[I didn't expect so many people to come to the Spica Fan Appreciation Festival today.]
[Hokko Tarumae told me that people from her hometown of Tomakomai would also be coming. Because I'm the honorary spokesperson for Tomakomai, they are very grateful and said they brought me a lot of local specialties.]
[Admire Vega also came to Spica and made us sandwiches again. She also thanked me for the potion I gave her last time, saying her leg is much better.]
[Narita Top Road also came to thank me. It turns out she has been very concerned about Admire Vega's condition. At this Fan Appreciation Festival, everyone was visiting each other so lively. Before I knew it, I had met so many people at Tracen.]
[Actually, what surprised me the most was seeing Mejiro Ardan and Wu Di. Wu Di actually came to Tracen from China. This little one also has a head of blue hair, just like her mom.]
[Mejiro Ardan and Mejiro Palmer met. The two sisters can finally run together.]
[When some of Mejiro Ardan's contemporary horse girls met with her, they were so moved they hugged each other.]
[Even Ardan herself was deeply moved. After her injury, she had been in the hospital. She had waited for this moment to meet everyone for a very, very long time.]
[She really has worked so hard.]
[It was a bit awkward, though. When I saw Wu Di just now, I was so surprised that I blurted out, "Isn't this our good big son, Wu Di?" Everyone froze, asking one after another, "Who is 'good big son' Wu Di? Where is 'good big son' Wu Di?"]
[Instantly, Wu Di was surrounded by calls of "good big son." She almost went berserk and was about to fight me to the death. Her seniority dropped quite a bit in an instant. I'd better find a safe place to write this diary entry, lest she accidentally injures me.]
[By the way, the most absurd thing today was running into Satono Crown. This girl is full of slick talk. She pretentiously started playing the violin and would grab anyone she could to talk about 'composing a symphony together.' She's a master of being cringey.]
[Kitasan Black and Satono Diamond have actually entered their prime! Teio was very happy and said she wanted to compare heights with Kita-chan to see how tall she'd gotten. The next second, Tokai Teio's face became a meme. She thought Kita-chan had just grown up a bit, but she never expected Kita-chan to be half a head taller than her. Tokai Teio went into a state of shock. Kita-chan was so big now.]
[Oh, Teio, you're only 150cm tall, and Kita-chan is already 162cm. Why did you have to do that? Look at McQueen and Suzuka, they know their limits and would never go and compare with Daiya-chan.]
[After seeing Kita-chan enter her prime, I was also very curious and asked her what it felt like.]
[Kita-chan was also a bit confused. She said that one night, she woke up from sleep and found herself taller and her body stronger. She thought she was dreaming, but then her mother told her she had entered her prime.]
[Kita-chan also said she's not used to being so tall and often bumps her head while walking, but she has a strong body and a hard head.]
[She also said that with her current strength, she can jump up a whole floor and kill a cow with one punch.]
[Good grief, Kita-chan is still so full of energy.]
At this moment, having written this much.
When Suzuka and McQueen saw it, they were surprised to be called out. Suzuka pretended not to understand, saying, "Trainer Xu, what do you mean? Daiya-chan and our heights are about the same, what's there to compare?"
The truth is, while Daiya-chan, Suzuka, and McQueen are all the pure type, Daiya-chan has a very good figure, whereas Suzuka and McQueen are completely flat-chested. It proves that figure has nothing to do with looks.
Kitasan Black, on the other hand, was shy when she saw herself in the diary. She really wasn't used to her growth spurt. Whenever people stared at her, she would tremble all over, like a small figurine. She also often forgot about her height, causing her to hurt her head a lot. Fortunately, her head was very hard, so she was fine.
However, she met her match today. As she was walking, she bumped into a girl named Durezza. Their heads collided, and Kita-chan felt a wave of dizziness. This was the first time she had ever felt a headache. But the person named Durezza was completely unharmed.
Kita-chan got to know Durezza. It seemed this girl was her contemporary. She immediately thought she was amazing, but she, Kitasan Black, was not bad either. She believed that if she faced Durezza in the future, she would definitely win.
Just then, Xu Zong's diary continued.
[In addition, I also saw Titleholder, Liberty Island, Equinox, and Protogonio.]
[Equinox and Kitasan Black were drinking beer together. Both were non-alcoholic, but their actions were like they were carved from the same mold, so hearty. To see the vibe of middle-aged uncles drinking in a six-year-old loli and a sixteen-year-old girl was truly bizarre.]
[Durezza seemed to be at Tracen Academy for the first time. I didn't expect her to be goose-stepping over there. Could she be a bit nervous?]
[She wasn't looking where she was going either. When passing a corner, she bumped into Matikanefukukitaru. Their heads collided again. Durezza didn't move an inch, but Fukukitaru got another nosebleed. This made Durezza so nervous she didn't know how to walk.]
[She picked up Matikanefukukitaru and rushed to the infirmary. She has a 'keep away' aura about her, and her blue pupils are filled with a cool detachment, but she's actually very gentle.]
As Xu Zong wrote this, he recorded what he had seen and heard today. Tracen Academy was filled with a fun, lively atmosphere that made one feel relaxed and happy.
At this time, Equinox, Protogonio, Titleholder, and Liberty Island also started discussing.
"Wow, that Durezza, I saw her today. She seemed to have knocked over Kitasan Black-san with her head. I didn't expect her to later give Matikanefukukitaru-san a nosebleed with her head too."
"Oh my god, who is she? I thought my head was hard, but she seems even tougher."
Titleholder's eyes were shining. She had seen Durezza earlier. This girl had a cool appearance, always with a cold expression on her face, giving off a 'keep away' vibe, especially with those blue eyes that seemed to see through everything. She thought it was cool at the time, but she was also a little scared. Now, thinking that Durezza also had such a hard head, she was paying close attention.
"I saw it too, but I feel like Mr. Durezza is a bit scary. Is he a very serious type? I still like Kitasan Black. She's very gentle and even lets me sit on her arm. It feels super safe. I like her a lot."
Liberty Island, the little loli, said this. Good grief, if your "Hammer Dad" Durezza knew you liked Kita-chan more, he would be so sad he'd go outside and goose-step for a couple of laps.
After all, Liberty Island, you can like anyone, why did you have to like Kitasan Black?
Is he really not as gentle as Kitasan Black? 'Good daughter, sit on my arm, and Dad can take you for a couple of laps of goose-stepping. Dad can even headbutt a drone out of the sky.'
"Speaking of which, when Matikanefukukitaru was taken to the hospital, I saw Twin Turbo-san rush out all the way. She's so amazing."
When Protogonio talked about Twin Turbo, she was overjoyed. She loved that feeling of explosive charging. It was so cool. They were still young horse girls, new to Tracen Academy, and they all looked up to the senior horse girls.
"I know, Durezza and Kitasan Black-san are contemporaries. I wonder who will win their race. Go for it, Kitasan Black-san!"
Equinox, on the other hand, had a smug expression, already raising the Kitasan Black banner high.
"After them, it will be our era, right? Equinox, Liberty Island, Protogonio, you are all very good, and your running is commendable. But I'm sorry, you will not be a match for me, Titleholder."
Titleholder also threw down the gauntlet. No matter who it was, no one could stop her determination to win the classic Triple Crown. She would definitely run an incredibly brilliant race.
