The bar was dim, the air thick with the scent of hops and spirits.
Three figures—two men and a woman—sat perched at the service counter, each with a drink in hand.
"Hey, Hana, didn't I tell you? I knew from the start that Special Week was a diamond in the rough." Okino, the trainer for Team Spica, had actually taken the lollipop out of his mouth for once.
His brows were lifted with a rare, triumphant flair.
Toujou Hana shot him a look of pure exhaustion. Having been colleagues for years, she knew exactly how his mind worked.
It wasn't just Special Week's stellar record that had him this puffed up; it was the history behind it.
Special Week had originally flopped the selection test for Team Rigil, losing to El Condor Pasa.
Okino had snatched her up for Spica right out from under them, insisting all the while that she was a masterpiece waiting to be carved.
She didn't argue. Instead, Hana took a slow, thoughtful sip of her drink. "She really has become a gem, hasn't she?"
Last year, Special Week hadn't caught a single G1 win.
This year? She was the reigning champion of both the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho.
She'd even put three lengths between herself and Mejiro McQueen—Spica's own long-distance specialist—during the Spring Tenno Sho, not to mention her string of G2 victories.
"But," Hana added pointedly, "she still hasn't managed to beat Grass, has she?"
The wind went right out of Okino's sails. He slumped, his hand finding his forehead as if a headache had suddenly bloomed there.
It was as if Special Week was destined to live in Grass Wonder's shadow.
Whether it was last year's Arima Kinen or this year's Takarazuka Kinen, every time Special Week looked like she was about to seize the crown, she'd lose by a hair's breadth to Grass.
"Don't even get me started," Okino groaned. "I've tried drawing up every counter-strategy in the book, but whenever she faces Grass Wonder, it's like she hits a wall."
The two were like natural-born rivals, one perfectly designed to check the other.
Eager to dodge the subject, Okino pivoted. "Moving on—if Teio wins the upcoming Kikuka-sho, she'll finally fulfill her dream of the Undefeated Triple Crown."
During the Satsuki-sho, Tokai Teio and Nice Nature had crossed the finish line in a dead heat for first.
But at the Japanese Derby, Teio had unleashed her staggering talent, her flexible frame providing a terrifying burst of speed that saw her blow past Nice Nature right at the wire.
"Minamizaka," Okino called out, "Teio's gonna take the Kikuka-sho, isn't she?"
"Huh?"
Startled, Minamizaka stopped tapping away at his phone.
He flipped the device face-down on the bar counter. "I have faith in Nature. I believe in her."
Seconds ago, he'd been deep in a chat with Nice Nature, discussing the finer points of the Kikuka-sho: contingency plans for emergencies, what they were currently up to, what they'd had for dinner...
Actually, Minamizaka wasn't entirely sure why he'd felt the need to flip his phone over. Guilt, maybe?
He and Toujou Hana hadn't been close originally.
It was through Barbatos that they'd become acquainted, and now, because all three of them had Uma Musume competing in America, they occasionally met up to grab a bite or a drink.
Hana watched the two men.
Personally, she felt closer to Tokai Teio; if Okino hadn't meddled, Teio would have been a Rigil girl.
However, looking at the Kikuka-sho through a trainer's eyes, she suspected Nice Nature actually had the edge.
The Kikuka-sho was a grueling long-distance trek—far more demanding than even the Arima Kinen.
It required brutal stamina and surgical timing. Teio was undeniably gifted, but long-distance was a territory she had yet to truly conquer.
"Sigh..."
"Forget the Kikuka-sho for a second," Hana said, her voice dropping to a more serious note. "Minamizaka, Barbatos and the others... they're coming back at the end of the year, right?"
She couldn't help but ask. Seiun Sky's suspension would effectively end after the Japan Cup, meaning they would likely return to Japan in time for the Arima Kinen.
Hana had never been against sending her girls abroad, but this group...
The three trainers had been feeling the heat from the Racing Association lately.
Racing overseas was fine, but consistently sweeping the podium and snatching every crown in sight was starting to feel like a slap in the face to the international racing community.
Barbatos, El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky, Silence Suzuka, and King Halo—those five had strategically split up to tackle different G1 events, essentially colonizing the American G1 circuit.
While El Condor Pasa and the others weren't invincible against the American titans, Japan had still claimed eighty percent of this year's American G1 titles, and more G2s than anyone could count.
Then there was Barbatos.
She hadn't just won races; she'd won over the fans.
Her overwhelming, crushing power and her relentless frequency of competition made her an absolute idol. Online, people talked about the "sheer beauty of her stats."
The fans loved it, and the American Uma Musume were being humbled, but the American Racing Committee was breathing down the neck of the Japanese Association.
The trainers were caught in the middle.
There was a silver lining, though: the Japanese racing world was reforming fast.
They were now allowing mid-race "rescues" rather than disqualifying them, and many international committees were quietly promising to move away from physical "bumping" in international meets.
"Yeah," Minamizaka nodded firmly. "Barbatos already asked me to sign her up for the Arima Kinen. They'll be back by year-end."
"She signed up?"
The news caught Hana and Okino off guard. They'd guessed as much, but El Condor Pasa and Silence Suzuka hadn't registered for the Arima Kinen yet.
There seemed to be only one reason: El and Suzuka understood the gap between them and Barbatos.
It wasn't that they'd lost their confidence or their drive to win—it was that they were likely preparing for the Winter Dream Cup following the Arima Kinen.
They wanted more time to sharpen themselves for the ultimate showdown.
--+--
America.
Titas felt her entire worldview crumbling. Standing inside a private, enclosed indoor training facility, she stared at Barbatos in genuine shock. Her teammates, Fuma and Taiga, looked just as stunned.
After spending more time with Barbatos and the others—especially after Fuma had apologized to Silence Suzuka—their relationship had become quite friendly.
Ever since Barbatos arrived in the States, they had sparred multiple times, and they knew Barbatos was an insurmountable wall. But this...
Across from Barbatos, a tall, powerfully built Uma Musume spoke up with graceful resignation.
"I yield. It is my loss."
Titas couldn't believe her eyes.
Joneus—the legendary Uma Musume hailed as the strongest in American history, the one who held a status similar to Japan's Symboli Rudolf—had just lost a private match.
Barbatos stood there, her presence as calm and overwhelming as a Whirlwind, her eyes shimmering with the cold precision of an Enchanted Crystal Arrow.
Even against a legend, she remained the undisputed apex.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.