"THE WINNER OF THE ARIMA KINEN! IS! T.M. OPERA O!!!! THE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE OVERLORD HAS ENDED IN THE OVERLORD'S TRIUMPH!!"
"She has successfully defeated an older Uma Musume despite still being in her Classic Year, and the one whom she overcame was none other than Symboli Rudolf, the Emperor who reigned supreme as Japan's greatest Uma Musume for over a decade!"
"Undoubtedly, T.M. Opera O now stands at the apex of Japanese Uma Musume! Bringing Japan to even greater heights!!"
Under Akasaka Misato's voice, which had cracked again due to her excitement, T.M. Opera O finally broke free from her heavy gasping and responded to the thunderous cheers of the venue.
Some people were moved to tears, while another particular group of people were pulling their hair out while shouting in anger at Symboli Rudolf's defeat.
But no matter what, all the sounds eventually converged into a cheer for the Overlord, solidifying her victory.
Belatedly, T.M. Opera O's eyes regained their luster.
Facing the cheers from the audience, she raised her hand high into the air, which would be frozen alongside her victory for all of eternity.
"Overlord... it seems like the era of the Overlord is about to arrive."
On the track, Air Groove slowly walked towards Symboli Rudolf.
Although she finished third, Air Groove wasn't concerned about how she placed in this race.
The only thing she cared about was that Symboli Rudolf, the Emperor, hailed as the pinnacle of Japanese Uma Musume, had been finally dethroned.
Though it might not be good news for the URA and Shadai, for Symboli Rudolf, it was something that she had been looking forward to for a looong, long time.
"Looks like your dream came true, President. These children have grown splendidly and now, they have truly surpassed us."
"Yes... Air Groove... they managed to achieve it, and I am now fulfilled."
Symboli Rudolf nodded with a smile, watching T.M. Opera O, who had become the center of attention.
In fact, she was so happy about this that she almost shed tears.
But in the end, this Emperor still didn't want to show such weakness in public, only subtly wiping her forming tears away with her finger.
"—We can safely entrust the future to them. A new era, a new sky to aim for... Tracen Academy can definitely flourish under their leadership."
"So President, are you really planning on stepping down from being the Student Council President and then becoming a full-time Trainer?"
Air Groove asked Symboli Rudolf with a slight smile.
"Didn't I say? I still have to wait for a year or two... but yes, that is what I'm planning to do."
Symboli Rudolf was, of course, unable to resign from the position of Student Council President so smoothly due to bureaucratic difficulties which would take around a year or two.
However, these years would pass quickly, and by then, T.M. Opera O and the others would have matured even more than currently and would be capable of smoothly taking over this heavy responsibility.
"T.M. OPERA O!!!!" X N
Just then, a group of Uma Musume who had rushed down from he stands finally arrived on the track.
Before T.M. Opera O could even turn around and react, she was quickly tackled to the ground by several figures, falling directly onto the turf.
"Hahahaha! Overlord! You're so! So! Cool!!!!"
Orfevre was the first to excitedly hug T.M. Opera O and laugh. Watching T.M. Opera O and Symboli Rudolf compete truly made her thrilled beyond belief.
It also helped fuel Orfevre's passion to run in the Classic Triple Crowns next year.
She really wanted to replicate the 'Overlord' feel T.M. Opera O had displayed in this race!
Not only that, although Orfevre didn't participate in this Arima Kinen, what she had gained from T.M. Opera O was no less than what the others who personally participated in the race gained.
"Co-congratulations, T.M. Opera O!"
Beside her, Meisho Doto and McQueen, who also participated in this race, came over.
As Uma Musume from the same team, they felt no regret or anger despite their defeat, merely admiring T.M. Opera O being 'crowned as king.'
Like Imanami had told Mejiro McQueen before, losing to T.M. Opera O was not a shameful thing.
After all, she was now Japan's new Overlord, the pinnacle of Japanese Uma Musume.
Following them, Tokai Teio also entered the tracks.
But instead of going to T.M. Opera O like the others, she ran towards Symboli Rudolf.
