At the finish line, Seiun Sky braced her hands on her knees, gasping for air.
A thought flashed through her mind: 'I need to train harder! I want to get closer to her!'
Her resolve to practice hardened even further.
Just then, she saw Barbatos, who had been looking her way, turn and walk over. Barbatos extended a hand and said, "I won this time."
"And I bet I'll win next time we make a wager."
A wager...
Hearing that, Seiun Sky couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly, a smirk playing on her lips.
Now that she thought about it, Barbatos had never actually won a bet against her. Three bets, and not a single victory.
The last bet was about going to see a movie, but right now Barbatos was busy preparing for the year-end Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and the Winter Dream Cup, so she didn't have time for that.
She felt a sudden flicker of anticipation for their next bet.
"Hmm?"
Seiun Sky looked at Barbatos with a mischievous glint, dragging out the "Hmm" teasingly. "You really think you can win?"
"W-well... of course!"
Faced with such doubt, Barbatos hesitated for a moment before mustering her pride. Those previous losses were just bad luck.
Back in her past life, she'd witnessed the rise and fall of a legendary "dirt block," so she had some confidence when it came to gambling.
Seventeen cards? You think you can beat me with that?
"..."
Then again, maybe it was possible. But mainly, betting against Seiun Sky meant that even if she lost, it wasn't really a loss.
She just wanted to win once, to salvage a bit of her dignity in the betting department.
In those few simple exchanges, Seiun Sky felt the weight in her heart lift. Her determination to train hard remained, but she no longer felt so disheartened about not being able to catch up to Barbatos here.
Catching her breath, she didn't press the issue further.
Her gaze dropped to Barbatos's legs. "How are your legs holding up?"
Barbatos's final sprint had nearly matched her speed during the actual race.
"No problem. I think I've found my limit," Barbatos said seriously. "I won't let something like that happen again."
Under normal circumstances, for something trivial, she might have played it up a little—feigned unsteadiness, maybe even stumbled into Seiun Sky for a hug.
After that embrace at the Tokyo Sports Hai, hugging seemed like an unlocked option.
But she couldn't do that now.
It would only make Seiun Sky worry. It was better to be honest.
When she only stacked [Youmuu's Ghostblade], that was pretty much her current speed limit. Adding other skills would require her to immediately cast [Heal] on herself after the race.
The severity of the injury would probably vary depending on how much she exceeded that speed limit.
But that wasn't a real concern.
There were plenty of ways to regain health in League of Legends. With the essence she'd saved up, buying a Mundo for his healing would be easy.
Mundo's ultimate could restore health directly—in real-world terms, that meant recovering from injuries.
It basically meant that as long as she had a breath left, she could be back on her feet, perfectly fine, in no time.
--+--
As Barbatos and Seiun Sky crossed the finish line, the second group—Ikuno Dictus and Nice Nature—finished more than ten lengths behind.
Nice Nature took third, Ikuno Dictus fourth.
Under the circumstances, the final order of this practice race didn't really matter. Barbatos's complete recovery from her leg injury was proof enough for Minamizaka.
But the four at the finish line, plus Minamizaka and Matikanetannhauser in the stands, all turned their attention to the track approaching the line.
Urara and Twin Turbo were straining with everything they had, pushing toward the end.
The only difference was, while Twin Turbo had initially pulled far ahead of Urara—sprinting all-out from the start—Urara maintained a decent pace even now.
She clearly looked exhausted, but her speed hadn't dropped significantly.
Twin Turbo had started fast, using a true front-runner's strategy, building a strong lead over Urara early on. But her stamina was spent, and she could no longer maintain that pace.
She flailed her arms, her whole body wobbling unsteadily, looking like she might collapse at any moment.
Even though this was just a practice race among teammates, they were determined to finish the full distance. Only 200 meters remained.
Urara was steadily closing the gap, inching closer to Twin Turbo's position.
100 meters to go.
Twin Turbo's vision blurred, her arms and legs felt like lead. She'd started too fiercely, trying to create distance from Barbatos, with Seiun Sky pressing close behind.
The chased often feel more pressure than the chaser, so she'd pushed herself to 120%, resulting in a complete loss of speed in the latter half.
"Just a little more, just a little more! Almost there!"
Urara's figure drew up beside her, about to overtake and reach the finish line first.
"Ahhh—I'm toast!"
Seeing Urara pull even, Twin Turbo gasped, trying to speed up, but her legs gave way and she tumbled forward.
She truly had no strength left.
Fortunately, her speed by then was barely more than a human jog, so it wasn't a serious fall.
Exchanging glances, Barbatos and the others seemed to share the same unspoken question: who had crossed the line first?
Twin Turbo had fallen, but she'd hit the ground past the finish line. Urara had been right there at the same time. This was just an internal test—there was no photo finish.
And Urara's sheer determination and grit had genuinely surprised them.
To maintain her speed all the way to the end, even over just a mile, was seriously impressive!
"Did you see clearly?"
"Does that count as a tie?"
They looked at each other, unable to decide.
Twin Turbo, who had face-planted, rolled over onto her back on the grass. Her face was flushed from the fall, bits of grass clinging to her hair and cheeks.
"D-dammit!" she sputtered. "Next time... next time I'll win for sure, Urara!"
If she'd fallen right before the line, how could it possibly be a tie?
Urara, still catching her breath, walked over to Twin Turbo and reached out a hand to pull her up.
"I have a feeling I'll win next time!" Urara declared.
"No, I'll definitely win!"
They sounded like a pair of elementary school kids.
--+--
From a certain spot, a gray-maned Uma Musume watched it all. She let out a hearty laugh, a little canine tooth showing.
"Well, if she's fine, then I can rest easy."
"No way an Uma Musume who beat me would go down that easily."
--+--
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.