Uma Musume: Why Do We, Horse Trainers, Still Have To Train Uma Musume? Chapter 171 171: Opening Of the Tenno Sho Autumn, Doesn't Th

Her father's final words left Fumino utterly bewildered as she decided to just leave it to future her with Wada being unaware of anything.

Soon, as ti passed, the ti for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) finally arrived.

"Weeeelco everyone to the Tokyo Racecourse! We will be bringing you live comntary for the highly anticipated GI race, theeeee AUTUMN TENNO SHOOOOO!!!"

"The Uma Musu are currently preparing for the race and will appear shortly."

"Ah, this year's Tenno Sho is truly intense, many exceptional Uma Musu, with even so from outside Japan have eagerly signed up, hoping to win this GI race!"

"Exactly, this race is full of talents, both brilliant and hidden."

"Of course, the most anticipated one is—"

"—It's none other than isho Doto, who has fought several tis against T.M. Opera O, known as the 'Overlord' and who is about to challenge the Kikuka Sho for the title of the Classic Triple Crown Uma Musu!"

In their booths, the comntator and analyst were enlivening the atmosphere through their conversation.

They knew what the audience wanted to hear.

For the spectators of this race, there was no doubt that isho Doto, one of T.M. Opera O's main rivals, was the main attraction.

"Although she lost to T.M. Opera O in both the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby, her performance is not to be underestimated."

"Even now, many fans believed that, if Narita Top Road and Admire Vega hadn't blocked isho Doto, the winner of the Japanese Derby might well have been isho Doto."

"Indeed, however, it seems like her path has diverged from T.M. Opera O as she has entered the Tenno Sho instead of the Kikuka Sho."

"It seems she is fully confident in winning this GI race to avenge her past defeats."

"But, as the top favorite in this race, isho Doto's biggest enemy might not be the other Uma Musu, but another obstacle..."

"...Yes, the 'demon of Fuchū'—the curse of the Tenno Sho, where the top favorite hasn't won for over twelve years." (T/N: Fuchū is the place where the Tokyo Racecourse is located)

"As this year's top favorite Uma Musu, can isho Doto achieve a sweeping victory? Or will she, like her predecessors, fall prey to this curse?"

...

At this very mont, in stark contrast to the lively atmosphere outside, isho Doto, dressed in her racing outfit, was making her final adjustnts in the lounge.

She checked every facet of herself to ensure nothing was off.

This included things like if her horseshoes was coming loose from her running shoes, an issue that could greatly impact an Uma Musu's performance on the track.

"Good... no problems."

"Now I can go on stage with peace of mind."

isho Doto nodded reassuringly.

This wasn't her first ti on a GI race, but it was her first ti on a GI race without T.M. Opera O competing.

Losing T.M. Opera O as a target, surprisingly, made isho Doto relax quite a bit.

isho Doto had already tested it; even without T.M. Opera O, her Aura would be at it's peak performance regardless.

And for most of the Uma Musu in this race, although she didn't know them, she had enough confidence to win this ti.

But just then, in the lounge, a knock on the door made isho Doto instinctively look up.

Before isho Doto could even react, a slip of paper slid directly under the door and landed at isho Doto's feet, wedged in the gap of her shoe.

isho Doto picked it up, puzzled.

However, she saw a line of text clearly written on the paper that left her bewildered.

"No 2, 4, 6̶, 7, 12, 14, Shadai Uma Musu, avoid race, encirclent..."

isho Doto softly murmured the words on the paper, quickly realizing their aning.

She imdiately went to open the lounge door, intending to see who had given her this note.

But as isho Doto opened the door, she directly bumped into Wada's chest, who had been about to enter.

Boing

A strong softness first made Wada instinctively take a few steps back, but it didn't knock him over.

Seeing Doto leaving earlier than usual, Wada couldn't help but ask:

"What's wrong, isho Doto? What happened?"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah... Trainer, are you, are you alright?"

isho Doto also realized she had bumped into Wada, instinctively covering her chest, which had taken the initial impact.

Her cheeks slightly flushed, she stepped forward, and after her gaze swept around, she found no trace of anyone else.

It seems they've already left.

isho Doto felt a little uneasy.

She then grabbed Wada's arm, pulled him into the lounge, and then carefully handed him the note, saying:

"Trainer, soone just slipped this note to through the door."

"I don't know what to do..."

"This is..."

