King Halo had reached her limit.
Her heart and her common sense were both screaming at her.
Step in.
Stop this.
Right now.
To be fair, King Halo knew full well that, at Tracen Academy, an Uma Musume falling for her trainer was hardly uncommon.
No, “uncommon” was far too gentle.
At this point, the academy was practically crawling with pairs like that.
King Halo had always looked down on such behavior.
Plenty of Uma Musume around her were close with their trainers.
Some were even the worst offenders, girls who would say things like, “Tracen Academy prohibits romance,” and “An Uma Musume should focus on racing and training,” while shamelessly flirting with their trainers the entire time.
Then they would insist, with perfectly straight faces, that they had not crossed any lines.
King Halo could only stare at them with lifeless eyes.
Second-rate.
No dignity whatsoever.
How could a first-rate Uma Musume like me ever sink to that level?
That does not count as crossing the line?
Then what does?
Bringing him home to meet your parents?
Wake up already!
Ever since she entered Tracen Academy against her mother’s wishes, King Halo had made up her mind.
She would complete her studies properly.
She would become a first-rate Uma Musume admired by everyone.
And while she was at it, she would personally smash that ridiculous Tracen rumor that “eighty percent of assigned Uma Musume fall for their trainers.” She was King Halo.
A true first-rate Uma Musume.
She would never be captured by something as flimsy as “feelings,” unlike those second-rate and third-rate girls.
She would become a first-rate woman.
Men were nothing but a distraction!
King Halo believed that with absolute confidence.
She was certain she would never end up swooning into some trainer’s arms.
Which was exactly why, when she saw Mihono Bourbon and Kitano Ryuuichi acting so outrageously close, with the atmosphere around them growing more suspicious by the second, she finally stormed over.
She was not on the disciplinary committee.
Other people’s campus romances had nothing to do with her.
But as a first-rate Uma Musume, and considering Tracen Academy still officially “prohibited romance,” King Halo decided she had a duty to stand up and inform these two shameless individuals that Tracen Academy was not a matchmaking party.
Yes.
Exactly.
The moment King Halo marched up to Mihono Bourbon and Kitano, she found the perfect excuse for herself.
The faint confusion in her chest vanished, replaced by ironclad confidence.
“You two!” She planted her hands on her hips and stood tall, claiming the moral high ground with all the elegance of a girl who had just discovered it lying around unattended.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing inside Tracen Academy, but this is a first-rate institution!
Our academy officially prohibits romantic relationships!” She thrust a finger at them with righteous authority.
“So keep a proper distance!
Acting that intimate in a public place like the cafeteria is completely shameless!” “…” Bourbon looked at her.
Before Kitano could say a word, Mihono Bourbon spoke first.
“My actions with Kitano-san do not contain romantic intimacy.” Her voice was perfectly flat.
“This is the standard daily interaction mode between Mihono Bourbon and Kitano-san.” “Wh—daily interaction mode?!
Didn’t you two only meet today?!” That one sentence hit King Halo like a lit match dropped into dry grass.
Bourbon had said something absolutely outrageous in the calmest voice imaginable.
Worse, her face remained completely expressionless, as if she were simply reporting objective data.
That only made King Halo angrier.
Because she knew Bourbon was lying.
Anyone with eyes could tell these two had only met today.
Did they think she had not heard them talking from outside the cafeteria?
She was an Uma Musume.
Her hearing was far better than a normal human’s!
Even so, King Halo did not lose her head completely.
She narrowed her eyes and studied Bourbon.
“Then who are you?
You’re not even wearing a Tracen uniform.
You aren’t one of our students, are you?” “My apologies.” Mihono Bourbon slowly rose from her seat.
She was about the same height as King Halo, but her presence struck in a completely different way.
King Halo’s figure was, without question, beautifully proportioned.
Yet even standing beside her, Bourbon did not lose out in the slightest.
Even in casual clothes, Bourbon’s outfit could not hide the soft curve of her chest.
Her jeans showed off her long legs and slim waist, giving her a sleek, athletic silhouette.
Firm, but not thin.
Bourbon herself, of course, seemed completely unaware of any of this.
She simply faced King Halo with a serious expression.
“My name is Mihono Bourbon.
I am a newly registered student.
My objective has been set as becoming a Triple Crown Uma Musume.” Then she turned slightly toward Kitano.
“This is Kitano Ryuuichi-san, a new trainer at Tracen Academy.
He assisted me when my positioning system failed.
