He'd just gotten his food and sat down when he saw Daiwa Scarlet walking over with her tray. "Hey, didn't expect a trainer to eat so much."
"Hm? Daiwa Scarlet?" Hayato glanced up at her, confusion flickering across his face. "You need something?"
"What, I'm not welcome? Can't I sit here unless I have business?" Daiwa Scarlet sat down with confidence, chest out, making herself at home. She adjusted her two large twin tails, flipping them behind her shoulders in a haughty way.
"Uh... no, I just feel like you must have something you need from me. So what is it?"
He didn't believe for a second that Daiwa Scarlet had nothing better to do than chat with him. She wasn't that type of person.
Just her bringing her tray over here made Hayato wonder if Daiwa Scarlet's entire character had collapsed.
Are we even that close?
Have we even exchanged names yet?
"Mm!" She lowered her head to look at the table, seeming a bit fidgety.
So reverse-recruiting is a thing now?
"I want... I want to beat that girl..." Meaning Vodka.
"That's it?"
"Yeah, that's it." She glanced up at Hayato, then quickly lowered her head again.
"You and Vodka have a fifty-fifty win rate. You're true rivals. Even without my help, you'll win your next race against her, because... you've been working hard lately, haven't you?"
The relationship between the two Uma Musume was really delicate. If Daiwa Scarlet had won that race, Vodka would be the one training hard in secret instead.
They were always competing with each other, neither one willing to give up.
"That's it?"
"Yeah, that's it." Hayato nodded.
"You're done talking?"
"Mm, I'm done."
"Huh? Wait, that's not right!" Join the team! Join the team! Do I have to spell it out for you? Do I have to personally ask you to teach me Front Runner strategy? Why is this guy so dense?
Is he doing this on purpose?
I'm a model student, aren't I? Model students are the best uma musume—excelling at both academics and running. With how excellent I am, you won't even invite me?
"What's not right?"
"Yesterday, Rudolf-senpai lectured me. Going out at night probably won't work anymore."
She put on a troubled expression, acting helpless. Well? Do you get it now? This young lady needs a trainer.
"Isn't that good?" Hayato pinched his forehead. "Didn't I already tell you? I don't think all that extra training will help you that much. On the contrary, it'll just wear you down. Those few uma musume of mine are the same, they never learn, and they all think I don't know. Hmph."
While eating his carrot-based dish, Hayato kept talking. "Proper training should involve reasonable scheduling, balancing work and rest while ensuring the body gets rich nutrition."
"Makes sense." Daiwa Scarlet agreed with Hayato's statement, but... wait, no! I want to join your team! Join! Shouldn't a trainer like you take the initiative to invite me?
She felt Hayato still didn't understand what she meant, so she recounted what Air Groove had said to her yesterday and exactly how she'd responded.
Do you get it now?
"You feel frustrated about not getting first place?"
"Yeah."
"While welcoming victory brings happiness, of course. But that happiness comes at a cost. You also have to learn to accept disappointment, pain, and grief." Hayato finished his last bite and delivered his final line. "What kind of life is it to always win? The real-life experience is failure."
He felt what Daiwa Scarlet needed most was learning how to face defeat, not obsessing over success.
Losing one race was actually a good thing. Like Tokai Teio, who kept winning and winning—suddenly losing once, now that would be painful torture.
"Hm?" Daiwa Scarlet froze.
She felt those words were really right. She wanted to pull out her notebook filled with training plans and maxims and add this quote.
But... wasn't I being clear enough?
Do I need to spell it out more?
She thought for a moment and said, "Vodka seems to have a trainer now. I want to have a trainer too. If I had a trainer to arrange my training, I'd probably have more time to train."
"Vodka already has a trainer?" Hayato was skeptical about this. He felt it shouldn't have happened that quickly.
"Yeah, so..." You're focusing on that part? What about the rest? Didn't you hear the rest?
Just then.
"I said I don't want one!" Vodka's figure flashed past the cafeteria entrance, being chased by a trainer.
That trainer was really something, actually able to chase down an uma musume at full sprint.
"Hehe, it should be soon..." Daiwa Scarlet's face went stiff and twitched.
"So what kind of trainer are you looking for?"
Hearing Hayato's question, Daiwa Scarlet's face broke into a smile. Finally getting to the main topic. Not easy.
She smiled happily. "I want to find someone with a strong sense of responsibility, someone capable, who won't randomly assign weird plans just to get by. Preferably someone who understands Front Runner strategy like Hayato-san."
After saying that, she took a deep breath, feeling she'd made it clear enough this time.
"Front Runner strategy?" Hayato rested his chin on his hand, thinking.
He hadn't seen any trainers who understood Front Runner tactics. Ines Fujin's trainer was actually just a new trainer too, and the Front Runner strategy they taught Ines wasn't comprehensive.
Also, a self-created Front Runner approach.
According to how the story was supposed to develop, both Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka would eventually end up on Okino's team.
Kouji Okino's training methods were pretty ordinary. He trained and raced with a "do what you want" approach, at most teaching basic training that anyone could do. Okino changed when Special Week lost, even though he had been warned by Tojo Hana beforehand.
As for running strategies, Okino might know them, but he'd never actually taught them.
Okino was different from Tōjō Hana. Tōjō valued uma musume's health, with relatively strict training that calculated the rhythm of every single step while running.
Kouji Okino valued Uma Musume's dreams, letting them use whatever running style they wanted. His training was also pretty eccentric.
He'd have Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka compete against each other to achieve the best training results.
If Daiwa Scarlet chose Okino, that would be a fine choice too. It's just that Hayato wasn't close with Okino right now, and he didn't want to hand over Uma Musume to someone he wasn't familiar with.
Now that Hayato had recruited Silence Suzuka, he didn't know who he'd need to recruit later to fill out five uma musume.
Tōjō Hana was out of the question. Tojo-san didn't like Front Runner tactics. What she liked teaching most was End-Closer and Late-Surger strategies.
If Daiwa Scarlet went to find Tōjō Hana, she'd likely need to change her running style, and he was sure she wouldn't be willing.
Daiwa Scarlet's gaze slowly froze as she watched him think.
No need to think about it, you're the only one in the whole school who can teach Front Runner strategy.
Is this guy an idiot?
"Oh, I know someone who might be suitable. Strong sense of responsibility, capable, should also know Front Runner tactics." Hayato thought of another person. This person didn't know anything except training-related matters, but they'd still be an excellent choice for a trainer.
"Really?" Thank goodness. This trainer is really dense.
She felt the conversation should be ending soon.
"Yeah. She's also a new trainer, but I guarantee she's more than qualified to be your trainer."
"Mm-hmm." She said with a slight pout, the disappointment showing even though she tried to hide it. "I don't care if they're new or not, as long as they're suitable."