The dinner wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the four Uma Musume were all simply focused on their own meals.
After polishing off nearly ten bowls of rice, Oguri Cap finally stopped feeling the pangs of hunger.
She patted her stomach and glanced toward Starlight's bed
Her eyes lit up, and she stood up and pounced on it.
Once under the covers, without a word, she began rummaging through all the snacks hidden by the pillows.
"Hey! Oguri Cap, that's rude! Get off Starlight's bed right now."
After swallowing her food, Starlight put down her bowl and waved her hand dismissively.
"It's fine, Tama-chan. Oguri probably saw my snacks, let her be."
"This... well, alright. I guess the two of us really do share the same habit of keeping snacks by our pillows."
"Eh? Tama-chan does that too?"
Tamamo Cross set down her bowl and slapped her chopsticks onto the table, complaining with a look of indignation.
"Unfortunately, I never get to eat a single one of my snacks. This glutton shoves them all into her mouth!"
As she spoke, Tamamo Cross turned around and lightheartedly punched Oguri Cap's calf.
"Hehe, it seems Tama-chan is actually quite good to Oguri~ You keep buying snacks even though you know she's going to eat them."
Feeling like some embarrassing secret had been exposed, Tamamo Cross's face flushed red.
She lowered her head and adopted a tough tone.
"It's... It's not like that! There's no way I'd buy snacks specifically for her to eat, humph!"
Returning to the rice in her bowl, Tamamo Cross finally quieted down.
Seeing this, Starlight smiled and stopped teasing her.
She turned her gaze toward Symboli Rudolf, whose eyes hadn't left her since the beginning.
"Does it not suit your taste? Luna-chan~"
"Pffft— cough, cough, cough... Wh-What did you just call her?"
Tamamo Cross reacted as if she had heard something forbidden, looking up in disbelief.
"Luna-chan~ Why, what's wrong?"
"Ahem! Starlight, perhaps save that nickname for when it's just the two of us..."
"Oh~ is that so? Alright then, Rudolf."
Turning toward Tamamo Cross, Rudolf narrowed her eyes and gave a gentle, friendly smile.
"Tamamo Cross-san, you didn't hear that clearly, did you?"
"No, no! Don't worry, President, I didn't hear a single word~"
Rudolf glanced at Oguri Cap eating snacks on the bed but said nothing.
After all, regarding this little gray-mane, she had plenty of history with her and knew she wasn't the type of Uma to blabb secrets.
After dinner, once they had finished tidying up the table together, Tamamo Cross dragged Oguri Cap away.
She could faintly sense Rudolf's dangerous gaze, feeling that if they stayed any longer, the President might actually "deal with" them both.
After closing the door, Starlight saw that Rudolf was sitting by the bed with no intention of leaving.
She walked over and sat down beside her.
For some reason, a hint of awkwardness began to linger in the air.
"You're going to participate in the Oka Sho, right...?"
"Mhm..."
Leaning closer to Starlight, Rudolf slowly took the girl's small hand in hers, gently kneading it.
"Preparing for the Triple Tiara?"
"That's right. Since I can only enter two of the Classic races, I can't get the Triple Crown title."
"Actually, I could negotiate with the Selection Committee to try and get you a spot in the Derby. Starlight, would you like to..."
Turning around, Starlight placed a finger from her other hand against Rudolf's lips.
"Thanks for the kind offer, President, but I don't want to trouble you. It would surely be a very difficult thing to arrange, so let's forget it."
"After all, you already fought hard with them once for Oguri's sake."
"Besides, I can't blame anyone else. I only have myself to blame for choosing to slack off back when I was at the right age to race..."
"Alright, don't look at me with those eyes. There are many ways to prove oneself, it doesn't have to be through the Derby."
"Even so, the Derby is the most prestigious," Rudolf said softly, holding Starlight's other hand.
Starlight struggled slightly, but seeing how tightly the other was holding on, she playfully leaned into Rudolf's ear.
