Barbatos sat in her wheelchair, operating the laptop resting on her legs.
Coming to Seiun Sky's home for the New Year had been a last-minute decision, so she'd naturally brought her laptop along, but she hadn't packed any spare clothes.
After all, she was returning to Kochi, her own home, where she had plenty of clean clothes waiting.
Fortunately, she and Seiun Sky were similar in build, so she could borrow Seiun Sky's clothes.
On the laptop screen resting on her lap, a replay of the Dream Cup was playing, the race footage repeating in slow motion again and again.
She wanted to review the match video to see where she could still improve—where changes could be made, whether there were missteps in her decisions. Compared to the legendary Uma Musume, she was still far too inexperienced.
After your first defeat in life, you always needed to reflect, to learn from it and gain more racing experience.
Even with the disappointment of losing, you still had to analyze and summarize, to push yourself further.
Your own strength, experience, and mental fortitude were all essential parts of racing.
At the same time, during breaks between watching the race, she replied to New Year's greetings and words of comfort after her crushing defeat from Chinese fans on QQ and Japanese friends on LINE.
Compared to her Japanese friends, most of her Chinese streaming fans sent comforting private messages.
For Chinese fans, the Chinese New Year and Japanese New Year didn't fall at the same time—for them, the New Year was still approaching.
Her Japanese friends, meanwhile, were all sending New Year's blessings.
Comfort after a race loss wasn't something they needed to worry about too much; what mattered more was Barbatos's injury.
Without knowing about Barbatos's… special methods, wasn't it perfectly normal for an Uma Musume who had just debuted four months ago to lose to a legendary one?
Besides, the strength Barbatos had shown definitely placed her in the top tier of Uma Musume of her generation.
The only ones who might be on par with Barbatos were probably El Condor Pasa, whom she hadn't faced in a race yet—another prodigy of this era—and the slightly older Silence Suzuka.
As for others like Seiun Sky, Special Week, King Halo, and Grass Wonder, none had yet made their mark in G1-level races, so it was hard to judge.
So, there was really no need for the Uma Musume of Barbatos's generation, or those who hadn't even debuted, to offer comfort.
Nor was there any need for comfort at all.
Except for Symboli Rudolf, experiencing defeat was something every Uma Musume had to go through.
Barbatos replied to each of them one by one. Even if her own mood wasn't the best, she still needed to respond properly to others' concern and blessings.
Besides, her own emotional state had already improved quite a bit; it probably wouldn't be long before she shook off the gloom from the Dream Cup loss.
"Looks like a lot of people are comforting you—seems you don't need me," came Seiun Sky's voice from behind, tinged with a hint of amusement.
Barbatos glanced up, meeting Seiun Sky's gaze as she leaned over from behind.
Without hesitation, she said, "I do need you!"
In her line of sight, Seiun Sky's short hair fell softly, her emerald eyes like starlight, captivating and impossible to look away from.
Barbatos could faintly feel the other's breath against her forehead.
After a moment, Barbatos slowly shifted her gaze slightly, taking in Seiun Sky's outfit—a light-colored kimono that suited her perfectly, giving off a unique kind of beauty.
Whether in her past life through anime and shows or in this body's memories, Barbatos had seen many people wearing kimonos.
Kimonos weren't rare in Japan; during New Year shrine visits, most girls and some boys would wear them.
It was a continuation of traditional Japanese culture, perhaps even more common nowadays than Chinese hanfu in its own context.
But Barbatos had never been particularly fond of kimonos. Being Chinese, her aesthetic leaned more toward hanfu, though in everyday modern wear, the differences between the two weren't that pronounced.
Yet, seeing Seiun Sky in a kimono, the first thought that popped into her mind was:
So kimonos could be this beautiful too?!
No—it wasn't the kimono that was beautiful; it was Seiun Sky wearing the kimono.
Maybe if someone else wore one, she'd still not be too taken with kimonos, unable to appreciate them fully. But with Seiun Sky, she was probably seeing things through rose-colored glasses.
"So, what do you think?"
Noticing Barbatos's gaze, Seiun Sky walked around in front of her, swaying slightly, and tilted her head as she asked.
"I'd say it's a once-in-ten-thousand-years kind of look," Barbatos teased.
The "once-in-X-years" phrasing was a uniquely Japanese way of describing how beautiful a girl was—just like how Gold City was hailed as the once-in-a-thousand-years Uma Musume, gracing countless magazines and weekly publications.
Even now, no one could say she'd faded from popularity; she still had legions of fans.
Even if many of those fans didn't follow Uma Musume races.
When it came to Weibo follower counts, Barbatos—the most popular Uma Musume in Japan—still had to take a back seat compared to Gold City.
"Hmm?"
Seiun Sky smiled thoughtfully but didn't dwell on the once-in-ten-thousand-years comment.
Barbatos liked to joke around, but she'd take this one seriously.
At least in Barbatos's heart, she probably was that once-in-ten-thousand-years beauty—call it the filter of being in love.
At that thought, her eyes wavered slightly, but remembering the plan she'd set for herself, she quickly steadied her expression.
"Well… how about the two of us go to the mountain shrine together tonight?"
"Mhm."
Barbatos hummed in agreement, about to say she understood, but then something in Seiun Sky's wording struck her as off.
"The two of us?"
"Won't your grandpa go to the shrine?"
"Grandpa already went yesterday, so tonight it'll just be the two of us."
"And Grandpa doesn't really like the noisy atmosphere at temples during New Year's anyway."
"I see."
Barbatos had originally thought all three of them would go together, but it turned out it really would be just her and Seiun Sky. If not for her leg injury, it would feel just like a date.
They could even confess under the blooming fireworks.
Too bad not only was her leg injured and unable to heal immediately, but she'd also lost the Dream Cup—hardly the best timing for a confession.
--+--
In another room.
Grandpa clutched his teacup with both hands, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.
He really wanted to go to the mountain shrine with his dear granddaughter…
--+--
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.