The increasingly unrestrained voices rolled over the area like a tide, leaving Shinji Teraizumi standing there with a complicated knot of emotions in his chest.
"I thought she'd finally taken that step and truly made up her mind to become a real horse girl. In the end, she just gave me a laugh."
"Exactly. In the end, she's still the same as ever."
"She's either way too rash or way too hesitant. It's honestly absurd."
It was no wonder Tazuna had looked worried. The trainers' comments were vicious enough that, in her view, if one of her own girls were being talked about like that, she would be heartbroken.
And yet, when she thought about it carefully, the mockery was not entirely without basis. King Halo's past recklessness, and now the indecision she had shown in this race—those were flaws that could be fatal for a racehorse on the track.
Shinji felt that perhaps this was his own oversight as well.
He had clearly underestimated just how deeply King Halo's past experiences had shaped her. The flaws in her personality had always been visible. But now that he had turned her heart around, the damaged other side of her had surfaced just as clearly.
Taking a deep breath, Shinji slowly opened his eyes.
He saw King Halo fleeing the grounds, but he did not go after her.
She probably needed time to calm down.
And he did not want to chase after her right away, either.
He had warned her before the race. He had told her clearly what mattered.
At his side, the secretary gave his arm a light push. She could not understand why, with the girl already long gone, this trainer was still standing there so calmly.
More and more trainers had started gathering nearby. Even though Shinji did not know any of them personally, one or two still came up to speak to him.
"This isn't your fault. That girl's always been like this."
"Don't blame yourself too much. As a senior, I can share some experience—sometimes the tiniest mistake in a race decides everything. She just has too many problems in her temperament."
"She's always been like that. Don't let the fact that she's never won a G1 fool you—she's always acted like she's got several."
They all wore kind smiles as they spoke, and for a moment Shinji genuinely could not tell what sort of warped logic these people were operating under.
If they had come over with hidden barbs and veiled sarcasm, he would have simply chalked it up to them being unpleasant people.
But this—this assumption that he must naturally dislike King Halo too—he could not even begin to understand.
If he thought so poorly of her, why would he have taken her on as his trainee at all?
Tazuna's face had already gone dark.
The trainers, oblivious, kept watching Shinji, waiting for his response. They had seen the dissatisfaction and helplessness he had shown toward King Halo just now, so they naturally assumed he would agree with them.
It was just like the way they had no trouble saying all this in front of Tazuna—apparently emboldened by their numbers.
A faint smile tugged at Shinji's lips.
Seeing that expression, the group in front of him looked pleased with themselves, as though things were going exactly as expected.
The smugness blooming in their eyes made Shinji suddenly understand why these men could only ever remain nobodies.
Plenty of trainers had been seated in the stands. Yet only these dozen or so had jumped forward now. Shinji knew that any good trainer—even a merely average one—would not be stupid enough to do this.
"Too arrogant?" he repeated.
"Of course!" one of the older trainers immediately replied.
Hearing what sounded like disbelief in Shinji's voice, the man hastily started explaining himself, completely failing to notice that Shinji's expression had already gone cold.
"I think it's just about right."
The senior trainer froze, staring blankly at him.
Shinji's answer had landed so far outside their expectations that the man did not know what to say.
"Isn't it only natural for her to act arrogant toward trainers like you?" Shinji slowly wet his lips, a sharp, aggressive gleam entering his eyes. "A girl born into a prestigious family choosing some trainer with no achievements to his name—that would be the strange part. Any horse girl with real ambition ought to understand that her precious racing career should never be wasted on a trainer who could never help her in the first place."
The moment his meaning sank in, anger began rising in the others' eyes.
Shinji did not care.
Of course he had plenty to criticize in the way this mock race had gone. He had seen King Halo's problems clearly.
But that did not give these people the right to sneer at her in front of him.
She was his trainee.
If anyone was going to scold her, it would be him.
The menacing force in his gaze made them falter. Shinji turned away. Beside him, Tazuna shot the group a glare, looking them over as if fixing every one of their faces in memory.
Several of them turned pale only then, finally realizing how badly they had overstepped.
The gentle secretary was not without a temper.
"What are you going to do now?" Tazuna asked as she followed after him, clearly troubled.
She had gone to some effort to help King Halo join his team. The outcome of this mock race left her worried for both King Halo and Shinji.
Worried about King Halo's state of mind.
And worried about Shinji's reputation.
It was easy to imagine what would spread through the trainers' circles tomorrow: stories of King Halo's humiliating mock-race performance. And now there would be another sensational detail added to it—Shinji's own words.
It had been a statement in King Halo's defense, but the range of people it targeted was enormous. Everyone King Halo had once judged unworthy of becoming her trainer had just been struck by it.
Seeing how unconcerned Shinji looked, Tazuna's voice dipped lower.
"What do you mean, what am I going to do?" Shinji drew in a slow breath as he stepped out of the track area. "I'm going to find King Halo, obviously."
A girl who, even with two pieces of gear boosting her attributes, had been unable to activate any of it in this mock race. A girl who should have shone brilliantly, but instead had become the picture of defeat purely because of her own choices.
That absolutely warranted criticism.
Shinji was not going to soften either his punishment or his guidance just because King Halo had run off in despair and tears afterward.
"It's her family—"
Tazuna's words made him slow for half a step.
He had long guessed who the greatest influence on King Halo still was, so he was not surprised by where this was going.
"There are serious problems in the way she grew up. It's not just that her relationship with her mother is unhealthy," Tazuna said quietly. "She's from a single-parent household too."
She had turned her face slightly away, so Shinji could only see half of it.
But he saw the pity in that half-lit profile.
He said nothing.
No matter what her past had been, once she had set her sights on so grand a goal, she had no choice but to overcome those obstacles.
No matter where they had come from.
And no matter what shape they took.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 142)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter181)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter103)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter192)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 173
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 166
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 110
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 190
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 165
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 156
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 81
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 102
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 120
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 80
Uma Musume: I Want All 95
I Can Copy Unique Skills 84
Summoning an Evil God, but the 66
Supernatural Multiverse 83
My Harem Is Indescribable 75
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 81
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 75
Still playing traditional Honk 55
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 60
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 55
Checking In in Demon Slayer 60
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 65
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 35
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 35
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 39
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 58
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 42
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