In fact, Titleholder did run a race that was truly soul-stirring. In the 2021 classic Triple Crown race, the Kikuka Sho, Titleholder, after 23 years, once again used a front-running tactic for the entire race and, with miraculous speed, won the Kikuka Sho championship.
Countless spectators said it was as if Seiun Sky had returned.
And Titleholder's jockey, Takeshi Yokoyama, was the son of Seiun Sky's jockey from 23 years ago, Norihiro Yokoyama. He used his father's method to accomplish the great feat his father had created.
And this victory for Titleholder was said to be the last crown dedicated to his deceased sire, Durezza, filling the regret of Durezza being unable to participate in the Kikuka Sho due to a bone fracture.
The inheritance from father to son among jockeys, and from father to son among racehorses, was deeply moving.
There was another point: in these two races spanning 23 years, Yutaka Take played the role of the number one background prop. He was the one desperately chasing from behind both times, and he never caught up.
Yutaka Take was probably speechless. 'Alright, alright, so you two, father and son, are playing like this, huh?'
"Sorry Titleholder, what you just said to me, I'm returning it to you exactly as it was. I, Liberty Island, am the strongest."
Liberty Island snorted. The siblings started bickering again.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. The games are about to start. Let's go."
Equinox and the others were also ready to go play. Today was a day for fun.
"Let's go, go, go!"
Protogonio charged forward fiercely.
"Hey, Protogonio, you're running the wrong way!"
Equinox shouted.
But Protogonio clenched her teeth and charged, not hearing a thing. She had already flown off, feeling a bit dizzy after a while, and finally crashed headfirst into Necha, falling to the ground. Her eyes started spinning in circles, and she had completely turned into a dead fish.
"Although this is our first time meeting, how should I say this... you give me an incredibly familiar feeling."
Nice Nature was also stunned. She saw the unconscious Protogonio on the ground. What was this sense of déjà vu? But she still gently picked up Protogonio. When she woke up and heard she was going to the event hall, she carried her on her back and rushed towards the hall.
"Here we go, hey!"
Necha also charged out with her.
On Necha's back, Protogonio was incredibly moved. 'So good, Necha-sensei!'
On the other side.
Durezza was embarrassed. Was his goose-stepping that obvious? He thought only he had noticed. Good grief, was that what he was thinking?
Just then, Xu Zong's diary continued.
[Speaking of which, I also saw Mejiro Palmer. What should Wu Di call Mejiro Palmer, Aunt or Aunty?]
[Mejiro Palmer seems to dote on Wu Di quite a lot.]
[I was about to go say hello, but then I saw Agnes Digital. Good grief, she scared me to death. She was hiding somewhere, watching Tokai Teio, Kitasan Black, and Equinox play games with a happy look on her face. She kept muttering to herself, saying things like 'so lovely,' 'I ship it, I ship it.']
[I was dumbfounded. Agnes Digital, wake up! Shipping everything will only harm you!]
[After that, we went through the motions. Everyone thought, should we add another game to increase interaction with the fans? I suggested playing Truth or Dare.]
[Equinox was the first to get excited, asking what kind of game it was.]
[It's actually very simple. For Truth or Dare, everyone sits in a circle, and I place a spinner in the middle. The spinner first selects two horse girls. These two play rock-paper-scissors. The winner can ask the loser a question. The question can be sharp but not over the line.]
[If you can't answer, you have to choose a dare. The content of the dare is decided by the winner, also within reasonable limits, including making the other person do a yangge dance or sing the mambo for an hour.]
[Instantly, everyone got interested. Twin Turbo even said she wanted to see blood.]
[Soon, I stood in the middle of all the horse girls and started spinning the pointer. Everyone was super nervous. The horse girls are quite cute. Buena Vista, for example, was clinging to Special Week's arm, so nervous she was about to die. Special Week was also wagging her tail, her emotions written all over her face.]
[The result of the first round was Teio and Nice Nature. They were about to play rock-paper-scissors.]
[Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Nice Nature and Tokai Teio came to the middle. On my command, they started trash-talking.]
[Teio, with a cool expression, said, 'Necha-san, Teio will play rock later, you better be careful.' Good grief, this little rascal Teio was playing mind games from the start.]
[Nice Nature met change with constancy, saying she would then play paper.]
[Instantly, an aura erupted from both of them, the special effects maxed out. The crowd was stunned. A game of rock-paper-scissors, and these two were taking it so seriously?]
[The final result was, Nice Nature played rock, and Tokai Teio played scissors.]
[Tokai Teio cried. She thought Necha-san was simple-minded, but it turned out Necha had predicted her prediction and played paper.]
Translator's Note: The text has a contradiction here. It says Necha played rock and Teio played scissors (Necha wins), but then says Teio cried because Necha played paper (Teio would win). The context implies Necha won, so we'll proceed as if Necha outsmarted Teio.
[Necha-san was overjoyed. She had beaten Tokai Teio. Her motivation was at its peak.]
[The question Necha asked was also extremely sharp.]
[She said—'Teio, you've come to Spica now, but McQueen was Spica's ace before. Do you have any thoughts of replacing her?']
[Good grief, even I was stunned. Nice Nature, you truly live up to your reputation as a gatekeeper horse; your questions are too sharp.]
[McQueen was very nervous, thinking, 'Teio wouldn't, right?']
[However, Teio said she wouldn't take McQueen's ace position in Spica. At this, McQueen was very happy. But then Tokai Teio said in the next second that being Spica's ace had no benefits at all. You have to go out and recruit people all day, and you have to taste-test Gold Ship's fried noodles. She didn't want it. If she was going to be an ace, she would be the number one ace in all of Tracen.]
[McQueen was moved one second, and the next, her smile froze. She felt her emotions were wasted. And McQueen suddenly felt that Teio was right. Being this ace was truly miserable.]
[There were many other sharp questions. The most fun was between Mejiro Palmer and Sirius Symboli. After Palmer won, she asked Sirius Symboli, 'Who is the strongest horse girl in your heart?']
[Sirius Symboli's face turned pale. She refused to say. In her heart, she felt the strongest was probably Rudolf, but she couldn't possibly admit it. So she chose a dare. Mejiro Palmer made her go to the side and do the yangge dance until the game was over.]
[The look in Sirius Symboli's eyes could have killed Mejiro Palmer. But she was clearly outplayed by Palmer. There was no way she could win against this bad girl.]
[But I have to say, Sirius Symboli's dancing was very smooth, her waist leading her body in twists. Seeing her clenching her teeth, I guess she didn't expect Mejiro Palmer to be so ruthless.]
[After that, everyone had a great time. Some of the punishments were very interesting.]
[For example, Mejiro Ryan chose a dare, and her punishment was a change of hairstyle, which turned out to look very good.]
[Desert Hero also chose a dare and was asked to take off her glasses and put on colored contacts, transforming into a charming beauty. I couldn't help but ask, 'Excuse me, beautiful, who are you?']
[The most fun was between Admire Vega and Narita Top Road. Admire Vega asked Top Road, 'Did you really cry when you lost races before?' Top Road's face turned beet red, and she chose a dare. The result was she had to hold hands with Sirius Symboli and do the yangge dance.]
[I almost died laughing. To be honest, Narita Top Road's dancing was clumsy, but the way her waist swayed had a certain charm. Paired with her girlish shyness, it was really quite good.]
