Don't forget to see King Halo's backstory video, and play that video on the other side.
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"Hey, you sure about this? Rookie trainer, her abilities are what they are. This race was pure luck. You really want to sign her?" Some trainers tried warning Hayato.
Other trainers chimed in. "This girl's way worse than her mother. She's got amazing bloodlines, but hasn't won a single race before. This was just a fluke."
"Yeah, with her personality, literally any random horse girl at school would be better."
King Halo couldn't speak, but inside, she was screaming.
'No, it's not like that! Don't expose me like this!'
'Don't believe them!'
'I have won races. I work so hard.'
'If it means becoming first-rate, I'll do anything.'
'All of you can just drop dead...'
Hayato laughed at their words.
"Whether she's a thoroughbred or not, only someone with a good eye can tell. So let me ask you all, does anyone here claim to have that kind of eye?"
That single sentence silenced all the mockery.
They all knew about Hayato's performance from a few days ago. None of them had the confidence to say their judgment beat his.
Hayato faced the trainers head-on. "I'll tell you the truth. King Halo won this race because I guided her. Now, you still think it was just luck or her potential?"
Silence.
Nobody said a word.
Just from some guidance, King Halo who'd never won before, beat horse girls who'd have won a simulation race before? Ridiculous!
According to their original predictions, even if King Halo didn't come in last, she'd be near the bottom.
Even with an amazing performance, there was no way she could beat Grass Wonder.
"Just a bunch of nobodies using thoroughbreds to grind grain. What gives you the right to talk shit here?" Hayato was getting fired up, pointing at each trainer one by one.
"Veteran? First-rate? You're the ones making empty claims!"
"Would a real first-rate trainer act like you? Spewing garbage at an un-debuted horse girl?"
"From start to finish, everything about her screams first-rate. What about all of you? Have you ever strangled yourselves with expectations you couldn't live up to?"
"She just won a practice race. She's the winner here. If you've got something to say, have your horse girls beat her first. The ones who lost just now were your horse girls. That alone means you have zero right to say she's not first-rate."
"She's not worthy? Then were your horse girls who couldn't even make the top three worthy?"
"Want to say she's not first-rate? Wait until your horse girls actually beat her."
"Don't project your low standards onto others and keep throwing around the word 'first-rate.' I'll tell you straight up. She's not claiming it. She is really first-rate. Her talent's even stronger than her mother's."
Someone muttered quietly, "Just a rookie..."
When Hayato's gaze snapped toward them, they immediately shut up. Since they were in the crowd, nobody could tell who said it.
Hayato's eyes went cold. Like winter ice cutting through the air, making everyone who met his gaze feel like they couldn't breathe.
This definitely wasn't how a rookie should look at people. That's what they all thought.
"Hehe!" Hayato laughed. "Just a rookie... Fine then. Let me announce this right here, right now..."
"She's stepping into the Classic Series. She'll become one of the strongest horse girls of her generation. The Triple Crown was the goal—no, that's not enough. I'll make her entire career undefeated as a King. And I'll be the one who leads her to the top."
"Even a rookie like me has the nerve to say it. So tell me, do any of you have the courage to say it yourselves?"
He pointed at a trainer with a silver badge. "You!"
They hurriedly waved their hands and backed away, refusing to meet Hayato's eyes.
"You! You! You..." Hayato kept pointing, making several people retreat one after another.
"What's wrong? Scared? It's just the Triple Crown. An undefeated Triple Crown at that. Don't you even have the confidence to let your horse girls compete?"
"If you do, step up right now. I'll say it clearly. Your opponent is me, Hayato as a rookie trainer, and my first-rate horse girl."
Hayato's gaze swept across them. Every single trainer took another step back. A massive empty space had formed around where he stood.
"If you don't believe me, just watch. If I can make her win once, I can make her keep winning. I'm saying this because I have absolute confidence I can prove it."
Hayato stopped bothering with the trainers and turned to King Halo. "First-rate King Halo, will you sign a contract with me? I'm confident I can make you first-rate."
King Halo still hadn't recovered from Hayato's grand entrance with imaginary spotlights and everything.
"King Halo?" Hayato called again.
'After going this far, if King Halo rejected me, I have no idea what to do next....'
"Ah? Oh." King Halo snapped out of it and put one hand on her hip, unleashing her full King presence.
"Fine. Listen up, everyone. I'm partnering with this rookie trainer. We're advancing to the Classic Series and winning every single race. Just stand there and watch our victory march."
"Let's go, rookie trainer. Time to sign that contract."
King Halo just strutted away from the crowd with Hayato like that.
"Who is that guy?" A rookie trainer asked. She watched Hayato's back from a distance, thinking he'd looked pretty cool just now.
Was he really just a rookie? Same rookies, but the difference was huge.
"Trainer Kiryuin, you don't know? That's Hayato. He just got here recently. His judgment's incredible. He can predict race results before they even start the race with crazy accuracy." A trainer filled her in.
"Hayato..." Kiryuin Aoi repeated his name a few times. After making sure she'd memorized it, she asked the other trainers everything they knew about him.
The trainers told her whatever they knew. Being able to connect with Kiryu-in Aoi was an honor.
Kiryu-in's "rookie" status was on a completely different level from theirs. If she shared even a bit of the Kiryuin family's training secrets, the gains would be massive.
Plus, she was gorgeous. Due to physical differences, trainers didn't dare make moves on their own horse girls. Young, beautiful trainers naturally became their targets instead.
After getting back to school, King Halo spoke in a reproachful tone. "Why'd you do that?"