The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

"I've figured it out. That so-called nightmare was actually a prophecy, a sword of rebellion against fate! And I, who wield this sword, will surely cut off that tragic end!"

"Why...why would a good opera interpret it as a prophecy?"

After much difficulty, the famous general Nu Tao managed to break free from the words of the opera and ask the part that she could understand. This was also what puzzled her the most: why would someone take a nightmare as a prophecy?

"Hahahaha! Angry Wave, asking such a silly question again! What else could it be? Of course it's—"

"Because I am the overlord of the end of the century!"

"The king's intuition is never wrong!"

She laughed heartily as she patted the famous general Nu Tao on the shoulder, just like a magnanimous monarch amused by his subject.

"Now, let us follow in the king's footsteps and head to the battlefield!"

After finishing his remark about the opera, he walked off in the direction where he had previously admired Orihime.

Still completely bewildered, the renowned general Nu Tao followed behind her, and after assessing the direction of the road, he arrived at the most reasonable answer.

Are we going to the cafeteria for lunch?

The opera did not respond, but the amethyst-like eyes of the famous general, facing away from the raging waves, shimmered with an indescribable light.

The racehorse girls need to replenish a lot of nutrition every day during training, so the canteen during Tresson's lunch break is always crowded. Amid the chattering crowd, four racehorse girls who had met before all arrived at the canteen at the same time.

Surrounded by his followers, the Holy King's aura lingered as he finished getting his food, then his mind drifted elsewhere, and even his eating became a mechanical, methodical affair.

Narita wandered aimlessly around the academy, lost in thought, and unexpectedly ended up in front of the cafeteria. With an empty stomach, she got her food and sat down to eat, pondering the dream as she ate.

Ai Mushi had already finished lunch before them, but she didn't leave. Instead, she sat there with her eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought.

The last person to arrive at the cafeteria, Good Opera, didn't go to get food. Instead, he stood in the center of the cafeteria, looking up and staring intently at the television screen hanging in mid-air.

"A good opera? Aren't you going to eat in the cafeteria?"

The renowned general Nu Tao beside her asked in a weak voice, "Today's opera is really too strange. Even Nu Tao, who is used to good opera, doesn't know what she's thinking."

Faced with the doubts of the famous general Nu Tao, Good Opera simply smiled faintly, looked at the TV screen, and said softly.

"coming soon!"

What's coming...?

Suddenly, the very next second after the words "good opera" were spoken, a competition scene suddenly appeared on the television screen.

As an academy that specializes in training racehorse girls, it's perfectly normal to have TVs in the cafeteria showing footage of the students' races; everyone's long been used to it.

"Welcome back to the channel, viewers. We are now showing footage from the Niigata Junior Championships."

"The players are all in position. Who will win this competition?"

"Oh? Contestant number seven—"

"Embroidered Star Dream!"

Upon hearing the name, Naritaji, Orihime, and the Holy King's Halo all looked up, staring in shock at the scene on the television screen.

"She burst out of the crowd! So fast, so incredibly fast! She left the other contestants behind almost instantly. Contestant number seven, Xiu Xingmeng, can she maintain this speed?!"

The commentator's passionate commentary sounded like it came from another world to them. Hearing that familiar name appear on the track and before their eyes once again, the three horse racing girls felt as if they had been struck by a heavy hammer, their hearts filled with waves of emotion.

"Clap."

Saint King Aura dropped the chopsticks in her hand. At this moment, she could no longer hear the noisy voices in the cafeteria, and even the calls of her friends beside her seemed to have disappeared. Her eyes were only on the red figure fluttering on the field on the screen.

Narita opened her mouth, with unchewed food residue still inside. Despite making such a comical expression, her eyes were already red, as if tears would well up at any moment.

The sudden movement of Orihime's aroused trembling hands caused a loud noise from the table and chairs, drawing the attention of the nearby horse racers. But she didn't care anymore. The lingering emotions from her dream seemed to be melting at this moment, like a volcano about to erupt.

"long time no see."

"My nemesis!"

Good Opera, who was staring intently at the screen, smiled and muttered to himself that the image perfectly overlapped with the figure in his dream, causing a long-lost tremor to well up deep in Good Opera's chest.

"She runs so fast!"

The renowned general Nu Tao, who had been kept in the dark all along, stared blankly at the screen, following the gaze of the opera.

In her eyes, the contestant named Xiuxingmeng was simply not the kind of horse girl who would appear in such a competition. For other contestants, encountering such an opponent at the very beginning of their careers was too cruel.

"She crossed the finish line! Unbelievable! Contestant number seven, Xiu Xingmeng, maintained that speed until the very end, creating such a terrifying gap between herself and the other contestants! Are we about to witness a rising star emerge?!"

On the screen, Xiu Xingmeng, who had crossed the finish line, was waving a red ribbon wrapped around her hand at the audience.

Seeing this scene, the Holy King's Halo, who had been watching the screen, could no longer suppress her emotions. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't even open them, as if she was worried that everything in front of her was just an illusion that would disappear once she closed her eyes.

After a while, the TV screen switched back to other channels after the race ended. The racehorse girls in the cafeteria were eating lunch as usual, but they all turned their gazes toward the three people who were inexplicably excited.

After calming herself down a bit, the Holy King's Halo silently made up her mind that she would never make the same mistake again this time.

But when she looked away from the TV, she noticed that the other racehorse girls were looking at her strangely. She could understand them looking at her, but why were they also dragging Narita and Orihime into it?

Moreover, why did they also stand up? Combining this with the world in that dream, the Holy King's Halo gradually formed a bold conjecture.

Could it be that I'm not the only one who inherited that memory?

At this moment, Narita and Orihime also met each other's gazes. Despite the bustling cafeteria, an eerie silence prevailed between the three of them.

"So, Good Opera came to the cafeteria just to watch this competition? How did you know about this competition?"

Out of the three people's sight, the famous general Nu Tao curiously inquired about the good opera.

Seeing the three people facing off inexplicably smiling, Good Opera casually replied.

"Of course it was investigated!"

Her extreme confidence led her to believe that she would never have a meaningless dream. Unlike the three who were still struggling with the difference between dreams and reality, she immediately began to investigate after noticing the anomaly in this memory.

Until yesterday, Good Opera finally confirmed all the information she had about Embroidered Star Dream, which is why she is so radiant today.

For those who didn't have time to buy tickets to see the opera live, they simply brought the renowned composer, Nu Tao, to the cafeteria, intending to witness the reappearance of this arch-rival on screen.

What Good Opera didn't expect was that she would witness this scene in the cafeteria.

"Things are getting interesting."

Chapter Forty-Five: Not a Chance Encounter

Having just finished her race yesterday, Xiu Xingmeng was on her way to Treson Academy. This time, she didn't rush to get up and get going, and even had the energy to prepare some breakfast for herself.

To prevent a certain horse-riding girl named Tamamo Cross from finishing her breakfast again, Xiuxing Meng, having learned from her mistakes, has already prepared countermeasures.

If she catches her one day, Xiuxingmeng will make Tamamo Cross taste what it's like to have no breakfast. Not only that, she will also personally taste this sacred bread in front of Tamamo Cross.

Looking at the bag of bread slices in her hand, Xiu Xingmeng gave a smug hum.

But just as Xiu Xingmeng was looking at the bag in her hand with pride, she didn't notice a golden figure suddenly appearing around the corner ahead.

A huge yet soft force struck Xiu Xingmeng, causing her to stumble. Before she could fall, Xiu Xingmeng disregarded her injury and only had the thought of protecting the bread in her mind.

But before she could put her idea into practice, the golden figure held her tightly in its arms.

"not good!"

Trapped, Xiu Xingmeng could only watch helplessly as her breakfast traced an arc in the sky.

"Peng!"

She felt no pain after falling, only the warm touch of being softly enveloped. The racehorse girl who had crashed into Xiu Xingmeng seemed to want to take the hurt upon herself by embracing her.

"Um, are you alright?"

A familiar voice came from Xiu Xingmeng's head. She struggled to pat the horse racer's arm with her palm, signaling her to let go of her.

"Ooh!"

After breaking free, Xiu Xingmeng was finally able to breathe in some fresh air. Once the suffocating feeling subsided, she turned her gaze to the face of the racehorse girl.

This person was none other than Naritaji. Former friends now met under such circumstances as strangers, leaving Xiuxingmeng momentarily speechless.

Fortunately, Narita spoke up before her.

"My name is Naritaji. Are you hurt? Let me take you to the infirmary!"

Looking at the chattering Narita Road, Xiu Xingmeng really wanted to say that with you holding her so tightly, how could she possibly get hurt? It was just a pity about that piece of bread.

