Having trained real horses, why are we now training racehorse girls after time-traveling?

However, before Wada could finish speaking, Hao Geju's signature laughter rang out again. Dressed in his winning outfit, Hao Geju, completely intoxicated by his own charm (pretending), said to Orihime and Narita:

"We will soon meet at the Satsuki Sho, my formidable rival! Are you ready to submit before me, the tyrant?"

"...It's still uncertain who will submit to whom, what a wonderful opera."

However, just as the great opera arrived, Orihime, who admired him, quickly revealed her hostility—no, rather than hostility, it was more like the confidence of Uma Musume in victory and her strategic contempt for her opponent.

As the object of constant harassment from the Good Opera, Orihime has long wanted to compete with it. However, the Good Opera has missed out on several competitions, and this Satsuki Sho is the perfect opportunity for Orihime to finally challenge the Good Opera.

"You must be at your peak right now, right? Me too, great opera, let's meet at the Satsuki Sho competition."

"Hahaha! I'm not going to lose, whether it's a race or charm!"

Good Opera, however, remained incredibly confident, so much so that Orihime, who admired it, became somewhat annoyed. Soon, Orihime could no longer tolerate Good Opera's excessive confidence and, along with Narita, took the initiative to leave.

After the two racehorse girls had walked away, Wada looked at the opera singer with a subtle expression and said calmly:

"Thank you for getting me out of that situation. It was a great opera, but... I think you should pay more attention to your personal relationships."

Wada knew, of course, that Good Opera was there to help him out of a predicament; otherwise, the reputation of "favoritism" would have been a significant blow to his own reputation. However, from his conversation with Orihime and Naritaji, Wada also realized that Good Opera was quite inept at interpersonal communication.

At least, Orihime dislikes Good Opera. Although Narita didn't show it, she still had a competitive spirit towards Good Opera and wanted to compete with it.

"The Overlord is of course the center of attention, revered, and feared by all." Good Opera, however, remains oblivious to this, continuing to say the same thing:

"Ryuji, since you've chosen to embark on an unprecedented journey with me, the Overlord, then you must be prepared to walk this path alone and rely on each other!"

"When I truly become a 'tyrant,' you will be my most beloved and loyal subject, and at that time, I will share the fruits of victory with you!"

"A lonely road..."

Wada fell silent upon hearing this. Good Opera's words reminded him of some past events, and suddenly, Wada also felt that Good Opera was right.

The path he and Good Opera are destined to take is one of solitude. They will have to break some so-called myths and rules, and refresh the perceptions of some people—especially those who are conservative and do not want the legend to be broken, and who will question and ridicule them.

The Satsuki Sho is their first step, followed by the Japanese Derby and the Chrysanthemum Sho. They will gradually create a new legend.

But... Wada didn't want to see a lonely "overlord at the end of the century." He hoped that the opera could be better than the last time, allowing more people to accept and support it.

Perhaps this is what Hotan can do for good opera.

"I will stay with you all the way, beautiful opera."

"Oh, oh..." Having received a very serious reply from Wada, Hao Opera was slightly taken aback, glancing away with slightly evasive eyes, but the tail behind her swayed happily.

Meanwhile, in the dormitory, the renowned general Nu Tao, fast asleep, was completely unaware of everything. In her dream, she seemed to be chasing something, vaguely saying:

"Surpass, surpass... Trainer... I... I will win..."

"So...the trainer...approves of me...I can do better opera...hehe..."

...I wonder what kind of wonderful dream this cute little pony had, but at least the content of the dream must have been something to be happy about.

Chapter 76: Hotan Paves the Way for Great Opera

Her encounters with Orihime and Naritaji are just a small interlude in the story of Good Opera. Her personality is inherently very tolerant. Although her behavior is somewhat flamboyant, her heart is still filled with boundless tolerance and care. She considers herself a "tyrant" and is destined to walk a lonely path. She only hopes to have someone by her side who can be relied on and who can support her.

Whether it's the jealousy, resentment, or even hatred from those around her, good opera will turn into words of praise in her eyes—this is a talent that allows her to ignore the malice from those around her and concentrate on doing what she needs to do.

Of course, this will undoubtedly do little to stop the loathing from those around her; in fact, it will only intensify with each victory she wins. She will certainly gain many supporters, but without a doubt, most of these supporters will be unable to offer any real help to a good opera on the field.

However, she will also gain more people who are jealous of her, and most of these people are likely to hinder her progress on the field and become obstacles that she needs to overcome.

Wada had faced a similar situation with Good Opera before. Although he and Good Opera were teammates on the field, he couldn't help Good Opera much. Good Opera's strength and his mediocre teamwork not only made others wary of Good Opera, but also made them jealous of Wada.

