Friday.
"El Condor Pasa, what are your thoughts on being called the 'Protagonist of this Generation'?"
A forest of cameras and microphones were all aimed at the heavily favored Rigil team member, El Condor Pasa, participating in this junior-level race.
Even a rookie journalist fresh in the industry could grasp the current buzz surrounding these two Uma Musume, El Condor Pasa and Barbatos.
The atmosphere felt less like a pre-race interview for a junior race and more like one for a G1 event.
At this moment, every other competing Uma Musume besides El Condor Pasa seemed relegated to supporting roles.
Standing beside El Condor Pasa was her trainer, Toujou Hana, dressed in her usual grey suit.
If they were planning to compete in December's G1 race, she needed to start accumulating race experience now, participating in as many events as possible before December.
As for which specific races to enter, since El Condor Pasa wasn't ready to face Barbatos just yet, that would require further discussion with the Canopus team's trainer.
If she guessed correctly, Barbatos would most likely enter the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies race. Of course, that was assuming Barbatos could actually deliver on her own boast: sweeping all pre-G1 races with an undefeated record.
Fueled by this very topic, El Condor Pasa's fanbase had skyrocketed, now reaching a formidable 90,000.
This popularity also allowed her direct entry into G1 races without needing to run in preliminary events.
The real question was, could El Condor Pasa handle this pressure and truly become the Protagonist of her Generation?
As her trainer, Toujou Hana believed she could. She was a rough gem, destined to become the generation's main character!
"Thoughts? The Protagonist of this Generation… I don't see any problem with that title."
Facing the barrage of questions, El Condor Pasa showed no nerves, maintaining her confident demeanor—a confidence that seemed unshakable, no matter how strong the opponent!
The reporters' eyes lit up. This was exactly the kind of interviewee that got people excited. They quickly fired their next prepared question: "And what about Barbatos, who is also called a 'Protagonist of this Generation' alongside you? It's said you two are even classmates."
"Do you believe she is qualified to share that title with you?"
"Yes."
"She's a rival worth giving my all against."
El Condor Pasa could still clearly remember the scene from the night before the Rigil entrance trials, when several of them had raced together.
She remembered Barbatos having only just passed the halfway point when she herself had crossed the finish line.
A Barbatos with terrible turf affinity had managed to adapt to grass in less than two days. Who could imagine how much effort Barbatos had poured into adapting to the turf course in those two days? She must have run relentlessly on that grass, sweating buckets!
If a Barbatos like that wasn't worth her full effort, then what kind of Uma Musume would be?
And it wasn't just Barbatos. Seiun Sky, Urara, Special Week, King Halo, and Grass Wonder after her injury recovered… they would all be powerful rivals she must face in the future.
Even with all her self-confidence, she understood perfectly well how strong her classmates were.
Well, Urara was her lifelong rival… in wrestling!
Bearing the name of the Uma Warrior, I cannot lose!
"It seems El Condor Pasa holds Barbatos in high regard as well. So, what are your goals for this upcoming race?"
"Goals? First place, of course!"
--+--
Chiba, Japan. Near Nakayama Racecourse.
In a hotel room, Seiun Sky and Barbatos were watching the interview with El Condor Pasa on a laptop.
After a debut race, the top three most popular Uma Musume in upcoming races would always get pre-race interviews. Barbatos was no exception.
She was scheduled to have her pre-race interview tomorrow, before Seiun Sky's debut race, for the junior-level race she herself was participating in the day after.
Looking at the questions these reporters asked, she felt somewhat relieved.
They weren't as tricky as she'd feared. However, ignoring the other competitors like that was basically painting a target on her back.
Probably, a bunch of Uma Musume in tomorrow's race would be focusing their strategy entirely on marking El Condor Pasa.
Not that marking would likely affect El Condor Pasa much.
In Barbatos's view, El Condor Pasa was already the strongest among their peers she'd seen. Special Week, the one who seemed like a main character in the making, hadn't fully developed her potential yet.
"I really don't get it, Sei. Why is she entering another race so soon after her debut?" Barbatos mused.
She entered races to farm gold.
Why was El Condor Pasa doing it? For experience? But she didn't need to join another race just a week after her debut, did she? Given the skill level El Condor Pasa had shown, a junior-level race probably offered her almost no pressure.
"As fellow 'Protagonists of this Generation,' she probably doesn't want to be outshone by you," Seiun Sky said, stretching lazily without a trace of worry about her own debut race tomorrow.
The races Barbatos registered for were all listed on the official event website.
Rigil's trainer and El Condor Pasa could obviously see them. Since they were being talked about as equals, naturally, she wouldn't want to fall behind.
When they weren't in the same race, it all came down to comparing their results.
"Seriously, Sei? Are we really starting a competition grind over this?" Barbatos complained.
Was it possible that, thanks to her influence, their entire year of Uma Musume would start frantically entering races?
Then again, maybe it was a good thing. If more Uma Musume raced more often, then there would be more competitors in each race, which meant more gold for her to 'harvest' afterwards. This could be a virtuous cycle.
Just think, in the past, Uma Musume would run a dozen or so races and then retire. Starting with her, maybe every Uma Musume would run thirty or forty races.
She, Barbatos, was truly the very picture of diligence and hard work.
"...I'm going to take a bath first," Seiun Sky said, getting up and pulling her pajamas from her backpack before heading towards the bathroom.
"Alright, I'll queue up for a game of League then."
Clicking the League of Legends icon, Barbatos glanced back at Seiun Sky's retreating figure. For some reason, she felt distracted, a little worried about Seiun Sky's debut race tomorrow.
It was strange. She hadn't even been this nervous before her own debut race. Why was she feeling anxious on Seiun Sky's behalf now?
'Why overthink it?' she chided herself. 'Seiun Sky only lost to El Condor Pasa by a tiny margin. She'll have no problem with a debut race.'
But even with that thought, a faint sense of restlessness lingered in her heart.
--+--
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.