"Trainer hasn't forgotten, right?" Grass Wonder's voice cut through the moment, sweet as honey. "Our promise. Next week is the simulation race. If you don't come..."
Grass Wonder's eyes narrowed slightly as her hand came up to cover her mouth. "Hehe."
She said it in the gentlest voice possible while her eyes promised something else entirely.
The temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.
Seiun Sky jumped in with a teasing grin. "Yo, do you two have some kind of secret agreement you can't tell anyone about?"
"I promised him that if I won the simulation race, he'd let me join the team." Super Creek didn't look embarrassed at all, saying it like it was the most casual thing in the world.
She needed witnesses so Hayato couldn't back out later. If even Urara could join the team, she absolutely had to join too.
"Oh, no wonder every time I asked if you wanted to find a trainer, you never said anything." Understanding dawned on Seiun Sky's face as she pieced it together.
Grass Wonder begged and pleaded but was refused, then finally proposed joining the team if she won the simulation race. Is that it? If so, that's a bit embarrassing. Grass Wonder, how badly do you want to join this team?
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Hayato raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'll be there next week, no matter what happens. Also, you can join the team right now if you want. Even if something unexpected comes up, I'll drag you to join our team by force if I have to."
"Hehe!" After Grass Wonder's rare laugh, her expression turned serious again. "That won't do! Next week, there's only one week left. I'll definitely win. You just need to prepare my contract."
She'd put serious effort into preparing for this race. Everything was ready.
"Then I'll—" Before Hayato could finish, his phone started buzzing in his pocket.
The moment he felt it, something clicked in his brain. His face went pale.
Oh no. I forgot something major.
"Sorry, Grass." Hayato pulled out his phone, already moving. "I'm currently facing the most serious crisis in history. I have to rush to Nakayama as fast as possible, or Halo's going to kill me."
Hayato turned to leave, then stopped mid-step as another thought hit him. Right, Urara hadn't officially signed yet. Hayato still had to handle that before going anywhere.
"What about me?" Grass Wonder's voice came from behind him, sweet and cold at the same time.
A chill ran straight down Hayato's spine, cold enough to make him freeze in place.
When he turned around, Grass Wonder had already looked away, her voice soft. "It's fine. You go ahead."
The cold vanished as if it had never been there.
Was that an illusion? Did I just hallucinate that?
Hayato didn't have time to figure it out. "Let's go, Urara."
"Oh! Time to train?"
Hayato was already answering his phone as they walked, heart pounding. "Hello! King, it's me."
"Trainer, how is it? Are you okay?" Her voice carried genuine worry.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I couldn't keep up with the kidnapper, so they got away!" Hayato kept his voice steady even as he mentally scrambled. "I'm a bit far from Nakayama right now, rushing over with everything I've got."
"As long as you're okay." King Halo's relief was audible. "That's all that matters."
"How was your race? Did you win?"
There was a pause on the other end.
"I lost... !"
Hayato's hand flinched so hard the phone went flying into the air. His reflexes kicked in, and he caught it before it hit the ground, but his hands were still shaking.
"It's okay, it's okay!" His voice came out increasingly desperate. "Did you place in the top three? Top three is fine too. As long as you made top three..." Hayato could hear himself losing steam with each word.
Wait. That's not right.
He'd definitely received the notification that Halo won. He'd even gotten a reward scroll he hadn't opened yet sitting in his inventory. How could she have lost?
Impossible. He'd calculated everything beforehand. The opponents were all mediocre, not a single one with stats above 200. Plus, she had a pile of skills to crush them with. There was absolutely no way she could lose.
"King Halo." Hayato steadied his breathing, gripping the phone tighter. "Tell me honestly. What place did you actually get?"
"First... sob!" Her voice cracked. "But, sob... I only won by three lengths."
"Phew!" Relief flooded through him so fast he felt dizzy, nearly stumbling. "You scared me half to death. Isn't winning good enough?"
So that's what this is about. She's upset about the margin.
"But I only won by three lengths... sob!"
At first, she'd hoped Hayato would watch her race to show him who was stronger between her and Seiun Sky. When King Halo hadn't seen him in the spectator seats, she'd immediately called to check on him.
Now, King Halo was actually glad he hadn't witnessed her embarrassing performance.
"Alright, alright. Three lengths is three lengths." Hayato kept his voice gentle, grounding. "Your goal is an undefeated Triple Crown, right? In smaller races, the winning margin doesn't matter as much. What really counts is winning the GIs when it matters."
"That... does make sense..." King Halo's voice steadied almost immediately as the logic clicked into place.
Right. They're both wins, so what's the real difference? What actually distinguishes them should be the race level and prize money earned.
After spending a few more minutes comforting her, Hayato finally hung up and turned to look at Seiun Sky, who stood there without a trace of guilt on her face. "You did this? And you think this would fool her?"
Seiun Sky shrugged, completely unbothered. "Her arrogance was getting out of hand. If I didn't knock her down a peg, she'd have flown straight into the stratosphere."
Seiun Sky added with a grin, "Actually, it's not bad at all. Before, her goal was just victory. Now her goal is to open up gaps of several lengths. The effect might be even better this way!"
Hayato waved his hand, cutting her off before she could continue. Hayato could feel himself getting brainwashed just listening to her logic.
Hayato found Hayakawa Tazuna to help process Urara's contract and made it official.
An exclusive contract with Uma Musume Haru Urara has been established.
Haru Urara's affection +10, risen to Level 1.
Haru Urara's personal profile unlocked. Can now view.
Name: Haru Urara
Intimacy Level: 1
Brief: A girl who doesn't give up even after consecutive losses, unyielding and indomitable.
Self-introduction: My name is Haru Urara! I love carrots and running the most, because running makes me very happy! My goal is first place! I'll work super hard!
Grade: Middle School Division
Affiliated Dormitory: Ritto Dormitory
Height: 140cm
Weight: Slight increase, but doesn't care
Birthday: February 27
Unlock more information by increasing intimacy.
Task triggered...
Task Name: Haru Urara's Goal
Task Content 1: Have Urara participate in races and achieve first place.
Task Content 2: Have Urara participate in the Arima Kinen.
Task Time: None
Task Reward: Each first-place finish earns a random reward. The higher the race level, the higher the reward. Winning the Arima Kinen grants one rainbow skill scroll. Urara can learn a hidden skill.
Failure Penalty: None
As expected, the system triggered the Arima Kinen task.
Hayato wanted to try fulfilling Urara's wish. Wanted to see if he could make the impossible happen.
Let's be stubborn for a while.
After the signing was complete, Hayato turned to Urara with a small smile. "Today's the weekend, so there's no training. Training starts tomorrow, so just come with King Halo in the morning."
"Okay! Trainer, today's a day off, right?" Urara's face lit up. "Then, Urara will go play first! Yosh!"
Haru Urara nodded obediently, already bouncing on her toes with renewed energy.
"Go ahead. Have fun, Urara!"