The double pressure led to many desperate scenes that were almost never seen on the field. As someone who experienced all of this, even if Wada were to fight for his ideals again and vindicate good opera, he would never want to experience such feelings a second time.

He still hopes that good operas can be recognized by more people.

"Perhaps I can only help you for a little while in the race, good opera. Sooner or later you will surpass me, and one day you will be the one teaching me again."

"Then at least... let me try to help you in other ways, fine opera."

After testing the effects of the Good Opera's winning costume, Wada did not return to his dormitory. Instead, he was planning how to help Good Opera achieve even greater goals.

This plan is not about arranging competitions like the classic Triple Crown, but rather about paving the way for good operas in Hotan, in addition to competitions.

……

The Satsuki Sho and the Mainichi Cup were only a month apart. During this month, Wada also gave Nutao and Haogeju targeted training. He planned to do the same as last time, targeting the characteristics of their two main opponents in this competition, Aiko Orihime and Naritaji.

When Wada joined Treson Academy, Kiss commented that his tactics "tend to win conservatively, rely heavily on the horse girls themselves, but are good at dealing with counter-strategies." In reality, Kiss only said half of it.

Wada is indeed adept at handling targeted attacks, and he's also very skilled at designing them. Because of his love for opera, Wada has repeatedly studied how to bring out the horse's strength when being targeted, thus breaking through the encirclement. So far, Wada is confident that unless the stage hosts arrange another collective encirclement, with his skill level, there's currently no target he can't break through unless the opposing jockey's skill level completely surpasses his.

However, his skill in dealing with targeted attacks also gave Wada an additional ability: he learned how to target others.

“Raging Waves, fine opera. Your greatest enemies this time, as I have already said, are Naritaji and Orihime. Apart from the two of them, I'm afraid you won't have any stronger opponents until the Chrysanthemum Festival.”

At the Satsuki Sho event, at the Nakayama Racecourse, Wada brought his two racehorse girls to the venue. After the popularity rankings were over, he called them over again and gave them a final instruction on their tactics.

"Good opera. In this competition, without a doubt, Orihime's trainer might be more inclined to target Raging Waves. However, in this competition, Orihime's most focused opponent is undoubtedly you. Therefore, you must be wary of Orihime's tactical targeting of you."

"During this period, I have repeatedly watched the recordings of Ai Mu Orihime's various matches. I can now confirm that Ai Mu Orihime's best tactic is chasing horses, while your strength during this period is moving first. If she wants to target you, she will probably hinder your first move from the beginning."

"So, does that mean I need to avoid Orihime in my first run?" With Wada's prompting, Hao Geju immediately understood how to run the race and nodded confidently.

"Don't worry, Ryuji, this victory is already mine!"

"I will do my best too!"

As if afraid that Hetian would forget him, the famous general Nutao quickly raised his little hand and said, "I will definitely not lose to my good opera classmate..."

"Yes, Nutao, your main pressure will probably come from Naritaji; she's a formidable opponent as well." Wada nodded, then turned to Nutao and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, Narita won't be involved in targeting Good Opera. So, according to the trainer's thinking, she should be keeping a close eye on you. But considering your tactics are similar to Good Opera's, Narita's threat to you isn't that serious outside of straight-line sprints."

"Just play as usual, Nutao. I'm really looking forward to seeing you defeat your opponent for the second time this time."

"Um... Trainer, I will do my best."

Nu Tao nodded happily. She was worried that after Hao Geju joined the team, the trainers would pay less attention to her and focus all their attention on Hao Geju, thus neglecting her.

However, it seems that she was overthinking it. Although Hotan has indeed paid less attention to the opera recently because of its inclusion, Nutao has not seen Hotan show any particular fondness for it.

They trained together, and even rested and ate almost together. As far as Nu Tao could see, he, Hao Opera, and the trainers were always together, and he never saw Hao Opera students and trainers alone together.

This reassured Nu Tao a lot, but it also made him hesitate a bit about his own thoughts... Had he become too fond of acting cute towards his trainers lately?

However, Nu Tao's sudden silence did not make He Tian think anything was wrong. Nu Tao had been like this lately, often becoming confused and absent-minded. He Tian had tried to talk to Nu Tao a few times, but Nu Tao had never mentioned anything on his mind, and he had always completed his training diligently.

However, Nutao's condition has been somewhat off lately, and Wada can only hope that Nutao can perform well in this Satsuki Prize...

"Alright, Nutao, good opera, you two go ahead, I'll be watching your match from the stands."

Wada patted the two racehorse girls on the shoulder and escorted them to the racetrack. Just as the two racehorse girls left, a voice came from beside Wada. A trainer was seen speaking to her racehorse girl:

"Orihime, don't be nervous, just do your best in this match."

"Okay, I'm going, trainer."

