Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

"But I really want to learn about the Draco constellation, including seeing every star in it with my own eyes!"

"This sentiment is absolutely genuine, can you help me?!"

Looking at the girl in front of her who was actively attacking her, Ai Musashi instinctively took two steps back.

Then, she asked the other person again to confirm:

"The stars in the sky twinkle with endless beauty and light, and they will never disappear... But what about us? What about our running?"

"……Forehead--"

Stardust Illusion was taken aback when the other party asked the same question again, and she stood there stunned.

But seeing the displeasure on Orihime's face, she quickly raised her hand to stop her from speaking, and said in a flustered manner:

"Wait! I can answer that question! I can think about it... the answer is right there on my lips!"

"—I understand! It won't stop, right? We and our running will never stop!!!"

Although he couldn't understand the deeper meaning behind the other person's question, Stardust Illusion ultimately decided to answer in his own style.

After finishing speaking, Stardust Illusion cautiously cast a glance at the girl in front of him, wanting to see if she was satisfied with his answer.

"...I can't understand it, neither you nor I do."

Ai Mu Orihime sighed. Now that she had confirmed that the other party was not there to cause trouble, she did not want to get entangled with the racehorse girl in front of her any longer.

"If you want to understand the stars, read these books."

She took out a pen and paper from her bosom, wrote down the names of several books about astronomy, and handed them over.

"Ah—not satisfied?! Well, I have another answer... We and our running are all for shining, right?"

Stardust Illusion took the note, then quickly stopped the girl who wanted to leave, making a final effort:

"Or is our running all for a promise?"

Watching this runner named Stardust Illusion endlessly perform a one-man show in front of her, Orihime sighed.

When I first arrived here today, the slightly depressed feeling had somehow vanished.

In recent training sessions, her performance had not improved; in fact, she occasionally underperformed, leading to a decline in her results.

As a runner who has not yet officially participated in her debut race, she knows that she should not reach her peak so early.

Therefore, this can only be attributed to problems with recent training.

However, no matter how she adjusted her training or added extra practice, she couldn't improve the stagnation.

Today was no different. She started running along the roads within the school at seven o'clock, and by nine o'clock she was already exhausted and had to stop—this was probably the worst she had ever had in terms of stamina.

It was somewhat of a show of bravado, coupled with anxiety.

However, these are not the main reasons why she came here.

He was definitely starting to feel afraid, and such a thought popped into his mind as he admired Orihime.

He felt helpless about his inability to improve, his performance falling far short of his ideal of dominating the field, and the cruel reality of being unable to meet her expectations.

"That...you admire Orihime, Orihime?"

She looked up and saw Stardust Illusion's handsome face, which was somewhat unkempt, was already close to her. She could still faintly smell the lingering aroma of pork chops.

Seeing that Orihime was still somewhat dazed, Stardust Illusion continued to ask with concern:

"What's wrong? Did you think of something bad? You look a little uneasy. Do you need my help?"

The sadness and anxiety in Orihime's heart vanished instantly.

"Orihime? If there's something bothering you, just tell me. I'll be a good listener, don't worry... Orihime? Orihime? Orihime?"

"Shut up—stay away from me!" Ai Mu Zhi Ji grabbed her shoulders and forcefully pushed her away from her.

The controlled stardust illusion didn't resist; instead, it revealed a relieved smile.

"That's more like it. No matter what difficulties we face, it's always better to cheer up first."

The tall girl on the pool had such an innocent and harmless smile:

"How about this, I'll help you solve the problem you're worried about right now, and in exchange, you teach me about the Draco constellation, and also teach me how to use the planetarium's facilities to see the real Draco, how about that?"

"These things have nothing to do with you, and I don't want to have anything to do with you."

Ai Mu's expression returned to its previous cold, icy demeanor. She retreated again, increasing the distance between herself and the corner of the pond to prevent the other party from suddenly charging at her again.

"You can learn about constellations yourself by reading books—as for the telescopes in the planetarium, they're not devices that people can just use casually; you'll have to find the appropriate teacher yourself."

"How could this happen...!"

