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

For the sake of their comrades...

Zhuo Fu thought of the older sisters who had taken care of her in the team and paused for a moment.

Although the academy didn't value runners of her size, after she managed to become a life assistant for the exchange student team, every runner in the team took such good care of her, even helping her hide it from the supervisors and general affairs staff so that she could train with them.

Yes... It's not just about running for her family anymore. Even for her older sister who has always taken care of her, and for Cai Zhigao who is always by her side, she can't easily lose the competition!

“You’re right, Stardust Illusion. For everyone’s sake, we must fight with all our might!” Zhuo Fu’s expression hardened. She nodded firmly, picked up her glass, and raised it towards Stardust Illusion. “Cheers!”

"Oh!"

Seeing the change in Zofu's expression, the Stardust Illusion understood that she had comprehended its meaning:

"Let's settle this on the field."

Following the mood, she picked up the drink next to her, tilted her head back, and drank more than half of it in one gulp...

"Pfft—this is wine!"

However, the moment the drink entered her throat, she immediately realized something was wrong, but by then she had already swallowed it all.

"Huh? This is just sparkling wine," Zhuo Fu replied, puzzled.

Although she is young, she is often taken to meals by the other older women in the group, and they usually drink this to quench their thirst together.

Since it was just a single-digit alcoholic beverage, she didn't realize anything was wrong.

But Stardust Illusion is different.

Since transmigrating here, she had been living a relatively poor life in the countryside. After starting to participate in the competition, she was busy with training every day. It can be said that she has never touched a drop of alcohol in this world of horse racing.

At this moment, Stardust Illusion began to feel dizzy and her heart was racing. Her cheeks quickly flushed red, and her eyes began to become unfocused.

“Stardust Illusion…Are you alright?” Zhuo Fu asked cautiously, looking at her opponent who was beginning to sway.

"Really? You got drunk after just one sip of sake?" Cai Zhigao, who was sitting to the side talking with Miura Haruka, looked over with a surprised expression.

"It's so noisy! I'm not drunk!" Stardust Illusion immediately retorted with a classic drunkard's line, swaying as she stood up and shouted at the three people in front of her:

"I'm not drunk at all! Not only am I not drunk, I'm in top form! Whether it's Zhuo Fu or the Noble Clan, I'll beat them all! Hahahaha!!!"

Sitting to the side, Miura Haruka stuffed a piece of tofu into her mouth, then turned to look at the Stardust Illusion, who was beginning to act out of control. Even she couldn't help but feel a flicker of doubt:

Why does her laughter sound so much like Master's now?

"Ugh..." Stardust Illusion wanted to make a scene, but suddenly covered its mouth and stopped, its face ashen. "No... It hurts so much... But this little thing can't stop me!"

"...Uh, why isn't it dawn yet? Never mind, let's start today's slope practice!!!"

"Is she alright?"

Zhuo Fu and Cai Zhigao stared in astonishment at the Stardust Illusion that rushed out of the store, then turned to Meipu Bobang and asked.

"Master's orders are for me to follow the Stardust Illusion, so I'll take my leave here."

"Okay, could you please pass on a message to Stardust Illusion for me? Tell her I'll definitely have a good match with her in the training game, and thank her for her guidance today!" Zhuo Fu waved goodbye to the two of them.

————————————————————

At that moment, while these people were clowning around...

In the deepest room of the shop, the two leader-level racehorse girls also came up with a decision.

"How about we start this exchange and learning session with a practice match between our two teams tomorrow?"

At this moment, the noblewoman's face was calm and her eyes were sharp. She sat upright in the chair, looking very confident and authoritative.

At this moment, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and her eyes carried a hint of arrogance, as if everything was under her control. Her hands were folded on the table, and her fingers tapped lightly on the surface, as if she was thinking about her next strategy.

"Of course! In fact, my trainers and riders have been eagerly anticipating this for a long time. They've heard that the French exchange team is world-class. It'll be a good opportunity for them to witness the tenacity of our Japanese racehorses. Don't be too surprised!"

Sitting opposite this French tyrant is the symbol of the Japanese emperor Rudolf.

At this moment, she had a smile on her face, and her eyes revealed friendliness, giving people a sense of warmth. She also leaned forward slightly, showing that she was listening attentively.

However, the energy trough standing behind Rudolf reveals that although both of them appear calm and collected, their auras are actually engaged in an unseen clash within this space.

"Hahaha, it's settled then. Our team will send 7 people... no, 8 people to participate." The Wang family spread their hands and discussed the details of the competition. "As for the race, how about the 2400m middle-distance race?"

"..." Rudolf leaned back slightly, not answering immediately.

Qi Cao immediately understood the implication and said directly, "According to the submitted information, it seems that even including you, Lord Wangzu, the exchange student team only has 7 people, right? Are you going to add more participants at the last minute?"

"Ah, I just happened to spot an interesting child on my way here. We should give her a chance."

The image of the petite figure carrying the luggage and her amazing legs flashed through the mind of the nobleman, though he spoke of it casually on the surface.

"However, this is very difficult to arrange." Qi Cao spoke in a very ambiguous tone.

“I understand what you mean, Empress.”

Wangzu shrugged: "I won't be using my domain-level strength in this competition, so you can rest assured, right? This exchange and learning is ultimately for cultivating new talent, and I know that."

"I leave that to the noble family to decide," Rudolf said with a smile, not immediately accepting the noble family's suggestion. "Whether or not to use the domain can be decided on the field."

