Seiun Sky watched that solitary, lofty back with a faint smile slowly forming on her lips. This was hardly an official race, so there was nothing stopping her from lingering a while longer.
Maybe it was because that figure now possessed something she had never had before. Or maybe Seiun Sky was simply happy for her fellow runner.
King Halo clearly had the strength to win a G1. She clearly should have made her mark during the Classic season. Yet in the end, she had failed to gather honors that matched her ability.
It was hard not to feel sorry about that, even if the reason for those failures had largely been King Halo herself.
Because she was a racing girl too, Seiun Sky felt that, in some way, she could understand her.
In her line of sight, the trainer of her fellow competitor had already walked up to King Halo. The girl clearly wanted to say something, but the rush of excitement left her unable to get the words out, so she could only wave her arms in a fluster.
The gestures were so chaotic that even Seiun Sky could not make sense of them. Judging by the fact that Terumi Shinji looked equally baffled, he could not either.
That made Seiun Sky let out a soft laugh.
Only then did King Halo seem to realize that the other girls had not left. They were all watching her performance, some smiling, others wearing open expressions of congratulations. Unlike the trainers in the stands, racing girls were simpler in heart. They did not overthink things.
What they knew was that this girl, who had just raced alongside them, had earned their admiration with her outstanding strength and performance.
A faint blush crept over King Halo's face. She knew that what she had just done was a little childish, hardly the poise of a noble lady.
But here, no one minded.
So when embarrassment finally appeared on her face, Shinji lightly patted her shoulder.
"What's your next race?"
The sudden question from Seiun Sky made King Halo open her mouth at once, ready to answer. But just before the words came out, she glanced at Shinji.
The man could clearly tell that, by now, he occupied first place in her heart. Otherwise she would never have looked so uncertain. That realization made the satisfaction he already felt deepen further.
He nodded.
That was Shinji's answer.
King Halo's eyes widened, then filled with delight.
"The Osaka Hai!"
She said it with confidence and conviction, and Seiun Sky froze for a beat.
She had never seen King Halo like this before. The spark of liveliness and fighting spirit in her eyes was something Seiun Sky had always thought she lacked.
But now, she had received those things from someone else.
Seiun Sky cast a deep look at Terumi Shinji.
As King Halo's classmate, Seiun Sky had always been one of her biggest rivals. Of course she had heard the rumors surrounding her.
All the fighting spirit and care that should have been taught and given to her by another parent figure had now been supplied by her trainer instead.
Seiun Sky could not quite put a name to the feeling in her heart. But it was probably happiness for King Halo.
Maybe there was a trace of envy too, though Seiun Sky promptly cast that aside.
"Then I'll see you at the Osaka Hai."
At those words, King Halo's pupils tightened. She had not expected Seiun Sky to be heading there as well.
The Osaka Hai and the Spring Tennō Shō fell in the same month. Since Seiun Sky had already announced at the start of the year that her main target for the first half of the season was the Spring Tennō Shō, King Halo had assumed she would begin her year with a race like the Hanshin Daishōten instead.
"When that time comes, I'll keep a very close eye on you. I won't give you another chance to pass me."
Seiun Sky always spoke with that lazy tone of hers, but no one would be foolish enough to mistake her for truly lazy. She was the two-crown filly of the new generation, the most accomplished runner in a crop that was already seen as extraordinarily promising.
King Halo gave no verbal reply.
There was no need for one.
They would meet at the Osaka Hai. The result there would decide whether Seiun Sky's words were right or wrong.
"Oh, right. The Mejiro girls and Spe-chan don't seem to be planning to enter. Looks like they're sticking to their original schedules. Which means this Osaka Hai field is either going to be weak… or under a mountain of pressure."
There was a deeper meaning in Seiun Sky's smile.
She was not saying this to pressure King Halo. After the mock race just now, Seiun Sky had already sensed that King Halo had finally crossed the hurdle in her own heart.
She only wanted to have a proper race against her when the time came.
At those words, King Halo's gaze flickered. With the Osaka Hai newly promoted, it was obvious that many runners would come to compete for the first G1 victory in its new era. If the girls of her own generation were still focused on challenging the Spring Tennō Shō, then the likely makeup of the Osaka Hai field became much easier to imagine.
Beyond the obscure runners and those merely gambling on a chance at victory, there would almost certainly be a number of highly accomplished and proven veterans joining the battle.
But King Halo did not fear that.
The transformation in her mindset that had begun moments ago allowed her to settle herself and focus on herself first.
She nodded as a form of reply, and Seiun Sky smiled in satisfaction.
Without another word, Seiun Sky turned and walked away. The chatter from the stands still had not ceased, but Seiun Sky could not have cared less. She had never liked listening to empty talk.
Watching Seiun Sky's departing back, King Halo took a deep breath. The beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead were wiped away with the cuff of her sleeve.
The old King Halo would have almost never done such a thing.
But the present King Halo was already used to it.
That earned a quiet nod of approval from Shinji.
Turning toward the exit of the training grounds, he waved a hand.
"Shall we head back too?"
"Mm."
…
At the back of the stands, an unrecognizable figure wrapped up so completely that no one could tell who she was slowly lowered her head. She removed the hat from her head, letting her beautiful hair spill down around her.
She had chosen her seat with utmost care. No one had noticed her arrival.
Sitting quietly in the chair behind the others, Fine Motion silently dropped the damp tissue she had used to wipe the seat into a plastic bag she had prepared beforehand, then let out a sigh.
She had seen the changes in her daughter. And that made her understand King Halo's resolve all the more clearly.
She ought to understand her daughter's temperament better than anyone. The girl before her now was no longer someone who could be pulled back.
So in the end, it had truly come to pass just as she had said before the New Year.
In this life, making King Halo obediently follow her wishes forever was one of the very few things she simply could not do.
She looked up slowly at the sky. The trainers in front were still discussing the mock race that had just ended. Among those conversations, Fine Motion's own name surfaced more than a few times.
And every time it did, it was only to belittle King Halo.
Back then, King Halo's rejection of every trainer had indeed wounded that whole group more than they wanted to admit.
Thinking that, Fine Motion rose once more and settled the hat back onto her head.
"Halo… you don't understand where this road leads."
Her murmur was not particularly quiet. Her strange outfit drew curious glances from a nearby trainer. But curiosity was all it remained. The trainer did not actually ask anything, just as Fine Motion herself would never openly explain what it was she meant.
"Mother would never harm you. You just don't understand."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 147)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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