[Everyone is still playing now, so I have some time to write in my diary.]
[Today, I'm going to write about the story of the Ruler of the Century's End!]
[Her name is TM Opera O!]
[With 7 G1 wins in her career, she created countless legends and successfully carried her good big son, Ryuji Wada. She, by her own power, won the Satsuki Sho, Tenno Sho (Spring), Takarazuka Kinen, Tenno Sho (Autumn), Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen, achieving the unprecedented feat of being undefeated in eight races in a year, and winning 5 G1s including the Autumn Triple Crown.]
[She rose from humble beginnings, only to be surrounded and attacked by top-tier racehorses. A desperate 1 vs. 15. Any other racehorse would have despaired.]
[But in front of TM Opera O, what she saw was perhaps only an endlessly extending road of a ruler.]
[I can only say that after watching the entire story of TM Opera O, I was deeply moved.]
[I even learned some Easter eggs, like Symboli Rudolf's jockey, Yukio Okabe's almost fanatical love for Luna (Rudolf). This guy even personally wrote bizarre fanfiction about Rudolf. I was dumbfounded.]
[I'm thinking, if Yukio Okabe wrote a diary like me, the content would probably be rated R-18. I have to admire this guy, he's incredible.]
At this moment, a group of people was completely stunned.
TM Opera O was incredibly excited.
"Ha~~ Hahahaha~"
She let out a loud laugh. "As expected, the curtain has risen on the Ruler's drama! 7 G1s, you say? But that means I lost the Japanese Derby and the Kikuka Sho. Who won those two championships?"
"Also, there are only 6 G1 titles listed here, which means I won one of them twice. What could it be? The Takarazuka Kinen?"
TM Opera O was very excited, but she was also concerned. In her classic year, her strength was apparently not enough. She had to work harder.
Furthermore, she saw Ryuji Wada's name again. Trainer Xu had written before that Wada was her son, but now it seemed he was her partner.
"We must be the best partners, Wada-san."
TM Opera O thought so, but she felt guilty. 'I'm sorry, Wada. It seems my strength was insufficient during the classic races. I need to become stronger. I hope I didn't hold you back.'
Good grief, if Ryuji Wada were to transmigrate here right now and hear TM Opera O say this, he would probably immediately get on his knees and beg her to stop talking. This was more painful than killing him.
TM Opera O's losses in the Japanese Derby and Kikuka Sho were because Wada had not yet learned to be a proper deadweight. In the Japanese Derby, he accelerated too early, which gave Opera O a brief lead, but she was eventually overtaken by Admire Vega, finishing third. She could only watch as Yutaka Take won the Japanese Derby back-to-back.
By the way, the Derby horse Yutaka Take rode last year was the General of Japan, Special Week. Spe-chan, with her late-charge style, left the second-place horse five lengths behind. This was also Yutaka Take's first Derby victory. During the race, he was so excited he even dropped his whip. He raised his fist, and in that moment, he probably wanted to give Special Week a few kisses. Winning the Japanese Derby is the highest honor for a jockey.
Ryuji Wada was also striving for the goal of being a Derby-winning jockey. If he had learned to be deadweight earlier, TM Opera O might have already won it for him.
But it's okay. 'You can be happy for now, Yutaka Take. Bullying my good big son, Ryuji Wada, are you? TM Opera O has silently noted this down.'
And speaking of the Japanese Derby, as strong as Equinox is, he couldn't win it either. In fact, if he looked at his family tree, from Kitasan Black to Sakura Bakushin O, you couldn't find a single horse that had won the Japanese Derby. One can only hope that the foal of Equinox and Almond Eye can be the first to win the Japanese Derby.
However, perhaps Equinox is on another level, thinking that a championship like the Japanese Derby is unnecessary. It seems that those who win the Japanese Derby don't have very good endings.
"Awawawawawa..."
Meito Doto was also stunned. She saw TM Opera O's championships and thought she was so amazing. As someone close to Opera O, she felt like she was basking in her glory.
But then she realized something was wrong. She and Opera O were contemporaries. If Opera O was the Ruler of the Century's End and won so many championships, wouldn't she be finished?
"Am... am I the super shrimp of the century's end?"
Meito Doto was panicking. She felt too embarrassed to even look for a trainer. A useless person like her would just be holding someone back, right?
Waaaah, I'm sorry, future Trainer-san. I'm so sorry for being so weak. But Doto, chin up! Remember, you are the Executive Vice-Ruler of the Century's End, and you also won the Takarazuka Kinen!
Speaking of which, the real Meito Doto and TM Opera O had a good relationship, but Doto would get angry every time she heard Opera O's name. The reason was that Meito Doto's team would always sigh whenever they mentioned Opera O, which made Doto think that "Opera O" was some kind of bad word.
Meanwhile, in Rudolf's office.
"7 G1s? Very good, TM Opera O. It seems our Tracen is truly getting stronger and stronger."
"But, Yukio Okabe... is he my partner? What... what exactly did he do? And what kind of person is he?"
Rudolf was stunned for a moment. She now knew that every horse girl had a partner, who should be similar to a trainer. She had been curious about her partner's name before.
Now she finally knew. Her partner was named Yukio Okabe.
In fact, Yukio Okabe's love for Rudolf was incredibly deep. In the 2001 Takarazuka Kinen, perhaps to prevent TM Opera O from surpassing Rudolf's 7 G1s, he also blocked Opera O.
Although Okabe did not commit any fouls during the race, it was a very difficult situation for Opera O's fans.
In reality, if Rudolf knew everything he did, she would not approve of Okabe's actions. If it were Rudolf, she would rather have a successor surpass her.
But did Okabe care? He didn't care at all. As Rudolf's ultimate twisted fan, as long as he could protect Rudolf, he would do everything in his power.
Even if Rudolf scolded him for it... in fact, if Rudolf scolded him, he would be thrilled for days. This was the ultimate stan.
You have to know, Yukio Okabe was one of the first people to personally write horse girl fanfiction. His piece—"Rudolf's Back"—is a classic that has been passed down through generations.
In another place.
When Mikki Rocket saw TM Opera O's name, she was also stunned.
"So this is TM Opera O. In my heart, TM Opera O is the strongest horse girl. The Ruler of the Century's End is so cool."
"Alright, Mikki Rocket has to work hard too. I want to be a ruler too."
"Ahem, a rocket is also a ruler among modes of transportation, right?"
Mikki Rocket was super happy. She just knew TM Opera O was super amazing. She had to work hard too, to be like her senior. Could she also win a G1 championship?
"Alright, I will make up for senior Opera O's regrets. I will win the Japanese Derby and the Kikuka Sho. That way, we'll be a disassembled Triple Crown horse girl."
Mikki Rocket wanted to make up for Opera O's regrets, but little did she know, the races she needed to make up for were perhaps not these two.
At this moment, Narita Top Road and Admire Vega were also in disbelief.
Narita Top Road: "Wha... what!? But, I'm from the same era as Opera O. Does that mean... I really lost everything to her?"
Narita Top Road absolutely refused to accept such a result, but the facts were the facts.
Actually, Narita Top Road defeated TM Opera O in the Kikuka Sho. At that time, people thought that perhaps Opera O's run was over. However, that was just the beginning of the Ruler of the Century's End's road.
