Taking a seat by the window, Starlight set down her schoolbag and gazed outside.
Beside her, Sakura Chiyono O, who had finished tidying her books, placed them next to Starlight and said with a smile:
"Starlight-chan! I look forward to working with you! I'll be counting on you from now on."
Shifting her gaze from the scenery outside to Chiyono O's face, Starlight nodded and smiled.
"Sure~ but I might be the one who needs help later. For instance, in the upcoming history class... I get so sleepy..."
"Chiyono-chan, can I borrow your notes when the time comes?"
Sitting in her own seat, Chiyono O agreed immediately without much hesitation.
"Leave it to me! Starlight-chan—"
"Great! I'm going to sleep first. Keep an eye out for me, and if the teacher comes, remember to wake me up~"
"Ah? Wh-what, you're going to sleep already?"
"Mm..."
The only response Chiyono O received was Starlight's muddled humming.
Looking at the Ash-haired Uma Musume who was already slumped over her desk, Sakura Chiyono O recovered from her surprise, clenched her pink fists, and remarked with emotion:
"Starlight-chan is amazing! She sleeps in class yet keeps her grades among the top in the year. It looks like I still need to work harder~"
On the other side, Mejiro Ardan and Yaeno Muteki were completely bewildered.
'Wait! There's a mole among us!'
The pupils of both girls snapped wide, and they immediately began scanning the classroom.
The first person they scrutinized was naturally Sakura Chiyono O, who had successfully ended up sitting next to Starlight.
However, during history class, seeing the innocent way she took notes so earnestly, combined with their long-term understanding of her as a classmate, it was clear she wasn't the type of Uma Musume to use such clever schemes.
They then turned their gaze toward the two Uma Musume sitting in front of Starlight, but decided it wasn't them either.
Zzt.
Suddenly, the eyes of the two Uma Musume met, and they instinctively looked away.
''Wait! Did Yaeno Muteki figure me out?'
'Wait! Did Mejiro Ardan counter-play me?'
Zzt zzt.
Their gazes locked again, both of their eyes filled with disbelief and suspicion.
During the break after the dull, tedious history class ended.
By the second window in the hallway, Yaeno Muteki stood with her arms crossed, frowning at Mejiro Ardan.
Conversely, Ardan watched her with equal caution.
"Was it you who changed the seating arrangement?"
Looking around, Mejiro Ardan stepped a few inches closer and whispered.
"Yeah... I did change it, but I changed it for myself. Why did it turn into Chiyono O? Was it you?"
"It wasn't me. If I were going to make a second change, why would I swap in Chiyono-chan? Wouldn't it be better to just put myself there?"
"Fair point. Could the teacher have noticed?"
"It's very likely. Since that's the case, there's nothing we can do but wait three weeks."
"Oh... by the way, starting this afternoon, Starlight is going to train with Oguri Cap. Do you think their meeting will..."
"Impossible. It should just be learning techniques from Oguri Cap. After all, she is a powerful rival."
Yaeno Muteki immediately dismissed Mejiro Ardan's concern.
"Oh, Yaeno-chan, don't underestimate Oguri Cap. That 'simple' type is actually more lethal when it comes to Starlight."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"How about we observe them in secret?"
"That's it? Tsk tsk... I still think it's best to just join them directly. I'm going to go talk to Starlight right now~"
With a smile on her face, Yaeno Muteki turned to find Starlight, only to be pulled back by Mejiro Ardan.
"Better not. That wouldn't be very good."
"And your 'sneaky' way is considered 'good'?"
The two battle-hardened veterans debated for a long time before finally deciding that neither would get involved for now.
In the afternoon, Starlight changed into her training gear and stood on the familiar turf.
She looked at the schedule shown to her by Inami, nodded, and began her training.
Up in the distant spectator stands, Oguri Cap was also dressed in her training gear.
She silently watched Starlight's figure running across the turf.
All the while, she was munching on a bag of potato chips.
"I don't really know why she wants to train with me, but the fact that she's treating me to dinner... that's really nice."
