"Don't tell me you took off your panties along with them?"
An autumn breeze swept by, and as Barbatos pressed down the hem of her school uniform skirt, she heard Seiun Sky's devilish whisper right by her ear.
"Heh, as if."
The idea of panties sticking to leggings and coming off together—it just wouldn't happen. Unless you were in some novel or a girl was doing it on purpose, there was no way something like that could happen.
Morning classes were over, and the two had come to the cafeteria to grab lunch.
To fuel the Uma Musume's running needs, the meals here were pretty well-balanced and tasty.
Even so, she doubted she could ever eat as much as what was piled on Special Week's plate.
She and Seiun Sky went over and took seats at the table where Special Week and the others were sitting.
With five of them there, the table was nearly full. "So, since you didn't make it into Rigil yesterday, have you thought about joining our team instead?" Barbatos tossed out the invitation outright.
Considering Canopus's current strength, adding Special Week to the mix would probably make them stronger than Rigil's first-years—not counting the senior aces, of course.
Back when they'd raced against El Condor Pasa, Seiun Sky may have lost, but you can't judge everything by one race.
Among their year, Grass Wonder boasted an undefeated record in her early races—something Barbatos was confident she could match, and she'd only get stronger from here.
Besides, aside from not knowing much about Matikanetannhauser, Twin Turbo, Dictus, and Nice Nature all seemed pretty capable. Snagging Special Week—who basically had main character vibes—for Canopus would just make everything perfect.
They'd be building their own galactic battleship, an unstoppable force!
Then they could just swoop in and take over the student council, reshuffle the whole Tracen Academy leadership… Ahem, not really. It was fun to imagine, but that's all it was.
The current student council was fine anyway, and being president sounded like way too much work.
"I've already joined Spica! And Silence Suzuka's there too!"
When Special Week mentioned Silence Suzuka, her eyes lit up like she was talking about the most precious treasure in the world.
'Good grief, I knew it—you're totally into girls!'
Barbatos chuckled to herself. It wasn't unusual for Uma Musume to date each other, but Special Week seemed to have fallen for Silence Suzuka at first sight, hadn't she?
The Uma Musume these days were still so young. Maybe that was what made school life so charming.
"In that case, you should really thank El-chan," Seiun Sky remarked.
"Huh?"
Both Special Week and El Condor Pasa looked puzzled, not quite following the logic.
Resting her cheek on one hand, Barbatos chimed in with her own take, "If El Condor hadn't taken first in the entrance test, you'd have ended up in Rigil and missed your chance to be with Suzuka."
"What?!"
Special Week's jaw dropped, and she shot up so fast her chair clattered to the floor.
She bowed deeply to El Condor Pasa. "Thank you so much! I'm in your debt—if there's anything you need, just say the word!"
El Condor Pasa was taken aback for a second—since when had they gotten so formal?—but soon broke into a grin.
"Really?"
"Anything I need?"
"Of course! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be training in the same team as Suzuka!" Special Week's eyes shone with sincerity.
"In that case, Spe-chan, come practice with me tonight!"
"Sure thing."
Special Week agreed without hesitation. Though the upper half of El Condor Pasa's face was hidden behind her mask, her delight was unmistakable—she looked suddenly fired up, bursting with energy.
"B-chan, Grass-chan, and Seiun-chan, want to join us too?"
Grass Wonder smiled and shook her head. "My leg's still not fully healed, so I can't practice just yet."
"Our team has a strategy meeting about our debut race, so we can't make it," Barbatos lied smoothly.
There'd been no mention of any meeting in the Canopus group chat, but something about El Condor Pasa's vibe told her this "practice" might be more than it seemed. Better to bow out—besides, it'd give her more time to farm essence.
"Yeah, Barbatos and I are on the same team." Seiun Sky piggybacked off Barbatos' response.
"..."
El Condor Pasa went quiet for a moment, then pulled out her phone to check for new messages on LINE. "Well, I actually already made plans to practice with Urara tonight."
"Aren't you three on the same Team?"
"We might have our debut race next week, so our trainer set up a special strategy meeting for the two of us," Barbatos explained without batting an eye. "Let's practice together after the debut race!"
"Huh? Your debut is next week too?" Special Week's eyes went wide. "You and Seiun are both debuting then?"
"You too, Spe? What about El?"
"Mine is this month as well, so I really need to practice. Who knows, we might even end up in the same debut race."
"A Class C civil war?"
Barbatos thought about it—everyone here except Grass Wonder in the same debut race? The image was almost too chaotic to picture!
But it was pretty much impossible. She and Seiun Sky, being on the same team, wouldn't be put in the same debut race anyway—you had to go all-out to win your first race.
If you lost your debut, you got funneled into a different track, and you'd need another win just to race normally again.
They all glanced at each other—Special Week still looking a bit clueless, El Condor Pasa radiating quirky confidence, and Barbatos already calculating how much gold she could earn by beating them.
Between El Condor Pasa and Special Week—who could use skills—these were arguably the strongest of their year, even stronger than Twin Turbo and the others right now.
If they really did face off in the same debut race, she'd have to plan her skill usage carefully to come out on top.
"Maybe we should ask our trainer to make sure we're not in the same debut race," Seiun Sky said, sounding less than motivated. Losing your debut was a real hassle.
"Yeah, that's probably for the best."
El Condor Pasa agreed. Seiun Sky might act laid-back, but she'd been the biggest threat among the first-years so far.
She didn't think she'd lose, but their real showdown should be in a graded stakes race, not their debut.
"Speaking of which, Barbatos, your debut will be on dirt, right?"
She didn't know how fast Barbatos was on dirt, but she clearly hadn't adjusted to turf yet.
"It's not decided yet, but don't judge a book by its cover."
Barbatos raised her eyebrows meaningfully, hinting that her thick brows had been washed away—proof she'd adapted to turf. She waited for El Condor Pasa and the others to be shocked at how quickly she'd adjusted.
"Barbatos, your eyebrows got thinner?!"
Special Week was stunned. She'd always thought Barbatos's thick eyebrows were natural.
--+--
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.