The way Uma Musume looks at me is so scary!

The start of a task is the end of a day.

The daily routine she had become so familiar with over the past decade, and everything left in the Halo family, would come to an end with the start of the mission.

So what? It's just the end of the training to build up strength. This is just a script; there are more important things waiting for me.

Just a second before complex thoughts were about to surface in her mind, Xiu Xingmeng coldly cut them all off.

"Wow, I didn't expect there to be people here so early!"

The girl's voice came from behind her. Xiu Xingmeng composed herself and turned around to face her opponent in the match.

The racehorse girl who appeared before me had medium-length golden hair that shimmered in the sunlight, as if she herself had become as warm as the sun.

Looking into those purple-gold eyes, Xiu Xingmeng nodded gently and said.

"You've arrived quite early."

Xiu Xingmeng could see the expectation in the eyes of the racer girl opposite her. Unlike herself, who was used to this kind of schedule, she must have gotten up so early on purpose because of her debut battle.

As expected, upon hearing Xiu Xingmeng's words, the horse racing girl scratched her head shyly.

"Hehe, I was so excited yesterday. The thought of officially debuting made me want to get to the venue as soon as possible."

"We can't let everyone down!"

As she spoke, the racehorse girl couldn't help but pat her chest, as if to encourage herself.

Looking at the other person's healthy body, Xiu Xingmeng glanced at him and then silently lowered her head.

"Eh?"

The blonde racehorse girl tilted her head in confusion, wondering why the other person had suddenly stopped talking.

It wasn't until she felt that intense gaze on her legs that she belatedly blushed. Somewhat flustered, she waved her hands in the air a few times before covering her thighs with her hands and shouting in embarrassment and annoyance.

What are you looking at?!

It's perfectly normal to expose your thighs, but being stared at for a long time can make you feel strangely shy.

Xiu Xingmeng seemed oblivious to her embarrassment, and continued looking at her thighs while speaking calmly.

"No wonder you're so confident, you're quite impressive."

"what?!"

Chapter Fifteen: Sisters, Rivals, and Tomatoes

Upon hearing Xiu Xingmeng's words, the blonde racehorse girl took two steps back, trying to cover her thighs with her hands, but she couldn't completely cover them up.

She blushed with embarrassment and shouted in despair.

"I know my legs are a bit thick, but they're not... seriously thick!"

Upon hearing her words, Xiu Xingmeng raised her head with some confusion.

"What are you talking about? I said you're very strong."

Looking at Xiu Xingmeng's somewhat puzzled and confused expression, the blonde racehorse girl immediately puffed out her cheeks.

I really don't know if she said such misleading things on purpose. If so, then she is really malicious!

Seeing that the blonde racehorse girl didn't reply, Xiuxingmeng continued.

"From what you just said, you seem very confident about your debut."

"So I want to observe whether you have the ability to match this confidence."

"The conclusion is, you're pretty amazing."

Only the top three in the debut battle can be considered to have successfully debuted. This statement means that Xiu Xingmeng believes she has the ability to be among the top three.

After she finished speaking, Xiu Xingmeng blinked innocently, as if asking if there was anything she didn't understand that needed further explanation.

Seeing her like this, the blonde racehorse girl's face still turned a little red, but she had already removed her hand from her thigh.

However, she was still somewhat puzzled by Xiu Xingmeng's words, so she continued to ask.

"Do I sound very confident?"

Xiu Xingmeng nodded and continued.

"A racehorse girl who lacks confidence won't feel excited or looking forward to the race. If your positive attitude isn't confidence, what is it?"

This can be seen as Xiu Xingmeng projecting her own experience onto others. When she participated in the debut battle, she wasn't this enthusiastic. She had a "what the heck" mentality and was willing to give it her all.

After she finished speaking, Xiu Xingmeng extended her hand to her.

"My name is Xiu Xingmeng, and I am contestant number one in this competition."

Looking at the hand reaching out to him, the person opposite him was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Xiu Xingmeng's topic to change so quickly.

"Oh...oh, I'm Narita-ji, number three."

However, Narita quickly took the hand that Xiuxingmeng handed him, and said with a smile.

Looking at Cheng Tianlu's warm smile, Xiu Xingmeng suddenly thought of excellent qualities. She felt that they were somewhat similar, both being the type who would help others and meet expectations.

"You are a very gentle person."

"Huh?! Uh—"

Faced with Xiu Xingmeng's sudden direct attack, Narita Lu was also somewhat bewildered, just like his excellent manners. The blush that had just faded returned to his cheeks, and he stammered, not knowing how to answer.

Just then, a new female racehorse walked onto the track.

Narita Road's horse ears twitched slightly. Upon hearing the voice, it instinctively turned its head and, upon recognizing the person, immediately waved.

