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

"To be honest, even An Xinze said that he had no confidence that he could make her recover... In the worst case scenario, she might have to rely on a wheelchair and crutches to get around in the future."

Wheelchair Emperor?

Believing in the effectiveness of the system items, Stardust Illusion didn't change its expression upon hearing the news. Instead, it subconsciously imagined the scene in its mind...

[So fast! The Emperor is here! The Emperor is here! The Emperor is here! The Emperor is rapidly swinging his hands, making the tires of his wheelchair smoke—]

"puff……!"

Stardust Illusion couldn't hold back his tears when he thought about the commentary during the match.

However, upon hearing her laughter, Hikari Toyama put down her phone and looked over in surprise, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened.

"Stardust... were you laughing just now? This is the East Sea Empress you've been talking about all this time during training. You can still laugh at the fact that she might retire on the spot... Do you really think you're some kind of overlord?"

No, that's not how it is.

Seeing that Toyama Scarlet had misunderstood, Stardust Illusion quickly composed himself to avoid being seen as a cold-blooded and heartless person who could still laugh even when his best friend was injured like that.

Although she couldn't say anything explicitly about the system, she still hinted at it:

"The emperor will be fine, just like Ardan, he'll be better in half a month... Don't worry!"

"Like...Aldan?"

Toyama Hikari raised an eyebrow, but she didn't press the mysterious girl in front of her.

As the head of the Draco team, Hikari Toyama had long known that this guy had many strange things about him, but as the trainer who was helping Saima Musume reach the top, she didn't care to investigate further—as long as it was beneficial to training and competition, that was fine.

For a while, Alice, who had joined the team as an assistant trainer mainly responsible for data calculation, was quite interested in studying these strange phenomena. She would often pester this silly girl in front of her without affecting the training.

"In short, your confidence isn't unfounded. Is there really any basis to say that the East Sea Emperor can recover without affecting the upcoming matches?"

Hikari Toyama picked up her phone again and asked as if to confirm.

"The Emperor... well, she will rise again."

"That's good... I'll find a way to pass this message on to Rudolf Symbol, so that An Xinze and Ci Ci Mei won't notice anything unusual."

"Oh, right—" Hikari Toyama picked up her phone and started typing away, then looked up as if she remembered something, stopping to watch Stardust Illusion wiping the dust from its forehead:

"Your second title has already been claimed by Stardust Illusion. You also told the Emperor that you would not lose any more matches... So I'd like to confirm, is the schedule still going to be a series of battles?"

"Of course."

Stardust Illusion turned its head, its eyes filled with determination.

"I want the Emperor to see me still galloping on the track, and I want all the racehorses who have lost to me to understand that their defeat was not because they were too weak..."

Taking a deep breath, Stardust Illusion turned to look in the direction of the lounge door.

There, were the contestants who had lost to her in this competition.

In this race, I witnessed the East Sea Emperor fall flat on his face on the track, yet he still forced himself to keep running forward despite the pain.

In that instant, Stardust Illusion felt as if its heart had been reborn.

As a Uma Musume (horse girl), what is the reason for choosing to run, and why do you keep striving to become stronger and rush towards the other side?

If you asked her a day ago, the answer would be: for victory, for becoming stronger, and most importantly... for grasping the brightest star on the field.

Since her debut battle, the image of the victor from the East Sea Emperor has been imprinted in her heart. Stardust Illusion has always believed that becoming a Top Star like the Emperor, someone that everyone can't take their eyes off, is the right thing to do.

And she put this idea into practice, incorporating it into her every race on the track.

(But... is this really the right thing to do?)

As he watched the emperor fall, Stardust Illusion suddenly had this thought.

With a will as firm as steel and a fighting spirit as high as flames, she was able to become the most dazzling star and uphold her ideals.

Like Oguri Hat, her obsession with victory is like that of a wild beast, capable of unleashing an intense killing intent when provoked. That's why she considers winning a race more important than life itself.

And what about yourself?

This seems to be a purpose borrowed from the Emperor of the East Sea, but ultimately it does not belong to the essence of the Stardust Illusion.

And in the instant he sprinted across the finish line and then turned back to run towards the Emperor, it seemed that Stardust Illusion's mind only became clear for the first time at that moment.

Watching the emperor's blood flow on the field, and recalling the opponents he had faced after each match...

The question remains: why did Stardust Illusion decide to continue racing on the track?

It was to make the players who had previously lost to them understand the meaning behind the name Stardust Illusion.

Runners like Donghai Emperor, Narita Shirahito, Dongshang Reform, and Sky Shrine... every runner who can stand on the neon derby has their own pride and achievements.

But they were defeated by themselves.

Therefore, the victorious Stardust Illusion gained a new reason to keep running.

As mentioned earlier, only by becoming stronger can she prove that these contestants are not the weak ones.

"There's only one reason they'll fail—they've met me, they've met the one who will never be defeated again, the one who will lead them to the strongest..."

