"I won!"
Even amidst that tsunami of cheers, Seiun Sky seemed to hear only Barbatos's voice.
Feeling Barbatos's joy after winning the race, sensing the distinct scent of sweat from her intense running, it didn't smell bad at all; she just thought Barbatos looked incredibly cool right now.
Her face, usually the one initiating things and 'teasing' Barbatos, was flushed with a blush.
In response to Barbatos's victory declaration.
"Mhm~" She nodded vigorously, her eyes bright and shining on her blushing cheeks.
She felt genuinely proud of Barbatos for winning the race, proud of her roommate.
Their bodies separated slightly, their gazes met, looking at each other, and for a moment, all the affection accumulated over time surged forth.
Barbatos's eyelids lowered, almost involuntarily leaning in.
Seiun Sky's lips parted slightly, not intending to dodge, just standing there dazedly. The usually clever girl seemed like a controlled puppet, having lost all ability to move.
Just as the two were about to lose control and kiss right then and there.
King Halo walked over from the side, "Congrats, B-chan!"
The disappointment and pain she felt after seeing the finish line photo were well hidden by her; that wasn't an expression befitting a king. When faced with failure, one must confront it directly.
She lost now, so she just had to train even harder later!
And as for her classmate Barbatos, winning this race was well-deserved. Even if she herself had won by luck, it would have felt unearned.
King Halo's voice snapped Barbatos and Seiun Sky back to reality instantly.
The two quickly separated, pretending as if nothing had happened, but both Barbatos and Seiun Sky's faces showed a bit of a 'bubble tea kettle'—flustered and blushing.
"That was close…"
Barbatos pursed her lips but didn't harbor any resentment towards King Halo.
After clearing her head, she immediately saw the problem. The consequences of kissing like that would have been completely unpredictable.
Besides, she hadn't even confessed yet. This was really too sudden, she just lost control for a moment, acted too impulsively.
"Thanks, I almost lost there for a second."
"Next time, I won't lose. I'll definitely make sure you see the running form of a true king."
King Halo flicked her hair and elegantly delivered her tough talk. Next time she met Barbatos on the track, she would be in the form of a 'Peerless Talent'!
But as she finished speaking, her movements paused slightly as she looked at Barbatos's leg.
"How's your leg?"
"Huh?"
Barbatos tilted her head, confused, but then came the intense sensation of soreness, swelling, and pain.
It was something she hadn't felt during the race or while waiting for the finish line photo, her focus had been so absolute.
It was as if her legs no longer belonged to her.
This was probably just from pushing herself to the limit, forcibly increasing her stride frequency… right?
So when Seiun Sky ran over earlier and asked if she was okay, she was asking about this.
Was it because after being bumped by Queen Berry, her speed dropped significantly, making them think she had some leg injury?
"It's fine, it'll be better in a bit."
Barbatos waved her hand dismissively.
Even if she really injured her foot from Queen Berry's bump, she could just heal it with [Heal].
Besides, after the collision, she hadn't felt any pain then.
The real concern should be for Queen Berry. She hadn't seen her after the race; probably her trainer and staff took her to the infirmary.
Seiun Sky glanced at her, her eyes shifting a bit.
If she could still be thinking about that, then she probably was really fine, but…
She took Barbatos's hand, "No, that won't do. Come with me to the infirmary, now!"
Sometimes her own judgment wasn't the most accurate. Whether there was a problem or not had to be determined by the track doctor.
"Okay, yes ma'am!"
Barbatos waved to King Halo.
Gritting her teeth against the soreness in her legs, she walked with Seiun Sky towards the infirmary.
A wide smile spread across her face. Being worried over by Seiun Sky felt really nice.
The soreness and swelling in her legs were real, so getting checked at the infirmary was fine. As for whether to use [Heal] on herself or not, that probably wasn't necessary.
Even though it hurt, she knew she hadn't felt this way when she was bumped.
So, most likely, it wasn't a big problem.
--+--
Infirmary.
Minamizaka and Urara were already waiting there.
"Tss—"
Barbatos couldn't help but hiss in a sharp breath as the doctor examined her leg.
Earlier, she had felt soreness, swelling, and pain, but it wasn't so pronounced.
But when the doctor pressed on it and applied a bit of force, the pain seemed to instantly amplify.
Or perhaps.
Earlier, her attention had been entirely on the race, on Seiun Sky.
Just like how holding Seiun Sky's hand could effectively distract her when she was afraid of heights.
Beside her.
Seiun Sky couldn't help but feel nervous too.
Based on Barbatos's condition earlier, she also thought it should be fine, but now her heart was in her throat.
The doctor, after a brief examination, looked up and stared at Barbatos as if she were some kind of monster, "There's a degree of sprain in the left ankle. To win the race after getting bumped and spraining both feet…"
Everyone let out a slight sigh of relief upon hearing it was just a sprain.
Including Barbatos. If it had been a fracture, she would have missed the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and the Winter Dream Cup.
Even if she could use [Heal] to recover fully in two days, if people knew it was a fracture, they wouldn't allow it—just like when she first crossed over.
"Will she be able to make it for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies?"
"That depends on your own recovery ability."
The doctor adjusted his glasses, his expression extremely serious, "However, there's a more serious issue."
"Your body can't handle the speed you displayed today. If you do this two or three more times, or run even faster… you might have to say goodbye to the racetrack."
"Part of the pain you felt earlier was from the sprain, and another part was from the muscle groups in your legs."
"?!?!"
Barbatos froze instantly, "How can that be?"
"Symboli Rudolf and the others run faster than me, and they're perfectly fine."
The doctor let out a deep sigh, "For Uma Musume, stamina can be trained, but speed… it's generally not something you can improve upon. It's not that speed can't be increased through training, but there's an upper limit to speed."
"The vast majority of Uma Musume never reach that upper limit."
It's like how Uma Musume who activate their Zones often sustain injuries after races—this is precisely the reason.
Seiun Sky, Minamizaka, and Urara in the infirmary twitched their lips slightly, remaining silent, a wave of sorrow rising within them. How could this happen?!
"Generally impossible? So that means it's still possible to improve, right?"
Barbatos endured the pain and stood up from the seat. Her face showed no trace of discouragement or pain, only confidence and composure.
Is that all the doctor was going to say?
"If they can't do it, that's their business. But I am Barbatos, after all!"
--+--
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.