Stepping out of the cafeteria.
Barbatos had just finished lunch, her spirits high, showing no signs of last night's sleep deprivation at all.
After her Literature teacher had specifically granted her permission to not pay attention in class, she'd spent the entire period slumped over her desk, asleep.
She hadn't actually chosen to boot up League of Legends: Wild Rift during class to grind a bit of Essence.
While not having to listen was a privilege granted by the teacher, playing games in class would've been a bit like slapping the teacher in the face.
So, grinding Essence during lessons was better left as a thought. Besides, you couldn't really farm much Essence in a single period anyway.
"Hey~"
"Did you know what the Lit teacher said about you while you were asleep?"
Seiun Sky gently nudged Barbatos's arm with her elbow.
"What'd she say about me?"
"She said, 'Everyone should learn from Barbatos. Look how she studies hard late into the night every day, and how she attends class earnestly, bravely fighting off yesterday's exhaustion.'"
"Holy crap, I suspect our Lit teacher planted a camera in our dorm!"
Barbatos reached up and rubbed her nose, putting on a show of being 'shy'. "I wanted to keep a low profile all along, but now it's been announced to the whole class. It's actually a little embarrassing."
"Trainer-san silently gave you a thumbs up."
"Ehe."
"B-chan, Sei-chan!"
Urara's voice called out from not far away. Following the sound, they could see her figure, along with her companion, the "dance teacher" Tokai Teio.
This! How does Urara even know Tokai Teio? Terrifying!
--+--
Karaoke.
The members of Team Canopus had all gathered. Minamizaka looked at Seiun Sky and Barbatos, seeing that both had actually arrived, and nearly shed tears of paternal pride.
"Wow, so practicing for the Winner's Stage means coming to karaoke? Yay!"
Twin Turbo was excited. She'd originally thought they'd be practicing back at the team dorm. Doing it here made the atmosphere instantly so much better.
"In that case, I shall commence with strict Spartan training!"
Tokai Teio stepped forward, imitating the imposing manner of the "Emperor," Symboli Rudolf.
Don't let her appearance fool you; she'd previously conducted training for Team Spica too. Even though they had zero foundation, she managed to whip them into shape easily.
As for this so-called Spartan training.
Barbatos wasn't particularly nervous. After all, the dance steps for the Winner's Stage were generally on the simpler side.
Of course, more difficult ones existed, but those were usually for solo performances. An Uma Musume's main job was running; they couldn't put the cart before the horse.
The facts proved it.
The Winner's Stage choreography really wasn't that hard.
Barbatos, who had no prior exposure to it, could perfectly replicate the moves after seeing them just once.
Among the Canopus members, the only real incident was Twin Turbo accidentally flinging her shoe off during the dance, which once again hit Matikanetannhauser. Other than that, there were no major issues.
One could say that compared to Team Spica's situation, the overall condition of Team Canopus was much better.
Or perhaps the members of Canopus themselves weren't really daunted by the Winner's Stage.
It was mostly because they'd been implicated in Barbatos's incident, combined with Spica's situation, that this group dance practice had been arranged.
Seeing how things were going, the Spartan training atmosphere on-site quickly melted into the proper vibe for a real karaoke session!
Although Matikanetannhauser was holding a tissue to her nose, she wasn't seriously injured.
Urara and Twin Turbo had grabbed the microphones and were singing a duet of a currently popular song in Japan.
"You know, Barbatos, you've been streaming over in China, right? You must be pretty familiar with the popular songs and dance steps over there too," Tokai Teio said curiously, clapping her hands to the beat.
"Popular songs? Nah, I don't know those."
"But if you want me to sing an anime theme song, just name it."
Popular songs and dance steps? There was actually one that Barbatos did know, the song-and-dance combo that was all the rage right before she... transmigrated over.
It was simple, catchy, and after watching it a few times, you could easily imitate it.
But...
It was better to just say she didn't know. Not that promoting excellent Chinese songs wasn't a virtue.
But singing and dancing to "Thank You for Listening" in a karaoke box...?
Nope. Just remembering that part made the images and the song start auto-playing in her mind. It was weird. It should be a perfectly fine song, so why did just thinking about it give her goosebumps?
"Anime theme song? Could you sing one for us?"
Tokai Teio was also quite interested in Chinese songs.
While this would expose her as an otaku, Seiun Sky already knew she watched Conan. She had nothing left to fear.
But you couldn't find anime theme song instrumentals in Chinese karaoke boxes, let alone Japanese ones.
She pulled out her phone, set it up, and started searching for an instrumental track, thinking about which one to sing.
She didn't feel ashamed about singing anime themes.
Her homeland's domestic animations were in no way inferior to Japanese anime; they'd just started a bit later. It was precisely those childhood cartoons that helped shape their generation's solid worldview.
For example, eating super lollipops during sports events... Ahem.
After Urara and Twin Turbo finished their song, Barbatos stepped up and connected her phone to the karaoke system.
In the end, she didn't choose a theme from a childhood cartoon—she passed over songs from GG Bond, Journey to the West: Legends of the Demon Child, The Brave Frog, Balala the Fairies, The Story of Qi Pao, and the like.
Singing those in her livestream would probably get a great response, maybe even convince a few fans to subscribe as 'Captains' or 'Admirals' on the spot. But here, it might not land as well.
A melody filled the karaoke room, carrying a faint trace of melancholy.
"The most beautiful scene of my life was meeting you."
"In the vast crowd, gazing quietly at you, strange yet familiar."
"Though we breathe the same air under the same sky, I cannot hold you."
--+--
"You want to participate in a G1 race in December?"
The Rigil trainer, Toujou Hana, looked seriously at El Condor Pasa standing before her. El Condor Pasa's talent was indeed strong; she had the potential to grow into a legendary Uma Musume.
But G1 races weren't something you could just run in because you felt like it. Attempting a G1 just three months after her debut was an incredibly difficult challenge!
"Mhm! B-chan is planning to take a G1 with an undefeated record, then challenge the Winter Dream Cup with an invincible aura. I don't want to lose to her!" El Condor Pasa's face was full of confidence and determination. She believed that even at the G1 level, she wouldn't lose to anyone.
Even if Barbatos had said it was a lie back then, she'd taken it seriously!
"You want to beat Barbatos in a December G1?"
"Not the same one! Our showdown should happen after the Winter Dream Cup!"
"If people are calling me a protagonist of our generation, how can I let my race record fall short of hers?"
"...Very well. I'll enter you. But your training regimen is going to intensify from now on."
--+--
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.