Chapter 50: Gwa! I Don't Want perform!!!
Coming back to her senses, she found herself standing in the center of the stage.
Vaguely, a beam of pure white light shone diagonally from above, illuminating Stellar Mirage and allowing her to see the snow-white T-mark on the floor.
This is... the center of the stage?
Stardust Mirage recognized this mark—it's the T-mark indicating the stage center. But... why was she standing here?
Looking down at herself, Stardust Mirage was astonished to find herself wearing an unfamiliar performance outfit in red, white, and black.
Her right shoulder was adorned with a dragon-head-shaped pauldron, its teeth holding a light blue cape in place on her back.
What on earth happened?
Stardust Mirage seemed not yet fully aware. A chilly sensation on her lower half—because this was the first time she had worn a short skirt.
She quickly looked around but saw no one else on the stage besides herself.
A second beam of white light shone down, intersecting with the first, completely enveloping Stardust Mirage in its brilliance.
Ah, she remembered.
Now is... Winner's Stage time.
As memories flooded back, Stardust Mirage recalled earlier events:
"Winner's Stage! This was just a training race, wasn't it? It doesn't even count as an official race!?"
She looked incredulously at Trainer Toyama Hikaru, unable to believe the horrifying fact he had just stated.
Winning this race meant performing on the Winner's Stage, and a solo performance at that?!
Why did no one tell her about this!!!
"It was a training race, that's true," Toyama Hikaru chuckled like a weasel that had stolen a chicken, sly and pleased:
"But—the Winner's Stage is also part of the training. Any problems? As far as I know, Stardust Mirage, you haven't been on the Winner's Stage since your debut, right? So today is your first time."
"Ah, my legs hurt from running so hard earlier. Maybe I pulled a muscle—Trainer, let's go to the hospital together. We can talk about the Winner's Stage next time!"
Stardust Mirage quickly squatted down, clutching her legs and moaning in pain.
Unfortunately, Toyama Hikaru didn't seem to care at all. He just stood there, hands on hips, as if admiring her performance.
"What are you doing!? You're not my trainer, why don't you care about your assigned Uma Musume's health!"
"Are you joking, your a physical monster Stardust Mirage?" Toyama Hikaru rolled his eyes, ignoring her exaggerated complaint.
As the trainer of this Uma Musume, she now understood better than anyone how ridiculously monstrous Stardust Mirage's physique was. Forget injuries or illnesses; even muscle fatigue didn't seem to last more than four hours on her.
Plus, the medical team and I had just thoroughly examined the condition of Stellar Mirage's limbs.
So, Toyama Hikaru was absolutely certain that the girl before her was putting on a show of pain just to escape the Winner's Ceremony again.
"If you keep pretending, you won't even have time to prepare. You'll just be standing there dumbly for five minutes. Have you thought this through?"
"What?!" Hearing Toyama Hikaru's words, Stardust Mirage immediately sprang up as if propelled by a spring, her face full of panic. "Do I really have to? But I don't have a victory uniform, and I haven't prepared any singing either!"
"These things—can be solved with this." Toyama Hikaru pulled a figurine from her chest and handed it over.
The figurine depicted the most famous image in this world—the statue of the Three Goddesses.
"What's this?" Stardust Mirage instinctively took the figurine, turning it over in her hands with a look of confusion. "Ascension material?"
"What ascension material?" Toyama Hikaru shook her head, pursing her lips. "This is a [Stage Device]. With this, whether it's a victory uniform, Winner's Ceremony stage setup, or even song selection and arrangements, you can achieve it all just by thinking about it in your mind. How convenient, right? After all, it's impossible to build the stage a winner needs in such a short time after every race—this is the physical manifestation of the Three Goddesses' power."
"..." Stardust Mirage gritted her teeth as she looked at the figurine in her hand, her expression even more twisted than when she crossed the finish line during the race.
If she wanted to continue running as a horse girl, there was no reason to escape the Winner's Ceremony. Not only would it rob her of the chance to showcase her victory, but it would also be disrespectful to the efforts of the other competitors...
But, while that made sense... I don't know how to sing or dance!!!
She screamed inwardly, but unfortunately, no one was there to answer.
"You can use this to envision the stage and victory uniform you'll need next. It just so happens we can later order the actual clothing based on the style you choose." Toyama Hikaru waved her hand dismissively and left the restroom, saying, "I still need to check on Bourbon's condition. You're on your own now, victor."
"..."
Watching her trainer's retreating back, Stardust Mirage felt a tumult of emotions.
She knew that even if she managed to escape today, she couldn't avoid the Winner's Ceremony forever. Rather than embarrassing herself in a public race, it was better to use this training opportunity to simulate it now.
Perhaps this was why Toyama Hikaru was forcing her to perform...?
Thinking back to the trainer's expression, which seemed entirely geared toward watching her struggle, Stardust Mirage felt somewhat uncertain.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. More importantly, what kind of victory uniform should she choose, and what should she perform...
The classic song "ユメヲカケル!" (Yume o Kakeru!)?
No way!
If she performed that, she'd absolutely be mercilessly mocked by that little brat Tokai Teio. Stellar Mirage knew Teio was quite skilled with that song.
"Tracen Ondo"?
What was she thinking?! Suddenly breaking into an "ondo" as if she were Oguri Cap or something!
Ultimately, Stardust Mirage understood one thing:
Even with the Stage Device to slightly assist her singing, it would be difficult to match the horse girls skilled in song and dance. These songs had been performed by countless others.
If she chose them, the moment Stardust Mirage dared to open her mouth, she'd inevitably be compared to all the previous live performances, only to find others scoring 99 while she barely scraped a 60... Damn it, that would truly be the epitome of embarrassment!
As the saying goes, singing the same song isn't scary; what's scary is being the one who sings it poorly.
...Wait, I could choose an original song!
At that moment, it felt as if a spark flashed through Stardust Mirage's mind.
Her thoughts suddenly cleared: That's right! If I choose a song that doesn't exist in this world, no one can compare it!
No one has heard the original, so as long as I'm not completely terrible, who knows what score I'd get!
Yes, that's decided then...
Click.
On the stage, a third beam of pure white light shone in Stardust Mirage's direction.
It was like a signal, snapping Stardust Mirage out of her reminiscence.
...The winner's performance had begun!
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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