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

Horse racing girls are so prone to falling into this state of self-doubt.

Stardust Illusion looked at Necha and then thought of Megumi McQueen from before, feeling somewhat helpless.

But then she realized that she herself sometimes experienced similar emotions on the field.

Ultimately, as a competitive sport, running is inherently prone to situations where you can't catch up no matter what you do.

I don't think I have any right to feel sorry for others being sentimental...

"Stardust, what were you thinking about during the competition a few days ago that led you to run like that at the end?"

Nesta buried his head deeply in his arms and spoke in a low voice, it was unclear whether he was asking his friend or questioning his own heart:

"As expected, you and the Emperor of the East Sea have both staked everything on running, haven't you?"

"That's why you've been able to repeatedly unleash even greater speeds in matches, constantly pushing your limits and becoming stronger."

"But I just can't do what you guys do... I just can't bring myself to bet my whole life on the race and run with all my might!"

Although Necha's expression was invisible, Stardust Illusion could hear the sob in his voice.

"...Now that things have come to this, let's eat first."

After thinking for a long time without figuring out how to comfort Necha, Stardust Illusion could only push the untouched bowl of ramen in front of Necha.

“…Pfft.” Necha couldn’t hold back her heavy emotions any longer and burst out laughing at that remark.

She looked up, her face a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Hey! I'm having a really tough time here, and you're still eating!"

"We can't let meals be delayed, can we?"

Stardust Illusion, his mouth already smeared with chili oil, still spoke earnestly:

"No matter what, I can only continue training properly if I'm well-fed—oh! I forgot I can't train for the next few days!!!"

Suddenly remembering this incident, Stardust Illusion became depressed in front of Necha, even her eating became listless.

"Why can't we train?" Nessho asked curiously.

Then, Stardust Illusion explained the reason for this matter.

"Stop...and look at the scenery around you?"

Nachi sighed, then stopped talking and slowly finished the ramen in front of him.

Although she didn't receive any real comfort, just chatting with the Stardust Illusion for a while made her feel much more relaxed.

"Perhaps that's just how things are? Even if we debut together, there will be strong individuals like you and the Emperor of the East Sea who win every battle, and there will also be third ladies like me who lose every battle."

“That might sound a bit cliché—” Stardust Illusion put down the empty bowl and scratched his head, “but isn’t it better to say we fight on despite repeated defeats than to say we fight on despite repeated losses?”

"That's still a failure..." Necha replied weakly.

Seeing that Stardust Illusion had finished eating, she stood up as well, and the two of them walked out of the restaurant together, preparing to visit Team Canopus, the team in Nechia.

"The important thing is how we should compete in the next match, right?" Stardust Illusion patted Necha on the shoulder, his expression serious. "I think Necha has a lot of potential."

"You can't win me over by saying such baseless things!" Necha protested, raising her hands. "Why are you so certain about everything you say, Stardust?"

"You declared war on the Emperor of the East Sea before, and now you're telling me you have potential? I really don't know where your confidence comes from!"

"That's because I'm telling the truth, isn't it?"

Stardust Illusion certainly understood the immense potential of the outstanding qualities before him, even if they couldn't compare to world-class tyrants like the Noble Clan.

But in the world of Japanese horse racing, she is definitely a powerful figure who holds a place in the elite.

Although in her previous life people often jokingly referred to her as the "Third Lady" because of her outstanding qualities, her ability to win the top three positions in various high-stakes competitions already demonstrates her strength.

Why don't we try recommending that she go and train with a prominent family for a few days?

It feels like doing that would create someone with truly "excellent" qualities...

Chapter 103 Teacher Neqia, I'm reporting someone for botnetting!

"Today is the day our team recruits new members. They should be taking the entrance exam over at the team's training ground right now."

Necha led the way, casually explaining why he hadn't been training either.

"Hiss, no wonder there are so many racehorse girls."

Seeing the numerous contestants around her all moving in the same direction, Stardust Illusion suddenly realized.

Although they cannot compare to the two currently popular generals, Tojo Hana and Nishizaki Ryu, the Old Star team, with its excellent qualities, is also a veteran powerhouse in the academy.

