By the time they left the interview venue, evening had already begun to settle over the sky.
Teraizumi Shinji checked the Osaka Cup weather forecast one more time. The closer race day got, the more reliable the forecasts became. He was not afraid of rain. If anything, for Saint King Halo—who was better at power-based training and whom he had already confirmed to be equally adept on soggy turf—a rainy Osaka Cup would actually be a good thing.
Looking at the icon on his phone that showed no rain at all, he quietly put away that faint trace of regret and turned to the girl still following beside him.
Saint King Halo was probably tired by now. The morning's training had worn out her body, and the interview that afternoon had only deepened her mental fatigue. Those sharp, pointed questions—so different from anything she had ever faced in an interview before—had clearly rattled her. The impact of a first time was always the worst. Future interviews might bring the same kind of pressure again, but none would hit as hard as this first one.
Thinking of the uproar caused by the pre-race commentary, Shinji gave a faint shake of his head.
Today's interview had not gone much better. It was the same storm either way. The only real answer was the race itself.
Shinji was not afraid of failure. He had clawed his way out of a situation that had once left him with almost no room to move at all.
What he wanted more than anything was for this horse girl—this girl who had already begun to rely on him—to at least prove that his judgment had not been wrong. That his effort and his expectations had not been misplaced.
With that thought, Shinji lowered his eyes.
When Saint King Halo first joined the team, one of the biggest issues had been how easily she hurt herself. Her pride had a way of turning other people's words into blades, then stabbing those blades straight into her own body until the wounds became scars that would never fully heal.
If... if she really was a horse girl who simply could not be helped—
Shinji pressed his lips together, and his gaze darkened. Saint King Halo was, undeniably, an excellent producer of emotional energy. He would never abandon her completely or neglect her outright.
But if it really came to that, he would not spend even one more scrap of emotional energy on her than absolutely necessary.
He would not reduce her to nothing more than an emotional-energy machine. But he would absolutely start paying closer attention to the patterns, refining them, extracting more from them.
Looking at the 101 unspent attribute points on Saint King Halo's panel, Shinji quickly began assigning them. At the same time, he decided to use up all of her PT as well.
"Buy Corner Adept."
[Understood. Spending 64 of Saint King Halo's PT, and 296 shared PT. Corner Adept purchased.]
Corner Adept (Gold-Yellow):Elegant turning improves acceleration.
"Round out her stamina and grit. Put the rest into speed."
[Do you want to use up all shared attribute points as well?]
Shinji hesitated.
Then he thought of Narita Brian.
Her stat growth was the slowest of the three. After a moment's reflection, he shook his head and rejected the suggestion. Those shared points were better saved for someone like Narita Brian, who had it harder—or for Offside Trap, if they ran into truly monstrous opponents during the overseas campaign.
[Saint King Halo's current panel is as follows:]
Trainee Horse Girl: Saint King HaloCondition: NormalPopularity: 57,293System Blessings (2 random chances remaining): NonePT (for skill purchases only): 0Attribute Points: 0
Five Stats:Speed: 827 + 124 (1670)Stamina: 600 + 4 (1305)Power: 859 + 20 (1601)Grit: 700 (+200) (1298)Intelligence: 471 (1174)
Running Style Aptitude:Front Runner: GLeader: BBetweener: AChaser: D
Distance Aptitude:1000m–2600m
Surface Aptitude:Turf: ADirt: G
Skills:
Hear Me as King Lv. 4 (Unique)
Straight Specialist (Yellow)
Pick Up the Pace (Yellow)
Hard Worker (Yellow)
Corner Adept (Gold-Yellow)
Domain: Not Awakened
Runes:
Noble / Mad Artisan — Noble Adornment(Speed +4, Stamina +4, Will +17)
Noble / Reviver / Abyssal Bard — Might Makes Right(Speed +7, Power +9, Inspiration +12)
Noble x2:All stats +5%Can adapt to races at any pace, allowing her to bring out the vast majority of her ability
Special Status: None
Equipped Items:
Halo CrestRaises competitive drive and pride. While maintaining fighting spirit, Grit +200.Special effect: A crest containing the strength of her lineage; the horse girl may inherit the purest bloodline legacy.
