On the road to the training grounds at Tracen Academy.
Hotoyama Scarlet arched a brow at the horse girl standing before her—Stardust Mirage.
"How's it feel, Miss Superstar Stardust Mirage?"
"Just kill me."
Stardust Mirage's face was chalk-white, her eyes vacant as she muttered.
It wasn't fatigue or injury that made her like this. As Hotoyama Scarlet had said earlier, even if she couldn't tell her trainer she had a system, she'd described the effects it provided as much as she could to make the other side believe her.
The reason she looked half-dead now was entirely because, afterward, Hotoyama Scarlet had shown her the recording of the Winner's Stage—
You Three Goddesses #%@—! How come no one told me this stupid stage apparatus only won't show what you're thinking if you proactively block it!?
At first she'd thought everyone was captivated because she herself was concentrating on the performance. Only later did they tell her… from the very beginning she'd been publicly executed?
No wonder they watched so intently—what, a clown show?
Gold Ship, do you still have a parking spot at home tonight?
Why don't you take me along! Let's run away to the Golden Star life under cover of darkness!
"Gahahahaha, I'm afraid your video's already making the rounds online today, you know? The Winner's Stage footage has always been encouraged to spread."
"You might pick up a ton of new fans. When I was there, even the male staff were dumbstruck, and the female staff were getting a little antsy."
Hotoyama Scarlet clutched her stomach, mercilessly teasing her horse girl.
"Nono— cough, no, wait." Unable to endure the mood any longer, Stardust Mirage hurried to snap out of it; to avoid more teasing, she rushed on:
"During the race yesterday, I saw Taiki Shuttle using that mountaineer-like gait—forefoot strike—even on flat ground. Why could she make it work?"
"I'm thinking… if I can figure out the knack, maybe I can improve my acceleration too? I want to master that form, Trainer Hotoyama!"
Seeing the eagerness lighting up Stardust Mirage's face, Hotoyama Scarlet couldn't help a pang of feeling.
This kid exploded with a beastlike fighting spirit in the race and beat everyone, yet she still observed her opponent's strengths.
Even at that intensity, she can still learn something new?
"Good! But no regrets later. I was going to give you two days off. Since your recovery is so strong—"
Here Hotoyama Scarlet showed that demon's grin again, making Stardust Mirage flinch:
"—then I have no choice but to give you a more 'reasonable' training plan."
"Ehh… is it too late to regret this now?" Stardust Mirage asked with a sheepish grin.
"Regret? At a time like this? Stardust Mirage, you must be joking."
Talking as they walked, they drew nearer the training grounds—when both of them heard a sound coming from that direction.
[Whummmm…]
At first it was only a faint hum afar, weak and blurred, as if a call from another world.
[Whummm!]
But the closer they got, the higher and sharper it became.
The sound grew ever clearer, its rhythm shifting—like some power quietly waking.
Even the air seemed drenched in something unusual, making hearts race and blood boil…
They glanced at each other and quickened their pace to uncover the source.
[Swish!]
When Stardust Mirage and Hotoyama Scarlet reached the entrance to the grounds, they finally understood what that piercing sound was—
It was the cutting gale produced by someone sprinting at full tilt, like a top-of-the-line fighter jet slicing past, with even the surrounding buildings humming in resonance.
It brimmed with pressure, as if it would crush everything under its might!
[SIU—!]
Stardust Mirage pushed open the door—and a figure flashed by in front of her.
A roaring gust tore through, blowing everything about; caught off guard, her hair and jacket were lifted by the airflow.
In that lightning-glance, everything seemed to slow before Stardust Mirage's eyes. What was it that streaked past?
This shrieking slipstream and annihilating momentum—was it a B-2 bomber?
No. It wasn't.
By now Stardust Mirage had seen the figure clearly. It was the monstrous bird that soared the skies—the once-upon-a-time No. 1 in Japan, the strongest horse girl—
"—El Condor Pasa greets you!"
Masked and in race suit, El Condor Pasa sensed the newcomers the instant she blazed past the entrance; she shouted once and drove for the finish.
Her full-speed posture matched nobody Stardust Mirage had seen.
Her entire upper body was lowered until nearly parallel to the ground—but unlike Oguri Cap, she didn't hug the turf; she kept a certain height.
With the trailing flaps of her suit, the charging El Condor Pasa was the very image of her epithet resounding through the horse-girl world: the Monster Bird, turning into a flier on the track as she shot through the tape.
"El Condor Pasa? Looks like she's here for Noble Clan too," Hotoyama Scarlet murmured, rubbing her chin.
The Condor, having finished, slowed and turned toward them, and they quickened to meet her.
In her race suit she stood tall as a pine; with her expression hidden beneath the mask, her stride was big and open, every step imbued with force and authority, as if the whole ground trembled for her.
Seeing her come so seriously, Stardust Mirage couldn't help swallowing:
What's she planning? To size up me, who's about to meet Noble Clan?
"Hello, Stardust Mirage. I'm El Condor Pasa from Team Rigil—looked like you were out of gas yesterday; are you alright now?" The American girl, masked, offered her hand first.
"Hello, El Condor Pasa. I'm fine now. The hospital checkup didn't find anything. I felt recovered today and wanted to get back to training."
Stardust Mirage quickly returned the handshake and smile, answering politely.
"I'm here because my trainer asked me to provide Trainer Hotoyama some advance intel on Noble Clan—got here a little early so I did a light run on the course to warm up; that okay?"
At her words, Stardust Mirage marveled inwardly.
If she was just here to drop off intel, did she have to put on the race suit you only wear for a G1? And that run just now—nothing like a 'warm-up.'
Obviously she still can't swallow losing the Arc to Noble Clan. But what's the point of posturing at me?
She quickly learned the point.
"But I don't know how to make you understand Noble Clan just by talking."
El Condor Pasa pointed at the track:
"So, running a bout is the most direct way. And hey, Stardust Mirage, you said you're fully recovered, right? Then want to give it a try?"
"I'll do my best to imitate Noble Clan's way of running so you can feel, firsthand, the Noble Clan I saw—the destructive style… even called the 'front-runner killer.'"
"Hope you can learn something from this, and then help Condor vent a little—teach that Noble Clan a lesson!"
On that line, El Condor Pasa dropped the severity and laughed.
She patted Stardust Mirage's shoulder and led the way to the starting mark.
Stardust Mirage wore a face like, "What the hell is she saying?!" and looked at Hotoyama Scarlet.
Teach Noble Clan a lesson?
Me?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
If you'd like to read more, you can Joining to my Patreon.
My Patreon:
patreon.com/Hydran_Tea
Chainsaw Man: The Covenant of Flame Demon [Ss2 141 Chapter ]
Uma Musume: Wait—you want me to pop my Christmas Hat Ultimate? [Ss2 133 Chapter ]
Honkai star rail:Invincible From the Moment I Started Playing as Jing Yuan [ 64 Chapter ]
The Problem Child Starts from Gensokyo [ 62 Chapter ]
FGO: Handcrafted Lostbelt, the Strongest is the Real History [ 33 Chapter ]
Honkai World: Kiana Doesn't Need Redemption [ 25 Chapter ]