"Are all of these for me?"
Special Week looked somewhat sheepishly at the large bag of takoyaki in front of her.
After her debut race, she hadn't brought back any local specialties at all—not just because standing in the C-position during the penalty was too awkward, but also because neither her mom nor her trainer had even mentioned it.
"Yep! Since you and Silence Suzuka share a room, I included her portion too."
"Suzuka!"
At the mention of that name, Special Week's eyes seemed to light up.
As a self-styled love expert who'd devoured countless romance novels and dramas, and had plenty of experience with all the heart-fluttering twists and turns—Barbatos felt she could smell the distinct scent of love in the air.
Though she wondered just how well things were really going between Special Week and Silence Suzuka.
But with Special Week being this obvious, their roommate relationship was definitely way better than the one in her own dorm.
"This humble one offers her deepest thanks! Next time I go out for a race, I'll definitely bring back souvenirs for everyone too!"
"Please don't call yourself 'this humble one,' it's kinda scary. I'm trembling over here."
Barbatos kept that thought to herself. Special Week usually talked pretty normally—this sudden shift was probably because she'd mentioned Silence Suzuka's portion, triggering some kind of episode.
A hardcore Suzuka stan was truly a force not to be messed with.
Handing the ten servings of takoyaki to Special Week, she said, "Well, I'll be off now. Still need to deliver some to Grass and the others."
"Mm! I watched your race, B-chan. I wish I could become as amazing as you one day!"
Just as Barbatos was about to leave, she spun right back around upon hearing those words.
She absolutely did not want Special Week stacking buffs on her like that.
All signs pointed to Special Week being the standard protagonist type from novels—the kind where if the protagonist says something like "Their power is not inferior to mine" or "This one is terrifying," it usually means you're about to get crushed by protagonist pressure.
Following the usual tropes, the more the protagonist focuses on an opponent, the more likely that opponent is to get wrecked.
It's always the initially overlooked ones who end up becoming the ultimate final boss.
Even though real life isn't a novel, and there's no such thing as an actual "protagonist" in the real world, she still needed to stop Special Week from saying things like that.
She reached out and placed a hand on Special Week's shoulder.
A flicker of yearning showed in her eyes. "Spe, becoming as strong as me... it's useless."
"Do you know why I didn't participate in Rigil's entrance test before?"
"Why?" Special Week blinked, confused. Wouldn't the reason be that B-chan and the others already had a team they wanted to join?
"Because I'd already raced against El before. Running against her, I couldn't even see her back."
"It was precisely because I understood the gap between us that I didn't bother taking Rigil's test."
"How can that be? But B-chan is super amazing too..."
This was the same Uma Musume who had won her debut race by over ten lengths! Whereas her own debut victory had been dangerously close.
But B-chan had no reason to lie to her. Combined with what happened during Rigil's test—where she thought she'd taken first place and secured her spot, only to find out El was the real winner—it matched exactly what B-chan said: she hadn't even seen El's back.
In a way, she was grateful for El Condor Pasa; because of her, she hadn't joined Rigil and instead got to meet everyone in Spica.
Though thinking back to that practice session with Condor and Urara... it made her question her life choices. Next time El asked her to train together, she'd definitely clarify what exactly they'd be practicing.
If it was wrestling again? She was not going!
"Then let's do our best together, and strive to see El-chan's back!" Special Week cheered her on.
"Mm, let's do our best."
"And it's not just El. Grass, King Halo, Silence Suzuka... for us right now, they're basically invincible. They're the ones we need to work hard to catch up to!"
As everyone knew, being called "invincible" was basically a debuff. She'd slap one on each of her friends from other teams first.
"Invincible... are Grass and King Halo-san really that strong?"
"Far stronger than you can imagine, Spe. You have a bright future ahead. I believe you can definitely reach their level."
"But me? I'm just a streamer who's popular with fans. I don't have the same power you all do."
Barbatos spoke with a hint of dejection, then bid Special Week farewell, heading towards the training field to deliver the takoyaki to Grass Wonder.
Special Week, holding the takoyaki, watched Barbatos's somewhat lonely retreating figure, feeling a complex mix of emotions.
The problem was, what Barbatos said didn't quite match the reports Vodka and the others had just shown her.
Those articles clearly stated Barbatos was incredibly strong—a legend from her debut—and that she and the newly debuted Rigil member El Condor Pasa were destined to become rivals on the track.
Hmm... better focus on sharing the souvenirs B-chan brought with Suzuka for now.
--+--
Training Field.
"Amazon-senpai, Fuji-senpai, these are local specialties I bought from Osaka after my debut race."
"No worries, no worries, I bought plenty."
While meeting Grass Wonder at the training field, Barbatos also ran into Miho Dormitory Leader Hishi Amazon and Ritto Dorm Leader Fuji Kiseki, naturally giving them each a portion of takoyaki too.
"Speaking of, why are you two here today, Fuji-senpai?"
"Hana-chan took El Condor Pasa for her debut race and isn't back yet, so we're overseeing training today."
Fuji Kiseki pointed towards the Rigil team members doing running drills in the distance.
For legendary Uma Musume, they usually managed their own training schedules and rarely participated in group sessions.
Grass Wonder, still recovering from a leg injury, could only watch from the sidelines.
Having spent the day riding rollercoasters at Universal Studios Japan with Seiun Sky, Barbatos had completely forgotten today was El's debut.
Beginner races were held far more often than G-series races, so even if classmates intentionally avoided debuting on the same day, their debut times usually weren't far apart.
Just then, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Amazon grinned, showing her teeth. "Meanwhile, you debuted with 330,000 fans! So, what are your goals for the Dream Cup?"
"Aiming not to get beaten by more than twenty lengths by the second-to-last place," Barbatos stated humbly, quoting the modest goal Minamizaka had set for her.
"That's a fine goal! Then this Amazon onee-san will be watching eagerly. Do your best!"
After chatting a bit more, Amazon and Fuji Kiseki left to continue supervising Rigil's training, leaving Barbatos alone with Grass Wonder.
Barbatos watched their departing figures. These were the opponents she'd face in the Dream Cup!
Thinking this, she handed three servings of takoyaki to Grass Wonder. "You can take King Halo's portion back with you."
Since King Halo was Grass Wonder's roommate, having Grass deliver it saved her a trip. As for El's share, she could have Urara bring it back later.
Grass Wonder's face maintained its usual gentle smile as she accepted the bag.
"I'll take El-chan's portion back. You can have Urara deliver Halo's share. King Halo and El have switched rooms."
"Why?"
It couldn't be because El and Urara had a falling out, or Grass and King Halo had a conflict, right? Their personalities didn't seem the type to clash.
"Because if El-chan and Urara room together, they always end up wanting to practice wrestling, and then they don't get enough sleep."
"...?"
--+--
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.