Very quickly, two months had passed, and the three Trainers of Team Miracle were all set on the goal of completely dominating March.
For this, they had all busily prepared for their respective races, never truly having a period of rest.
Finally, once March arrived, they welcomed the team's first race, the GII Yayoi Sho, a prelude to the Satsuki Sho.
This time, Orfevre's opponents were very tense.
There was Special Week from Okino's team, who had a good relationship with the members of Team Miracle.
Then was Mihono Bourbon, the sole Uma Musume of a rather handsome Trainer named Kuronuma.
Finally, was an Uma Musume that should be very familiar to everyone, the seemingly small and weak, yet extremely threatening, Rice Shower.
Under normal circumstances, any of these three Uma Musume could be said to be strong enough to win a GI race, capable of striking fear into any ordinary Uma Musume and Trainer.
However, Ikezoe remained supremely calm.
Because his Uma Musume was Orfevre!
"ANNNDDD THEY CROSS THE FINISH LINEEE!! THE WINNER OF THE GII YAYOI SHO ISSSSSSS, ORFEVREEE!!!!"
"Once again, she has showed us why she is called the Golden Tyrant, winning by one whole length and a time of 3F33.3!!"
"Now, second place goes to Mihono Bourbon, third place to Special Week..."
"...sixth place to Rice Shower..."
"...It seems that the Golden Tyrant is primed to charge towards the Classic Triple Crowns!!"
"Ha... Ha..."
As the commentator continued talking, the defeated Special Week knelt with difficulty, her face pale as she breathed heavily.
Facing Orfevre's dominance for the first time, Special Week, who had never experienced such suppression before, struggled considerably during the race.
"So strong... This... is the first time I've been beaten so badly... Trainer was right, Orfevre— she's really strong!"
Special Week looked up in disbelief at Orfevre, who nonchalantly pulled her mask back up, then raised her fist to declare her victory.
She couldn't believe that this was the same well-behaved Uma Musume who was spectating the Arima Kinen.
At that time, Orfevre was both praising T.M. Opera O while also fearing for her own future, dispelling Special Week's initial thoughts of her being some terrifying delinquent due to her appearance.
However, now on the tracks of the Yayoi Sho, Orfevre seemed to have transformed into that very same scary delinquent in Special Week's mind, with such strength and speed that she didn't even dare to confront her.
Not only that, while Special Week labouriously panted, sweat drizzling down from her, Orfevre seemed to have plenty of energy to spare.
And that was what truly terrified Special Week.
"Strong enemy: Orfevre. Unexpectedly strong. Powerful final spurt. Need to replan with Master."
Next to Special Week, Mihono Bourbon, who got second place, also panted, though she seemed more composed than Special Week.
Although she was always jokingly called a 'cyborg,' she was indeed composed of flesh and blood. It was just that she was a bit expressionless and had a weird way of talking.
Thus, though she didn't outwardly show it, inwardly, Mihono Bourbon was truly exhausted.
For this Yayoi Sho, she and her Master (Trainer) were full of confidence, believing that with her strength, winning this race was no problem.
However, no one expected this Golden Tyrant to pop up from nowhere, her final spurt during the third corner directly throwing the Front Running Mihono Bourbon into momentary disarray.
But, while she had lost to Orfevre this time, Mihono Bourbon was not discouraged.
Instead, she planned to avenge this loss by strengthening herself with more rigorous training while also learning tactics and skills from her Master.
Mihono Bourbon and her Master has... well, had, one goal: to become the next Undefeated Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume.
While she had already suffered her first defeat, the road to being Undefeated forever closed, Mihono Bourbon would not give up on becoming a Classic Triple Crown Uma Musume that easily.
Therefore, it was certain that Mihono Bourbon now took Orfevre with the utmost seriousness.
Undoubtedly, this Golden Tyrant will be the strongest opponent in her journey through the Classic Triple Crowns!
