"What I want to say is, I will definitely silence all the doubting voices. I will make both those statements true. I am a top-tier Uma Musume of the King family, and I will become another legend after Rudolf. You will witness my glory!"
She continued with a smile, her voice clear. "Please remember what I'm saying at this very moment!"
"Japan Derby? Hehe, sorry, but my goal is the Triple Crown!"
"You all work hard to become Derby uma musume. I only want to become the second Rudolf!"
How's that? As long as trainer is here, I have this kind of confidence.
"Wow, wow, wow! It's the King! It's the King! Did you hear? Did you hear? This is the voice of a top-tier Uma Musume!" In front of the TV, Kawakami Princess excitedly shook an uma musume beside her, who had a pair of cute cat eyes.
"Wow, wow, wow! That voice, that tone, it's just... so well said! Write it down, write it down!" She pulled out a notebook filled with King Halo's quotes, even recording what gestures she made.
"It's true. King is so confident, even more perfect than before." The other uma musume blinked her cute cat eyes and said with a slight lisp, she's Sweep Tosho.
She normally spoke very quietly, but now her voice was strong and her words clear.
"Of course! Because she's a King!" Another short-haired uma musume responded matter-of-factly. "I really look forward to seeing her win the Triple Crown. That would be amazing."
"Isn't that a given?" Kawakami Princess finished taking notes and replied.
"Yes, that's certain. King is the strongest."
"Definitely. Because she's a King!"
They were in the dorm, eating snacks and drinking tea that Kawakami Princess had prepared while watching TV. Without trainers yet, Saturday was their day off.
"Truly worthy of the Japan Derby! I'm so envious of King. I heard many Uma Musume trained extra hard for this day, but still couldn't get selected."
"Yeah, didn't you hear what that uma musume said? You only get one chance in your lifetime. Just being able to participate is a blessing. If it were me, I'd be crazy happy."
"Speaking of which, why don't I see King's trainer?" Sweep Tosho looked at the screen curiously.
"That's true. Where's that trainer?" The short-haired uma musume tilted her head, then showed a look of realization. "I know! He doesn't want to steal King's spotlight. This spirit is worthy of our praise."
"Is... is that so, Pandora-chan?" Sweep Tosho lowered her head slightly in thought. She didn't know whether to tell them about the bad rumors surrounding that trainer lately.
She didn't like talking to other uma musume much, but she was surprisingly well-informed.
The reason? She had no presence. Staying in the corner of the classroom, a whole semester could pass without an uma musume talking to her. If she hadn't met Fusaichi Pandora and Kawakami Princess, she'd probably still be cowering in some corner.
With no presence, she naturally overheard quite a bit of whispered conversations.
Sweep Tosho looked at King Halo's confident demeanor on TV. It didn't seem quite like she's a loser uma musume.
Rumors really aren't reliable. But what about that trainer? Did he really step back to let King Halo-san shine while working behind the scenes?
"Hurry up and eat. After eating, we need to train for tomorrow's Derby. Even though we can't participate, we have to cheer for King!" Kawakami Princess clenched her fist. She was confident in her fists, though unfortunately, you couldn't cheer with your fists.
"Oh! Thank you for the Princess's generosity. Cheering for King is a must, right?" Sweep Tosho spoke while speeding up her eating.
The Princess is so generous, and so is the King. This kind of thing that only nobles can enjoy... I never dared to even dream of it before.
In the lounge, Hayato sat for a while before recovering. Running dozens of kilometer at uma musume speed was seriously exhausting.
"Trainer, why are you holding a golden fish?" Seiun Sky pointed at the golden fish in his hand.
"Ah, you mean this?" Hayato examined the golden fish again.
"Uh… It's a long story. I bought this golden fish from a fisherman's stall on the way here. I thought it might be a symbol of good fortune for japan derby tomorrow!"
"Oh, I see." Seiun Sky nodded knowingly.
"Haha, I'm the first one here..." Daiwa Scarlet laughed as she entered the lounge, but her smile froze when she saw Hayato. "How did trainer get here so fast?"
She'd actually cheated, spending some money on a bus ride. Otherwise, she wouldn't have arrived before Silence Suzuka.
"Maybe because I took a shortcut," Hayato said, a bit embarrassed. Hayato wasn't about to admit that he and Maruzensky had gone on a little vacation just to get away from the fans for a while.
Soon, Silence Suzuka arrived too.
After finishing her interview interaction, King Halo walked calmly into the lounge.
She glanced at Hayato, then sat down beside him. "Ahem!" She coughed twice to break the silence, wanting an explanation.
"Welcome back, Halo. How about it? Do you need to rest and head back to school, or stay here to recover from your condition?"
"Ahem, Trainer, you know that's not what I want to talk about. You should tell us what's really going on, shouldn't you?" King Halo began her interrogation, fully intending to get to the bottom of this.
"I owe Tracen money, so I came back." Hayato looked pained as he spread his hands helplessly.
"Is that all?" King Halo gritted her teeth, emphasizing her words. "How frank of you."
She wouldn't believe that Hayato came back simply because he owed Tracen money and needed to pay it off. If that were true, he wouldn't have run away in the first place over something like that.