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

"Well... I might be embarrassed to say this, but I'm afraid you, Little Stardust, can't join Little Chestnut's team this time."

"Oh, don't misunderstand, I'm not looking down on you—after all, I'm not so arrogant as to look down on even the currently popular Satsuki Uma Musume."

To avoid any misunderstanding, Rokuhei Ginjiro quickly added a sentence before taking out a form from his pocket and handing it to the two people sitting side by side.

Hikari Toyama took the form and huddled with the horse racing girl next to her to look at it.

This is a team registration form for applying for the Dream Cup qualification. Two of the three empty spaces for the racehorse girls have already been filled by the players.

They are Oguri Hat and Fujimasa March.

"Isn't there still an empty seat, sir?"

Because he was familiar with the old man in front of him, Stardust Illusion didn't think about offending him and simply pointed to the blank space on the form.

"That's not the key point. The point is that Oguri made a request to me a while ago..."

"Oguri, I want to have a match with you in the Dream Cup."

Rokuhei Ginjiro looked at the racehorse girl in front of him, raised his hand and made a gun gesture, then slightly raised it:

"We've watched every single one of your matches, haven't we? Oguri's unusually excited again... She asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Little Chestnut Hat... wants to have a match with me?"

The eyes of the Stardust Illusion seem to radiate light directly.

That Oguri-hat... At the Arima Memorial, Oguri-hat, who had stepped into the realm of gods, actually took the initiative to develop a fighting spirit against me?!

Uncontrollable trembling, even the pupils in his eyes had turned completely vertical without him realizing it.

Just that one sentence was enough to ignite such a fierce fighting spirit in Stardust Illusion—

That's a chestnut hat!

"She asked me to tell you..."

Rokuhei Ginjiro cleared his throat and then relayed the sentence:

"Let's have a contest... and see if it's the 872nd loss or your 1st win!"

Even though it was Rokuhei Ginjiro who relayed it, the fighting spirit unique to Oguri Hat was still palpable in that sentence.

I tried to endure it, but no matter what—

But no matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, he could no longer suppress such fighting spirit!

"Oh, right, Xiaoli also said we should have dinner together later."

I held back.

The fighting spirit of Stardust Illusion cooled instantly.

My mind is filled with images of eating with Oguri Hat, how she would snatch every last bite before I'd barely touched my food...

Instantly, she felt a chill run down her spine.

That was a monster, like a terrifying, ravenous beast, that stood above him—

Quack, don't come any closer!

Chapter 266 Kasamatsu Uma Musume Academy

The next day, at the Draco team's training ground.

Having completed his daily training, Stardust Illusion, whose body was nearing its limit, leaned back in a recliner in the rest area, letting Superstream massage him.

To be honest, after pushing my physical limits like this every day, having Super Creek, an assistant trainer who is practically a seasoned physical therapist, help relax my muscles like this is an experience that can only be described as exhilarating.

only……

Thinking of this, Stardust Illusion slightly turned its head to look at the densely packed crowd outside the training ground.

Since training began this morning, various racehorse girls and humans have been gathering around the training ground to watch. Although they don't disturb the training, just looking at the number of people pointing and whispering, you can tell how much of an impact yesterday's Tokyo Mile race has had.

Not surprisingly.

Stardust Illusion, who won by a large margin at the Tokyo Mile, has become a sensation.

Even at lunchtime, the cafeteria staff, who usually had a cold shoulder, greeted her with a smile and even secretly added extra portions to each meal, which made her feel incredibly flattered.

"Hey Toyama, how long is this going to last?"

Stardust Illusion watched as the trainer walked towards it and asked with a hint of helplessness.

It's not that she can't accept the current situation of being watched by everyone, but every time she does a 200m sprint, a lot of cheers or exclamations erupt, which really affects her performance.

Hikari Toyama turned her attention away from the tablet and said as if suddenly realizing something:

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that."

"What is it?"

“Starting tomorrow, we’ll be leaving the academy to continue our special training in another location—surely this kind of thing won’t happen there?”

As she spoke, Hikari Toyama tapped the tablet a few times and then handed it over.

On the screen, a fairly new-looking racehorse girl academy stood, with a huge bright red banner hanging above its main entrance:

[Welcome back to campus for a visit from our legendary racehorse girl, Oguri Hat!]

"here……"

Stardust Illusion was taken aback when it saw the plaque bearing the name of the academy on the screen.

