"T.M. Opera O has now replaced me as the peak. She only needs to win a few more races to undeniably take over my position as Student Council President."
"And Orfevre, you are going to challenge the Classic Triple Crowns next year, right? Are you mentally prepared?"
"—I- I will do my best!"
After their talk in the Director's office, they had now shifted places and returned to the Student Council's office.
Symboli Rudolf was still seated at the desk of the Student Council President, but she appeared much more relaxed than before.
There, alongside the original group excluding Tazuna and Director Akikawa, the rest of Team Miracle's members had arrived as well.
Symboli Rudolf looked at the line of Uma Musume before her, as if seeing a new generation of stars for Tracen Academy, and her heart was filled with pride.
These were all the future leaders of Japan, and therefore, Symboli Rudolf hoped that each of them would achieve great things.
T.M. Opera O was no longer a concern for Rudolf; she had already achieved more than enough.
It was Orfevre, who would have to take over the heavy burden of expectation of being after T.M. Opera O and challenge the Classic Triple Crowns, that she was worried about.
The thing Symboli Rudolf was worried about Orfevre was not whether she had the strength necessary to do it, but whether she could handle the pressure of expectations placed onto her.
After all, T.M. Opera O's career so far, discounting her Junior Year, could only be described as perfect.
With Orfevre being from the same team as T.M. Opera O, she would naturally attract a lot of attention.
But as for whether she could surpass T.M. Opera O… even though Symboli Rudolf rathered not say it, even she wasn't that confident in Orfevre.
"This year has sparked a new wave of enthusiasm in Japan's Uma Musume scene."
"The public will definitely be entranced by T.M. Opera O's coronation as the new Overlord and compare everyone else that will come after to her accomplishments."
"Orfevre, are you truly prepared to carve out your own path in this new era?"
"Ah… hearing that, I suddenly feel a whole lot more scared..."
Although Orfevre had become way more confident in herself compared to her past self, rightfully so she might add since she had been performing quite excellently in recent times, having some self-confidence and having the confidence to overshadow the legacy created by a monster like T.M. Opera O were two entirely separate things!
Though Orfevre had thoroughly humiliated Tokai Teio in their spar, she still believed her chances of winning against everyone else in their team was exceedingly low.
Everyone was strong, way too strong.
In comparison to them, Orfevre, the Golden Tyrant, wasn't that confident in herself.
"Have more pride in yourself Orfevre, you're strong too!"
Despite Orfevre's attitude, Ikezoe was still full of confidence in Orfevre.
He patted Orfevre's slightly shaking shoulders and said to her:
"Since Wada and T.M. Opera O won this year's Classic Triple Crowns, then we should also strive to win the next one!"
"Our team will sweep the Classic Triple Crown and every GI race for the next two to three years!"
"And after the Classic Triple Crowns, you can even have a showdown against T.M. Opera O in the Arima Kinen. Who knows? Maybe you'll defeat T.M. Opera O and then your era will begin!"
"Y- you...!!! IDIOT IKEZOE! Don't put so much pressure on me! I'm nervous enough already!"
Ikezoe's overflowing confidence in Orfevre made her even more anxious, especially with T.M. Opera O, the person who she needed to surpass, being right next to her.
She felt like declaring war in front of her opponent like this was a little too provocative.
Although they were friends and were also on the same team, provoking someone as powerful as T.M. Opera O was not a good move at all.
Plus, it was a miracle that a Classic Year performance as perfect as T.M. Opera O's even exist.
For such an amazing feat to happen a second time AND consecutively? There was no way she can do it, right?
"It isn't just Orfevre, you know. My performance this year wasn't very good, but I'll definitely sweep the Tenno Shos!"
Just then, Mejiro McQueen also stepped forward and said to Symboli Rudolf,
"As an Uma Musume of the Mejiro Family, even if T.M. Opera O was the one standing against me in the Tenno Sho. I will win!"
"Yeah! You go McQueen!!"
Tokai Teio, standing nearby, also raised her small hand in support.
She had originally worried that McQueen, who had been constantly beaten by T.M. Opera O, would have some self-doubts about herself.
