"I..."
"Becoming a fishing expert?"
"No, I can't explain it in just a sentence or two." Hayato's voice came through tired. "I also ran all night last night, and I'm very tired... In any case, there's a reason for this. If you still want to be a first-rate horse girl, seriously complete today's tasks and then don't stay up late. That's it, please!"
The line went quiet for a moment.
"Knowing you're tired but still telling me not to stay up late? This trainer..." King Halo was speechless. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice. She just didn't understand what he was trying to accomplish.
She sighed through the phone. "...Fine, even without a trainer, I can train normally. Oh ho ho ho ho..."
Her laugh echoed through the speaker before the call ended.
King Halo headed to the training grounds, schedule clutched in one hand.
On the Road
Inside the taxi, the air conditioning hummed quietly.
Hayato sat in the back seat, head tilted back against the headrest, eyes closed to recover his energy. Seiun Sky sat beside him, watching the buildings blur past.
Cars hummed on the highway around them. The noise was constant, almost overwhelming.
"What is this? Seiun was all prepared to train, too." Seiun Sky complained, her tone flat but genuinely dissatisfied. She hadn't trained last night and went to bed early, so she had plenty of energy today.
This guy, what's his deal anyway?
If it were any other trainer who saw how lazy she was, they would've given up long ago, right?
So does this mean he's really given up on her now?
A few words made Halo-chan win the practice race. Hard to believe there's a trainer like this. She glanced at Hayato's tired face.
If she actually listened to this guy, maybe she really could soar to the clouds, right?
So what's the situation now?
I had clearly reformed myself and decided to take things seriously!
"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?" Hayato's soft voice responded, eyes still closed.
Seiun Sky kept that same flat tone. "When I make a bet, I have to accept the loss. Seiun keeps her word. Seiun admits she's lazy, but definitely doesn't like slacking off this way."
"Hehe, then when we get to the lake, I'll go fishing, and you can run beside me."
"Eh? It won't really be like that, will it?" Seiun Sky's tail stood straight up, her ears flattening in alarm.
"Hehe." Hayato let out a cold laugh, one eye cracking open to look at her.
"Nooo!" Seiun Sky grabbed her head with both hands, letting out a pig-like squeal that made the driver flinch and jerk the steering wheel slightly.
Half an hour later, the taxi pulled to a stop.
They arrived at the famous Kokyo Gaien National Garden.
Kokyo Gaien National Garden wasn't very big. Only two or three kilometers in diameter, the lake glittering under morning sun.
There were quite a few fishermen scattered along the lakeshore.
Shirtless young men cast their lines, old people in small boats floated near the lake's center, naked kids splashed and swam in the shallows...
A rare harmonious scene. Peaceful, even.
Just after getting out of the car, before even heading down to the water, they saw a young man reel in a big fish. Twenty centimeters long, its scales catching the light.
"Mackerel! It's a mackerel! I can pack up early." That person showed off the big fish to his friends, grinning wide, then started gathering his gear to head home.
Watching that young man who caught the fish, Hayato felt inexplicable envy rising in his chest.
In a previous life, as a child he was a fisherman too. Once upon a time, he too fantasized about catching such a big fish someday. The memory felt distant but warm.
"That's quite a haul. Must mean today's luck is good." Seiun Sky also expressed her admiration, her tail swishing once. She bent down, took off her horse girl-specific running shoes, and changed into blue slippers.
A few minutes later, after winding around the lake's edge, she led Hayato to a shaded spot by the lakeshore.
Because there was shade here, and special rocks positioned perfectly for seats, it was very comfortable. The breeze off the water felt nice. Good thing she could find such a spot.
Next came the careful work of threading the rod and preparing the bait.
Before, Hayato had always thought her fishing was just a joke. He didn't expect her technique to be pretty good, her hands moving with practiced ease. Like she'd done this hundreds of times.
Even the knots she tied were professional, quick and efficient.
