"L-less nonsense! When I tell you to massage, you massage! This King grants you the right!"
King Halo's voice cracked slightly. Her cheeks flushed deeper as she forcefully added the command, trying to cover her embarrassment with authority.
"Fine, fine, okay!"
Just as Hayato reached out to grab Seiun Sky's foot, she quickly retracted it like she'd been shocked. She pulled down her sportswear to cover herself, grinning the whole time.
"Hehe, trainer's blushing face is so cute. Finally got to see trainer blush."
She was already massaging her own leg while laughing, completely pleased with herself.
"If trainer helped all three of us, how long would that take? Seiun will do it herself."
"I knew it would be like this." Hayato rubbed his forehead and sighed. Seiun had calculated him again. Played him like a fiddle.
Still, he looked somewhat unwillingly at Seiun Sky's feet and reached his hand over with exaggerated slowness. "Seiun, you must be very tired, right? Let trainer help you relax. Don't be shy..."
Seiun Sky's eyes went wide. She curled up her legs immediately, terror flashing across her face. "What are you trying to do? No, don't, don't!"
"Dare to tease me? You think you can get away with this?"
What followed was revenge in its purest form.
"Hahahaha, mm hahaha... no, hahahaha..."
After a series of miserable laughter, it turned out to be an effective weapon—the foot massage ended.
Seiun Sky sat there drenched in sweat, her hair disheveled. She showed an expression of being thoroughly defeated, her breathing ragged.
Hayato figured this would finally shut her up.
Unexpectedly, she still smiled and said, "People already said no, but trainer still... I can't get married in the future... According to Seiun's hometown customs, when a man touches a girl's feet, she has to marry him."
The words left her mouth before she'd fully thought them through.
Wait.
What did I just say?
"Is there such a custom in your hometown?"
Hayato's expression changed instantly. His face had already been red to the ears from earlier. With Seiun Sky saying that, it got even redder, spreading down his neck.
Seiun Sky's brain finally caught up with her mouth. Her own face flushed crimson as the full implication of what she'd just said hit her like a truck.
Marriage? Why did I say marriage?!
Her ears shot up straight, then flattened against her head. The confident, teasing expression melted away, replaced by pure mortification.
"Seiun, isn't your hometown in Nishiyama, Hokkaido? Where did this special custom come from? How come I don't know about it?" King Halo asked at exactly the right moment, her tone flat and suspicious.
The exposed Seiun Sky looked genuinely displeased, her ears still flat.
"Please, don't expose it, Halo-chan. Can't you see trainers already barely holding on?" But her face was burning now too, matching Hayato's shade of red almost perfectly.
What was worse, the way Hayato looked at her had changed. His gaze drifted back to her legs with renewed interest and dangerous intent.
"Lets start training!"
Seiun Sky jumped up and bolted to the starting point like her life depended on it.
Watching Seiun Sky's hasty escape, Hayato let out a long breath. His heart was still racing.
Hmph, when my power stats go up, you'll get your punishment. Just wait.
Afternoon
The sun beat down on the track. Sweat soaked through their training uniforms as they pushed through another round.
Then something shifted.
After proficiency reached a certain level, Silence Suzuka awakened a skill — Front Runner Straightways (Normal Low-Rank/Yellow)
Front Runner Straightways (Normal Low-Rank/Yellow) Slightly increase velocity on a straight.
Silence Suzuka was the first to complete the task. Her movements had become noticeably smoother, more efficient. Like something had clicked into place.
Then came Seiun Sky, not long after.
After proficiency reached a certain level, Seiun Sky awakened a skill — Straight Acceleration (Normal/Yellow)
Straight Acceleration (Normal/Yellow) — Acceleration power slightly increases on straights
Having comprehended this skill, Seiun Sky's speed finally surpassed King Halo in the next run. She took second place with a grin that said she knew exactly what had happened.
King Halo noticed immediately. Her competitive expression darkened.
Feeling herself falling behind again, King Halo trained as her life depended on it. She pushed harder, ran faster, demanded more from herself. She didn't ask for extra practice, she just did it anyway, running additional rounds on her own initiative.
Finally, after several more brutal training sessions, she also gained a skill.
Though it wasn't for straights.
