With the intensive training schedule, two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
One evening, after returning to the dormitory, Starlight glanced at the orange cat crouching by the head of her bed licking its paws. She let out a long sigh.
"I'm seriously done for. The teacher for today's lab class went out for research, so it was all cultural studies. They left so much homework, too."
Tossing her schoolbag onto a nearby chair, Starlight's face slumped as she trudged toward the bathroom with zero energy.
"Meow~"
"Oh right, sorry, sorry! I almost forgot I was supposed to bring you a can of fish. Is tomorrow okay?"
"Meow meow~"
While undressing, Starlight began chatting with the orange cat. Never mind whether they understood each other, the conversation was certainly lively.
Ding-dong—
Her phone rang. Catching a glimpse of the screen, Starlight picked it up to take a closer look. Surprisingly, it was a message from Kiryuu Inami.
Inami: Starlight-chan, there's an scrimmage race tomorrow afternoon.
Inami: I agreed to it on your behalf. You don't mind, right?
Starlight: No problem.
Inami: That's good. If you don't want to participate, I can still turn it down for you.
Inami: After all, it was organized by Senior Tojo Hana.
Starlight: There must be some heavy hitters participating, right?
Inami: Good guess. Taiki Shuttle from Team Rigil has a race next month.
Inami: It's the Unicorn Stakes, so Senior Hana is holding this open race for her to practice.
Starlight: This is...
[Option 1: Elites? Elites are exactly who I like to beat. I don't care which Uma Musume it is— I'm in.]
[Option 2: Forget it. What kind of sane person tries to solo a World Boss before they've even finished growing?]
This was a pure win for her.
After all, there was nothing to lose by participating, at most, she'd just get destroyed by the others and make a bit of a fool of herself.
Starlight: Sure, when does it start?
Inami: Right around the time afternoon training finishes.
Starlight: OK.
She turned off her phone, and the virtual subtitles before her eyes changed.
[Detection complete. Option 1 selected. Reward: Skill— Straight to the Point (Gold)]
[Straight to the Point: When charging into a pack of Uma Musume, speed and power receive a brief increase. If you break out of the pack, the effect doubles.]
The moment she saw the reward, Starlight's eyes lit up.
'A Gold Skill? Then the win or loss of this open race didn't matter anymore— this was a guaranteed profit...'
Her mood improved instantly. She even started humming a song while taking her shower.
The next afternoon arrived quickly. Inami led Starlight to the Team Rigil assembly point.
Looking at the crowd of Uma Musume gathered to watch, Starlight couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Should she expect any less from the high-profile "strongest team in Tracen"?
"Starlight-chan, just run with an easy mind. With your current strength, don't even think about the top three."
"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, Inami-chan, I'll just do my best..."
Did you really have to be that blunt about it? Starlight complained inwardly.
Uma Musume are naturally competitive, and Inami had mentioned it mostly because she was afraid Starlight would push too hard and get injured. It wasn't worth it, especially since she had her own official race coming up soon.
After checking in, she headed to the starting line to wait. Looking around, she saw several familiar Uma Musume warming up.
For instance, that black, short-haired Uma Musume who had just joined Trainer Nishizaki's team: Vodka.
There was also a petite Uma Musume with short black hair. Her bangs had a pink gradient, and her eyes were a pinkish-purple.
That should be Nishino Flower, who was often seen with Seiun Sky.
Of course, none of them— including Starlight— were the center of attention.
The protagonist was the light-brown-haired Uma Musume standing next to Tojo Hana. She seemed extremely excited, her sky-blue eyes filled with an eagerness to get started.
Standing silently in the corner, Starlight was certainly being ignored by everyone— except for Symboli Rudolf, who stood on the other side of Tojo Hana with her arms crossed.
Along with them was Grass Wonder, who had joined Rigil not too long ago.
Calling it "attention" might be an overstatement, it was more that the two of them— Rudolf and Grass— had simply spared a few extra glances in Starlight's direction, and that was all.
Next to Grass Wonder stood a very quiet Uma Musume. She formed a sharp contrast with the wheat-skinned Hishi Amazon next to her, who had been chatting non-stop.
"Suzuka-chan~ How many lengths do you think Taiki Shuttle will lead by this time? Or will she pull off another 'Distance' finish like the last race?~"
Slowly shaking her head, Silence Suzuka replied in her characteristically soft, gentle voice.
"I'm not sure. We'll know once we watch."
Picking up a small red flag, Amazon ran off toward the finish line as instructed to act as the official marker.
Meanwhile, back at the starting line...
Vice President Air Groove, holding a flag in one hand and a stopwatch in the other, shouted to the crowd:
"Athletes, take your positions!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the spectators in the stands fell silent. Everyone turned their eyes toward the row of Uma Musume lined up at the start.
"Let's go!!!!"
Shouting excitedly, Taiki Shuttle hopped and skipped her way to the starting line.
After checking the final details, Air Groove raised her flag and bit down on her whistle.
Tweet— !
The crisp, bright sound of the whistle echoed as the flag dropped.
The Uma Musume surged forward simultaneously. For a moment, the sound of footsteps, like rolling thunder, resonated throughout the arena.
Immediately following that was the roar of cheers and encouragement from the stands. After all, their favorites, friends, or classmates were out on the track.
Leading the charge at the very front was, without a doubt, Taiki Shuttle. Although her strategy wasn't that of a Front Runner, but rather a Pace Chaser, the absence of any dedicated Front Runners in this race meant that she— with her superior strength and confidence— naturally became the pace-setter.
Starlight was using a Late Surger strategy. Running beside her was a brown-haired Uma Musume. Her face looked quite ordinary, Starlight figured she was likely a background character just like herself— an "Extra A," or perhaps an "Extra B."
As for the front, there were plenty of Uma Musume using the Pace Chaser strategy. It seemed over half the field had opted for that style, including both Nishino Flower and Vodka.
Off the track, Inami had moved to stand beside Tojo Hana. Watching Starlight, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
"How is her condition today? Is it okay?"
"Mhm, quite good. Nothing unusual during training."
"I see. That's good then."
Rudolf, of course, knew exactly who they were talking about.
As the Student Council President, she was well-acquainted with all the students. She fixed her gaze on the grey figure positioned slightly toward the rear of the pack.
Memories of their conversation in the office some time ago flickered through her mind. As the "Emperor," Rudolf possessed a sharp, discerning eye.
She could tell that a subtle change had occurred within Starlight, but as for what exactly had changed... she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The race smoothly transitioned into the middle leg.
Taiki Shuttle, leading the pack, had already opened up a massive five-length gap. She was essentially running as if she were a Front Runner. The two Uma Musume trailing immediately behind her were struggling, having inhaled a fair amount of "exhaust" due to her erratic, flickering pace.
Now depleted of stamina, they had already fallen back to run alongside Starlight.
Nishino Flower, relying on her unique running style, successfully maneuvered into second place. Closely following her on the outside was Vodka.
"Oh ho~ Let's make this situation even more stimulating!"
Glancing back slightly, Taiki Shuttle spoke with an excited grin.
Then, a faint reddish glow began to radiate from her body. Immediately, the Uma Musume trailing behind felt a sudden wave of heaviness wash over them. Some began to feel anxious, others restless.
Even Vodka and Nishino Flower, who had managed to close the gap slightly, were hindered by the interference and forced to slow down.
'Damn, talk about no sportsmanship! You're already leading by that much, and you're still throwing out Red Skills?'
'Are you even going to give the rest of us a chance to live!!'