"T.M. Opera O!"
"T.M. Opera O!"
As T.M. Opera O and Wada were celebrating their victory together, several people ran out from the stands.
Among them were not only their teammates from Team Miracle, but also many Uma Musume who admired T.M. Opera O, such as Special Week, as well as Grass Wonder and Silence Suzuka, who accompanied Special Week.
"T- T.M. Opera O! You're really strong! A Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume!"
Special Week ran in front of T.M. Opera O, so excited that she was a bit incoherent.
But finally, she handed T.M. Opera O the notebook and pen she had been holding, and excitedly said:
"If- if you don't mind, please sign it for me!"
"Hahaha! Are you a fan of this Overlord? You have good taste!"
T.M. Opera O and Wada exchanged glances.
Although T.M. Opera O was exhausted at the moment, she still did not refuse Special Week's request and elegantly signed "T.M. Opera O" with a fancy handwriting on the notebook, then handed it back to Special Week.
But unexpectedly, Special Week immediately turned to Wada and said,
"Trainer Wada, please sign it for me too!"
"Your pairing with T.M. Opera O made me look at what a Trainer-trainee relationship truly means in a new light!"
"I- I really hope to meet a Trainer like you in the future! So—"
"Spe-chan, if Trainer heard you say that, he would really cry, you know."
Silence Suzuka, who was beside them, found it quite amusing and tapped Special Week on the head to remind her.
She had already joined Okino's Team.
"Huh? Oh, I forgo—no, no, I'm not dissatisfied with Trainer, it's just, ah, AHHHHHH, I don't know how to explain it!"
"...If you don't mind my signature drastically lowering the value of T.M. Opera O's signature, I don't mind."
Wada then hesitantly took Special Week's notebook, signed his name next to T.M. Opera O's signature, and then handed it back to Special Week.
After Special Week received the notebook and confirmed it, a joyful expression appeared on her small face.
Then she solemnly bowed to Wada and T.M. Opera O, and excitedly said:
"Thank you! Thank you very much! I- I won't bother you anymore!"
"...She's quite an adorable one, isn't she?"
Wada watched Special Week hastily run away, along with Silence Suzuka and Grass Wonder who left with her, and said with a hint of teasing.
He never expected that Special Week, who had previously clashed with him and T.M. Opera O twice, would unexpectedly become their junior, and even be an admirer of T.M. Opera O.
It must be said that fate is truly unpredictable.
Former rivals now turned into idol and fan respectively.
This world... is truly a gentle one.
After Special Week left, Meisho Doto quickly arrived shortly after.
With a sincere smile and joy on her face, she grabbed T.M. Opera O's hand, saying:
"You- You did it! T.M. Opera O, you're amazing! You're a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume now!"
"There have only been three Classic Triple Crown Uma Musumes before, and you're actually the fourth one!"
"O- our team has a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume now, T.M. Opera O!"
"Yes... yes, Doto, thank you all for your support."
T.M. Opera O held Meisho Doto's hand without any hesitation as her gaze swept over the many familiar faces who were slowly gathering around.
She saw that Ikezoe and Imanami had already arrived with their in charge Uma Musume, alongside Fumino Nase with Narita Top Road and Admire Vega's Trainers.
Then, Admire Vega, Narita Top Road, Mejiro McQueen, and the other participants who had just finished the race, also slowly approached her without any reservation.
As she witnessed all of this happening around her, small droplets couldn't help but start to form around T.M. Opera O's eyes.
Unbeknownst to her, she, who had originally thought she was destined to walk a lonely and vitriol-filled path, now had... so many she could call a friend.
This was, of course, the result of Wada's continuous efforts to help T.M. Opera O maintain relationships for the better part of an entire year.
Making Admire Vega and Narita Top Road understand T.M. Opera O better, helping their Trainers push through difficult times, and later, with Fumino Nase's own efforts, it all led to this happy ending.
Otherwise, today, T.M. Opera O might've truly been fighting alone, having to break through multiple encirclements all by herself.
But now, whether it was Shadai or others, she no longer needed to worry.
And all of this was because, from the very beginning, there was a fool... a fool she could not bear to part with the most, who was working hard in her stead to achieve it all without asking anything in return...