"Stardust Illusion!!!"

"hiss--"

Sitting there, Higanbana Toyama gasped, as if overwhelmed by the domineering aura of the Stardust Illusion.

However, she immediately rolled her eyes and refocused her attention on her phone:

"Has anyone ever told you that you're actually pretty much a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur)?"

Chapter 294, next chapter: The winner's stage, stand by!

The Neon Derby has officially ended, and the good news that Tokai Emperor, who was sent to the emergency room, is temporarily out of danger has finally come out, and all the runners can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Even though they were fiercely competitive on the field, seemingly wanting to tear a piece of flesh from each other, it was just their obsession with victory.

"Phew, although I've heard of previous seniors having accidents on the field, seeing it with my own eyes is really too shocking... Thankfully, the Empress is alright. I hope her injury won't affect her performance."

The second move in this competition is the Aerial Divine Palace.

He was sitting astride the chair, his hands on the back of the chair in front of him, his chin resting on it, and his complexion was not particularly good.

So many unimaginable things happened in this short 2-minute match. Even though she had prepared in advance, a series of unexpected events made her, who is usually the most composed, quite flustered.

She felt complicated, especially when she saw the emperor fall to the outermost side and try to curl up so as not to get in the way of others.

It's understandable that I'm worried about her, but I don't seem to have the right to find out the details, and it might even upset her at 16...

However, the champion of this competition, Stardust Illusion, did not seem to be as anxious as I was. He rushed to the East Sea Emperor the moment he crossed the finish line.

It looks like these two had a fight in that state?

The Sky Palace, which had rushed into the finish line, was also curious. Despite its exhaustion, it peered over for a while, only to find that as the two were talking, Stardust Illusion seemed to get excited. After arguing for a few moments, it stood up and left.

Especially after the Stardust Illusion turned around, the East Sea Emperor, lying on his back, tried hard to lift his head to look at the other's eyes...

Gee tut.

That guy is a monster! The Emperor of the East Sea was injured like that... and he still went to provoke her. He's heartless and ruthless!

"Hey……"

Donghai Biange looked dejected. She had arrived at the preparation room of the winner's stage early, hoping to talk to Stardust Illusion, but after waiting for a long time, it didn't come. Only this annoying-looking Sky Palace was left in the room with her.

My already complicated and heavy mood was made even worse.

"What's wrong? You seem so indifferent about the Dongshang Reform."

Seeing that the other party was unwilling to talk to her, the Sky Goddess was not unaware of the reason. After all, she had specifically tested this girl before the competition in order to obtain information, and probably left a bad impression.

(I need to find a way to improve our relationship, so they don't really treat me like some kind of villain.)

Thinking this, the Sky Shrine remained silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled a small plastic box out of its pocket.

As she took the box out, it made a rustling sound, clearly indicating that it was filled with some kind of small, hard object.

The Sky God Palace watched with a confident smile as the Eastern Merchants' transformation was drawn by the noise. With one hand, he skillfully opened the clasp on the small box, then tilted his head back and poured it into his mouth—

One by one, the small white pills were poured into her mouth. Dong Shang Biange stared in disbelief as she poured about ten pills into her mouth in one go before stopping.

"Want to eat?"

The Sky Goddess chewed loudly, making crunching sounds, then raised her hand and presented the box to the Eastern Merchant Reform—

"...What...what is this?"

Dong Shangbian jumped up from his seat in a panic and retreated to the wall.

Illegal, prohibited drugs?!

Dong Shang's mind went completely blank for a moment. Those pills he'd just seen looked suspicious no matter how you looked at them!

Could it be that this guy is so strong because of these things?

Wait a minute, when I run, I can feel the fighting spirit of the Sky Divine Palace, that's not something someone who uses banned drugs could emit...

"What? Aren't you going to eat your soda candy?"

The Sky God Palace, watching the Eastern Merchant Revolution leap into the air before him with an exaggerated, electric-like motion, was utterly bewildered and didn't understand what the other was doing. So, he added an explanation:

"This brand of soda candy is quite effective at replenishing sugar—eating some after a game will give you an energy boost."

"Soda candy?"

With a tentative glance, Dong Shang Bian looked back with some skepticism, seeking confirmation from the Sky Divine Palace's eyes once more. Only after receiving an affirmative look did he extend his hand, somewhat embarrassed.

"I... I thought it was a milk tablet—the witch wouldn't eat that kind of thing! But if it's just soda candy, I'll give it a try..."

The celestial shrine diligently poured several pieces of soda candy into the other's hand, watching the little witch eat the candy before finally being satisfied.

"Isn't it great? I really like the taste—and the sugar content is good for the brain, making it perfect for eating before and after a game."

"So it really was candy..."

As the sweetness in his mouth gradually spread with his saliva, Dong Shang finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, being inexplicably dragged into the so-called doping scandal would be too troublesome.

Furthermore, even the most ordinary racehorse girl would naturally not want to see the rider who beat her get involved in such a thing...