Leaving the racecourse behind, they returned to Tracen Academy.
On December 31st, Tracen Academy was already mostly empty of Uma Musume. Only a few scattered lights still shone in the dormitory buildings.
Unlike Christmas.
If there was a race more important to Uma Musume than Christmas itself, then December 31st was the time for waiting for the year to turn, for returning to one's hometown for New Year shrine visits and such.
Only a few foreign-born Uma Musume remained at Tracen Academy, planning to visit shrines nearby—like El Condor Pasa, Grass Wonder, or Maruzensky, for instance.
If nothing unexpected happened, Barbatos would also return to Kochi with Urara tomorrow to celebrate the New Year.
Seiun Sky would return to Narita as well, spending the New Year with her grandfather.
They would all return to Tracen Academy after the holidays.
Pushed in her wheelchair by Seiun Sky, Barbatos returned to her dorm room. In her current state, she couldn't walk normally. To get out of this wheelchair, she'd at least need her sprained right foot to fully heal, and even then, she'd require crutches for daily life.
You could say it was even more wretched than when she first arrived here with a broken bone.
Yet she didn't dwell on that.
Her thoughts were still, more or less, mired in the defeat of the Dream Cup. Even with plans for the future, even with everyone's encouragement, she still needed time to slowly soothe the blow that this monumental failure had dealt her.
The feeling of dejection was buried deep in her heart, while her face forced itself into its usual expression.
She didn't want her friends to worry. She didn't want Seiun Sky to worry.
If she hadn't held such high hopes before entering the Winter Dream Cup, she wouldn't feel this bitter resentment now.
The higher her spirits had soared before the Dream Cup, the more acute and searing the pain and regret were now.
A full four months since her debut race. Four months of preparation, four months of studying her rivals, four months of anticipation for the Dream Cup's arrival.
And in the end, she'd finished dead last.
The laughable part was, she had sworn to Seiun Sky that she would at least defeat one Legendary Uma Musume, even win the Winter Dream Cup itself, to show everyone what the 'Fujin' Barbatos was truly made of!
Now she had suffered a crushing defeat, utterly humiliated. She couldn't even face her own supporters.
Yes, so many people had placed their hopes in her. So many friends had flown all the way from China to Japan just to cheer for her in person.
But she had lost. Just like that.
She still remembered the unified, thunderous cheers and shouts before the race, and after the race, those words: 'Next time.'
What if...
What if she hadn't chosen to activate her [Zone] so early at the 1000-meter mark? What if she had used other, smaller skills to boost her speed instead, saving her [Zone] for the final stretch to clash with the Legendary Uma Musumes for victory?
Would there have been a chance then?
Could the outcome have been different?
'Next time.'
Next time, she would be stronger, with more solid footing to challenge the Legends. That was the greatest kindness her audience, the friends who liked her, could give her.
But this time, she was the Dream Cup's loser.
A loser through and through!
This had nothing to do with anyone or anything else. This was purely about victory and defeat!
The wheelchair came to a stop inside the dorm room. Seiun Sky, who had barely spoken since the race, walked over to stand before Barbatos.
Barbatos could clearly see the usual mischief was gone from her face. The rims of her eyes were slightly red.
She bit her lower lip lightly and said, "You ran an amazing race!"
We've only just debuted. Losing to Legendary Uma Musume is nothing to be ashamed of.
Think of all the race experience they have, all the formidable rivals they've faced, the races they've run that outnumber the ones we've even watched.
Even in defeat, you did your absolute best right now.
If it were any other Uma Musume of our generation—even me, or El Condor Pasa, or Grass Wonder, or Special Week, or King Halo, even Silence Suzuka—we might surpass some Legends in the future, but right now, there's still a gap.
Seiun Sky kept biting her lip. She had wanted to say all these things.
But when the words reached her mouth, she couldn't voice them.
She knew this wasn't what Barbatos wanted to hear.
After seeing Barbatos lose the race, after seeing her lose speed in the latter half, after seeing her injured condition following the Dream Cup, Seiun Sky felt a deep, visceral ache, as if something were clogging her chest.
All her usual cleverness was useless against this feeling. All she wanted was to figure out how to help Barbatos through this difficult time.
She reached out, helping Barbatos get down from the wheelchair and onto the bed. Having just suffered a defeat, Barbatos naturally wasn't going to choose to start a livestream.
Seiun Sky sat down beside her, reaching over to take Barbatos's hand, sharing in the pain of the loss.
Looking at Seiun Sky beside her, Barbatos took a deep breath. "From now on, I want to train more."
"Mhm. We'll do it together."
Seiun Sky gave the hand she was holding a gentle, reassuring squeeze in response.
--+--
The Dream Cup was over. Even with the New Year approaching, reporters from every newspaper were busy at work. This race would be the biggest headline in the Uma Musume section for the New Year.
They had no complaints about overtime; only fingers flying swiftly across keyboards.
Countless Uma Musume enthusiasts were also active in various related group chats, discussing today's Winter Dream Cup.
"Incredible! Truly incredible!"
"Past Winter Dream Cups felt like watching the Emperor's solo show, but this time... I really almost thought Barbatos had a chance."
"Was at the gym. Watched this race and it made me, who hasn't run in years, go for a run."
"Barbatos is strong, but the Legendary Uma Musume are stronger. This was like a collision between the old and new generations—absolutely thrilling!"
"Barbatos going all out completely reshaped my understanding. If she hadn't lost speed on the final turn, she might have had a shot at the top six, right?"
Top six doesn't mean sixth; top six includes sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second, even first.
"Barbatos was something, but Oguri Cap this time was truly terrifying. The Emperor only won by less than a length!"
"Even though Barbatos lost to the Legends, think how short a time she's been racing."
"She's on a completely different level compared to other Uma Musume of her generation."
"Everything you're all saying is right, but when I saw Barbatos in last place, I just burst out crying!"
"Hah, youngsters are so fragile... Let me just go to the rooftop for another smoke to calm down."
--+--
T/N: 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.