At this point, King Halo had effectively withdrawn from the duel, the championship was likely beyond her reach.
Finally, they reached the grand stage of the final straight.
This was the most critical segment. Seiun Sky turned her head to look back.
'Hehe... Spe-chan, huh? Your strength is indeed impressive, but with my Unique Skill active, I am invincible!'
Seiun Sky looked toward the finish line not far ahead, already hallucinating the scene of her victory celebration.
However, in the next instant, the sound of heavy breathing and rapid footsteps reached her ears.
The smile on Seiun Sky's face froze instantly.
She looked at Special Week beside her in utter disbelief.
'How is this possible! How did she get up alongside me?! I clearly activated my Unique Skill!?'
Before she could wake from her confusion, Special Week's speed increased even further.
Her face was contorted with grit, the swing of her arms widening as she gave it her all.
She successfully overtook Seiun Sky.
The distance between them was slowly but surely pulled apart by Special Week.
'No! Impossible!'
Screaming internally, Seiun Sky tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and roared, entering a total "limit-break" mode.
"Aaaahhhh—!!!"
"She's crossing the line! She's across! Congratulations to our winner!"
"It's Special Week, she's won the race by three lengths!"
"I won—!!"
Special Week jumped up in excitement.
Looking toward the wildly cheering spectator stands, she bowed deeply with emotion.
Then, she jogged over to Team Spica.
"Everyone! I won!"
Watching the Spica crew celebrate below, Starlight nodded and turned to walk toward the exit.
"Aren't you going to celebrate with them?"
"I'll wait until we're back at the academy. I have training this afternoon, so I'll head out first~" Starlight replied with a wave, not looking back.
Ryo Nishizaki shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Well, alright. Remember to come to our clubroom after your training, we're having a victory party for Spe-chan."
"Got it, I won't forget."
Down on the field, Seiun Sky watched Special Week celebrating with her teammates after crossing the line.
Though she felt a lingering bitterness in her heart, she still managed a smile.
"That's great, Spe-chan. You won~"
Having said that, she turned and walked away with an air of nonchalance, though her retreating figure looked lonely and tinged with sadness.
This is the nature of competition: No one feels more bitter than the one in second place.
On the turf, victory belongs only to first place. Every other rank is effectively no different from last.
King Halo remained kneeling on the grass, still catching her breath, replaying the moment those two Uma Musume had overtaken her.
Sweat dripped onto the turf as she slowly clenched her fists.
She stood up, cast one last glance at Special Week basking in the cheers of victory, took a deep breath, and turned to leave the track.
As evening approached, Starlight slowly stepped off the grass of the training ground.
She sat on a nearby bench, taking a towel from her bag to wipe away her sweat.
"Phew... I ran a couple of extra laps, it feels good."
She took a sip of her energy drink while checking the time on her phone.
"It's almost time. I should head to Spe-chan's victory party..."
Humming a tune, Starlight packed her things and headed toward the Spica clubroom.
After passing through a small wooded path, she could hear cheerful conversation drifting from the clubroom in the distance.
Just as Divine Starlight was about to walk over, she suddenly heard the faint sound of sobbing coming from the other side.
Frowning, Starlight hesitated for a moment before turning her steps toward the sound.
On a roadside bench, King Halo sat upright with her head bowed.
The streetlight above flickered, casting a pulsating, dim light over her.
"My~ I thought it was some kind of ghost... turns out it's just a cute little Uma Musume crying here."
Hearing that familiar and gentle voice, King Halo's body stiffened.
She looked up rigidly toward the source of the sound.
Emerging from the trees was an Uma Musume with long, silver-gold hair. Her golden eyes seemed to shine brilliantly against the dimming twilight.
"I-It's you! What are you doing here?"
Standing up, King Halo pointed at Starlight, questioning her with a hint of flustered panic.
"I just finished training and was heading to the Team Spica clubroom when I was drawn here by the sound of your voice," Starlight explained as she slowly walked over to King Halo's side.
She asked softly, "What's wrong, Halo-chan? This doesn't seem like you at all..."
"Hmph. Are you here to mock me? Because of those things I said before the race..."
"No, no, no. I've never had such a thought."
"What I said before the race was also from the heart— I truly hoped to see you standing there in victory."
"I'm going back. Goodbye..."
Seeing that she was about to leave, Starlight quickly grabbed King Halo's wrist.
"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave, Halo-chan..."
Feeling that warm touch, King Halo trembled slightly.
She hurriedly swatted Starlight's hand away and turned, saying, "Is there anything else? I'm very busy."
"I see. Then I won't disturb you. If possible, let's have a proper chat next time, okay, Halo-chan?"
Sensing the resistance in the other's eyes, Starlight didn't push any further.
She gave a sheepish smile and turned to walk away.
Watching Starlight's figure disappear into the darkness, King Halo took a deep breath and returned to the dormitory with a complex expression.
Click—
The door to the Spica clubroom opened, and Starlight poked her head inside to look around.
"Starlight-senpai! You're finally here, come in quick!"
Special Week already had a bulging belly, yet she was holding a plate piled high with a mountain of food.
"Oh my, Spe-chan! I'm so heartbroken~ You actually ate so much before I even arrived..."
Walking in, Starlight lightly poked Spe-chan's tummy and spoke with feigned sadness.
"Ahaha, I'm sorry, Senpai! You were so late we couldn't help but start eating," Special Week said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head.
"Hey, don't drag us into this! You were the one who couldn't wait and started eating first!"
"Exactly, Special Week, how can you frame us like that? We were properly waiting for Starlight-senpai," Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet protested, looking up from their own piles of food.
"Ah! How can you guys be like this!"
Special Week's expression froze as she turned to point at Vodka and the others in disbelief.
Her reaction was so comical that the rest of the Spica members burst into laughter.
"Ehh—! Why is everyone laughing? What's so funny!?"
Reaching out to ruffle Spe-chan's hair, Starlight teased. "We're laughing because we're happy that our big winner today took the championship~"
"Also, I was just teasing you earlier. Eat to your heart's content!"
Watching Special Week use her tongs to clear out the food on the table, Ryo Nishizaki warned, "Don't eat too much. If your weight goes up, it'll affect your future races."
"Don't worry, Trainer. I'll just train extra hard later to lose it."
Hearing this, Ryo Nishizaki didn't say much more.
After all, it was Spe-chan's graded race victory, so he let her be.
"Starlight-chan, here~"
Silence Suzuka walked over, handing a plate of hamburg steak and carrot pasta to Starlight.
"Ah, thank you, Suzuka-chan. Have you eaten yet?"
"Mm, not yet."
"Then let's eat together. This portion is a bit much for me."
Nodding, Silence Suzuka happily agreed.