"Who knew King Halo could actually cook fish?" At the restaurant, Seiun Sky ate the aromatic fish and praised her.
"Hmph, of course. This fish was all processed by my hands." Being praised, King Halo lost her composure for a moment.
"Oh, no wonder it's cut like this. First time I've eaten fish split perfectly in half."
Hayato ruffled Seiun Sky's head for that comment. Even eating couldn't shut her mouth. She should be grateful to have food at all, yet here she was complaining about this and that.
"Don't pat my head." She pushed away Hayato's large hand, clearly annoyed.
"Seiun, you should get a haircut. It's getting long."
"I'm not cutting it. Hehehe!" She laughed. "I'm planning to grow it out. When my hair reaches my waist, will you marry me, Trainer?"
"I think, Seiun, you look way better with short hair." Hayato looked at her hair, then said that.
Actually, with her looks, she'd look good either way. If she grew it long and dressed up properly, she really might transform into a super beautiful girl.
Still, Hayato hoped she'd keep it short. For one, she was already pretty lazy. For another, Seiun Sky with her personality was already attractive, and with her curves, she had even more charm.
"Hmm?" Seiun Sky pinched her chin between her index finger and thumb, thinking. After considering for a while, she said, "If Trainer likes short hair that much, I'll cut it short. I'll go find Gold City later to help me cut it."
"You mean City, right?"
Such a super beautiful Uma Musume, Hayato hadn't seen her at Tracen yet. She might run a beauty salon, but he didn't know where.
"It's Gold City. Don't talk like you're close with her, Trainer. She's Tracen's model, a once-in-a-century beauty."
"If Trainer likes short hair, then I'll cut mine too." King Halo suddenly interjected.
"Uh..." Both Hayato and Seiun Sky made that sound at the same time, looking at her.
"King Halo, you don't need to cut your hair short. Your current hairstyle already looks great. Cutting it short would actually be worse."
"Oh, really?" King Halo nodded thoughtfully. She thought so, too. Seiun Sky's hair was more crisp and dry, while hers was softer and smoother. They were different.
Cutting it short might not be good, so she shouldn't do it.
But why did it feel like Trainer preferred short hair? He was always patting Seiun Sky's head, wasn't he?
Does he think my hair's too long, afraid he'll mess it up?
After they got back, Seiun Sky really did go get her hair cut. Hayato wanted to go see what this so-called once-in-a-century beauty looked like, but he ran into Daiwa Scarlet, who dragged him away.
"Scarlet, I really was just going to get a haircut!" Hayato confessed without being asked, trying to explain.
"Who, who cares if you're going to get a haircut or not?" Daiwa Scarlet seemed a bit fierce today.
Was she in a bad mood?
"You all went fishing today?"
"Yeah, and we ate fish too."
Was I under someone's thumb now? What was with this atmosphere?
"Who, who cares if you ate or not?" She swung her large ponytail with a hmph. "Time to training! We're doing extra today. Not only will you pace me, but you'll also come swimming with me..."
She stole a glance at Hayato, feeling something strange inside, like she was about to lose something.
Am I jealous? Why would I be jealous of this guy? Really...
She added, "You go swimming every night anyway, right? Come with me, too."
Hayato really couldn't figure out what kind of training partner this made him.
Half a month ago, in the newcomer selection race, Daiwa Scarlet hadn't awakened her unique skill, so whether emotionally or logically, Hayato had no choice but to be her training partner. But ever since that day, her unique skill hadn't triggered yet.
Hayato guessed that to trigger it, she'd probably need to lose a race first, then accumulate the desire to win. Only then could she trigger her zone and unique skill.
The worst-case scenario might be that next time she races against Vodka, Vodka would activate her zone or unique skill, but Scarlet couldn't... and the time after that would be when Daiwa Scarlet finally activates her zone...
What a cursed fate!
It really might be like that, just like how Grass Wonder activates her zone when facing Special Week, or how Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio activate their zones against each other. All these activated zones had various strange conditions.
How to break this pattern?
Give up on both of those, stack stats completely, then avoid Vodka to stay undefeated?
That felt like a hollow as number one Uma Musume in her generation... and Daiwa Scarlet would never agree to it anyway.
Hayato thought about it, then said, "Scarlet, I think if this keeps up, your unique skill might never awaken. How about we change our approach and have Uma Musumes stronger than you be your training partners instead?"
"Can you guarantee it'll definitely work?" Daiwa Scarlet raised her head, looking down at him. First came a questioning tone. They'd trained for so long without any results. She was starting to doubt what Hayato had been saying.
"I can't."
"Then stop wasting words and start training, until it awakens." After hearing Hayato's uncertain answer, she immediately started urging him.
Looked like there was no escaping until they solved Daiwa Scarlet's unique skill problem.
Training with Daiwa Scarlet continued.
Hayato's abilities were improving, and so was Daiwa Scarlet's, even faster. Almost every race, she finished with a huge lead. The level gap was too great.
However, because his stamina had improved, running now didn't leave Hayato half-dead after training.
After one lap.
"Not bad, Trainer. You're running much better now." Daiwa Scarlet said while panting.
Is this punishment for having fun with a beautiful girl? Hayato was exhausted as he stared at the sky.
--
*As usual, the illustration is commented on.