By the time Shinji Teraizumi strolled back to the dorms, he figured King Halo would need at least two days of rest, so there was no rush to tell Offside Trap anything yet. When the two girls resumed training, their schedules would probably line up anyway, and having them meet directly at the track sounded like a perfectly good plan.
Pushing those extra thoughts out of his head, he turned his attention back to the system interface.
After conquering the Japan Cup, he had received a Japan Cup Victory Pack. And after forming a bond with King Halo, he had also gotten a Trainee Pack. It was easy to predict that the two packs would bring him a considerable amount of emotional energy. Add in everything Offside Trap had been steadily generating on her own lately, and healing her worsened tendonitis before the Arima Kinen was basically no longer a problem.
Still, the thought of having to go to the student council later to fill out forms and submit paperwork—and, in the process, face Symboli Rudolf and the others—gave Shinji a headache all over again. It was hard not to run into the student council president wearing that perpetually sour expression. He was not afraid of her, but seeing it was irritating all the same.
That's for later.
Reassuring himself with that thought, Shinji went to the sink to wash his hands, then prepared to begin the day's unboxing session.
Let's open the Japan Cup Victory Pack first.
After a brief hesitation, he decided that the Japan Cup pack was probably not as valuable as the Trainee Pack, so he started with the lesser one.
[Japan Cup Victory Pack opened.]
[+100 Emotional Energy]
[+25 Attribute Points]
[+120 PT]
[Conservation Scroll II (One volume of the Codex of Conservation. Collect all four Conservation Scrolls to obtain the equipment item Codex of Conservation.)]
"Hm?"
Shinji stared at the final item in surprise. He had not expected the system—which had always handed out immediate combat power—to suddenly throw in something like this.
Can I ask what the Codex of Conservation does?
[Uh…]
The system's hesitation made a sharp light flash through Shinji's eyes. Its current reaction was completely different from usual. He guessed the codex's effect had to be extremely powerful.
I'll find out sooner or later anyway. Why not tell me now?
That argument was reasonable enough, and the system seemed persuaded. It relented.
[Codex of Conservation: Can increase one value within a horse girl's system blessing by "1."]
"What?"
Shinji's eyes went wide as he shot to his feet, genuinely stunned by the effect of the equipment. System blessings were already absurdly powerful to begin with, and this codex could modify any one of their values.
Take Mother of the Realm, for example. If the "1" were added to "For each Lord Rune" or to "All attribute caps +10%," then the Codex of Conservation would not seem all that amazing. The former would even weaken the blessing's efficiency, while the latter would only be a very limited boost.
But if the "1" were added to "Choose one non-Lord Rune bond," then Mother of the Realm might be able to stack another rune bond on Offside Trap to an even higher level.
Drawing in a deep breath, Shinji mentally reviewed the system blessings he had seen before. He had always firmly believed that blessings with synergy toward rune bonds were the optimal picks, the ones that pushed a rune build to its absolute ceiling. But if he could really piece together the Codex of Conservation, then perhaps some of the neutral blessings could reach unimaginable levels of strength too.
Even Deep-Sea Rhapsody and Keeper's Mockery, the lower-tier runes beneath the top runes, already possessed outrageous power. If Rune Chosen could grant a horse girl two top-tier runes at once, then even a single superior high-tier rune among them would skyrocket her strength immediately.
Not bad. Not bad at all. This thing is absolutely worth collecting.
[That depends on luck, so don't get too carried away.]
The system immediately poured cold water on him again, but Shinji did not care. Just drawing this item today was already enough to satisfy him. He was not the overly greedy type, especially not when it came to loot packs—things that were completely uncertain and that the system itself clearly had at least some hand in.
Open the Trainee Pack.
Shinji sat back down, and the system's tone returned to normal.
[+200 Emotional Energy]
[+10 Attribute Points]
[+90 PT]
[Noble's Key (Use before opening a system blessing for a horse girl. Guarantees one noble-exclusive system blessing.)]
Another excellent reward. Still, compared to a system blessing that might not open again anytime soon, Shinji cared far more about when he would finally be able to complete the Codex of Conservation.
Looking at the emotional energy total, which had now broken two thousand, he finally relaxed completely. Offside Trap's tendinitis had worsened again after the Japan Cup, and he had genuinely been worried for a while. Now that concern seemed laughable compared to the problem of arranging King Halo's plans from here on.
He rubbed at his temples with a headache. Next year, he would be running all over the place, back and forth between domestic and international circuits.
