Uma Musume, do I have to tell you that I know how to use the Santa Hat special move?

Unwilling, unwilling, unwilling, unwilling, unwilling, unwilling...

Why doesn’t my brother praise himself…!

Mi Yu suddenly felt pain in his hands, which made him more worried than his physical weakness.

The five white fingers had been clenched into fists without anyone noticing, and from the gaps between the fingers, bright and glaring red color slowly seeped out as if unwillingly.

(Mi Yu is able to do this because of her brother, but——!)

"Well--"

A sudden warm touch on the top of his head interrupted Mi Yu's inner thoughts.

"Well done Mi Yu, you are undoubtedly the brightest one in this competition."

The gentle voice of Stardust Phantom came to my ears.

“Eh…? Onii-sama…!”

Hearing this expected compliment and the slight worry in the tone, Mi Yu was subconsciously stunned and speechless.

She then realized that the call with the prominent family had ended without her noticing, and the Stardust Illusion was standing in front of her, caressing her gently.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have time to tell Mi Yu this just now... But I'm definitely not lying, I really think Mi Yu did a great job in this competition."

The Stardust Illusion took Mi Yu's hands, smoothed her fingers, and checked the injuries in her palms.

She was about to say something when she saw Mi Yu's eyes in front of her.

There was a strange glint in those eyes.

Just as if black fog obscured the vision, there was not much brightness in Mi Yu's eyes, but those eyes could still reveal a burning desire.

Mi Yu completely ignored the pain in his palm, and swayed his body slightly like a puppy waiting for praise from his owner, and the ears on top of his head twitched.

More importantly, Stardust Illusion could faintly sense that there was a terrifying aura in the body of the girl in front of him...

As if frightened, the Stardust Illusion couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Rice bath...Are you really eager to run?

This question arose in her mind for the first time, but she could not think of any other answer.

For Stardust Illusion, standing on the field and running on the field does not require any other reason at all... But, is it the same for Mi Yu?

However...it is still possible to satisfy the rice bath.

Stardust Illusion bent down slightly and looked at Mi Yu who raised his head:

"After this morning, Mi Yu went back and had a good rest, right?"

"Yeah!" Mi Yu immediately nodded in response.

"You did a good job, so you can exert extraordinary power like you did just now, right?"

"And did you hear what the noble family said? Mi Yu has the same power as that secretariat... This is incredible potential."

Recognizing her efforts is probably the best encouragement for Mi Yu, Stardust Illusion thought.

"Secretariat..." Mi Yu looked somewhat confused.

"Secretariat is an American horse girl who has retired now. Her record in open tournaments is 21 championships, 16 runner-ups and 3 third place in 1 tournaments... She is already very strong, but more importantly, this horse girl can crush other players in almost all tournaments."

"Almost all the events she has participated in in the United States are currently dominated by the records set by Secretariat. Some even believe that this horse girl is the greatest and most perfect player in the world today."

Stardust Illusion certainly knew a runner of this level. She briefly introduced Secretariat's strongest points, allowing Mi Yu to understand his greatness.

Seeing Mi Yu's eyes brighten up again and even seem a little excited, Stardust Illusion also laughed:

"So, keep working hard in the future, okay? Mi Yu is as great a runner as Secretariat, yeah... maybe even I can be defeated by Mi Yu!"

"How could it be...Brother, please stop talking..."

Mi Yu's face turned red with embarrassment. After all, it was too much to compare her with a world prodigy like Secretariat.

She quickly waved her hands around, trying to stop the Stardust Illusion from boasting.

"—Rice bath, right?"

The two people who were fighting were suddenly interrupted by a cold voice:

"Next time...I will win."

"Eh?!"

Miyu turned around to see another horse girl she had competed with in the race previously, Adoring Orihime.

----------

"How's it going, Orihime! My rice bath is pretty awesome, isn't it~! I told you this training match would satisfy you."

When Stardust Illusion saw the person coming, he also smiled and put his arm around Mi Yu's shoulders, showing off:

"Not only Mi Yu, Bourbon and I are both good opponents!"

"…I have no plans to change trainers."

Looking at the Stardust Illusion that was paying attention to her, Aimu Orihime was silent for a moment and reiterated what she had said to the Stardust Illusion before.

Ever since the game ended, Aimu Orihime fell into a long silence.

For her, losing this training match was something she had expected.

After all, I am just a contestant who has not yet debuted. Being able to compete with these active players and learn from their experience is already a very valuable thing.

but……

I almost thought I’d never be able to contact you again... I almost thought you’d left me forever!

The girl's tired body trembled slightly.

In the competition, she was defeated head-on by Mi Yu, a runner she had not taken seriously. More importantly, during the competition, the opponent was able to completely cut off her connection with Vega...

She was terrified at that moment, and an unprecedented feeling of loneliness swept over her body.

