The stir Doto's collapse created had already spread throughout Tracen Academy, but after Symboli Rudolf decisively declared that the statements from these so-called "anonymous sources" were completely nonsense, combined with the fact that none of the "victims" and supposed "eye-witnesses" gave any statements regarding it, many of the voices within Tracen finally quieted down.
Of course, Wada, as the supposed "perpetrator" of this incident, was compelled to step forward and provide a statement. However, when facing the barrage of questions from reporters, Wada, who had long since been prepared, remained composed, having already formulated responses for all sorts of tricky questions.
"As the Student Council President, Symboli Rudolf, stated, I hope that these so-called 'sources' that various news agencies have referenced can provide proof behind their claims. But if they are unwilling to respond, then, without concrete evidence, I wish for everyone to respect the dedication and effort of my Uma Musume."
"Both I and T.M. Opera O had stayed in Meisho Doto's ward during the period of her recovery, and yet, not a single article or newspaper reported or referenced it when talking about my supposed 'indifference' towards my first Uma Musume."
"As a Trainer of Tracen Academy, and this year's only Trainer to have two Uma Musume qualified to compete in the Japanese Derby, I am both dutiful towards my responsibility as a Trainer as well as my trainees. And as for anyone who doubts the ability of any of my trainees—I believe it would be more appropriate to let the results of the Kikuka Sho speak for themselves."
Wada Ryuji's responses were quickly publicized by the news agencies. As for how much embellishment their reports contained, Wada no longer cared. Instead of trying to bicker with people he didn't even know, it was better to focus on T.M. Opera O and Meisho Doto. Doto's recovery had went smoothly, and she managed to return to training a few days later. Of course, Wada still didn't allow her to perform high-intensity training as usual, instead starting with warm-ups and daily routines.
The only thing that worried Wada was T.M. Opera O. After returning from the Japanese Derby, T.M. Opera O had proactively requested Wada to also let her try the weighted training Doto had been doing.
T.M. Opera O's physique wasn't as… robust as Meisho Doto's. Both as a Racehorse back then and as an Uma Musume now, T.M. Opera O wasn't suited to the same training as Meisho Doto's in Wada's opinion. Of course, her powerful bursts of speed meant that T.M. Opera O couldn't be without strength, but whether this strength had a short lifespan or not... was also a serious problem that needed to be considered, as he feared that this weighted training might shorten her strength's lifespan.
After all, in Wada's memory, T.M. Opera O was an early bloomer and she would start to decline in the later stages of her life, with the frequency of injuries increasing each year. But in the end, T.M. Opera O managed to convince Wada. He gave her a set of weights while also constantly reminding her to be careful and absolutely not to overexert herself like Meisho Doto. After all, Meisho Doto had her strong body as a safety net, but T.M. Opera O wasn't as endurant as Meisho Doto to the point where she could train until she collapsed from exhaustion every single day.
Under such a hectic schedule, a month passed by quickly. During this time, the fervent rumors went from erupting to outrage, and then to calm and silence. As Wada had predicted, the rumors quickly died down and were promptly forgotten… "Huff… huff… huff…"
At the training grounds, Orfevre was currently undergoing her daily training. She had been a part of Ikezoe's team for some time now and after her mental state improved, she quickly tried to improve herself, diligently training every day.
Since that day, Orfevre's usual temperament had changed considerably. She treated every training session seriously even if she couldn't understand or retain some of the things Ikezoe taught. Although she wasn't capable of unleashing the same power she displayed in her Debut Race, her current physical might alone was enough to surpass a large number of Uma Musume.
Even Ikezoe, as her Trainer, was quite surprised at how quickly her physical strength had improved in comparison to before. But similarly, he was also full of confidence for Orfevre's next race.
"Your improvement in strength is like someone becoming faster because they ran a lot in their dreams while sleeping! With just your physical strength, I dare say, among the Uma Musume in GIII races, none can compare to you!"
Ikezoe's words also deepened Orfevre's resolve to continue training. During this time, she had been training her physical strength diligently, allowing herself to surpass most Uma Musume even without being able to unleash her Debut Race "Aura."
"But if I don't quickly unlock my Aura, then even if I can defeat those Uma Musume in OP and GIII races… when it comes to GII and GI racecourses, I still won't be able to do anything, right?"
"Should I go find Meisho Doto again? She seems to be the best person in our team who can use 'Aura'..."
Orfevre couldn't help but feel a bit troubled. To master this ability, she had sought out the members in their team more than once—she didn't dare disturb T.M. Opera O, as everyone knew T.M. Opera O was preparing for the Kikuka Sho, and now was definitely not the time to bother her.
Moreover, Orfevre had an instinctive feeling that after Meisho Doto's collapse, she seemed to be even stronger than T.M. Opera O in some aspects! Especially in her grasp of Aura. Orfevre was more sensitive to sensing in this regard than most Uma Musume. She was also very similar to Gold Ship in this aspect; it was one of the few commonalities between these two sisters.
Orfevre could feel that the Aura Doto emitted after recovering was being manipulated very skillfully. For this, Orfevre even specifically sought out Meisho Doto to ask how to control her Aura.
"Um… actually, I'm not very sure myself. For me, it was just like I gained this control randomly one day… and, and it's pretty effective."
Meisho Doto was quite reserved at the time, but seeing that Orfevre had come to ask for her guidance, she was very happy to share her experience, describing earnestly: "As long as I close my eyes and imagine my opponent is T.M. Opera O… I can activate this Aura… just like this."
At that time, Meisho Doto even demonstrated it for Orfevre to see. Meisho Doto closed her eyes, then immediately opened them again and, sure enough, a remarkably clear Aura had condensed around Meisho Doto's body. And when Meisho Doto released this Aura, her demeanor underwent a drastic change. All traces of timidity vanished, replaced by an aggressive demeanor, as if she had transformed from a docile lamb into a sheepdog, fearless in the face of any threat.
Of course, if Orfevre hadn't been so frightened that she cowered in the corner, she probably would have learned faster.
"I'm not quite sure how to teach you… but I think you should figure out what your trigger is and only then could you unleash your potential. Every Uma Musume has different trigger points. Perhaps you should try to set a goal as your trigger and go from there."
"My goal?"
However, despite racking her brains for a long time, she didn't know what her goal should even be at this moment. In fact, her contemplating left her in an even more confused state than before. Although she was getting stronger every day, she still didn't know what she was running for.
For victory? Her thirst for victory was not small, but it seemed that it wasn't the trigger for her. What if she set her sights narrower, for the Classic Triple Crowns?… No, no, she hadn't even won an OP-level race, how could she think that far ahead?
Or, to kick that Ikezoe guy… Yet, as soon as she thought of this, Orfevre paused slightly, instinctively recalling the time of her Debut Race, where she seemed to have won the championship precisely because of following Ikezoe's advice—and after that, she hadn't won again.
"Could the problem lie with that guy?"
Orfevre wasn't very sure, but when such a thought emerged, she already felt that her guess was correct. Perhaps… she should try to get closer to that Ikezoe guy? Orfevre thought and suddenly, a good idea popped into her mind!
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I'm genuinely malding so hard right now, I got a triple rainbow speed training 3 times in a row and my Uma failed all 3 of them with a failure chance of 1% for the first one and 3% for the next two. And surprise surprise, never got more than 1 rainbow on speed for the rest of the run.
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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.