"Well, let's just say we're definitely a bit closer than friends, but I'll have to ask you to keep it a secret, Ms. Shop Assistant~"
As she spoke, Sirius walked slowly to the assistant's side.
"O-okay. I understand," the shop assistant replied, her face flushing as she nodded quickly.
After a long time, Starlight finally finished selecting her outfit.
She pulled open the door of the fitting room, and her fair, delicate feet stepped out, clad in a pair of black high heels.
Click, click, click...
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed.
Following the source of the sound, the moment Sirius saw Starlight's silhouette, her pupils constricted.
A translucent black mesh skirt faintly revealed Starlight's long, porcelain skin, while the dark gold lace trim added a touch of nobility to her look.
The overall black evening gown made her flowing, silvery-white hair look even more radiant.
Her brilliant golden eyes complemented the dark gold accessories perfectly.
Extending a hand encased in a black half-sleeve glove to tidy her bangs, Starlight said with a smile:
"Well? How do I look?"
Beside them, the shop assistant took out her phone and began snapping photos frantically.
"Mmm... you look good."
Sirius snapped out of it, putting away her usual dominance and speaking almost shyly.
The hem of the skirt fluttered as Starlight turned around. She stood before the full-length mirror and nodded with satisfaction.
"Then I'll go with this one. It's quite nice."
Seeing that she was about to head back into the dressing room to change out of it, Sirius hurriedly stepped forward and caught her.
"Starlight, wait a moment..."
"What is it?"
"How about you just wear it for our dinner later?"
"Hmm... alright, let's do that, since you're wearing a suit today anyway. But I'll have to be careful not to get it dirty."
Lifting her skirt slightly, Starlight looked down and scanned her outfit as she spoke.
"Don't worry. With me around, your dress won't get dirty."
Coming to her side, Sirius gently took her hand.
Watching the two of them leave hand-in-hand, the shop assistant felt like she was witnessing a dream romance.
She captured the scene and posted it to her social media platform.
Inside a private booth at a certain restaurant.
Starlight sat somewhat stiffly in her chair.
She looked at the surrounding decor before turning her gaze toward Sirius, who sat opposite her.
"Are we really eating at a place like this?"
"Yeah. Why, do you not like it?"
"It's not that, it's just my first time in a place like this. A single dish costs a fortune, and the portions are so small— can you even get full?"
Shaking her head with a smile, Sirius looked at the flickering candle beside them.
"Do you think the main purpose of coming here is the food?"
"Otherwise? What do you come to a restaurant for if not to eat? Unless... you're here to 'deepen our relationship'?"
Picking up the menu, Starlight flipped through it as she spoke.
"It seems your head is quite sharp after all, little Uma Musume."
Picking up a wine glass, Sirius swirled the red wine before placing it in front of Starlight.
In the wine-red liquid, Starlight's face was reflected.
"Actually, I came here today to apologize to you..."
Starlight's fingers paused as she moved her gaze from the menu to Sirius.
"Eh!? An apology... why are you apologizing?"
"When we first met, and the few times after that— some of my habits left you with a bad impression. I'm sorry..."
Sirius was actually quite conflicted internally.
She knew that was just how she usually acted, but facing this silver-haired Uma Musume, she couldn't help but voice an apology.
Closing the menu, Starlight gently pushed it toward Sirius and waved her hand with a smile.
"I'll accept your apology for now, but those things are just part of your personal character, and you haven't done anything too out of line."
"It was just that I hadn't interacted with you before, so I wasn't used to it at first. Sirius-chan is actually quite dashing."
Sirius stiffened slightly for a moment before setting her wine glass down. Looking at Starlight's smile, she nodded.
"I see... thank you. Then this meal is on me, feel free to order whatever you like."
"While I'd love to, I haven't seen most of the items on this menu before, so I'll leave it to you. I think if it's a taste you enjoy, I'll probably like it too."
"In that case, we'll do it my way. You'll have to like it even if you don't."
"Alright~"
Actually, it wasn't hard to see that Starlight and Sirius were the same type of person— both focused on the offensive.
However, Starlight's offense was slow and steady, dealing damage similar to a damage over time effect interspersed with true damage.
Sirius, on the other hand, was more forceful, favoring a high-burst combo.
While Symboli Rudolf was also a powerful type, she dealt a mix of physical and magical damage.
It was only natural that there would be friction when the three of them were together or clashed.
Clearly, Starlight was a top-tier "meta" character, but if one wanted to counter her, who would be the best choice to send out?
My assessment would be Super Creek, who possesses "guard-counters" and sustained health regeneration.
She is the only Uma Musume so far who has managed to suppress Starlight in a confrontation.
(T/N: I debated removing this entire analogy since it dragged on a bit, but I decided to leave it in. Let me know if I should axe it.)
As the exquisite dishes were served, Sirius gestured with her hand.
"Go ahead and eat first, Starlight~"
Picking up her knife and fork, Starlight began to cut the steak with slightly clumsy movements.
Just as she was about to spear a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, she looked up and saw the expectant look in Sirius's eyes.
Her movements paused.
As if seeing through her, Starlight gave a faint smile and brought the piece of meat to Sirius's lips instead.
"Ah— nom..."
"How does it taste?"
Facing the inquiry, Sirius smiled while chewing the beef.
"Since I ordered it, the taste is naturally excellent. But if you feed it to me personally, it's even more delicious."
After eating a piece herself and savoring it carefully, Starlight remarked, "Mmm... it really is good~ Since you know this restaurant so well, you must have brought plenty of your little fangirls here to eat, right~"
"Cough, cough!"
"I see. In the future, I'll have to bring my cute fans to this restaurant too, hehe..."
Hearing Starlight say this, Sirius Symboli frowned slightly.
"That wouldn't be very good... By the way, since it's a rare occasion, let's take a photo together~"
"Sure~ I was thinking the same thing."
Meanwhile, let's turn our attention to Rudolf's side.
Because she had to finish her work ahead of schedule, she was busy for most of her weekend.
Looking at the neatly stacked documents on her desk, she set down her pen and stretched her muscles.
"Finally finished."
Suddenly, her phone nearby rang. She picked it up to take a look.
"Huh? This... this is..."
First to appear was the Tracen Academy official forum.
The trending topic of the day was undoubtedly the photos of Divine Starlight and Sirius going out to pick a dress together.
"Ha!? Sirius and Divine Starlight... That's impossible. Since when did those two start hanging out?"
Rubbing her eyes, Rudolf felt that she must be hallucinating from overwork.
Or perhaps the picture was Photoshopped.
But in the next second, Divine Starlight posted an update.
The image was a photo of her eating dinner with Sirius, the two were wearing the exact same formal outfits from the photos on the forum.
At this, Rudolf's vision went dark.
'Has... has my base been stolen? Impossible, impossible...'
'Calm down, Symboli Rudolf. You know Divine Starlight, and you know Sirius Symboli just as well. It's impossible for the two of them.'
Rudolf began to comfort herself, but she couldn't help but feel worried.
'What if they actually become a thing? Wouldn't I be the clown then?!'