"Excuse me, could I get two orders of sunflower seeds, one carrot juice, and one coconut milk, please?"
The second match was about to begin.
As a spectator, Barbatos naturally drifted over to Gold Ship's stall to pick up some snacks for herself and her girlfriend.
Aside from those who had just finished their own match, most of the other viewers had already stocked up.
"That'll be 2,000 yen, much appreciated."
"I'll scan the code."
Barbatos had already reclaimed her phone from her teammates—having left it behind during her own time on the court—and was ready to pay. However, just as she opened the scanner, her hand paused.
She thought of Hishi Amazon and the others, who were still looking a bit dazed. "Actually, let me add two bottles of mineral water and a high-sugar carrot juice to that."
Usually, when the other Uma Musume bought drinks from Gold Ship, they didn't have special requests.
As students of Tracen Academy, most of them—with a few notable exceptions—avoided high-calorie options. When it came to drinks, the default was usually low sugar or half-sweet.
But considering the state Amazon and Narita Brian were in, Barbatos opted for the sugar-heavy version.
Judging by the look of sheer agony on their faces after drinking that vegetable juice, a bit of plain water probably wasn't going to cut it.
"You got it! That'll be 5,000 yen total!"
The price had more than doubled.
Clearly, the high-sugar carrot juice came at a premium.
It might not have been that expensive before, but with the threat of the "punishment" vegetable juice looming, Gold Ship had clearly sniffed out a business opportunity and was shamelessly price-gouging.
By the time a few more matches finished, the price for sugary drinks would likely skyrocket.
Of course, the "expensive" price wasn't anything truly outrageous. For the Uma Musume competing here today, money wasn't exactly an issue.
If that vegetable juice really tasted as legendary as it looked, few would be brave enough to just "tough it out."
"OK!"
She scanned the code and paid. She decided against buying extra sugary juices as backups; while it might save money later, the idea of preparing for defeat before the whistle even blew felt like it would hex their momentum for the upcoming games.
Clutching her haul, she headed back to the Team Canopus cheering section.
She handed the seeds and the coconut milk to Seiun Sky. "I'm going to run these over to Amazon-senpai and the others first."
Seiun Sky gave a soft hum of acknowledgment, her gaze drifting toward the spot where the dreaded vegetable juice sat.
In fact, most of the Canopus members were stealing glances in that direction. After all, they had just witnessed some of the most famous legends in the Japanese racing world collapse after just a few sips!
To them, that sight was far more terrifying than the fact that Barbatos had actually beaten those legends in a practice match. It was the kind of horror that perversely piqued one's curiosity.
"Ah! Now I really want to join the Dream Cup!"
"I want to see what that juice actually tastes like!"
Barbatos, just about to turn away, felt her lip twitch. Of course Twin Turbo would say that.
If she and Seiun Sky actually managed to win the Summer Dream Cup, and the "special vegetable juice" reward turned out to be even more foul, she wouldn't hesitate to let Turbo have a taste.
With that thought, she hurried over to Amazon and her group with the water and the sweet drinks.
"Brian-senpai, Amazon-big sis, want something to wash that taste out?"
"Life saver!"
"Thanks."
Both Amazon and Narita Brian snatched the carrot juices with lightning-fast reflexes, completely ignoring the mineral water.
When your taste buds are under a chemical assault, plain water often just washes the flavor further back into your throat. In moments like these, carrot juice was the only effective counter-measure.
Thump!
The sound of a volleyball hitting the sand echoed through the air.
"The Dream Girls take a temporary lead over the Rap Duo by one length, moving into the pacesetter position!"
Barbatos, who had been about to ask just how bad the juice really was, whipped her head around toward the court.
This match featured members of Team Rigil, with a legend on either side to keep the power levels balanced.
She hadn't expected Maruzensky and Taiki Shuttle to pull away so quickly!
In her own match, the first point had been a long, grueling stalemate until it was finally broken by the "curving" power of Hishi Amazon's Wilding Dash.
On the court now, the momentum was completely one-sided.
"Maruzen-senpai is incredible..."
After watching for a few moments, Barbatos couldn't help but reach that conclusion.
She had assumed everyone's volleyball skills were roughly on the same level—that every match would be a war of attrition like hers.
After all, with the physical stats of an Uma Musume, the court felt tiny. No matter how fast you ran or how hard you hit, the area was small enough that a girl could theoretically cover the entire half-court alone.
In a practice rally, two Uma Musume could probably keep a ball in the air for hours without it ever touching the ground.
"Of course she's strong. That's Maruzen for you," Narita Brian said, finally finding her voice as the carrot juice neutralized the lingering bitterness.
"Back in the day, the Summer Dream Cup titles were almost always monopolized by Maruzen and Rudolf. At least in volleyball, those two are in a league of their own within Team Rigil."
"Is that so?" Barbatos nodded thoughtfully.
Volleyball wasn't like racing; she and Seiun Sky knew nothing about Rigil's internal sports hierarchy, and there were no public records or tapes of past Dream Cups to study since it was just a casual team-bonding event.
Still...
She could accept Grass Wonder and T.M Opera O being called the "Rap Duo" (even if the "Rap" part was a bit of a mystery). But Maruzen-senpai naming her team the "Dream Girls" was a bit much.
Sure, Uma Musume retained their youthful appearance, but to Barbatos, Maruzen-senpai was practically from an older generation.
I guess that's just Maruzen-senpai for you, she thought, resisting the urge to say it out loud. Doing so would have been the ultimate taunt.
She returned to the Canopus huddle to watch the match play out with Seiun Sky.
Less than ten minutes in, Maruzen and Taiki were already leading by a staggering three lengths! At this rate, Grass Wonder and T.M Opera O had zero chance of a comeback.
As time ticked away, the gap only widened.
The "final straightaway"—usually the deciding moment of a match—felt utterly meaningless. By the twenty-minute mark, the Dream Girls were up by five lengths.
Even as Grass and Opera O started to adjust to Maruzensky's rhythm and clawed back a point here and there, the sheer gap in skill remained insurmountable.
Finally...
"The match is over! The Dream Girls take the victory with a massive lead of seven lengths!!"
--+--
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.