The first game of the Summer Dream Cup had officially come to a close.
With a parting promise to win the next time, Hishi Amazon stepped off the court alongside Narita Brian. Barbatos and Seiun Sky followed suit, heading back to rejoin their teammates in Canopus to wait for the next match to begin.
According to the schedule Rigil had organized, the next showdown would feature the duo of T.M. Opera O and Grass Wonder going up against Maruzensky and Taiki Shuttle.
However, at that moment, Toujou Hana—seated at the judge's table—didn't immediately announce the start of the next round.
Instead, she beckoned to Hishi Amazon and Narita Brian.
"Come over here for a moment. Since you lost the match, come have some of the vegetable juice sponsored by King Halo."
The idea was for the losers to drink the juice to better recover their stamina, while the winners continued preparing for the next round. It added a layer of competitiveness to the proceedings.
Honestly, it was a spur-of-the-moment rule Toujou Hana had cooked up after King Halo offered to provide the drinks.
There was one other detail, though. While vegetable juice was undoubtedly healthy, its flavor was... well, "unpleasant" would be an understatement. It was downright foul.
It served as a "motivation" of sorts, ensuring the pairs who were knocked out would have even more fighting spirit in the next match—if only to avoid having to drink it again.
"Vegetable juice, huh?" Amazon muttered, walking over without a second thought.
She was no stranger to the concept. As a member of Rigil, she'd seen Grass Wonder drinking it during training; apparently, it helped with recovering from fractures and injuries.
It was even rumored to kickstart stamina recovery. She'd never tried it herself, though, as the specific recipe hadn't surfaced in Rigil until after her golden era.
Neither she nor Narita Brian had ever tasted the concoction. Though she didn't quite get why only the losers had to drink it, Amazon didn't turn down Toujou Hana's request.
She and Brian stepped forward as Hana produced two rather elegant-looking bottles. Inside, a dark green liquid seemed to... writhe.
Well, it looks a bit gross, Amazon thought.
The rest of the team had teased Grass Wonder about that very thing whenever she drank it. Still, Amazon didn't doubt the taste. After all, Grass Wonder always said it was actually quite delicious.
She picked up the bottle, popped it open, and pulled out the built-in straw.
Amazon flashed a smile toward King Halo's seat. "Thanks for the drinks, King!"
Legendary Uma Musume carried the blessing of the Three Goddesses; as long as they were careful, they didn't really have to worry about injuries. To Amazon, this was basically just a free snack.
Even if they'd lost, getting a drink from King Halo was a nice consolation prize.
Narita Brian gave a silent, cool nod toward King Halo in thanks, maintaining her usual stoic composure.
Over in the Spica seats, Vodka's eyes were sparkling. "Brian-senpai is so cool... I want to be an Uma Musume just like her one day!"
Vodka lived for that kind of effortless style. Even after losing the volleyball match to Barbatos, Brian hadn't lost an ounce of her aura.
"AAAGH!!"
Thud.
The exquisite bottle of vegetable juice hit the ground.
After taking a few large gulps, Amazon's face underwent a violent transformation.
She collapsed to her knees, the green sludge trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her sun-kissed complexion turned a sickly shade of lime as she writhed in agony.
"Water..."
"The water... it's poisoned..."
Being the closest, Narita Brian noticed Amazon's distress first. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but the juice was already down her throat.
A bizarre, otherworldly flavor assaulted her taste buds, filling her mouth with a sensation that felt like a dark magic ritual gone wrong.
Thud.
Her bottle slipped from her fingers and hit the turf.
She dropped to one knee, one eye clamped shut in a grimace. For a moment, she felt a profound sense of empathy for Amazon. She finally understood why her partner had claimed it was poison.
This juice... it tasted like Tamamo Cross's worst nightmare!
Yet, even in her agony, she remained kneeling with her head bowed—clinging to her "cool" persona as if refusing to let a mere drink ruin her aesthetic.
"?!"
Barbatos stood there, completely dumbfounded. How had two powerhouses gone from perfectly fine to total wrecks in a matter of seconds?
But the realization hit her fast.
She stared at the two bottles rolling on the ground. Having just pulled off a "Snake Shot" earlier, her mind made a terrifying connection. No matter what happened, she could never drink that stuff.
She and Seiun Sky had to win this Summer Dream Cup. Period.
If she wasn't mistaken, that stuff was on the same level as "Inui's Special Juice." Back when she watched anime, she thought those gags were hilarious.
Who would have guessed that Rigil had actually developed a real-life version? And both Grass Wonder and King Halo had been drinking it?!
That's just insane!
In that instant, she remembered her first mock race at the Rigil training grounds. That was the day King Halo first got the recipe.
She'd said she was going to go whip some up, but she didn't return to the cabin until very late that night. At the time, they'd all wondered why it took so long to make a simple juice.
Looking at this scene, Barbatos realized that the first time King Halo drank it, she must have been put through absolute hell.
As for why King Halo was sponsoring the juice for the Summer Dream Cup... Barbatos doubted it was a "sharing is caring" situation.
Our fellow Uma Musume...
Well, at least King Halo was a noble soul who had risen above such petty, low-brow pranks! In Barbatos's mind, King was likely just trying to showcase her "Royal" stature.
After all, setting the flavor aside, the stamina recovery and healing properties were undoubtedly the real deal. Barbatos had seen King drinking it all month.
As for why King Halo could drink it without flinching—had she refined the recipe while giving the losers the "Original Sin" version?
Probably not.
If Barbatos had to guess, King Halo was likely using her sheer "Royal" pride and willpower to keep a straight face.
The first time she'd tried it, she probably looked exactly like Amazon and Brian did right now.
Barbatos wasn't the only one coming to this conclusion.
Special Week watched the fallen Amazon and the struggling Brian with pure panic. She glanced at the bottles, her eyes wide. Even as a world-class foodie, there was no way she was touching that!
Even the usually stoic Silence Suzuka felt a rare spark of desperate competitive fire after seeing the state of her Rigil seniors.
"Next pair, please!"
"Team Rap vs. Team Dream Girls!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.