As thanks, I am currently negotiating with Kitano-san in the hope of becoming his assigned Uma Musume.
If we have disturbed anyone, I sincerely apologize.” Her apology was calm and precise.
Then, a faint glimmer passed through her eyes.
“However, I am in the middle of discussing assignment matters with Kitano-san.
Please refrain from interrupting us.
Once our discussion is complete, we will leave.” “Hah?
A new student and a new trainer?
Isn’t that a little too convenient?” King Halo raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
Still, it was the only explanation that made sense.
She had seen Air Groove walking around with Kitano earlier.
If Kitano was a new trainer, then Air Groove showing him around the academy was perfectly reasonable.
But that only made King Halo even more irritated.
How could a brand-new trainer glance at her once through a window and then start acting like he had the right to judge every part of her?
First, he said she was arrogant and working hard in the wrong direction.
Then he said her talent was limited, and that her efforts were going to waste.
Anyone would get angry if a total stranger said things like that.
You do not know anything about me.
Who gave you the right to talk like you understand me?
And why is every single thing you say an insult?!
The more King Halo thought about it, the hotter her temper burned.
And there was another reason her frustration kept climbing.
Mihono Bourbon and Kitano Ryuuichi were apparently discussing an assignment contract.
A third-rate trainer she had already written off had insulted her, then turned around and started negotiating with some new student she had even less reason to acknowledge?
And she, the first-rate King Halo, was supposed to challenge that?
Would that not mean lowering herself to compete with a third-rate pair?
What meaning would such a race even have?
Even if she won, there would be no satisfaction in it.
With that thought, King Halo shot Kitano a sharp glare.
Kitano flinched so hard it looked like some deeply buried trauma had just clawed its way back to the surface.
“Um… we haven’t actually started talking about that yet,” Kitano said dryly, offering an explanation that barely counted as one.
Technically, it was true.
He and Bourbon had not discussed an assignment contract directly.
Still… So Bourbon was thinking about that?
Kitano was honestly a little puzzled.
He had not sensed anything in Bourbon’s earlier words that suggested she wanted him as her trainer.
Or was that what the “affection level ten percent” had meant?
He did not understand this system at all.
But training Mihono Bourbon again… That was not impossible.
In fact, Bourbon was one of the few Uma Musume he had some confidence with.
In the previous loop, he had already worked out a training method that suited her.
And that was exactly why he hesitated.
That training method put far too much strain on Bourbon’s body.
The intensity was brutal.
It worked, yes, but Kitano had already seen how much Bourbon suffered under it once.
He did not want to watch that happen again.
Kitano fell silent, caught in thought.
Meanwhile, King Halo and Mihono Bourbon’s standoff showed no sign of ending.
“Oho.
Then it seems there’s only one way to settle this.” King Halo lifted her chin.
“Don’t complain later that a first-rate Uma Musume bullied you.” “What is going on here?” The cafeteria doors opened.
Air Groove strode in, the very picture of authority.
Behind her came T.M.
Opera O, trailing along with his usual theatrical presence.
The moment Air Groove, Tracen’s vice president and famed Empress, entered the room, the atmosphere in the cafeteria immediately settled.
Her gaze quickly found the source of the commotion.
She walked toward Kitano, King Halo, and Bourbon.
“King Halo?
Trainer Kitano?
What exactly is happening here?” “Ohoho!
Perfect timing, Air Groove-san!” King Halo’s eyes lit up at the sight of Air Groove.
She did not shrink under the Empress’s aura in the slightest.
If anything, she seemed even more energized.
“Please act as our witness!” Air Groove’s expression tightened.
“A witness?” “Yes.
I have come to issue a declaration of war against this newcomer trainer, Kitano Ryuuichi, who had the nerve to insult the first-rate me!” King Halo pointed straight at Kitano.
Kitano froze.
“Since this rookie trainer dared to claim my talent is limited, we shall settle this with results.
I will make him submit and wash away the insult he cast upon my first-rate ability!” Her declaration rang through the cafeteria.
This was not only about clearing away humiliation.
It was about proving her ability.
She was not limited, as Kitano Ryuuichi had claimed.
She was not some Uma Musume who could only run sprints and miles.
And beneath that anger was something even King Halo herself did not fully understand.
A stubborn, burning need to prove him wrong.
She wanted Kitano Ryuuichi to see it with his own eyes.
She was not the Uma Musume he had imagined.
She was not some girl trapped inside his baseless assumptions.
She would overturn that so-called “stereotype” of his.
She would prove that King Halo was truly first-rate at everything.