The moonlight was pure white tonight, stars scattered across the sky like someone had spilled glitter everywhere.
Seiun Sky threw on her sportswear and jogged from the dorms toward the training grounds. The cool night air felt good against her skin.
When she got there, she spotted Silence Suzuka running laps. Then she noticed Hayato standing off to the side, quietly watching Suzuka train.
"Hehe! Uh, hey there!" She laughed awkwardly and started backing away slowly.
Yeah, figured as much. All trainers are the same in the end. No matter what fancy words they say, they'd never actually pay attention to a country bumpkin horse girl like her.
'What does he even think about me anyway?'
She switched to a different training ground and started her usual routine. Better to keep her head down and do her thing.
After finishing a 3000-meter run, she stopped and bent over, gasping for air. The words spilled out between breaths.
"Is that guy for real, though? Does he actually see me as a proper horse girl?"
He did seem pretty capable. That was the thing that impressed her most. And worried her the most, honestly.
"Whatever. Yeah, I really don't deserve to have dreams anyway."
"If I'm a slacker, then I'm a slacker. What's wrong with that..."
Going out at night, sleeping during the day. This lifestyle had been her norm for a while now. It worked for her.
Plenty of people said she had extraordinary talent, that she learned everything instantly, that her abilities kept improving even without training. They made it sound so easy.
What they didn't know was that her efforts had long surpassed most horse girls at Tracen. Nobody saw the hours she put in when everyone else was asleep.
There's no such thing as reaping without sowing in this world. She knew that better than anyone.
She suddenly shouted at the empty field. "Even a slacker wants to flip the script sometimes, right...?"
Tears spilled out before she could stop them. Damn it.
"Damn it, I'm a horse girl too..."
She stood up from the grass and ran again under the starlight, pushing herself harder.
Time kind of blurred together after that.
"Huff... huff... that should be enough, right? This way, I should be able to handle long-distance races. Might even surprise people. Hehehe."
"Knowing King Halo isn't suited for long distance is really useful. Play to strengths, avoid weaknesses. Just gotta beat her at long distance."
After another thirty laps, she collapsed onto the grass and stared up at the stars. She reached out one hand like she was trying to grab something up there.
"Everything's meaningless anyway... I'm just a bumpkin horse girl after all!"
After waiting nearly an hour, Hayato noticed something had changed. Silence Suzuka's speed stat had actually increased.
Silence Suzuka
Physical Condition: 69/100 Average Mood
Speed 152+1 Stamina 114 Power 107 Willpower 140 Intelligence 118
Field Aptitude: Turf A, Dirt G
Distance Aptitude: Short D, Mile A, Medium A, Long E
Running Style Aptitude: Front Runner: A, Pace Chaser: D, Later Surger: E, End Closer: G
So stats in this world really did increase without any clear pattern. Interesting.
Physical condition seemed to affect training effectiveness too. Once it dropped to poor, training basically had no effect at all.
Hayato guessed that with poor condition, stats couldn't increase. They might even drop if you pushed too hard.
To test out the system's capabilities properly, he took advantage of the empty night and headed to the gym. Time to see what happened when he trained.
An hour and a half later, he stumbled off the treadmill absolutely drenched in sweat. His shirt was soaked through.
Both legs felt like jelly. He could barely stand without wobbling.
But it was worth it. He'd successfully increased his speed stat by one point.
"Worth it. Totally worth it. One point in an hour and a half isn't bad at all."
Just really exhausting. His condition had dropped all the way to extremely poor. His whole body felt like it was made of lead.
At this level, he didn't know what would happen if he kept pushing, so he decided not to risk it. Better safe than sorry.
He'd take it slow. One hour a day from now on, gradually building up his stamina until he could match the horse girls' training level.
The next morning, he hadn't even made it back to the restroom when he ran into Seiun Sky. Literally almost collided with her.
She came running over looking genuinely anxious, which was unusual for her.
Behind her was a tall female teacher who looked pretty serious.
"This is bad, trainer! Help me out! A teacher tracked me down. Quick, tell her you're my trainer. Please, please help me!"
Before he could respond, she ducked behind Hayato and literally pushed him forward like a human shield.
"You're Seiun Sky's trainer, right?" the female teacher asked, eyeing him carefully.
"Yep, that's him!" Seiun Sky answered for Hayato without missing a beat.
'Did she get busted for skipping class multiple days in a row?'