Crimson TraceFully awakens the potential of a horse girl's bloodline, linking souls through bloodline resonance.Speed +100.Special effect: Can see spirits at certain times.
Spring-Loaded HorseshoeSpeed +20, Power +20
Training Tendency: Better at power and grit training
Looking at Saint King Halo's current panel, Shinji had to admit it looked excellent. With all the stacked bonuses, her effective race speed could now approach a thousand. And as for the Halo Crest's condition of "maintaining fighting spirit," he felt that was no longer difficult at all for the current Saint King Halo.
Two core stats nearly touching one thousand.
If she still could not win the Osaka Cup—if she still could not beat rivals like Seiun Sky and Erimo Dandy head-on—
Shinji gave a slight shrug.
By the time he led Saint King Halo back to Central Tracen Academy and watched her step onto the small path leading toward her dorm, he finally turned toward his own quarters.
Along the way, he passed quite a few horse girls. Many had just finished dinner, and upon seeing him, they all greeted him politely.
His reputation in the academy had already grown considerable, and Offside Trap's overseas victory had pushed it even higher. According to a casual remark from Hayakawa, many horse girls now wanted a chance to join Kochab—Purple Star—but had no idea how to get in.
Looking at those girls who had already eaten their fill, Shinji suddenly remembered that he himself had not eaten yet.
Neither, probably, had Saint King Halo.
The girl had clearly taken a real hit. She had likely had no appetite at all.
That was hardly strange. Back before Tenno Sho (Autumn), Offside Trap's own pre-race interview had hit her hard enough to sap her spirits. But in Offside Trap's case, the discomfort had come from being overshadowed by Silence Suzuka's overwhelming presence. That at least had also stirred her competitive fire.
This time, however, Saint King Halo had been openly targeted. The questioning had not merely prodded her weaknesses—it had gouged at the old wounds over and over. For a horse girl who only wanted to devote herself to her dreams and to racing, it was only natural that she would feel lost and hurt.
"Buy another rune."
[Why didn't you buy it on the way back?]
"I didn't have the mental bandwidth then. Picking a rune needs some care."
Shinji answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then refreshed three times in a row. One hundred and fifty emotional energy vanished instantly—and in exchange, something appeared that made his eyes light up.
[Noble / Dimension Lord — Beyond the World's Horizon]When the horse girl has clear visibility, all stats +5%.When there are no other runners within one body length around her, all stats +5%.When she is interfered with by factors such as pace or positioning, all stats +5%.When the horse girl does not receive two or more stat bonuses from Beyond the World's Horizon, all stats +10%, field of vision expands, and collision ability increases.(Activation timing: end of opening phase, start of final phase)— 1900 emotional energy
"This one. Buy it."
Nearly two thousand emotional energy vanished in one shot. Shinji smacked his lips, once again reminded that while emotional energy now came in quickly, it also disappeared just as fast.
[Small rune: Speed +6, Intelligence +6, Power +3. Refresh?]
"Keep the speed. Refresh."
[(Speed +6, Stamina +6, Momentum +19)]
A new rare small-rune stat appeared, and Shinji's eyes brightened again. Saint King Halo was not physically here, so he could not yet directly tell what "Momentum" would feel like in practice.
Looking at the emotional energy he had left, Shinji managed to suppress the urge to refresh again, or buy something else, and slowly closed Saint King Halo's panel.
By the time he fully withdrew from the system, the night outside had deepened considerably. Moonlight spilled across the windowsill, clear and pale.
Shinji stood there, gazing at the night sky for a while. No one could have said what exactly he was thinking.
Only after that did he finally turn away.
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 150)
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 (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
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 195
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 Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
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 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 30
I'm Definitely Not the King of 35
After Maxing Out Every Class 35
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin