Three days before the Oka Sho.
Barbatos stepped into Tracen Academy after what felt like ages.
Originally, she had planned to simply head straight to Hanshin Racecourse on the day of the Oka Sho and just run the race.
But she had overlooked one thing.
The pre-race interviews before every competition.
For G1-level races, reporters often choose to come directly to Tracen Academy to conduct their interviews.
If the competing Uma Musume aren't among the top three in popularity, of course they wouldn't get such treatment—but she was undoubtedly the most popular one this time.
'And here I was hoping to maintain that whole "kings shouldn't meet before the battle" vibe with El before the race.'
Barbatos shrugged, joking to herself.
Unlike when she left Tracen Academy, she was now pulling a suitcase behind her, filled with clothes she had bought during her convalescence at Seiun Sky's home.
Nearly four months had passed since she left the academy after the New Year.
It felt like a student returning to school after a long quarantine—less about the minor dread of classes, and more about the joy of seeing friends and classmates again.
Her figure weaved through the crowds at Tracen. Many Uma Musume passing by couldn't help but pause and look back, confirming that Barbatos had indeed returned to the academy.
"Barbatos!"
A polite voice, tinged with surprise, came from the Uma Musume before her.
A familiar figure waved at Barbatos.
Barbatos was no stranger to this Uma Musume. They weren't classmates, nor were they in the same team, but they had already faced each other twice in races.
You could say they were old rivals.
This was the very Uma Musume who had been late to the start in her first race against Barbatos—all because Barbatos had greeted her. Her name was Dramatic Development.
"Long time no see."
Barbatos stopped and replied with a smile. "For this Oka Sho, you must have come up with a plan to deal with me, right?"
Compared to the first leg of the Triple Crown, the first leg of the Triple Tiara usually drew less attention in previous years. Many Uma Musume would be preparing to compete in the classic races instead.
But this year, because of her and El Condor Pasa, not only had the discussion around the Oka Sho heated up, but many of their past rivals had also entered the race.
They were coming for revenge.
Giving up after a loss, after realizing the gap between yourself and another—that isn't always the wise choice.
Chasing a strong opponent can make you grow rapidly yourself.
Dramatic Development was precisely the type who, after suffering two defeats against Barbatos, still chose to enter the Oka Sho.
Having studied the profiles of all her Oka Sho opponents with Seiun Sky, Barbatos recognized her immediately.
Another who had made the same choice was Sakura Rambler, who had lost to Barbatos in the Special Youth Cup.
"This time, I absolutely won't let you pass me so easily!"
Dramatic Development, usually exceptionally polite, spoke with unusual seriousness and force this time.
To catch up to Barbatos, she had put in a lot of training during this period, already securing one G3 and one G2 victory. She was currently on a two-race winning streak.
She was the 4th most popular Uma Musume in the Oka Sho.
"Not let me pass so easily, huh?"
"I'll be watching with interest."
Barbatos gave a light smile, opting not to engage in pre-race trash talk.
She simply exchanged a few more words before bidding Dramatic Development farewell and continuing toward the dorm she shared with Seiun Sky.
Regarding how much Dramatic Development had improved compared to before...
Both she and Seiun Sky had watched Dramatic Development's most recent race.
It was clear she had improved tremendously, now possessing the ability to compete for the top spot in G2-level races. Even among all-age G1-level Uma Musume, she had reached a solid mid-tier level.
If it were the Barbatos from before the Winter Dream Cup, without using her abilities, she'd only be eating dust behind her.
Using her abilities, she could win, but the gap wouldn't be more than 10 lengths anymore. She was an enemy that demanded respect.
After her chance encounter with Barbatos, a brief exchange, and watching her leave, Dramatic Development felt something was off.
The way Barbatos had spoken to her just now seemed... strange. It didn't quite feel like she was talking to a rival in the upcoming race.
But she had no proof.
Nor did she have time to dwell on it. She had training to get to.
--+--
On her way, Barbatos encountered quite a few Uma Musume who greeted her. Not all of them, like Dramatic Development, were participating in the Oka Sho.
Some were younger students expressing a bit of admiration, cheering her on for the Oka Sho in advance, hoping to become an Uma Musume like Barbatos-senpai after their own debut races.