Stardust Illusion's wide eyes revealed a look of surprise and embarrassment.

"But... to be honest, I really don't have any talent for reading. It would be best if someone could teach me..."

"I know that asking for your help must be very difficult for you, Orihime, right? But... even putting that aside, I'd like to hear what's troubling you."

"How about it? Why don't you try asking my Stardust Illusion for help?"

She clenched her right fist, patted her chest, and made herself look very reliable.

(Does this guy even understand what others are saying?)

He yearned for Orihime, shouting inwardly, wishing he could punch the chatterbox in front of him away.

But her face remained icy, unwavering.

"I have nothing bothering me... Alright, I'm leaving now. Goodbye—"

"Wait a moment!"

Stardust Illusion suddenly reached out and grabbed Orihime's wrist.

Orihime reacted instantly, and with a thud, she changed her stance and retreated sharply backward—

--no.

Even faster than her was the movement of Stardust Illusion.

Stardust Illusion firmly grasped Orihime's right hand and raised its head to look into her eyes.

That clear yet burning gaze pierced the heart of the woman who loved Orihime like a sharp sword:

"I can't be wrong... but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too. How about we communicate in another way?"

"Let me go!"

Orihime's tone began to reveal anger and impatience.

"How about we have a mock race? Let's have a proper chat using the style of horse racing girls?"

"I'll say it again, I don't want to have anything to do with you—let go of me!"

"Is that so? I'm sure you have your reasons... But since we've met, it means we're destined to be together, doesn't it? A match won't take too long, why don't we give it a try?"

"Let go of me!!!"

Ai Mu struggled fiercely, but to her surprise, she found that the strength in the hands of the talkative man in front of her was astonishing, and she could not escape his grip no matter what she did.

"By the way, we can choose any distance of the track between 1200m and 2000m."

"No matter what, let go first—"

"Oh, one more thing. I can invite more people to participate in this mock competition, so that it won't be too monotonous."

"Let go! And stop talking! Please, just shut up for a bit!"

Seemingly startled by her roar, Stardust Illusion shut its mouth.

I really don't know whether I should get angry or show some other emotion now.

Do most active players have this problem to some extent? Being overly familiar, not listening to others, and suddenly starting to invite people to so-called practice matches…

"Um... Orihime, before things calm down, there's one more thing I need to say."

The silence lasted less than five seconds before the guy spoke again.

"I personally recommend running the 1600m? It's a distance that most runners can handle, and everyone will benefit a lot more from it. What do you think...?"

"hiss--"

The fist hardened.

The woman who had been released clenched her fists, suppressing her anger.

After a full day of training, her body was so exhausted that she could no longer stand steadily.

Forget about wasting her breath, she couldn't even muster the strength to punch this guy...

Although I don't know what she wants to do with this simulation competition, even just participating in one race is better than being forced to talk about these pointless things.

Thinking of this, Ai Mu could only helplessly say, "Do as you please."

"Okay! Let's meet at this address tomorrow night at 7 PM to start the mock match!"

Stardust Illusion informed Ai-Orihime of the location of the team's training ground.

She smiled happily while stealing glances at Orihime's expression, seemingly trying to confirm whether the other party truly agreed.

"So, it's a deal then—"

Looking at the fist extended in front of her, Ai-hime looked up again at the Stardust Illusion grinning foolishly at her, her heart filled with helplessness.

This was the first time she had ever encountered such a difficult person, even more so than her clever roommate.

On the bright side, a mock race would indeed allow her to see how the other athletes actually run.

Perhaps we can find out the reason why we can't improve right now...

Seeing that Stardust Illusion was clearly determined to make a punch, Orihime could only extend her right hand and reluctantly touch it with the guy.

"Great! This way we'll all definitely become good friends!"

Stardust Illusion pumped his fist in celebration, his face beaming with joy.

It seemed that as long as Orihime accepted the invitation to the simulation tournament, all the remaining problems would be solved.

"Wait a moment--"

The moment Ai Musashi spoke, Stardust Illusion, as if anticipating her words, instantly changed its expression and nodded earnestly, asking: