"And what about me?"
Hearing the faintly wounded tone in Miss Ines' voice, the three young ladies of Team King Halo exchanged uncertain glances.
What... what in the world just happened?
They had been watching the race perfectly fine, so how did things suddenly turn like this?
That line sounded like something straight out of a romance novel—the kind of thing the female lead says when she likes the male lead, but his eyes are only for the main heroine.
Yet even Fine Motion, who was closest to Miss Ines, had no knowledge of her ever having such an experience.
And the current situation hardly seemed like the kind to evoke such a sentiment.
Just as Mejiro McQueen was about to step in to offer comfort, Fine Motion quickly pieced together a possible explanation.
Echoing a shared sense of injustice, she declared, "How can Barbatos call herself 'Wind God'!"
King Halo and Mejiro McQueen: "?"
A nearby salaryman who had also been watching Barbatos's race: "???"
What did that have to do with Barbatos being called 'Wind God'?
The previously somewhat aggrieved Miss Ines hurriedly waved her hands. "It's nothing, nothing! I just... it's the first time I've heard that title, and I was a bit caught off guard."
Her nature wasn't the type to be truly upset over a mere title.
It was just that upon hearing "Wind God Barbatos," she felt something was odd, and those words had slipped out unconsciously.
McQueen and King Halo quickly grasped the crux of the matter.
Miss Ines's full name was "Ines Fujin." If you put it that way, it overlapped with Barbatos's title.
(T/N: Fujin means Wind God, and her nickname in game is also Wind God)
Even though Ines seemed to have recovered, McQueen played along with a teasing tone, "Exactly!"
"She should be called 'Little Ines' instead!"
This kind of teasing wasn't really out of line. After all, Miss Ines was a senior who had been active on the track back in the 90s.
'Wind God' Barbatos, also known as 'Little Ines' Barbatos.
Miss Ines frantically waved her hands again.
McQueen really dared to say it! Honestly, the title 'Wind God' wasn't actually a problem.
Yet, inwardly, she felt a warmth from Mejiro McQueen's words. It wasn't about being called 'Little Ines' or anything like that—it was that everyone cared enough to react because of something she said.
"Don't worry, after I find a team and debut, I'll definitely defeat Barbatos."
"That kind of thing... should be left to me."
King Halo chirped in from the side, the aftereffects of having devoured the King's Bowl clearly showing.
"Really, it's not necessary!"
Ines waved her hands, trying to decline this kind of "kindness."
But Fine Motion gently pulled her back and said with a light laugh, "They just want to race against Barbatos themselves. Don't pay them any mind."
Whether it was King Halo or Mejiro McQueen, they were both Uma Musume with great talent and their own share of pride.
Not to mention King Halo, who debuted around the same time as Barbatos.
In this generation, with its 'Wind God,' and the impending rise of the 'Phantom Bird,' this era of dazzling stars—even McQueen, who hadn't debuted yet, probably wanted a chance to compete against them.
For a moment, Fine Motion felt a pang of nostalgia.
If she hadn't already retired, how she would have loved to run on the track with them too.
--+--
Tokyo Racecourse.
The Winner's Stage was drawing to a close.
Barbatos, still in her stage costume, waved goodbye to the audience and headed backstage.
Because the second-place finisher, Tacit Accord, was unable to perform in the Winner's Ceremony,
The spots were filled by the fourth-place finishers and below, so Barbatos, Dramatic Development, and Girl Smile completed this Winner's Stage.
This was standard procedure for the ceremony.
"Barbatos!"
Just as she was about to head to the dressing room to change and then meet up with her friends outside the racecourse, Barbatos paused.
It was Dramatic Development who had called out to her.
She had suffered a crushing defeat in a G3 race but managed a surprising third place in this Keio Hai Junior Stakes.
"You're really amazing, but next time I won't lose to you."
"That might be a bit difficult," Barbatos stated matter-of-factly.
The innate talent of an Uma Musume had its limits. While her own system had its constraints, its ceiling was clearly much higher.
So, the further they went, aside from the truly exceptionally gifted Uma Musume, probably no one would be able to keep up with her pace of improvement.
"Still, I look forward to meeting you in the next race."
"Next race..."
Dramatic Development wasn't angered by Barbatos's "factual" statement.
After witnessing the showdown between Barbatos and Tacit Accord, she was well aware of the reality.
"Next time we race, I'll make sure you use your trash talk on me!"
After declaring this with great spirit, Dramatic Development turned and strode straight into her own dressing room.
For this race, she had prepared thoroughly and trained rigorously.
But she never expected that Barbatos's trash talk was reserved for Tacit Accord. It seemed she simply wasn't worthy of Barbatos's attention anymore!
She had to double her training when she got back.
She was determined to make Barbatos direct her trash talk at her next time.
"Trash talk?"
Barbatos scratched her head. Had she even used any trash talk in these last two races?
She definitely hadn't.
With Dramatic Development, it was just a normal greeting. This time, she was merely responding to what Tacit Accord had said in the pre-race interview.
And in their eyes, that counted as trash talk?!
After a moment's thought, she headed into the dressing room, planning to share this later with Seiun Sky and the others.
According to plan, they were all going to visit Tokyo Tower later. This was a perfect chance to have some fun with her friends.
She'd been spending so much time practicing in the Summoner's Rift lately that races were the only times she got to hang out with Seiun Sky.
It should have been a happy occasion.
But for some reason, a faint sense of foreboding about the upcoming Tokyo Tower trip arose in Barbatos.
Had she overlooked something?
Shaking off the thought, she quickly changed out of her stage costume and into her casual clothes, putting on the baseball cap that matched Seiun Sky's.
Learning from past experience, she had no desire to be surrounded by fans for hours signing autographs again.
The crowd around Tokyo Tower was bound to be much larger than the one in Marunouchi.
If that happened, she'd be stuck signing autographs while her friends were off having fun.
Exiting Tokyo Racecourse through the player's tunnel, she found the rest of Team Canopus already waiting outside, with Minamizaka's van ready and waiting.
"B-chan, you were so amazing in your race just now!"
Twin Turbo charged over excitedly and proclaimed, "But once I debut, I'm gonna be even better than you!"
Barbatos, using her height to her advantage, placed a hand on Turbo's head to hold her back.
"You've still got a long way to go. Talk to me after you've debuted."
--+--
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.