The day of the exams had arrived.
One by one, the Uma Musume entered the exam hall, and Fujiwara Shirayuki was among them.
Even though the exam had just begun, Shirayuki already felt a sense of finality.
At last, she wouldn't have to tutor those girls anymore!
Every day, she had spent a huge amount of time helping them improve their grades, while gaining almost nothing in return. Well, not exactly nothing, some of them would buy her milk tea or desserts as a thank-you.
But eating too much of that would make her gain weight.
Milk tea and sweets were even more dangerous than regular meals, too much sugar, too many calories, and easily turned into excess fat.
And people usually drank those during their free time, not before training.
Which made it even worse.
Shirayuki cared about her figure.
Looking good was one thing, but more importantly, only a healthy diet would allow her to run faster.
Finally, she wouldn't have to force herself into extra training just to burn it off.
Shirayuki let out a breath of relief.
Just as she was about to enter the exam hall, someone suddenly rushed up from behind and hugged her.
At first, she thought it was El Condor Pasa, but when she turned, she saw
"Special Week?"
"Hehe~"
With her usual cheerful smile, Special Week beamed at her.
"We're in the same exam room, Shirayuki!"
"What a coincidence. You should be fine, right?"
"Of course! Thanks to you."
"That's good."
"Oh right, Shirayuki, after the exams, we get three days off, right? Let's go out together! I found a really great place!"
"A place?"
"A hot spring inn with a buffet, and they even have a yuzu bath!"
"…A buffet and a yuzu bath. That's quite unique."
"So? I already invited Suzuka. Do you want to come too?"
Shirayuki thought for a moment.
"Sure. I don't have anything planned anyway."
"Great! I'll let you know when it's time!"
With that, Special Week excitedly pulled her into the exam hall.
The exams lasted two days.
When the final bell rang for the last subject, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
It felt like a hard-fought victory.
Of course, some looked like they had just stepped into a graveyard.
Only Shirayuki felt nothing in particular.
To her, exams were just a formality.
Compared to that, the upcoming debut race mattered far more.
Now, the girls could finally focus on training.
Of course, as Shirayuki, her thoughts weren't so blunt.
Instead, she found herself thinking
My teammates won't have to worry about their grades anymore.
That was the difference between her and Chiya.
Same situation, completely different perspectives.
After packing her things, Shirayuki left the exam hall.
At the staircase ahead, she ran into Air Groove.
Their eyes met.
They exchanged greetings as usual.
Air Groove asked about her progress, and the answer surprised her.
"Only three left… That was fast."
"I took advantage of the exams to collect a lot of signatures."
"Your grades are quite good, aren't they? Last time you ranked… seventh in your year?"
"Yes."
Air Groove nodded.
Based on her academic performance alone, Shirayuki was more than qualified for the student council. Combined with her willingness to help others and the fact that she was nearly done collecting signatures
It was time to give her one final push.
"You handled the matter with Shinko Windy extremely well."
"You and your trainer worked together, one limiting her prank targets, the other guiding her, and successfully lured her into the disciplinary committee room. She's been behaving ever since."
Air Groove looked at her seriously.
"So I've decided to give you one more task. If you succeed, you'll be accepted directly into the student council."
"What kind of task?"
To be honest, dealing with Shinko Windy had mostly been luck.
With Agnes Tachyon's glasses and the fact that Flower didn't recognize Chiya, things had gone smoothly.
Shirayuki wasn't confident she could repeat that success.
"There's a Uma Musume who has been clashing with her instructors since enrollment. She even skips exams and avoids remedial lessons as well."
"If possible, I want you to help her."
"…Another problem child…"
Shirayuki honestly didn't want to deal with people like that.
Unless you had a masochistic streak, most people couldn't handle such personalities.
Chiya himself had been tricked and forced into managing similar cases.
He would have preferred obedient trainees too, otherwise, he wouldn't have prayed to the Three Goddesses.
"I'm sorry," Air Groove said, "but if it were simple, I wouldn't ask you. Student council work involves resolving student conflicts. If you can handle this, you won't face many difficulties later."
In other words
This was a trial.
"…Alright. I'll try. But I can't guarantee success."
"That's fine. Do your best. The student council has been watching your efforts."
"The name of this Uma Musume?"
"Sweep Tosho."
"She's extremely stubborn, doesn't listen, and is very difficult to communicate with."
Air Groove paused slightly.
"…Unless you can match her wavelength."
"Wavelength?"
"I've spoken with her a few times. She keeps talking about something called 'race magic.' If you understand what that means, communication should be easier."
Magic?
What even was that?
Before, Shirayuki would've dismissed it as nonsense.
At most, tricks or illusions.
But after witnessing the miracle of the Three Goddesses
Maybe magic really did exist.
With that thought in mind, Shirayuki left Air Groove.
On her way back to the dorm, she ran into Agnes Tachyon.
"Shirayuki."
"We're starting the experiment."
At those words, Shirayuki's pupils shrank slightly.
"…Alright."
On the way to the lab, Shirayuki recalled their earlier conversation.
"By the way, Tachyon-senpai…"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think magic exists in this world?"
"…Hah?"
That long, confused sound was something she had never heard from Tachyon before.
"You're not suggesting your situation is caused by magic, are you?"
"I'm not talking about me."
Tachyon's eyes shifted slightly.
"From my perspective," she said, "what people call 'magic' is simply an unexplained scientific phenomenon. Humans romanticize it, attach unrealistic expectations, and call it something noble."
She adjusted her tone slightly.
"To put it simply, magic is the unknown. Something that has yet to be proven."
"Magic… is the unknown…"
"Exactly."
Tachyon smiled faintly.
"For example, right now, Shirayuki…"
"You are my magic."