As the date of the Takarazuka Kinen drew closer, Saint Halo's preparations entered their final stage.
She had spent entire afternoons memorizing the profiles of her rivals. Under Shinji's supervision, even Saint Halo—who had never been particularly good at remembering details about other racers—had finally committed all of their information to memory.
That did not mean her opponents were so strong that she could only win by preparing on such a meticulous level. After all, her strength had already improved tremendously, and the Noble rune synergy also ensured that she would not be easily disrupted by other horse girls. On top of that, Shinji was planning to buy her one more Noble rune to complete the full Noble set. Once that happened, Saint Halo's power would rise again by an entire tier.
After confirming that Saint Halo could now recite every opponent's profile from memory, Shinji finally let her go, allowing her to return to her dorm and get a proper night's sleep.
From time to time, Saint Halo still got a little carried away, and while she had not made any similar mistakes in either real races or simulations ever since, Shinji still believed it was better to prepare for problems before they happened.
Only then did he finally have the chance to look outside at the moonlit night.
The stars were not especially bright, but strangely enough, Shinji did not mind that at all.
On the contrary, this slightly dim natural stillness held a peculiar charm for him.
The training footage of Grass Wonder continued looping on the computer in front of him, though his attention had already drifted from the screen for a while.
Knock, knock.
The sudden sound of knocking at the door pulled him back to the present.
"I'm almost done here. Just a moment."
He had assumed it was security coming to hurry him out before the building closed, but before he could even stand, the door opened.
Hayakawa Tazuna stood there, lovely and composed, and Shinji froze for a second.
"I saw the light was still on, so I came to check what you were doing."
She said it in a teasing tone, but when she took a good look at his face, her expression softened with concern.
"How are you still here at this hour? You've really been pushing yourself these last few days. You've even got dark circles under your eyes now."
"That's normal. All the races coming up are important. Being tired is only natural."
At his answer, Tazuna let out a small sigh and walked over to him.
"When you're tired, then rest. Don't always push yourself so hard."
Something stirred faintly inside him.
Mainly because her attitude tonight felt a little different from usual.
Shinji shook his head, then sat back down, motioning for Tazuna to take the sofa.
"What brought you here?"
"I already told you. The main reason was to see what was going on with you."
Tazuna shot him a mildly reproachful look, and Shinji smiled awkwardly.
He had instinctively assumed that anyone coming to see him this late must have had something important to discuss, completely overlooking the fact that, for Tazuna, checking on him was itself an important matter.
"You're still preparing for the Takarazuka Kinen?"
Her eyes had already landed on the footage of Grass Wonder on the screen. It was obviously training footage, yet instead of being displeased, Tazuna looked faintly approving.
Her favoritism toward Shinji had never really been subtle. So when she saw that he had apparently gotten his hands on secretly recorded footage of Grass Wonder's training and was reviewing it again and again, she merely pretended not to notice.
"Of course. It's the final leg of the first-ever Spring Triple Crown. You were the one who especially reminded me about it. If there's a chance, then of course we have to take it. You could say it'll be my gift to you."
At that, Tazuna covered her mouth and laughed, gently patting his arm, a faintly reproachful look hidden in her eyes.
"You really do know how to tease me."
"I'm serious."
The moment he said that, the smile on her face slowly faded.
She really was touched.
Shinji's feelings toward her were sincere, and because of that, she had come to care more and more about this younger trainer, always wanting to look after him in whatever way she could.
"Oh, right. For this upcoming pre-race interview, make sure you prepare yourself properly. The reporters are absolutely going to question you at length about the Spring Triple Crown."
"They're still going to press me on that?"
Shinji scratched his head, feeling that the reporters were really scraping the bottom of the barrel now. Ever since the Osaka Hai, they had been asking about the Spring Triple Crown all the way through to the Takarazuka Kinen. There were only so many angles they could possibly use.
"They definitely will. And honestly, the questions won't be all that different from the ones before. So when I say prepare, I don't mean you need to do extra homework."
She paused, then gave him a warning look.
"Just don't say things as aggressively as you did before. Understood?"
So that was what she meant by preparing.
Shinji sighed helplessly, but nodded.
"And one more thing. If possible, let go of the conflict between Saint Halo and those trainers. If both sides keep attacking each other in pre-race programs, variety shows, and interviews, it really doesn't create a good atmosphere. Even if it does generate attention."
Of course Shinji understood what she meant.
The problem was, things like this could not be resolved just because one side wanted them to end.
Take this Takarazuka Kinen, for example. In the latest pre-race predictions, a few trainers had already started softening their tone. But there were still one or two diehards who refused to back down, insisting that although Saint Halo had shown good judgment and stable performance in her last two races, the pressure of trying to complete the Spring Triple Crown would definitely weigh heavily on her, so they still did not think she would win the Takarazuka Kinen.
A lot of the time, Shinji genuinely felt those trainers had to be jobless.
When he had been unable to sign a horse girl himself, his life had been packed every single day with worry over how to recruit one, how to develop more prospects, how to keep moving forward. That kind of life consumed an enormous amount of mental energy.
"You know this isn't just my problem."
"Of course I know. But I also know you'd help me if I asked. Once you stop, I'll go and talk to the others too."
A lot of Tazuna's work happened where no one could see it. As secretary, she was meticulous and responsible in countless ways others never noticed.
Shinji did not answer immediately.
On this matter, he intended to respect Saint Halo's wishes completely.
Looking into his eyes, Tazuna immediately understood his meaning, and could only sigh again.
The nod she gave him was her way of saying that he could follow his own heart.
Turning away, she looked out the window.
"Your convictions are firm. I know there's probably nothing I can say to change your mind."
Something in that gentle tone carried emotions that felt a little different from usual.
"But at least remember this."
Tazuna's final words made Shinji inhale softly.
"I will always be behind you, supporting you however I can."
"Then please keep supporting Purple Star."
"That much, you can count on."
As he said that, Shinji pointed toward Purple Star's banner.
"It's going to become one of the greatest teams in Japan—no, in the entire world."
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 165)
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 (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
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 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
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 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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