Chapter 38: King Halo’s Confusion

A few days had passed since the Yasuda Kinen. I was lightly jogging around the training grounds when someone suddenly called out to me.

That refined—no, earthy yet somehow elegant—voice was one I could never mistake.

Turning around, I saw King Halo standing there.

Haven’t I been running into her a lot lately?

"King-senpai. Thank you for everything the other day, really…"

"I’m glad to see you managed to talk things out properly. Anyway, there’s something I’d like to discuss. Would you come to my room for a bit?"

King’s room… if I remember correctly, she shares it with Haru Urara, doesn’t she?

O-oh no… I’m dying to see it. I mean, King’s private room—how could I not be curious?!

I practically jumped at the invitation, answering before she even finished speaking, and followed her to her room.

Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve ever entered another Uma Musume’s dorm room. Manhattan Café’s and Agnes Tachyon’s places don’t really count—they’re more like labs or dens than living spaces.

"Sit there. You’re a coffee person, right? I think I have some instant somewhere."

"You don’t have to go out of your way for me. I like coffee, sure, but I drink green tea and black tea too."

"In that case, I’ll make some tea."

The gentle sound of hot water pouring filled the air, followed by the faint, soothing aroma of tea leaves. Wow, this is some good tea… Knowing King Halo, she probably has refined taste in things like this.

"Here, take this. Drink it before it gets cold."

"Thank you. …So, um, what’s this about today?"

That was the big question. Did I do something that warranted being called to her private room? Well, aside from that incident the other day… Hmm… I’ve got no clue.

"Haah… The Yasuda Kinen! Why were you there?! You completely threw off all my calculations!"

"Eh?"

"Don’t ‘eh’ me! When I saw the entry list, I nearly fell over!"

Ah, I get it now. King must’ve assumed I’d stick with the NHK Mile Cup and skip the Yasuda Kinen. Can’t blame her—considering my condition, and my desire to test myself against senior-class Uma Musume earlier than usual, it just made sense.

But King Halo didn’t stop there.

"If you were going to show up, I figured it would be at the Sprinters Stakes! I never imagined it’d be that soon! And Mihono Bourbon too! What was that about?!"

Yeah… I completely agree with her on Mihono Bourbon. She’s becoming another Taiki Shuttle—or even Sakura Bakushin O. Her performance was insane.

She awakened near the end, only to be overtaken by Taiki Shuttle—but that’s not the end of her story. Next time, she’ll have full control of that awakened power—her "Unique" ability.

"Ahaha…"

"Really! The strategy I came up with just for you completely fell apart. Well, I suppose I should give you some credit for that."

"Credit…? Um, did I do something praiseworthy?"

King Halo gave me a surprisingly gentle look. What’s with that expression?

"You’ve always been bad at being chased from behind, haven’t you?"

"Ugh—how do you know that?"

"Isn’t it obvious? You were practically trembling back in the Selection Race. I thought you might have some kind of trauma."

Right, King had been watching me since the Selection Race… so of course she’d notice. Which means when she closed in on me during the final stretch, she did it deliberately—to trigger my slowdown. She really doesn’t miss a thing, does she?

"So I tried exploiting that weakness, but… you actually managed to recover mid-race. That’s what ruined all my calculations. Or rather, the fact that I couldn’t even sense your acceleration until your final burst—that’s what truly cost me the race."

Wow… she’s seriously evaluating me. Being acknowledged by King Halo—it actually makes me kind of happy.

But at the same time, that means she’s completely analyzed my data. In other words, what worked this time won’t work next time.

"Anyway, congratulations are in order. Third place in a senior-class race—that’s something to be proud of."

"Thank you. Hehe… hearing that from you really means a lot, King-senpai."

Still… I’ll have to plan carefully for the next time I face King Halo. If I only rely on a “good enough” counterstrategy, I’ll get crushed. That’s the kind of aura she gives off.

Most likely, our next encounter will be at the Sprinters Stakes. By then, she’ll definitely have devised a new way to deal with me.

"By the way, since we’re talking…"

"What is it? If it’s something I can help with, I’ll gladly do it—for my adorable junior."

"…It’s about Grass Wonder."

Grass Wonder—the one known as the Phoenix. A classic-tier Uma Musume who won the Arima Kinen. But in the Yasuda Kinen, her performance was shockingly poor. When I rewatched the footage, I honestly wondered if she was even the same person as last year.

"I figured you’d ask. Well, this much I can tell you—she got injured after the Arima Kinen."

"Grass Wonder… injured?"

Her nickname, “the Phoenix,” comes from her history of recurring injuries. Her race record fluctuates wildly.

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes – 1st place.
Mainichi Okan – 5th place.
Copa Republica Argentina – 6th place.
Then, Arima Kinen – 1st place.

Looking at that, not many would’ve expected her to win the Arima Kinen at all.

"Actually, she was injured after the Asahi Hai too. Seems her legs aren’t very strong."

"So this time was the same? She got injured after the Arima and it lingered on?"

"Exactly. But that seems to be over now. You could tell from the way she ran, couldn’t you?"

