept around, she found no trace of anyone else.
It seems they've already left.
Meisho Doto felt a little uneasy.
She then grabbed Wada's arm, pulled him into the lounge, and then carefully handed him the note, saying:
"Trainer, someone just slipped this note to me through the door."
"I don't know what to do..."
"This is..."
Wada took the note from Meisho Doto's hand, and after reading it carefully, he quickly realized the importance of the information on the paper.
You see, although all participating Trainers had a list of all the participating Uma Musume, it wouldn't give any other information other than their name.
Hiding personal information about the Uma Musume was mainly to prevent a situation where everyone might target one exceptionally strong Uma Musume.
Of course, this kind protection wasn't anything special compared to the protection powerful families or organizations can provide.
Therefore, Wada and the others only knew that Shadai would definitely be making moves in this race, but they had no idea how many Uma Musume Shadai had entered, let alone details like what their numbers were.
The information on this note was undoubtedly very useful to Wada and Meisho Doto right now, but the most crucial question was—was this information true, and who sent it?
Was it someone from Shadai?
This possibility was quite high, as such inside information would likely only be known by Shadai's internal staff.
But if it was someone from Shadai, why would they give this information to him and Meisho Doto?
To specifically warn them?
Could it be one of Fumino Nase's friend within Shadai?
But why hadn't she mentioned it, or at least hint at it?
Or was this... simply just misinformation to mislead him?
Wada's mind was constantly flashing with countless possibilities, repeatedly pondering them, until a broadcast voice interrupted his thoughts.
"—All participating Uma Musume, please enter the Racecourse now."
"The race is about to begin."
"What should we do... Trainer..."
Meisho Doto suddenly became lost and couldn't help but cast a pleading look at Wada.
"...Meisho Doto, come with me for a moment."
At this moment, Wada finally made up his mind.
He pulled Meisho Doto over, and before Meisho Doto could react, Wada placed his warm palm on Meisho Doto's soft cheek, followed by a fierce rubbing.
"Wuwuwuwuwu—Trainer?!"
The bewildered Meisho Doto's cheeks were flushed as Wada rubbed her face.
Although she was confused, she didn't resist; she just wasn't sure why Wada was doing this...
After a short while, most of the Uma Musume had already entered the Racecourse, but Meisho Doto, the star of the race, was still nowhere to be seen.
The commentator's voice quickly came through:
"The Uma Musume are all here—except for the top favourite. Meisho Doto, is still missing."
"Has something unexpected happened—?"
"—Wait, wait, hold on, Meisho Doto has arrived... but she seems a bit off?"
No sooner had the commentator's voice fallen than all eyes of the audience and the Uma Musume on the track turned towards Meisho Doto.
Only to discover that her current state was indeed somewhat abnormal.
"No way?!"
"Something like this actually happened?"
"Wow, am I that lucky? Better do some Gacha pulls later."
"This, is this the demon of Fuchū taking effect? Is there really no way to break it?"
One could see that the distracted Meisho Doto indeed looked to be in a somewhat poor state.
Her entire face was flushed as if she were ill, her hair was disheveled, and her racing outfit also seemed a bit messy, as if they hadn't been ironed in a while.
At first glance, Meisho Doto's current condition was truly worrying.
In contrast to the murmurs from the stands, the Uma Musume on the track collectively cheered in joy.
"Meisho Doto is in absolutely terrible condition—that's great!"
"This makes things easier for the Trainer!"
"It seems that the demon of Fuchū truly does exist! The top favorite Uma Musume can never win the Tenno Sho!"
Both the Shadai Uma Musume and the other unrelated participating Uma Musume were very wary of Meisho Doto, who was the strongest contender this race.
However, seeing Meisho Doto in such an obviously poor state, they felt greatly relieved.
Especially the Uma Musume from Shadai, upon seeing Meisho Doto's clearly unwell state, immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and their minds became active with thoughts.
No one knew what was causing Meisho Doto's current dazed state.
It wasn't until the staff pushed Meisho Doto, who hadn't fully woken up, into the starting gate that she slowly began to react.
"No, no, I must concentrate... concentrate."
Clang!
"Oh! Right off the start, a predictable thing happened; Meisho Doto had a slow start!"
"Though she managed to quickly catch up to the pack, she has failed to secure a good position and is trailing at the back!"
"Is the curse of the demon of Fuchū still in effect? Can the top favorite Uma Musume really not win the Tenno Sho?"
'Of course!'
The commentator's voice made the Shadai Uma Musume in front, who were attempting to block Meisho Doto's attack route, all inwardly rejoice.
They could now be certain that Meisho Doto can no longer win!
Which meant that they no longer needed to block her! They could chase after this victory with all their heart!
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I spent like 30 minutes researching for the name of the real life 'curse' and found nothing, fml...
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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.