Hayato glanced back at the shifty-eyed Seiun Sky. With a "might as well" mentality, he reached back and patted her head.
Seiun Sky completely froze, looking totally dazed from the unexpected head pat. Her eyes went wide.
"Yeah, that's me," Hayato said, playing along with whatever this was.
"Good. Please sign here. This is the contract confirmation." The female teacher pulled out an official-looking document and handed it over.
Seiun Sky had already filled in all her information on it. Just waiting for his signature at the bottom.
Hayato didn't hesitate. He took the pen and signed his name. He'd wanted to sign Seiun Sky anyway, so this worked out.
"I'll leave Seiun Sky in your care then."
"Ahaha! Yes, yes, thank you so much, teacher. Goodbye!" Seiun Sky answered for both of them again, waving enthusiastically.
Contract complete, just like that.
The female teacher nodded and left pretty quickly after that.
"Hehe, anyway, that's how it is. We're partners now. How wonderful, right? Applause, applause!" She laughed and actually clapped her hands together.
Hayato glanced at the document in his hand, then back at Seiun Sky with her ambiguous smile. "If you wanted to sign with me, you didn't need to use this method, right? I already told you I wanted you on the team."
Even though Seiun Sky was lazy, she definitely had talent. Hayato really didn't mind having her.
"Times change, you know!" Seiun Sky's eyes narrowed as she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "When your value changes, naturally you have to use whatever means necessary."
Then she laughed again and went back to her normal tone. "More importantly, shouldn't you be touched by how badly I wanted to partner with you?"
"Why the sudden interest in partnering with me, though?" Hayato was actually pretty happy about this development, but he was curious.
Had she already noticed what made him different from other trainers? Was it that obvious?
"Eh? You really want me to say it?" Seiun Sky covered her mouth with an exaggeratedly shy expression. "Because I fell for you at first sight, obviously."
She even winked at him, eyes sparkling with mischief.
Hayato instantly froze up. Wait, what?
Seeing absolutely no reaction from him after a few seconds, she dropped back to her normal deadpan tone. "Too bad. I really wanted to see you get all flustered and embarrassed."
"Though I was totally joking, that information about King Halo you gave me the other day did touch my heart a bit. That was real."
"That's all?"
"Yep, that's it. Don't worry, though, I'm super easy to coach. I won't ask you to make detailed training plans or give me extra guidance at all. Totally relaxed. Please go easy on me. Just whatever's fine, really."
"Is that really okay?" Hayato didn't actually mind if Seiun Sky slacked off during the day, but he was worried about misunderstandings. If he really didn't teach her anything proper, wouldn't other people think he was being irresponsible as her trainer?
"What's wrong with it? A slacker's carefree life is my whole philosophy."
"Actually, even though I'm new at this, I'm pretty good at training horse girls..."
"Alright, lunch break time. That's it then, trainer. See ya later." Before Hayato could finish his sentence, Seiun Sky cut him off, left those parting words, and dove straight into the trainer's restroom.
'Haha, just as expected from Seiun Sky.'
An exclusive contract with horse girl Seiun Sky has been established.
Seiun Sky's bond level is +10, now at Level 1.
Unlocked Seiun Sky's personal profile.
Name: Seiun Sky
Bond Level: 1
Brief: My life is about doing things my own way. Drifting like a cloud...
Self Introduction: Yahoo, I'm Seiun Sky. Let's live a moderately carefree and relaxed life~ ...If you want to catch a big fish, patience is important too, right?
Grade: Middle School Division
Dormitory: Miho Dormitory
Height: 155cm
Weight: Not disclosed
Birthday: April 26
Increase the bond level to unlock more information.
Hayato looked at Seiun Sky's file, fell silent, and finally signed a horse girl, but he was a very lazy one.
"Hey. Anyway, add a friend first. "
The number of communication friends quickly increased, and Seiun Sky also sent a naughty tongue-sticking expression to say hello.
After signing the contract, she was already asking for leave.
Hayato stared blankly at the message Seiun Sky sent him.
"Trainer, this is terrible! Large schools of fish have appeared by the riverbank. As a fisher expert, if Seiun doesn't get in on this, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Note: Seiun's taking the day off today. - Seiun Sky"
'This brat....'
Getting Seiun Sky to participate in a debut race seemed pretty hopeless at this point. He'd need to find another horse girl to work with.