"Today's strategy meeting topic is..."
"How to get Barbatos to win her debut race!"
Matikanetannhauser, also a newcomer, had become the meeting's leader thanks to her proactive personality.
Twin Turbo instantly raised her hand. "Get first place!"
"That's... the general idea, yes. Anything else?"
"Don't get second!"
Barbatos' ears twitched: "..."
She never actually thought the team would go through with holding a strategy meeting. It was just an excuse she'd used to skip practice with El Condor Pasa for now. And the content of this meeting was getting a bit too ridiculous.
Though ridiculous, the atmosphere wasn't half bad. Her phone screen glowed with the League of Legends: Wild Rift interface, her jungler Lee Sin clearing the F6 camp.
Seiun Sky was already slumped over the conference table, fast asleep.
As for Urara, she was already out training with El Condor Pasa. This meeting was called on short notice, and she'd already made plans with her.
Nice Nature, eyes half-closed, couldn't suppress a yawn. Glancing at the sleeping Seiun Sky across from her, she felt like dozing off too.
Barbatos's debut race hadn't even been scheduled yet; was there any real point to having a strategy meeting now?
Even so, as a veteran member of Team Canopus, she was long used to these frequent 'strategy meetings'.
Ikuno Dictus adjusted her glasses. "Rather than that, we should be discussing her race planning after the debut race."
"Honestly, do you really think any other Uma Musume could outrun Barbatos in her debut?"
'If you've got something good to say, say more of it.' Barbatos silently gave Dictus a thumbs up.
"Well, when you put it that way, it does make sense."
Matikanetannhauser blinked, picked up the eraser, and wiped the whiteboard clean.
During yesterday's intra-team race, she'd gotten hit by Twin Turbo's shoe because she'd crowded too close to the track. Barbatos's terrifying acceleration was still vivid in her mind. It was hard to imagine any Uma Musume in a debut race being a match for her.
Thinking for a moment, she picked up a marker and wrote a few elegant, large characters on the board:
[How to Make Barbatos an Undefeated Triple Crown Winner!]
"So, today's topic is changed to: How to make Barbatos an Undefeated Triple Crown winner!"
"I know!" Twin Turbo shot her hand up again. "Just don't lose a single race and win all the Triple Crown races!"
"Excellent! So, which Triple Crown series should Barbatos aim for?"
"Hmph, only a foal would choose. The answer is all of them!"
Nice Nature glanced at Barbatos, who was still gaming. "It would be nice if it were that simple."
But how could anyone possibly never lose a race? How many Uma Musume in history had secured two crowns only to fall short of the Triple Crown title? Even at Tracen Academy, only a handful held the title of Triple Crown winner.
A moment later...
The enemy Nexus on her phone screen exploded. "Hold it right there!"
Barbatos's voice cut through the chatter. She was in the middle of a good game, and now her teammates were piling on these crazy flags—'Undefeated,' 'Triple Crown'—making her sound like some general on a stage play, covered in pennants.
She'd been too focused on her game to stop them immediately, and part of her had almost started to believe it.
With her system, if she just played it safe and farmed, she probably could achieve an undefeated record. Something like competing in four low-level races every month, avoiding G-level races until she'd bought enough items and champions, becoming the 'Hidden Master' of the racetrack!
That way, both an Undefeated Streak and the Triple Crown would be easily within reach.
But what would be the point? It'd be like playing a musou game on easy mode, just mindless slaughter. That wasn't the kind of Uma life she wanted!
It'd be like using cheat mods. The first or second time might be fun, a Qi Condensation cultivator one-shotting a Nascent Soul elder or whatever, but you'd get sick of it eventually.
She had no intention of grinding low-level races for a year or two after her debut before even trying to conquer the G-series. What kind of life was that?
She already had a cheat system, a golden finger! Was she really supposed to keep hiding her power? Not wanting to jinx herself was one thing, but being overly cautious was another.
"Let's talk about the Triple Crown and being Undefeated another time. Let's change today's topic again."
Barbatos walked to the whiteboard, took the eraser from Matikanetannhauser, wiped it clean, and paused, marker poised to write a new topic.
Scritch! Writing on this board was harder than it looked. She stopped before even finishing the first character.
She couldn't go on! With her 'master-level' calligraphy skills, her writing was so florid and flamboyant that Twin Turbo and the others probably wouldn't be able to read it.
"Machitan, can you write it for me? My hand's a bit... inconvenient."
"Sure! What's the new topic?"
"What does everyone want to do when we go on vacation to Hawaii?"
She'd initially thought of, 'If our team suddenly got 20 million yen, how would you spend it?' but she was afraid it might cause internal strife, even if it was unlikely.
--+--
"Her debut race has been confirmed."
Minamizaka looked at the harmonious meeting scene inside the room. He had a feeling Team Canopus's unique... style... was probably here to stay.
He'd thought that after adding four new members, and with Twin Turbo and the other two losing to Barbatos in the intra-team race, they'd finally buckle down and train.
Instead, they'd dragged Barbatos into another strategy meeting.
Minamizaka felt weary, but seeing the girls all so happy, he figured it was fine. He'd just have to go with the flow.
"It's confirmed? Which day?"
"This weekend. But the location isn't Tokyo; it's at Hanshin."
"Having her debut in Tokyo would mean a potential encounter with Rigil's El Condor Pasa, so we've settled on the Nojikiku Stakes at Hanshin."
"Hanshin? Not bad. Avoiding Rigil and Spica was my request. It's not too far."
"I'll go with you to Hanshin when the time comes."
"Also, the Nojikiku Stakes is a 1800-meter turf course, a right-handed circuit. You'll need to get accustomed to that before the race."
Minamizaka relayed the details from the documents in his hand, outlining specific training plans tailored for this debut race. It seemed he'd done quite a bit of research on the course after finalizing the entry, which was why he was only telling her now.
"By the way, when is Seiun Sky's debut race scheduled for?"
--+--
T/N: New Uma Musume fic up!
--+--
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.