On the Tracen racetrack.
"Hah..."
"Hah..."
Beads of sweat trickled down Admire Vega's face. There was still a straight to run. Knowing that Opera O had won so many races, how could she be content? She decided to continue with extra training.
"TM Opera O, we must settle this."
Admire Vega's eyes became sharp. She charged forward, and it seemed as if the surrounding track trembled under her anger.
At this moment, Xu Zong's diary continued to update.
[At the end of the 20th century, TM Opera O was born on the same month and day as the "Emperor" Symboli Rudolf at Kineusu Bokujo in Urakawa, Hokkaido.]
[TM Opera O belongs to the Sadler's Wells lineage. He was not well-regarded at the beginning.]
[Racehorses of the Sadler's Wells line generally have both strength and speed, excelling on Europe's soft turf, and can fetch a good price in Europe.]
[But in Japan, horses of the Sadler's Wells line are not strong, and you could even say they are completely ignored. Even now in Japan in 2023, the Sadler's Wells line doesn't sell for a good price. And it's clear that the ability shown by TM Opera O was an exception.]
At this moment, in America.
"Wow, it's finally my turn to be mentioned by name! A racehorse of the Sadler's Wells line... isn't my name Sadler's Wells?"
Sadler's Wells was stunned for a moment, wondering if it was a coincidence.
"Wow, it's finally your turn to be mentioned by name! A racehorse of the Sadler's Wells line... isn't your name Sadler's Wells?"
Seabiscuit acted as a repeater.
"Hmph, Seabiscuit, stop being a repeater. Tell me quickly, am I very strong?"
Sadler's Wells was very happy. She thought that the Sadler's Wells line might be like the Gold family, so TM Opera O was in her camp. She immediately raised a banner for Opera O.
"I don't know, but our Sister Sadler's Wells' strength, there's no doubt about it, she's solid."
Seabiscuit still gave Sadler's Wells some face.
"Really now, I just read that the Sadler's Wells line isn't strong in Japan at all. When did you learn to suck up like this? But, I, Sadler's Wells, like it very much. I fall for this kind of thing. Hurry up and praise me some more."
"Secretariat praises everyone; she's a total flirt. Her praise is meaningless. It has to be you. Remember, from now on, you only praise me, not others."
Sadler's Wells grinned, waiting for praise. It turned out she was also such a confident and narcissistic person.
In Tracen Academy.
Protogonio said:
"President Rudolf and TM Opera O were both born on March 13th and both won 7 G1s. That's so amazing. When I get home, I'll ask my mom to change my birthday to March 13th."
"That way I can become amazing too."
Liberty Island said, "You can't change that. It's based on the moment you were born."
Equinox said, "Speaking of which, Kitasan Black and Satono Crown were also born on the same year, same month, and same day. Both have their birthdays on March 10th."
Indeed, Kita-chan and Satono Crown could be considered childhood friends. They raced against each other 8 times in their careers, more than the 2 times she raced against Satono Diamond. Both had wins and losses. In the real horse world, they were both born on March 10, 2012.
Xu Zong's diary continued to update.
[A little over ten days after TM Opera O was born, he was noticed by an owner named Masatsugu Takezono. This businessman, who once knew nothing about the world of horse racing, got involved after catching a glimpse of his childhood friend, former jockey and now trainer Ichizo Iwamoto, looking heroic on horseback several years prior. He thus decided to become a private owner.]
[He was a complete novice. At the auction, with no one competing against him, he took TM Opera O home for the super low price of 10.5 million yen.]
[After TM Opera O, owner Masatsugu Takezono, trainer Ichizo Iwamoto, and the fledgling young jockey Ryuji Wada formed an inexperienced, ragtag team.]
[Essentially, TM Opera O's team was considered the most useless group at the time.]
[Compared to the Vice-Ruler of the Century's End, Meito Doto, although his price was also low at only 5 million yen, he was sent to be trained at the Ritto Training Center.]
[But no one expected that it would be these two horses that would almost monopolize first and second place in the races at the end of the century.]
[As the saying goes, Opera O first, Doto second.]
[If TM Opera O was the Ruler of the Century's End, then Meito Doto was the Vice-Ruler of the Century's End, with five consecutive G1 second-place finishes.]
[Therefore, Meito Doto was also known as the "Silver Medal Collector."]
At this moment, everyone was dumbfounded.
In Tracen's Team Canopus.
"Wow, Doto is that amazing? If it weren't for Opera O, she would have had 5 consecutive wins! She would have been the Ruler of the Century's End!"
Twin Turbo was stunned. The usually timid-looking Doto was actually that strong?
"But, how come I feel like Doto's story is just full of tragedy? Always second place, that's too hard to accept."
Matikanefukukitaru said as much.
"Sigh, what can I say? I wanted to comfort Doto at first, but then I remembered I've been getting third all the time. The words of comfort got stuck in my throat."
Nice Nature was also speechless. At first, she thought Doto's situation was so tragic, but then she thought, she's been third recently. She comforts Doto, but who will comfort her?
So, the words of comfort reached her lips but were never spoken. She was at a loss.
"I think I've been fourth all the time," Matikanefukukitaru said seriously.
"I'm always last," Twin Turbo also remembered her own situation.
For a moment, the atmosphere in Team Canopus became heavy. Good grief, what were they comforting? They weren't worthy. They needed comfort more themselves.
"Hey, everyone, don't give up. Keep fighting!"
At this moment, Kitasan Black also came in. Hearing everyone's words, she cheered them on with a smile.
In reality, in the third season of the anime, Kitasan Black was often depressed and needed Nice Nature's guidance. But here, she was sunny and cheerful, guiding everyone in return. She said it was okay, you have to have faith and work hard to win the championship.
She directly activated her support card line.
"Harikitte ikou! (Let's go with high spirits!)"
Actually, this version of Kitasan Black is the normal one. She is a genius of hard work. She endured brutal training that ordinary people could not bear, training called "three hill climbs," which meant running a 1000-meter slope with a 32-meter elevation difference three times in one training session. Most horses could only handle the intensity of one hill climb.
It can be said that countless racehorses in the JRA would be exhausted after just one such training session, but Kita-chan's entire life was spent undergoing such demonic training without interruption. She was a true iron horse.
Kitasan Black's daughter with Toho Jackal, the highly anticipated "Moonstone," also underwent such training from trainer Hisashi Shimizu. But he clearly didn't know that not all racehorses are Kitasan Black. The little filly Moonstone soon suffered a severe bone fracture and was unable to continue racing at the age of 3, becoming a broodmare.
In the Cygames project, there is an Easter egg about Kitasan Black and Toho Jackal. When Kitasan Black is tired, Toho Jackal casts a magic spell to relieve fatigue. Her incantation is "Moonstone," the name of their daughter. Toho Jackal must have loved her precious daughter "Moonstone" very much. But unfortunately, Moonstone was never able to run a single race.
"Kitasan Black-san, sorry, we still need you to guide us."
Nice Nature said she felt much better.
"Hehe, this is the spirit of a true man! Although I'm a girl, I often look at my father's back. He's praised by everyone as a true man, and I hold myself to the same standard."
"Even if you fail time and time again, you must keep working hard and rush towards your own stage."
