It was an uneventful day in early spring, 2008.
"Folks, today I'm taking everyone to see my old man, so if you love the Overlord, send those rockets flying!"
Of course, Wada Ryūji did not actually shout something like that. Not in those days, at least. The contrast between him now and the internet-famous jockey he would become a decade later was striking.
At the moment, he had merely been feeling down because of a rough stretch on the track, and wanted to go throw himself into his old man Opera O's embrace for some comfort. Back when he rode with his old man beneath him, Wada had possessed boundless confidence and fighting spirit.
He had deliberately chosen a day as early as possible, but Kineusu Farm informed him, rather unfortunately, that today happened to be Opera O's first day "back at work" for the year, which meant the visit would turn out rather differently than planned.
This year, Shadai had continued trying to mend relations with Takezono. They had even sent over their prized mare Oriental Art for an "appointment" with Opera O, and were willing to pay an enormous stud fee. Under normal circumstances, Opera O's offspring record would never have earned him the right to be paired with Oriental Art. Shadai was truly paying through the nose. After being moved—more accurately, worn down—by their persistence, Takezono finally relented, agreeing to use this as a symbolic reconciliation with Shadai.
To show proper courtesy toward Shadai, Oriental Art's appointment had been set for Opera O's very first working day of the year. On that same day, another of Takezono's treasured mares, Ocean Breeze, was also scheduled.
For ease of handling, both Oriental Art and Ocean Breeze had been brought to Opera O's ranch ahead of the procedure and placed in adjacent stalls. To keep the mares calm, their foals from that year were housed alongside them as well.
The foal accompanying Oriental Art was, for the time being, simply called Oriental Art 08. In the future, he would receive a thunderous name:
Orfevre.
Though only one month old, the golden-bronze chestnut shade of his tail was already beginning to show.
As for the foal accompanying Ocean Breeze, she too was a shining chestnut, though a size smaller than Orfevre—Ocean Breeze 08, filly, chestnut, sired by Opera O.
This little chestnut filly had inherited her father's chestnut coloring and small build to a remarkable degree.
She looked rather frail, and every time the ranch staff saw Ocean Breeze 08 stumbling a little as she followed after her mother, they felt she probably had not inherited her parents' racing gifts.
Then again, none of her sire and dam's previous foals had ever shown much racing talent either.
But today, the little filly was behaving strangely.
Normally she would stand quietly at the inner side of the stall, but today she had主动 pushed her head over the railing, crowding out her mother's usual spot for watching the humans. Since Ocean Breeze herself was being prepared for her appointment and was busy getting into the right condition, she paid her daughter little mind.
Still not yet weaned, the little foal stood there watching the two-legged creatures bustle back and forth, head held high, her muzzle constantly rubbing against the metal frame.
Next door were Oriental Art and Oriental Art 08. The golden-chestnut colt there was busy scraping at the corner of his stall.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap.
It had a curious rhythm to it, and the pace of the hoofbeats seemed to be picking up. The golden-chestnut colt appeared to have discovered some thrilling new amusement.
The noise, however, made Breeze 08 deeply uneasy.
She began butting against her own stall gate, even rearing up to place both forelegs on it, rattling it loudly enough to draw the stable staff over.
"What's gotten into her?"
"Maybe she's just not used to having a little colt in the neighboring stall. Boys and girls get like that when they're too close together. Even if they're just children."
The staff, out of basic courtesy, relayed the abnormal behavior in Ocean Breeze's stall to the Shadai employees overseeing Oriental Art's stall, while trying to keep the atmosphere light with small talk.
Clearly, the staff had seen all kinds of odd situations before and did not seem especially alarmed. In fact, most of their attention was occupied by the arrival and handling of these top broodmares. The mares had to be kept calm at all costs—neither the mares nor the foals could be allowed to come to harm.
The plan should have been simple: lead the mares and foals out, bring them to Opera O's side, settle the mares' emotions, and wait for the procedure to be completed.
That was how it should have gone.
But the moment Oriental Art's stall gate was opened, before the staff could even fit the halter onto Oriental Art, a little golden-chestnut blur shot out.
Oriental Art 08 broke free and ran.
They had to catch the colt at once. If they could not, and the mare panicked along with him, the whole day's schedule would be ruined.
The staff began gathering, trying to box the little golden chestnut into the stable area, but after squeezing through a gap, the colt made a bizarre move.
With speed utterly beyond what a foal his age should have possessed, he shot straight to Ocean Breeze's temporary stall, lunged at the little chestnut filly at the gate—and latched onto her muzzle in a single bite.
Good heavens.
This had clearly been premeditated. The little golden-chestnut devil had lured the chestnut filly to the front of the stall, only to bully her through the bars.