Yeah… I could. The reason Grass Wonder didn’t perform her best was probably because she’d been away from mile races for too long.

At least it wasn’t due to injury. As someone who’s both chased and been chased by her, I could tell—her body’s fine. What she’s missing is her racing instinct.

"What do you think Grass Wonder will do next?"

"Hmm… after regaining her rhythm through recent races, I expect she’ll head for the Takarazuka Kinen. That seems like a fitting path for her."

I fell silent.

In real history, Grass Wonder won three Grand Prix races within two years. King Halo’s prediction wasn’t far-fetched at all. In fact, I was pretty sure that’s exactly how things would go.

"Well, only she and her trainer will really know for sure. But I doubt she’ll show up at the Sprinters Stakes. She doesn’t seem suited for short-distance races."

"Yeah, I can agree with that."

"She’d probably hold her own in a Grade 2 race, but against true sprinters, it’d be rough."

"The short-distance circuit is practically a battlefield…"

Worrying about it wouldn’t change anything.

Honestly, I had far bigger problems to deal with—like countermeasures for Mihono Bourbon, King Halo, Bridge Comp, and Taiki Shuttle… not to mention figuring out how to stop Manhattan Café from heading to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

So much to do… way too much to do!

"Hey, what’s wrong? You’ve got that frown like your head’s about to split. Keeping your troubles bottled up never helps, you know? Come on, tell me."

Easier said than done. There’s no way I could talk about my countermeasures against her. Hmm… maybe I could bring up Manhattan Café instead.

Right now, I had no plan at all to stop her. Agnes Tachyon had been trying all sorts of approaches, but none of them were working.

"King… if you had a friend who was about to enter a race you really didn’t want them to run… what would you do?"

"Ordinarily, I’d say, ‘What kind of friend wouldn’t cheer them on?!’ But… I take it this situation’s not that simple."

"Yeah…"

As expected of King. She immediately picked up that something serious was going on.

"To put it simply—if she races, she’ll almost certainly have to retire afterward. In the worst case, she might never come back."

"Why do you always end up in such troublesome situations…? Still, I did say I’d listen, so I can’t just ignore it now, can I?"

"Sorry for dragging you into this…"

King sighed softly and went quiet, clearly deep in thought.

"Hmm… that’s a tough one. I’m guessing you can’t stop her with just a bit of persuasion?"

"Pretty sure that won’t work…"

After a few moments of shifting expressions—almost like watching someone flip through a set of comedy masks—King’s face finally settled into a serious look as she turned toward me.

Her sudden intensity made me straighten up, almost reflexively matching her mood.

"You don’t want her to go, do you?"

"Of course not. She’s a dear friend. I can’t stand the thought of her not being able to run anymore."

"Then the answer’s simple! Stop her by force if you have to!"

"Uh… what?"

Isn’t that a bit extreme?! That sounds like something your daughter would say, not you!

Did King Halo’s IQ just take a nosedive? Maybe I’d asked too much of her this time…

Then again, since it came from her, I should probably take it seriously.

"Listen carefully. When someone’s in that kind of state, they can’t see what’s around them. I bet you’ve been trying to stop her with words, right? And it hasn’t worked, has it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Even her mentor’s been trying to talk her down, but…"

"Then you’ve got no choice but to appeal to emotion. Grab her hand, look her in the eye, and tell her, ‘Don’t go.’ Logical arguments won’t reach someone who’s that far gone."

…Hmm. Yeah, she might be right.

Nothing I said would probably reach Manhattan Café right now. In that case, appealing to her emotions might really be my only option.

Wait, how did it go in the app again? Ugh, my memory’s getting fuzzy on the details.

Still, little by little, a plan to stop Café was starting to take shape.

"Yeah… yeah, it’s coming together. Now all that’s left is that update from Agnes Tachyon…"

"Sounds like my advice helped, didn’t it? I’ll be praying you manage to stop her."

Still, it would all depend on Café’s attitude. The situation was definitely grim.

But compared to how lost I’d been before, this was a huge step forward.

Seriously, all hail King Halo. I was starting to think I should worship her instead of the Three Goddesses.

Maybe I should build a little altar in my room just to praise her…

"By the way, how are things with your trainer lately? Any progress since that talk about renewing your contract?"

"Progress? Not really. It’s been business as usual."

"What!? Wait a second—you did extend your exclusive contract, didn’t you?!"

What does that have to do with “progress”? I had no idea where this was going.

"Let me ask you this—what kind of person is your trainer to you?"

"Well, he’s the one who scouted me, my most trusted person, and someone really important to me."

"…Tell me something. What’s your trainer’s gender?"

"Uh, male? Of course. I’m not that oblivious."

King Halo let out a long, dramatic sigh. What on earth was that for…?

I tried to think about it, but nothing came to mind. What exactly had made her so exasperated?

"This is hopeless… Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you."

"Huh?! What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying something’s wrong with me?"

She just shook her head silently.

"You’ll have to realize it yourself. Though who knows when that’ll happen…"

Ugh, I have no idea what she’s talking about!

After that, King gave me a weary look, shooed me out of her room, and I reluctantly headed back to mine—still completely confused.