There were also familiar senior Uma Musume who asked about her injury and offered encouragement.
Barbatos responded to each greeting with a smile, stopping and starting as she made her way to the dormitory building entrance.
The dorm room door happened to open just then.
Two figures emerged, seemingly discussing something. One had a somewhat masculine handsomeness, the other with dark skin and an air of a tough big sister.
"Fuji-senpai, Amazon-senpai."
"Barbatos?"
Seeing Barbatos, Amazon's eyes lit up. "So? Your leg injury is completely healed, right?"
"Completely healed. I could run up eighteen flights of stairs right now without a problem."
Seeing familiar faces, Barbatos replied half-jokingly.
Even though she had suffered a crushing defeat against her in the Winter Dream Cup, the race was the race. Losing was due to her own lack of strength; it didn't affect their friendship.
"Good, good. That's a relief."
Amazon smiled warmly, then a hint of mischief crept into her expression.
"You must have fallen behind on a lot of classes during your leave. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to your big sister here for tutoring, you know?"
Preferably the kind where you join me for makeup exams.
Amazon added silently in her heart. Having a familiar face as company in that was much better than being dragged into supplementary lessons alone by that annoying Air Groove.
Fuji Kiseki sighed helplessly and gave Amazon's tail a tug from behind.
"After the Oka Sho, if you find any part of the coursework difficult, you can ask me."
"Yeah, I know."
"Thank you, Fuji-senpai."
Actually, Barbatos had already mastered all the academic coursework she'd missed during her convalescence.
Even though she couldn't attend lectures at school, with the support of Grass Wonder's notes, the material wasn't that difficult.
She and Seiun Sky had managed to self-study and grasp it quickly just at home. She just didn't understand why a legendary Uma Musume like Amazon had needed to take makeup exams before.
After bidding farewell to Fuji Kiseki and Hishi Amazon, Barbatos returned to her room.
She could see her bed and bedding had been neatly tidied.
Clearly, her girlfriend had done this. Though Seiun Sky usually came off as lazy and lacking motivation, when it came to things related to Barbatos, she could be exceptionally attentive.
Barbatos unpacked the items from her suitcase one by one, placing them where they belonged.
There weren't many Uma Musume in the dormitory at this time.
Most were attending academic classes, and Seiun Sky was training for the Satsuki Sho.
Even though she had won the prep race, the Yayoi Sho, with this experience, both King Halo and Special Week would undoubtedly undergo corresponding training to seek victory in the Satsuki Sho.
There absolutely could not be any slackening.
For a talented Uma Musume, a single month could bring about tremendous improvement.
Just like Sasuke during the Chūnin Exams in Naruto, catching up to Rock Lee's years of effort with just one month of special training—it was the same for talented Uma Musume.
Once she finished organizing her things, Barbatos changed into Tracen Academy's standard track suit. She didn't remove the weights from her shoes. Leaving the dorm, she headed toward the Canopus team office.
She needed to report to the team office now, to prepare for the upcoming pre-race interview.
And to let Minamizaka and the others see that she was fully recovered, to set their minds at ease.
Of course, the most important point was still this.
After the Yayoi Sho ended, Seiun Sky had stayed at Tracen Academy. She and Seiun Sky hadn't seen each other for over half a month.
Even though they video-chatted every day, studied their upcoming opponents' information together online, discussed strategies for the next race...
The internet was still just the internet. It wasn't quite the same as reality.
Often, a thousand words online couldn't compare to a single hug in person.
Especially for couples in the throes of passion. A short absence felt sweeter than a reunion.
Barbatos now understood the meaning of that phrase more clearly.
Pulling out her phone, she briefly texted Minamizaka that she was heading to the team office.
Perhaps because she was about to see Seiun Sky, the team office, which wasn't far from the dorm, suddenly seemed to have grown more distant.
She unconsciously quickened her pace.
So much so that "acquaintances" who saw Barbatos and wanted to greet her didn't even have time to call out before she was already past them.
They simply assumed Barbatos had some urgent business.
The familiar team office soon came into view. The door was tightly shut. Barbatos walked up and pushed it open directly, stepping inside.
The team room wasn't large, and it seemed somewhat dark because the curtains were drawn over the windows.
Only a sliver of sunlight entered from the doorway Barbatos had opened.
Bang!
