...
"So this is the starting gate... It's so narrow."
Just as Special Week was marveling at it, the gate suddenly opened.
The surrounding horse girls instantly dashed several meters ahead.
Special Week snapped back to reality and hurriedly gave chase. "No good, I have to move!"
...
Lucian watched this scene unfold and couldn't help but shake his head with a faint smile. "She's so silly... seems a bit slow on the uptake."
"Lucian-sensei, you seem to really value Spe-chan, huh?"
Lucian turned to see Seiun Sky, who had somehow appeared beside him at some point.
"Little Seiun, you came too?" Lucian patted the spot next to him, gesturing for her to sit down.
"Mhm, Spe-chan and the others are all my friends, so I came to watch."
Seiun Sky's pupils briefly contracted before she gathered a few strands of her hair and smoothed her skirt along the curve of her waist and hips as she sat beside Lucian.
...Little Seiun?
This was the first time she'd ever heard someone call her that.
This lazy cat might have maxed-out aggression, but her defenses were pitifully low.
"Why didn't you participate?" Lucian asked.
Seiun Sky leaned back on her hands against the grass. "I can't do it~ El Condor Pasa runs way too fast. There's no way I could keep up."
On the training field, while the others were still locked in a group battle, El Condor Pasa had already pulled ahead by several lengths, leaving everyone in the dust.
"How would you know if you don't try? Look at how hard Special Week and the others are running."
Lucian didn't buy Seiun Sky's excuse.
He'd rather she didn't hold back and actually raced El Condor Pasa to see who was faster.
"No thanks. I never planned to join 'Rigil'—I'm waiting for Lucian-sensei's test."
"Waiting for my test? Well, of course, you're welcome to join."
The swaying green grass resembled fluttering hair, tracing the shape of the breeze. It carried the faint fragrance of the girl, drifting into Lucian's senses.
The wind also carried their conversation, though not far enough—certainly not enough for Silence Suzuka, standing by the distant fence, to hear clearly.
Silence Suzuka had also come to cheer on her new roommate, Special Week.
But... her gaze seemed inadvertently drawn to something else that held her attention more.
"What are those two talking about...?" Silence Suzuka murmured, frowning.
She didn't notice her own hand suddenly gripping the railing tightly.
...
Back on the field.
The race continued.
As Special Week rounded the final turn, she suddenly caught sight of Silence Suzuka in her peripheral vision.
"Suzuka came to watch me?!"
"No way... I can't just give up like this!"
As Lucian had said, the power of conviction was immense.
Once it took effect, all measurable standards became unreliable.
Special Week had been in the middle-to-back of the pack, but a sudden burst of speed allowed her to overtake several horse girls, bringing her to third place.
By the final stretch, her eyes were locked solely on KIng Halo.
As for El Condor Pasa? She was already nearing the finish line.
KIng Halo had resigned herself to second place—until she suddenly felt pressure from behind.
"Don't you dare catch up to me!"
"Even if you say that..." Special Week accelerated again. "I can't give up here!"
The finish line was right there. With one last push, Special Week surged past KIng Halo.
At the finish, Special Week crossed the line a full length ahead of KIng Halo.
At the same time, both Lucian and Nishizaki Ryo, who had been observing from the shadows, pressed their stopwatches.
"Three furlongs in just 33.8 seconds... Pretty impressive," Lucian thought before brushing off his pants and standing up.
(1 furlong ≈ 201.7m)
...Huh? Did it get colder? Why does my back feel chilly all of a sudden?
"Little Seiun, I'm heading over first."
"Mhm."
...
"I won?!" Special Week's face lit up—until she saw Toujou Hana shaking hands with El Condor Pasa in the distance.
So first place wasn't her... It was El Condor Pasa. She's amazing...
As Special Week was lost in thought, a small pink figure finally crossed the finish line.
Haru Urara collapsed onto the grass, splayed out in a "starfish" position.
"I'm exhausted! So tired! So tired!"
After shouting a few times, she lay there panting, staring blankly at the blue sky.
Complaining was over. Venting was over.
What now? She still had to keep moving forward.
As if making peace with herself, Haru Urara's face relaxed into a relieved smile.
Then, another smiling face appeared at the edge of her vision.
"Urara, would you like to join my team?"
"Eh? Lucian-sensei?" Haru Urara sat up from the grass, blinking dumbfoundedly at Lucian.
"Here, have some water." Lucian directly handed her a water bottle.
"Arigato~" Haru Urara's hands trembled slightly as she unscrewed the cap and took a small sip.
"Urara, would you like to join my team?" Lucian's eyes were smiling as he patiently waited for her answer.
"Why me? Why not Spe-chan or KIng Halo-chan? They're both so much better than me..."
Once she confirmed this wasn't an illusion, Haru Urara grew visibly flustered.
Her hands clenched around the water bottle, her gaze darting around like a child who'd done something wrong.
"And... I came in last place..."
"My body's small... my stamina's super limited..."
"I've never won a single practice race..."
"They... all said I'm not cut out to be a horse girl. That I should just quit."
...
A downpour began in Haru Urara's world. Tears fell like broken strings of pearls, rolling down one after another, blurring her vision.
Hadn't she come to this test to join a team and get stronger? But when an opportunity was right in front of her, she hesitated—no, more accurately, she was afraid.
"So... why me?"
Lucian hadn't expected Haru Urara to cry, but he understood why she was.
Haru Urara, the "Goddess of Never Winning"—113 career races, 113 losses. Yet she still stepped onto the track for the next race with unwavering energy and determination.
Fight, lose, fight again, lose again... Without a doubt, Haru Urara was a horse who brought hope to others.
He didn't know how many people loved her, but Lucian certainly did.
"Coming in last isn't failure. Giving up is."
His gentle voice pierced through the rain like sunlight, shining straight into Haru Urara's heart.
"So... Urara, would you like to join my team?"