The next day, multiple media outlets reported the news that King Halo would be competing in the Triple Crown races.
They even had video footage of Hayato's declaration from that day.
After all, that day had been a public trial match with too many people around, so it was normal for someone to have recorded it.
Someone had probably taken the video to a newspaper office and traded it for money.
In the video, Hayato pointed at a group of veteran trainers and boldly proclaimed, "Hehehe... mere newcomer... well then, I dare to declare here..."
"She will advance to the Classic Series. She will be the strongest Uma Musume of the new era. Her goal is the Triple Crown. No, her racing career will be eternally undefeated, and I will be the trainer who leads her to that peak."
"..."
"If you don't believe it, just wait and see. If I can make her win one race, I can make her keep winning. If I dare say such things, I have absolute confidence to prove it."
"..."
Then there was King Halo's arrogant closing statement: "Listen up, all of you. I'm going to work with this first-class trainer. We will advance to the Classic Series and claim every victory in it. You can just stand there and watch our glorious journey."
Arrogant, absolutely arrogant. Both of them had quite the nerve.
Watching himself in the video, Hayato wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Thinking back on that day's situation, even he felt embarrassed. Hayato wanted to roll all over the ground rightnow.
"The celebration will have to wait. Need to lie low for a bit first."
"Hah? Trainer, what are you being timid about? Where did all that momentum from that day go?" King Halo was somewhat displeased.
It's because of you that things are like this, King Halo! Don't you understand?
They'd just won a single debut race and were already pointing their swords at the heavens...
That day, he'd talked big purely for the momentum, but in reality, anything unrealized was just empty talk.
King Halo had only just debuted and didn't have any real achievements yet. Going around promoting herself everywhere would have the opposite effect.
Sure, she'd become famous, but being too high-profile meant her fans might actually be haters. To truly earn others' recognition, someone still needed to produce results.
"What makes a truly first-class uma musume? One who talks big, or one with outstanding achievements?" Hayato asked King Halo pointedly.
"Outstanding achievements. I, I'm not just all talk." King Halo puffed out her cheeks. Though somewhat defiant, she had to admit Hayato's words were correct.
"I'll allow you to be high-profile. I'll allow you to speak with the tone of a first-class uma musume before actually becoming one. But I need you to produce results." Hayato casually tossed out two documents.
One for the Kisaragi Sho, one for the Spring Stakes.
These were King Halo's upcoming arrangements.
Until she won these two races, Hayato didn't plan to accept any media interviews.
Only after winning these two could he speak with confidence. Then he'd dare to silence all the jeers.
"Hmph, they're just two races. Piece of cake."
"Good spirit." Hayato praised her. "Keep that momentum as you move toward your goal."
Seiun Sky chimed in with a timely "Woohoo!"
"Nobody asked you, so why are you cheering?"
After the debut races ended, the training schedule for everyone was adjusted once again.
For Silence Suzuka, she no longer needed to train stamina and power.
She'd focus directly on stacking speed and wisdom.
As long as it wasn't a race over 2500 meters, stamina didn't need to be too high, and runners didn't need much power either. So going forward, just stack speed and wisdom.
This was the true great escape running style. No uma musume could catch up in the early phase.
As for Seiun Sky, her power didn't need to be too high either. The time spent training power would be switched to training stamina. Since her goal was to dominate the Tenno Sho Spring, the higher her stamina, the better.
For King Halo, all five attributes needed training, and that wouldn't change until she claimed the Kikka Sho. The extra hour would be used to train power.
She needed to start preparing now for the midfield running style she'd use later.
That evening, the four went out looking for a restaurant to celebrate.
By now, it was already dark on the streets, with few people around.
Just as they were about to approach a restaurant, they saw Oguri Cap walk out in casual clothes, both cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, a snack still clutched in her hand.
Hayato's face stiffened. "Maybe we should try a different place."
Sure enough, right after Oguri Cap left, the shop owner came out to close up, muttering, "Closing for the day. Gonna be closed for three days."
Was this really happening?
Seiun Sky said, "That's Oguri Cap! Trainer, aren't you going to say hi?"
All things considered, even though Oguri Cap had retired, she was still a member of Team Altair.
Just like the rudolf and the others, retirement meant they were still Team Rigil members.
Oguri Cap just wasn't familiar with Hayato, which was why she didn't interact with him.
Plus, she didn't know anyone on the team, so in her view, it was no different from having quit.
Hayato walked over. "Oguri Cap, long time no see."
"Hm?" Oguri Cap stared for a good while before recognizing him. "Oh, it's you, Assistant-kun. Do you need something?"
"Not really..." He'd been thinking of asking if she'd eaten, and if not, going to grab another meal together.
But inviting Oguri Cap to dinner was something Hayato didn't dare say out loud.
"Oh, let me introduce them. These are my new team members, your juniors, actually. This is Seiun Sky."
Seiun Sky waved a greeting. "Hi hi! Hello!"
"This is King Halo, and this is Silence Suzuka."
Both King Halo and Silence Suzuka greeted her as well. "Hello."
"Oh, I'm Oguri Cap." Oguri Cap's tone remained flat.
"I know, I know! You're famous!" Seiun Sky responded with a smile, then asked Hayato, "Trainer, you actually know Oguri Cap?"
Regardless of whether Oguri Cap acknowledged it or not, Hayato still said, "Of course. She came from our Team Altair. She's your senior."
"Oh?" Seiun Sky was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected the most famous Uma Musume recently to have come from their own team.
Should she say "as expected of Trainer"?
Seiun Sky turned a questioning gaze toward Hayato.
Hayato waved his hands in explanation. "Don't misunderstand. Oguri Cap has a different trainer. I arrived right when she retired."
Hayato bit down especially hard on that last sentence, extremely unwilling to accept it.
Though it was a bit regrettable, retirement was retirement. While it was true she had ties to the team, she had absolutely no connection to him personally.
Oguri Cap seemed to be getting a bit impatient waiting, so she took the initiative to ask, "It's pretty late. Where are you all heading?"
"To celebrate!" Seiun Sky answered before anyone else could.
Oguri Cap's ears immediately perked up, her eyes brightening.
Hayato laughed awkwardly. "Ummm.... Yeah, these three just successfully debuted, so I'm taking them out to celebrate a bit..."
Hayato kept his expression neutral. Perfectly calm.
Inside his head, however—
SEIUN SKY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!
OGURI CAP IS A FINANCIAL APOCALYPSE!
MY WALLET DID NOTHING TO DESERVE THIS!
As if hearing Hayato's internal scream, Seiun Sky added another line with a mischievous smile, "To eat good food, of course."
"Hm!?" Oguri Cap's eyes went wide.