Starlight reached out and patted her head.
"Helios, you don't have to go that far. What did I even do to you?"
Sniffling, Helios lifted her head to look at Starlight and spoke.
"I don't know, I just have this inexplicable feeling that you're kind of... meh."
"Wow. Okay, then I'm leaving. You can stay here and drop tears by yourself."
Starlight stood up abruptly, shook off the other girl's hand, and headed toward the door.
"Wait, wait! Don't go~ Starlight-chan! Where are you going?"
"I'm not playing with you anymore. The way you talk makes me really annoyed."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Don't leave me alone~ You're the only one I have right now."
"? What do you mean by that?" Starlight asked, swatting away the hand reaching for her and taking a half-step back in confusion.
Wiping away her tears, Helios poked her fingers together sheepishly.
"Because I told Palmer that I was going on a date with Milady today and that I might be back late."
"And then, guests arrived at her house, so the head of the family ordered everyone from the Mejiro family to return. So she'll definitely be back really late."
[Option 1: What does your situation have to do with me? Leave decisively.]
[Option 2: She's a new friend, after all. Stay with her a little longer.]
'Sigh...'
Taking a deep breath, Starlight looked up at the blue-and-black-haired Uma Musume, whose eyes still held a hint of mist.
"Fine, fine. I can stay with you, but only on the condition that you stop badmouthing me."
"Don't worry! I won't. Starlight-chan, let's go to the arcade street together. My treat!"
"Aren't we going to sing anymore?"
"Forget it. I was just venting my emotions today anyway. My dorm has way better equipment than this place. If you ever want to sing, I can take you to my room~"
"If you do that, won't you disturb the students next door?"
"Hee-hee, Palmer and I did a massive dorm makeover. We covered the walls with two layers of 'Enhanced Edition' soundproofing foam."
Daitaku Helios waved her hand, her tone full of pride.
"Impressive~ Let me finish this fruit platter before we go. Or do you want to sing a bit more?"
"Geez, how much have you eaten already? Let's hurry up and go. There are plenty of new game cabinets at the arcade today!"
After Helios dragged Starlight to the arcade street, the two began playing all sorts of games.
Standing on the dance machine, Starlight began to move nimbly following the prompts beneath her feet. Her arms swayed naturally, her movements overall elegant and seamless.
As the song ended, she glanced at the score displayed on the screen and nodded.
"Seems I still have some foundation. At least I won't make a fool of myself on a Winning Live stage."
"Over here, over here! Starlight-chan, let's go shoot some zombies~"
In the distance, Helios, wearing goggles and holding a prop gun, waved and shouted.
"Coming..."
An entire afternoon passed.
Starlight panted slightly as she watched Helios jumping around and taking photos everywhere. She felt a sudden surge of surprise.
'Her stamina is incredible~'
They sat down on a bench in a place resembling a park. Helios leaned against the backrest and let out a long breath.
"Phew— ! Man, I feel so much better after walking around for a bit~ Now if only the sun wasn't so vicious."
Sitting beside her, Starlight took small licks of her ice cream cone.
"Aren't you the Sun God? Go pull the sun down."
"Hahaha... what kind of dry joke is that? I wish I actually had that kind of power."
(T/N: In case you didn't know, "Helios" is a Titan/God that represented the Sun in Greek Mythology.)
Under her short denim shorts, her pale legs swung casually in the air.
"Hey, hey~ Starlight-chan, let's take a selfie together. To celebrate: Bestie +1!"
Picking up her phone and opening the camera app, Helios leaned in toward Starlight. She wrapped an arm around the other girl's shoulder and held the camera above their heads.
"Eh? I have to take a photo too?"
"Of course! Otherwise, how can I post an update~ Quick, strike a super cute pose!"
To be honest, Starlight rarely took photos, so she could only manage a stiff "NPC smile" paired with a peace sign.
Looking at Starlight on the screen, Helios's thumb hesitated over the shutter button. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"I mean, are those bangs actuallly apart of your body? They're so thick! And that expression... are you some kind of poet?"