Bang!
Two crisp sounds erupted from Barbatos's left and right the moment she entered, making her instinctively step back. For a moment, she couldn't process what was happening.
Something light and fluffy seemed to have landed on her ears and hair.
Right then, the lights in the team room were suddenly switched on.
In the middle of the room, on the large whiteboard used for strategy meetings, were written the words:
[Welcome Back!]
Beneath those words were cute chibi drawings of all the Canopus members.
And she finally saw what had landed on her head: thin strands of celebratory ribbon. Looking to both sides, she saw Urara, Twin Turbo, and Matikanetannhauser, each holding a party popper.
"Welcome back!"
Matikanetannhauser and Urara said energetically, still holding their poppers.
This was the welcome method they had brainstormed during a strategy meeting for Barbatos's return from recuperation.
The only things they needed to buy were the three party poppers in their hands.
"Welcome back."
Seiun Sky's voice sounded too. She stood with Minamizaka, Ikuno Dictus, and Nice Nature, having been the first to say the words.
The four of them had originally planned to say it together, but Minamizaka and the others hadn't expected Seiun Sky to speak first.
Of course, that wasn't really a problem.
The three exchanged glances, ready to say it now.
But before they could speak... "Isn't it a bit early to be saying that now?"
Barbatos met Seiun Sky's gaze, smiling.
"Shouldn't it be after the Oka Sho?"
"Wouldn't welcoming me back after I win the Oka Sho have a better atmosphere?"
"El would probably want to hit you if she heard that."
"She's definitely thinking the same as me—that she'll win the Oka Sho for sure, then set her sights on the world."
Barbatos stated with certainty. After all, that was just El Condor Pasa's personality. Easy to guess. Or rather, talented Uma Musume were mostly like that.
Seiun Sky pursed her lips into a smile, agreeing.
"Knowing El, she might even be thinking of skipping the following Japanese Oaks and Shuka Sho if she wins the Oka Sho, heading straight overseas to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and take on the world's number one, Montjeu."
From what they knew of El Condor Pasa, the domestic Triple Crown couldn't satisfy her. Her goal had always been the Arc, had always been being number one in the world.
The two of them went back and forth like this.
Leaving Minamizaka and the others with no chance to say "Welcome back," the words stuck in their throats, feeling somewhat awkward.
But it wasn't a phrase that had to be said. They weren't the type to be stubborn about it, and soon let it go.
They also understood that Seiun Sky and Barbatos hadn't seen each other in a long time; it was normal for them to have a lot to say.
They might even be refraining from physical contact because there were so many people here.
But.
The only problem was, something felt off.
Ever since Barbatos entered the room, something had felt off.
Going by Minamizaka's adult logic, by his understanding of the Uma Musume under his care...
He felt the atmosphere shouldn't be like this.
He might be single, but he understood the concept of "absence makes the heart grow fonder" well enough. Yet, according to his original expectations, the vibe shouldn't have been like this either.
Where exactly was the problem?
"Argh! Why won't it open?!"
"Is it a dud?"
Twin Turbo's frantic voice and Matikanetannhauser's remark sounded from near the door. She and Urara were gathered around Twin Turbo.
This situation made Minamizaka realize immediately—the reason the atmosphere was off was because of Twin Turbo.
The Canopus team had always been full of energy. Besides the ever-energetic Urara and Matikanetannhauser, it was also because of Twin Turbo, who was skilled at stirring up the mood.
If Twin Turbo was around, the atmosphere always took a strange turn.
So was it because Twin Turbo's party popper had malfunctioned?
Barbatos and Seiun Sky, who had been chatting, also noticed the issue with Twin Turbo's popper and paused their conversation.
Being apart for so long, they were relatively restrained in front of everyone, but had still gotten carried away talking just between themselves.
But as they turned their attention to Twin Turbo...
BANG!
The party popper suddenly went off, startling Twin Turbo so much she plopped down onto her rear.
At the same time, her shoe flew off by accident, heading straight for Matikanetannhauser's face. Just as it seemed her nose was about to suffer again, she instinctively dodged the shoe.
Nothing special—just sheer practice.
The shoe traced a beautiful parabolic arc, setting off a chain reaction within the team room...
The Canopus crew were still the same as ever.
--+--
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.