The Spectator Stands.
Special Week watched the track below and instantly covered her face with her hands, peeking out only through the gaps between her fingers.
She remembered her own debut race all too well—that was exactly how she'd been bumped by Queen Berry. She'd warned Barbatos about it before.
But this time, she'd felt confident that 'B-chan' could handle Queen Berry, so she hadn't brought it up again.
"Ah! It's my fault for not reminding B-chan," Special Week muttered, guilt washing over her.
"She'll be fine, she won't lose the race just because of a little…" Seiun Sky replied, her tone nonchalant. She had full faith Barbatos could pull through.
Besides, this wasn't Special Week's fault. She'd already kindly warned Barbatos about Queen Berry after her first encounter.
More likely, Barbatos just hadn't taken Queen Berry seriously enough this time.
But even as the words left her mouth, Seiun Sky's usual lazy demeanor vanished.
On the track, Barbatos, who had just been shouldered by Queen Berry, abruptly slowed down. She was falling behind so drastically that even Queen Berry, the one who'd done the bumping, was now lagging far behind her.
What happened to Queen Berry wasn't Seiun Sky's main concern.
After all, Queen Berry was the instigator. But Barbatos was slowing down!
The two of them, who had been in the middle of the pack, were instantly overtaken by other Uma Musume as their speed dropped, plummeting to the very back of the field.
Recalling Special Week's debut race, the usual pattern was clear.
After a bump from Queen Berry, an Uma Musume would stagger, slow down to regain her balance.
That wasn't strange. It was a known rule that Uma Musume couldn't intentionally collide with others; body contact was only supposed to happen accidentally during overtakes—a 'squeeze' or a 'press.'
While Queen Berry was famously strong, an undefeated champion in arm-wrestling contests, she couldn't possibly put her full force into a bump.
That would guaranteed cause a racing incident. Queen Berry, experienced in this very tactic, knew exactly how far she could push.
But the problem now was…
The situation on the track was clearly abnormal. Barbatos, who had been 'squeezed,' wasn't recovering her speed after a brief moment.
Even more strangely, Queen Berry, the one who'd initiated the contact, wasn't seizing the chance to surge ahead either.
Something was wrong!
This analysis flashed through Seiun Sky's mind in an instant.
Her hands gripped the railing of the spectator stand tightly, her focus and tension sharper than ever.
If Barbatos showed any further signs of trouble in the race, she'd vault over this railing and onto the track without a second thought.
It was an instinctive readiness.
The sudden, sharp drop in speed… it had to be a leg sprain from that stumble after the impact.
Barbatos must be running in pain right now.
In the Rigil team's reserved spectator area, Maruzensky, who had witnessed countless races, also quickly identified the problem. She rose to her feet abruptly, a frown darkening her features.
Noticing Maruzensky's reaction, Grass Wonder and El Condor Pasa exchanged a glance, immediately understanding the situation.
Even the perpetually smiling Grass Wonder now wore a displeased expression.
El Condor Pasa clenched her fists. "You can't fall here, B-chan! We still haven't had our real showdown!"
As for Queen Berry? Even if she seemed injured from the collision too, who cared about Queen Berry right now? Most would just think she'd gone too far.
As many began to notice Barbatos's condition and speculate…
--+--
Little did they know, Barbatos on the track was perfectly fine.
Though the bump from Queen Berry had made her stagger, she'd quickly regained her balance. The drastic speed reduction was because she had now entered a state of 'in-combat.'
Most of her speed-boosting skills relied on being 'out of combat.'
After being hit by Queen Berry, she needed time to get 'out of combat' again to regain that movement speed boost.
Staring at the leading pack that had already opened up a gap, watching King Halo surging far ahead, Barbatos felt a wave of anxiety and impatience.
She pushed her legs to their limit, maximizing her stride length and cadence.
But, now accustomed to the 'out of combat' bonus, her feet felt unnaturally heavy, and she struggled to adapt.
At the same time, she kept a wary eye on Queen Berry's movements not far away.
She had to avoid another contact that would keep her 'in combat.' If that happened, this race would likely become the first loss of her life.
But she quickly noticed something.
Queen Berry's condition wasn't right. If she wanted to win, she should have accelerated past right after the bump.
Staying in this position now, without a speed boost like hers, meant Queen Berry had no chance at first place.
She couldn't possibly have planned to focus entirely on Barbatos for the whole race, could she?
So there was only one explanation.
Since the bump had caused her 'Plate' passive to drop, meaning both the 'Plate' and 'Youmuu's' passives needed to restack, it indicated this wasn't just her being forced 'in combat.'
Force works both ways.
When Queen Berry collided with her, the system must have also registered it as Barbatos attacking Queen Berry.
Even if Queen Berry's bump wasn't overly forceful, Barbatos herself had the damage from her 'Plate' passive and the stat bonuses from 'Youmuu's' Ghostblade.
Thinking this, even though she was the 'victim,' Barbatos offered a silent prayer. 'I hope Queen Berry is okay.'
Then she put it out of her mind.
As a model student, she'd learned in her Uma Musume courses that no matter what happened to an opponent on the track, her only job was to run forward, to run towards the finish line!
Besides, Queen Berry was still running, at least she wasn't in mortal danger.
Pounding forward with heavy steps, she pushed ahead. "Faster, I have to go faster!"
Otherwise, even after getting 'out of combat' and activating all her skills, she probably wouldn't be able to catch up to King Halo at the very front!
On her system interface, the stacks for the 'Plate' and 'Youmuu's' passives slowly climbed as Barbatos ran.
Passive stacks reached 30. King Halo, at the front, had 800 meters left to the finish.
50 stacks, 700 meters!
60 stacks, 650 meters!
"Barbatos and Queen Berry both seem to be in trouble!"the race commentator announced.
"Queen Berry is slowing down significantly; it appears the earlier collision might have caused her some issues."
"But Barbatos is still hanging on!"
"Barbatos is now about 70 meters behind the leader, King Halo! And the gap is still widening!"
The commentator braced his hands on the desk and picked up his microphone, his voice charged.
It wasn't because King Halo was poised for an upset victory, but because Barbatos, clearly in some physical distress, was still persevering, still running!
"King Halo is entering the final turn! Just 500 meters to go!"
The commentator didn't continue.
In this race… Barbatos was now nearly 100 meters behind.
It was a gap that seemed almost impossible to close.
--+--
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.