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

"Two reporters applied to Treson College to interview you, and I was just informed by the gas tank that their applications have been approved and they will be here today."

"reporter?"

Stardust Illusion frowned, showing little sign of joy.

After all, for her, no amount of fancy interviews is as important as training.

"Are you worried about training? Don't worry, I've already booked it for you tonight, which is your rest time after training."

Hikari Toyama waved her hand, preemptively dispelling any doubts in her mind.

Stardust Illusion finished off a large plate of fried rice, then picked up the spaghetti on its left again:

"These two reporters are really working hard, coming to the college to conduct interviews so late."

"By the way, did they mention what they wanted to interview me about?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Hikari Toyama burst into a vulgar laugh, her face full of mockery.

"Is there any need to say more? You, who are about to face off against the Emperor in the Classic Triple Crown, can be said to be one of the most eye-catching twin stars in this competition."

Chapter 209 I'm already studying the Arc de Triomphe's opponents.

"【Invincible Genius】【Emperor II】East Sea Emperor, 【Escaped Overlord】【Oguri Hat II】Stardust Illusion, although the Satsuki Sho doesn't start for another month, your popularity has already far surpassed that of others."

"Last year, I was someone who would only be laughed at if I made a declaration to reporters, but now I've reached this point."

Stardust Illusion shrugged, feeling a bit sentimental for a moment.

However, she didn't harbor much ill will towards the reporters. After all, although there were a few annoying individuals, the vast majority of people in this world did not have any malicious intent towards the horse girls.

Even if there are some less-than-ideal individuals among the reporters, it's still impossible for them to freely enter Treson Academy.

As mentioned before, information from both inside and outside the college is actually quite closed off, precisely because the student union strictly maintains communication with both sides.

Reporters need the student council's approval to conduct interviews, meaning that the air tank and Rudolf symbolize the careful screening of reporters' qualifications.

Delegating tasks that one is not good at to those who are good at them is Stardust Illusion's consistent practice, and naturally she is quite confident in the screening process conducted by the Qi Gauge.

----------

"I'm very sorry to have disturbed your training. I'm Kawashima, the reporter in charge of today's interview. This is my assistant, Sato, who has also come here specifically to interview about the Satsuki Prize."

A middle-aged man with a receding hairline but a very robust physique stood up from his seat, bowed to the Stardust Illusion with his assistant, and then introduced himself.

"..."

Stardust Illusion was still somewhat anxious. This afternoon, her studies on the Arc Artist program had made no progress, which was causing her to think about this matter again.

Sitting next to her, Higanbana knew from the guy's expression that he must have been distracted and hadn't heard what he said. She subtly nudged the Stardust Illusion with her knee under the table.

"...Oh, I'm sorry, I was thinking about something just now. It's nice to meet you."

Realizing what was happening, Stardust Illusion reached out and shook hands with the old reporter from Kawashima.

“It’s alright. We’ve also heard about you, Stardust Illusion. Many racehorse girls have praised your dedication to training.”

The middle-aged man clearly understood his position, quickly exchanging a few polite words before taking out a voice recorder, turning it on, and placing it on the coffee table.

"Let's not waste the racehorse girls' precious time, so let's get straight to the point and start the interview."

"The first question I want to ask is also something that Uma Musume fans are quite concerned about right now: Has Stardust Mirage confirmed that he is aiming for the classic triple crown?"

"Besides the classic triple crown, are there any other goals? Fans are very interested in what level you want to achieve as a runner."

"Ah—please don't misunderstand, our TV station absolutely has no intention of spying. You can speak directly about anything that is inconvenient to say."

To prevent his question from potentially offending the racehorse girl and trainer in front of him, Kawashima skillfully put on his armor as soon as he finished asking the question.

After all, this was his first time meeting this racehorse girl in private.

Stardust Illusion is a runner known as the "King of the Track," and it wouldn't be good if I said something wrong and angered her.

He had heard that a colleague from another station accidentally knocked off the mask of a gold-racing maestro during an interview, and he witnessed the racehorse girl react so violently that she kicked the trainer away.

However, the trainer who likes to wear cat ears is also amazing. He was able to stand up unscathed after taking a golden side kick and continue the interview, even jokingly talking about how he is often beaten up.

With that level of physical defense, you could easily believe this trainer was actually Kawashima from Uma Musume in disguise.

Thinking of this, old Kawashima glanced at his apprentice beside him, secretly pleased with himself:

(Take note, kid; this is all the experience of the older generation of journalists!)

"The classic triple crown is definitely something we've already planned to challenge."

Stardust Illusion didn't feel it was offensive, so it replied directly:

"As I said before, Wei wants to avenge his loss to the East Sea Emperor in the classic triple crown, and that goal will not change."

"As for the other targets..."

Stardust Illusion was stunned for a moment, not even considering what else she wanted to do.

For her, the act of dedicating herself to the competition to strive for the ultimate glory was already enjoyable enough; what else could she possibly want?

"If I had to say... I'd say it's the Arc de Triomphe Award."

