"Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos" sighed in the comment section, "Hehe, as if some mere 'Emperor' could ever stand a chance against a Wind God like me?"
Staring at the comments on her phone screen, Seiun Sky and Barbatos exchanged looks in their dorm room.
Barbatos herself, the subject of the discussion, felt utterly bewildered—'Who am I? Where am I? What is even happening?'
"I never registered that username," Barbatos said, a hint of exasperation in her voice as she looked at the comment.
"Someone must have changed their microblog handle to your name and title, then posted that."
"Mhm."
To Barbatos, this wasn't particularly surprising.
In her past life, imitation accounts were everywhere—from small-time fans mimicking celebrities or public figures on social media, to scammers in games using look-alike IDs to trick newcomers out of their gear for profit.
She just never expected to become the one being imitated now.
Then again, it wasn't all that strange. Netizens always had the wildest ideas; a little imitation was practically normal.
Besides, she was fairly well-known among the Uma Musume these days.
If she actually set up a microblog account, she'd probably gain followers quickly—maybe even reach half the fan count of that superstar among the Uma Musume, "Gold City," in a short time?
She wasn't entirely sure, she mused.
So, this account called "Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos" might just be someone trying to ride her popularity and fish for attention?
The replies under that comment were even more numerous than those under the top-rated comment itself.
Many microblog users, upon seeing the name, proudly affirmed their support for their favorite Uma Musume's confidence, convinced that Barbatos could defeat the Emperor, Symboli Rudolf. A mere "Emperor," indeed!
Others couldn't help but curse Barbatos for her audacity, daring to say such things, even launching personal attacks—turning from fans into haters.
Of course, plenty of others voiced their skepticism.
The most notable among them was probably the user "Work Is For Losers," who was even going head-to-head with "Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos" in the replies.
Barbatos vaguely remembered this blogger—a fan who'd wished her a speedy recovery on microblog before.
"Work Is For Losers" called out "Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos": "Your earlier post said you got divorced! Are you implying Barbatos is already married and divorced?"
"How do you know I haven't been married? Uma Musume don't have it as complicated as humans when it comes to marriage! I met Seiun Sky, so I parted amicably with my ex-wife!"
"Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos" fired back, making it sound like it really happened.
Online, the relationship between Barbatos and Seiun Sky was already a topic of much speculation, so this kind of claim was enough to fool the more gullible users.
Reading this, Barbatos's cheek twitched.
Since when had she gotten married—and divorced? Even she, the person in question, had no idea about any of this.
It really went to show: fame brings trouble.
Just then, Barbatos heard the ringtone of an incoming LINE call from her phone on the computer desk.
Walking over and picking it up, she saw it was a call from Minamizaka.
She answered right away, and Minamizaka's voice came through.
"Barbatos, for now, change your microblog handle to your real name, or register a new microblog account."
"Someone's impersonating you on microblog right now, posting under that topic about the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies results. If this kind of talk spreads, it could get risky."
In just a few sentences, he laid out the situation clearly.
He continued, "Once you've sorted your microblog account, make a post. I'll have the official Canopus account verify you."
"Got it."
The LINE call ended.
Barbatos immediately opened the microblog app to change her username.
As a sports competitor or a public figure like an idol, it was standard to use your real name for your official account.
Seiun Sky, who had been following the comments, looked over at Barbatos's actions.
Entering the username change screen, she changed it from "Future Top LPL Import" to simply "Barbatos"—no prefixes needed, just her name.
She was Barbatos herself. She didn't need a flashy prefix like "The Pinnacle Prodigy" like those imitation accounts did.
But when she clicked to confirm the change, she ran into a serious issue: the username was already taken.
"..."
Someone already registered that?
Well, that wasn't too surprising. Even without her presence, given Genshin's popularity in Japan, some Japanese player would've likely grabbed the ID "Barbatos."
"Prodigy_of_the_Era-Barbatos" was probably their alternative after finding "Barbatos" already taken.
After a moment's thought, she typed "Wind God-" before her name. Title plus name was a common enough format.
"Wind God-Barbatos" was also taken.
She tried a few more variations—"Canopus·Barbatos," "Tracen-Barbatos"—but they were all already registered.
Watching her attempts, Seiun Sky thought for a second and suggested, "What if you add some numbers or something? Like a 7?"
That was their dorm room number.
Hearing this, Barbatos typed "Barbatos7," only to be told the username was taken.
She and Seiun Sky seemed to have underestimated her popularity in Japan. Out of curiosity, she searched and found not only "Barbatos7" taken, but "Barbatos1" through "Barbatos9" all registered as well.
Maybe add a different number? Like a birthday?
After a brief pause, she quickly typed "Barbatos426." Her finger hovered over the confirm button as she glanced at Seiun Sky.
"426..." Seiun Sky murmured the number, pressing her lips together. She didn't say anything, nor did she try to stop her.
It was, in fact, her own birthday.
Seeing no objection from Seiun Sky, Barbatos tapped the confirm button. This time, no one had taken the username.
With her new handle set, she opened the page to compose a post.
"For the Winter Dream Cup, no matter who the opponent is, I will give it my all with the determination to win!"
--+--
T/N: 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.