Under Daiwa Scarlet's strict supervision, Special Week looked at her crate of carrots, her eyes filled with nothing but reluctance and longing.
"Hurry up and do it, Special Week-senpai! This is only temporary, you have to use this as motivation! Once you successfully lose the weight, you can eat even more!"
With that, she handed over the roll of tape.
"Ah, enough, I get it!"
Rrrrrip.
After a few quick movements, Special Week knelt on the floor, staring at the cardboard box now sealed shut with tape.
She covered her face and wailed in agony.
Seeing this, Daiwa Scarlet didn't know what else to say, so she simply patted the other's shoulder to offer some comfort.
Inside the gym, Special Week looked transitionally at Vodka, who was holding a bamboo sword.
She asked curiously:
"Um, for recovery training... why do you have to hold that, Vodka?"
"I don't want to either, Spe-chan-senpai! But this is the only way to spur you forward! Forgive me—!"
With that...
Pa!
The bamboo sword struck the floor right by Special Week's feet.
"One hundred crunches, starting now!"
"Ah, right!"
"Next, one hundred push-ups!!"
"Okay!"
"One hundred supermans!!!"
"Why are there more..."
"Just do it! This is still nowhere near enough!!"
"Okay..."
Shouldering the bamboo sword, Vodka watched Special Week's sweat-drenched figure moving continuously through the gym and nodded.
"That's it! Keep it up, Special Week-senpai!"
By the afternoon, a sore and aching Special Week arrived at the dance studio.
"Honestly, those guys are so harsh. Come practice some stuff with me to relax the mind and body, Spe-chan!"
Looking at Tokai Teio's smiling face, Special Week asked hesitantly:
"Wh-what are we practicing? Is it going to be exhausting?"
"Oh, don't worry, it's just some simple dance moves. Just follow my lead!"
With that, Tokai Teio utilized her incredible flexibility to stand on her tiptoes on one foot, extending both arms and her other leg.
"The most important thing is your state of mind. Imagine you are bathing in a warm spring, your entire body's muscles should remain relaxed."
Seeing this, Special Week tried her best to imitate the pose, but her balance was lacking.
Before long, her body began to wobble and shake.
"No, no! Thrust your arms forward! Lift your back leg higher!"
As she spoke, Tokai Teio showed no mercy, reaching out to manually correct the other's posture.
"Then keep your body as balanced as possible, lean forward— not like that! Oh, Spe-chan!! Keep practicing this move until you get it right!"
'As I thought, she's strict too...'
The scene shifted again, returning to the swimming pool.
Quite a few Uma Musume in school swimsuits were gathered around, looking up at the short-haired girl standing on the diving board with a blindfold on.
At that moment, a megaphone let out a piercing screech.
Leaning back in a lounge chair, Gold Ship tapped the megaphone and spoke toward the platform.
"Alright, Spe-chan, you can take off the blindfold now—"
The sound of rustling followed as Special Week removed the blindfold, only to see a very familiar height. She immediately began to shiver.
"Wh-why is it this place again?"
"What are you standing there for! Jump, Spe-chan! You've already done this once before! Don't be afraid, be brave, and jump!"
Feeling the gazes of the girls below and looking at the pool that seemed smaller and smaller from this height, Special Week took a nervous step back.
"N-no way, it's too high..."
"Heh heh. If you don't jump, I will~ You know, Spe-chan, only the brave get to enjoy the sweet fruit first..."
Seiun Sky, also wearing a one-piece swimsuit, walked up from behind.
After finishing her leisurely remark, she made an elegant leap, followed by a 360-degree mid-air rotation, successfully entering the water.
Plop—
After surfacing from the bottom, she looked up at Special Week and spoke.
"Come on, Spe-chan! It's fine, just jump! This is the best way to hone your willpower— conquer your fear!"
Her friend's constant urging drifted up from below. Special Week slowly approached the edge of the diving platform.
"I-I really can't do it... What should I do... Eh? Starlight-senpai?"
Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a petite, silver-gold Uma Musume walking into the swimming center, a gentle smile on her face.
Her tight-fitting swimsuit perfectly outlined her physique as she chatted happily with Tamamo Cross beside her.
Seeing this scene, Special Week was suddenly reminded of the time Starlight-chan gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after she fell into the water.
"Aaaaahhh...!!"
Somehow, a powerful surge of motivation manifested out of thin air within her heart. With a loud shout, Special Week jumped straight down.
Splash!
Like a bomb detonating in the water, the splash Special Week made upon entry was a good three to four meters high.
Starlight was successfully drawn to the scene.
She walked slowly to the edge of the pool and happened to lock eyes with Special Week, who was floating on her back.
"Starlight-senpai... You're here..."
Nodding, Starlight looked at the somewhat disheveled state of the girl in the water and crouched down with a smile to encourage her.
"Spe-chan, you were amazing today. You're much stronger than you were during your first diving practice."
Hearing the praise, Special Week pulled her hand out of the water and scratched the top of her head sheepishly.
"Hehe, Starlight-senpai, it was nothing really..."
"Come on, Spe-chan, get out of the pool. There are other Uma Musume waiting to dive, I don't want you to get hurt."
Seeing Starlight reach out her hand, Special Week eagerly grabbed onto it.
"Okay, Senpai!"
And so, Seiun Sky, who was drenched from head to toe, stood there dazed.
She watched from the other side as Starlight patiently used a towel to dry Special Week's hair and cheeks.
The sound of the two talking and laughing drifted into her ears.
'Seriously?! You refused to jump for dear life just now, but the moment Starlight shows up, you dive in without a second thought?!'
'Thank you, Sky-chan! This fruit is indeed sweet!'
"By the way, Spe-chan, what kind of training are you doing today?"
"Actually, my weight has been a bit high lately, so I'm doing special weight-loss training..."
"Is that so? That's impressive. It must be very hard on you, Spe-chan..."
Shaking her head and then nodding, Special Week looked at the petite girl still drying her hair and said somewhat gloomily:
"It is... I'm not allowed to eat the tasty things anymore, my training volume has increased, and everyone has become so strict. They won't let me rest if I don't do it right!"
Clinging to Starlight's arm, Special Week's voice took on a slight sob.
Stroking the girl's head, Starlight narrowed her eyes and comforted her.
"Even so, haven't you persevered through it all? You're already doing great."
"How about this: when this is all over, Senpai will treat you to a meal? You can eat as much as you want..."
"Really?! Starlight-senpai..."
"Of course. You'll have to keep working hard, okay?"
"Mm-hmm! I will! Oh, right, Senpai... can I train with you from now on?"
Faced with Special Week's sudden request, Divine Starlight was stunned for a moment but eventually agreed.
"I suppose so, but aren't you training well with everyone in Team Spica?"
"Hehe... Because, well, when I saw Senpai's morning practice last time, it looked incredible. It felt very efficient, so I wanted to follow Senpai!"
"Oh! I can even ask the other girls in the team to join!"
"Sure. In that case, I'll go talk to the Trainer, and we can discuss the details in the afternoon."
And so, following Special Week's request, Starlight actually brought Inami along in the afternoon to negotiate with Ryo Nishizaki.
Inside the Team Spica clubroom, a group of Uma Musume looked at Starlight as she wrote the training schedule on the blackboard, their expressions filled with a hint of bewilderment.