So things are finally going to get busy…
…
Inside the academy infirmary, Tazuna Hayakawa had finally calmed down from her earlier moment of panic. She watched as the school doctor examined King Halo.
Sitting beside her was a woman radiating low pressure, her face grim and unpleasant.
She had burst in just as flustered as Tazuna had been, only relaxing after hearing that King Halo was not in any serious danger. Only then had she been able to think straight again.
"I refuse. No matter how beautifully you dress it up, Offside Trap isn't a universal example. What if she only happened to be held back by injuries all this time, and now that they've finally been solved, she's taken off all at once?"
The anger in the woman's voice left Tazuna helpless. She knew the woman was furious, and continuing to praise Shinji so enthusiastically while she was in that mood was hardly a rational choice.
But she had to say it. Otherwise, with this woman's temperament, there was no telling whether she might go straight to Shinji herself.
"But at the moment, King Halo doesn't have a better option than Shinji Teraizumi…"
"And what about Toko Jo?"
"She already has two trainees in the same generation."
"…"
The woman's silence made Tazuna ache a little inside. Her reaction only meant one thing—in her eyes, the only Japanese trainer worthy of consideration was Toko Jo.
"I honestly don't understand what she's thinking. If she doesn't have the talent, then why insist on running at all?"
"She's only making herself suffer—and humiliating me… us."
At last, her words stumbled. Even in the middle of her complaint, that slip gave her away. Tazuna could see the tenderness and pain in her eyes. That was why she gently nudged the woman's hand where she sat beside her.
"This isn't the time to keep pretending. She can't hear you."
"What pretending? I'm just telling the truth. That kind of pointless running is boring… and dangerous, isn't it?"
The woman's ear tips had gone slightly red, and her expression dimmed the moment she said it. She believed she was hiding herself well, but to someone as perceptive as Tazuna, her body's natural reactions were impossible to miss.
As if she had remembered something, Tazuna's face grew heavy too.
"Fine. Let's call it telling the truth." Tazuna looked over at King Halo on the infirmary bed, the grime still staining her body—the very sight that had angered the woman so much. "But that boy… it's more than me merely thinking highly of him. I genuinely believe he'll become a top-tier trainer one day."
"Pfft."
That was enough to earn a mocking laugh. The breadth of Goodbye Halo's experience told her exactly what the standard for a top-tier trainer actually was. Those people could take horse girls with mediocre talent and raise them onto the world stage, making them shine among the best.
That was the world's top level. Japan was still far from it.
"I'm not joking."
"But I can still laugh."
Goodbye Halo waved it off dismissively, then looked toward the girl lying on the bed and fell silent.
What Tazuna had overlooked was something simple: no matter how much she praised Shinji to the heavens, Goodbye Halo was already a seasoned, mature horse girl who had seen more than enough. Give her one opportunity, and she could judge for herself whether a trainer was truly capable.
And with her status, gaining that opportunity meant nothing more complicated than appearing at Shinji Teraizumi's training grounds tomorrow and seeing whether the man was really as remarkable as Tazuna claimed.
So Tazuna's praise did little to interest her, and even less to cool her anger.
What truly made Goodbye Halo pause was King Halo herself.
When the child she had personally raised—the child into whom she had drilled her values, the child she knew better than anyone cared desperately about her image—ended up sprawled in a hospital bed looking like this, then there was only one conclusion to draw.
That girl's heart had fallen completely into that man's hands.
After failing across the Classic campaign, after enduring blow after blow and endless criticism, she had chosen a trainer she could not be certain of, but whom her instincts told her she could trust. She had handed over all the chips she possessed as a horse girl.
"You trainers—if you fail to produce results, you can always go discover another trainee and maybe still earn a first-rate evaluation. But for a horse girl, there's only this one chance. We have to leave results behind this time."
That was something King Halo had once said when some unknown trainers came to invite her. Goodbye Halo had never brought it up in front of her daughter—but the truth was, when she heard those words, her heart had quietly ached for the girl.
And now, the daughter who had once said those words had finally chosen that one and only trainer.
No matter what Tazuna said, Goodbye Halo had to meet him for herself.
Slowly, she rose to her feet.
Her gaze turned toward Tazuna. The academy secretary sensed the resolve in that look and, after a small sigh, stepped aside.
This was the request of a mother.
It had to be respected.
So Tazuna merely watched as the horse girl walked past her, only to pause again.
"Contact him for me. This afternoon…"
"All right."
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 132)
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 (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter95)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter165)
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 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 95
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 155
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 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 62
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 62
Uma Musume: I Want All 65
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 26
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 36
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