The cafeteria was buzzing with noise, but two young fillies were making their own storm in the center of it all.
"I sat here first!"
"I saw it first!"
"So what if you saw it? Anyone with eyes could've seen it the moment they walked in!"
"How can you say that? You clearly cut in front of me!"
"With the pace of a snail you were moving at, did you expect everyone to just wait behind you?"
What started as a petty argument over a seat had already stretched into a heated exchange of a dozen retorts.
It would be one thing if they were just hot-headed strangers. The real problem was—they were roommates.
"Vodka, Scarlet… There are plenty of other seats. Please, stop fighting."
Special Week hurriedly stepped between them, trying to mediate.
Why did they have to pick a fight over an empty table, of all things?
Sure, they'd bickered before, but ever since that race, Vodka's temper had clearly been on a shorter fuse.
Special Week still remembered Vodka's face after they'd left the track that day—dark as a thundercloud, jaw clenched so tight you could hear the grinding from several steps away.
When they got back, Vodka hadn't said a word. In the days that followed, she'd seemed… normal. Or so it appeared.
Until that moment in class, when someone offhandedly remarked:
"That Black Uma Musume… I heard she only won because she broke the rules…"
BAM!
Vodka's fist slammed into the desk with enough force to leave dents where her knuckles struck.
That's when Special Week realized—Vodka hadn't forgotten what happened that day. She'd buried it deep, letting it simmer just beneath the surface.
And now, it kept spilling out at the slightest trigger.
"What's the big idea, Spe-chan? She's the one being unreasonable here," Daiwa Scarlet huffed, pointing an accusing finger.
"Hah? You're the slow one, and you have the nerve to talk?" Vodka shot back, arms crossed tightly.
"Look, just take my seat, okay? Take my seat!"
As the peacemaker, Special Week was on the verge of a breakdown.
She nervously glanced around, hoping their noise hadn't drawn too much attention.
But soon she noticed—none of the other students were even looking their way.
All eyes were fixed on a gray haired girl sitting near the window.
The mountain of food on her tray was nearly half her height. Beside her, a stack of empty plates rose like a tower—enough to fill a whole kitchen cart.
Six… no, maybe even ten servings! She'd already eaten enough for ten people, and she was still going!
How much can one person eat?!
Special Week was stunned.
Compared to that spectacle, their little quarrel was nothing—not even worth watching.
Suddenly, Special Week felt a wave of relief. Maybe it was okay if they were a little louder.
"My, my. As fascinating as the scene over there is, this one is rather hard to ignore too."
A familiar voice cut in, and all three fillies turned at once.
There stood a girl with long brown hair, a streaked forelock like a shooting star, and captivating rose-red eyes.
It was Sirius Symboli.
What's she doing here?
She'd narrowly lost the [Mainichi Okan] race to the late-charging Oguri Cap, finishing a heartbreaking second.
Even so, she was still a glorious Derby-winning Uma Musume—a true champion beyond doubt.
And after witnessing the way she'd burst through the pack in that race, the three young fillies had been left speechless with awe.
Vodka had even declared she'd go ask her for advice after the event.
But in the end, she never did.
And now, one of the stars of that very race was standing right here!
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, not at all!"
All three waved their hands eagerly.
No matter how heated their argument had been, none dared show disrespect in front of an upperclassman.
Once seated, Special Week nervously fidgeted beside Sirius Symboli.
In the slightly awkward silence, she fell back on habit and searched for a topic. "Um, Sirius-senpai… What's the racing scene in Europe like?"
Sirius's ears twitched slightly.
Hearing this, Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet also leaned in with interest.
They were just as curious—what kind of races had Sirius Symboli experienced during her campaigns in Europe?
"You're curious?"
Her stunning crimson eyes swept over them.
After receiving their eager nods, a pleased smile spread across Sirius Symboli's lips.
"Alright then, I'll give you the broad strokes."
Gulp—
The three swallowed hard.
"First, you must understand one thing: the racetrack is a battlefield."
"A… battlefield?"
For fillies who had never experienced a graded stakes race, the true weight of that word was still beyond their grasp.
"That's right. Every competitor is a warrior, armed and ready. On that field, they clash, they fight, they spill their blood and sweat."
When young, unproven fillies first set foot on such a stage, they can feel it—the heat of battle rushing toward them.
In that kind of tense atmosphere, even the calmest person's adrenaline spikes. Every muscle in your body trembles with excitement.
It was no different for Sirius Symboli.
But unlike racing abroad…
The competitions held here in the center were more like clashes with cold steel. The European circuit, though? That was a battlefield with loaded guns.
In short, the environment over there is far more severe, far more brutal.
That's exactly why Sirius Symboli wanted to challenge herself overseas—to grow stronger.
As Sirius Symboli spoke with easy confidence, the three young fillies could already sense the sheer terror of the world beyond.
"Then, Sirius-senpai… what made you leave the European circuit?" Special Week ventured a question that might have been a bit too personal.
But Sirius Symboli didn't seem to mind.
She answered plainly: "Because something appeared here—a race I couldn't afford to miss."
A monster even bullets couldn't penetrate, and a terrifying tide of beasts that could swallow everything, even in the face of a merciless battlefield.
Sirius Symboli had lost. Yet, she was profoundly grateful.
The harsher the battleground, the more it sharpens your own skill.
From that day on, she had gained a new insight.
It was as if that transparent barrier that had always held her back… had begun to crack.
It wasn't a physical change, but something deeper—in the elusive realm of consciousness, she had gained a more profound understanding of something… of a certain will.
You can't achieve that kind of shift through training alone.
It was less about strength, and more about a rise in state—a level of being.
"Sirius Symboli-senpai, there's something that's been bothering me for a while."
Just then, Vodka, gripping her chopsticks tightly, made up her mind and spoke up:
"In your eyes, Senpai… what kind of existence is my 'senpai'—that Black Uma Musume, really? Is she truly… as awful as people say?"
That question made Sirius Symboli pause completely.
She narrowed her eyes, studying Vodka.
Meeting that intense, determined gaze, Sirius Symboli smiled.
"How interesting. I don't often see an Uma Musume like you. Your name is?"
"Vodka," she replied.
"Then I'll tell you, Vodka," Sirius Symboli began. "What we hear are only other people's opinions, not the truth. What we see is just one perspective, not the whole reality."
"If you truly want to know what she's really like… why not step onto the track yourself?"
"Step onto… the track?"
"That's right. See for yourself. Listen. Feel it. Set foot on that stage. That's worth far more than any cheap gossip."
When you do, the answer you're looking for will come to you naturally.
With that, Sirius Symboli cut a piece of her hamburger steak and placed it in her mouth.
Just as everyone was sinking into thought over her words, a sudden shout echoed from the cafeteria entrance.
"Big news! Huge news! Silent Suzuka has been crushed to death on the training field—!"
Hearing this from the gray-haired girl in a cap, Special Week froze.
…Huh?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.