Luckily, it seemed like McQueen was still as spirited as ever, which spared Teio the effort to comfort McQueen.
Plus, Tokai Teio had great confidence in McQueen.
In a long distance race, any Uma Musume who can beat McQueen would probably be considered a legendary figure already.
"Waaaahhh~ Why do I still have to wait another year to debut? Ahhhhh~ Prez!! I want to also race with everyone!!!"
"You will have your time, Teio. If you can truly overcome all the obstacles to reach me, I will definitely have a good race with you."
Symboli Rudolf showed a warm smile to Teio, not giving too much attention to her impatience.
She then turned to Ikezoe, Wada, and Imanami, asking:
"So, have you all planned what races you are going to participate in?"
"Yeah, we have. I want to guarantee Orfevre's spot in the Satsuki Sho, so I plan to have her race in the Yayoi Stakes in March first, then directly challenge the Satsuki Sho next month."
Ikezoe had naturally already prepared a plan for Orfevre.
"We've decided to rest for a while. This Arima Kinen was very taxing on McQueen so her next race will be the Hanshin Daishoten, also in March."
Imanami also had McQueen's schedule planned out, saying to Symboli Rudolf with considerable confidence,
"It's a 3000-meter long distance race, McQueen's speciality. We are determined to win this race."
Although Imanami was very happy for Wada and T.M. Opera O to have achieved such accomplishments, having his child be a background character for a whole year still made the old man a bit displeased.
Still, he suppressed those negative emotions, not disparaging the achievements of T.M. Opera O and Wada, but instead offering his greatest congratulations.
Jealousy was useless; only effort could make up for everything.
Moreover, Wada's achievements were also their team's achievements, so Imanami was not that envious anyways.
Now, McQueen's Senior Year had finally arrived, and with it, was her peak.
Although it was unfortunate that it coincided with T.M. Opera O's peak, fortunately, McQueen's field of expertise was still different from T.M. Opera O's.
Furthermore, Imanami knew that Wada wasn't short-sighted. He had ambition.
Now that he and T.M. Opera O had achieved fame and success in Japan, there was no longer a need for them to continue causing trouble in domestic races.
"As for T.M. Opera O, it's the same situation as McQueen. The Arima Kinen took too much out of her so she'll be resting for a while."
"We'll probably not race anymore until the Takarazuka Kinen. Before that, Meisho Doto will participate in the Osaka Hai, then the Japan Cap, and finally, a showdown in the—"
"—I'm sorry to only inform this to you until now, Trainer Wada, but your attendance in the Japan Cup is out of the question."
Symboli Rudolf, hearing this, smiled subtly.
Suddenly, she took out a letter from her drawer and handed it to Wada.
"This is an invitation we received from the URA— or more specifically, the France branch of the URA."
"And this invitation is for an expedition to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
As Rudolf spoke the name of this race, the entire room immediately went silent.
Wada could only stared wide eyed at the smiling Symboli Rudolf as she continued,
"Yes, Trainer Wada. You and T.M. Opera O are invited to participate in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, held in early October next year."
"You two will be representing Japan on this expedition to compete with the best of the best Uma Musume from all around the world for one of the most prestigious GI Races."
"Of course, in order to qualify for it, you'll have to participate in the Prix Foy in September which is a prep race."
"T- THE L'ARC?! THE ACTUAL L'ARC?! THE PRIX L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE???!!!!!"
Once Symboli Rudolf's words finished, an emotion that could perfectly describe what everyone else was feeling at the moment was shock.
Wada could only look blank-eyed at the invitation, which was written in French which he couldn't understand with an incredulous expression, just looking at it for a long, long time.
And T.M. Opera O, who had originally thought she had already faced her hardest challenge already, suddenly felt an even greater pressure... a pressure called 'expectation.'
The race that was the center of Japan's long-held wish and accumulated resentment, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Now, the weight that had accumulated from all these years had finally fallen upon her shoulders...
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I'm getting less and less inspired these days, I'm running out of jokes to say...
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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.