The night sky was dotted with stars, and warm light spilled from the windows of the buildings.
Inside, the conference table had long been cleared of the cakes and sweets that had been eagerly devoured earlier.
The other members of Canopus and Minamizaka had already returned to their dorms to rest, leaving only Barbatos behind, idly playing a mobile game.
With practiced ease, she maneuvered Lee Sin, ward-hopping to trace out a '7' before landing a Dragon's Rage that kicked four of the five enemy champions—everyone but the support—initiating a forced teamfight.
If her phone had sound, the announcer would surely have been proclaiming, 'Lee Sin is Legendary!'
Normally, she'd already be back in her dorm, streaming the PC version of the game. But tonight, there was a slight hitch.
Nearby, Seiun Sky was slumped over the table, fast asleep. It seemed the day's hectic activities had completely worn her out, leaving her so exhausted she could doze off even amid the noisy celebration.
When it was time to head back, Barbatos noticed Seiun was still sound asleep. The simplest solution would have been to wake her up and tell her to sleep properly in her own room.
But after a moment's thought, Barbatos told the others to go on ahead. She figured she could kill time grinding on her mobile game while waiting for Seiun to wake up naturally, then they could walk back together.
From personal experience, she knew being woken up—no matter the reason—always left a person feeling grumpy.
Besides, it wasn't so bad to occasionally farm for Blue Essence on her phone. The only downside was having to keep the sound off so she wouldn't disturb the sleeper.
Just as she finished one match, she noticed an unread message on LINE. Tapping it open, she saw it was from Trainer Minamizaka, who had created a group chat for Team Canopus. Aside from the still-sleeping Seiun, everyone else was already chatting away inside.
Uma Musume generally weren't the type to get hooked on the internet, but they could still handle chatting on smartphones—it was just a matter of typing speed.
She exchanged a few casual messages with the group.
Among them, Minamizaka asked about her debut race. After that practice race with Twin Turbo and the others, the level she'd shown was definitely enough to meet the standards for debut.
"As for the debut race, just try to keep it somewhere not too far from Tokyo."
"Turf or dirt is fine, I'm not picky."
"The sooner, the better. A debut race next week? Sounds good."
"Seiun Sky's debut race? She said she runs faster than me?"
"Yeah, that did happen."
"Well then, I'll leave the details about future races to you, Mr. Minamizaka!"
After briefly discussing the specifics of her debut, she glanced over at Seiun Sky, who was still fast asleep at the table, then opened another social media app.
Since she streamed for a Chinese audience, she naturally had an account on QQ—the chatting software used there—to communicate with her fans.
She informed the folks in her streaming group that her stream would likely be late tonight. She'd decided against streaming mobile gameplay from her phone.
With her viewer base already pretty established, jumping back and forth between mobile and PC games wasn't ideal. Especially since, at the moment, she couldn't even talk—the stream quality would suffer.
After a quick check-in with the group, she spotted a keyword red packet pop up in the chat.
Her fingers flew as she tapped it open to claim her share. The group chat instantly flooded with the same phrase, repeated over and over: 'The bard should show her face already!!!'
Based on what Barbatos knew about the Chinese streaming scene—from incidents involving streamers like 'Queen Qiao' and 'Ah Yi'—coupled with her own high skill level in League of Legends, demands for a face reveal were nothing new. She'd just always refused.
But now, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
If she could do a face reveal stream before her debut race and mention the upcoming event, she might be able to boost her popularity votes on race day.
Her audience was primarily Chinese, but she figured it shouldn't be too hard for fans in China to vote for a Japanese Uma Musume. Even if only one percent of her viewers voted, it might be enough to push her into the top five in popularity for her debut.
In both esports and sports, skill was what truly commanded respect. But when it came to popularity, who wouldn't want a little more support?
"I'll do a face reveal stream in the next few days."
"I have a race next week. Interested friends can vote for me."
"It's not a League of Legends tournament. Once you see my face, everyone, you'll understand."
After dropping that bombshell in the group, she switched back to her mobile game and resumed her Blue Essence grind.
Her fans probably never imagined she was an Uma Musume, or that the 'race' she mentioned involved running on a track. Most people who followed League streams and hung around those communities weren't exactly the type to be deeply interested in horse racing.
Still, she figured at least a few of them might be willing to cast a cross-border vote for her. Every bit would help boost her popularity on race day.
As someone once said, 'You never know if the person on the other end of the internet is a human or an Uma Musume.'
She selected her champion and entered the game, then glanced over at the still-sleeping Seiun Sky.
If Seiun wasn't awake after four or five more games—by around ten o'clock—she'd have to figure out how to wake her so they could return to the dorm.
--+--
Under the soft glow of the lights, the room felt warm and quiet.
Seiun Sky, still lying on the conference table, twitched her ears and slowly, drowsily, opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Barbatos, focused intently on her mobile game.
From this angle, Barbatos's thick eyebrows were especially prominent. While gaming, she looked utterly concentrated, even a little fierce. If the usual Barbatos resembled a sly sheep who liked to trick people, the gaming Barbatos was more like a wolf that wouldn't hesitate to bite.
Following her line of sight, past Barbatos, she could see the window—and beyond it, the still, deep night, sprinkled with stars.
Was it already so late?
Not wanting to disturb Barbatos mid-game, she remained lazily sprawled on the table, simply watching her play.
Barbatos hadn't woken her, so she'd wait until the game was over.
Well, mostly, she'd just woken up and didn't feel like moving yet.
League of Legends: Wild Rift matches were short.
In just 13 minutes, Barbatos's Master Yi destroyed the enemy Nexus. Only after the victory screen did she finally look over at Seiun Sky.
A mischievous thought crossed her mind—'If it were any later, maybe I could say something like, "Open your eyes, Seiun Sky. I am Zoffy."'
She turned her head and met Seiun's calm green eyes. "You're awake?"
"Mhm. Let's head back, or Fuji Kiseki-senpai will lock the doors."
Seiun Sky pushed herself up from the table. Once Barbatos put her phone away, she opened the door. The cool night air outside washed over them, brushing away the last traces of drowsiness.
--+--
T/N: I might be delusional but i see a pairing...
--+--
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.