Canopus Team Room.
The strategy meeting for the Spring Tenno Sho had just concluded. A full half-hour of discussion hadn't really produced any concrete results.
It felt more like the Canopus teammates were just debating the meaning of the phrase "The Tortoise and the Hare."
The existence of the Mejiro family's ancestral figure was still too distant a concept for their newly-formed team. Even their trainer, Minamizaka, didn't have any insights.
Matikanetannhauser rested her cheeks in her hands, replaying the half-hour meeting in her mind, and looked over at Barbatos.
"So why didn't you just ask that reporter about it earlier?"
The reporter who brought up "The Tortoise and the Hare" concept would surely know its meaning.
Truth be told, regarding the Spring Tenno Sho itself, Matikanetannhauser and the rest of Canopus had complete confidence in Barbatos.
The main point of the strategy meeting was really just their burning curiosity about what that story represented to the Mejiro family's matriarch.
"That's not something you can just ask. He definitely wouldn't tell us."
Barbatos shrugged. Machitan's life experience was still limited, so she hadn't considered the broader implications.
Beside them, a recently awakened Seiun Sky rubbed her eyes. Hearing just a few words was enough for her to grasp the topic.
She chimed in, "If we already knew the story of 'The Tortoise and the Hare,' the reporter mentioning it would be fine."
"But we don't know it. If he tells us, that's leaking strategy, you know."
Before a race, teams naturally gather intel on each other. It's not just about past race footage; recent training conditions are also fair game.
Studying an opponent's tactics and current form is standard practice for Uma Musume.
But such information absolutely cannot come from a supposedly 'neutral' reporter, especially not during pre-race interviews.
The race committee might not crack down on it, but if the Uma Musume whose info was leaked ends up losing, that reporter would face a thunderstorm of backlash from the fans. They could even lose their job and become untouchable in the industry.
Something similar seemed to have happened in League of Legends tournaments before.
"Hmph! Whatever this 'Tortoise and the Hare' is, who cares!"
Twin Turbo rapidly flapped her little hands against the table. "With B-chan's skills, she can easily outrun them all and win the Spring Tenno Sho!"
"Even if that so-called Mejiro family ancestor runs herself, she's definitely no match for B-chan!"
"Why don't we just write them a letter of challenge and send it over!"
Watching Twin Turbo single-handedly shift the dorm's atmosphere, Minamizaka gently massaged his temples.
Weren't they all just curious about the story? How did it turn into issuing a challenge to the Mejiro family?
Challenges between teams are fine, but a challenge from a team to an entire family... that's just strange.
As for the Mejiro ancestor definitely being no match for Barbatos—that went without saying. That Musume was likely from the era of Oguri Cap, or even Symboli Rudolf.
Without having ascended to legendary status, her physical capabilities would have seriously declined by now, probably not in better shape than Inari One or the other Heisei wonders.
"Hey, wait, you wrote the characters wrong on your challenge letter!"
"Whoa, Twin Turbo, you can't even write the characters properly? If the Emperor finds out, it'll definitely reflect badly on the academy."
"Just imagine Symboli Rudolf's aura—her expressionless, stern face telling you that Tracen Academy's Uma Musume need to study harder, or something like that."
As Barbatos and the others chattered away, Minamizaka was lost in his internal monologue. By the time he snapped back, Twin Turbo had already finished writing the letter. Her action speed was maxed out.
If only that kind of drive could be applied more to training...
Everyone was usually quite diligent during practice, so why were they holding these strategy meetings so frequently?
Normally, an Uma Musume's second year after debut is when races are most frequent. For small teams, it's manageable, but larger teams definitely can't hold a strategy meeting for every single race.
Because there will always be active Musume who have their own races to run. They can't afford to waste their own training time on someone else's competition.
Especially during particularly dense racing schedules.
That's why experienced trainers devise race plans with each Musume individually.
Well, that's the theory, anyway.
But...
Minamizaka paused, imagining days without these strategy meetings. It really did feel like something would be missing. Had they become a Canopus tradition?
Thinking this, he watched everyone helping Twin Turbo correct her mistakes, and a fatherly smile unconsciously spread across his face.
It really felt good to see them like this.
BAM!
A heavy door-slamming sound echoed as Twin Turbo, clutching the repeatedly corrected challenge letter, marched out of the dorm with heroic strides. She was off to deliver her challenge to the Mejiro family!
--+--
Under the setting sun.
On the path to the cafeteria.
Barbatos, holding Seiun Sky's hand, remarked with amusement, "I wonder if Twin Turbo managed to deliver that letter."
Their curiosity about "The Tortoise and the Hare" was just that—curiosity.
Since even Minamizaka didn't know what the story signified, they could simply ask Mejiro Bright about it after the Tenno Sho was over.
As for that Mejiro family ancestor, it didn't matter who she was. She was a relic of a bygone era, deserving of respect, but not awe.
The challenge letter itself was insignificant. It could be seen as Canopus taking the Tenno Sho seriously, and Barbatos taking Mejiro Bright seriously.
It wouldn't cause any real friction between them and the Mejiro family.
Mainly, since Twin Turbo wanted to deliver it, nobody stopped her. If both Twin Turbo and Urara were great at lightening the team's mood and were well-liked, then compared to Urara, Twin Turbo was more like the team's mascot, often doing things that made everyone either facepalm or chuckle fondly.
"Is it possible," Seiun Sky said with a slight smile, "that Twin Turbo can't even find where the Mejiro family lives?"
"Yikes, you might be onto something there?"
Barbatos sucked in a sharp breath and stopped walking. After a moment's thought, she pulled out her phone to call Twin Turbo on LINE.
Better check she hadn't gotten lost in some deep mountain forest and run into danger—after all, even Barbatos herself had no idea where the Mejiro estate was.
A short while later, after confirming that Twin Turbo indeed couldn't locate the Mejiro family home, Barbatos managed to postpone the challenge letter plan temporarily, averting the crisis of Twin Turbo getting lost off-campus in the middle of the night.
She finally put her phone away.
"As expected of my Star-sama, you even predicted that..."
"B-chan! Sei-chan!"
A voice cut off Barbatos. Special Week approached from nearby, accompanied by the rest of the Spica members, clearly all heading to the academy cafeteria together.
"Spe-chan."
Barbatos greeted Special Week and exchanged pleasantries with the other Spica members.
She wasn't very close with most of Spica. The one she'd interacted with the most was probably Tokai Teio. But she basically knew all the other members by sight.
Her gaze, however, settled on a new face—a Uma Musume with pale lavender hair.
She was currently locked in a headlock by the academy's famous eccentric, Gold Ship, her face a mix of reluctance and utter disgust.
At that moment, Special Week helpfully introduced, "Let me introduce you. This is Spica's new member, Mejiro McQueen. She's super amazing at long-distance races!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.