That morning, Mizuno still felt utterly exhausted. He had no mood to read, so he found a quiet spot with no Uma Musume around, pulled out his phone, and typed up a whole batch of compliments for King Halo. He saved them in his notes app, set a few alarms, and then lay down to nap.

Every forty minutes, the alarm would wake him up. He'd copy a few hundred words from his notes, paste them into the chat with King Halo, hit send, then flop back down to sleep again.

So every break between classes, whenever King Halo pulled out her phone, she would always find a fresh message of praise from Mizuno waiting for her.

"Ohohohoho—" King Halo looked at the flood of compliments filling the chat window, her mood soaring.

But alongside the joy came a trace of impatience.

Mizuno-dono had been praising her since last night all the way into this morning, yet he still hadn't gotten to the main point!

She had sent so many [And then?] already—it was her way of signaling that he could go ahead and extend the Trainer invitation. Of course she would agree.

Though, before agreeing, she would definitely put on a little tsundere act first, then formally accept.

"King-chan, what are you looking at that's got you so happy?"

A short-haired Uma Musume with fluffy blue hair, her whole body radiating lazy catlike vibes, drifted over slowly. Curious, she peeked over King Halo's shoulder at the screen.

It was Seiun Sky, King Halo's friend.

Because she always acted lazy, skipped training with excuses to go fishing, most people called her "Fishing Girl."

But if you thought she was really slacking, you'd be dead wrong.

On the surface she looked like she was slacking off, always slipping out of training—but behind the scenes, she secretly worked hard. Which was why when race day came, the "lazy" girls who hung around her couldn't even keep up.

And in romance, she wasn't the clueless airhead people assumed either. In truth, she was bold and skilled at teasing—compared to the straightforward Uma Musume around her, Seiun Sky was practically a master of emotional games.

"Wow, that's a lot of words," she muttered, seeing the dense wall of text on King Halo's phone, though she couldn't make out what was written yet.

"Eh?! Sky?!" King Halo yelped and immediately hid her phone.

"Hooh?" Sky narrowed her eyes, even more interested now.

"So secretive… is it your boyfriend?"

"Of course not! The first-class King would never have him as a boyfriend! Absolutely not! No way!" King Halo shook her head frantically.

"Oh? So it really is a boy, huh?" Sky's lips curved into a sly smile.

"Gu…"

She pressed on. "King, you don't usually chat with boys at all. Yet just now you were grinning like a girl in love. And you're saying he's not your boyfriend?"

King Halo shot back: "He's a Trainer trying to scout me! I'm happy because he speaks well, and he recognizes my first-class nature!"

"Mmhm, I don't believe it." Sky pouted.

"Don't believe me? Then look!" King Halo, successfully provoked, actually pulled out her phone to show her.

"Mhm." Sky leaned down with an amused smirk and finally saw clearly the chat log.

Because you are too beautiful, one more look and I'll explode, one step closer and I'll melt… Sky read softly.

So it turned out… all this endless text was just praise for King Halo?

"Ohohoho—Sky, see? My future Trainer has been praising me nonstop since last night, all in order to scout me!" King Halo raised the phone proudly, showing off.

"Future Trainer, huh?" Sky narrowed her eyes, and suddenly thought of something fun.

But she didn't let it show. Instead, she casually laced her hands behind her head and said lazily:

"King, why not change [Future Trainer] to [Future Husband] instead?"

"Eh? Why?" King Halo froze at first, then her face reddened and she quickly protested:

"Mizuno-dono is just trying to scout me, that's why he says all those flattering things! He's not my boyfriend. We're pure! Sky, stop teasing me. Even the magnanimous King will get mad!"

"Sigh…" Sky gave a long, put-upon sigh, as though King Halo "still didn't get it."

"King, don't you find it strange?"

"Strange how?"

"You say he's trying to scout you. But has he ever actually said he wants to be your Trainer?"

King Halo thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Not really…"

"Exactly." Sky smirked, arms still behind her head, looking utterly sure of herself.

"Exactly what?" King Halo frowned, confused.

"Which means, scouting you is just a cover. What he really wants… is to be your lover." Sky explained with a perfectly serious face.

"Eh?!" King Halo's eyes widened in shock, disbelief written all over her face. "R-really…?"

Sky didn't answer directly. Instead, she tossed it back: "What do you think?"

Seeing Sky's all-knowing attitude, King Halo couldn't help but start believing, little by little.

"…That's true." She nodded slowly.

First of all, a first-class King would of course be loved by everyone—Mizuno-dono included, no doubt about it.

Second, ignoring her signals of consent, Mizuno-dono hadn't once said he wanted to be her Trainer. Instead, he'd kept showering her with compliments on her beauty and first-class-ness. It was hard to say that didn't mean something else.

"But…" King Halo's thoughts hit a snag.

Because Mizuno-dono always kept a distance from all Uma Musume.

He treated Urara like a daughter. Rice Shower like a little sister. McQueen like a customer at a vending machine. Gold Ship like a bro. Tokai Teio like…

…She couldn't quite tell. But at any rate, Mizuno-dono respected Teio a lot—several times more than he respected her, the supposedly first-class King.

King Halo really couldn't picture Mizuno-dono actually dating a girl.

"Wait!" A thought struck her.

Even if Mizuno-dono didn't openly show it, that didn't mean he wasn't sending hidden signals!

Not only was he a Trainer—he was like a ninja, hiding his true face! And what do ninjas love most? Sending secret messages!

And the hidden message he had sent her was something she had overlooked—

Mizuno-dono treated Urara like a daughter. And King Halo herself also treated Urara like a daughter…

Which meant… her and Mizuno-dono's relationship was…

"Gu…" King Halo suddenly felt shy. Her ears twitched as she lowered her head.

So Mizuno-dono had already been hinting all along! And she, the first-class King, had failed to notice!

If Mizuno-dono really confessed to her… should she accept?

"No way!" King Halo shook her head furiously.

"The first-class King could never become someone's lover so easily…"

"At least… at least…"

"At least let him keep praising me for a few more days first. See if he shows enough sincerity…"

"Damn it! Why am I even setting 'liking him' as the premise here!"

"Uh—it's not that I like him! It's just… his drinks are tasty, that's all…"

"And he is gentle… and speaks so well… and treats everyone nicely…"

"Damn it! Why am I only thinking of his good points! Think of flaws! Flaws!"

"Right! His fashion sense is terrible! Totally not first-class! And he's cowardly—always hiding his face!"

"Though… those flaws are exactly the ones I could make up for…"

"Ahh… what do I even do…"

Her brain overloaded, King Halo's head practically steaming.

"Hooh…" Meanwhile, Sky watched her friend's conflicted face with great amusement.

She didn't know exactly what King Halo was thinking under her deliberate nudges, but from that agonized expression, she knew she had succeeded.

"Don't know what to do next, huh? Troubled, right…?"

Sky smirked, leaned in close, and whispered at King Halo's ear:

"I can teach you~"