Seiun Sky came from the countryside. Her personality had a lot to do with where she grew up. The horse girls' world placed extreme importance on bloodlines.
Even for her, so what if she'd beaten King Halo? No one paid much attention. Instead, it was second-place King Halo who received attention from everyone else.
Was it really because she was lazy that no trainers wanted her?
Not really. More crucially, it was her bloodline. That's what mattered to them.
A horse girl with a poor bloodline would even face discrimination. The whispers, the dismissive looks.
She didn't think she had any bloodline or anything outstanding. The only good thing was that her brain was a bit more flexible than other horse girls.
She was naturally smart and liked taking shortcuts when doing things. Work smarter, not harder.
Occasionally, she'd think maybe she had exceptional talent, extraordinary bones, a promising future. Triple Crown wasn't a dream...
But that was just thinking about it from fantasy stuff.
Seiun Sky never even dared say she had any dreams. Because she was afraid she couldn't achieve them. If effort didn't bring rewards, might as well not try.
Not trying meant no need to be sad. Winning was a bonus, losing didn't matter. This was her slacker's way of survival. It kept her safe from a broken heart.
Nothing to do? Wash up and sleep. Go fishing occasionally. Act carefree. This kind of life was satisfying enough.
Hayato didn't know why this horse girl who'd defeat Special Week in the future would say such things. The disconnect bothered him.
Not confident enough?
Speaking of bloodlines, the most famous recent horse girls didn't have much bloodline to speak of.
A Certain Year, A Certain Month
A gray horse appeared. She was nothing like the others.
There was no outrageous auction price attached to her name, no lofty expectations born from her bloodline. Her pedigree was ordinary, unremarkable. Her body was small, almost fragile, when compared to the champions who once ruled the tracks.
At first, she lost again and again. The stable that owned her sank deeper into debt, eventually collapsing under its weight.
Then, when that gray horse emerged once more, she stood at her peak condition, claiming eight consecutive victories, as if possessed by something beyond reason.
People called her Tamamo Cross, the White Lightning.
Around the same time, another gray horse stepped onto the stage.
One gray horse carved her legend through relentless victories on the countryside tracks.
The other forged hers through overwhelming performances on the grandest stages.
When that gray horse entered Tokyo's racetracks too, everything changed.
Together, they proved to the world that gray horses were not trash, that greatness was not decided by bloodline, price, or birthplace.
The gray horses rose together, their rivalry becoming legend as the ultimate clash of an era.
Before Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross appeared, who knew how many had looked down on gray horses? How many dismissed them without a second thought?
Perhaps that was why Central finally opened its doors to horse girls from every region.
From then on, outstanding talents flooded in.
Seiun Sky was lucky to become one of them.
When she arrived, it felt like a dream. Seiun Sky stepped into Central in a daze, barely able to believe it was real.
In Nishiyama, no one managed her. Unrestrained, knowing only of fishing all day. When Seiun Sky arrived at school, you can imagine Central horse girls' reactions.
When Oguri Cap and Tamamo Cross came, they at least still looked like proper horse girls. But Seiun Sky, covered in rural atmosphere from who knows how long since she'd bathed properly, hit them in the face like a slap.
Horse girls who met her would say, "From the countryside..." The disdain was clear in their voices.
Seiun Sky, at that time, laughed very cheerfully. She easily completed Central's exam and used her strength to shut up quite a few horse girls.
She often mocked back, "Central horse girls are nothing special."
However, in Central where GI horse girls were everywhere, Seiun Sky gradually became numb. The reality wore her down.
What was GI?
Local horse girls all called GI the horse girl's greatest dream. As long as you could stand on a GI racetrack, that was a local horse girl's pinnacle dream. The absolute peak achievement for a local horse girl.
Once upon a time, she too had thought about standing at that winner's stage. Imagined the crowd cheering her name.
But felt it was all fantasy bubbles, no matter how you looked at it. How could a local horse girl like her possibly win the championship without any advantages? It didn't make sense.
Seiun Sky doesn't have lungs or a heart as strong as Oguri Cap, and unlike Tamamo Cross, who despite having a small body, has strong instincts that allow her to create her own unique style based on a light body weight, making her stride acceleration quite efficient when running.
Go embarrass myself? Hah, don't create jokes like that. Better to stay quiet.
When Seiun Sky met King Halo, she wondered if her thinking had some kind of error. If maybe she'd gotten it all wrong.
The noble-blooded King Halo lost?
Yet the other party had no intention of giving up. Even after losing, she looked down on everyone with a first-rate bearing. That confidence never wavered.
Why?
She clearly lost the race. Didn't she feel embarrassed? Why didn't the humiliation crush her?
Bloodline seemed like nothing special after all!
