"Here's your takoyaki, all set."
Barbatos paid and took the packaged takoyaki—enough for thirty people—from the server.
She handed two other portions to Seiun Sky and Trainer Minamizaka.
After spending the day at Universal Studios, they had met up with Trainer Minamizaka, taken a bus to the food street, and bought takoyaki before heading back.
As for what it felt like riding roller coasters and drop towers—well, let's just say the experience was… soft.
All in all, she thought people with acrophobia should steer clear of such thrilling high-altitude rides. After all, not everyone has something small and soft to hold onto.
"Isn't this a bit too much? I doubt we'll finish it all."
Minamizaka accepted his portion of takoyaki and glanced at the mountain of boxes in Barbatos' hands.
It wasn't that he underestimated how much Uma Musume could eat—but even if you counted every current member of Team Canopus, ten portions would've been more than enough. And it wasn't like Barbatos had the widest social circle to share with.
"Too much? I was actually worried I didn't buy enough."
"Special Week has quite the appetite, you know," Barbatos mused, thinking about Special Week's legendary capacity for food.
Takoyaki wasn't exactly a main course—more of a snack, really—so she was wondering if ten portions would even be enough to satisfy Special Week.
Hearing that, Minamizaka was reminded of the legendary Oguri Cap—famous for their bottomless stomach. "Special Week from Spica, huh? They say a well-fed Uma Musume knows no hardship. She might just become a tough rival for you all."
"In that case, maybe we should just let her eat as much as she wants. If she puts on too much weight…" Seiun Sky said with a mischievous smile, hinting at something rather terrifying.
"Yikes, maybe I should go buy more then."
Barbatos turned around as if she really intended to head back and buy more takoyaki.
Minamizaka fell silent. Again. He had hoped that mentioning Special Week would put them on alert—maybe even motivate them to train harder instead of slacking off.
But instead, they were already strategizing about how to fatten her up?
He felt exhausted. He could tell Barbatos was just putting on an act.
"So, what flavors did you all get?"
The shop offered a wide variety of takoyaki flavors.
At the end of the day, it was still takoyaki, but mixed with all sorts of other ingredients—like carrot sauce, for instance. In a world with Uma Musume, even though they made up less than one percent of the population, many foods now came with a carrot-flavored option.
When she ordered, Barbatos had simply asked for ten portions of carrot flavor and twenty random ones. So even she didn't know exactly what flavors they were holding now.
When asked, Minamizaka—who hadn't started eating yet—took a bite of his takoyaki.
His brow instantly furrowed. Wasabi! They'd put wasabi in the takoyaki! His taste buds were instantly set ablaze, and he felt a sudden urge to tear up. Yet, amid the shock, a unique kind of deliciousness burst on his tongue, leaving him momentarily questioning his life choices.
"Ooh, Minamizaka hit the jackpot—wasabi flavor! Want to swap for a different one?"
Clutching onto the last shred of his dignity, Minamizaka replied, "No need. It's… tolerable."
How could he not finish takoyaki offered by one of his own Uma Musume after her debut race?
Barbatos nibbled on her own takoyaki, unable to quite place the flavor. It definitely had a distinct fishiness besides the octopus—but she couldn't identify what kind.
She was chewing slowly and carefully, yet still couldn't pinpoint the type of fish. It was completely outside her knowledge. All she could say was that the flavor was pretty good.
"Mine seems to be some kind of fish flavor, but I can't tell which."
"Fish flavor?"
Seiun Sky looked curiously at Barbatos' takoyaki. "Mine's carrot. Want to swap and try each other's?"
"Mhm."
Barbatos made a soft sound of agreement, skewered one of her takoyaki balls with a wooden pick, and moved to place it into Seiun Sky's container.
But things didn't go quite as she expected. Seiun Sky leaned forward and intercepted the takoyaki ball mid-air with her small mouth, like a cat eagerly accepting a treat. It was… kind of adorable.
"It's eel… takoyaki, huff~ huff~"
The takoyaki balls were still fresh from the griddle and quite hot—something Barbatos and Minamizaka didn't mind much.
But Seiun Sky slightly opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue a little, and fanned at it with her hand. Clearly, the freshly served takoyaki ball had been too hot for her.
"You've got a real cat's tongue, huh?"
Barbatos teased. She's into fishing, loves eating fish, and now it turns out her tongue is heat-sensitive. At this point, she might as well change her name to Seiun Kitty.
After a moment, Seiun Sky finally felt her tongue recover.
Hesitating briefly, she skewered one of her carrot-flavored takoyaki balls and held it out toward Barbatos. "Want to try mine?"
Watching "Seiun Kitty" in a feeding pose, Barbatos felt her heartbeat quicken unreasonably.
It must be because her mind was in the gutter—that's why such a simple act felt vaguely intimate. But really, sharing food like this was perfectly normal among close Uma Musume.
If it were Urara, she'd definitely feed her the same way.
Even rabbits don't nibble the grass by their own burrows. So why was her heart racing over her roommate offering her a bite?
Running a quick analysis in her head, she "calmly" opened her mouth and took the takoyaki ball from Seiun Sky.
Honestly, the carrot-flavored takoyaki tasted much better than her eel one. Probably because, as an Uma Musume, she had a natural preference for carrots.
"Yeah, I think the carrot one tastes better."
"Want to swap, then?" Seiun Sky suggested, glancing at the eel takoyaki.
She preferred eel flavor herself, but hadn't suggested it earlier, thinking Barbatos might like it too.
Barbatos agreed readily. After all, Seiun Sky loved fish, and while there were probably plenty of carrot portions left, there might only be one or two eel ones. If she wanted it again, she'd probably have to wait until their next trip to Osaka.
After swapping takoyaki, they headed with Minamizaka to the nearby Shinkansen station.
"Once we finish these, we're heading back to Tracen," Minamizaka said. Eating takoyaki on the Shinkansen wasn't the most polite idea.
Munching on her carrot-flavored takoyaki, Barbatos felt a little puzzled.
Why didn't these taste as good as the first one she'd tried earlier?
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T/N: That, barbatos, is called LOVE~(in fancy font)
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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.