As Mihono Bourbon was talking to herself, behind her was a small Uma Musume with long raven black hair, wearing a small dark purple hat with a blue rose tied to it.
She looked thin and frail, with her timid demeanor making her look much like a miniature version of Meisho Doto.
Indeed, this was Rice Shower, the Uma Musume whom the three Trainers all regarded as the most formidable opponent in this race.
Yet, inconsistent with the importance those three placed on her, she performed quite terribly, finishing sixth, not even placing.
Like the others, she was also breathing heavily, looking a bit dejected. But unlike them, her gaze was fixed on Orfevre, who was currently the center of attention.
Orfevre's calm attitude, coupled with her hair and tail sparkling in the sunlight, formed a stark contrast with the unfortunate Rice Shower.
"Golden Tyrant... Orfevre..."
"Rice... really wants to be like her, to make everyone happy like that."
Rice Shower truly wished to be as dominant, as strong, and as loved by everyone as Orfevre.
In addition to the envy Rice Shower felt for Orfevre, there was also a touch of admiration— admiration for this Golden Tyrant, who was so different from herself.
Although it felt impossible, Rice Shower still hoped that she could be like Orfevre, to be admired by everyone.
Even if everyone's attention was still focused on Orfevre, if she could just attain a fraction of it...
Perhaps she would be satisfied.
"But to reach that... Rice's current performance... is far from enough."
Sixth place, not even placing.
With such a result, Rice Shower knew that it was impossible for her to draw even a tiny bit of attention away from Orfevre.
And so, there was only one path forward; train more and become stronger, strong enough to stand beside this Golden Tyrant.
Thus, with this win, a certain brainless airhead had unknowingly gained three formidable opponents, with one of them also becoming a little fangirl.
The clueless Orfevre only knew two things from this race: her start was pretty good and she won.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Ikezoe found his current situation quite tricky due to the very simple fact that he was sitting right next to Okino and Kuronuma.
"Damn it!!!! Ikezoe, you piece of work!! You better treat us today!"
"I'm going to make sure Special Week eats you out of at least a house, you bastard!"
"Waitwaitwait!!!! Okino bro, spare me! You can't use your trainee for personal revenge!!"
Okino, seeing Special Week defeated, immediately cried out in agony as he latched onto Ikezoe.
However, despite his current actions, Okino wasn't actually too angry.
A person as competent as him could easily see that Special Week, Mihono Bourbon, and Orfevre were Uma Musume of three different tiers.
Without luck, it would have been incredibly difficult for Special Week to beat Mihono Bourbon, let alone Orfevre.
Still, this didn't stop Okino from trying to take advantage of Ikezoe.
Hana Toujou had been quite busy lately, which meant Okino couldn't smooch off of her, causing him to have to worry about his next meal.
This was especially so considering that Special Week would definitely eat more tonight to soothe her defeat.
In fear of having a hole in his wallet again, Okino took this chance to settle dinner for both himself and Special Week.
"That was an impressive final spurt; Orfevre's performance far exceeded my expectations."
As Okino and Ikezoe were playing around, Kuronuma, a man who had a pair of sunglasses on, wearing a white coat which nonchalantly revealed his tanned eight pack, praised Ikezoe next to him.
"I originally thought that Bourbon's current strength was sufficient after my special training, but I didn't expect that you, Trainer Ikezoe, who rarely showed off, to have already transformed Orfevre to such a powerful extent."
"It seems that Mihono Bourbon's training is not enough. I will make her even stronger before the Satsuki Sho arrives."
"—Um, Trainer Kuronuma, though I'm not in the position to say this, I think that Mihono Bourbon's training intensity is already strong enough. If you intensify it further, the risk of an injury will become much more likely."
As soon as Kuronuma mentioned this, Ikezoe immediately broke free from Okino's teasing and said very seriously to this robust Trainer who was a head taller than him,
"I'm not saying your training methods are wrong, nor am I saying this for Orfevre's victory."