As Cheng Tianlu was speaking, she noticed that Xiu Xingmeng's gaze was shifting to the side. She turned her head and saw a piece of bread lying on the road.

Taking advantage of Xiu Xingmeng's inattention, Cheng Tianlu revealed a smug smile.

It's even more perfect than planned! Now I can use this as an excuse to invite Ah Meng to dinner. As everyone knows, eating is the best way to bring people closer together!

It can be announced now: Narita-ro has won this match!

"oops--"

Just as Narita was secretly pleased, a very pleasant exclamation suddenly came from behind. A brown figure pounced on Xiuxingmeng with lightning speed, stepping on bread slices.

Poor Xiu Xingmeng hadn't even sat up long before she was thrown to the ground again.

"Orihime!"

Narita exclaimed in surprise as he saw the figure that suddenly appeared between him and Xiuxingmeng.

Ignoring Orihime, Ai Mu used her hands to support herself on the ground and spoke rapidly to Xiu Xingmeng.

"I'm so sorry I ruined your breakfast. How about I treat you to one?"

"Oh, right, my name is Ai-Ai-Orihime. Let's set off immediately without further ado."

After she finished speaking, she immediately pulled up Xiu Xingmeng, who looked bewildered. Just as they were about to leave the crime scene, Cheng Tianlu suddenly appeared in front of them.

Narita, feeling like a bunch of tic-tac-toe symbols were popping up above his head, forced a stiff smile.

"Orihime, shouldn't we follow the principle of first come, first served?"

Despite the overwhelming pressure, Orihime remained expressionless, as if she had already made up her mind.

"I'm the one who ruined her breakfast, so of course I should be responsible for compensating her."

As she spoke, she pulled the increasingly bewildered Xiuxingmeng away from the scene, but unfortunately, standing in front of them was Naritaji, who was 166 centimeters tall. As a big guy who was nearly 10 centimeters taller than Aigumi and Xiuxingmeng, she easily blocked their movement.

Seeing that her movements were blocked, a cold glint flashed in Ai Mu Orihime's eyes. She actually used the skill she had trained for many years to repeatedly jump around and turn her feet left and right in an attempt to get rid of Naritaji's suppression.

Unfortunately, the racehorse girl in front of her was no ordinary person either. Naritaji's skills, honed by admiring Orihime, were in no way inferior. She also began to jump left and right repeatedly, keeping up with Orihime's speed.

And so, a rather strange scene unfolded on the path in front of Treson Academy today: two racehorse girls, one gold and one brown, were facing each other and repeatedly jumping sideways.

What's even more surprising is that the brown-haired racehorse girl was holding the hand of a black-haired racehorse girl, and even though she was being pulled along, she was still able to keep up with their movements.

Finally, after being somewhat bewildered by the series of mysterious events that morning, Xiu Xingmeng regained her senses amidst the indescribable back and forth. She immediately stomped her foot heavily on the ground, causing her beloved Zhi Ji, who was pulling her along, to pause in her actions.

"Anything is fine with this—"

"You two! You didn't deliberately trap me here, did you?!"

Upon hearing this, both Ai-hime and Narita-ji froze simultaneously, and unexpectedly glanced sideways, pretending to admire the beautiful scenery.

But Xiu Xingmeng wasn't about to let them off so easily. She glanced at the two of them suspiciously and continued.

"You guys live in the dorms, right? I've never met you guys before when I was in school."

Xiu Xingmeng knew in the script world that the two of them lived in the dormitory, but she couldn't explain why she knew this information, so she could only make up another excuse.

However, such a question was enough to make Ai-Hime and Narita-ji sweat profusely. Faced with Xiu-Hime's piercing gaze, the usually cheerful Narita-ji could only stammer in response.

"We...we bumped into each other! It must be!"

Orihime, who had just been confronting her, also picked up where Narita left off.

"The world is vast, and anything can happen..."

Although his tone remained calm, his gaze, which adored Orihime, couldn't help but drift away.

Looking at the two strange-looking people, Xiu Xingmeng stared at them suspiciously until she saw cold sweat trickle down their backs before she smiled confidently and said leisurely.

"I already guessed it—"

Narita and Orihime's hearts both raced at the same time.

"You must have been sent by the trainer to try and win me over!"

Xiu Xingmeng also gave what she considered to be the most reasonable answer.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada

“Right…right?”