"The winner of this race was Seiun Sky! Her Front Runner strategy achieved complete victory. Second place went to Special Week!"
The final battle of the Triple Crown. Halo King walked out of the venue with her head down, shoulders slumped. Upon seeing her trainer, she finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
Tears burst forth like a broken dam.
"Trainer...."
King Halo forcefully pulled her trainer close and leaned on his shoulder. "Let me lean on you, just for a bit... until the tears run dry."
Large drops of tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto the trainer's shoulder.
From silent choking sobs, she started crying out loud.
"Aaaa..."
On the road to proving herself a first-class uma musume, there was no result in the end.
She'd already given it her all. Yet, without talent, there was nothing. Mother was right. She never should have come to this track.
"I'm Uma Musume Halo King! Not some family's young lady, not someone's daughter... my name is Halo King! Why doesn't anyone remember my name as Halo King? Not as daughter first-class, I'm also first-class..."
King Halo choked and sobbed until she couldn't speak through the tears anymore.
No matter how unwilling she was, she had to face reality.
She'd failed.
The first-class reputation of the King family, she couldn't inherit it.
From the Satsuki Sho to the Kikka Sho, almost everyone said the same thing.
"Worthy of being that person's daughter."
"Worthy of being the young miss."
"Her results are decent, but compared to her mother, she's far behind."
"Why? Why? Why?!" King Halo kept hitting the trainer's chest, making thudding sounds with each strike.
"Why, when I worked so hard, can't I still win? Did all our effort go to waste?"
Before she could recover from her grief, a maid-dressed servant appeared beside her, bowing deeply. "Young miss, please come back with us. Madam says you are still the King family's young lady."
"No, absolutely not." King Halo gripped the trainer's white shirt tightly with both hands, her face showing panic and helplessness. "I will never return as the young lady. I'll only return as a first-class uma musume. If I can't be truly first-class, then I'll be my own kind of first-class."
"Haven't you embarrassed the King family enough already?" A woman wearing a white dress and a sun hat appeared on the scene.
Her attitude was rock solid, completely disregarding Halo Holy King's dignity, making a move to forcibly drag her back.
"I'm not going back! Mother, please give me one more chance. I want to run in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. I admit I can't handle long distances, but I absolutely won't lose at short distances."
"How long will you keep being so willful? You don't have that kind of talent. You'll only embarrass yourself more. Isn't losing over and over in the Classics Crown humiliating enough?"
"Excuse me, could I say something?" The trainer beside her finally spoke.
Only then did King Halo realize the trainer beside her was completely unfamiliar, and his face was hard to make out.
She focused her mind with effort.
A handsome young man appeared, elegant without being showy, young without being arrogant. He seemed familiar yet unfamiliar.
What she could be certain of was that he was her trainer, so the previous one was...
"King, the race isn't over yet. Don't give up!"
A flood of information rushed into Halo King's mind. Right, he's my trainer. His name is Hayato.
So this was all just a dream. Halo King smiled. If this was fate, then she'd shatter the curse and defy destiny. Her mom and the maid disappeared. She fell into white mist.
Halo King woke from her dream. Though she didn't know what was going on, the dream had been really vivid. The soaked pillow wouldn't lie.
"So it was just a dream.... What a strange dream... It's like real to me...."
"A premonition of the future? Or the past?"
The racing outfit she'd prepared for so long could finally be worn officially, instead of just admiring herself in the mirror wearing it.
"Whatever. Today's the Satsuki Sho. I can't let something like this make me panic. I must win with first-class form."
The day of the Satsuki Sho.
"How do I look, trainer? Mm-hmm."
Halo King showed off in her racing outfit, spinning in place and striking what she thought was a pretty good pose. Her left hand supported her right elbow, the back of her right hand rested against her chin, and her eyes became even more spirited.
Her current racing outfit was the deep green one.
This outfit was also crafted by her mom, featuring a white knee-length pleated skirt underneath with a deep green fitted bodysuit on top.
To make it more suitable for running, it was designed not to hinder arm swings or leg movements.
Even at high speeds, it wouldn't deform from air resistance and wouldn't risk any wardrobe malfunctions.
More importantly, King Halo's mom had designed it based on noble formal wear. The rubber gloves made the whole look especially elegant and refined.
"Truly a first-class racing outfit. It suits you well," Hayato commented.
"Halo-chan really has transformed," Seiun Sky teased with praise.
"Hehe, hehe~, of course." She put her hands on her hips, head tilted up, not modest at all. "Since we share the same trainer, I'll grant you the privilege of admiring the King's racing outfit."
"Oh my, is Halo-chan already this confident before even competing?"
"Hmph, naturally. Suzuka already won, so there's no way I'd lose this first crown at the Satsuki Sho."
She already considered victory in this race a given.
"Use the Late-Surger strategy I taught you in this race. Remember, your current power absolutely guarantees your late-race breakthrough. Don't panic, don't hesitate. Sprint in the final two hundred meters and you'll definitely win."