"It's just that as a fellow Trainer, I find it my responsibility to ensure the health and safety of every Uma Musume out there."
"Although this might sound condescending, the reason Mihono Bourbon lost to Orfevre this time isn't because she isn't strong, but because her opponent was Orfevre."
"...Trainer Ikezoe, are you implying that my Bourbon will never be able to beat Orfevre no matter what?"
However, when Ikezoe said this, Kuronuma, who was usually very calm, showed a rare hint of anger, especially towards Ikezoe's matter-of-fact tone when he essentially said Mihono Bourbon couldn't possibly beat Orfevre.
"Mihono Bourbon has managed to crawl out from being an ordinary Uma Musume to where she is today because of the effort both she and I have put in."
"Bloodline, yes, bloodline is important, but it is not an insurmountable gap, it is possible to close it."
"Mihono Bourbon is not like Orfevre; she is not blessed with any special physique or bloodline. Thus, only with endless amounts of hard work can she make up that gap to reach the heights she wishes to achieve."
"...But, I will seriously take your suggestion into consideration. This was a pleasant conversation. I will take my leave now."
With that, Kuronuma left indifferently, leaving Ikezoe, who had his mouth opened, seemingly having more to say.
At that moment, Okino patted Ikezoe on the shoulder, letting out a sigh of comfort.
"Don't worry, Ikezoe-kun, Trainer Kuronuma is just like that. Although he's not very forgiving with his words, he's an understanding guy. I'm sure he won't take your words the wrong way."
"...I hope so."
Ikezoe nodded silently at this, yet he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty.
He fully understood that what he had just said sounded a bit off, but he couldn't help it.
Ikezoe wasn't Wada, nor was he Imanami.
If those two were akin to people who had mastered the art of speech, capable of consistently rolling Nat20s, then Ikezoe was the guy who constantly only rolled 1s.
However, Ikezoe did not think what he said was wrong.
Mihono Bourbon was not weak by any stretch of the word; it was simply because in this strange world, her career overlapped with Orfevre, who had unearthed her talents much earlier.
If it weren't for that, Mihono Bourbon's victory in this race would have definitely been secure.
Alas, those were all hypotheticals; the reality was that they were now competing on the same track.
As the saying goes: "Eclipse First, The Rest Nowhere."
...
Orfevre, having won the race, wiped the sweat off her face as she walked through the aisle towards the lounge.
Just then, a black figure brushed past her, causing Orfevre to unconsciously focus on them.
And at that moment, the gazes of the two Uma Musume intersected.
In an instant, Orfevre stopped in her tracks, her expression suddenly becoming incredibly serious.
"...Who are you?"
"Just a passing through Uma Musume." (T/N: Holy shit, Decade reference)
Deep Impact, who had specifically come to watch the race, officially met Orfevre face to face for the very first time.
It was like the first meeting between the protagonist and the mysterious person who would turn out to be the final villain.
However, this time, standing in the position of 'villain' was the former hero while the role of 'protagonist' went to the Golden Tyrant.
"I look forward to our next meeting, Orfevre. I hope you can give me an even bigger surprise by then."
"Right now... you're simply not enough."
Leaving those ominous words behind, Deep Impact continued walking towards the other side of the corridor without looking back.
Seeing this mysterious Uma Musume walk away, Orfevre's eyes narrowed slightly.
This person... is very strong.
Although it was just a fleeting glance, Orfevre's keen senses allowed her to perceive Deep Impact's formidable strength.
For the first time, she felt her whole body tremble because of an Uma Musume's power.
But it wasn't out of fear, but excitement— the kind that seemed to awaken the wildness within her.
As Deep Impact left her field of vision, Orfevre already had a premonition.
—In the future, a showdown with this terrifying individual was inevitable.
-----+-----
I just know that Deep Impact only did this for no other reason than to aurafarm on Orfevre.
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.