[Nature's Blessing: Received a blessing from Mother Nature. Stamina recovery efficiency increased by 10%. You now possess a certain level of attraction toward living creatures around you.]
"This stamina recovery efficiency is actually quite important, though I'm not sure what use the latter part has yet."
Nodding to herself, Starlight was fairly satisfied with this reward.
"Alright, it's getting late. I'll take a shower, finish my homework, and head to bed."
Shortly after she entered the bathroom, the sound of pitter-pattering water echoed out.
The orange kitten, crouching on the foam box, turned its gaze toward the bathroom door, staring at the somewhat blurry silhouette through the glass.
Whether it was thirsty from the bread or for some other reason, it flicked its little tongue and licked its lips.
"Meow~"
After finishing her shower, Starlight stepped out wrapped in a white bathrobe, drying her hair with a towel. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door, followed by a gentle female voice.
"Starlight-senpai, are you asleep?"
"Is that you, Grass?"
"Yes, Senpai..."
"Oh, I'm awake, just finished my shower. Can you give me a moment?"
"No problem, Senpai. Take your time."
Outside the door, Grass Wonder stood in her pajamas, clutching the gift Starlight had given her at noon.
'Stay calm, Grass Wonder. You must explain things clearly to Senpai.'
'Even though I've only known Starlight-senpai for a few days, and she seems quite ordinary... she considers me her very first friend.'
'I mustn't be too harsh, or Senpai will be heartbroken.'
After taking a deep breath, Grass Wonder watched as Starlight's door slowly opened. The girl was now wearing a loose white T-shirt.
For convenience, she had wrapped her hair up in a towel behind her head.
On her perfectly rounded face, those golden hexagram eyes were strikingly beautiful. Seeing her clearly like this, Grass Wonder couldn't help but daze for a moment.
"So, Starlight-senpai looks like this?"
"Oh? Like what?"
"Ah, Starlight-senpai. It's nothing, I just think you look much cuter now than when you had your bangs down."
Starlight laughed at the compliment.
"Thanks for the praise, Grass. Come on in— "
"Yes, okay."
As she followed Starlight inside, the two sat on the edge of the bed. For a moment, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. Fortunately, a sudden sound from the kitten broke the tension.
"Meow~"
"Eh? Starlight-senpai, you have a cat? It's so cute..."
"I'm not exactly raising it. I found it by the side of the road on my way back to the dorm. Its hind leg was injured, so I brought it back for some basic treatment."
Hearing the explanation, Grass Wonder nodded and looked at Starlight.
"Senpai, you really are kindhearted."
"I suppose so."
"Actually, the reason I came was to ask about the gift, Senpai."
"Oh, the gift... what's wrong? Do you not like it?"
Meeting Starlight's eyes, Grass Wonder couldn't help but look away sheepishly. Beneath Senpai's worried, slightly slanted eyebrows were a pair of watery, shimmering eyes.
"It's not that. It's just, Senpai... I like it very much, but I can't accept your gift."
"Eh? Why? I thought this would be the first time I succeeded in giving a gift."
"Ah, first time... succeeding?" Grass Wonder was visibly confused.
"Yeah. I tried giving gifts to other Uma Musume before, but they all turned me down."
'This... this... does that mean I should accept it?'
'No, that won't do. If I accept it like this, I'll surely be letting Senpai down. But if I don't, it seems like...'
"Um, Senpai, I'll accept the gift, but I'm sorry that I can't reciprocate your feelings. After all, we've only known each other for a short time. We don't really know each other that well yet."
"Getting together like this... wouldn't it be a bit too hasty?"
As if throwing caution to the wind, Grass Wonder's face turned a light shade of red as she spoke a long string of words at a rapid pace.
Beside her, Starlight tilted her head, her eyes filled with confusion. She was struggling to follow the conversation.
"Huh? What reciprocation? What do you mean by 'together'— Grass, what are you talking about?"
Starlight's sheer bewilderment sparked massive confusion for Grass Wonder in return.
"Eh? Didn't you give me confession chocolates, Senpai? You wanted to..."
As Grass Wonder opened the box to reveal the chocolate packaging inside, Starlight instantly felt so embarrassed she wanted to jump straight off the balcony.
Her face flushed a deep crimson as she hurriedly snatched the gift box back.
"I'm sorry, Grass. I am so, so sorry! Actually, I had no idea that was what I was giving you. I've caused a huge misunderstanding, please forgive me."
"I'm not that kind of frivolous person, really. Please forgive me!"
"Wh-what... Senpai, do you mean you gave me the wrong gift?"
"Yes, wait a second..."
Setting the gift box down, Starlight ran to the bed on the opposite side and started rummaging through a pile of boxes. Finally, she pulled out a pencil case decorated with a cute little bear.
"Um, if it's alright with you, please accept this instead."
Since Starlight had gone this far, it would have been impolite for Grass Wonder to refuse again. Only after seeing the other girl accept it did Starlight breathe a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Grass."
"It's fine, really. Didn't you give me a new gift anyway? I like it very much, thank you."
"Yeah... sorry for making you come all this way. I must have cut into your rest time."
"Not at all. I usually stay up a bit later anyway."
After a brief chat, Grass Wonder took her leave. Standing in the hallway, she looked down at the pencil case in her hand and let out a relieved sigh.
"So... it was just a misunderstanding."
"Still, the way Senpai looks with her bangs pulled back is actually quite cute. I take back what I said earlier about her being ordinary."
Meanwhile, Kiryuu Inami had returned to her own room and collapsed onto her bed in exhaustion. Staring at the ceiling, she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I still have to keep working on the training plan later. Sigh... looks like I'll be up late again tonight."
Involuntarily, Starlight's figure drifted into her mind. The words the girl had said to her when they parted that afternoon lingered in her ears.
Instantly, Inami felt a surge of motivation. She scrambled up, sat down at her desk, switched on the lamp, and brewed a cup of coffee, ready to dive into her work.
Just then, her phone buzzed. Picking it up in confusion, she was stunned to see a message from Tojo Hana.
"Eh? A message from Tojo Hana-senpai? What would she be sending me?"
Curious, she opened the chat.
Tojo Hana: Trainer Kiryuu, this is a revised training plan I've organized based on your draft and Starlight's training performance.
Tojo Hana: I hope this helps you.
Tojo Hana: [Image.jpg]
Kiryuu Inami: Thank you so much, Senpai! This is a huge help.
Kiryuu Inami: I will definitely make good use of it.
As she looked over the organized training plan, Inami couldn't help but marvel.
"As expected of the Trainer for the academy's strongest team. This plan is incredibly professional, with just a few minor tweaks, it'll fit Starlight's current situation perfectly."
With Tojo Hana's assistance, Inami's workload was drastically reduced. She managed to finish everything by around 1:00 AM. After a long stretch, Inami took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
"Time for bed. Starlight will probably be doing morning practice tomorrow."
With a complete training plan to guide her, Starlight's progress improved significantly. Over the following days, both her speed and her technique became noticeably better than before.