Tracen Academy.
On the training ground, El Condor Pasa was getting accustomed to the dirt track. Just as Grass Wonder had said, she could still perform quite well even on a dirt surface.
Barbatos stood on the training field for the first time in a while, facing the prospect of an actual practice session.
Thankfully, this wasn't a training plan dictated by Trainer Minamizaka, but rather something she'd decided to do on her own initiative.
Since she was going to participate in the relay marathon with Seiun Sky and El Condor Pasa, and with Grass Wonder providing support from the sidelines, they would inevitably need to practice together at some point.
She didn't dislike training. Before even entering Tracen Academy, she'd often run on the treadmill at home while playing League of Legends: Wild Rift, killing two birds with one stone.
But after entering Tracen Academy and getting a trainer, a problem had emerged.
If Minamizaka ordered her to practice sprinting, things would get awkward. Was she supposed to say she could only go all-in once a day?
It wasn't that she didn't want to sprint, but her abilities had such long cooldowns.
Rather than arousing Minamizaka's suspicions, it was easier to just appear lazy on the surface while secretly gaming on the side.
Her innate talent as an Uma Musume wasn't particularly outstanding.
Even with all her passive buffs stacked, her top sprinting speed still couldn't match a G3-ranked Uma Musume. However, when her passive and active buffs were active, the overall gains from improving her base speed through training were actually quite significant.
She stretched her legs out and sat on the grass, starting her stretching routine.
"I thought we could just take it easy and run like usual this time too."
Across from her, Seiun Sky was also stretching, part of their warm-up before starting practice. For once, neither of them had chosen to slack off.
Barbatos had guessed Seiun Sky would approach this relay marathon the same way she ran her debut race, but she hadn't expected her to actually commit to practicing together.
"Because this isn't a race I'm running alone," Seiun Sky said seriously, their stretching motions synchronizing perfectly. "I can't let you fall too far behind Oguri Cap right from the start."
Barbatos's stretching motion hit a slight hitch. She felt that desire to win, now mixed with another emotion, begin to swell within her.
"In that case, I'll have to try my best to beat Oguri Cap-senpai too."
Even if winning against a legendary Uma Musume like Oguri Cap probably wouldn't be looked upon favorably by her fanbase... perhaps not being the favorite could itself be a buff?
"I wonder how Spe is doing over there."
"She'll probably get caught," Seiun Sky replied without hesitation.
"...True."
After all, sending Special Week to scout on Oguri Cap and the others... seemed somewhat unreliable. The memory of her tripping on flat ground the first day she entered the classroom was still fresh in their minds.
For a legendary Uma Musume like Oguri Cap, trainers from every team and the internet at large had their own analyses and opinions.
But for the other two, Super Creek and Inari One, information was largely stuck in their heyday. There was bound to be a gap between that and their current condition.
Although Twin Turbo was Inari One's roommate, the intelligence gathered from her wasn't particularly useful—mostly just details about Inari One's daily habits and the way she liked to talk.
So, Special Week had volunteered to help scout out the current condition of the Three Heisei Heroes.
Feeling this way about Special Week's well-intentioned help was a bit rude, but Barbatos thought: you could believe in Special Week's running talent, believe she was an Uma Musume destined for fame and glory. But scouting for intelligence...?
She'd most likely be discovered. But they were all students of Tracen, and this was just a Culture Festival race. The seniors wouldn't do anything too harsh to a cute junior. They might even pretend not to notice and let Special Week gather her intel.
Heck, given Special Week's legendary appetite, she might even bond with Oguri Cap over it, becoming rivals for the title of top cafeteria competitor.
"B-chan! Sei-chan!"
Barbatos, mid-stretch, heard the voice and looked up to see Urara waving from a distance.
Behind Urara were Twin Turbo, Nice Nature, Ikuno Dictus, and Matikanetannhauser—the entire Team Canopus, including Trainer Minamizaka, had arrived!
"Running against the Heisei-era seniors right at the Culture Festival... it's really unexpected," Ikuno Dictus remarked with feeling.
When Barbatos first joined Canopus, they'd raced against her and known she was strong. But who could have guessed that in such a short time, she'd already shaken the Japanese horse racing world and was about to face the Three Heisei Heroes?
"Minamizaka! I want to join the relay marathon too!" Twin Turbo's eyes seemed to shimmer with tears. If she could beat Inari One in the race, she'd be the top dog in their dorm room from then on.
"Ah, well..." Minamizaka scratched his head helplessly.
He genuinely didn't know if that was possible. He wasn't sure if the relay marathon was accepting entrants, or if Uma Musume who hadn't participated in debut races could join.
Realistically, even if Twin Turbo participated, she'd just be running for show. Even a powerhouse rookie lineup like Barbatos, Seiun Sky, and El Condor Pasa, who hadn't yet been tempered by numerous major races, stood little chance of posing a real threat to the Three Heisei Heroes.
Matikanetannhauser and Urara came over and sat down beside Barbatos and Seiun Sky, joining them in their stretching routine.
"B-chan, Sei-chan, let us practice with you!" Urara exclaimed. She felt like since joining Canopus, she hadn't had many chances to practice properly with Barbatos.
"Mm, count me in, count me in!" Matikanetannhauser chimed in. "I'll do my best to help Barbatos-senpai and Seiun-senpai with their training!"
Barbatos and Seiun Sky agreed without refusal.
Just then, Minamizaka, having dealt with Twin Turbo, walked over. "Barbatos, Seiun Sky, would you be willing to hear out a training plan I've put together?"
"If you think it's not suitable, you can just stick to your own methods," he added.
Unlike other trainers, Barbatos always felt Minamizaka sounded almost... deferential, as if worried they'd run off to slack the moment he suggested a structured plan.
"Whether it's Seiun Sky's 3000-meter endurance, or Barbatos's mile sprint, I think we could consider using weighted training to improve," he explained.
"I've prepared some weighted horseshoes. Well, if you're interested, that is..."
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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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.