Inside the academy café, Teruizumi Shinji stared out through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the horse girls coming and going, his gaze thoughtful.
After receiving Hayakawa Tazuna's call, he had not even considered refusing. A woman capable of provoking such a response from King Halo might well become the "inner demon" haunting his newly accepted trainee in the future. That alone was enough to make him curious. He wanted to meet her for himself and see what sort of attitude she would take as King Halo's mother.
He needed that information to judge how things between him and King Halo would develop.
Goodbye Halo was not walking particularly fast. The café and the academy infirmary were not exactly close, but from the leisurely pace she maintained, Shinji guessed she had probably strolled the whole way like this.
[That elegance of hers really does look exactly like her daughter's,] the system remarked.
Well, they are mother and daughter. Judging by the way King Halo acts, she's probably been restrained and molded by Goodbye Halo since childhood. It's not strange they'd resemble each other.
The system seemed to think of something and laughed.
[Don't you think Goodbye Halo takes remarkably good care of herself? Which one do you think is prettier, her or King Halo?]
They're both beautiful, I guess. But for the mother of a horse girl who's already debuted to still be maintained this well… I guess that's what you'd expect from someone in the arts.
He followed the system's line of thought just as the bell above the café door rang.
Turning, he saw the famous designer he had met several times in the boutique, and rose to his feet.
"Hello. I'm King Halo's mother."
Unlike the way she behaved in her shop, where she would tell him not to be so formal, the first thing she said here was to emphasize her identity. Shinji understood the meaning immediately. From what he knew of Goodbye Halo, she was not the type to waste time.
"And hello to you. I'm… King Halo's trainer."
Strictly speaking, they had not yet formally signed a contract. Shinji was not entirely sure whether it was appropriate to call himself that. But in his view, his relationship with a horse girl was not determined by student council paperwork. Even if the council had not yet registered it, the system already recognized the bond as fact. That was enough for him.
"Trainer, hm?"
Goodbye Halo gave no clear response. In her heart, she did not truly approve of the young man in front of her.
She had known many trainers who later became legends. Setting aside the hereditary families who passed techniques down through generations, every self-made legendary trainer had been a prodigy who became famous while still very young.
The young man before her had shown flashes of brilliance once, perhaps—but afterward, he had faded into mediocrity.
Tōjō Hana, for example, had become famous in Japan almost overnight.
The waiter arrived just in time to place two cups of coffee on the table, breaking the silence. Shinji had ordered them himself. Since he did not know Goodbye Halo's preferences, he had simply chosen what he liked.
If she did not care for it, he had secretly been looking forward to drinking both cups himself.
"You have good taste."
To his slight disappointment, Goodbye Halo's taste in coffee turned out to overlap with his. He could only watch as she lifted the cup to her lips.
"Let's talk. I want to know what your plans are for Halo going forward."
Her words struck him as odd. From what King Halo had told him, Goodbye Halo was supposed to be utterly indifferent to her daughter. Yet now that she knew what had happened, she had insisted on meeting him and was even asking about King Halo's future career.
Still, he did not hide anything.
He spoke plainly.
"She'll skip the Arima Kinen. For the first half of next year, one or two graded stakes or even an open race would be fine as tune-ups. For G1 targets, I'm aiming her at the Victoria Mile and the Takarazuka Kinen."
Shinji had already seen King Halo's panel. With distance aptitude ranging comfortably from sprint to middle-long distances, planning her campaign was actually quite pleasant.
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Goodbye Halo's eyes. She had not expected him to decide on skipping the Arima Kinen. With most Japanese trainers—especially one like Teruizumi Shinji, who still lacked the seniority and honors to rank among the true top tier—she would have expected him to enter her in Arima no matter what. Just appearing there would make many racing fans remember her.
"Is that because you're worried about the toll from the Kikuka Sho? Your experience really is still a little—"
"It's just because she can't win it."
The words cut her off.
Goodbye Halo disliked hearing him say that, but Shinji remained perfectly composed. He stated it with total certainty: King Halo simply could not win the Arima Kinen.
"Her personality still needs tempering. If she goes to the Arima and gives up there, it will have a very negative effect on that process. Besides, once a horse girl steps onto the track, she should only have one objective—victory."
He paused, then continued evenly.
"And right now, whether you look at the field she'd be facing or everything she's gone through lately, she needs time to reset. She needs room to breathe."
This time, Goodbye Halo slowly nodded.
She knew her daughter better than anyone. If Halo saw no hope in a race, she could very well lose heart and simply fade. With a field as strong as the Arima's, that was entirely possible. Saintly composure aside, King Halo was not the sort to immediately settle into a new role and condition herself properly after everything that had happened lately.