Therefore, after receiving the news that the Old Man Star would be publicly recruiting new team members, these contestants flocked to the event, eager to compete for the opportunity.

“Unlike Stardust, who established a good relationship with a legendary trainer from the very beginning, everyone in the academy is doing their best for every opportunity to improve themselves.”

Standing at the entrance to the training ground, looking at the expectant yet nervous expressions on the faces of the racehorse girls waiting to enter, Necha remarked:

"Many times, it's not that we haven't trained hard, but that even with training, we can't keep up with the pace of improvement of the strong..."

"Speaking of which—would you like me to take you to find a prominent family and see if you can learn from them for a few days?" Stardust Illusion suddenly asked.

"Of course, I'm not sure if she'll agree."

"Huh?"

The person with excellent qualities didn't understand the meaning of the sentence for a moment and stood there stunned.

“I said, how about we try asking a powerful clan for help?” Stardust Illusion repeated.

"Huh??? But..."

Only then did she understand the meaning of that sentence, but at this moment her doubts only increased.

why me?

Asking that tyrannical noble family to teach me... how is that possible?

Was Stardust Illusion joking with me? Or was she just saying it casually?

Just as her mind was a complete blank, unsure of how to respond, the entrance gate to the training ground suddenly opened:

As the poem drama was about to begin, the racehorse girl poked her head out of the door and shouted to the outside:

"The exam is about to begin, please enter the room and get ready!"

"It's finally starting!"

"Okay, okay, let's go inside quickly—"

"Huh? Wait—ah!!!"

When the excellent qualities came to their senses and wanted to speak to the person in front of them again, they found that the spot where the stardust illusion had been was now empty.

"kindness?"

Where did Stardust Illusion go?

Weren't you just here a moment ago?

The student, with excellent qualities, stared at the closed training ground gate, completely bewildered.

--------

"Huh?"

Stardust Illusion, forcibly dragged into the arena by the crowd, looked completely bewildered.

She held her flat-top hat tightly with one hand to prevent it from falling off, and was completely surrounded by the crowd as she was led to the strength testing area in the training field.

Looking at the contestants who had already begun lining up, each one was enthusiastically preparing for the upcoming test—

"But why am I standing here too?"

Stardust Illusion was also a bit confused, but the people around her didn't allow her to continue thinking about the problem, as the team was advancing at a very fast pace.

Before long, she arrived in front of the exercise equipment, where a horse girl wearing glasses stood: Ikuno Didos.

At this moment, Ikuno Didos was holding a notebook, recording the strength data of each candidate as reference data for the selection of official team members later.

After recording the strength of the short, racehorse girl in front of her, she continued without looking up:

"Next, standard bench press data."

"...?"

Seeing that the next contestant did not lie down as she instructed, she finally raised her head and looked at the person standing in front of her:

Wearing a flat-top hat, tinted sunglasses, and a casual suit—he didn't look like someone who was there to take a test at all.

With her disguise so discreet, surely it's not some other racehorse girl causing trouble?

Thinking this, Ikuno Didos frowned as he looked at the racehorse girl who looked somewhat familiar:

"What's wrong? If you don't want to take the test, then move on to the next one."

"But I..."

Stardust Illusion wanted to explain further, but the long line of contestants behind him urged him on.

Forget it, let's just do a quick test and then talk about it. Everyone looks so nervous right now, I shouldn't cause any trouble.

With that thought in mind, Stardust Illusion simply lay down and, with the help of Ikuno Didus, tested his bench press results.

It's not a very high figure, but it's a significant improvement over the previous one.

It seems that the personal tutor of the noble family lord really did have an effect.

As Stardust Illusion was thinking this, a test data sheet was shoved into her hand. Didos pointed to the running track in the center of the training field and shouted to her:

"Stop standing here in a daze, go over there and test your three-wave burst speed."

--------

"Huh? What's the Stardust Illusion doing there?"

On the stands, Necha, who had come here to search for someone, was shocked.

She has found her target: the Stardust Illusion, which is currently standing among the contestants of varying heights.

With a look of helplessness on his face, he moved his hands and feet, preparing to participate in the next three waves test.