At that moment, Aimu Orihime realized what she had been feeling uncomfortable about...

Running not for yourself, not for victory, is too frivolous.

He didn't look at his opponent, but reveled in carrying [her] expectations...

When this expectation was suddenly taken away, she fell into the abyss of failure and couldn't extricate herself.

What should I do if I lose the guidance of Vega?

She even felt confused while running.

"I will think carefully about the reasons why I need to run."

Aimo Orihime spoke to herself and declared to Miyu.

"I will never forget what I promised you... Let's meet at the planetarium three nights from now."

After saying this, Aimu Orihime had no intention of continuing to communicate with these runners, and turned around and walked out.

What Aimu Orihime needs now is to sort out her feelings. Having fun together like that is not destined to be for a lonely runner like her...

No, now she is not a lone runner.

(I adore Orihime and rely too much on Vega's guidance.)

She quietly stretched out her hand, clenched the clothes around her chest, and raised her head slightly to look at the shining star in the sky.

The black-haired girl lowered her eyelids, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.

I want [her] to shine uniquely, so I run...isn't that enough?

How can I become stronger?

The training match ended here. Stardust Illusion sent Mi Yu back to the new dormitory and said hello to her roommate Chun Ulala before returning to her own residence.

Pushing the door open, she looked at the bed next to her, and sure enough, it was still empty.

Ever since she watched the game of the East China Sea Emperor that day, she never returned to the dormitory. When she asked people, she only knew that the East China Sea Emperor was taken away by Rudolph for secret special training.

"Special training..."

Stardust Illusion sighed, took off his weight suit and went to sleep on the bed...

The Emperor has gone for special training, Sweepy has returned to the family to seek guidance from his seniors, and even Narita Bairen can be seen to have made some improvements today.

In this opening match of the classic treble, there will definitely be no opponents that are too weak.

Just thinking about this, Stardust Illusion felt his blood boiling...

That's right, her emotions are so pure that others would find them incredible.

Stardust Illusion is looking forward to it. The stronger the opponent, the more motivated she becomes.

What she longs for in the arena is to defeat strong opponents, even opponents stronger than her.

(I'll ask Toyama tomorrow to see if there are other ways to improve.)

The battle for the classic triple crown has already begun off the field.

------------

The next day at noon, in the regional cafeteria of Tresen College.

“Make good use of your jumping ability and find that light feeling when running…”

Stardust Illusion had a bitter look on his face as he ate the ramen on the table in front of him in big mouthfuls.

Today’s training results were not particularly ideal. Although the training volume was completed successfully, there was not much progress in learning the super stream cornering techniques.

Most importantly, Stardust Illusion has a hard time understanding the key to the technique explained by Super Stream.

Suddenly, the chair opposite the dining table was pulled away. It was rare for Toyama Scarlet to not eat her favorite junk food. Instead, she sat in front of Stardust Illusion with a set meal from the cafeteria.

"Is there a problem?"

Stardust Illusion didn't even raise his head, and ate all the ramen in the bowl, then took the fried rice that was a little further away and put it in front of him:

"Are there any new adjustments to the training?"

"Haha, Xingchen, don't you always think that everyone still admires the Emperor of the East China Sea more?"

"Two reporters have applied to Tresen College and want to interview you. I was just informed by Qichou that their application has been approved and they will come today."

"reporter?"

Stardust Illusion frowned, not looking very happy.

After all, to her, any fancy interview is certainly not as important as training.

"Are you worried about the training? Don't worry, I have already made an appointment for you tonight, which is the rest time after the training."

Toyama Feihong waved her hand and spoke in advance to dispel her doubts.

Stardust Illusion ate a large plate of fried rice, then picked up the pasta on the left again:

"It's so late and they still have to come to the college to interview. These two reporters must have worked very hard."

"By the way, did they tell me what they were going to interview about?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Toyama laughed blushingly, his face full of mockery.

"Need I say more? You are about to compete with the Emperor in the Classic Triple Crown. You can be said to be one of the most eye-catching twin stars in this game."

Chapter 209 I have been studying the opponent of the Arc de Triomphe

"【Unbeatable Genius】【Emperor II】East Sea Emperor, 【Great Escape Overlord】【Oguri Hat II】Stardust Illusion, although the Gaoyue Award will not start for another month, your popularity has already far surpassed others."

"Last year, even if I declared this to the reporters, I would just be laughed at, but now it has come to this."

Stardust Illusion shrugged, feeling a little emotional for a moment.

However, she did not have much resentment towards reporters. After all, although there were a few annoying ones, the vast majority of people in this world did not have any ill will towards Uma Musume.

To put it another way, even if there are some not-so-good characters among the reporters, it is impossible for them to enter Tresen College at will.

As mentioned before, information inside and outside the college is actually quite closed, and this is precisely because the student union strictly maintains internal and external communication.