"So late, why are you still outside?"
"I was just admiring the night sky's beauty. Didn't expect it to get so late..." She looked at the night sky, then at the sweaty Hayato, a smile forming on her lips. "Don't tell me you're exercising?"
"Ah? Oh." Hayato looked down at himself, sweat dripping down his neck, backing up two steps. The cool night air hit his damp skin.
"I have a habit of night running to exercise."
"Hehe." Grass Wonder covered her mouth with a light laugh. "Um, if there's nothing else, I should head back."
She didn't plan to chat idly with Hayato. The thought of avoiding all trainers right now made her want to leave, so she turned away from him.
The answer Tojo Hana wanted, she'd thought it through during her time staring at the sky. As expected, she still couldn't accept herself unable to uphold her principles.
If she accepted the first time, there might be a second and third time in the future. All the beliefs she'd built up over the years would completely collapse like a house of cards.
Rejecting Rigil's invitation wouldn't make her regret it for life. Not upholding her principles would haunt her forever.
"Wait, Grass Wonder-chan. Actually, I still want to recruit you."
Grass Wonder felt her breath catch and turned back around, her expression shifting to something more serious. "About this matter, I should have already refused, right?"
"Yeah, you refused every trainer who invited you, but I can also propose a second and third time, can't I?"
"Why?" Her ears flicked forward in confusion. "I clearly lost the race. And you already have Halo-chan, don't you?"
She didn't seem worth Hayato's second invitation. The thought made her chest tighten with embarrassment.
"It's true I recruited Halo, but that doesn't mean I can't recruit you. Your stats are actually much higher than Halo's. She won completely because..."
'Because I taught her! If you lost the race, you wouldn't get recruited.'
Hayato used this strategy to prevent Grass Wonder from being recruited by Rigil Team. A calculated move from the start.
Grass Wonder had a setting in-game. After losing one race, until winning the next race, she wouldn't be willing to join any team.
Should it be called a perfectionist personality, or some kind of Yamato Nadeshiko persistence? Whatever it was, he'd utilized this setting to his advantage.
If she accepted, it would eat her from the inside. That was just her personality.
"No no no, you watched the race too, right? Halo-chan was clearly stronger than me." Grass Wonder shook her head, her voice gentle but firm. "You don't need to flatter me. What level I'm at, I know in my heart."
"No no, because I... I just gave Halo a bit of race strategy guidance." Hayato took a breath, his shoulders tensing slightly. He didn't know if this answer would make Grass Wonder angry.
"I wanted to help King Halo. What I didn't expect was that even after winning the race, she didn't find a first-rate trainer. In that situation, I could only take her in my team. Sorry for making you lose."
After Hayato finished speaking apologetically, he saw Grass Wonder's eyes turn into dead fish eyes, staring straight at him without blinking.
As expected, she's angry...
The silence stretched between them.
"I'm not angry." Grass Wonder noticed her loss of composure and turned her face aside, her ears folding back. "Lost is lost. Even if she accepted your help, it only proves my abilities weren't as good."
Can you hear that? Hayato's eyes widened slightly. Even though he'd muttered it so quietly.
"The outside rumors seem to be true. Hayato-san isn't an ordinary trainer." After stealing a glance at Hayato from the corner of her eye, she continued, "But I still can't accept your invitation. I'm sorry. This is purely my personal reason."
"Just because you lost?"
"Hm?" Grass Wonder turned back to face Hayato fully, but her eyes were still closed with a serene smile. "How did you know?"
"Your eyes told me. It seems you are very unwilling?"
Dead stare, murderous eyes, anyone could see it written all over her face.
"My my, you can even tell that?" Grass Wonder showed surprise, her eyes widening for a moment before quickly recovering her usual serene smile. She explained with that same calm expression.
"As a Yamato Nadeshiko, I must always maintain restraint and elegance, display gentle expressions, and a composed attitude. No matter what, stay calm, unshakeable..."
She paused, her smile flickering. "—That's how I originally warned myself."
Her gaze shifted elsewhere, looking past Hayato toward the darkened training grounds. "However, as a great person once said, I haven't reached the realm of immovability. Toward my worthless self, I can't be angry."
"I made up my mind on this racing path, chose to reach the peak on the racetrack. Unless I climb to the summit, I won't stop."
Her hands clenched at her sides. "In that case, no matter when, I shouldn't hand victory to others. No matter what, no exceptions!"
"But I..." Her voice dropped. "I still lost, even after pushing myself to the limit!"
She stuck out her tongue, showing a hurt expression that contrasted sharply with her usual composure.
"Everyone says I'm not interested in first place. Little do they know, I value first place more than anything."
She lowered her head slightly, right hand pressing on her left, blue pupils flashing with concern and unwillingness. "That's why, no matter what, I can't forgive myself for losing a race."
"For such a self, I can only work harder, then seize victory."
"If I compromise once, even one corner of the peak path will collapse." Her voice carried quiet conviction. "I can't accept recruitment as such a half-baked self."
"I'm sorry. It's all my personal willfulness, personal stubbornness, and my pride so..." She looked up at him hesitantly. "Don't you think I'm being unreasonable?"
She could already imagine Hayato's upcoming lecture to her. The disappointment in his voice.
"Then, when you win first place next time, I'll come invite you again. Isn't that fine?" Hayato responded. 'I've been waiting for you to say that.'
"Eh?" Grass Wonder's head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise. "You said come again? Are you still planning to invite me? But the next practice race won't be for several months? You're willing to wait for me until the day I compete?"
"Yeah, of course."
Hayato smiled, the expression genuine. "Waiting a few months is nothing. When the time comes, I'll go cheer for you."
"Wait, uh, that, what should I say?" Grass Wonder's composure cracked, her words tumbling out. "I'm not an obedient horse girl, you know. What I insist on won't change. Why be fixated on such a stubborn horse girl like me?"
She recalled when Tojo Hana heard her pride, that trainer had harshly scolded her. Called her childish and foolish.
'What was with this rookie trainer?'
"It's fine. I said I'm willing to wait. Just win first place next time."
"...Hehe! My my! Well then..." A genuine smile spread across her face, reaching her eyes. "Since you said that, how can I have face to lose the race! Hehehe..."
Grass Wonder held a positive evaluation of Hayato. Whether giving guidance or helping King Halo out of trouble, it could be said that this trainer possessed both ability and character.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
She'd rejected so many first-rate trainers.
How would she care about Hayato otherwise? She wouldn't joke with her future. Her obsession with first place really mattered to her.