Thump, thump, thump—
Suddenly, a frantic set of footsteps approached from behind.
When Oguri Cap turned around, she saw an Ash-haired Uma Musume.
The girl's blue eyes were filled with a fury so intense it looked as though she wanted to tear Oguri apart with her bare hands.
"Oguri! You jerk! You stole the chips from my bedside again! Those were for my midnight snack! You bastard—!"
Tamamo Cross took a powered-up leap and lunged forward.
Quick-witted and agile, Oguri Cap nimbly dodged the pounce and immediately grabbed another handful of chips, stuffing them into her mouth.
"I'll just pay you back with a bag tomorrow..."
"Pay me back tomorrow? You make it sound so easy! When have you ever returned the snacks you took?!"
Standing up, Tamamo Cross brushed the dust off her clothes and pointed an angry finger at Oguri Cap.
"Didn't I treat you to a big meal last weekend? You forgot that so quickly!"
"...You-You actually have the nerve to bring up last week?!"
"By 'treating me to a meal,' you mean you ate so much you couldn't afford the bill, and in the end, I was the one who had to pay for half of it, right?!"
As she spoke, Tamamo Cross leaped again, trying to snatch the chips back.
But for an Oguri Cap who loved food as much as life itself, giving them up was an impossible feat.
With a graceful pivot, she evaded the grab, then tilted her head back and poured the remaining chips directly into her mouth.
With her cheeks bulging like a squirrel's, she dusted her hands off and said:
"Alright, I'm done messing around with you... I have to go train with Starlight-chan in a bit."
Sitting dejectedly on the ground, Tamamo Cross stared heartbrokenly at the now-empty bag that had once held her precious chips.
"Yesterday you were so full and plump... how could you become so desolate and shriveled after only a day apart..."
"Wait, who did you say you were training with?"
"Starlight-chan. She asked me to accompany her for training and said she'd treat me to dinner tonight, hehe..."
Scrambling to her feet, Tamamo Cross abandoned her grief over the chips and leaned in close to Oguri Cap, asking curiously:
"Why did Starlight-chan look for you?"
With a blank shake of her head, Oguri Cap expressed that she was also quite puzzled.
"Tsk... I'm not bad either~ Why didn't she look for me?"
Rubbing her chin, Tamamo Cross fixed her gaze on the silver-haired figure in the distance.
"No way, I'm going over there too!"
"Oh, then let's go."
Oguri Cap didn't mind, after all, her mind was currently occupied by thoughts of what to eat for dinner.
And so, Tamamo Cross followed Oguri Cap over to where Starlight was.
"Whew, finally finished. Okay, next up is... Ah, Oguri Cap, you're finally here! And, Tamamo Cross?"
"Hmph, Starlight-chan, I heard you asked Oguri to help with your training. You don't mind if I join in, right?"
"Of course not! Welcome, welcome~"
Clapping her hands together, Starlight tilted her head and spoke with a cheerful grin.
Nodding, Tamamo Cross glanced at Oguri Cap, then shifted her gaze back to Starlight.
She pointed at the glutton beside her and asked:
"I'm curious, why did you seek her out?"
"Because I heard Oguri Cap's late spurt is very powerful, and she has incredible strength. So I wanted to learn from her."
Hearing Starlight's praise, the corners of Oguri Cap's mouth couldn't help but curl up. She waved it off modestly.
"Hehe, it's nothing much. As long as I can help you."
"But... why didn't you ask me?! I'm not weaker than her, Starlight-chan!!"
Tamamo Cross suddenly lunged in front of Starlight, standing on her tiptoes and pressing her hands onto Starlight's shoulders.
"Eh? I didn't mean it like that. Little Tamamo is also very amazing in my eyes. It's just that Oguri Cap and I are in the same class, so it was more convenient."
"Convenient? I—I am..."
"You are what?"
"Hmph, nothing! Anyway, I'm joining too. I happen to have a lot of confidence in my teaching abilities!"