"T- Trainer..."
Doto wasn't sure how to respond to Wada's enthusiasm, but when she saw Wada open his arms, clearly intending to embrace her, her cheeks, still flushed from finishing her run, visibly reddened even further.
W-What should she do? In this situation, with so many people watching, if she hugged her Trainer... it would be so embarrassing!
But with so many people watching, wouldn't it be bad not to respond to her Trainer? It would make others think she disliked her Trainer... Perhaps... it's better to respond. After all, she did win the Mainichi Hai, and she even beat T.M. Opera O! Her Trainer is so excited; in this atmosphere, a small hug... wouldn't be a big deal, right?
And either way, they had hugged before, hadn't they?
Thinking this, Doto slowly raised her arms and took a few small steps forward. Her movements were so careful, so subtle that they were almost imperceptible—and Wada had already started to run in her direction.
Just then, a hint of joy appeared on Doto's face, and as she was about to open her arms to embrace Wada—
Wada ran past her. (T/N: Surprise reverse NTR!)
"Whoa!" T.M. Opera O was then directly picked up by Wada without warning. Not only was she picked up, but she was also spun around several times in the air. Wada's excited emotions finally eased a little, but he still held T.M. Opera O tightly.
"T.M. Opera O..."
"...No need to say more, Wada." T.M. Opera O was initially a bit surprised, but when she felt the slight sobs of the big manchild embracing her, she suddenly calmed down. She gently patted Wada's back with her palm and said softly:
"You won. You won against me, the Overlord. I understood what happened— I didn't lose to Doto, but to you."
"Losing to someone who understands me better than I understand myself, even as the Overlord, I don't feel ashamed... This was a test given to me by fate."
"Of course, perhaps it's also an opportunity," T.M. Opera O said, a smile appearing on her face. She tightened her arms around Wada a bit more and said faintly:
"So, do you think you are my opportunity, Wada?"
"...Heaven gave me this chance to prove it, T.M. Opera O."
Wada and T.M. Opera O slowly stood up from their embrace. Wada's face was quite a mess now, snot and tears streaming down, looking utterly dishevelled. But his face, filled with tears of joy, made T.M. Opera O feel a pang of heartache, yet at the same time, a hint of joy and comfort welled up in her heart.
As if by a strange impulse, T.M. Opera O wiped away Wada's tears with one hand, then stood on tiptoe and ruffled Wada's slightly lowered head, smiling gently:
"...You've grown, Ryuji." (T/N: Does she know?)
"?!"
However, T.M. Opera O's words made Wada Ryuji subconsciously look up, his eyes gazing at T.M. Opera O in disbelief, and he instinctively asked:
"T.M. Opera O, you..."
"...I'm sorry, forget it. I don't know what I'm saying." But in the next second, T.M. Opera O's face showed a strange expression. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache, not knowing why she suddenly said that. (T/N: She doesn't know!)
It was just that the strange sense of comfort in her heart, and an impulse, made her say those words involuntarily. But now that the words were out, T.M. Opera O felt much better.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
And just then, an extremely deliberate coughing sound suddenly rang out, interrupting the intimate scene between T.M. Opera O and Wada Ryuji, making them quickly snap back to reality and instinctively separate.
Ikezoe also helplessly lowered the hand he used to cover his cough, while Hana Toujou on the side already had a face full of black lines. As for Curren Chan... she was currently comforting the pitiful Meisho Doto.
"It's okay, Doto-san, you won the race, that's great! Don't look so pathetic as if you lost..."
"...Wada, I think you should do something now to make amends to your Uma Musume." At this moment, even Ikezoe, whose emotional intelligence was often criticized as being as dense as wood, couldn't stand it anymore. Even he felt that what Wada did just now was a bit too much.
Your Uma Musume worked so hard to win the race for you, and you ignore her and hug your "trophy" instead? What kind of behaviour is that? Although Ikezoe knew the bond and feelings between Wada and T.M. Opera O, and that Meisho Doto could never compare, Wada shouldn't have done such a thing in this situation.