Kita-chan smiled shyly. She would do her best.
"So cool, Kita-chan."
Matikanefukukitaru also nodded. She couldn't move around much right now. She had bumped into Durezza today and still hadn't recovered, afraid of getting a nosebleed.
"Um, are you okay?"
Durezza walked in.
Kitasan Black and Durezza looked at each other. Kita-chan had run into the "Hammer" again.
On the other side.
"Huh? I'm not a little shrimp, but the Vice-Ruler?"
Meito Doto was suddenly stunned. She had been leaning on the table in a state of depression, her distinctive large white forelock drooping. But now, seeing that she was the Executive Vice-Ruler of the Century's End, she shot up from her deathbed.
Her cat-like mouth perked up. If she was second, with a little effort, maybe she could... perhaps could... with a very small probability could... could defeat Opera O-san.
Her voice grew weaker, but at least Meito Doto had regained her confidence.
"Ha~~ Hahahaha~~ Doto, keep up with my steps! We will make the light of the century's end shine throughout the entire era of horse racing. We must leave our hoofprints!"
TM Opera O was also incredibly happy, but she was not arrogant. Her real horse self had worked so hard; how could she bring shame to her? The final dance on the Ruler's stage, she would surely complete it well, wouldn't she?
And Opera O wanted to continue watching. Her story with Wada was still ongoing.
She was also very curious. Wada was clearly her partner, so why was he called her son? She really wanted to find a chance to apologize to Wada. It was her own lack of strength in her classic year.
Wada would say, "Really, Opera O, please don't apologize. I'll kowtow to you twice."
To be honest, if Opera O were to appear in Wada's dream at night and say with a very apologetic tone, "Sorry, Wada, if only I could have been a little stronger, I could have carried you out of the siege." Wada would probably slap himself twice. He should have just been deadweight earlier. He really deserved to die.
In Britain.
Frankel was also watching TM Opera O's story. She was now called the world's strongest horse, and she really wanted to compete against the strong. Especially since Trainer Xu said there was another 140-rated horse in the world. Who could it be?
However, Frankel now had a group of idol horse girls, among them one called Alpinista. In fact, she was Frankel's foal, his proud daughter. On October 2, 2022, Alpinista won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, becoming the first of Frankel's progeny to win the Arc. If Frankel met Sea The Stars, he could say, "Uncle Stars, my family has an Arc winner. How about you?"
At this time, the diary continued, and everyone was incredibly curious.
[On August 15, 1998, TM Opera O entered his debut race with overwhelming first-place popularity, but lost, finishing second. After the race, an injury was discovered, and he rested until the next year.]
[His debut was not smooth. It wasn't until February 6, 1999, that he won his first race in his third attempt at a maiden race, successfully debuting.]
[This record made it difficult for owner Masatsugu Takezono and trainer Ichizo Iwamoto to have any great expectations for TM Opera O. They thought he could only earn some small money by participating in more open-class races, and thus missed the registration for the classic races.]
[However, after TM Opera O won consecutive open-class races, the Yukiyanagi Sho, and the GIII Mainichi Hai, trainer Iwamoto realized that things were getting more and more unusual. Opera O was much stronger than he had imagined.]
[But owner Takezono didn't think so. He didn't want Opera O to participate in the Satsuki Sho, wanting him to focus on preparing for the Japanese Derby. But trainer Iwamoto was full of expectations for Opera O, even willing to personally pay the 2 million yen supplementary registration fee in hopes that he could show his skills in the Satsuki Sho.]
[And at this very moment, Oguri Cap's trainer, Tsutomu Setoguchi, suddenly appeared. He strongly supported TM Opera O's supplementary registration for the Satsuki Sho.]
[Because Oguri Cap had such a regret. Back then, because she came from a local circuit, she missed the registration deadline for the JRA's classic races, causing her to miss out on the classics, which became a huge regret for countless horse racing fans in the JRA.]
[Many people even believe that the JRA's classic races without Oguri Cap were not just Oguri Cap's regret, but a huge regret and loss for the entire JRA.]
[And it was because of Oguri Cap that the JRA created the supplementary registration system for classic races for the first time.]
[It can be said that TM Opera O and Kitasan Black were direct beneficiaries of Oguri Cap's system. Here, I can only shout, 'Long live the Cap faction!']
[Without Oguri Cap, TM Opera O could not have begun his kingly conquest as the 'Ruler of the Century's End.' His feat of dominating the world would have been impossible.]
At this moment, in the world of Tracen.
"Awawawawawa..."
TM Opera O mimicked Meito Doto's tone. She was also stunned. She never expected that one of the key figures who opened the path of the ruler for her was her own trainer and Oguri Cap's camp.
She was truly moved and grateful. She declared that she was also a believer and fan of Oguri Cap. She said directly:
"Ha~~~ Hahaha, long live the Cap faction! Please forgive my rudeness, Oguri Cap-san. A ten-year fan of Oguri Cap, uninvited."
Coincidentally, Oguri Cap was right next to TM Opera O now. After all, it was the Fan Appreciation Day, and everyone was gathered together.
"Is Setoguchi my partner? So my real horse self couldn't run in the classic triple crown? Then I'll work hard, perhaps I can make up for that regret, for her and for everyone in the real horse world."
Oguri Cap also clenched her fist. She became excited and started her victory dance.
And, Oguri Cap didn't think she was that amazing. The regret of the entire JRA and all that, it was too exaggerated.
"Oguri Cap-san, do you have any regrets?" TM Opera O asked gently.
"Hmm... The classic triple crown races are at Nakayama Racecourse, Kyoto Racecourse, and Tokyo Racecourse. If I can't participate, then I can't eat the delicious food there."
Oguri Cap was very serious.
Of course, in her heart, she also regretted not being in the races, but if she had to name a second regret, it would definitely be not being able to eat the food there.
"Hahaha, then my treat next time, how about it?"
TM Opera O waved her hand confidently. But stop, Opera O, what lies ahead is hell.
"Really?"
Oguri Cap's eyes widened. She was very happy. And she was happy not just because Opera O was treating her to a meal, but because Opera O could fulfill her own dream.
If everyone had no regrets, then she would have made a contribution, right? She smiled slightly, incredibly gently.
Just then, Xu Zong's diary continued.
[In April 1999, TM Opera O successfully participated in the Satsuki Sho. On the final straight, he showed his astonishing late kick to the Japanese horse racing world for the first time. As the fifth favorite, he defeated strong contemporaries like Admire Vega and Narita Top Road to win his first G1 championship, the Satsuki Sho.]
[In the Uma Musume OAD, Admire Vega observed the situation in the race and started to sprint after the third corner. Narita Top Road, as if targeting Admire Vega, also chased up at once and overtook the misjudging Admire Vega.]
[But just as Narita Top Road was charging towards the finish line, an unexpected scene occurred. The Ruler of the Century's End, TM Opera O, caught up and, with a miraculous late kick from the far outside, directly overtook the full-speed Narita Top Road to win his first G1, the Satsuki Sho.]
[Narita Top Road's 'crybaby' loading progress reached 50%.]
[After the race, jockey Ryuji Wada declared spiritedly that in the upcoming Japanese Derby, he was confident that his riding would not lose to any opponent.]
[The formerly famous five-star general jockey, Ichizo Iwamoto, also said—'In the face of jockey Ryuji Wada's superb riding skills, I am like a mere rookie.']
