By late morning the sky had turned leaden, and a steady drizzle began to fall.
Before Zhuofu and High Intelligence sat a massive copper hotpot.
The broth bubbled a tempting golden color, boiling like lava and giving off a rich fragrance. The ingredients were piled into a little mountain—pork, beef, shiitake, greens, tofu—everything you could want.
Zhuofu leaned in to inhale, intoxicated. "Eh, what's this called? 'Album come to life'?"
"Chanko nabe, I think?" High Intelligence took a sip of her drink, unsure. "A Japanese specialty—what sumo wrestlers eat."
"Ehhh—" Zhuofu eyed the meat and vegetables, practically drooling. "Did Noblesse bring us here because it's delicious?"
"No, I think the locals picked the place? Doesn't matter to us. Noblesse and Symboli Rudolf and the other brass will talk in a private room." She lifted a slice of meat, blew on it, and fed it to the petite, adorable filly, smiling when Zhuofu obediently opened wide. "We'll just eat and drink—we're the guests of Central Tracen, after all—"
"Mm!"
Zhuofu downed a big gulp of bubbly and, happy as could be, dug into the steaming hotpot with High Intelligence.
As they ate, voices drifted closer:
"Bourbon, where exactly is my cornering off? Why does it always feel a bit lacking?"
"Stardust Illusion, your arm swing is 2 cm too high, and you're tilting your center of gravity a second late in the turn…"
"Ah, forget it—your standards are too precise. No way to hit those numbers while sprinting full speed. I'm not like you, who can execute every motion at max pace with precision… Ugh, if only Oguri Cap were here—her explanations always click for me."
"?!"
Zhuofu's ears shot upright. She jerked her head toward the voices.
In that exchange she had heard a name she'd been turning over in her head for days: Stardust Illusion!
"Master says you're an intuition type; your way of training differs from mine," said the chestnut, long-haired Miho Bourbon to the short-haired chestnut beside her as they headed toward the adjacent table.
Zhuofu saw nothing else now.
She was sure—the smiling chestnut was the runner she'd seen in that race video: the one with the explosive style—Stardust Illusion!
"Hey!" Zhuofu jumped up and waved vigorously. "Hello! Can we talk?"
——————————————
When the four settled, the hotpots on the table had become four.
High Intelligence, the burly blonde, eyed the quartet of volcano-like pots and twitched. "Isn't this too much? I hear this is a sumo wrestler portion. One for me and Zhuofu is enough."
"Mm. Stardust Illusion needs about two pots plus seventy percent of a pot," Miho Bourbon said calmly.
"Eh? Really? More than we eat??"
High Intelligence had never met this type of horse girl; her curiosity was piqued.
Could Miho Bourbon be some new Japanese 'mechanical' horse girl?!
"You're Stardust Illusion?!" Zhuofu leaned over the table toward the chestnut across from her, eyes sparkling as the other wolfed food down. "You're the one from the videotaped race!"
"I'm Zhuofu! I came to Japan to see you run! I want to compete with you!"
"Zhuofu…" Stardust Illusion hurried to swallow. The petite form and pure, fervent eyes reminded her of another runner with the same qualities: Tokai Teio.
"As long as I can go pro and make a name for myself in G1, and win enough prize money, Grandma Heide won't have to work so hard."
"So I won't lose to you!"
"…"
For her grandma—running for prize money?
She herself had started that way too, running to help at home. But that level of resolve was too light; that's why she'd lost to Tokai Teio in her debut.
After that, many people had taught her, giving her a larger resolve—letting her pour her whole self into running.
And because of that growing burden, she became stronger.
This girl, as if gravity had forgotten her—ever since seeing that video, Stardust Illusion hadn't been able to forget her either. She wanted to go all-out head-to-head on the track!
Better give her a reminder.
Stardust Illusion sighed and spoke. "I won't lose to you either, Zhuofu. It's not just you—I also have many reasons not to lose. Family, teammates, my trainer… and I myself won't allow a loss."
For teammates…
Zhuofu thought of the older girls in the squad who looked after her and froze for a beat.
The academy might not value smaller runners like her, but after she wrangled a spot as the exchange team's living assistant, every runner in the squad had taken care of her, even covering with the supervisors so she could train with them.
Right… it's not just for family anymore. For the sisters who always care for me, and for High Intelligence at my side—I can't lose easily!
"You're right, Stardust Illusion. For everyone's sake, let's go all-out when we race!" Zhuofu's expression hardened; she nodded hard and raised her cup toward Stardust Illusion. "Cheers!"
"Yeah!"
Seeing Zhuofu's change, Stardust Illusion knew she'd understood. "Let's settle it on the track."
