However, Suzuka quickly recovered from her moment of unease.
She reasoned that this was an act Starlight-chan was forced to perform under the pressure of Spe-chan's crisis, so Suzuka calmed herself down.
"Spe-chan, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere right now?"
Her brow relaxed, and she asked with genuine concern.
"Well..."
Special Week put down her carrot plushie, swung her arms, stretched her legs, and moved her joints around.
"I think I'm fine. It's just that I ate a bit too much for lunch, so my stomach feels a little bloated, haha..."
"That's good then. You should try to eat a little less next time."
"I have some digestive tablets here, take a few so you don't upset your stomach during training this afternoon."
Taking a packet of digestive medicine from a storage bag on the corner of the desk, Silence Suzuka walked over and handed them to Spe-chan.
"Thank you, Suzuka-chan~ Ahh... I thought living in the big city would be really tough, but having Uma Musume like you and Starlight-senpai to help me..."
"I'm so happy."
As she spoke, Special Week's eyes inexplicably began to moisten.
Patting her head, Suzuka said with a smile, "Alright now. Our help is limited, the most important thing is still your own hard work."
Meanwhile, back at the cafeteria, Divine Starlight was still finishing her meal.
Noticing a gaze fixed on her from the side, she put down her chopsticks and turned her head in confusion.
"Teio, is there something on my face?"
"Not really. I just feel like Starlight-senpai is very reliable. The way you looked when you were saving Spe-chan just now was very cool."
"Mm-hmm, is that so? Then, Teio, who do you think is cooler: Me or the Student Council President?"
Starlight looked at Tokai Teio teasingly, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes.
"That... well, I think the President is cooler!"
To her surprise, after a moment of hesitation, Teio's eyes sharpened as she spoke with unwavering conviction.
"What! So in Teio's heart, I still can't shake the President's position?"
After speaking with a feigned look of disappointment, Starlight lowered her head and silently picked up her chopsticks, taking tiny, listless bites of her rice.
"Ah! Starlight-senpai, don't be sad! I, well—that's it! Starlight-senpai is the most beautiful Uma Musume in my heart..."
Flustered, little Teio came up with a "brilliant" idea in her desperation and blurted it out.
"Is that true...?"
"Yes, yes, Starlight-senpai! It's the absolute truth."
"Haha... thank you for the compliment, Teio-chan."
"Actually, I wasn't really sad, I just wanted to tease Little Teio a bit."
Reaching out her finger to brush a stray grain of rice from the corner of Teio's mouth, Starlight chuckled softly.
"Eh—! Senpai, how could you! That's so mean!"
"Alright, alright, let's just eat and stop fooling around."
"Oh my~ You two seem to be having a very lively chat. Is there some juicy gossip? Care to share with me...?"
"I want to hear it too! Starlight-chan~"
Nearby, Daitaku Helios and Mejiro Palmer walked over with their meal trays and sat down in the seats opposite them.
"Did you guys get out of class that late?" Tokai Teio asked curiously.
"Not really. It's mostly because Palmer and I were putting on nail polish right before class ended. This girl's movements are too slow, so it took some extra time."
Hearing Helios's blame, Mejiro Palmer replied helplessly, "You can't blame me! If I move too much, the teacher will notice!"
"Starlight-chan, Starlight-chan! Do you want to try it? My new nail polish, it's super pretty~!"
Looking at the excited Helios, Starlight said with a smile, "Sure, but let's finish eating first, okay?"
"Right, right, right. Eat first, eat first..."
Seeing her best friend acting like this, Mejiro Palmer didn't bother commenting and turned to Tokai Teio instead.
"So, what were you two talking about just now~?"
"Oh, earlier, Starlight-senpai and I were giving Special Week some special idol training. She accidentally fell into the pool and fainted."
"At that moment, Starlight-senpai was totally calm— she gave Special Week mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the spot!"
"What?! Mouth-to-mouth?! Starlight-chan, is that true?! You gave another Uma Musume mouth-to-mouth..."
"Yeah, is there a problem with that?"
"Then— then if I were drowning, you'd do it for me too, right? You would, right?!"
Daita Helios stood up, her small face practically pressed against Starlight's.
"Yes, yes, I would. So, Helios, can you please sit back down and eat your food nicely?"
"Yay~! Then I'm gonna lie down on the floor right now, Starlight-chan..."
Clang!
A hand chopped down onto Helios's head.
Mejiro Palmer said speechlessly, "That's about enough out of you. Stop causing trouble for Starlight-chan, or she's going to get angry."
"Oh... sorry, Starlight-chan," Helios apologized, clutching her aching head as she sat back down.
"It's fine, it's fine," Starlight said effortlessly, continuing to savor her bowl of miso soup.
To the side, Tokai Teio looked at Mejiro Palmer with curiosity and asked, "What's the deal with Helios?"
"Sigh... only Starlight-chan would indulge her like this. If it were Daiichi Ruby, she would've turned around and walked away without acknowledging her at all."
"Ha! Don't tell me, Helios, do you like Starlight-chan?"
Teio was naturally familiar with Daiichi Ruby, everyone at Tracen Academy knew that Helios had pursued her before.
But when did she switch targets?
Then again, considering how Ruby treated Helios...
'Haha, it's better not say any more.'
"Starlight,-senppai did you say yes to her?"
Setting her bowl down, Starlight looked at the curious girl beside her and gave her a gentle flick on the forehead.
"No."
"Then why are you so nice to her? You even play with her all the time..."
"Hmm~ Well... because her liking me is her business, and us being good friends is our business."
"I can't just cut off the latter relationship because of the former, can I?"
"Right, Helios?"
"Exactly, exactly! If I didn't have Starlight-chan, I would—!"
"It's not that serious, okay~"
"Starlight-chan~ Here, here, here."
Helios started moving the hamburger steak and drumsticks from her own plate onto Starlight's.
"Helios, I've had enough to eat. Take it back, okay?"
"Eh, but..."
"Then I'll eat half, and you eat the remaining half yourself, okay?"
Hearing this, Helios's eyes lit up, and she happily accepted the proposal.
"The way those two get along is really subtle, isn't it?" Mejiro Palmer said with a smile as she watched the scene.
"It really is. It's the first time I've seen anything like it, it's incredible."
"But maybe that's one of the reasons why Starlight-senpai is so popular," Tokai Teio nodded, speaking with some emotion.
Starlight wouldn't reject people outright, she simply responded in her own way.
While that response might not be exactly what you hoped for, it was always comfortable and warm. At the very least, it would never leave you feeling sad.
After finishing the meal, Starlight wasn't in a hurry to leave.
She looked at Helios, who was currently holding her hand and applying nail polish, and gave a faint smile.
"You aren't just using me as a test subject, are you, Helios-chan?"
"No way! Don't worry, the one I picked is definitely the best match for you, Starlight-chan!"
"Alright, then I'll trust you just a little bit. Teio-chan, won't you try?"
"Eh, I'll pass. I'll just watch you guys do it."
Since Teio hadn't joined a team yet and didn't have a trainer, she spent the entire afternoon training session by Starlight's side.
And so that's how her day went. She was training with Starlight, eating together, and even helping her coach Team Spica on their singing and dancing.
Teio was more than happy with her new schedule.