"What choice do I have? I've never learned that stuff. Usually, I just tie it in a simple ponytail."
"Alright, alright. I'll teach you some gal style fashion later, okay? As for photos, it won't be too late to take them after we've given you a total makeover."
"Oh..."
"By the way, which class are you in? I'll introduce you to Palmer and the others another day."
"Me? I'm in the Senior Division, Class B."
"Huh? You're a Senior?!!!"
Helios, who had been scrolling through her phone's photo album, froze instantly. She spoke in total disbelief.
"Well, yeah."
"Then how come I've never seen you compete on the track?"
"Um, I have a race next month."
"Is that so? I'll come to the venue to cheer you on then! Listen to me— you should use the Great Escape strategy. You can only get cheers and applause by blowing everyone else away!"
"Please, no. I'm definitely not a Front Runner."
Soon, evening arrived. Since Helios lived in the Ritto Dormitory, she and Starlight parted ways at the bottom of the stairs.
"A few surprises aside, overall, today was a pretty good day."
[Detection complete. Option 2 selected. Reward: Random Gate-Start Skill Pack.]
[Random Gate-Start Skill Pack: Allows you to choose one gate-start related skill.]
Starlight didn't open the pack immediately, she planned to save the choice for later.
After all, she didn't have a clear running style or positioning yet. If she chose a skill blindly, there was a chance it wouldn't be compatible with her future strategy, and that would be a wasted opportunity.
Pushing open her door, Starlight found the hawk standing on the balcony railing, squinting its eyes as it dozed.
Seeming to hear the noise, the hawk opened its eyes, spread its wings, and flew toward her.
"Eh? You didn't go back to the dorm next door?"
Seeing it shake its head, Starlight didn't say much more. As long as the bird wasn't lost, it was fine.
However, this was causing quite the headache for El Condor Pasa, who was frantically searching for her bird all over the dormitory building.
When she returned to her room after afternoon training, she realized her pet was gone. She had asked everyone she knew, but they all said they hadn't seen it, leaving her worried sick.
Next door.
Grass Wonder was currently reviewing the brand-new training plan Tojo Hana had made for her. Seeing El Condor Pasa push the door open and walk in, she asked curiously:
"Well? Did you find it?"
"Ugh, I've been everywhere I could think of, but I just can't find it~" El Condor Pasa said dejectedly, clutching her head.
"Don't worry, El-chan. Maybe it'll come back on its own soon."
"I hope so. Next time, I'm definitely locking it up before I leave. Just to keep it from flying out the window."
Grass Wonder nodded, looking toward the open balcony window. Suddenly, a thought struck her.
"Um, El-chan, have you tried asking in the dorm room next door?"
"Eh? Next door? The one where that Senior you mentioned lives? No, I actually haven't tried there yet."
"I'll go with you to check."
"Okay! Thanks, Grass!"
The two moved quickly. Arriving at Starlight's door, they gave it a knock.
"Starlight-senpai, are you in?"
"I'm here! That voice... is it Grass? I'll be right there."
"Okay."
A moment later, the door swung open. The two Uma Musume outside immediately saw the hawk perched on Starlight's shoulder.
"Ah! It really was here! Grass, you're amazing— "
"Not at all, it was just a guess. Senpai, has it been with you this whole time?"
"Yeah. I was supposed to have a nice, peaceful sleep this morning, but this little guy suddenly flew in and woke me up. It's been here with me all day since then."
"So that's what happened? I'm sorry for the trouble, er... Starlight-senpai. Thank you for taking care of Mambo-chan."
"No worries, no worries. You must be the roommate Grass mentioned? You're certainly full of energy."
"Hehe, thanks for the compliment, Senpai! Alright, Mambo-chan, come back with me."
Looking at her owner's outstretched hands, the hawk stared for a long moment. Finally, it chose to spread its wings and nuzzle against Starlight's head. It didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.