Tokyo Tower.
The Dessert Zone.
Up in the commercially developed Tokyo Tower, a section had been carved out for buying sweets.
After enjoying the view here, you could also buy some desserts to relax.
"The sunset view towards Mount Fuji from here is quite nice, isn't it?"
Maruzensky and Grass Wonder sat together.
They had left before Barbatos's Winner's Stage was over. Maruzensky's reasoning was that since they were in Tokyo, they might as well catch the sunset over Mount Fuji.
Absolutely couldn't miss it.
What Grass Wonder hadn't expected was that watching the sunset over Mount Fuji meant doing it from the top of Tokyo Tower.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
Grass Wonder smiled sincerely.
It truly was a beautiful view. "But why didn't we go to the summit of Mount Fuji instead?"
"If we did that, time might have been a bit tight, you know."
After all, Mount Fuji was Japan's tallest peak. Attempting the climb required a lot of preparation, and taking the cable car felt like it would diminish the experience somewhat.
"Besides, climbing Mount Fuji should be something more meaningful to do with peers from your own year, like El Condor Pasa and the others."
"You could consider watching the sunrise from the summit, making a wish to become Japan's number one Uma Musume."
"That would be quite romantic."
"Of course, if you do plan to go eventually, you should definitely take me along."
Even though she said it should be done with same-year friends, Maruzensky couldn't help adding that she should be taken along.
Lately, for some reason, she kept hearing people say she was mature.
She was still totally trendy, okay? Why did it feel like people saw her as some mature auntie-level figure? At most, she was a big sister.
So she absolutely had to spend more time with Grass Wonder, El Condor Pasa, and the others, to show people she was still a young Uma Musume!
"Climbing Mount Fuji... I think they'd be very interested."
Grass Wonder narrowed her eyes, picturing her classmates like El Condor Pasa.
But if it were El Condor Pasa, whose goal was to become the world's number one Uma Musume, if she really climbed Mount Fuji, she'd probably start planning to climb Mount Everest right after.
After all, that was the world's highest peak.
"Huh? Is that Maruzensky-senpai from Rigil!"
A voice came from nearby. Grass Wonder had already witnessed how high Maruzensky-senpai's recognition rate was before.
Thankfully, Maruzensky-senpai handled it with her usual maturity, or they might have been surrounded by fans asking for autographs.
But this time, the speaker had added 'senpai' after Maruzensky's name. Normally, fans wouldn't use 'senpai'. Those who called her 'senpai' would be fellow students from Tracen Academy.
Following the sound, she looked.
It was an Uma Musume with twin blue pigtails, whose frame was exceptionally petite even among Uma Musume.
Grass Wonder recognized this Uma Musume; she was a member of Barbatos's team.
Now that she thought about it, Barbatos's Winner's Stage should have ended some time ago.
"Grass-chan, you're here too!"
Urara, who was further back, also noticed Grass Wonder.
Though they weren't in the same class, the relationship between Urara and Grass Wonder was probably a bit closer than with other classmates.
"Yes, I went to see B-chan's race earlier with Maruzensky-senpai."
"After the race, we came here."
Grass Wonder said with a gentle smile, "Where is B-chan?"
"Right here."
Barbatos, who was walking at the back with Seiun Sky, raised her hand and came forward with Seiun Sky, teasing, "Already scoping out your rivals for after your injury recovery?"
"After all, she's an opponent worth taking seriously."
"So, are you almost ready to race again?"
Grass Wonder lightly touched her still-injured right leg. "Probably another six months or so."
While normal walking was fine, the stress of running was completely different from the burden of walking, especially given that Uma Musume run far faster than humans.
"In that case, I'll have to take advantage of your recovery period to win a few races easily."
"Otherwise, once you're back on the track, if we meet, you probably won't let me win so effortlessly."
A Grass Wonder who could activate a Zone was definitely not an opponent to be taken lightly.
As she said this, she looked at Maruzensky sitting opposite Grass Wonder—one of her opponents in the upcoming winter Dream Cup. "Maruzensky-senpai."
