Riiing riiing~
Morning.
The alarm on the phone at his pillow rang, yanking Mizuno out of his half-meditative state.
Afraid of waking the two Uma sleeping with him, he shot out a hand and silenced it in 0.9 seconds flat—faster than ninety-nine percent of the world.
Opening his eyes, Mizuno immediately found King Halo staring right back at him.
"You didn't sleep either?" he asked.
"Mm…" King Halo's weak reply, half‑lidded eyes heavy with drowsiness, said everything.
Seeing her looking so drained, Mizuno figured she'd probably spent the night the same as him—lying awake.
And really, who wouldn't? Sharing a bed, holding an opposite‑sex person whose past was a total mystery, face hidden so you couldn't even see what he looked like—aside from a pure angel like Haru Urara, who could possibly let down all guard and sleep soundly?
"Zzzzz…can't eat anymore…" As Mizuno expected, Urara was out cold, untouched by the alarm, peacefully munching carrots in her dream.
King Halo fondly stroked Urara's head, then softly asked Mizuno:
"Are you getting up?"
She was honestly surprised Mizuno had set his alarm so early.
Right now it was barely dawn, maybe five or six a.m. Tracen's first class wasn't until nine. Most could easily sleep until eight.
Yet Mizuno not only went to bed later than others but also woke up two, three hours earlier?
King Halo couldn't help wondering if his body was made of steel.
If Mizuno had known her thoughts, he'd probably give a bitter smile, clasp his hands behind his back, look up at the sky with that hermit‑master air of his, and say in a tone both nostalgic and never‑want‑to‑experience‑again:
Those were three years in hell…
"No rush. Sleep a bit more…" Mizuno mimicked King Halo, stroking Urara's head, making no move to get up.
If it were just him, he'd already have washed up at lightning speed and be sitting at his desk drafting the next weeks' training plans for the Uma.
But now he had two growing girls beside him. Not wanting to disturb their sleep, Mizuno was, for once, "sleeping in."
"…" Mizuno picked up his phone to check for news.
He discovered that sometime past midnight last night, Symboli Rudolf had sent him a message.
[Chat with President Rudolf]
[Rudolf]:Where did you go? (00:19)
"Hm?" Mizuno frowned.
Why was Rudolf messaging him in the middle of the night asking where he was?!
It gave him the image of a big bad wolf sneaking into a bunny's house at night, finding no delicious rabbit inside, and then calling the bunny like, "Hey hey hey, why aren't you home?"
Mizuno didn't dare reply. He simply exited the chat and went back to scrolling headlines.
Meanwhile, he also typed out some fresh compliments for King Halo and sent them to her.
"Vrrr~" King Halo, curious what he was typing, felt her phone buzz.
She opened it and found a message from Mizuno himself?
Opening the chat, she saw screen after screen of praise for her—praise befitting a first‑rate Uma Musume.
"Uu!" Reading those florid words, King Halo's drowsiness vanished. Her once‑limp tail perked back up, sweeping across the sheets over and over.
Trainer Mizuno remembered!
She had thought after his weeks‑long disappearance, he'd surely forget to shower her with first‑rate compliments…
But to her surprise, Mizuno had kept it up, remembering it even now—just like before, every morning upon waking, sending her words of admiration.
It felt like the heroine in a TV drama who, before leaving the house, always receives her husband's gentle forehead kiss.
"Guu!" King Halo buried her face under the blanket, hot air puffing out as her exposed ears twitched madly against the pillow.
Mizuno: "?"
He'd expected King Halo to break into some highborn‑lady's laugh after seeing his compliments—but she was acting so shy instead…
Less like a noble receiving a servant's tribute, more like a girl receiving a love letter?
Mizuno quickly reread what he'd sent but found nothing unusual. The words, the tone—it was the same as always. Why was she reacting so differently today?
He didn't get it. So he shrugged and happily went back to scrolling his feed.
About half an hour later, his eyes tired, he set the phone down and closed his eyes again.
Five minutes after that, King Halo felt the blush on her face fade and peeked out from under the blanket to secretly watch Mizuno across from her.
Even now she couldn't see through the deep darkness between his hood and high collar to glimpse his real face…
But that didn't matter anymore.
Once, to become a first‑rate Uma, she would judge a potential trainer by knowledge, attitude, teaching ability—and also by appearance, taste, social status—to decide if he was worthy even to touch the threshold of "first‑rate."
But after these months with Mizuno, and the compliments he'd sent again this morning, King Halo had slowly realized: a person's looks don't determine whether they're truly first‑rate.
A beautiful face doesn't guarantee great achievements…
An unremarkable face doesn't mean someone will always remain a nobody…
The only thing that can convince everyone, the one true "first‑rate," is strength—and a steadfast, kind heart.
When someone accomplishes what no one else can, yet stays true to themselves, then no matter their appearance, no matter their age, you'll sincerely feel they're handsome, they're beautiful.
And lying opposite her now, Mizuno was exactly such a person.
Strong, gentle, kind…
As for what he really looked like, King Halo decided it no longer mattered.
He was first‑rate. A first‑rate trainer of an Uma Musume didn't need superficial things like that.
"Wait! No, that's wrong!" King Halo suddenly remembered—she wasn't even Mizuno's assigned Uma yet…
Because Mizuno treated every Uma in his team equally, carefully drafting a personalized training plan for each, she'd forgotten this herself and assumed she was already his charge.
If even now she wasn't officially Mizuno's Uma, wasn't she betraying his goodwill—the way he thought of her every day?
"Yes, yes…" King Halo nodded to herself. That made sense.
But then another thought hit her, and she shook her head.
"Oh, wait—no, no!"
Because she also remembered how her friend Seiun Sky had once warned her: Mizuno's daily compliments weren't about taking her on as his Uma—they had another meaning.
Trainer Mizuno praised her every day because he liked her! He was confessing to her!
"Yes!" King Halo, looking at Mizuno holding her in his arms while she held Urara, this warm family‑like scene, felt her conviction deepen.
After much inner struggle, she finally bit her lip and steeled herself…
She reached out, tapped Mizuno's shoulder, and called softly:
"Hey, Trainer Mizuno…"
"Mm? What is it?" Mizuno opened his eyes, wearing the bewildered expression of someone dragged out to admire the moon by the lake while dozing at midnight.
King Halo lightly bit her lip, face shy, and whispered:
"About being my boyfriend…are you ready?"