With trembling lips, Starlight forced a smile at Inami. However, combined with her current exhaustion, the smile looked incredibly strained and bitter.
"I'm fine, Inami-chan. What time is it now?"
Inami was taken aback, but she hurriedly took out her phone to check.
"Quickly, it's almost 6:50."
"Agh... Is it that late already? I wanted to grab a bite at the cafeteria. It looks like... looks like that's not going to happen."
Starlight swallowed hard, and after struggling to finish the sentence, she began to pant heavily again.
"Maybe I should call in sick for you, Starlight. You look like you're in a dangerous state."
[Detection complete. Congratulations on completing the Additional Option mission. Reward: One bottle of Restorative Recovery Liquid.]
[Extra Reward: 20% Stamina recovery.]
Feeling her condition slowly stabilizing, Starlight let out a long sigh of relief. At the very least, she wouldn't be so pathetic that she needed someone to carry her.
She slowly stood up from the ground and gave the Inami, who had risen with her, a mischievous smirk.
"Hehe, I'm okay now. Go back to your work. I'll be in your care this afternoon~"
Without giving the other a chance to respond, she bolted and vanished in a flash.
Coming back to her senses, Inami frowned and complained, "Honestly, Starlight! Slow down... sigh."
In a corner hidden from view, Divine Starlight was currently slumped against the base of a wall.
To be honest, that 20% stamina recovery was far too little. She took out the recovery liquid, downed it in one go, and rested for a long time.
Only then did she stand up and walk slowly toward the teaching building.
"I wonder how much my willpower has increased. In this state, I can't really feel anything..."
At the door of High School Class B.
Starlight pulled the classroom door open, and immediately, the Uma Musume and the teacher inside all turned their gaze toward her.
"Sorry, Teacher... I'm late..."
Panting, Starlight squeezed the words out.
"Eh? S-Starlight-san, you weren't in class?"
I...
"Well, please come in. At least the bell hasn't rung yet."
The female teacher pushed up her glasses, looking a bit bewildered. She had indeed been stunned for a moment because Starlight's physical state was terrible.
She looked like a hollowed-out ghost who had been through a month of illness followed by an explosion of exhaustion.
Nodding, Starlight didn't care about anything else, she walked quickly to her seat and sat down. Immediately after, she collapsed face-down on her desk.
Across the room by the window row, a gray-haired Uma Musume, who had been snacking on her own under the desk with her head down, looked up. There were still potato chip crumbs at the corner of her mouth.
Her blue eyes looked toward Starlight at the wall row. After a long while, she lowered her head again and continued to eliminate the remaining "shrimp and crab" snacks.
As for the others, after a moment of surprise, they didn't pay much attention to Starlight. After all, she was just an extra.
Gurgle...
Clutching her stomach, Starlight let out a quiet wail of misery.
"Next time, I'll ask the Trainer to help me buy breakfast..."
Suddenly, a sandwich was placed before her eyes. Starlight looked up in surprise, seeing Super Creek's gentle, smiling face reflected in her pupils.
"Did you go to morning practice, Starlight-san?"
"Yeah."
"I have an extra sandwich here. If you don't mind, please have it."
"Really? Thank you, Creek!"
"It's nothing, really."
Waving her hand, Creek looked at Starlight's state and asked curiously, "Are you preparing for a race?"
"Yes, it's next month."
"Oh~ I see. Then you definitely should make the most of your time. I'm happy to see you running again. Good luck..."
"Thank you, Creek."
While eating the sandwich, Starlight thought to herself.
'Perhaps only someone with a motherly nature like Super Creek would notice me.'
Leaving everything else aside, Creek was practically the only one in the whole class who could strike up a conversation with Starlight.
But then again, Creek was the type of person who could chat with every Uma Musume in the class. So, by comparison, it didn't feel particularly strange.
After finishing the sandwich and feeling a bit better, Starlight began her classes for the day. Everything proceeded as usual.
Listening to lectures alone in class. Spending the breaks alone. Going to the cafeteria alone. Returning to the dorms alone...
Setting her school bag on a chair, Starlight took her dried school uniform off the balcony, folded it neatly, and walked toward the dormitory next door.
Knock, knock, knock...
"Hi, coming!"
A moment later, the door opened. Grass Wonder poked her head out, ready to ask who it was, but smiled brightly once she saw her visitor.
"Oh, it's you, Divine Starlight-senpai. Is something the matter?"
"Ah, I'm here to return your clothes. Thank you so much for the help, Grass Wonder-san."
After a slight bow, Starlight handed over the clothes in her hands.
"It was nothing. I'm happy I could help you, Divine Starlight-senpai."
Taking the training gear, Grass Wonder asked, "Um, Divine Starlight-senpai, would you like to come in for a bit? I noticed your dorm room seems to be just you by yourself."
"Eh, is that okay?"
"Of course. Please, come in."
Grass Wonder stepped aside and made a polite gesture for her to enter. Seeing this, Starlight found it hard to refuse and stepped inside.
"Actually, you can just call me Starlight. Even if you call me 'senpai,' I've only ever participated in a Debut Race."
"That won't do. A senior is a senior, it would be impolite... Hmm, how about I call you Starlight-senpai then? How does that sound?"
"That works for me. I don't mind."
Starlight watched as Grass Wonder ran over to a cabinet and took out a teapot and tea leaves.
"Senpai, is black tea alright with you?"
"Yes, if that's what you like, Grass Wonder-san."
"I quite like black tea. But, Starlight-senpai, you can just call me Grass."
"Is that what all your friends call you?"
Grass Wonder replied while pouring the tea, "Yes, that's what my close friends call me."
"So I've already become friends with Grass... I guess today is quite a lucky day."
Reaching out to take the teacup Grass Wonder handed her, Starlight squinted her eyes happily.
"Starlight-senpai, it's not as big a deal as you make it sound," Grass said, sitting two spaces away from her.
"Aah~ but Grass is the very first friend I've made since coming to Tracen."
At those words, Grass Wonder froze for a moment. This was a senior from the High School division, yet she was saying something like that.
"Has Senpai been all alone this whole time?"
"Um, I guess you could say that."
The two chatted for a while. Starlight glanced at the time on her phone and hurriedly stood up.
"Um, it's a shame, but Grass, I have to go to training now. Can we talk again next time?"
"Of course, no problem. Go ahead, Senpai."
Watching Starlight's slightly rushed departure, Grass found it a bit amusing. But then she thought about it— it had taken the other girl this long just to make one friend.
She couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bulge in the stack of returned training clothes. Setting down her teacup, Grass Wonder reached out and moved the clothes aside.
She discovered a small red gift box.
Curious, she opened the box, and the first thing she saw was a thank-you note.
Starlight: Thank you, Grass Wonder-san, for helping me with the training gear. Please accept this gift, I hope you like it.
"Honestly, Senpai... Eh!?"
One second she was smiling while setting the note aside, the next, she was struck with shock when she saw what the gift actually was.
It was a box of "confession chocolates"— the kind specifically meant for giving to a partner on Valentine's Day.
"Star... Starlight-senpai, what is the meaning of this... Could it be... the meaning I think it is?"
Picking up the chocolates, Grass Wonder's face turned slightly red, and she felt a bit flustered.
In reality, Starlight had simply scavenged the box from the shelf by her bed. She hadn't thought much of it, she just checked that the expiration date hadn't passed and decided to give it as a thank-you gift.