Maruzensky looked Barbatos over with interest, her gaze lingering on her and Seiun Sky's clasped hands.
A mature smile played on her lips. "Being able to use the Zone so flexibly means you're already one of us."
"But it's better to use the Zone as little as possible."
"Thank you for the advice, senpai. I'll keep that in mind."
Barbatos nodded in acknowledgment.
Even though Grass Wonder had already mentioned this to her before, hearing it directly from Maruzensky-senpai was still a kind gesture.
Her eyes swept over the desserts on Grass Wonder and Maruzensky's table.
She turned to Twin Turbo and the others nearby. "Do you all want any desserts? My treat."
As the recent race winner, treating everyone to sweets in this situation felt right. As for the Canopus free dessert vouchers, those weren't usable everywhere.
"I'll have..."
With Urara and Twin Turbo making their requests openly, the other friends didn't refuse either. Minamizaka also looked at the menu and ordered a dessert.
"Grass-chan, Maruzensky-senpai, care for anything else?"
"I'm fine for now..."
Grass Wonder was about to refuse. With her leg injury preventing her from running, eating too much and gaining weight could affect her future speed.
But just then, Maruzensky chimed in, "Sure, then Grass-chan and I will have whatever you recommend."
Spend more time with the young ones, can't seem out of touch with them. Otherwise, wouldn't she just seem more mature?
As Seiun Sky was pulled along by Barbatos to buy the desserts, Maruzensky watched their retreating figures, her eyes curving into crescent moons. She couldn't help raising a hand to cover her mouth as she asked softly,
"Are they dating?"
Grass Wonder: "..."
That was something she really couldn't say for sure, as it hadn't been officially confirmed.
Especially since most of it was just hearsay. When she saw them together in class or at meals, they didn't seem to act in a way that surpassed friendship.
But during the cultural festival, she did hear they were seen holding hands while touring the festival. Without having seen it herself, Grass Wonder was about to say she didn't know when
Twin Turbo chimed in helpfully.
"Yeah, yeah, the way they are, they must definitely be a couple."
It wasn't that she was randomly shipping people, but it seemed like a perfectly reasonable and convincing conclusion.
--+--
Meanwhile, across the internet.
News of Barbatos's easy victory in the G2 race had once again climbed the trending charts. The fanbase on the fan voting site had surpassed a staggering 450,000.
Amid the flood of related topics, the story of Tacit Accord persevering to finish the race despite a leg injury didn't make much of a splash.
Most people's attention was focused on the victor, the current prodigy, 'Wind God' Barbatos!
Topping the trending list was: 'This Era Belongs to Barbatos!'
Barbatos, 5 races, 5 wins. Two months after her debut, she secured her first G2 victory, claiming the title of 'Prodigy'.
Now, with her undefeated record, could she continue her unbeaten streak through the upcoming Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and even become a Triple Crown Uma Musume?
Did she now possess the ability to face the Legendary Uma Musume in the Winter Dream Cup?
Rational analysis suggested that a prodigy was someone who could create miracles, accomplish the impossible in others' eyes. Perhaps Barbatos would deliver an even bigger surprise at the Winter Dream Cup.
Maybe she wasn't qualified to win first place in the Winter Dream Cup.
But defeating 'White Lightning' Tamamo Cross, and beating Tacit Accord, who placed 5th in the Takarazuka, spoke volumes about her strength.
'Wind God' Barbatos always seemed to give the impression that her true depth was unfathomable. Perhaps she still hadn't gone all out in today's race.
--+--
Here, just a personal opinion, I believe Barbatos can create a miracle.
I believe this era's name is 'Barbatos'.
Comments Section:
[Top Comment]You're welcome. Just got back from the future via time machine. At the Winter Dream Cup, Barbatos easily took 1st place, beating Symboli Rudolf by two whole... can't say more, the Time Police are here, gotta go, hiding now.
[Latest Comment]Isn't the title 'Wind God' a bit unsuitable? Why not consider 'The Bard' or 'The Alcoholic'? Upvote me so everyone sees this.