At this moment, in America.
"Satisfying."
When Secretariat heard this "five-star general," she suddenly felt a wave of satisfaction. But she also complained that there were too many five-star generals. At first, it was Five-Star General MacArthur, and now it had changed to Ichizo Iwamoto. And wasn't this Iwamoto TM Opera O's trainer?
"It seems this jockey Wada is very skilled. Then why is he called Opera O's son?" Secretariat was also puzzled.
As for Sadler's Wells, she said happily:
"So amazing, Opera O! This is the true strength of our Sadler's Wells line! Seabiscuit, Flightline, do you think she's so strong because of atavism, and I'm Opera O's ancestor?"
Seabiscuit retorted, "Hey, how is that possible? Opera O is the same age as you. And you're in America, she's in Japan. By no means are you her ancestor. You're just taking advantage of her. And you're so thick-skinned, you even brought up atavism."
Seabiscuit couldn't hold it in. She thought, even if, by some miracle, Sadler's Wells really was Opera O's ancestor, as an elder, seeing her own bloodline flourish, she would usually say to the younger generation with satisfaction—"See, this is my kid, already surpassing the master." But Sadler's Wells was different. Seeing her kid become successful, her first reaction was to say they had atavism. This was praising herself along with them. Truly shameless.
In Tracen Academy.
Admire Vega was extremely unwilling. But she had no time for regrets. She just wanted to see who won the subsequent Japanese Derby and Kikuka Sho. She thought it must have been her. Because, although Admire Vega was a bit embarrassed, she saw that Narita Top Road's crybaby progress was already at 50%. So she would probably lose the next race too, and probably cry miserably. Therefore, her chances of winning the Japanese Derby were very high.
Good grief, Admire Vega was very smart. However, Narita Top Road said, you don't have to analyze it so thoroughly, she won't cry.
"Mmm... Trainer Xu, you're so mean. Why do you call me a crybaby? I won't cry."
Narita Top Road was already blushing. She wanted to die of shame. Was she going to be socially executed in front of the whole world? She decided that she must win the race and then laugh for everyone to see.
However, what Narita Top Road didn't know was that when she won, she cried even louder.
Just then, Xu Zong's diary continued.
[However, Ryuji Wada celebrated too early. He came to the Japanese Derby full of confidence. After the race started, he rode TM Opera O and charged out. However, the young and inexperienced Ryuji Wada soon made a fatal mistake. He ordered Opera O to accelerate too early, causing her to lose speed at the end of the straight. She was overtaken by Admire Vega and Narita Top Road, regrettably finishing third, watching helplessly as Yutaka Take achieved a back-to-back Derby victory.]
[And in the Kikuka Sho, Ryuji Wada overcorrected, giving the acceleration command too late, which resulted in Opera O failing to catch Narita Top Road and finishing second.]
[And Narita Top Road, after failure and success, completed a back-to-back post-race bawling championship.]
[Ryuji Wada was dumbfounded at this point. He was wondering what was going on. Were his riding skills not as good as he thought? He was only 22 at the time and didn't know what to do.]
[Unlike Yutaka Take, he had no connections in the JRA. If he were replaced, his riding career would be over. Probably no owner would choose him again.]
[And the thing Ryuji Wada feared happened. After seeing the race, owner Takezono was indeed furious. He wanted to replace Ryuji Wada on the spot.]
[But, fortunately, Ichizo Iwamoto appeared. He thought of his past self. He had also experienced what Ryuji Wada was going through. He was almost replaced by the owner back then, but the trainer at the time saved him.]
[This time, Iwamoto stood up and finally saved Ryuji Wada.]
[Wada was also very anxious at this time. He was eager to prove himself. But in the subsequent Kyoto Daishoten, because he was too focused on the out-of-form Special Week, he once again accelerated too late and finished third.]
[And this race was also the worst race of Special Week's career. She lost with a 7th place finish, the only time in her career she fell outside the top five.]
[After that, Iwamoto wanted Wada to experience the feeling of winning first. So he chose the GII 3600-meter Stayers Stakes for Opera O. Opera O was already overworked, but despite this, still achieved a good result of second place.]
[And in the Arima Kinen 20 days later, the owner wanted Opera O to participate. At this time, Iwamoto and Wada were too embarrassed to refuse and could only let Opera O race. Due to the consecutive long-distance races, Opera O's stamina was severely depleted. She ultimately lost, finishing third.]
[Grass Wonder defeated Special Week by a 4cm margin to win the Arima Kinen.]
[Achievement unlocked: 'Today's Spe-chan is no match for me.']
[The General of Lake Akan, whom we had high hopes for, once again played the role of an escort, achieving an excellent 10th place finish. For him, the championship wasn't important; biting other people's tails was more fun.]
At this moment, Tracen was in an uproar.
Inside Spica.
"I... I ran seventh before, and then lost to Grassy again. Waaaah, 4 centimeters! How could this be? I was only 4cm away from the championship."
Special Week turned into Special Cry. Losing a race like this would really break one's heart. She had promised her mom she would become the best horse girl, but had she failed?
However, she shook her head. She should still have countless races. Trainer Xu had said that she only failed to place in the top five once in her career. Maybe there would be championships ahead. She had to keep going. She couldn't give up now.
When Grass Wonder saw this, she was also deeply moved. She had won... and she had beaten Spe-chan. But she was wondering what this achievement meant.
"Today's Spe-chan is no match for me..."
Grass Wonder suddenly felt that this was something she would say. She didn't care anymore. She would celebrate today. Super happy.
However, Grass Wonder also noticed that this jockey named Ryuji Wada seemed to be in a dangerous situation. She immediately thought of herself. She couldn't be happy yet. Otherwise, if she became too proud, something bad would surely happen. Yes, excessive comfort would wear down one's will. She had to work harder. Good grief, what Wada didn't expect was that his situation had also motivated Grass Wonder. Grass Wonder's motivation +10, becoming絶好調 (Zekkouchou - Perfect).
"Grassy's aura is so scary."
El Condor Pasa shivered. Mambo was also scared. As an eagle, he knew very well that he couldn't mess with this woman.
In another place.
"Waaaah, I'm not a crybaby! I don't care, I'm not!"
Narita Top Road was very, very happy to see that she had won the Kikuka Sho, but she also insisted that she would absolutely not cry. Now, many people knew her nickname. She blushed with shame, regretting ever being born. She was the enthusiastic class president in her class and had to set an example. But now everyone knew she cried when she won and cried when she lost. How could she face people? Waaaah, she might as well just run headfirst into a wall.
Top Road was speechless. But in fact, nobody cared. They were happy for her. After all, Top Road usually helped everyone a lot, and everyone was happy for her.
However, Top Road was still relatively okay. She just thought Xu Zong was too mean with this nickname, a pure villain.
In another part of Tracen.
Golden Journey was already at his wit's end.
"Where is Xu Zong? He called me the General of Lake Akan, the designated escort, the super stepping stone of the century's end. Where are you? Come out!"
Golden Journey was on the verge of breaking down. He declared, "Trainer Xu, your perspective is too narrow. Is what the Gold family does called being an escort? This is called enjoying the race, do you understand?"
He was fuming with helpless rage. However, the people around him were also about to lose it.
