Inside the relatively warm tent, a cheerful Matikane Tannhauser was rubbing the back of her head.
"Ehehe..."
Divine Starlight sat beside her, clutching the hot water bottle Suzuka had given her. In her hands were tissues and cotton swabs.
She was very gently treating Tannhauser's wounds.
"Thank you, Starlight-senpai~"
"Mhm... Should I have those two juniors come over and apologize to you later?"
"No, no need! It was my own carelessness. Besides, El Condor Pasa-san and Special Week-san have already apologized."
On the other side, Nishino Flower watched the calm surface of the water inside the ice hole.
The bobber floated there, completely motionless.
Glancing at the focused Seiun Sky beside her, Nishino Flower tilted her head and asked, "Sky-chan, it's been so long. Are there no fish left?"
Scratching her head, Seiun Sky thought back and said, "I picked the highest-rated ice fishing spot available, there's no way there are no fish."
"Just don't be impatient. You can't rush things like fishing."
Leaning back in her lounge chair, Seiun Sky waved her hand dismissively.
"If Sky-chan ends up coming home empty-handed, we'll just have to grill some other meat skewers instead," Starlight teased, looking at the lazy back of the girl.
"Impossible, impossible! No child cries every day, and no Uma Musume comes home empty-handed every time!"
"I recall you came home empty-handed when you went fishing last weekend," Nishino Flower added with a precise verbal jab.
"Ah, that was because it was about to rain, so I had no choice but to come back early. Otherwise, I definitely would have caught something!"
Seiun Sky was indignant and argued her case.
As she spoke, her fishing rod began to tremble, and a rare glimmer of excitement flashed in her eyes.
"See, see! A bite! Flower-chan! Starlight-chan, did you see that?!"
Standing up, Seiun Sky began to reel in the line frantically.
Splash—!
When a fish no larger than a finger broke the surface, the expectant gazes of everyone present froze.
"Uh... wow~ That's amazing, Sky-chan. You actually caught such an... exquisite little fish."
Fortunately, Starlight reacted quickly, stepping forward to pat Seiun Sky on the shoulder with praise.
"Indeed. It's even better than the bait in this box..." Nishino Flower added, holding up the bait box in admiration.
However, to Seiun Sky's ears, the words of the two Uma Musume sounded incredibly sarcastic.
"Ahem! Well, well~ I have a plan. My hands aren't warmed up yet, so I'm just using the small fish for practice," Seiun Sky said, coughing dryly and putting on an air of profound mystery.
"It looks so fun! Can I try fishing too?" Tannhauser, who had recovered from her injuries, leaned over and asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'll make some room for you."
Indifferently moving her lounge chair, Seiun Sky cleared a spot for Matikane Tannhauser.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sized up the brown-haired Uma Musume, thinking to herself:
'This girl looks like she's so dumb she might actually a genius. Could she have some kind of hidden power?'
Tannhauser was also looking at Seiun Sky.
However, she was simply mimicking the other's movements, gripping the rod with a decent form and slowly lowering the baited hook into the water.
Seeing that Nishino Flower and Seiun Sky were there to look after her, Starlight figured Tannhauser wouldn't run into any trouble.
She looked away and began assembling the grill with Rice Shower.
"Um, thank you for inviting Rice to come play today, Starlight-chan. Rice is very happy," Rice Shower said with a smile, looking at Starlight who was seriously reading the instruction manual.
"I'm very happy to be out with Rice-chan, too. How about we go skiing together after dinner?"
"Um... b-but, Rice isn't very good at it. What if I cause trouble for Starlight-chan..."
"Don't be silly. I don't know how to do it either! We'll get on a sled together later and then..."
"Whoosh— we'll slide all the way down from the top!"
"There will be professionals to guide us, so don't worry, Rice-chan. At the very least, you can just hold onto me tightly."
Setting down the manual, Starlight finished assembling the stand and reached out to pat her own biceps.
"I won't let go of Rice until we land safely."
Seeing the other's slightly comical expression, Rice Shower covered her mouth and giggled.
"Hehe... Starlight-chan makes me feel so safe. B-but, Rice will protect Starlight-chan too!"
Thus, the group divided the labor clearly: The trio led by Seiun Sky focused on fishing, while Starlight and Rice Shower prepared the kitchenware.
Special Week and El Condor Pasa took Silence Suzuka and Grass Wonder to a nearby shop to pick out ingredients.
Kiryuu Inami leaned back on a temporarily set-up cot, silently picking up her phone to snap photos of the Uma Musume.
The scene shifts back to Tracen Academy.
Inside the dormitory, Symboli Rudolf sat at her desk, working at an intensified pace.
She was striving to finish all of this month's workload ahead of schedule so she could focus entirely on ice skating training with Starlight.
Although Starlight had invited her to the ice fishing trip, Rudolf had forced herself to decline due to her duties.
At the Mejiro Estate's training ground, the vast emerald lawn had been draped in a coat of pure white.
A cold wind swept past, and the branches of the cherry blossom trees on both sides were heavy with snow.
Several hired staff members were busy clearing the tracks.
Clatter, clatter!
Dressed in a bright red training suit, Mejiro McQueen sped across the snow with steady footsteps.
The snow beneath her feet had already been trodden into a clear path, it was obviously not her first lap.
Her pale purple eyes were filled with determination, and steam constantly billowed from her mouth.
Her face was flushed red from the wind, and her hair had clumped together in places where sweat had dried.
Far off on a balcony, Mejiro Ramonu, dressed in a magnificent sky-blue gown, sat elegantly in a chair.
A canvas stood before her.
Her gaze swept over the figure on the training field, and a glimmer of gratification flashed in her usually calm eyes.
"I thought this snowy scenery would be dull, but looking at it now, it's worth painting."
A slight smile touched her lips as she slowly picked up her brush and reached for the red area of her palette.
Stopping her pace, Mejiro McQueen walked along the track.
As she regulated her breathing, she recalled Starlight's silhouette. Her somewhat stiff, delicate hands clenched into fists.
"I will definitely become strong. Just you wait, Starlight-chan. I'll become stronger than you, and I will show the honor of the Mejiro family to the world once more."
"I'll make sure your eyes see me... I'll make sure your eyes see only me."
"Woah, you're working so hard, McQueen-chan! Do you want to rest for a bit, have some warm soup, and eat some sweets?"
Looking toward Mejiro Ryan, who was waving from outside the track, McQueen paused for a moment.
She looked down at her clothes, which felt slightly tight around the waist.
"No... I am currently undergoing weight management."
Her body shuddered.
McQueen stiffly averted her gaze and closed her eyes, struggling for a moment against the desires in her heart.
'When I finally win my beauty over, I'll go to the sweets shop with her every single day. I'll have her feed me personally— yes, exactly like that.'
"Keep going, Mejiro McQueen!"
Steeling her heart, she opened her eyes and looked at the snowy path she had carved out. She lunged forward and began running once again.
Time passed slowly.
Perhaps because the tent was too warm, Matikane Tannhauser had unknowingly closed her eyes and drifted into a light nap.
But just as she was at her most relaxed, the fishing rod began to jerk violently.
Her grip loosened, and the end of the rod snapped upward at high speed, delivering a perfect uppercut straight to her chin.
"Puff-ah—!!"
Seiun Sky, standing nearby, was quick to react. She lunged forward to grab Tannhauser's hands and clamped down on the rod that was about to fall.
"We've got a live one~!"
Her lazy eyes lit up with excitement. "Tannhauser, pull with me!"