Dorm Room 7.
As Barbatos helped blow-dry her hair, she couldn't resist grumbling.
"The Tokyo Sports Hai Juvenile Stakes got upgraded to a G2 race, just like that."
"Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me."
"The racing committee literally upgraded it just to stop us from entering a G3 event."
Of course, that was probably impossible—race upgrades were likely planned in advance—but the timing made it feel connected to their situation.
She knew all about Minamizaka getting the news from the committee, and how Barbatos had responded.
She wasn't surprised by Barbatos's choice; after all, this was the showdown Barbatos had promised King Halo.
But the race upgrade? That was genuinely unexpected.
"If it's upgraded to G2, will they still allow the originally registered runners to compete?"
"Should be fine."
"Entries closed already, right?"
Barbatos thought it over, then realized why Seiun Sky was asking: G2 races had different entry requirements compared to G3.
Strictly speaking, some Uma Musume might get excluded.
King Halo would almost certainly be among them.
A thoughtful look crossed Seiun Sky's face, followed by a hint of playful teasing. "If King Halo manages to win this one, she'd actually meet the criteria for 'Rookie of the Year,' wouldn't she?"
"Hey, don't say that. You're making me blush."
"If I'm running, she won't have a shot at victory."
Confidence rang in Barbatos's voice—the kind built race by race. She was sure King Halo had that same self-belief, that conviction she could win.
That's what made a true rival.
If you went into a race thinking you'd lose, you'd never become a legend.
"What if King Halo pulls off an upset and wins the Tokyo Sports Hai Juvenile Stakes?"
"I won't get careless, you know."
As she spoke, Barbatos's fingers, which had been combing through Seiun Sky's hair, gently brushed over her ear. Seiun Sky instinctively narrowed her eyes and let out a soft "Mmm…"
Seiun Sky's ears were particularly sensitive—each Uma Musume had her own spots. Barbatos had figured this out during their hair-drying sessions. Heh, sometimes sneaking a little touch was just too fun.
Feeling her ear being stroked, Seiun Sky didn't call Barbatos out on doing it on purpose. She simply kept her eyes lightly closed, savoring the sensation.
"By the way, Minamizaka asked me to tell you—about your racing outfit."
"We need to find time next week to visit that boutique nearby and get it custom-made."
"My racing outfit…"
"Guess it's about time I raced in proper gear, huh."
Barbatos felt a sudden wave of emotion. Every Uma Musume dreamed of competing in a racing outfit made just for her—an honor reserved for G1 races.
Only those skilled enough to reach G1 level deserved their own racing outfit!
Sure, there were lower tiers—newcomer races, local races, G3s, G2s—but Barbatos had always felt that restricting racing outfits to G1 alone made it seem like anything below G1 was all the same. Like all non-G1 runners were equal in the eyes of… well, the outfit gods.
"Uh, wait."
"That boutique near Tracen Academy?"
Something suddenly felt off. Shouldn't Tracen handle making them in-house?
I mean, Tracen even taught drivers' ed—their facilities were extensive. Surely they had a department for racing outfits.
"Mhm."
Seiun Sky explained what she'd heard from Minamizaka: "Apparently, when Tracen was first established, the campus wasn't fully equipped yet."
"So they outsourced the racing outfits to an external tailor."
"Now they could probably be self-sufficient, but after all this time working together, there's no real need to change."
Even she hadn't known about this at first.
"Is that so?"
This was news to Barbatos, too.
Unexpected, yet it made sense.
Where the outfit was made didn't really matter—what mattered was being able to wear it on the track. The real question was, what kind of design should she go for?
If we ignore race records and just talk style, she thought the coolest racing outfit in history had to be the one worn by "Narita Taishin" from the legendary "BNW" trio—the group known as the "Scattered Triple Crown."
It perfectly matched Barbatos's aesthetic taste.
As for something like "Empress" Air Groove's outfit—while plenty of people loved it—Barbatos just didn't think she had the eye to appreciate it.
She actually had the perfect reference in mind for her own design.
Take the outfit Barbatos, the "Anemo Archon" from [Genshin Impact], wore—you know, the one from his initial appearance.
Not the so-called "Archon attire." If she had to run a G1 in Barbatos's full divine getup… she'd honestly find it kind of embarrassing.
Uma Musume racing outfits tended to use a fair amount of fabric.
But "Barbatos's Archon attire"? Well… let's just say it wasn't exactly modest, and the idea of wearing it in a race felt seriously awkward.
But if she really designed her outfit based on Barbatos's default look, she might get a cease-and-desist letter from [Genshin Impact]'s company.
After all, a racing outfit wasn't just cosplay.
Once you wore it, it became part of your identity. Wouldn't that count as copyright infringement?
She didn't know much about the specifics of racing outfit design. Probably needed to talk it through with the tailor to figure out what would work best.
"Let's go tomorrow afternoon, then."
They had no culture classes tomorrow afternoon—most of Tracen's schedules were like that.
Almost instinctively, she included Seiun Sky in the plan.
And Seiun Sky naturally agreed.
"I wonder what that boutique will be like."
--+--
The next afternoon.
Following the location Minamizaka had provided, Barbatos and Seiun Sky searched for the boutique.
They hadn't chosen to wear baseball caps today.
Pedestrians and residents around Tracen were used to Uma Musume by now. Though Barbatos had plenty of fans, most just greeted her normally—no one swarmed her for autographs.
--+--
T/N: HSR Fic out on MapleTL!
--+--
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.