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

"You caught up with me so quickly back then, didn't you, Your Majesty? And when you were running downhill, your running was incredibly powerful, with thuds and bangs."

"However, I think that if you want to be like an emperor when you're going downhill... well, how should I put it? Anyway, it would be very tiring."

After saying just a few words, Stardust Illusion was already sweating profusely.

She could sense that the emperor's stamina was being depleted at an alarming rate as he went downhill, and she understood that this was the reason why the emperor eventually ran out of energy.

But... she couldn't explain why.

It's that frustrating feeling of being able to understand something but finding it hard to express it!

"Stardust..."

I didn't expect Stardust Illusion to answer so readily, and even after racking my brains, I myself started to look worried.

The Emperor of the East Sea paused for a moment, then suddenly asked without thinking:

Why did you answer so readily?

"Didn't you, the emperor, ask me that? Now you want to ask why I should answer?"

Stardust Illusion scratched his head, wondering what the kid was up to.

"But the Emperor said he wanted to correct these problems and then apply them to the derby! As rivals, wouldn't Stardust find it strange that the Emperor is asking for his opinion like this?!"

"You know, this is about winning the Classic Triple Crown! Or... Stardust, you no longer consider the Emperor a rival..."

"..."

Seeing the East Sea Emperor suddenly become excited, Stardust Illusion reached into his pocket, rummaged around for a while, and took out a bottle of honey drink that he had prepared beforehand and handed it over.

"What nonsense are you spouting again... It's just exchanging technical information, isn't that normal?"

"The Emperor is willing to ask me for help without hesitation so that he can improve himself—conversely, if I or McQueen were to ask you, the Emperor, for the technique of the ultimate Emperor dance, what would you do?"

"..."

Stardust Illusion smiled and casually removed her outer garment, revealing her tall and slender figure.

"Right? I'm sure you'll teach us the secrets without hesitation."

"what……"

The emperor forced a smile and watched the stardust illusion walk towards the washroom to wash up before bed.

Hearing these words, she felt her face burning.

Can I really teach it without hesitation?

Even now, if we ask ourselves honestly, the emperor couldn't draw a direct conclusion on this matter.

If McQueen or Stardust were to actually seek my advice, I would most likely reveal all my techniques in the end, but the key lies in the premise of being absolutely certain...

Is it really possible to do it without thinking about anything else?

In other words, if Stardust and McQueen are his closest friends, what about other people?

The Eastern Merchants Reform, Narita Shirahito, the Sky Shrine... If they were to ask him for advice and clearly tell the Emperor that they would use it in the upcoming competition, what would the Emperor think?

As soon as Stardust Illusion returned to his room after washing up, he saw the increasingly conflicted expression on the face of the East Sea Emperor.

She walked directly to the emperor, reached under the girl's armpits, picked her up, and then threw her onto the bed.

Seeing the East Sea Emperor, who was thrown onto the bed with a look of astonishment on his face as he clutched his drink, he continued in an annoyed tone:

"The emperor is such a fool, actually worrying about such things."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing every opponent bring out their best in the upcoming matches."

"For that reason, I will do my best to help anyone who asks for my advice. Wouldn't it be even better if it were a future opponent?"

"But--"

The emperor was about to say something when he was interrupted by the words of the stardust illusion:

“I want to continue competing with the Emperor, and not like this... but with a stronger you, an Emperor who shows true and powerful strength.”

"If you feel embarrassed to ask me for help, then repay me in this way: let me see such a king in the derby."

The atmosphere in the dormitory fell silent for a moment. The emperor stared blankly at the stardust illusion that had begun to climb onto the bed, unsure of how to express his current feelings.

"Hmm... But it's still a bit late today. Regarding the Satsuki Prize, I'll invite Sweepy out tomorrow, and then see if we can also invite Narita Shirahito. How about we have the three or four of us discuss and summarize it together?"

"After all, I also want to know if, in your opinion, there is anything I haven't done well."

"...The emperor wants to sleep with Stardust tonight!"

Upon hearing Stardust Illusion's words, the Emperor of the East Sea seemed to only now realize what was happening.

The girl felt all the gloom in her heart had dissipated, and her voice returned to its usual sharp yet sweet tone that made people smile.

She nimbly jumped out of bed and pounced into her roommate's blankets next door.

"...That's fine then."

Exhausted, Stardust Illusion replied in this way, too lazy to even think of resisting, and could only let the brat hug him like an octopus.

Then he reached out and turned off the light, and drifted off to sleep.

The emperor, resting his head on the chest of the Stardust Illusion, listened quietly to his friend's gradually calming breathing and heartbeat, and slowly closed his eyes.