"What are you laughing at?" Golden Journey looked at Gentildonna.
"I was thinking of something happy," Gentildonna coughed.
"Your happy thought isn't about me running tenth and being an escort again, is it?" Lake Akan stared straight at Gentildonna.
"Yes... no, no, no, I was thinking about winning my G1 championships. Seven of them," Gentildonna nodded.
"What are you laughing at?" Golden Journey looked at Orfevre.
"I was also thinking of something happy," Orfevre said.
"You also remembered winning G1s?" Golden Journey asked.
"I also have seven," Orfevrevre said.
"Hey!"
Golden Journey broke down. He nodded. 'Alright, alright, so you're playing like this, huh?' Today, he would stare at these two. He'd see who dared to laugh.
Of course, the most surprised was TM Opera O.
"Wada, it seems both you and I were too hasty. But it doesn't matter. The chapters of a ruler's story all need a prelude."
"You must have improved a lot later on, which is why we were able to win so many championships."
Opera O smiled gently. She was always like this. High emotional intelligence is truly innate. She's so kind, I could cry.
However, Admire Vega discovered the key point.
"Opera O ran so many races in one year. What were they thinking? And this guy named Wada is so bad."
Admire Vega's words were a direct hit. As they say, lies don't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest knife. Her words revealed the reality.
Just then, Xu Zong's diary continued, and everyone continued to read.
[At this time, TM Opera O's classic year racing career ended. Although she only won one G1, based on her performance throughout the year, she beat Narita Top Road and Admire Vega to win the Best Colt of the Year award.]
[And Opera O's owner, after she entered her older horse years, also said that since she had already won the Best Colt award, she must work hard in next year's races and strive not to lose a single one.]
[In fact, Takezono's words were just a form of encouragement, but he probably never imagined that his words would become a prophecy.]
[At this point, Ryuji Wada was on the edge of a cliff. He was even prepared to be replaced. He was extremely dejected. He had no resources, and unlike jockey scions like Yutaka Take, he didn't have a jockey father. After being replaced with such a record, he would probably lose the opportunity to be a jockey.]
[However, Ryuji Wada never expected that while he didn't have a jockey father, he had another biological father—the Ruler of the Century's End, TM Opera O!]
[As if sensing Wada's emotions, Opera O knew that if he lost one more race, he would have no more chances. If he lost one more race, he would be gone for good. However, throughout the entire year 2000, Opera O did not lose a single race!]
[Ryuji Wada finally learned to be a tool. He remembered his previous failures, how Opera O had lost races due to his wrong riding. So he suddenly had an epiphany. From then on, he wouldn't make any riding decisions and would let Opera O run on her own.]
[And after that, Opera O won eight races in a year, creating a miracle.]
[My good big son, when I arrive, I will give you a G1 championship. When I leave, you will also have enough honor to survive in the JRA.]
[Wada, hurry and tell me, 'Thank you, Opera O.']
Seeing this, a group of people was stunned.
Inside Tracen Academy's Spica dorm.
"TL;DR: Opera O carried him all the way. Wada really became Opera O's son."
Hokko Tarumae was stunned. She had been surfing the web at night recently and had learned a lot of new vocabulary.
"Thank you, TL;DR-man."
Tokai Teio was also dumbfounded. She was wondering how Ryuji Wada would respond. He must have trained hard. She was looking forward to Wada's subsequent actions, thinking it would be very passionate. But she never expected to hear such explosive news.
Wada's method was to just stop making decisions and rely entirely on Opera O.
"Seriously, I've been running for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen such a situation. If you had told me this before, I would have thought you were joking. But it really happened."
"I finally understand why Wada is said to be Opera O's son."
Vodka was also gobsmacked.
In the Tracen President's office.
"Hmm, without a trainer's guidance, it's almost devastating for a racehorse. Opera O, what kind of monster is this girl?"
Rudolf also showed a smile of admiration.
"The subsequent story is quite interesting. Trainer Xu also wrote that after Opera O retired, Wada was able to become a jockey, and he later proved himself by winning 8 G1s. I wonder what Wada's mood was at that moment."
Air Groove also smiled.
"He said he learned a lot from Opera O. I think he must have been working hard continuously after that. Perhaps he would help Opera O win the Japanese Derby and Kikuka Sho that she didn't get."
Narita Brian also said so.
At this time, everyone continued to read.
[In the year 2000, Opera O had a continuous outbreak. In her first race, the Kyoto Kinen, she achieved a long-awaited victory. Immediately after, she achieved a three-race winning streak in graded stakes with the Hanshin Daishoten and the Tenno Sho (Spring).]
[Opera O then participated in the Takarazuka Kinen and defeated Grass Wonder, securing her fourth crown of the year. This was also Opera O's second G1 victory. She then won her fifth victory of the year in the Kyoto Daishoten.]
[After that, Opera O came to the Tenno Sho (Autumn). The opponent standing in her way was no longer a single horse, but the 'Demon of Fuchu'—the curse that the first favorite of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) had been unable to win for twelve years.]
[Silent Suzuka was even injured and retired in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).]
[However, Opera O broke this curse, becoming the first horse in history to win a G1 at all four major central racecourses. And as mentioned before, Orfevre also accomplished this feat later on.]
[But Opera O's history was still being written. She then faced the second leg of the Autumn Triple Crown, the Japan Cup. As an older horse, she faced the first challenge from the new generation of horses, namely Agnes Flight and Air Shakur.]
[However, Opera O once again won by a narrow margin with her late kick, winning her fourth G1 championship of the year and her seventh graded stakes. But after this race, Agnes Flight and Air Shakur performed poorly and were considered the weakest generation at the time.]
[At this moment, Opera O's brilliance had overshadowed all other racehorses. She was only one final Arima Kinen away from creating history with an undefeated year and becoming the first Autumn Triple Crown horse.]
[But then, an accident happened. The day before the final race of the year, the Arima Kinen, the usually docile Opera O suddenly threw a tantrum in her stable, crashing around and injuring her left eye.]
[This worried everyone. Fortunately, the injury did not affect Opera O's participation in the race.]
[The 2000 Arima Kinen thus began at the end of the year.]
[However, countless people had not yet realized that this Arima Kinen would be one for the history books.]
[At that time, Opera O was undefeated in seven races for the year. This meant that she had become the enemy of all other racehorses. At the instruction of many jockeys, everyone tacitly agreed to try to stop Opera O's myth of an undefeated year by surrounding her.]
[So, after the Arima Kinen began, the jockeys, in order not to give Opera O any chance, had more than a dozen horses swarm out and begin to surround her. They even formed a line in front, completely blocking Opera O's path. This way, Opera O would have no chance to break out and win.]
[Ryuji Wada didn't expect this situation. He was extremely anxious, but the path forward had completely disappeared. If it continued like this, Opera O's undefeated myth would be broken, and the title of Ruler of the Century's End would exist in name only.]
At this moment, seeing this.
In Tracen Academy.
"A siege? What's going on?"
Rudolf was stunned for a moment. She never expected such an unreasonable method to be used. She didn't know what the jockeys in the real horse world were thinking. She could only guarantee that such a thing would never happen at Tracen.
In Ireland.
Sea The Stars, however, was extremely clever. She said faintly:
"It seems that Opera O's victory involved a lot of jockey's interests. But in the end, she still won."