The staff were stunned by the absurd scene. Some of them were even so morbidly curious that they slowed their pursuit, wanting to see just what kind of ridiculous stunt this "golden bloodline" foal was going to pull next.
Breeze 08 was terrified by the sudden assault. Instinctively, she threw up her forelegs and kicked twice, snorted sharply, dropped back down, and lashed out with her hind legs.
The movement startled even Ocean Breeze, who had been standing dazed in the temporary stall. The mare blew hard through her nostrils, spooking Breeze 08 from both sides. With a desperate kick of her hind legs, the small filly sprang upward, her petite body catching just right against the bars of the gate. A few frantic struggles later, she managed to wriggle free of the stall entirely.
The staff were dumbstruck by the burst of speed, flexibility, and explosive power both foals had displayed in that instant. They had no time left to seize Oriental Art 08's halter.
All they could do was watch as the golden-chestnut colt tore off after the fleeing little chestnut filly.
The two chestnut foals raced across the yard: one running for her life, the other in gleeful pursuit.
And to make matters worse, Oriental Art 08 was making sounds no foal his age should ever have been making.
High, excited cries spilled out of him one after another. Breeze 08 could not understand them, but she could sense the danger. The staff, however, understood only too well.
Those were the sounds of a colt in heat.
Before the horrified eyes of the staff, Oriental Art 08's fifth leg extended, the tip hanging like a lead weight.
"This is bad—catch Oriental Art 08 now! If not, Ocean Breeze 08 is in danger!"
The staff finally snapped out of it and sprinted after them.
Meanwhile, the two mares could do little: one was tied to a post, the other still in the temporary stall with her head stretched out, watching her daughter flee. The Shadai staff could not leave Oriental Art unattended, so only one of them went racing after the ranch workers.
The terrified Ocean Breeze 08 was cornered. Faced with the steadily advancing little colt, she finally steeled herself, lunged forward, and smashed him head-on with a forceful butt of her own head. Though she was left dazed herself, it gave her just enough of an opening to flee again.
In the face of danger—of every possible kind—Ocean Breeze 08's burst of speed proved even greater than that of her pursuer. In the blink of an eye she darted through another gap, tore down the main path, and at last spotted a group of men resting in an open paddock beside a large chestnut stallion.
Wada, standing with the staff attending Opera O, had assumed the commotion was some sort of problem with the mares being led out.
Then he saw it:
two little chestnut foals, one chasing the other.
Opera O, who had been quietly interacting with his "good son," was disturbed by the uproar. Catching a familiar scent from one of the foals, he too turned his head with interest.
By then the filly's stamina was exhausted.
Using the last of her strength, Ocean Breeze 08 leapt into Opera O's paddock and hid behind the big chestnut stallion whose scent felt strangely familiar.
Behind her came the relentless little golden-chestnut colt and the gasping staff in pursuit.
Though Breeze 08 had found cover, the colt showed no sign of giving up. He and the little filly proceeded to circle around Opera O and Wada like they were re-enacting some ancient pillar-running chase. Wada and Opera O were both too kind for their own good. Afraid that any sudden move might trip or injure one of the foals, neither dared budge an inch.
The circling endurance match continued. Oriental Art 08, with energy to spare, stayed doggedly on Breeze 08's heels. Then, seizing a moment when the exhausted filly's panting left her flank exposed, he seemed to achieve sudden enlightenment.
He found the angle.
He mounted the little filly's back and began trying to thrust.
The change came so fast.
The mare-stall staff who had only just caught up, together with Opera O's bewildered attendants, saw this humiliating spectacle unfold before their eyes. Rage and horror surged through them; they were so stricken they could almost understand, in that moment, the helpless fury of a powerless husband.
Fortunately, Ocean Breeze 08 reacted quickly.
With a shrill cry, the little filly lashed out with her hind legs, kicking Oriental Art 08 clear off.
Caught mid-thrust, the colt was sent sprawling. Having exhausted all his energy, he stiffened and collapsed to the ground, curled up and whining in pain as the flood of hormones and adrenaline ebbed away. The filly got in two more kicks for good measure. His life was never in danger, but the retribution was immediate and very real.
As for Breeze 08, the victim of the whole ordeal, the sight was heartbreaking. She whimpered continuously, staying far away from the little colt, hiding behind Wada and Opera O and doing everything she could to avoid even making eye contact with him.
In her panic, she even bit down on Wada's sleeve, preventing him from moving a single step away.
The staff who had witnessed this atrocity rushed in as one, dragged Oriental Art 08 away completely, and then burst into tears.
A peaceful stallion-work day had turned into a nightmare in which the foals belonging to the ranch's owner had suffered disaster. The little filly had been so horribly humiliated that she might now carry a lifelong psychological trauma toward colts, perhaps even losing her future as both racer and broodmare. Their own incompetence was inexcusable. Not even prostrating themselves before Takezono could possibly make amends.