"What?! The Arc de Triomphe Award—?! Are you kidding me?!"

Before the veteran reporter Kawashima could react, Sato, who had been standing aside assisting with recording the interview information, exclaimed in surprise.

He could hardly believe what he had just heard... Stardust Illusion said that they wanted to challenge the Arc de Triomphe without giving up the classic triple crown?!

"Sato, you—" Kawashima immediately turned around and scolded his interrupting apprentice, but Toyama Hiren stopped him from doing so.

The trainer smiled kindly and said calmly, "It's alright, Kawashima reporter. Stardust and I understand his surprise."

"But... well, I'm truly sorry for being so rude." The veteran reporter Kawashima accepted this offer of leniency, pressing Sato's head down so they could both bow in apology before resuming the interview.

"When you mentioned the Arc de Triomphe, were you referring to something from around the year of the Horse? Are you planning to give it a try?"

Although Kawashima was also very surprised, he didn't show it directly. Instead, he asked the Stardust Illusion a question in a different way.

"No, my idea is that it would be best to complete this challenge this year."

Stardust Illusion clenched his fists, a look of longing on his face.

Her goal was very clear: to find the runner who had already been confirmed to appear at this year's Arc de Triomphe... Zoe Fu.

Since Zoe left Japan with the French national team, Stardust Illusion and she have often communicated via video and phone in their spare time.

During their conversation, she also learned that after returning to France, Zhuo Fu was quickly valued by the French Academy. Not only was she assigned a top trainer to assist her, but she was also granted almost all the privileges that the academy could access.

The Zhuo Fu family, who used to live in poverty, no longer have to worry about those things and can now focus on their running training.

According to the arrangements of the Noble Family and the trainer, although Zoe Fern missed the registration deadline for the French Triple Crown, her talent, which was already admirable to anyone who saw her, and her terrifying rate of progress made people believe that this runner would take over Noble Family's position and become the new generation of French racehorse queen.

This year's Arc de Triomphe will be a testament to her ascension to the throne.

Chapter 210 Tamamo's passion has been ignited!

(Ascending...the throne...)

In the eyes of the Stardust Illusion, an invisible flame was rising.

For the rest of the year, the first challenge is the classic triple crown against the East Sea Emperor, followed by the Three Goddesses Dream Cup where I can challenge a previous generation of stars, and then the Arc de Triomphe Trophy for Zoe...

These days are simply heaven!

"...Hahahaha—!"

Thinking of this, Stardust Illusion's eyes began to grow increasingly agitated, and it couldn't help but laugh.

"...?"

Kawashima and Sato, seeing the racehorse girl suddenly burst into laughter, broke out in a cold sweat. They glanced sheepishly in Toyama Hiiro's direction, their eyes conveying a clear message:

What's going on?

"Don't worry about it, he's just suddenly getting excited—probably thinking about the competition."

Hikari Toyama waved her hand, looking completely unconcerned.

"It's already confirmed that Stardust Vision will be challenging the Arc de Triomphe, and an application has been submitted to JRA—but we would like to ask the two reporters not to announce this immediately."

"...Are you worried that if fans find out this news, unpredictable changes will occur?" Kawashima forced himself to stop paying attention to the Stardust Illusion, which was in that state, and turned to look at Toyama Scarlet.

He nodded, agreeing with the trainer's statement.

"Actually, personally, I don't want to deal with all this messy stuff—" Toyama Hikari's smile was quite wicked, and the attitude she spoke made people feel a little uncomfortable.

However, Kawashima remained unaffected, listening attentively and taking notes on the trainer's words.

"However, this is something that makes sense for this [game fanatic]... so, at least let this news be revealed after the derby is over."

"I understand. I will help to conceal this part of the message, please don't worry."

Kawashima nodded and made a promise to Toyama Hiiro.

"That doesn't matter. Even if you record it, that guy in the Qi Tank will carefully check it before you leave the academy and then delete it."

"And if someone leaks this news outside the academy—whether it's Treson Academy or JRA, neither side will let the guy who leaked the information and caused the Stardust Illusion to be affected go."

With a malicious glint in her eyes, Toyama turned her gaze to Sato, the intern reporter standing behind the sofa, making Sato feel a chill run down his spine.

"I...I won't tell anyone!"

Sato stood at attention nervously, then stammered his assurance.

"That would be the best outcome; it would be more beneficial for both of us, wouldn't it?"

Hikari Toyama smiled, as if the threat from just now had not come from her.

"Then let's move on to the next question."

Kawashima, fearing his apprentice might be frightened into saying something offensive again, reopened his notebook and asked proactively:

"Stardust Illusion player, what do you usually do outside of training? What are your hobbies?"

Hikari Toyama glanced at the fool beside her, who was still lost in her vision of the future, and decided to answer for her herself:

"Besides training and competitions, this guy's favorite thing to do is eat—he seems to be doing some kind of ramen tasting challenge in the academy recently, planning to try every ramen shop and then compare the tastes."