"Hahaha, interesting, very interesting. The pack attack of wolves is meaningless because they cannot stop a true lion."
"TM Opera O, Ruler of the Century's End, you are worthy of the name!"
Sea The Stars was also excited. She really wanted to see how Opera O turned this desperate situation around. Did she put herself in danger, or did she advance despite the difficulties?
In Tracen.
Meito Doto was stunned when she saw this. If it were her, she would have given up already.
"Wh... what should we do, Opera O? There's no way out."
"Such tactics are too much."
TM Opera O was also looking at the diary, but her gaze was firm. She laughed loudly:
"Doto, don't say that. Don't say they surrounded me. You should say this is my declaration of war as the ruler."
"No matter what, everyone here is my future rival, my fated opponent."
"And I... will definitely win!"
"No matter what, we will present the best Victorian opera of the century's end. Don't... you think so?"
When Meito Doto heard this, she was stunned for a moment.
Opera O had clearly been treated unfairly, but she didn't complain, didn't make any excuses. Instead, she said this was her declaration of war on these horses. Was this the charisma of a ruler?
"Opera O-san, I believe this will be the best opera."
Meito Doto was choked with emotion.
"Ha~~ Hahahaha~~"
Opera O also looked at the diary. Come on, Wada, let's present this Victorian opera belonging to the Ruler of the Century's End together.
And at this time, the diary continued.
[At this moment, Wada's heart was wavering. He didn't know what to do. The Arima Kinen was about to end. Opera O had already passed the final turn. There were only 300 meters of straight left. Everything was about to be set in stone. However, in this moment of impending despair, Opera O's chance to defy fate appeared.]
[At this moment, due to the coincidence of Meito Doto's sprint and Narita Top Road's loss of speed, a fleeting gap, just wide enough for one horse to pass, opened up in the encirclement.]
[Opera O immediately cut through this gap and, with her powerful late kick, sprinted all the way, accelerating at the final moment to overtake Meito Doto by a nose to win.]
[A miracle happened. The spectators in the racecourse erupted in endless cheers. Opera O had successfully broken through the siege, officially achieving the unprecedented feat of the Autumn Triple Crown. Ryuji Wada is also, to this day, the only Japanese native jockey to have won the Autumn Triple Crown.]
[And Opera O, with her undefeated record for the year, was hailed as the Ruler of the Century's End!]
[In fact, the 2000 Arima Kinen was also the retirement race of the designated escort king of the golden generation, Stay Gold. But Stay Gold maintained his pride. He disdained to participate in the siege of Opera O and instead chose to engage in a fair and square late-kick showdown with the ruler in the final straight, chasing until the last moment with the fastest sprint speed of the entire field.]
[Although he ultimately lost to Opera O, he lost with dignity.]
[And after the start of 2001, Opera O won the Tenno Sho (Spring) for the second time. Previously, only the legendary racehorse, the "Emperor" Symboli Rudolf, had achieved this feat. With this, Opera O also won her 7th G1.]
[But at this point, Opera O had also burned out. She then participated in the Takarazuka Kinen. Faced with a situation where a victory would break the seven-crown barrier created by the "Emperor" Symboli Rudolf, the Emperor's main jockey, Yukio Okabe, blocked Opera O's outside, personally sealing off the possibility of her surpassing the Emperor.]
[In this race, Meito Doto won her first career G1 championship. Although the result was slightly controversial, she deserved this crown.]
[After that, Opera O participated in the Japan Cup and Arima Kinen again, both finishing second. After the 2001 Arima Kinen, the era was handed over.]
[From this, we can also see that Yukio Okabe is a true Rudolf stan. The bizarre fanfiction he wrote about Rudolf is still circulating today and is loved by everyone. I wonder what Rudolf would say if she knew Okabe went to such lengths for her?]
At this moment, in Tracen Academy.
"Yukio Okabe... you also participated in the siege of Opera O? If you are my jockey, you should know that I do not need such an honor. On the contrary, it would be best if a horse girl could surpass me."
Symboli Rudolf was speechless for a moment. In her heart, she did not approve of Okabe's actions, but she could see that he seemed to have a genuine and deep affection for her.
She only hoped that if she could meet Okabe, she hoped he would not do these things like sieges. Seeing someone surpass her was the thing she most wanted to see.
Also, Rudolf was very curious. What exactly was this "bizarre fanfiction"? It was so widely circulated. Could it be that people in the real horse world really liked to read bizarre fanfiction?
"If I could go to the real horse world, I'd really like to see the horse girl fanfiction they write."
Good grief, Rudolf, you really can't read that. Reading one would kill one Hermes. She would probably blush and curse them as perverts.
However, Okabe would probably be thrilled to be scolded. He'd say, "Rudolf, scold me more, I love to hear it."
In another place.
When Stay Gold saw this, she was stunned. She said that in her dictionary, the word "siege" would never exist. She had to win with dignity.
But, when she looked closely, she realized something was wrong. What did this "designated escort of the golden generation" mean?
She was instantly stunned, declaring, "You're the escort, your whole family are escorts."
"Waaaah... this must be fake."
Stay Gold sat on a chair, looking pitiful. The horse girls next to her looked at each other, not daring to call out to her. Finally, they brought her some food and told her not to be sad.
At this time, Stay Gold received a call from her mother.
"Hey, Stay Gold, you saw it too, right? You might not be suited for running. It's very cruel. This place is full of experts. You're just an escort."
Her mother said in a cold tone.
"Mom, what are you talking about? I won't give up. I can work harder. What the real horse couldn't do, I will do."
Stay Gold felt incredibly wronged. She thought her mother would continue to blame her.
"Is that so? You seem to be in high spirits. Then it seems I don't need to comfort you."
"Huh?"
"I thought you wouldn't be able to accept failure... because I was like that back then. The prouder you are, the more painful it is when you fail. But you seem to be different from me. You have something I don't."
"Forget it, I've said too much. Go run, Stay Gold. But let me say this first, it's very cruel. If you can't run, then hurry back and inherit the family business. Mom is doing this for your own good."
After hearing this, Stay Gold immediately said, "Really, Mom, I won't give up. Although I don't quite understand the logic you're talking about, but Mom, thank you."
"Hmph, what's with the 'thank you' between mother and daughter? Hanging up."
After that, Stay Gold's mother hung up the phone. And Stay Gold was revived again.
"Oh~ Hohohoho~"
She waved her hand again and let out her iconic laugh.
"Stay Gold, what did your mom say to you?"
"Hmm? My mom said if I don't run well, she'll make me go home and inherit the family business."
"Waaaah, Stay Gold, I am your long-lost sister from another father and mother!"
For a moment, the other little horse girls were stunned, immediately claiming kinship. What could they do? When you're out in the world, you make your own identity.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo.
When Mikki Rocket saw this, she sighed. Her heart was pounding. TM Opera O was so powerful.
However, she didn't know yet that she was about to appear in the diary as well.
Spanning 17 years, Mikki Rocket and Ryuji Wada, after TM Opera O's passing, finally won the G1 Takarazuka Kinen. Wada went to the grave of the recently deceased Opera O. If only it had been two months earlier.
And Rudolf was also about to find out what "bizarre fanfiction" was. She would definitely want to give Okabe a couple of punches.