And yet, although Shinji had seen King Halo stubbornly endure to the very end in today's test, Goodbye Halo never once considered that her daughter's nature might have changed.
Her long-standing assumptions were too strong. She was convinced her daughter lacked the ability to compete at the highest level, and so she never once questioned whether Halo might now be capable of more.
Shinji noticed that.
He had no intention of correcting her.
Some things had to be witnessed firsthand. Still, he had confirmed one thing: Goodbye Halo did care about her daughter. She was not a mother wholly indifferent to her child.
But he had also confirmed something else: she was pessimistic about Halo's running. She did not believe in her daughter, and in truth, did not seem to support her either.
"I can reluctantly accept that," Goodbye Halo said at last. "And then? With your ability, just how far do you think you can take her?"
She had not objected further to skipping the Arima. Instead, she pressed on to the deeper issue.
"How far?" Shinji repeated.
He had already intended to probe deeper, partly to test her, partly to establish an absolute sense of authority where King Halo was concerned. Since she had given him the opening, he answered lightly:
"Once she stabilizes domestically, I'll probably take her overseas."
"No!"
The sudden sharpness in her voice drew looks from nearby customers. A flash lit Shinji's eyes.
So he had been right. Goodbye Halo was indeed avoiding—or perhaps dreading—something. It was as though she were trying to protect or preserve something at all costs, and the contradiction showed in every part of her behavior.
Overwhelming concern and relentless suppression coexisted in her. She would frequently tell her daughter to give up on her dreams entirely.
Shinji had no interest in uncovering the emotional story beneath it. That sort of hidden drama did nothing for him. He simply watched her in silence, already prepared with the words he would use to refuse.
All around them, curious eyes had gathered.
Goodbye Halo took a breath and half-covered her face.
"I do not agree to that."
"My plan is Europe—"
"I said I do not agree!"
Shinji tilted his head, eyelids lowering.
"Your agreement has no value here. As long as she acknowledges me as her trainer, you have no authority over how I arrange her future."
A polite smile appeared on his face.
Only now did Goodbye Halo begin to truly understand how different this young man was from the trainers she knew in Japan. Even Tōjō Hana would show her respect, would soften when she spoke, would at least respond with a degree of deference.
Yet the man in front of her—far younger, with less seniority, less reputation, and by all accounts every reason to yield—had rejected her the instant she tried to make a demand.
He reminded her of the trainer who had once guided her own running: stubbornness worn openly, waiting for her side to yield first.
"You don't understand. She—"
"I don't need to understand her. I only need to understand myself."
His gaze sharpened.
He had spent the entire conversation observing and testing her. He had wanted to know how she truly regarded her daughter and what exactly she intended.
Now that he knew, there was no longer any need to maintain appearances.
"The moment my trainees choose me, they lose the right to choose for themselves. Other trainers can do as they please. That's their business. But with me, everything is done my way."
The sheer force of his certainty caught Goodbye Halo off guard. Her expression darkened. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to her like this.
If becoming a first-rate horse girl and then a first-rate designer only meant that, just like when she was weak, she still had to submit completely to a trainer's will—then what had all her effort even been for?
Her voice turned cold.
"She is my daughter!"
"That changes nothing. If she had ever placed you above me when choosing the course of her life, she would never have come to me in the first place."
He spread his hands carelessly.
"If you really care about her, then what you should do is pray that I can take her to heights no one else can. Arguing with me here is meaningless."
"You're threatening me?"
"Quite obviously."
"And you think—"
He was done listening.
Shinji stood and raised a hand, cutting her off.
"This conversation ends here. As long as she's with me, there is nothing you can do. Don't try to pressure me with your status, your ability, your honors, your resources, or your influence. If anything bad happens, and it traces back to you, I will repay it in full."
His smile deepened slightly.
"Though not on you."
He said it without the slightest strain. The more Goodbye Halo tried to emphasize her power and press him down with force, the more hollow it made her seem.
Her fear—her true vulnerability—had been handed to him by her own daughter.
And the stronger King Halo became, the sharper that weapon would grow. The price of reducing her once more to weakness would only make it more devastating.
In time, she would no longer be able to do without him.
Still, as King Halo's trainer, Shinji felt it was only right to offer at least one promise during this meeting.
So just before turning to leave, his tone softened. Goodbye Halo's eyes twitched.
"As her guardian, please rest assured and leave your daughter to me."
The complete contrast between that sentence and everything he had just said gave Goodbye Halo an almost overwhelming urge to hurl the unfinished coffee straight into his face.
"I'll make her a truly first-rate horse girl."
And then, in the quiet of his own mind:
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin