"Let me introduce you all. This is our Spica team's new member, Mejiro McQueen."
Special Week introduced Spica's newest recruit to Barbatos and the others.
Generally speaking, aside from fellow Uma Musume from their own generation, most would only pay attention to either legendary veterans from the past or rising talents that came after them.
They wouldn't particularly care about who was in their friends' training teams.
Unless it was a team like Rigil—the strongest of them all—when people talked about a team, they usually only remembered the one or two most famous members from it.
Only a select few Uma Musume were truly memorable. In this age of information overload, people tended to remember only the one at the very top.
Even those who came in second or third would be forgotten—unless they were perpetually in those spots.
"So, she's from the Mejiro family," Barbatos murmured, a bit surprised to run into a Mejiro girl right at this moment.
After all, she had just told Twin Turbo not to rush off delivering that challenge letter yet, and here she was, running into one right after saying that.
Neither Barbatos nor Seiun Sky had any impression of this Mejiro McQueen. She had just joined Spica, so she probably hadn't even run her debut race yet.
Cases like Silence Suzuka—debuting in Rigil and switching teams mid-career—were rare indeed.
Barbatos didn't particularly intend to greet her.
Watching the interaction between Gold Ship and Mejiro McQueen, she leaned toward Special Week and whispered sincerely, "She and Gold Ship seem pretty close."
"Yeah!" Special Week nodded vigorously. "McQueen joined our Spica because of Golshi."
"Just like you joined because of Suzuka?"
Special Week blinked, not catching on at first. "Huh?"
Barbatos was about to tease Special Week a little more when she felt a prickly, resentful gaze from Mejiro McQueen.
It seemed the girl objected to their earlier conversation.
Shaking her head inwardly, Barbatos dropped the teasing.
Whether it was true or not, once the person involved showed they weren't amused, it was time to stop. Otherwise, she'd just make herself disliked.
Still, the hearing of an Uma Musume was truly impressive. Even though she'd lowered her voice to joke with Special Week, McQueen had still overheard.
In the Spica group, Tokai Teio also stole a glance at the still-playful McQueen and Gold Ship.
So, Golshi and McQueen were like Special Week and Suzuka, or like Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet? That kind of mutually encouraging, growing-together relationship?
Thinking that, Tokai Teio felt she hadn't fully integrated into the Spica group yet. She'd have to try harder.
But watching McQueen being bullied by Gold Ship, something else occurred to her. "Oh, right, B-chan, your next opponent is Mejiro Bright, isn't it?"
"Yep. Even though I talked big in the pre-race interviews, we still can't underestimate the Mejiro family's strength."
"And I heard that old ancestor of the Mejiro family is personally coaching her. The Tenno Sho looks like it's going to be a tough battle," Barbatos said, minding her words.
She didn't declare absolute confidence like El Condor Pasa would have, especially since Mejiro McQueen was also from the Mejiro family. Even if they weren't friends themselves, she was a friend of a friend.
She couldn't come off as looking down on the Mejiro house.
Hearing this, Gold Ship paused her playful torment of McQueen. "Oh yeah, McQueen's from the Mejiro family too."
That earned her a glare from McQueen, who took the chance to step back, escaping Gold Ship's clutches.
As for Barbatos before her, even McQueen regarded her with great seriousness.
She remembered the first time she watched a live broadcast of Barbatos's race—it was when Ines Fujin took her out for beef noodles.
Now, Barbatos was the kind of "monster" that required the Mejiro family's old ancestor to personally step in and coach Mejiro Bright, with Bright training desperately just for a chance at victory.
Even though she hadn't debuted yet, even though she'd never raced against Barbatos, she could still sense Barbatos's strength from the family's atmosphere and from the attitudes of Mejiro Bright and the old ancestor.
If she debuted this year, maybe next year she'd have a chance to compete against her on the track?
Facing a prodigy of this era like Barbatos, McQueen felt no fear.
Instead, she wondered how she should handle it if she faced Barbatos in the Spring Tenno Sho—what strategy she should use.
Uma Musume like Barbatos, standing at the peak of a generation, weren't unheard of even in the Mejiro family. Even within Spica, there was Silence Suzuka. They weren't figures to be awed, just fellow athletes to be acknowledged.
But compared to Barbatos, her bigger rival would likely be Tokai Teio, who was also planning to debut this year and was also in Spica.
Ever since entering Tracen Academy, McQueen had felt an irresistible urge to compare herself to Teio, to compete with her.
Joining Spica—while partly because of Gold Ship—probably had as much to do with Tokai Teio.
She was confident, too, that by this time next year, either she or Tokai Teio would be no worse than—perhaps even surpass—the likes of Barbatos, El Condor Pasa, and Silence Suzuka of this generation.
That was the confidence of Mejiro McQueen.
Thinking this, as a member of the Mejiro family, she first turned a serious gaze toward Barbatos.
She brushed aside her pale purple hair with a hand; even wearing Tracen's standard training wear, she carried an air of elegance, a far cry from the girl being manhandled by Gold Ship just moments before.
Even though Barbatos's words just now were nothing like the bravado of her pre-race interviews, as a Mejiro, she couldn't just let it slide.
"Barbatos-senpai."
"Hmm?"
"The Mejiro family will not lose the Spring Tenno Sho."
"Is that so?"
A confident smile spread across Barbatos's lips, shedding the earlier diplomatic tone.
"Then I'll be watching. I hope Mejiro Bright and the Mejiro family's little game of tortoise and hare doesn't disappoint me."
"Otherwise, I'll be taking the Spring Tenno Sho for myself this year."
With that, Barbatos waved to Special Week and Tokai Teio, then turned and left with Seiun Sky.
That must have looked pretty cool from behind, the person in question thought.
"Going to eat out?" Seiun Sky asked, smiling knowingly at Barbatos. She could tell Barbatos had turned and walked off like that partly to look cool.
And she had to admit, from Special Week's angle, it probably did look pretty cool.
But… they were originally headed to the cafeteria. They'd only stopped because Barbatos was messaging Twin Turbo, which was how they'd run into Special Week and the others.
Barbatos: "..."
She'd been so focused on looking cool in front of her girlfriend that she'd forgotten about that!
But eating off-campus wasn't bad either. With her girlfriend, any meal would be a good one.
As for that tortoise and hare business…
They'd find out when the Spring Tenno Sho came, wouldn't they?
--+--
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.