"Ryuji."
"Hmm? What is it, T.M. Opera O?"
"...Nothing, just felt like calling your name."
T.M. Opera O smiled softly, grabbed Wada's hand again, and said to him,
"Let's go for my Winning Live, Ryuji. You'd better be in sync with me when I dance."
"And later, don't go into the interview with red eyes."
With that, T.M. Opera O led Wada to the backstage.
After the two left, Mejiro McQueen, who had pretended not to care about the outcome of the race, finally let out a long sigh.
She looked at Imanami, who was standing with Gold Ship and Tokai Teio, and walked towards him with some dejection.
"I'm sorry... Trainer... I've disgraced you."
"—McQueen, don't worry, I don't necessarily think that losing to T.M. Opera O, the Overlord, who managed to surpass her peak, is a disgraceful thing at all."
Imanami had clearly anticipated McQueen's reaction, and gently smiled, comforting her,
"After this, your races will almost never overlap with T.M. Opera O's again— of course, if you wish to challenge her again, we will have many such chances in the next few months."
"Yeah, McQueen! Even I, the invincible Teio-sama, wouldn't dare say I can beat T.M. Opera O in a race. She's really strong!"
Tokai Teio promptly stepped forward to comfort her good friend, saying,
"Losing to T.M. Opera O is not disgraceful at all, McQueen, you performed very well! It was simply that T.M. Opera O was too strong!"
"Hear hear! T.M. Opera O is now firmly top-dog level, her strength is something even I, Golshi-sama, have to acknowledge."
Gold Ship, who was beside them, uncharacteristically stroked her chin and said very solemnly,
"I'm afraid even Oldest Sister at full strength might not be able to beat her now."
"Excluding the current big bosses, only Orfevre when she grows up will probably have a chance at defeating the current T.M. Opera O."
"Hmph hmph, it's a pity that my debut is even later than Teio's, I really want to see Orfevre compete with T.M. Opera O up close—ah, how unfortunate~!"
"What?! Gold Ship, don't talk nonsense! I don't want to race against T.M. Opera O!"
On the other side, Orfevre, who was next to Ikezoe, became so scared when she heard Gold Ship's words that she trembled all over.
While she has made some improvements, she was clearly still quite cowardly when not in race mode.
Orfevre had seen T.M. Opera O's terrifying final spurt just now, and just by imagining herself running against T.M. Opera O, she felt what true fear meant.
At least for now, Orfevre vehemently believed that she could not possibly defeat T.M. Opera O.
T.M. Opera O had three consecutive GI wins, and it wasn't just any GI either, but the Classic Triple Crown races! Managing to become the fourth Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.
Her on the other hand? She hadn't even run a GII yet!
Even if she considered her final spurt to be decent, going against T.M. Opera O was simply too much for the current her.
However, as she was shaking, Ikezoe gently ruffled Orfevre's hair beside him and chuckled:
"Don't worry, Orfevre, you'll definitely grow as strong as T.M. Opera O in the future."
"Next year, I will make you the next Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume, and then let you and T.M. Opera O meet in the Arima Kinen next year!"
"Wha—Idiot Ikezoe! I already said I don't want to race against T.M. Opera O! Don't get me into trouble!"
Orfevre began to shiver even more in fright.
There was no way she could catch up to T.M. Opera O's insane growth rate in just one year right?!
But Orfevre also gradually realized that, unknowingly, the time for her to challenge the Classic Triple Crowns was not that far away.
After the Arima Kinen in December, she would officially enter her Classic Year and embark on the bloody path which were the Classic Triple Crowns...
"Ugh... to be the next to challenge the Classic Triple Crowns after T.M. Opera O... what should I do... big sis... save me..."
With T.M. Opera O successfully winning all the three Classic Triple Crown races, Orfevre, being the next in line in the team to challenge the Classic Triple Crowns, felt an unprecedented immense pressure...
And this pressure... was named "T.M. Opera O's era."
Did she have the ability to shake the foundations of this era and change the name to her, Orfevre's, era?
-----+-----
Finally got past all those 1900+ word chapters, I can go back to sleeping at normal times now!!!
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.