After proficiency reached a certain level, King Halo awakened a skill — Homestretch Haste (Normal/Yellow)
Homestretch Haste (Normal/Yellow)— Slightly increase velocity in the last spurt.
Hayato blinked at the notification.
Did King Halo have some misunderstanding about his words? He'd specifically said straight training, and she'd awakened a final stretch skill instead?
Whatever. At least it was a skill. They could continue practicing straights later to round out her abilities.
"Come back. We can dismiss early today." Hayato called all three back, waving them over.
The sun hadn't set yet. This was the earliest training that had ever ended.
The three came back drenched in sweat, their breathing heavy and uneven. Steam practically rose off their shoulders.
After King Halo recovered enough to speak, she put her hands on her hips. "Dismissing now is a bit early, right? Trainer, want to add some more training?"
Of course, she'd ask for more.
Hayato looked at the sky. He didn't want to waste time either. After all, Seiun Sky's debut was imminent, less than a month away now. "Alright then, back to the trainer's office. I have a more relaxed training method we can try."
The three horse girls exchanged curious glances but followed without complaint.
After returning to the trainer's office, Hayato rummaged around in a cabinet and took out two chess sets, slightly dusty from disuse.
Hayato took one and started setting it up on his desk. "Seiun, come play a couple rounds with me."
After Seiun Sky sat down across from him, she tilted her head. "Trainer, does this count as training?"
"Of course." Hayato arranged the pieces carefully. "Making your brain flexible is very helpful for races, too. The key to winning a race, besides leg strength and mental strength, is brain power. It can help you better grasp movement control and positioning techniques."
More importantly, it's the skill activation rate. Intelligence directly affected how often skills were triggered in crucial moments.
"In that case, trainer better be careful. Seiun is a chess expert." Seiun Sky adjusted her posture and said seriously, her playful demeanor shifting to genuine focus.
After hearing Hayato's explanation, Silence Suzuka picked up the other chess set and started setting up another table with King Halo near the window.
"Trainer, playing like this is boring. Let's play for something." Seiun Sky's mischievous smile returned. "How about hand slapping?"
"Who can handle your monstrous strength? Wouldn't I be at a disadvantage as human?" Hayato looked at her like she'd suggested Russian roulette.
"I'll be gentle."
Looking at Seiun Sky's playful smile, only a fool would believe that. Those hands could probably crack walnuts.
Hayato found a notebook and scissors in his drawer. "Let's do paper stickers instead. You can write or draw on the paper. Can't take them off until training ends."
"Alright, today Seiun will turn trainer into a white-haired old man." She cracked her knuckles, already planning her artistic revenge.
On the other side, Silence Suzuka carefully placed a piece, then looked over at their game with uncertainty. "Um, um, is this how you place it?"
"I-I obviously know! As a first-rate horse girl, how could I not know chess?" King Halo's voice went up an octave. "Let this King teach you. Oh ho ho ho..."
"Thank you." Suzuka smiled softly, trusting completely.
After the two set up their board, King Halo started explaining with absolute confidence.
"Knights jump, bishops fly, soldiers kill the king and inherit the throne, marry the queen, oh hahaha..."
She used her pawn to successfully attack her own king from the start, then proclaimed the pawn had transformed into the new king.
Hayato's eye twitched.
While playing chess with Seiun Sky, he listened to King Halo's increasingly strange statements. Having no choice, he paused his own game to first teach the two of them the actual rules of chess.
Basic rules. Like how pieces actually moved. And how you couldn't just declare a peasant uprising mid-game.
Seiun Sky was indeed quite strong at chess once they actually started playing. Her moves were varied, unpredictable, with a strategic depth that surprised him.
Hayato lost the first game badly. Seiun Sky's paper sticker appeared on his cheek, a simple drawing of a crying face.
But Hayato won back the second game. His sticker on her forehead read "overconfident."
After that, it was basically wins and losses trading back and forth, with a few draws mixed in. Both of them accumulated a collection of paper decorations.
An hour later, something shifted in all of them. A clarity of thought, like cobwebs being swept away.
As expected, their intelligence all increased by one point.
This method of improving intelligence was much easier than forcing them to read dense textbooks for hours. More engaging, more natural, and the results were identical.
They all played until late at night before leaving, barely noticing how much time had passed.
---
The Illustration on the other side