"El Condor Pasa Dominates G3 Debut! The Phantom Bird Striding Across the Earth! A Massive 7-Length Victory!"
"The strongest sprint of the new generation, a terrifying 8-length lead! Who can possibly stop Barbatos in G3 races?!"
"Both undefeated in three races! El Condor Pasa and Barbatos—who is truly stronger?"
Headlines like these flooded newspapers and phones. Though both were only a month into their careers and facing their first G3 races, and despite being heavily marked by every opponent, they'd each seized overwhelming victories.
You could say their fame was blazing like the midday sun.
If not for the lack of a head-to-head matchup, posters of Barbatos and El Condor Pasa would probably be dominating everyone's field of view.
Heck, some Uma Musume-racing enthusiasts nearly came to blows arguing over which of the two was stronger.
To outsiders, these two were destined rivals, the main characters battling for Japan's top crown in this generation.
Little did they know the two subjects of all this buzz were just sitting in Tracen Academy's cafeteria, having lunch with their classmates like any other day.
"I'm so jealous... being able to sleep through Literature class." El Condor Pasa's dark circles under her mask seemed to deepen, and even her lunch seemed to lose a bit of its savor.
Barbatos always looked sleep-deprived, yet she could catch up on sleep during Literature—how unfair was that?
"Pushing yourselves like this will lead to trouble. You need to balance work and rest," Grass Wonder advised, eyes curved into gentle crescents.
"Otherwise, you might burn out before you even reach a G1 race."
Barbatos, currently digging into her lunch with gusto, had already heard from Urara about El Condor Pasa and King Halo's frantic extra training, trying to emulate her. But were they really the same thing? One was grinding in League of Legends, the other was doing extra running drills.
Still, she was oddly touched that they thought she and Seiun Sky were secretly training hard behind the scenes. I mean, could you really call what Barbatos did slacking off?
"Heh heh, don't worry, I know my own body best. I'll be fine," El Condor Pasa declared confidently.
Grass Wonder, still smiling, asked, "By the way, where do you and Sei-chan usually practice? We never see you around."
"Ehehe." Barbatos let out a light laugh, trying to dodge the question cutely. She couldn't very well tell Grass Wonder she spent her nights doing drills in Summoner's Rift.
"You really should balance work and rest. How about going fishing this weekend?" Seiun Sky, sitting beside Barbatos, offered.
Balance work and rest... Barbatos mulled over the phrase, suddenly connecting it to Seiun Sky. Balancing was good, but you shouldn't get too relaxed.
If she was putting in extra hours in Summoner's Rift, then Seiun Sky was putting in extra hours with the Sandman.
Could it be that Seiun Sky had some sort of 'Sleeping' system where she just got stronger and faster by napping?
As for the weekend fishing trip, she didn't confirm if she'd go.
If there were no races, she often went fishing with Seiun Sky anyway, sometimes even streaming League of Legends: Wild Rift while they fished.
It was a nice way to spice up her school life.
"Huh? Sei-chan, you fish?" Special Week exclaimed, surprised. Even though she'd grown up in the countryside, she didn't have much experience with fishing.
"Where did you think the fish we ate before came from?"
"Fishing does sound nice."
"Though I'm not sure about our class's plans for the cultural festival. If we have something, we might not have time to fish on the weekend."
Tracen Academy held its cultural festival in October. Almost every class put on some sort of event—a café, a haunted house, or maybe a stage play.
Some Uma Musume would even set up their own stalls, selling homemade treats or local specialties from their hometowns.
Of course, plenty of others just enjoyed the festival atmosphere, a welcome chance for the academy to relax amidst the usual competitive intensity.
"Speaking of which, has our class decided on a project yet?" Barbatos was quite curious about the cultural festival.
It was a staple in most Japanese school-themed stories, and interesting things always seemed to happen.
Since her debut race, she'd been intensely focused on climbing the ranks in the Rift and hadn't really soaked in the campus life.
Her next race was still a G3, the Artemis Stakes, scheduled for the weekend two weeks from now.
Even though she needed to prepare for her goal, the Dream Cup, as she said, a proper balance was necessary. She wondered what Seiun Sky would choose to do during the festival—or would she just find a corner to sleep in?
She stole a glance at Seiun Sky out of the corner of her eye.
Should she invite her to explore the festival together? Or maybe join the same class project?
"Not yet," Grass Wonder replied. Despite not being a class representative, she was the most informed about class and student council matters among their group of five.
"But it'll probably be a class-wide project, like running a dessert shop."
"No hope for Halo-chan's café proposal?" Barbatos asked. King Halo had considerable influence in their class, and Barbatos remembered her proposing a café during the class meeting, promising the most 'refined' service for their fellow Tracen students.
"The café proposal conflicts with some projects from the upperclassmen."
"Upperclassmen?"
It couldn't be that Tracen had issues with seniors bullying juniors, could it? Just a project conflict wouldn't normally make King Halo back down—that wasn't like her.
"Yeah, seniors like Fuji Kiseki, Narita Brian, and T.M. Opera O."
"Halo-chan thought their project sounded more interesting, so she's planning to drop the café idea."
"?"
Barbatos mentally conjured a question mark.
Forget how interesting the project might be; just hearing those names made her want to check out their café once the festival started.
It was a long shot, but if they were doing something like a maid café... the thought of legendary Uma Musume like Fuji Kiseki, Narita Brian, and T.M. Opera O in maid outfits was... thrilling.
So awesome, she thought. I'd order loads of coffee, have each senior take a turn serving me, make them call me 'Master,' and maybe even record a video.
Well, best to keep that fantasy to herself. She didn't have a death wish.
So... should she ask Seiun Sky to go with her?
Just then, Grass Wonder's phone vibrated softly. She picked it up with a slightly apologetic look. "The student council president wants us to come by after lunch. It's about the cultural festival."
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T/N: Mihoyo x Multiverse Fanfic Up!
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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.