Following the instructions of the female trainer beside her, Ai Mu nodded and then walked onto the field as well. She seemed to notice Wada's gaze, her cold face expressionless, and she simply nodded faintly.

At that moment, Wada walked straight towards the female trainer, greeting her with a warm smile:

"Hello, are you Orihime's trainer?"

"Ah, it's me. You are—Trainer Wada?"

However, when the female trainer first saw Ryuji Wada's unusually young yet familiar face, she was also momentarily stunned, but quickly revealed a slightly wary expression—clearly, she also regarded Ryuji Wada as a major enemy.

"What brings you here? If you're here to spy on military matters, I won't say a word."

“...I think you are too nervous, madam.”

Seeing that the other party was very wary of him, Ryuji Wada maintained his gentle expression and instead took out a pack of... cigarettes from his pocket.

Don't assume women don't smoke. In fact, in some high-pressure industries, the proportion of women who smoke and drink is very high, especially in Japanese workplaces, where women's cigarettes sell very well. The higher a woman's position, the more likely she is to smoke.

In the world of Uma Musume Pretty Derby, there are quite a few female trainers. Wada has seen several female trainers who have a smoking habit, so he always carries some cigarettes in his pocket for social purposes.

That's just how society is. You may not smoke, but you can't go without cigarettes, especially if you're going out for a social occasion. Cigarettes and alcohol are the easiest ways to build rapport.

"I only joined Treson Academy a few months ago. You are my senior and I am the junior. I have been busy with training these past few months and forgot to greet the seniors. I really shouldn't have done that."

"However, please give me a chance, senior. I still have many shortcomings, and I hope you can give me some guidance."

Ryuji Wada's attitude was so humble that it was hard to refuse. He was neither obsequious nor pretentious. Perhaps it was because of his good looks that he was so agreeable. Wada's overtures gradually eased the guard of the trainer who admired Orihime.

This Ryuji Wada... doesn't seem as threatening as Orihime or his peers say. At this moment, the trainer who admires Orihime is beginning to change her initial impression of Wada.

Chapter 77: The Satsuki Sho Tournament Begins!

"Now the race girls have entered the gate one after another. First up is the popular Orihime. She seems determined to win this race and is full of confidence."

"Then there's Narita, who's the second most popular. She's already won the Kisaragi and Yayoi awards and looks incredibly energetic. Without a doubt, they'll deliver a fantastic match for everyone."

With the commentary in hand, the Satsuki Sho race officially began. The horse girls started entering the gate after warming up. As the most popular contestant in this race, Aisui Orihime, who had previously won the most popularity in the Yayoi Sho with her outstanding performance, although she narrowly lost to Naritaji in the Yayoi Sho, seemed to have a burst of speed with the fastest sprint in the entire race before the finish line. This time, the audience generally believed that she was the favorite to win the Satsuki Sho race.

Narita's second popularity is also due to her immense strength. Although her performance was not particularly stunning, her consecutive wins in GIII and GII made many people believe that she was more capable of winning the championship. Perhaps it was not as entertaining as Orihime's, but winning is the only way to win.

While Hotan's Good Opera and Nutao secured their spots in the competition, they were at a disadvantage in terms of popularity rankings. Good Opera's second-place finish in the Daily Cup propelled it to seventh place in popularity, while Nutao barely made it in and ended up at the bottom of the popularity rankings at fourteenth.

However, popularity rankings don't reflect a horse girl's true strength; they're merely a predictive method. The horse girls are well aware of this. Even Orihime and Naritaji, the most popular and second most popular girls, know that their greatest enemy isn't some third-most popular horse girl, but rather…

Thinking this, Orihime, who admired the opera about to begin, also looked towards it and, without concealing her voice, said, word by word:

"Let's settle this once and for all, fine opera."

"—Hahahaha! Then my answer as the overlord remains unchanged: I will absolutely not lose!"

However, upon hearing this, Good Opera only paused slightly, then waved his hand with an exaggerated laugh. His arrogance, bordering on conceit, made Orihime grit her teeth slightly.

You're always like this, good opera, so confident, as if you've always got it under control.

Why are you so confident? You haven't even participated in the Yayoi Prize, and you've lost to Raging Waves in the Daily Cup. Why can you still maintain such confidence?

What gives you the confidence to be so self-assured? You don't have the same "mission" as me, and you haven't performed particularly well so far, so why do you keep thinking you'll win?

Her admiration for Orihime wasn't hatred of good opera; she was just a little jealous. She was jealous that good opera was so carefree and pressure-free, and that it could be so confident in every competition, as if it never felt any sense of crisis.

This was the complete opposite of her own personality. It was because of this that her admiration for Orihime gave rise to the idea of ​​competing with Good Opera. She wanted to see if Good Opera, which she had defeated, could still maintain its confidence.

"Fighting alone... winning alone... that's the path I'm taking."