[Most Downvoted]Just a casual observer, but let's be real, what does Barbatos have now to compare with the Legendary Uma Musume? No matter how strong she is now, she's just a rookie. This era might be named Barbatos, but against the Legendary Uma Musume, she's still far from ready, at least for now.
[Garbled Text] …
--+--
But even the most downvoted reply sparked a clear tug-of-war online.
Some believed Barbatos already had what it took to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Legendary Uma Musume, that she could achieve a good result, or even win the Winter Dream Cup.
Others, from a more objective standpoint, considered it impossible. No matter how strong Barbatos was, she had just debuted. Even in two or three years, whether she could beat the 'Emperor' was debatable.
However, in this tug-of-war, those who believed Barbatos was qualified to rival the Legends held a slight advantage.
After all, not everyone was deeply knowledgeable about Uma Musume.
The idea of Barbatos pulling off an upset victory in the Winter Dream Cup was something many wanted to see. Weren't protagonists in stories always like that? And there was that old saying, 'Fists fear the young.'
The Legendary Uma Musume like the 'Emperor' had been active on the track for who knows how long.
In a real contest, they might not necessarily be stronger than Barbatos.
Remember, since her debut race, Barbatos had won all her races with ease. No one had even posed a threat to her in an official race yet.
So, in the eyes of the vast majority of her fans, calling Barbatos a G1-level Uma Musume, even a top-tier G1 Uma Musume, was not an exaggeration at all.
Even though Tacit Accord was injured, her performance in the race seemed stronger than during the Takarazuka Kinen.
So, if Barbatos had participated in this year's Takarazuka Kinen, wouldn't that mean she definitely had the ability to win, fully possessing the qualifications to claim victory in a G1 race like the Takarazuka Kinen?
Looking at it this way, even if winning the Winter Dream Cup was uncertain, the possibility of achieving a good result and outpacing a few Legendary Uma Musume was quite high.
Compared to the tug-of-war on the Japanese internet, on Chinese networks, within Barbatos's fan groups, in other fan groups of Uma Musume she had interacted with, and in small chat groups of certain streamers, discussions about Barbatos's recent race were also underway.
But here, the conversation mostly revolved around topics like 'Barbatos is amazing!' and such.
Since she was a Japanese Uma Musume, Barbatos's topics rarely appeared on Chinese Weibo's trending lists, but the number of people following her races was still significant.
Within the League of Legends community, those who followed Japanese Uma Musume races mostly did so because of their connection to Barbatos.
While their exposure to Uma Musume races might lead them to become fans of other Uma Musume as well, when it came to Barbatos's races, they were largely united.
Similarly, they had much more confidence in Barbatos's chances of pulling off an upset victory in the Winter Dream Cup.
Some Chinese fans were even actively promoting the view that Barbatos could win the Winter Dream Cup on Japanese forums and message boards.
In a small chat group with only a few dozen members, Streamer Piao Lao Shi posted a screenshot of the Japanese trending list. "Damn, kinda wanna go to Japan to see this race."
He had duo-queued with Barbatos for a while, and their relationship was pretty good. He felt a bit like going to Japan to see the Winter Dream Cup in person.
Especially since the Japanese New Year was different from the Chinese one.
So going to Japan for the Winter Dream Cup wouldn't interfere with Chinese fans returning to China for their New Year celebrations.
Several other streamers who also had connections with Barbatos chimed in agreement; they also wanted to experience the atmosphere of a Japanese Uma Musume race live.
Just then, someone suddenly popped up in the group and said, "Let's be real here, the probability of Barbatos winning this race is almost zero (serious face)."
Even though he usually worked as an LPL caster and didn't have time to follow Uma Musume races closely, he could still understand the prestige of the Winter Dream Cup.
Wasn't this somewhat similar to taking a rookie player who'd just won a few LPL matches with MVP performances straight to Worlds?
In that scenario, they'd likely fail to make it out of groups.
But after he said this, group members started spamming the 'thumbs up' emoji and messages like "I used to believe in science."
--+--
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.