Although she was puzzled as to why she suddenly left the academy to train elsewhere, she reasoned that since it was Toyama Hikari's arrangement, there must be a reason.

I guess it's some kind of distraction outside of training again.

Just leave everything to this guy...

"Ah, this is Kasamatsu Uma Musume Academy, which is also our next destination... Oh right, I know what you're thinking. No, Oguri Hattori has already left."

Hikari Toyama looked disappointed.

You should know that when she first heard Rudolf's symbol say this news, she immediately thought of Oguri Hat's matter, just like Stardust Illusion.

If Stardust Illusion were to encounter this runner there, it might be able to improve itself further through a sparring match with her.

After all, according to Stardust Illusion's narrative, she and Oguri Hat had already competed in over 800 matches, including their training sessions. If she asked for help properly, it wouldn't be impossible for them to train together for another ten days or so.

How much fighting spirit can Stardust Illusion, a guy whose mind is only focused on running, be inspired to spar with a monster-level opponent like Oguri Hat, and how many times can he break through his own limits?

Unfortunately, according to what she knew, Oguri Hat had left more than half a month ago along with Kasamatsu's ace, Fujimasa March, seemingly to prepare for the upcoming Three Goddesses Dream Cup, and appeared to be training elsewhere.

"Why don't we just go and train with Oguri Hat?"

Stardust Illusion immediately came up with a countermeasure.

To be honest, she certainly wanted to see Oguri Hat again, not only to compete with her on the track again, but also to tell Oguri Hat about her recent achievements and even her insights.

Although the sheer brilliance of victory itself was enough to satisfy Stardust Illusion.

But the thought of being able to tell the little chestnut hat who truly guided me about my current achievements fills me with excitement.

I want to say something to Oguri Hat...

I didn't let you down, I've become stronger!!!

So, next up is you, Oguri Hat.

I will challenge you, and one day I will defeat you—the facts prove I will win, and you absolutely did not misread that!!!

"It's not that simple. There aren't many training spaces available for you, and Oguri Hat and the others' training methods aren't suitable for you right now."

Toyama Scarlet shrugged, rejecting Stardust Illusion's current proposal.

Of course, the main reason is that Oguri Hat herself doesn't want to meet Stardust Illusion right now, something she confirmed with it herself.

But seeing Stardust Illusion's expectant little expression now...

(I won't tell her the truth, to avoid her overthinking things.)

Although Toyama Hikari was unaware of Oguri Hattori's true intentions in refusing the proposal to train together.

But instinctive runners like Oguri Hat, Stardust Illusion, and even Ennis Anemo often misunderstand each other due to their limited communication skills, and then they rely on the competition of running to convey their true feelings...

"Save all the messy stuff for when you and her meet again on the field..."

"what?"

Stardust Illusion was taken aback and turned to ask.

"It's alright, it's alright, let's continue talking about Kasamatsu."

Hikari Toyama waved her hand and switched the screen on the tablet again:

"We'll go there concealing our identities, so on the surface we'll be exchange students and trainers from Chukyo's racehorse girls..."

"So, to avoid being too conspicuous and revealing my identity, I'll have to leave the team for now. But I've already taught the massage techniques to Trainer Toyama, so Stardust needs to be careful to relax her muscles and avoid any hidden injuries. Also, during meals..."

Super Stream, which was standing nearby, had obviously already heard the news. It showed no surprise at the moment, but instead began to nag like an old woman, explaining all the big and small matters.

"...So you still need to pretend?"

Stardust Illusion scratched his head, wondering if he could do it.

Upon hearing the question about the Stardust Illusion, Toyama Scarlet waved her hand as if she had anticipated it.

“There will be a few racehorse girls working with us, so you won’t have to worry about too much. The only change compared to regular training is that we’ll have to eat three meals a day at the training ground… I think that shouldn’t be a big problem for you, Stardust, right?”

"Hmm... I really want to see Oguri Hat again."

With a sigh, Stardust Illusion looked up at the sky.

However, I'll keep that idea to myself for now. What I need to focus on more is the next match...

The Neon Derby, where he proved himself to be the strongest runner of his generation... something that both Oguri Hat and Mr. Rokuhei could be proud of.

The real Oguri Hat 2.0!

Chapter 267 We will provide all support beyond effective assistance.

"Rudolph symbol, what exactly do you mean by this?!"