From that time on, she tried to work hard in secret, though. On the surface, she still looked lazy. Kept up the act as carefree behaviour.
Then Seiun Sky met Hayato. Before Hayato made King Halo win that race, she'd never had that kind of desire to step onto the racetrack with serious determination. Never felt that fire.
King Halo, who'd lost repeatedly, won everyone's cheers.
Is this what victory feels like?
From that moment, Seiun Sky knew. She wanted to stand on the racetrack and win, wrapped in the roar of approval.
That feeling had already surged to the point of overflowing.
She casually glanced at Hayato from the corner of her eye.
It's possible. If it's that person, maybe it's possible.
"Doesn't matter!" Hayato said flatly, seeming to see through her thoughts. "I already have dedicated horse girls anyway. If you want to slack off, that's fine. That's why I brought you fishing, right?"
Seiun Sky glared at Hayato, her ears flicking back. "I really did think that way before, but after meeting you, trainer-san, I've also thought about working hard, you know?"
"Hm?" Hayato gave her a questioning look, one eyebrow raised.
"Hmph! It's, it's absolutely not because I think trainer-san's guidance is pretty good, okay? Ab-absolutely not." At this point, she straightened her back and imitated King Halo's tone perfectly.
"...Just kidding~" Her expression shifted immediately. "Seiun just tried speaking in a tsundere tone. How was it? Think Seiun's cute? Yohey!"
She made a peace sign with her fingers, her deep blue eyes flashing as she winked at Hayato playfully.
"Hey yo... Cute, right? Seiun thinks she's quite feminine, too." She blinked twice more, hamming it up. Her small, round face with smooth features showed a slightly charming grace.
"Yeah, cute," Hayato answered without thinking, the words slipping out.
Who would dare say Seiun wasn't cute? Come at me right now.
Being able to see Seiun Sky wink with his own eyes, Hayato also considered himself quite blessed. That was a rare sight.
"Ugh... actually..." She turned her face away, a faint flush coloring her cheeks.
Soon, she immediately put on a serious face again, the moment gone. "Anyway, trainer-san should first learn not to take Seiun's jokes seriously."
"Is that okay? We need to coordinate our steps in that area first."
"After all, we're going to catch big fish together from now on." Her voice carried genuine determination underneath the casual tone.
Hayato nodded slowly. He'd never taken it seriously. Dealing with Seiun Sky wasn't difficult once you knew the trick.
Hayato just needed to know that out of ten things Seiun Sky said, maybe only one was the truth. The rest was smoke and mirrors.
If Seiun Sky was lazy from the start, there's no way in the other timeline she could defeat Special Week in the future. The math didn't add up.
At this moment, the fishing rod in his hand moved slightly, tugging downward. A fish took the bait.
"Alright!"
He pulled up hard, water spraying. A thumb-sized fish was yanked out of the water, flopping weakly.
"Hehe, trainer's fish seems to be very small too." Seiun Sky pointed at that small fish and let out a cheerful laugh, covering her mouth.
Before long, Seiun Sky reeled in another fish with practiced ease. Unfortunately, it was still too small. Disappointing.
Twice as big as Hayato's, but still looked pathetic.
"It's spring now. It's normal for fish not to be fat." Seiun Sky released the fish back into the water with a gentle plop. "Wait until summer and come again. I'll take you to catch big fish."
She continued, sharing her fishing wisdom. "You can catch fish in spring too, but they definitely won't be big. If you want to catch big ones, you have to wait for summer."
"Just that there are more people in summer, so fishing becomes a bit troublesome. But Seiun has already marked out over ten suitable fishing spots..." Her voice carried genuine enthusiasm when talking about fishing.
Hayato listened absent-mindedly, watching the water ripple. He really didn't come here to fish.
Developing Seiun Sky's unique skill seemed to be getting troublesome. Could this really be comprehended through fishing alone? The connection felt tenuous.
"Well, I'll just call you Seiun."
"Does trainer-san have any orders? Just say it. Seiun will immediately succeed." She sat up straighter, attentive.
"How about fishing while training?"
"Eh?" Seiun Sky's ears shot forward in confusion.
*The Seiun Sky scratches her cheeks and peace symbol Illust on the other side.
https://www.p atreon.com/cw/OuchMyHand*
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It could be said that Seiun Sky was a late bloomer. While most racehorses made their debut at the age of two, Seiun Sky did not debut until she was close to three. Physically, she had yet to fully mature, and her condition was somewhat unstable at the time.
Because of this, her trainer and owner in real life did not rush her into competition. In many ways, Seiun Sky's seemingly lazy attitude and free-spirited behavior can be traced back to the decision from the trainer and the owner, who gave her time, allowed her to grow at her own pace, rather than being forced onto the track before she was ready.