A dimple appeared on Haruna Minamino's face. "For this Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, is Barbatos confident of victory?"
"Sakura Rambler, the second favorite, Freedom Soldier, the third favorite, and all the other Uma Musume are opponents not to be taken lightly."
"Sakura Rambler? Freedom Soldier?"
"Who're they?"
Twin Turbo scratched her head in confusion; those names didn't ring any bells at all.
In her mind, only a handful of rivals in the same generation could even think of challenging Barbatos—she could count them on one hand.
Hadn't King Halo been pretty famous too? But Barbatos had beaten her even while running with a leg injury.
"As for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, there's no way B-chan won't win."
"Heck, she's already studying opponents for the Winter Dream Cup… Mmph— Oww!"
Twin Turbo wanted to say more, but in an instant, she was hoisted up—Ikuno Dictus slammed a "Dictus Crush" on her, hauling the squirming Turbo over her shoulder with a pained yelp!
"So sorry, we just remembered we have something to take care of. We'll be going now."
With a quick apology, Ikuno Dictus marched off into the distance, Twin Turbo slung over her shoulder.
"Hey! Why won't you let me finish? What 'things' do we even have to do?!"
No matter how much Twin Turbo struggled, she couldn't break free from Ikuno Dictus's iron grip. Minamizaka let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Studying opponents for the Winter Dream Cup, huh…
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring Twin Turbo along after all. Hopefully, nothing too troublesome would come of it.
It was true—Barbatos really had been researching future rivals for the Winter Dream Cup. But that didn't mean she was overlooking the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies; she was still pushing herself hard to improve.
If a report like that got out, though…
Even if Barbatos won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, she could easily be labeled as arrogant.
Most fans wouldn't care, of course—Barbatos had every right to be confident. But there would always be a small group looking for any excuse to smear her name.
In sports, maybe you weren't supposed to worry about that kind of thing. Winning was all that really mattered.
But if she ever lost a single race down the line, people would seize the chance to stir up controversy online.
And what if she actually lost the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies?
Then it would be all because of her overconfidence. The court of public opinion could really mess with an athlete's head.
"She's already studying opponents for the Winter Dream Cup?"
Haruna Minamino murmured thoughtfully. It wasn't all that strange, really. Her earlier question had been pretty standard—and the predictions for this race were already overwhelmingly one-sided.
Of course, that was assuming Barbatos had fully recovered from her injury.
Right now, though, watching Barbatos train on the track, her pace seemed… cautious. It was hard to tell if she was truly back to full strength.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't include that in your article," Minamizaka said bluntly.
Twin Turbo had already said too much. Even with Ikuno Dictus cutting her off, any sharp reporter would easily fill in the blanks.
"Of course. I'm a fan of Barbatos too, so I understand how serious it would be if that got out."
Haruna Minamino blinked playfully. "In that case, may I ask a few other questions for the main piece?"
"Such as… the truth about Barbatos's injury."
There were even bigger questions she could've asked. If the trainer Minamizaka wanted her to keep quiet, he'd probably answer.
But asking whether Barbatos usually trained like this wasn't a good idea now. After all, skipping practice to compete was just another form of arrogance—no different from studying future opponents.
As for the injury, Team Canopus hadn't released any official statement on their social media.
Plenty of people were eagerly waiting for answers—it was exactly the kind of topic that could blow up online.
Minamizaka didn't hold back. He laid out the doctor's diagnosis plainly.
He'd actually been waiting for the right moment to go public with this. Now seemed as good a time as any.
As Haruna listened, her jaw slowly dropped, her lips forming a small 'o.' She even stopped jotting down notes.
Her body couldn't handle running at top speed. A few more times, and she might have to retire early—or worse, never run again.
This…!
This was something most ordinary Uma Musume would never face.
Heck, even most G1-level Uma Musume would never experience this. It was truly a "nightmare for geniuses."
"How can this be?!"
"So that's why she's not going all out during training?"
"That's just… too…"
Even with two years in the industry under her belt, she was still a recent university graduate. Something like this was hard to process.
Calling herself a fan of Barbatos wasn't a lie. Everyone admired strong Uma Musume—she was no different. She just happened to be a journalist as well as a fan.
If this was true… Online, everyone had seen Barbatos as a top contender for the Triple Crown in her generation.
But if Minamizaka's words were accurate, then the Triple Crown… might be nothing but a mirage.
Barbatos had the talent to become a Triple Crown winner—but would she, too, fall to injury, becoming just another "Phantom Triple Crown" legend?
Minamizaka sighed softly. He'd felt the same way when he first heard the doctor's diagnosis.
"Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"
"I think that's all for today's interview."
Haruna Minamino struggled to steady her emotions. "I'll… publish this report when the time is right."
She turned to leave, but after a few steps, she glanced back. "Barbatos will definitely win the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies."
Working in the Uma Musume industry, she'd seen too many careers cut short by injury. Most of the time, she could only sigh with regret.
But when it hit this close to home—when it affected an Uma Musume she truly admired—
Even she couldn't help but feel shaken. A touch of that schoolgirl sadness crept in.
Maybe it hadn't happened yet, but the trainer of Canopus wouldn't lie. In just a few sentences, he'd painted a vivid picture of a "fallen genius" in her mind.
A story like this would definitely go viral—maybe even hit number one on the trending charts. But for now, she didn't feel like writing it at all.
After she left, one reporter after another—some alone, some in groups—came by for interviews.
Minamizaka handled them all with polite, standard responses, giving away nothing too explosive.
--+--
Time flew.
Before long, the day of the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies arrived.
Outside Hanshin Racecourse, the crowd was buzzing. A huge poster of Barbatos in her victory outfit was displayed prominently—nowhere on it could you spot Sakura Rambler or Freedom Soldier, despite being second and third favorites.
It was as if the officials themselves were saying: Barbatos is the star of this race!
Barbatos stepped out of Minamizaka's van and gazed at the Hanshin Racecourse. It was so much livelier than the last time she'd been here.
This was where she'd run her debut race. And now, her first G1 would be here too.
--+--
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.