Riding the vibe, she grabbed a drink and took a deep swig—
"Pff—this is alcohol!"
The instant it hit her throat, she sensed something wrong, but it was too late.
"Eh? It's just a hard seltzer," Zhuofu said, puzzled.
She was young, but the older sisters often took her out to eat; they always drank this to quench their thirst.
With only a few degrees of alcohol, she hadn't realized.
Stardust Illusion was different.
Since crossing over, she'd lived frugally in the countryside and then trained daily after starting races—she hadn't had a drop in this world.
Now dizziness and a racing pulse hit; her cheeks flushed and her eyes went hazy.
"Stardust Illusion… you okay?" Zhuofu asked carefully as her opponent started swaying.
"For real? One mouthful and she's drunk?" High Intelligence, chatting with Miho Bourbon, stared in disbelief.
"Sh-shut up! I'm not drunk!" Stardust Illusion fired off the classic drunk line, wobbling to her feet and shouting at the three, "I'm not drunk at all! I'm in top form! Zhuofu, Noblesse—whoever—I'm gonna beat you all! Gahahahahaha!!!"
Miho Bourbon popped tofu into her mouth and turned to watch the antics, even she a bit puzzled: Why does her laugh sound so much like Master's now?
"Urgh…" Stardust Illusion clapped a hand over her mouth, face going green. "This feels awful… but something this small won't stop me!"
"…Eh? Why isn't it dawn yet? Whatever—time for today's hill workout!!!!"
"Is she gonna be okay?"
Zhuofu and High Intelligence gaped as Stardust Illusion bolted out of the restaurant, then looked to Miho Bourbon.
"Master ordered me to follow Stardust Illusion. Excuse me," Bourbon said.
"Okay! Please tell Stardust Illusion for me: I'll give her a proper match in the practice race, and thanks for the tips today!" Zhuofu waved goodbye.
————————————
Meanwhile, in the deepest room—
Two leader-class horse girls reached a decision.
"Let's open our teams' exchange with a practice race tomorrow, shall we?" Noblesse sat straight-backed, calm-faced, eyes like torches—confident and authoritative. The corners of her mouth curled; a trace of hauteur gleamed in her gaze, as if everything was in hand. Her folded fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, thinking through the next step.
"Of course. My trainers and runners have been looking forward to it. They've long heard how world-class the French exchange team is. Perfect time to let them witness Japanese grit. Don't be too shocked," said Symboli Rudolf with a friendly smile, leaning slightly forward to listen.
But Air Groove behind Rudolf could feel it: though both looked unruffled, their auras were dueling invisibly in the room.
"Hahahaha, settled then. We'll send seven… no, eight runners," Noblesse said, spreading her hands and getting into details. "As for the race—2400 meters, middle distance. How's that?"
"…" Rudolf leaned back a touch without replying at once.
Air Groove caught the nuance and spoke. "According to the materials, even with you included, Noblesse, the exchange team only has seven. Adding someone last-minute?"
"Ah, found an interesting kid on the way. I should give her a chance."
A petite figure carrying luggage, those miraculous legs—Noblesse recalled the image, but kept her tone light.
"That's awkward to arrange," Air Groove said carefully.
"I get you, Empress." Noblesse shrugged. "I won't use Domain-level strength in this race. Happy now? This exchange is to cultivate rookies; I know that much."
"We'll leave that to your judgment," Rudolf smiled instead of accepting. "Whether you use it can be decided on the track."
"Oh?" Noblesse tilted her head, amused. "So you think there might be someone who requires it? Now I'm even more curious. That person… the one who won the last practice?"
"If I recall, the name was—Stardust Illusion?" Noblesse's face darkened.
Air Groove felt the very air in the room congeal. She could barely breathe, as though a hand clamped her throat; her strength was drained by invisible chains wrapping her body.
So this is the tyrant—Noblesse?!
"That horse girl is a new debut, yes? And a frontrunner. You wouldn't be using me to crush her because of some grudge, would you?"
Noblesse lifted her lids to look at the unflappable Rudolf.
"How could you think that of the president—even of Noblesse—" Air Groove mustered the courage to interject, but Rudolf raised a hand to stop her.
"All right, Air Groove. Noblesse is only joking—aren't you?" Rudolf smiled at the tyrant.
"Heh. If one catches your eye, Emperor, then there must be a runner who'll exceed expectations. Whoever it is, I'll take good… care of her," Noblesse grinned, her pitch-black aura curling.
"But if someone gets broken, don't blame me."
"I can't wait to see what kind of opponents tomorrow brings."
"Let them show me how wide the world of runners truly is."
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