"Then I'll just defeat every single one of you Uma Musume who have won the Derby! That way, I'll become the most prestigious one."
The soft, gentle words were like an invisible hand tickling Rudolf's ear.
Forced to let go of Starlight's hands, a faint blush climbed up her cheeks.
"Starlight!"
"Aieee~ I'm going to sleep, I have training tomorrow! Ah~ so sleepy..."
Starlight dove straight into her blankets.
After finishing her monologue, she started letting out tiny "fake" snores, the act was incredibly obvious, yet carried a certain cuteness.
Rudolf reached out and patted Starlight's backside, but only received a couple of wiggles in response.
"I'm coming in~"
Seeing that the other girl was ignoring her, Rudolf curled her lips into a smile and reached out to flip the covers.
"Luna-chan! You're such a lecher! Get out, or I'm calling for help~"
Quick as a flash, Starlight rolled over and sat up, wrapping the quilt tightly around herself as she retreated into the corner of the bed.
"Don't talk nonsense. In all the time we've spent together, I haven't done anything excessive to you, have I?"
"Who knows if you will this time? You are the high-and-mighty President, after all~ Cleaning up a weak and helpless little gray-mane like me would be a breeze for you..."
"If you keep teasing me, I'll really—"
"See! See! The little horns are coming out! And you said you wouldn't do anything to me!"
"Haha... get some rest. I won't mess with you anymore. Goodnight."
Starlight's playful expression gradually softened, and she responded with a gentle smile.
"Mhm, goodnight."
About half a month before the Yayoi Sho.
In the afternoon, Starlight stood at the starting line of the training grounds.
"Hey, do you really want to race me that badly, Starlight-chan? I won't show any mercy~" Tamamo Cross said with a grin, resting one hand on her hip.
"Hmph, I'm quite strong now. Bring it on, Tama-chan!"
Looking at the neutral weighted bracelets on her wrists, which she had adjusted back to Level 2, Starlight thought to herself.
'After that special training, I can finally keep up with Oguri and Tama-chan's drills even at Level 2 weight.'
'I'm not the naive person I used to be, Tama-chan!'
She decisively turned off the gravity setting on her bracelets.
A long-lost yet unfamiliar feeling of weightlessness swept through her body.
Starlight felt the illusion that she could break free from gravity itself.
Oguri Cap stood to the side acting as the starter, while Kiryuu Inami stood beside her holding a record sheet.
Inami looked at Starlight and spoke:
"Starlight-chan, although there's still time before the Oka Sho, I will be recording your data for this match. Tamamo Cross, please give it your all as well."
Tamamo Cross waved her hand and let out a huff, taking it as a given.
"I'll obviously be using my full power..."
'Is it just my imagination? Why does Starlight's aura and condition feel a bit different?'
Since it was the peak time for afternoon training, there was no shortage of Uma Musume onlookers.
Additionally, since both Tamamo Cross and Starlight were relatively famous Uma Musume, they naturally attracted many eyes.
Upon hearing about the match between the two, Tojo Hana decisively halted the training for her team.
Ryo Nishizaki did the same, as for trainers like them, gathering intelligence on opponents to formulate counter-strategies was vital.
Other trainers followed suit.
In the stands, many Uma Musume had already rushed over after hearing rumors to watch the spectacle.
"Starlight-senpai! She's actually going head-to-head with Tamamo Cross-senpai! So cool~"
"Hehe, once I finish my hard training, I'm going to challenge the strong ones too!"
"With your 'all brawn and no brains' attitude? Better forget it."
"What did you just say?!"
In a classic display of their discord, Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka began to bicker and undercut each other.
The other members of Team Spica were already used to it.
Surprisingly, Tokai Teio was also standing with Spica, though she hadn't officially joined them yet.
Back on the track, Oguri Cap saw that both were ready and raised the flag high.
"Ready! GO!!!"