Wada took the note from isho Doto's hand, and after reading it carefully, he quickly realized the importance of the information on the paper.

You see, although all participating Trainers had a list of all the participating Uma Musu, it wouldn't give any other information other than their na.

Hiding personal information about the Uma Musu was mainly to prevent a situation where everyone might target one exceptionally strong Uma Musu.

Of course, this kind protection wasn't anything special compared to the protection powerful families or organizations can provide.

Therefore, Wada and the others only knew that Shadai would definitely be making moves in this race, but they had no idea how many Uma Musu Shadai had entered, let alone details like what their numbers were.

The information on this note was undoubtedly very useful to Wada and isho Doto right now, but the most crucial question was—was this information true, and who sent it?

Was it soone from Shadai?

This possibility was quite high, as such inside information would likely only be known by Shadai's internal staff.

But if it was soone from Shadai, why would they give this information to him and isho Doto?

To specifically warn them?

Could it be one of Fumino Nase's friend within Shadai?

But why hadn't she ntioned it, or at least hint at it?

Or was this... simply just misinformation to mislead him?

Wada's mind was constantly flashing with countless possibilities, repeatedly pondering them, until a broadcast voice interrupted his thoughts.

"—All participating Uma Musu, please enter the Racecourse now."

"The race is about to begin."

"What should we do... Trainer..."

isho Doto suddenly beca lost and couldn't help but cast a pleading look at Wada.

"...isho Doto, co with for a mont."

At this mont, Wada finally made up his mind.

He pulled isho Doto over, and before isho Doto could react, Wada placed his warm palm on isho Doto's soft cheek, followed by a fierce rubbing.

"Wuwuwuwuwu—Trainer?!"

The bewildered isho Doto's cheeks were flushed as Wada rubbed her face.

Although she was confused, she didn't resist; she just wasn't sure why Wada was doing this...

After a short while, most of the Uma Musu had already entered the Racecourse, but isho Doto, the star of the race, was still nowhere to be seen.

The comntator's voice quickly ca through:

"The Uma Musu are all here—except for the top favourite. isho Doto, is still missing."

"Has sothing unexpected happened—?"

"—Wait, wait, hold on, isho Doto has arrived... but she seems a bit off?"

No sooner had the comntator's voice fallen than all eyes of the audience and the Uma Musu on the track turned towards isho Doto.

Only to discover that her current state was indeed sowhat abnormal.

"No way?!"

"Sothing like this actually happened?"

"Wow, am I that lucky? Better do so Gacha pulls later."

"This, is this the demon of Fuchū taking effect? Is there really no way to break it?"

One could see that the distracted isho Doto indeed looked to be in a sowhat poor state.

Her entire face was flushed as if she were ill, her hair was disheveled, and her racing outfit also seed a bit ssy, as if they hadn't been ironed in a while.

At first glance, isho Doto's current condition was truly worrying.

In contrast to the murmurs from the stands, the Uma Musu on the track collectively cheered in joy.

"isho Doto is in absolutely terrible condition—that's great!"

"This makes things easier for the Trainer!"

"It seems that the demon of Fuchū truly does exist! The top favorite Uma Musu can never win the Tenno Sho!"

Both the Shadai Uma Musu and the other unrelated participating Uma Musu were very wary of isho Doto, who was the strongest contender this race.

However, seeing isho Doto in such an obviously poor state, they felt greatly relieved.

Especially the Uma Musu from Shadai, upon seeing isho Doto's clearly unwell state, imdiately breathed a sigh of relief, and their minds beca active with thoughts.

No one knew what was causing isho Doto's current dazed state.

It wasn't until the staff pushed isho Doto, who hadn't fully woken up, into the starting gate that she slowly began to react.

"No, no, I must concentrate... concentrate."

Clang!

"Oh! Right off the start, a predictable thing happened; isho Doto had a slow start!"

"Though she managed to quickly catch up to the pack, she has failed to secure a good position and is trailing at the back!"

"Is the curse of the demon of Fuchū still in effect? Can the top favorite Uma Musu really not win the Tenno Sho?"

'Of course!'

The comntator's voice made the Shadai Uma Musu in front, who were attempting to block isho Doto's attack route, all inwardly rejoice.

They could now be certain that isho Doto can no longer win!

Which ant that they no longer needed to block her! They could chase after this victory with all their heart!

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I spent like 30 minutes researching for the na of the real life 'curse' and found nothing, fml...

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If you spot any errors, feel free to comnt about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.