"PREZZZ!!!! PREEZZZZZZ!!! Are you alright?!"
"Hm? I'm fine, Teio."
Upon seeing Tokai Teio arriving before her, Symboli Rudolf immediately smiled, gently bent down, ruffled her head, and asked:
"What's wrong, Teio? You don't seem happy at all?"
"B- be- because—BECAUSE YOU LOST, PREEEZZZZ!!!"
However, it was better not to mention it.
As soon as it was brought up, tears started to well up in Tokai Teio's eyes.
She grabbed Symboli Rudolf's sleeve and asked, very unwillingly:
"Why, why, why, why did you lose, Prezzzzzz~?! Aren't you the strongest? Why did you lose?"
"You promised to compete with me in the Arima Kinen, right???!!! So why did you lose here, Prezz~?!"
"—Teio, are you saying you'd rather T.M. Opera O lose? Is that the ending you wanted?"
Symboli Rudolf smiled gently at her.
She knew very well that in Teio's heart, she was more than just her 'idol.'
To some extent, she was Tokai Teio's 'father' within Tracen Academy, and also her unofficial mentor considering a large part of Tokai Teio's skills were personally taught by Symboli Rudolf.
Thus, Tokai Teio has always believed that Symboli Rudolf was the strongest Uma Musume, just as she herself always believed that she would be the destined Uma Musume to surpass Symboli Rudolf.
But now, this pinnacle had been taken by another Uma Musume first, which made Tokai Teio feel very anxious.
She felt like the goal she was supposed to chase was getting further and further away, which made her wonder if she'll ever even reach that goal.
Such was the impatience of a child, Symboli Rudolf thought to herself as she continued ruffling Tokai Teio's hair.
"T.M. Opera O is your friend, Teio. Don't be sad I lost; be happy that she won."
"Don't forget, 'Eclipse first, the rest nowhere,' this holds true even for me."
"Prez…"
Tokai Teio nodded, seemingly understanding a little bit, appearing much better.
Meanwhile, the three Trainers, with Sirius Symboli tagging along, slowly arrived onto the tracks.
And beside Sirius Symboli was a figure that Symboli Rudolf found particularly familiar— Mr. C.B..
"C.B., Sirius, you've come."
"Long time no see, Emperor. Or should I say? Rudolf?"
Sirius grinned, saying to Symboli Rudolf:
"You look much more agreeable now compared to before. Finally, I've got to see Symboli Rudolf, the Uma Musume, again after so long."
"I think C.B. feels the same way, right? We've all really missed you, Rudolf."
"…Though I don't like to say it, I really do prefer this Rudolf a bit more compared to the Emperor."
Mr. C.B. also smiled slightly.
Despite both of them being 'old rivals + nemeses' to Symboli Rudolf, now that they were all gathered together again after so long, the three of them began to laugh boisterously.
Mr. C.B. then extended a hand to Symboli Rudolf, saying with a touch of joy:
"So, welcome back, Rudolf?"
"…Mm, yeah, I'm back, C.B.."
The camaraderie from her old rival truly moved Symboli Rudolf, as she took Mr. C.B.'s hand.
Just then, Sirius, who was beside them, bared her teeth slightly in dissatisfaction, immediately stepping in and interrupting the two, saying to Symboli Rudolf:
"Alright, alright, save the touching reunions for later— take a good look around at the audience, Rudolf. A lot of people are displeased by your defeat."
"Now, shouldn't you do something to reassure everyone? Otherwise, it'll probably be very difficult for us to leave this racecourse later."
"…I was already ready to do just that."
Symboli Rudolf, however, merely smiled.
Since she dared to enter this race, she was of course prepared for the possibility of her being defeated, and she naturally had a strategy to deal with the fallout that would follow.
"Air Groove, tell the staff we're going to do 'that,' and get me a microphone. Also, everyone, please stand by me."
"What comes next will signal the changing of eras. And I hope every single one of you can be a witness of what is to come."
-----+-----
Say goodbye to Sirius! You ain't seeing her beautiful ass again until about 300 chapters later!
-----+-----
If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.