After she finished her own rod, she also helped with Hayato's, her fingers working the line smoothly.
"Here we go."
After baiting the hook, she cast it out with a practiced flick of her wrist, throwing it far across the water. The line arced beautifully.
Hayato tried it and the result... got caught in a tree branch overhead.
How embarrassing. He felt his face heat up slightly.
Before long, Seiun Sky started reeling in, the mechanism clicking steadily.
As expected, no fish had bitten. The bait hung empty on the hook, wasted.
She re-baited and cast the rod again, the motion fluid.
In over ten minutes, she'd cast six times. Each one precise, each one empty.
She was getting a bit impatient too. She grabbed a handful of bait from the box and threw it directly into the lake, scattering across the surface.
"If the fish in this lake are all full, will they still bite?" Hayato asked, genuinely puzzled.
While casting her rod again, Seiun Sky said, "They never get full. Greedy fish don't get full. As long as there's food, they'll keep eating." The line sailed out. "Precisely because they're greedy, fishermen can take advantage."
Actually, that statement made sense. Hayato nodded slowly.
Not long after, the golden rod moved. A sharp tug. This time, a fish really took the bait. Seiun Sky licked the corner of her mouth and reeled in the line unhurriedly, letting it fight just enough.
Unfortunately, it was just a small fish. By eye, about two fingers wide. Barely worth the effort.
"What a shame. It's still spring, the fish in the lake aren't fat yet." Seiun Sky sighed and released the small fish back into the water with a gentle plop.
"You catch fish but don't plan to eat them?"
"No eating. Seiun is a vegetarian." As she spoke, she pulled out a carrot from her pocket and bit into it with a crisp crunch.
After chewing for a moment, she said, "Trainer should be like me. Not fishing to eat fish, but fishing for fun."
"The fish you've caught must be very sad."
"Haha, don't you think it's thrilling?" Her eyes lit up slightly. "Fishing is a profound art. You need to know what the fish like, then cater to their preferences, waiting for them to bite. Controlling a fish's life is what's exciting."
"Haven't you thought about applying fishing knowledge to races?"
Hayato still didn't know how to develop Seiun Sky's unique skill. He was still exploring how to awaken it properly.
Besides, the unique skill possessed by Seiun Sky was different from Silence Suzuka's skill of not wanting to give up the front position to another horse girl, and King Halo's skill of wanting to assert her dignity as a king in the last 200 meters.
Angling and Scheming: Increase acceleration at an opportune moment when in the lead on a corner late in the race.
Just from the name of the skill alone, it might be related to fishing and planning. The connection seemed obvious now.
Coming fishing was to help Seiun Sky awaken her unique skill.
"Haha, trainer must've seen through it already." Seiun Sky said cheerfully, not hiding anything. She cast her line again. "Seiun does use a few tricks."
Letting opponents see hope of winning, then unexpectedly snatching victory at the last moment. For her, that was catching an even bigger fish.
"You really don't plan to train seriously, huh? Wouldn't getting stronger through training make winning easier?"
"Trainer, actually, Seiun really was planning to start training seriously." When saying this, Seiun Sky lowered her voice, sounding almost embarrassed. She felt a bit wronged, as if she hadn't wanted to come here.
"Have you thought about using the fishing rod in your hand to reel in a GI?"
She covered her mouth and laughed twice. "Hehe, that seems quite interesting. Can Seiun catch one?"
"How would you know without trying?"
"Then Seiun will try a little harder." Seiun Sky finished in that same flat tone, then lowered her head again, watching the water. She looked like she had no motivation at all.
Having said this much, she hung her head, staring at the lake's surface. The water was still, waveless. She sighed softly, the sound barely audible.
"Trainer... Seiun doesn't have any bloodline or talent." Her voice came out quieter now. "Never thought about competing with the top horse girls on the racetrack. No matter how hard Seiun tries, she probably can't become an outstanding horse girl anyway. Might as well live a more relaxed life..."
Her ears drooped slightly as she spoke.