She really didn't know how to respond to Xiu Xingmeng, so she simply changed the subject herself.

"Orihime, you're here too!"

At the same time, Naritaji didn't forget to introduce the new racehorse girl to Hideyuki.

She pointed to the brown-haired racehorse girl with a low ponytail in front of her and said to Xiu Xingmeng.

"She is in love with Orihime, and she is my classmate."

Ai Muyu ignored them and quietly warmed up in the distance.

Narita knew what kind of personality she had, but was afraid that Xiuxingmeng would have a bad impression, so he wanted to explain.

Unexpectedly, Xiu Xingmeng spoke first.

"She's really amazing too."

"Eh?"

Naritaji, who had just organized his thoughts, was interrupted and asked instinctively.

"Orihime is indeed very powerful, but how did you realize that?"

"Her eyes."

"I saw her desire to win."

Xiu Xingmeng looked at the figure warming up in the distance and said leisurely.

Orihime has a quality she is very familiar with: an obsession with victory. Unlike the expectations of a typical racehorse girl, it is a more definite dedication to winning the championship.

She's a goal-oriented person, and in some ways, she's quite like me.

Xiu Xingmeng silently said to herself.

Narita nodded somewhat bewildered, but soon she seemed to have thought of something and shouted.

"Ah! So you don't actually need to stare at someone's thighs to tell their strength, right?"

Even Orihime, who admired him from afar, couldn't help but be drawn by the commotion and glanced at it from a distance.

Meanwhile, Xiuxingmeng, which is closest to Narita Road, was so frightened that even the horse's ears were sticking to its hair.

"Don't speak so loudly, the audience is starting to enter."

Xiu Xingmeng touched the horse's ear and pointed to the audience seats next to her.

Narita subconsciously followed Xiuxingmeng's finger and saw that the crowd in the audience had gathered, and many of them were looking at him with a confused expression.

Naritaji's blush deepened as he realized what he had done.

Looking at Chengtian Road, Xiu Xingmeng blurted out something for no apparent reason.

"tomato?"

"Whose fault do you think it is?!"

Provoked by these words, Cheng Tianlu reached out and pinched Xiu Xingmeng's cheek. To be honest, it felt quite soft.

Xiu Xingmeng didn't resist; she had long been used to being manipulated by the Holy King's aura.

"Aru! Good luck with your debut battle!"

"Go, class monitor!"

Just then, cheers for Narita-ro came from the audience.

Cheng Tianlu released Xiu Xingmeng's cheek, but for some reason, his hands still felt somewhat empty.

But she didn't mind and turned around to wave to the audience.

"Yes! I will definitely not let you down!"

Behind her, Xiu Xingmeng rubbed her face and said.

"You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself."

She knows better than anyone what it feels like to be under pressure, and what it would feel like to fail to win while carrying such expectations?

Narita is a good kid, he doesn't need to suffer like this.

"Eh?"

Before Narita could even process what Xiuxing Meng had said, another shout from the audience interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah Meng! Keep it up!"

"Go, little sister!"

Narita looked in the direction of the sound and saw a brown-haired racehorse girl waving behind him, with a group of little followers cheering her on.

"Is that Senior Saint King Halo?"

She knew that the racehorse girl cheering her on was a senior who had debuted a year earlier than her.

"Yes, she is my older sister."

After answering Tian Lu's question, Xiu Xingmeng waved to the audience.

"Eh! Senior Halo is your older sister?!"

Shocked by the sudden news, Narita shouted out again instinctively.

At this moment, the distant Orihime, who admired him, seemed to have heard something. Her ears twitched slightly, and she looked at Xiuxingmeng and the Holy King's Halo cheering her on with a complicated expression.

"Sisters...?"

Subconsciously, she pursed her lips.

Chapter Sixteen: A Rider Far Away

"Welcome everyone to Tokyo Racecourse today! The debut battle of Ma Musume (Horse Girl) is about to begin!"

"All the racehorse girls who are training hard for their debut will compete fiercely on this track!"

The passionate female voice resounded throughout the Tokyo Racecourse through the loudspeaker, and the sun hanging in the sky seemed to grow even hotter because of her commentary.

"I am Rin Akasaka, the live commentator."

"Commentator: Kentaro Sugiki"

After Akasaka finished speaking, another steady male voice followed. At the end of the opening remarks, the two voices merged together.

"We'll witness this showdown together! Come on, let's charge towards the real stage—who will debut successfully?!"

Xiu Xingmeng, who was on the field, pricked up her ears, feeling that the voices of the two commentators sounded somewhat familiar.

However, before she could think too much about it, Xiu Xingmeng, the number one contestant, was introduced.

"First up is the most popular contestant, number one, Xiu Xingmeng from a prestigious family! As the younger sister of the Holy King, can she wash away her sister's shame from last year?!"