"Suzuka!!!"
In the dorm room, Silence Suzuka, who had been sitting on her bed fitting horseshoes, glanced toward the door.
Barbatos and Seiun Sky had just dropped by to see Spe-chan earlier—were they looking for her for some reason?
She set the shoes aside and climbed down from the bed.
As she headed toward the door, she heard Spe-chan's voice again.
"Really! Really! Thank you so much!!!"
"Mhm, see you tomorrow!"
Seeing Spe-chan bowing excitedly and waving, Silence Suzuka felt a little puzzled. Had Spe-chan not been calling for her just now?
But Barbatos and the others had already left.
"Suzuka, look!"
Just as she was wondering, Special Week held up a doll of "Silence Suzuka" to show her.
"B-chan and the others won this from one of those claw machines after their race in Tokyo. Super cute, right?"
The "Suzuka" doll was handed right to Silence Suzuka.
"Spe-chan~"
Silence Suzuka's lips curved gently into a smile.
Having Spe-chan around really made life at Tracen Academy feel different.
Maybe she could find a chance to win a Spe-chan doll herself and give it to her as a gift?
Her next race was also at Tokyo Racecourse—the Autumn Tennō Shō at the end of the month. She could look for one after the race.
--+--
"It's a King Halo doll!"
Urara waved the doll toward Halo-chan inside the room. King Halo, now in casual clothes, walked over to the dorm room entrance.
Noticing Seiun Sky and Barbatos outside the door, she couldn't help feeling those two were up to something.
She took the doll of herself from Urara.
"Thank you."
"After the Tokyo Sports Hai Junior Stakes, no matter the result, let's all go out to eat together."
The Tokyo Sports Hai Junior Stakes was a G3 race held in late November.
It was King Halo's next race, and the one after next for Barbatos.
"I'll definitely show you the running form of a King!"
"A King, huh? I'll be looking forward to it, then. The winner pays for the meal, alright?"
Barbatos chuckled softly. Truthfully, it didn't matter who paid—neither she nor King Halo were exactly short on cash.
"Don't get too overconfident, B-chan."
"Halo-chan is really strong!"
Urara said with vibrant energy, "And I'll be making my debut soon too! Once I do, I'll steal all the spotlight from both of you!"
"Then I guess we'll be known all over Japan as the 'Kōchi Duo,' huh?"
Barbatos teased.
It'd actually be nice if Urara could grow stronger—maybe even faster than her.
Having trained together so often back in Kōchi, Barbatos had a good sense of Urara's current level. The more optimistic Urara remained, the more impressive she found her.
She really hoped Urara's debut race would go smoothly.
When the time came, she'd definitely be there to cheer her on.
Oh, and before Urara's debut, she needed to visit our "oracle" Matikanefukukitaru-chan to get a good-luck charm for the race. After all, Urara and Matikanetannhauser had gotten one for her before her own debut.
She hadn't forgotten that.
I wonder when Matikanetannhauser will have her debut race...
--+--
After handing out all the dolls—except the ones of herself and Seiun Sky—Barbatos sat in front of her computer, spacing out.
She still hadn't quite figured out how Seiun Sky managed to grab three dolls in one go.
Shaking her head, she pushed aside those flashy thoughts.
With a mental command, she opened the system interface and clicked into the Equipment Shop.
[Current Gold: 2,700]
That was 1,400 gold from before the relay, plus another 1,300 from this last race.
The only real regret was the relay race itself. Even though her opponents were clearly popular Uma Musume—whether the Heisei Trio or Tamamo Cross definitely counted—she hadn't crushed any of them directly. So even though her team won, she didn't earn any gold from it. Otherwise, that would've been a solid 900 gold right there.
As for the equipment she was planning to buy:
--+--
[Youmuu's Ghostblade (PC version): Price 3,000 Gold]
[Active – Wraith Step: Grants 20% movement speed and Ghosted status for 6 seconds]
[Passive – Haunt: Grants 40 bonus movement speed when out of combat]
--+--
Both the active and passive effects were incredibly useful. The only downside was she was still 300 gold short. If she had Youmuu's Ghostblade, her chances of winning the G2 Keio Hai Junior Stakes would be even higher.
Her upcoming race schedule was:
Early November: G2 – Keio Hai Junior Stakes
Late November: G3 – Tokyo Sports Hai Junior Stakes
Early December: G1 – Hanshin Juvenile Fillies
And then, after the G1 Arima Kinen, the final legendary showdown at the end of the year—the Winter Dream Cup.
Only by winning all three of her upcoming races could she afford to buy not only Youmuu's Ghostblade, but also one more movement speed item before the Winter Dream Cup.
So these next three races—she absolutely couldn't afford to lose! Every extra piece of equipment increased her odds of surpassing the legends at the Winter Dream Cup, especially now that she knew about the existence of "The Zone."
Closing the Equipment Shop, she opened the PC version League of Legends Champion Shop instead. Even if she didn't have enough gold for equipment, the Blue Essence she'd built up from playing League daily was pretty substantial.
Current Blue Essence (PC): 4,300
Her eyes quickly scanned the Champion Shop.
She selected the champion she'd planned to buy from the start—[Miss Fortune (3,150 BE)].
[[Miss Fortune (3,150 BE)] — Confirm Purchase?]
"Yes!"
[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring new champion [Miss Fortune].]
--+--
--- Dual-Bloom System ---
Name: Barbatos
Gender: Uma Musume
Summoner Spells: [Heal] [Ghost]
Champions Owned: Hecarim, Teemo, Master Yi, Janna, Sion, Miss Fortune
Equipped Skills: [Devastating Charge] [Move Quick] [Highlander] [Zephyr] [Unstoppable Onslaught]
[Strut]: If Barbatos hasn't taken direct damage in the last 5 seconds, she gains 25 bonus movement speed. After 5 more seconds, this bonus increases to 55.
[Champion Shop (Purchase with Blue Essence)]
[Equipment Shop (Purchase with Gold)]
Current Blue Essence: 1,150 (PC); 2,730 (Mobile)
Current Gold: 2,700
--+--
[Strut] essentially gave her a permanent +55 movement speed.
During races, direct attacks like those from Queen Berry were extremely rare—you almost never saw them. So the movement speed bonus from [Strut] would basically be active the entire time.
"Keio Hai Junior Stakes..."
"Can't wait."
--+--
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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.