"Oh?" The nobleman tilted his head slightly, a look of interest on his face. "So, Your Majesty, you think there might be an opponent in the competition who requires me to use that? That makes me even more curious. Could this person... be the one who came in first place in the previous training match?"

"I remember the name was Stardust Illusion, right?" At this point, the nobleman's face suddenly darkened.

Qisuo felt as if the air in the entire room had almost frozen in place, making it extremely difficult for her to breathe, as if someone had directly choked her.

The power in my entire body is being slowly drained away by something unseen, like chains gradually spreading throughout my body, completely enveloping and locking me in.

Is this what a tyrant and a powerful family are like?!

"That racehorse girl, is she a newcomer who just debuted? And she happens to be the leader... Could it be that you two have some kind of conflict, and you want me to completely destroy her?"

The nobleman slightly raised his eyelids and looked at the composed Rudolf before him.

"How could that be? Even a noble family lord shouldn't speculate about the guild master like that—" Just as Qi Kao mustered up the courage to speak up for his guild master, Rudolf, who was sitting in front of him, raised his hand to stop him.

"Alright, that's all. The noble family was just joking, right?" Rudolf smiled and turned his gaze to the tyrant before him.

"Hey, since you, the Emperor, value them so highly, it means there must be some unexpected runners among the participants, right? It doesn't matter who they are, I will take good care of them."

"But if... someone gets really messed up, don't blame me."

The French noblewoman, a racehorse exuding a dark aura, grinned happily: "I'm really looking forward to it. What kind of opponent will I face tomorrow?"

"Hopefully... they can show me the wider world of runners."

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Icarus Flies Towards the Sun

April 1st morning.

Central Teresen College, 2400m simulated competition training field.

The weather, which started changing yesterday, has not improved this morning. The rain continued all day, affecting most outdoor competition venues to varying degrees.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to use the term "Shigebaba" to refer to the racetrack within the venue today.

This area was already still in winter, and this light rain made the temperature drop even lower.

But even in such harsh conditions, the audience's enthusiasm remained undiminished.

The people living in Central Teresen Academy were mostly horse racing enthusiasts, and now they learned that today there would be a competition between a French exchange student team and a current Japanese horse racing team.

People who could spare the time flocked over, umbrellas in hand, filling the stands to capacity.

Although this match was not an open tournament, it was as important as a G1-level match in the eyes of these enthusiasts.

Why, you ask? Well, the visitors are from the country that won the Arc de Triomphe, France's racehorse girls!

The team was even led by a powerful clan that had once crushed the hopes of the Japanese at the Arc de Triomphe, and now they were once again embarking on an expedition to Japan.

Such a grand event is hard to witness even if you spend every day at various competition venues; only those at Central Tresen College can enjoy this kind of benefit.

Today's race venue is a simulation of the 2400m track at Tokyo Racecourse, running counter-clockwise.

Such a track, which is close to the mid-distance limit, is a test of endurance for every female horse racer. In addition, the muddy grass and heavy riding track further increase the consumption of endurance.

Although the match had not officially started, everyone present understood that it was very likely to end in a tug-of-war of endurance.

If any of the fifteen female racehorses in the competition show any weakness in their endurance, they will surely be completely swallowed up by the heavy race!

So here's the question: out of the eight French racehorses and seven Japanese racehorses, whose stamina is currently the worst?

"The one with the worst endurance is Stardust Illusion, right?"

Outside the rest area of ​​the racetrack, a tall, brown-haired, green-eyed racehorse girl was asking her trainer, who had his back to her, a question.

The racehorse looked like she was recovering from an injury; her right leg was completely encased in a cast below the knee, and she was using crutches.

“You’re right. Although I’ve been working on Stardust Illusion’s endurance training, the time has been far too short—it’s been less than three months since she officially stepped onto the racetrack, and she’s only been receiving Central-level training for a month.”

"Even Miura Bourbon has been training with Sakamichi for almost half a year... In this match, Stardust Illusion will probably be under the most pressure."

"Shigebaba, 2400m, rainy, and the opponents are that tyrant and her men—it's all unfavorable conditions." Ennis Fuujin, the racehorse girl, leaned on her cane and walked over to Totoyama Hiren, nudging her shoulder in comfort.

"So, what can I, as a senior, do?"

“Go teach her, Ennis.” Toyama Scarlet grinned, seemingly unaffected by these unfavorable conditions. “Indeed, no matter which analyst you look at it, Stardust Illusion has no ability to win.”

“But that’s because her running style is still lacking something, which is why I asked you to come over, Ennis—what were you feeling when you ran in the derby, and what was your motivation for choosing to run away? Tell her all of that, please… partner.”

"Trainer Toyama, you only call me your partner at times like this," Ennis Wind God joked.

She had known Toyama Hiren for over a year. After the trainer was promoted from the local to the central region, she was the first racehorse girl he selected: Ennis Fuujin.

At the time, Hikari Toyama was still a bit green, but she still firmly told her that as long as she could persevere with the training, they would definitely win the top spot in the world of Japanese horse racing girls together.

At the time, many people did think that Hiiro Toyama's training was simply torture for racehorse girls.

Even in Europe and America, people only train on the slopes two or three times a week. Trainer Toyama actually required everyone to train three times a day, and later even increased it to four times.

Apart from Ennis Fuujin herself, all the racehorse girls who initially joined Toyama Hiren were forced to leave, but Toyama Hiren did keep her promise and brought her to the G1 class races.

After losing the Satsuki Prize, Trainer Toyama received criticism from all sides and was even asked to be suspended by JRA personnel, almost causing her to miss the derby due to the change of trainer.