"To two GI victories! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Back at Tracen Academy, the members of Team Miracle were currently celebrating inside the team building, and it was clear that it was much livelier than the one in March.
It was to be expected; after all, their team had managed to snag two GI wins in a single day, bringing up their total GI count in this year alone to four.
Meisho Doto's Osaka Hai, Curren Chan's Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Orfevre's Satsuki Sho, and Mejiro McQueen's Tenno Sho (Spring) displayed just how dominant Team Miracle was.
It could even be said that Team Miracle was currently the strongest team in Tracen Academy, even when excluding T.M. Opera O from the equation.
Their track record was simply too dazzling— a brilliant record of nine GI victories in just a year and a half; even Team Rigil, the former strongest team, had to admit inferiority to this team of rising stars.
Not including Gold Ship, who had just debuted, and Tokai Teio with Sweep Tosho, who had yet to debut, every other member of Team Miracle had a GI to their names.
Just seeing a name belonging to a member of Team Miracle would make Uma Musume and Trainers alike hesitate to participate at all; that was how powerful Team Miracle had become.
Regardless, today was a day worth celebrating; sweeping every single GI for two consecutive months was something to be incredibly proud of.
"We've really gone a little overboard, haven't we? I'm afraid we'll one day see the others protest against us outside our building."
"Hmph~! Then let them protest! We've done everything by the book! If they want to, they can form multiple Trainer teams like us!"
Fumino Nase, who clearly had a bit too much to drink, spoke with a tone far different from her usual dignified, serious self, even starting to be a bit unfiltered.
It was unclear if this was because she was starting to get comfortable within the team or if she was simply like this when drunk, but regardless, she spoke with a nonchalant voice.
"Although I don't have an Uma Musume anymore, I was the one who guided Wada~!! I deserve all the credit...! Wada, get me another glass~!!"
"Alright... but drink within your limits, please."
After a tiny moment of hesitation, Wada cooperatively poured Fumino Nase another pint of draft beer, simultaneously advising her to exercise some restraint, lest she embarrass herself in front of everyone.
As Fumino Nase chugged down the glass Wada had just poured for her, T.M. Opera O, who had been nearby, saw this scene and hurriedly chugged down the glass of soda in her hands, proceeding to tug on Wada's sleeve.
"Ryuji, I've finished my drink, please refill it~"
"Alright, I—"
"—Tra- Trainer, mine too..."
Before Wada could even reply, Meisho Doto, who was determined not to be outdone, also handed the glass she had just downed over to Wada.
Suddenly, Wada became swamped with work, much to the amusement of Ikezoe and Imanami, who were watching nearby.
"Wada's a real ladies' man, ey~? With two Uma Musume chasing him, his future sure doesn't look bright."
However, despite Ikezoe's soft chuckle, Imanami only returned a look of pity as he gazed at Ikezoe, clearly thinking, 'Is your future any brighter than his?'
As the only one not embroiled in complicated relationships, Imanami saw through the situation very clearly.
Although Wada seemed to have it the worst, there was surprisingly no danger.
T.M. Opera O and Wada were incredibly devoted to each other, and even if Meisho Doto caused a ruckus, it wouldn't break anything in the short term.
As for Fumino Nase... though she might actually be the most unstable factor considering she had not confirmed her feelings for Wada yet, it was also because of this that nothing would happen between the two of them for at least a while.
In contrast, Ikezoe was truly in a high risk situation.
Not even mentioning Orfevre, who constantly wanted to physically assault him, Curren Chan was a dangerously devious schemer, practically having him dance in the palm of her hand.
Moreover, Imanami also knew something that Ikezoe himself hadn't realized— Maruzensky's relationship with him wasn't purely platonic.
Underneath their teacher-student bond, Imanami's wisdom allowed him to notice that Maruzensky was already planting seeds inside Ikezoe's mind, with her simply not growing them due to professionalism.
But... from how much more frequent Maruzensky's visits to Ikezoe became recently, as well as their visibly shrinking distance... Imanami guessed that Maruzensky still wanted to cross the line.
'Ikezoe... you have to grit your teeth through this. No one can help you out of this.'
As he thought this, Imanami's gaze towards Ikezoe became even more pitiful, as if he were watching a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, the cow itself having no idea what its ultimate fate was.
Panning away from the Trainers, on the other side, aside from Wada's Uma Musume, the others got along very harmoniously, chattering away and discussing many things, though mostly gossip, of course.
"Hehe, T.M. Opera O will definitely be the winner; my Curren Chan senses are tingling."
Curren Chan, as usual, was the first to open the hellhole that was gossip.
"Yeah, yeah! T.M. Opera O and Trainer Wada even went to the hot springs together!"
Tokai Teio, who had shifted next to Curren Chan, also firmly sided with T.M. Opera O, not forgetting to poke Mejiro McQueen.
"McQueen, what do you think?"
"...Actually, I think Trainer Nase is Trainer Wada's most appropriate choice. Them dating won't cause any issues, and they are both Trainers too, so they should have more topics to bond over."
Crossing her arms, Mejiro McQueen spoke from a rational standpoint.
"Besides, didn't Trainer Nase also go on a hot spring trip with Trainer Wada back then?"
"Come on, McQueen! Love is all about feelings, feelings~"
"Hehe, I actually think Meisho Doto-senpai will be the winner."
Sweep Tosho, with her childish mindset, liked to be different, stating her opinion.
"End Closers are super effective in medium and long races, right? Wouldn't it also be the same in love, Big Sis Curren Chan?"
"Eh~? Love and racing are veryyy different though, Sweep Tosho~"
Retorting calmly, Curren Chan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this; she was Ikezoe's first Uma Musume after all.
"Haha! I will support T.M. Opera O! The original is always the best!"
Gold Ship, rubbing her nose, placed her hand on the confused Mejiro McQueen's shoulder.
"Um... wasn't Meisho Doto first?"
Tilting her head, Mejiro McQueen felt a bit puzzled by Gold Ship's weird tone.
However, on a day as joyous as this, McQueen didn't pay too much attention to Gold Ship's words, merely writing it off as another Gold Shippy action.
Meanwhile, as the girls continued chatting, one of the main protagonists of this celebration, Orfevre seemed exceptionally quiet today, barely even touching her drink.
"Orfevre, what's wrong? Is something on your mind?"
Ikezoe, noticing Orfevre's unusual behaviour today, checked up on her to see what was wrong.
"No... it's just... I just feel that this win feels empty."
Orfevre did not know how to describe her feelings at the moment.
This Satsuki Sho could be said to have gone perfectly for her; no big obstacle appeared and she won with basically no effort, even pulling ahead by one and a half lengths, it was practically a textbook victory.
However, after she settled her feelings after the race, Orfevre only felt an inexplicable feeling of hollowness.
There was none of the usual joy of winning, none of the excitement, nothing; it was almost as if her instincts were roaring with dissatisfaction, roaring about why she had to run such a boring race after building up so much anticipation.
Orfevre knew that her thoughts were strange. Having such an easy victory in such a race was simply a testament to her own strength.
Yet this feeling of emptiness and restlessness... was truly indelible.
This irritation she was feeling was to the point that Orfevre did not even want to get close to Ikezoe— afraid that she would inexplicably lash out at him again.
"Uh... actually, nevermind. Just give me some alone time."
"You don't have to worry. I... I'll be fine soon."
Leaving her untouched glass behind, Orfevre slowly walked out of the team building under Ikezoe's worried eyes.
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Man, this Canto ain't shi- (Major Limbus Company Canto 10 Part 3 spoilers, DO NOT check the comment unless you're fine with spoilers.)
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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.