The next morning:
The atmosphere in Class C of the Junior High division was quite harmonious.
Seiun Sky was slumped over her desk catching up on sleep, while Grass Wonder next to her organized today's textbooks.
Behind them, King Halo was discussing anecdotes of high society with her close friends.
Special Week was currently cramming for her classes like crazy.
Since she hadn't enrolled at the start of the term and hadn't studied much of this textbook material back at the farm, she was struggling.
Haru Urara leaned over the neighboring desk to watch, occasionally offering a bit of guidance.
Suddenly, the classroom door opened, and a familiar figure walked in.
The silver-white hair captured the attention of every Uma Musume present, and those golden hexagram pupils were incredibly captivating.
"Eh! Starlight-senpai! (Starlight-chan!)"
Grass Wonder and Seiun Sky, who were both near the door, called out in unison.
With a smile, Divine Starlight glanced at the two and then scanned the entire classroom.
Finding everyone's gaze focused on her, she gave a dry cough and spoke.
"The teacher for this period is sick, so this will be a self-study session. The President asked me to come over and supervise. If you have any questions you don't understand, feel free to ask me."
As Divine Starlight's voice fell, the Uma Musume who were still dazed finally snapped back to reality.
In the next moment, the area around Starlight was packed so tight not even a drop of water could leak through.
"Starlight-senpai! I finally get to meet you, can I have your autograph?"
"Starlight-senpai! I'm struggling a bit with some Biology topics, could you teach me later?"
"Starlight-senpai, Starlight-senpai, when is your next race? Can you give us a hint so I can buy tickets in advance?"
...
A barrage of questions followed, and Divine Starlight responded with a bashful smile.
"Wow! It's Starlight-senpai. I'm so jealous, I wish she could come to our class as a substitute teacher too."
Hearing Haru Urara's comment, Special Week asked curiously, "Hey, hey, Urara-chan, is Starlight-senpai really that famous?"
"Of course! Starlight-senpai is a big star at the academy, and she's very gentle and beautiful."
Recalling the time Starlight had told her she had "some connections" at the school, Special Week had an "I see" expression.
'So this is what you meant by connections, Starlight-senpai...'
As the warning bell rang, everyone stopped pestering Divine Starlight and returned to their seats.
After breathing a sigh of relief, Divine Starlight sat in the chair by the podium and began her own review.
Tap, tap, tap~
A lively little pink-haired girl walked past her.
"Starlight-senpai~ do you want to go out and play this weekend?"
Hearing this, Starlight didn't even need to guess to know who it was. She agreed with a smile, "Sure, Urara-chan."
"Yay! Then I'll be going now. Bye-bye, Starlight-senpai!"
"Mhm... Wait a sec?"
It wasn't until Urara reached the door that Starlight reacted. She turned her head and called out to her.
"What's wrong, Starlight-senpai?"
Looking at the confused Urara, Divine Starlight said, "Where are you going? Class is about to start."
"Ah, I'm in the class next door, Starlight-senpai."
"Er... alright then."
Her mouth twitching, Starlight sat back down.
The bell rang for the start of class. Everyone was quite well-behaved, doing their own thing.
Some were sleeping, some were doing homework, some were drinking tea, and others were daydreaming or chatting quietly...
And then—
"Ehehe... ehehehehehe—"
A sound like a creep who had just achieved a long-held goal—a greasy, perverted laugh—pierced through Starlight's ears like a thin thread.
Unable to take it anymore, she straightened her back and looked toward the desk near the corner with a frown.
It was a chestnut-haired Uma Musume... someone who looked like a background character.
She walked slowly over to the girl and leaned down close to her.
Watching the girl giggling to herself with her head down, Starlight squinted her eyes curiously to take a peek.
There, inside the desk compartment on the girl's phone screen, was a very familiar scene.
That's right, it was the short video of Symboli Rudolf and Oguri Cap figure skating.
However, Divine Starlight couldn't bring herself to smile.
It was as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, she froze on the spot.
"Ah! St-Starlight-senpai~ When did you get so close to me?"
The chestnut-haired Uma Musume hurriedly shoved her phone deeper into her desk. Looking at Starlight's face so close to hers, she spoke with a slight blush.
"Where did you get that?"
"Wh-what do you mean 'where did I get it'? Starlight-senpai, what are you talking about?"
Taking a deep breath, Divine Starlight looked left and right before leaning down close to the chestnut-haired girl's ear.
"That video... where did it come from?"
"Eh, you saw it!"
"Obviously. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Well, okay then. Actually, it's a video I got from my Club President."
'The President?!'
"President of which club?"
"Um... the Otaku Club."
"Where is your club room? What's the President's name—"
"I-it's in the classroom at the very end of the top floor of the main building. She's a pink-haired Uma Musume, I don't know much else."
Nodding, Starlight patted the girl's cheek.
"Don't worry. Just try not to daydream in class next time, or you'll really be punished if the teacher catches you."
Feeling the warmth on her cheek, the girl lowered her head shyly.
"I understand, Starlight-senpai."
Enduring until the end of class, Starlight rushed non-stop toward the Otaku Club's activity room.
She absolutely could not let this video spread.
Otherwise, if an investigation were launched, it was highly likely she would be dragged out as the culprit who started it all.
On the way, Starlight pretended nothing was wrong as she greeted passing Uma Musume, but her mind was racing with anxious thoughts.
'The Student Council couldn't have moved that quickly. Only that one girl in the whole class was watching it, so it shouldn't have spread too wide yet.'
Forcing herself to stay calm, Starlight arrived at the entrance of the Otaku Club. She took a deep breath and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock...
The sound echoed through the empty hallway, thumping like a drum in her heart.
"Who... who is it?"
"Um, is this the Otaku Club? I'm looking for your President."
...
After a long silence, a voice came from inside again.
"C-coming..."
Creak. The door opened.
A pink-haired girl with a red ribbon tied on top of her head poked her head out timidly.
Seeing this, Starlight spoke with a smile. "You must be the Club President. I have something to discuss with you, can I come in and talk?"
Agnes Digital froze when she saw the visitor was Divine Starlight.
Then, as if remembering something, her expression became complicated, and she silently stepped aside to make a path.
Starlight was about to step inside, but her feet suddenly halted.
Her body began to tremble...
An expression of utter disbelief appeared in her eyes, and her breathing became erratic.
There, sitting in the seat of honor, was Symboli Rudolf. She had her legs crossed and was resting her head on one hand, glancing over.
Behind her were her two capable "guards," Air Groove and Hishi Amazon.
"Hm? Divine Starlight?"
Seeing the person at the door, Rudolf raised an eyebrow slightly and called out in curiosity.
1, 2, 3...
Three seconds later, without a moment's hesitation—and without a single extra word or movement—Starlight turned and bolted.
Rudolf was stunned for a moment, then waved her hand to the two behind her.
"Didn't she say she wanted to come in and talk? Why did she run?"
"Go. Bring her here."