By the window in the back row—the king's spot.
Whoever sat in such a seat was usually some low-key big shot, making it just the place for someone like her, Barbatos.
Too bad the "king's spot" belonged to Special Week, so Barbatos had no claim to it.
She sat in the second row of the classroom, with King Halo on her left and her roommate Seiun Sky on her right. Looking up, she found herself staring right into the teacher's eyes from the podium. The one small mercy was that at least she wasn't in the very first row.
Well, having Seiun Sky and King Halo next to her wasn't so bad—at least she'd met both of them yesterday.
The content of the lessons at Tracen Academy was a bit dull, if she was being honest.
Before she knew it, she was starting to feel drowsy. It was as tedious as a game's tutorial level, and on top of that, autumn was naturally a season that made people sleepy. As the saying goes, "Spring drowsiness, autumn fatigue, summer lethargy, winter hibernation—every season feels like a dream."
It definitely wasn't because she'd stayed up late farming Essence last night and ended up short on sleep.
The so-called "youthful passion" her thick eyebrows supposedly gave her seemed to be slowly wearing thin as she listened to the teacher's droning voice.
"Now, next question."
"What do you call Class A with Vodka, Class B with Urara, and your class combined?"
Class A, Class B, Class C?
Combined, wouldn't that just be Class ABC? Seemed a bit too simple… Wait, Vodka???
Although she figured this Vodka probably wasn't the one from the Black Organization, just hearing the name made her picture that honest, burly middle-aged man. She could practically hear Vodka calling Gin "Aniki" in her mind.
The mental image was just too vivid. She wondered what kind of Uma Musume would be named Vodka. Maybe her parents had also watched Detective Conan and hoped their daughter would be as loyal and unwavering as Vodka.
After all, anyone in the organization could be a mole—except Vodka. He was absolutely loyal. Who would ever send someone like Vodka undercover?
"Barbatos."
"Huh?"
She'd only spaced out for a moment, but the teacher had noticed and called her name as a warning. Luckily, she actually knew the correct answer.
"It's… the Rookie Class."
"Correct."
(T/N: I lowkey have no idea what is going on here.)
She tried her best to focus on the lecture, taking notes to keep herself from drifting off again. Having gone through nine years of compulsory education plus high school and college, Barbatos knew how to buckle down and study when she needed to.
She'd almost blurted out "Class ABC" earlier—good thing she caught herself in time. She'd only been mentally joking about it, but it looked like she'd have to cut back on League of Legends tonight and turn in early.
Setting her mind to it, she devoted herself to the lesson, and time flew by. Just like that, the first day of general classes was over.
At Tracen Academy, classes were usually only held in the morning, with afternoons free for personal activities. In fact, general education courses were mostly scheduled at the beginning of the semester—there wouldn't be many later on.
The bulk of the time was reserved for the Uma Musume to train under their trainers' guidance and prepare for their races.
By the time classes ended, it was already noon.
She sent a LINE message to Urara, asking if she wanted to have lunch together.
She asked mostly because she figured Urara had probably made new friends in Class B during the morning and might already have other plans.
Sure enough, a glance at LINE confirmed it.
Turning to Seiun Sky and the others, she said, "Urara's got plans, so we don't need to wait for her."
"Oh, and she said she's going to watch Team Rigil's entrance test this afternoon to cheer on El Condor Pasa."
"Then I won't let Urara down," El Condor Pasa declared confidently.
The four of them headed to the cafeteria together, but when Grass Wonder glanced toward the corner of the classroom, she paused. "Hold on, I'll go invite Special Week to join us."
No one objected. Their impression of Special Week was that she was a bit simple-minded, but a nice enough girl to get along with.
They hadn't asked her earlier only because she hadn't come over—maybe she had other plans, or maybe she was one of those Uma Musume who skipped lunch to maintain a lighter racing weight. Some really could go without eating for the sake of performance.
But when Grass Wonder brought Special Week to the cafeteria and they all sat down with their trays, Barbatos realized how far off her assumptions had been.
Lose weight? With that mountain of rice in her bowl? No way. She might never lose weight in her life.
The pile of rice in Special Week's bowl was stacked so high it had to be at least three times the amount in Barbatos's bowl.
Who would've thought Special Week was a heavyweight contender? If there were an eating contest, who could possibly beat her?!
Barbatos really wanted to tease her right then.
'Your appetite is unlike any I've ever seen! When it comes to eating, I, Barbatos, acknowledge you as the strongest!'
But now didn't seem like the right moment. The jab stuck in her throat, unspoken, because Special Week was in the middle of sharing stories from her childhood. It wouldn't be appropriate to interrupt with a joke.
"So you've lived alone in the countryside all this time?"
"Life's not easy, huh."
El Condor Pasa and Seiun Sky expressed their surprise, but you could tell they were holding back—they looked like they wanted to tease her but couldn't find the right opening.
"Mom, the neighbors, and Mōsuke—they were all really good to me. I never felt like it was hard."
Mōsuke? Was that a cow's name? Or a person's?
Or maybe, in this world, besides Uma Musume, there were also cow warriors? Her mind wandered a little aimlessly.
She half-listened as Special Week explained why she'd come to Tracen Academy and how she was training with Silence Suzuka.
But by then, Barbatos's attention had already drifted elsewhere—specifically, to the Uma Musume sitting a few seats behind Special Week. It wasn't that this Uma Musume was exceptionally beautiful—there were plenty of pretty Uma Musume around.
It was mainly because… she might have to take back that mental jab she'd aimed at Special Week earlier.
'Your appetite is unlike any I've ever seen! When it comes to eating, aside from the one behind you, I, Barbatos, acknowledge you as the strongest!'
At the table behind Special Week, a gray-haired Uma Musume had just sat down. Not only did she have a pile of rice rivaling Special Week's, but she also had way, way more meat dishes on her tray.
All Barbatos could think was, 'Now this one's on a whole other level.'
No wonder that guy outside the "Good Eats" restaurant had thought Uma Musume could really pack it in when she and Urara were there.
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T/N: New Uma Musume fic up!
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.