Reminded by Ikezoe, Wada immediately realized that he indeed should give Doto some encouragement. He was a Trainer after all and couldn't show favouritism. Moreover, Doto did help him win this victory. If not for Doto offering to be his Uma Musume, he would still be at a loss, not knowing how to beat T.M. Opera O.
And just as Wada was about to do something, Hana Toujou on the side suddenly spoke up:
"...Congratulations, Wada Ryuji. You and your Uma Musume truly opened my eyes in this race."
"Then, as we agreed, starting today, T.M. Opera O is your Uma Musume."
Saying this, Hana Toujou looked at Wada and T.M. Opera O, who were standing together, and was furious. Her entire body was shaking, her chest heaving, as if she was trying to control her emotions yet... "—AHHHHH! I CAN'T HOLD BACK! WADA RYUJI!! I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU UP TODAY!!!!"
The enraged Hana Toujou revealed her violent side for the first time, grabbing Wada's sleeve with extreme reluctance and shouting angrily:
"You stole my T.M. Opera O! From the very beginning you have planned for this to happen! Your time alone with T.M. Opera O a week ago was also preparation for today, wasn't it?! If T.M. Opera O had run as a Late Surger, she wouldn't have been outmanoeuvred by you today!"
"What the hell is this?! How could this happen?! I painstakingly trained T.M. Opera O, and she even had to run her Debut Race three times to succeed! Three whole times! I even took care of her for half a year when her leg fractured! How could I lose to you like this?!"
"Do you know how much effort I put into T.M. Opera O?! From everyone thinking she wasn't anything much to her winning the Yukinayanagi Sho. Just as I saw her potential and talent, YOU took her away! I can't stand it! Why?!"
The more Hana Toujou thought about it, the angrier she got, and the more she wanted to beat Wada blue and black. However, at this moment, Meisho Doto, who had been secretly grieving under Curren Chan's comfort, suddenly looked up, took a few steps forward, and once again pushed away Hana Toujou, who was holding Wada's sleeve.
"N- no! You're not allowed to hurt my Trainer!"
Even though she was initially "abandoned" by Wada, Doto still stood up to defend her Trainer the moment Wada was about to get hit, staring at Hana Toujou without any fear.
"...Trainer Toujou, I will not forget the effort you put into training me."
And now, T.M. Opera O also stepped forward, saying very gently to Hana Toujou: "You and Ryuji, both of you want me to go to a bigger stage, but I... I think, if I follow Ryuji, perhaps I can go even further."
"I believe that he is the most compatible Trainer for me. I can swear on my life that there's no better choice for me than him."
"T.M. Opera O..."
However, with even T.M. Opera O saying so, Hana Toujou couldn't even get angry anymore. Suddenly, she felt like a complete failure. T.M. Opera O, whom she had trained for so long, was not on her side, but on the side of this newcomer who had only been at the academy for two months... But perhaps, this was the best choice for T.M. Opera O. At the very least, Hana Toujou was relieved to entrust T.M. Opera O to him.
There's no need to train an Uma Musume whose full potential you can't unleash; that would only cause the Uma Musume to squander their potential.
"...Wada Ryuji, I still remember the bold words you said when we first met." Hana Toujou calmed her emotions, pushed up her glasses, and said to Wada:
"Since you think T.M. Opera O can surpass the 'Emperor', then show me. By then, I will be waiting with Symboli Rudolf on the throne of the Seven Crowns for you to challenge us."
"This is our second bet. Try to surpass the achievements of the strongest member of my Team."
"—We'll be watching." Wada showed no fear. He held T.M. Opera O's hand, and the two almost instinctively intertwined their fingers, as if by doing so, they could feel each other's determination.
-----+-----
Doto stocks dropped all the way to the deepest layers of hell in this single chapter. I wouldn't even be surprised if the cuck chair gets renamed to the Doto chair.
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.