Before the race, Hayato reminded her again.
He'd already said this multiple times, being a bit naggy with his earnest advice.
Halo King's ultimate skill was really strong. Once triggered, losing would be difficult. It was the key to this race's outcome.
"I know!" Not only did she not find it annoying, but she was also actually a bit happy.
"Hey, Halo-chan, you have to win, okay? Urara will cheer for you," Urara encouraged her.
"Mm-hmm. Just wait obediently for the King's triumphant return. When I come back, I'll allow you to tell others you're the King's roommate."
"Wow, the King's roommate sounds amazing." Urara's face was full of anticipation, unaware that the Urara herself always needed King Halo to wake her up every morning.
Where there were triple tiaras, naturally, there were crowns as Queen. The Classic Triple Crown is the King. Before the first race even began, Halo King, who called herself first-class, already referred to herself as the King, like her name.
"I hope you do your best too," Silence Suzuka softly encouraged her.
"Good luck!"
"Don't give up!"
Daiwa Scarlet and Grass Wonder also gave her encouraging words one after another.
"Yeah. A first-class uma musume would never give up. I'll definitely win the first battle of the Classic Triple Crown."
"Right, exactly. This year's King Crowns and Queen Crowns, we're taking them all. Let's go!"
At Hayato's command, he led several uma musume out of the rest area Nakayama Racecourse had prepared. The race was about to start.
Inside and outside the venue, it was packed with people. Completely jam-packed.
Hayato escorted Halo King to the underground passage before stopping. "Halo, if.... I mean, if..."
"Trainer, is there something you're still worried about?" Halo King turned around, seeming to know what he wanted to say, not giving him a chance to continue.
"No, I'm not worried about anything. It's just that with everything, there's always a chance..." Hayato started stammering, not knowing how to say it.
With Halo King's current stats, she was absolutely the strongest among all the Uma Musume in the field. But nothing was absolute, it's like the match before, Hayato never expected that there was an Uma Musume who didn't even appear as a character in the game or manga suddenly releasing a zone. Just remembering it gives him chills; if it weren't for the three of them training against the pressure of the Oguri Cap predator every training session, Silence Suzuka might have been caught at that time.
"There's no 'what if.' I guarantee I'll win."
Halo King spoke seriously. When Hayato met her gaze, he felt a moment of shock.
This was Halo King when she got serious.
"Hehe." Hayato laughed at himself. "Yeah, with you in this state, isn't victory guaranteed? What am I even worried about?"
It's not just me who wants you to win. Not just Altair, not just the tens of thousands of Uma Musume fans at Nakayama Racecourse, but your mother, too, and so many people who don't even belong to this world.
They're all supporting you, even if against BNW!
So you have to win, King Halo!
"More than that, if I win, how about the trainer accompanies me to the mall?" She said quietly, her tail wagging especially hard.
"Because there's lots to buy, clothes, shoes, makeup stuff... anyway, lots and lots. So you'll just have to act as my bodyguard and carry my things."
"Okay." Hayato smiled along. "No problem. I'll wait for your triumphant return. Carrying bags and paying are both fine."
"It's a promise then!" Halo King quietly said "yes" to herself. "I'll see you off here. You can go back now. Just watch me win from the audience seats." Though reluctant, the path ahead was one she had to walk herself.
"Halo, it's been a while since I've heard your classic laugh. Could you do it once?" At the end, Hayato made one more weird request.
"Then listen carefully." Halo Holy King raised her tone, releasing the aura befitting a first-class uma musume. "Isn't victory a given for me?"
She turned around, striding forward proudly. "Because I am Halo King! Oh-ho-ho-ho..."
Amid her loud laughter, Halo Holy King walked away.
She desperately needed this race to prove herself, to prove she was a first-class uma musume, not just self-proclaimed.
And this race was the GI Satsuki Sho. Whether to prove herself or for herself, she couldn't lose this race. She was prepared to bet everything.
"Wait for my triumphant return, trainer. Starting today, I'll make everyone who mocked me shut up. A first-class King accepts no criticism. Just quietly watch as this King claims my crown."
After walking a few meter, King Halo saw BNW in the underground passage. The new Big Three were all here.
"Oh, it's Halo-chan! What a cool racing outfit!" Winning Ticket was the first to notice her.
"Yeah, hello everyone. We finally meet. I won't be going easy in the race, okay?" Halo King responded very seriously but politely.
"Yeah, I think the same," Biwa Hayahide said very courteously.
"I won't lose either." Narita Taishin glanced at Halo King. She felt the current Halo was somewhat different from before; her momentum was frighteningly strong.
Was she really that confident about winning this race?
No, no, no. No matter how strong the opponent becomes, I absolutely have to win this race.
The four most popular Uma Musume walked out of the underground passage together.
They all shouted in their hearts at the same time: "I absolutely cannot lose this race!"
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Btw, the illustration will be on the comment.
This is the Beginning of King Halo 'win as 'defective' uma musume against powerful uma musume