Stardust, even so, are you still looking forward to becoming an emperor?

Next up is the Neon Derby...

An emperor must become stronger, stronger than anyone else!

Chapter 243 Taking the Long Way Around is My Shortcut

On the training ground.

Looking at his still somewhat lacking stamina in his attribute panel, Stardust Illusion, who was stretching his body, felt much more relaxed.

Right now, she only has one thought in her mind:

With just over a month left until the Neon Derby, I should increase the amount of training I do.

We need to practice more to strive for further progress, and ideally master new techniques and skills. At the same time, we cannot relax our current abilities and must continue to improve our proficiency in running.

This might sound a bit Versailles, but Stardust Illusion always felt a sense of urgency.

This morning, after waking up, the Emperor of the East Sea, who slept with her, was fully roused and renewed their agreement:

In the Japanese derby, I want to show Stardust a completely different, powerful version of myself!

Therefore, we cannot and dare not relax our vigilance.

The thought that even a genius like the Emperor of the East Sea had seized the time to regroup and started a new round of training made her unable to think of any reason to waste any more time.

After their usual four practice runs on the slopes, Stardust Mirage ran alongside Miura Bourbon, who had just made their debut, in a 1200m race.

In the end, they actually lost.

She originally thought that surpassing this cyber girl wouldn't be difficult, given that even the debut contestants were only 3 or 4 horse lengths behind Bourbon.

But once you're on the same track as the other person, you can feel the discomfort of having your running rhythm disrupted.

As an instinctive Stardust Illusion, it was of course impossible to explain the source of this mystery, but in any case, after being completely controlled by the rhythm of the race, Bourbon also won by 3 horse lengths.

Even if running in parallel training can't bring you to the same level of performance as in a race, and you're wearing a weighted suit that weighs almost 70kg—this is still quite unexpected.

Did they really think they were much better than Bourbon?

I glanced at Miura Bourbon, who seemed completely oblivious to the race and stood expressionless to the side, continuing his slow jog to maintain his form.

For this cyber horse girl, everything seemed so natural that there was nothing to be surprised about.

Thinking of this, Stardust Illusion wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from its forehead, carefully concealing the last vestige of pride it possessed.

Ryūzō discussed the problems with the parallel run with Hikari Toyama and Super Stream, who were standing to the side.

Although Alice, who is most sensitive to data and player performance, has temporarily resigned, both of them have offered some suggestions to Stardust Illusion from their own perspectives.

Having roughly memorized these things, Stardust Illusion showed no intention of starting to comprehend them right away, and instead invited Bourbon to start running alongside him again.

For Miura Bourbon, being able to train alongside G1-class Stardust Mirage, learn her techniques, and hone her own skills is not a bad thing.

Not to mention that she had been accustomed from the very beginning to obeying the orders of her two guardians, Scarlet Toyama and Stardust Illusion.

Then run again.

This time, Stardust Illusion was much better than the last. After giving up the initial lead, she took a step back and won by being the last to leave the field. At least this decision prevented her from being pulled out of the Bourbon's lead.

Stardust Illusion would try running styles other than leading during training, but that made her feel a little uncomfortable, like a strong wind blowing on her face containing some impurities.

Sometimes she does wonder if she should try a different running style to avoid the problem of everyone knowing she's going to lead.

Just like it is now.

If they take the lead, Miura Bourbon can devise tactics to counter this tenacity in vying for the view ahead, repeatedly disrupting the opponent's rhythm from start to finish.

But this was destined to be impossible—not because she had accepted the system task of leading the way, but because as [Stardust Illusion], she could not possibly give up the flawless escape of the wind.

Therefore, Stardust Illusion can only continue training.

They trained until they could crush any scheme without hesitation, even if someone knew they were planning a mass escape.

Although she said she wasn't quite sure what the feeling was like, she instinctively felt that this was how the Great Escape should be run.

Thinking too much will cause you to lose that do-or-die spirit and instead make you fall into a lower position.

As long as you can build your own running system around the Great Escape, you won't be so easily hindered by others.

Once successfully executed, it can completely seize control of the game and disrupt everyone's rhythm.

It doesn't seem like a chase.

Stardust Illusion understands that the unique skill called "Miracle Runner of the Holy Night" is a good remedy for runners chasing from behind.

However, choosing that running style means that you will spend most of your time behind the runners, with only the most tedious physical planning and last-minute accumulation.

Stardust Illusion can already imagine the scene of that competition, and how the audience would discuss it:

"They just avoided direct competition with other runners, right?"

"I still think it's just that XXXX was unlucky..."