“So this is the starting gate, it’s so narrow.”

Just as Special Week was still marveling, the gate suddenly opened.

The surrounding Uma Musume instantly sprinted several meters away.

Special Week reacted, hastily chasing after them, “No, I must get moving!”

......

Lu Jue watched this scene, unable to help but shake his head and smile faintly, “Why is she so silly, a bit unintelligent, it seems.”

“Teacher Lu, you seem to think highly of Xiao Te.”

Lu Jue turned his head and saw that Seiun Sky had walked up to him at some point.

“Little Seiun, you’re here too?” Lu Jue patted the spot next to him, motioning for her to sit down.

“Mhm, Xiao Te and the others are my friends, so I came to watch.”

Seiun Sky’s pupils constricted, then she gathered a few strands of her beautiful hair, stroking her skirt along the curve of her waist and hips as she sat next to Lu Jue.

Little Seiun?

It was the first time she had heard anyone call her that.

A certain lazy cat might be full of offensive power, but her defense is worrisome.

“Why didn’t you participate?” Lu Jue asked.

Seiun Sky propped her hands on the grass behind her, “I can’t do it~ El Condor Pasa runs too fast, I can’t possibly beat her.”

On the training ground, while everyone else was still competing in a group, El Condor Pasa had already taken the lead by several horse lengths, far ahead of the rest.

“How do you know if you don’t try? Look at Special Week and the others, they’re running so hard.”

Lu Jue didn’t believe Seiun Sky’s words.

He actually hoped that she wouldn’t hold back and would compete with El Condor Pasa to see who was faster.

“No, I don’t plan to join ‘Rigil’, I’m waiting for Teacher Lu’s test.”

“Waiting for my test? Alright, I certainly welcome you.”

The swaying green grass was like fluttering hair, revealing the shape of the gentle breeze. It carried the faint fragrance from the young girl’s body, drifting into Lu Jue’s nose.

The wind also carried their conversation, but it couldn’t travel too far, unable to let Silence Suzuka, who was standing on the distant fence, hear clearly.

Silence Suzuka had also come to cheer on Special Week, her new roommate.

But… her gaze seemed to be inadvertently drawn to something she cared about more.

“What are those two talking about?” Silence Suzuka frowned, muttering to herself.

She didn’t notice that her hand had suddenly rested on the railing, gripping it tightly.

......

Back to the race.

The race was still ongoing.

At this moment, as Special Week rounded the final bend, her peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Silence Suzuka.

“Silence Suzuka came to see me?!”

“No, I can’t just give up like this!”

As Lu Jue said, the power of belief is strong.

The moment it takes effect, all metrics become difficult to estimate.

Special Week was clearly in the middle to back of the pack, but her sudden acceleration allowed her to overtake several Uma Musume, moving into third place.

In the final sprint, her eyes only saw King Halo.

As for El Condor Pasa, she was already close to the finish line.

King Halo had thought she would only get second place, but unexpectedly, a sense of pressure suddenly came from behind her.

“Don’t follow me!”

“Even if you say that…” Special Week accelerated again, “I absolutely cannot give up here!”

The finish line was within reach, and Special Week, with her burst of power, strongly overtook King Halo.

Upon reaching the finish line, Special Week won by a horse length over King Halo.

At the same time, Lu Jue and Nishizaki Ryu, who had been observing in the dark, simultaneously pressed their stopwatches.

“Three ri took only 33.8 seconds, quite good,” Lu Jue thought to himself, then patted his pants and stood up.

(One ri ≈ 201.7 m)

Hiss… Is it getting cold? Why do I feel a chill down my back?

“Little Seiun, I’m going over now.”

“Mhm.”

......

“Did I win?!” Just as Special Week broke into a smile, she saw Tojo Hana and El Condor Pasa shaking hands not far away.

So the first place wasn’t her, it was El Condor Pasa… She’s truly amazing.

While Special Week was still sighing, a small pink figure finally crossed the finish line as well.

Haru Urara collapsed directly onto the grass, lying spread-eagled.

“So tired! I’m exhausted! I’m exhausted!”

She shouted a few times, panting heavily, and stared blankly at the clear blue sky.

She had complained, she had vented.

What now? She still had to keep moving forward.

Haru Urara seemed to have made peace with herself, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

Just then, a face with a similar smile appeared on one side of her vision.

“Uralala, would you like to join my team?”

“Eh? Teacher Lu Jue?” Haru Urara got up from the grass, looking at Lu Jue with a blank, adorable expression.

“Have some water.” Lu Jue directly put a water bottle into Haru Urara’s hand.

“Arigato~” Haru Urara twisted the bottle cap, her hands trembling slightly, then opened it and took a small sip.

“Uralala, would you like to join my team?” Lu Jue’s eyes were smiling, patiently waiting for Haru Urara’s answer.

“Why me? Why don’t you ask Xiao Te, and King Halo-chan? They’re all so, so much better than me.”

After confirming she wasn’t hallucinating, Haru Urara suddenly became flustered.

Her hand suddenly gripped the water bottle tightly, her gaze unfocused, like a child who had done something wrong and was at a loss.

“And I came in last place…”

“Small in stature, very limited stamina…”

“Never won any of the simulated races either…”

“They… all said I wasn’t suited to be an Uma Musume, and advised me to give up.”

......

A torrential downpour began in Haru Urara’s world, tears like broken strings of pearls, rolling down one by one, blurring her vision.

Didn’t she come to participate in the test because she wanted to join a team and become stronger? But when such an easily attainable opportunity was placed before her, she hesitated… More accurately, she was afraid.

“So… why me?”

Lu Jue hadn’t expected Haru Urara to cry, but he also understood why she was crying.

‘Unbeaten Legend’ Haru Urara, with a career record of 113 losses. Yet she could still emerge full of vitality and determination to participate in the next race.

Repeatedly defeated, repeatedly fighting after defeat… Without a doubt, Haru Urara was an Uma Musume who could bring hope to people.

He didn’t know how many people liked her, but Lu Jue certainly did.

“Last place is not failure, giving up is.”

The gentle voice was like sunlight piercing through the rain, shining directly into Haru Urara’s heart.

“So… Uralala, would you like to join my team?”

......