Stiffening for a moment, Starlight looked down at Kitasan Black, whose small hand she was still holding, then raised her eyes to meet the piercing, direct gaze of Cheval Grand.
'What is going on? Why am I instinctively afraid of her... and what is with this eerie atmosphere?'
Divine Starlight took a step forward, a gentle smile appearing on her face, her eyes flickering with surprise.
"Cheval-chan~ This is wonderful, I'm so glad to see you..."
Shifting her gaze away from Kitasan Black, Cheval Grand moved her blue eyes toward Starlight.
She slowly got up from the bench.
Approaching Starlight, she smiled with a flushed face.
"Me too, Senpai. I'm very happy to see you, but... who is this?"
"Ah, don't you remember me? We're in the same sub-group!!"
Kitasan Black spoke in disbelief, waving her small hand at Cheval Grand.
Cheval Grand gave a faint nod, though it was unclear if she actually recognized her.
Instead, she asked:
"What is your relationship with Starlight-senpai?"
"Eh? Um... well, Starlight-onee-san? What is our relationship?"
"Good friends, I'd say."
Having received the answer, Kitasan Black looked at Cheval Grand and repeated it quite honestly.
"Oneesan and I are good friends!"
"Then what about me?"
Her body trembling slightly, Cheval Grand looked up and asked with a wry, hesitant smile.
Squatting down, Starlight looked at the young Uma Musume and patted her cheek, her tone soft.
"Eh? Cheval-chan is my dedicated little fan~ Surely you haven't forgotten?"
"N-no, I haven't forgotten you, Senpai!"
"Alright, alright, why is the atmosphere so tense? Let's go, I'll take you two little ones for a walk~"
Time slipped by, and Starlight returned to her training.
With less than a month until the Shuka Sho, Starlight felt she had rested enough.
In the afternoon, accompanied by a cool breeze brushing against her cheeks, beads of sweat flew onto the turf as her body moved vigorously.
The silver-haired Uma Musume, dressed in her red training suit, streaked past.
As she crossed the line where Kiryuu Inami stood holding a stopwatch, she slowly decelerated.
Her body trembled slightly.
She was just about to ask her Trainer how her time was, but the moment she stepped forward, Starlight stumbled and fell to the ground.
She clutched her trembling left calf, looking a bit confused.
'What was that momentary feeling of weakness just now?'
"What's wrong? Starlight-chan, are you feeling unwell somewhere?!"
Inami's concerned inquiry reached her ears, snapping Starlight out of it.
She checked her left leg and found nothing out of the ordinary, then waved her hand with a smile.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just scared myself, haha... How was the time?"
"Slower than before... but for a race, this time is still sufficient. Shall we do one more set?"
"Okay! One more set then."
That evening, just as Starlight finished her training and walked out of the clubroom in her fresh clothes, she saw Silence Suzuka waiting, leaning against the wall.
"Suzuka-chan?"
"Starlight-chan! Let's go."
"Mm..."
On the small path back to the dorms, gazing at the darkening night sky, Suzuka spoke first.
"The final leg of the Triple Tiara is coming up soon. Good luck, Starlight-chan."
"Yeah, I'll do my best. You too, Suzuka."
"It's a pity I won't be able to watch your race in person, but I'll be waiting for the good news of your triumphant return."
"Okay..."
Arriving at the dormitory building, Starlight watched the silhouette of the other girl waving and smiling at her before turning to head inside.
After entering her room, she slowly walked over to her drawer.
Looking at the last bottle of recovery potion lying inside, she hesitated over whether to use it.
After all, the situation this afternoon was far too strange, it was only right to be safe.
But there was only this one bottle left...
"I'll save it for now. Just in case I really was just imagining things."
After putting it away, Starlight pushed the matter to the back of her mind.
Once she finished washing up, she crawled into bed and drifted off into dreamland.
"Silence Suzuka is leading El Condor Pasa in second place by a massive margin! Her speed is still increasing... the gap is widening further!"
On the racecourse, the thunderous cheers were solely for the orange-haired Uma Musume in the lead.
Under the announcer's excited shouting, El Condor Pasa stared blankly at the gap that she couldn't close no matter how hard she tried.
She had thought she was stronger than before, both in terms of training volume and mastery of her unique skills.
But watching that orange figure consistently break through the air currents, she had to accept reality.
The race had reached its final stretch, and that absolute lead had already declared who the winner was.
But a sudden accident occurred.
Just as Suzuka tried to accelerate further, a stumble caused her to nearly crash into the turf.
The intense loss of speed made her slender frame begin to wobble.
A sharp pain from her leg forced her to grit her teeth and come to a halt.
This scene was so sudden that the announcer still had the look of excitement for Suzuka's victory frozen on his face before it was shattered.
As the crowd snapped out of their daze, panic ensued— especially for Team Spica and their trainer, Ryo Nishizaki. T
he binoculars dropped from his hands as he hurriedly turned to rush down to the track.
The following afternoon, in the hospital room.
Starlight rushed over to the hospital as soon as she could.
Pushing open the door to Suzuka's room, she saw the orange-haired Uma Musume dressed in a patient's gown.
She hurried over and asked with concern:
"How is it? Suzuka-chan, are you okay, or is it...?"
Suzuka looked at the face so close to hers.
She first narrowed her eyes and knit her brows, offering a faint, forced smile.
"I'm fine, Starlight-chan, I..."
The rest of the words wouldn't come out. Bitterness bloomed like a fountain from that smile.
'Just a short while ago, we had been encouraging each other.'
'Starlight-chan had said she would wait for the good news of a triumphant return...'
Suddenly, a pair of warm little hands cupped her face.
Silence Suzuka opened her slightly moist eyes, and before she could recover, she was pulled into the silver-haired Uma Musume's embrace.
"Don't worry, Suzuka-chan. Don't worry..."
After a while, the two separated.
Suzuka clasped her hands together, though her tone remained calm, it carried a hint of profound sadness.
"The doctor said... recovery might take a very long time. It's also possible that I may never be able to run again."
As those words fell, a long silence filled the hospital room.
Starlight looked at this Uma Musume who, as always, tried to respond with gentleness, and for the first time, a certain expression crossed her face.
'What should I do, Suzuka-chan... what should I do... Ah! Right!'
'I still have one bottle of recovery potion... but that's the last one...'
Looking at Suzuka again, the hesitation in Starlight's eyes faded.
She stepped closer, took Suzuka's hand, and said with a smile:
"Don't worry. Leave it to me, Suzuka-chan! I will make you run again, just like when we first met."
"Starlight-chan... you. Mm, thank you."
Suzuka was taken aback for a moment, her mind recalling the scene of their first meeting.
Perhaps not wanting to slight Starlight's kindness, she offered her thanks.
The silver-haired Uma Musume left, but not for long. Not even half a day later, she returned to Suzuka's ward.
She held the bottle of recovery potion out to Suzuka.
"Here, Suzuka-chan. This is a recovery potion. If you take this, you will definitely run again, trust me."
"This... Starlight-chan, thank you. But you've already helped me so many times, and such a precious medicine, I really shouldn't..."
"Oh, stop it! I have plenty more, so don't you worry! Drink it quickly, and you'll be better in no time."
Seeing the other girl take the bottle, Starlight gave a brilliant smile and spoke in a tender voice.
"I'm still looking forward to seeing you gallop across the racecourse once more."