The Shadai employees, having witnessed the surreal depravity of their own colt, were already seized by a terrible premonition.
Could relations between Shadai and Takezono still be repaired after this farce...?
And worse still, because of the chaos, neither of Opera O's appointments had happened. Even the most basic show of goodwill from Shadai had failed.
"Ghk—!"
An old man's shrill strangled cry snapped the terrified staff out of their stupor.
Takezono, who had been enjoying the ranch's hospitality, had rushed over after hearing the appalling news—just in time to witness Oriental Art 08 attempting to mount the little filly. Ocean Breeze 08's body was still slick with fluid, impossible to distinguish whether it was the colt's or simply the clinging sweat of her frantic flight.
Humiliation, rage, and hatred filled him all at once. His body could not withstand the violent swing of emotion, and he collapsed on the spot.
The staff were thrown into chaos yet again, hurriedly carrying Takezono away to help him recover.
More than ten minutes later, he finally came around. The older businessman's self-control was all that kept him from fainting a second time in anger. When at last his lips moved, his judgment was unwavering:
"From this day forward, as an owner and as a company executive, I refuse all further cooperation with Shadai."
The Shadai staff dared not try to persuade him. All they could do was prostrate themselves on the floor, crying out apology after apology, praying only that Takezono, in his mercy, would not demand ruinous compensation.
Some even feared that because Shadai was so overwhelmingly in the wrong here, Oriental Art 08 might be gelded on the spot.
We absolutely have to protect Oriental Art 08's eggs, the Shadai staff thought desperately. Every future colt from the Gold and Mejiro lines was priceless.
Takezono, seeing the tortured expressions on their faces, more or less understood that Shadai would never truly yield when it came to the treatment of a foal with such excellent blood.
In the end, he let out a long, bitter sigh.
He had spent so many years stubbornly resisting Shadai. And the moment he had softened even slightly, they repaid him with this.
Now even the hope of giving the mares' ranch a proper explanation had become a luxury.
It was not merely the sight of the tragedy itself, but the humiliation tied to status and position that tormented Takezono even more. He truly did feel like a powerless husband.
At last he named a figure for compensation—one that made even him wince—and then ended the matter with a single word:
"Get out."
The Shadai staff slunk away in disgrace, but the raw fury in Takezono's last warning made their hearts shake.
"You Shadai people have humiliated me like this, and you're still protecting that brat. Listen well: I'll buy back Ocean Breeze 08 myself, train her into the strongest racer there is, and have her lie in wait for Oriental Art 08 in every G1 he enters. So wash yourselves clean and prepare for the future where Oriental Art 08 goes bald in graded stakes, is stripped of his stallion rights, and loses the lot!"
Thus ended Opera O's first working day of the year—in utter catastrophe, without a single successful appointment.
Opera O, Ocean Breeze, and Oriental Art all departed the breeding grounds in visibly bleak and desolate moods.
Wada had witnessed the entire debacle but had not even dared speak to Takezono or the Shadai representatives. He stared at his old man and at that little filly for a while, then shook his head and walked away.
How on earth had "go visit the old man for a chat" turned into this damned mess?
A few days later, Takezono hastily arranged a press conference, publicly accusing Shadai of gross incompetence in their emergency handling and declaring a complete break between them.
Shadai, now publicly denounced, could only answer with:
"We are deeply sorry and hope that someday cooperation may still be possible."
But jockeys and trainers using Shadai resources were quietly instructed to keep their distance from horses in Takezono's camp. The reason needed no explanation.
Ocean Breeze 08, shaken by the horror of the incident, became a dispirited, half-giving-up filly. Her appetite and tolerance for training both fell far short of expectations. Basic race conditioning failed to draw out any sign of track talent in her. Desensitization work on her back went even worse: the instant anything touched her back—or even merely carried the scent of a colt—she would bolt like lightning.
Plainly, the experience had left a profound shadow over her. During these panicked flights, her speed was scarcely inferior to what might be seen in an actual race.
The ranch trainers assigned to her were frantic and furious in equal measure, because like Takezono, they too harbored a single choked-down conviction:
they wanted this little filly to one day exact revenge on that rutting brat from the Gold family.
As things stood now, a kind interpretation would be that Takezono would at least be able to buy her back cheaply.
A harsher interpretation was that she was not even fit to become a broodmare.
At this point, all they could do was pray for a miracle.
The previous miracle in Takezono's camp had been named:
Opera O, Wada Ryūji, and Iwamoto Ichizō.
And perhaps it was fate.
That ramshackle band had never once lacked miracles.
To be continued.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin