The mediocre trainer doesn't want to reopen

It was also rare to hear the tone of Saint King Halo that was so pitiful but pretending to be strong. Kitano was slightly stunned. According to his thoughts, at this time, shouldn't Saint King Halo, who was not familiar with him, stand up reflexively and scold him for his behavior of being pitiful to himself?

Kitano was certain that Saint King Halo would never expose its weak side to unfamiliar people, but the momentary vulnerability revealed by Saint King Halo made Kitano somewhat uncomfortable.

Or was it because of Ulala's presence? Was it because the Holy King was hesitant to lose his temper? Kitano was unsure. The Holy King's aura was definitely one of the few people he could claim to fully understand, even after completing the entire first round.

However, he also had a way to deal with this kind of situation. He saw Kitano quickly change his attitude and replied without hesitation: "No, Holy King, I am concerned about you as a trainer who may be your future trainer."

"I hope you can ensure your health and that you can go to the competition tomorrow as usual. Didn't you say you wanted to show me your top-notch talent?"

Kitano's answer caused the Saint King's aura to fall into a moment of daze again. After a long while, he heard her mutter to herself, "As... my future... trainer?"

Why, it's just one sentence, why do I suddenly feel so happy?

Saint King Halo didn't know how to describe her feelings at the moment. She knew that Mi Yu, Shanxin, and Bourbon had been very close to Kitano recently. She noticed it, but just tried not to say anything.

Of course, Saint King Halo also noticed it. For example, during the usual rest time, Saint King Halo always felt that the relationship between the other three women was a little closer, but she was like an outsider who could not fit into the environment, just listening silently.

But she would not take the initiative to ask. After all, as a first-class person, she would never go along with these guys. However, in her heart, she was extremely unwilling to become an outsider of this small group. But could she lower her head and curiously ask what they were talking about?

This kind of relationship did not last for a few days, but Saint King Halo felt more and more unimportant in this team... In addition, now in training, Saint King Halo felt that the gap between himself and the other three people was widening.

It was only later that she found out that the three women had been secretly training behind her back. She was the only one in the group of four who really followed Kitano's arrangements completely and did not add any unnecessary training plans to herself.

There were even rumors that they always went towards the trainers' dormitory after finishing their night runs. As for what they were doing there... Saint King didn't know, and she didn't want to know.

But she knew that if nothing unexpected happened, Bourbon, Shanxin and Miyu would naturally become members of Kitano's team even if they failed to win the qualifiers.

What about me? Saint King Halo thought to herself, as a horse girl whose strength was gradually failing to keep up and who was not sociable, could she really be recognized?

The ever-widening gap in strength, coupled with her gradual inability to fit in, and the flaws caused by her own personality... all led to the Holy King Halo running wildly in the heavy rain as if to vent... It was just to vent her unhappiness.

And now, Kitano's appearance and what he said now are exactly the confirmation that the Holy King Halo wants.

It turns out... he had been watching her all along... It turned out... she had never been an outsider in this team...

"Shall we go back?"

"Yes." Saint King Halo lowered her head and slowly extended one of her hands. Whether it was a final show of strength or to protect her remaining self-esteem, she wanted to use her usual arrogant tone, but in the end, she said in an extremely gentle tone, almost like a spoiled child: "I give you... the power to embrace the first-class me."

"With great pleasure, Your Highness."

And after hearing Kitano's words, the Holy King lowered his head and the halo on his face was covered with water, not sure if it was rain or tears, but the Holy King didn't care now.

When she was slowly helped up by Kitano, with one hand tightly holding the Holy King in his arms and using his body to support her forward, she belatedly realized that the Holy King's halo was powerless all over her body, and she only hoped that this road leading to nowhere... could be a little longer.

This way, she could at least temporarily forget some of her troubles, and have a legitimate reason to feel limp and snuggle against this chest for a little longer...

Chapter 072: Children's Words Are Innocent Ulala

The torrential downpour had almost driven everyone back to their warm little houses, but now, in the bathroom of Kitano's trainer's dormitory, two horse girls came to visit again.

"Seiko-kun, let me help you scrub your back! Ulala, I'm really good at it!"

"Well, that's okay. I'm not used to rubbing my back—Huh?! Ulala-san, please stop rubbing it on your own! It's, itchy!"

The arrival of the two horse girls added a bit of liveliness to this small bathroom. Although most of the liveliness was brought by Ulala, the Holy King's Aura had a feeling of being submissive. However, being able to hear the Holy King's voice also indirectly showed that the Holy King's mood had recovered a little.

——Of course, when Kitano was leading Ulala, with the soaked Saint King Halo in his arms, to get the key from the elderly dormitory manager, Kitano, who had already given up on treatment, was ready to be treated like a scum by the elderly manager.

But unexpectedly, when the old horse girl saw Kitano bringing two horse girls she had never seen before to the dormitory, although she widened her eyes at first, she did not look at Kitano with a particularly piercing look later, but instead showed a subtle smile.

Such a sudden contrast made Kitano a little unable to adapt. After all, Kitano still remembered that when he brought Miyu and Bourbon to the dormitory, the dormitory manager's eyes clearly looked like she wanted to "permanently punish" him. Why did she suddenly change her attitude now?

Or had the dorm manager finally understood him? Was he not bringing these horse racing girls to the dorm for some "horse jumping" activity, but rather a healthy and wholesome social activity?

What Kitano obviously hadn't considered was that the kindness and gentleness of the dormitory manager, Ma Niang, like the look of an old grandmother caring for her grandchild, might not be a look of concern for the living... but a look of relief in remembrance of the dead.

"I'm afraid this kid's future won't be easy... I just didn't expect that even the girl from the Saint King family would be attracted to him? This kid is quite impressive."

Dormitory manager Ma Niang thought so in her heart. She didn't know about other things, but she knew a few children from wealthy families. The reason why she didn't care much about Mejiro Zenshin was that she knew that Zenshin's position in the Mejiro family was relatively marginal.

But the Holy King Halo is different. Although her relationship with her mother is rather strained, and the Holy King family is not considered a Umamusume family, let alone big families like the Mejiro family and the Symbol family, the Holy King Halo is the apple of their family's eye, and it is said that they have blood ties with the big families in Europe... The power behind it is still very great.

"Should I report this to the head of the family? The power of the horse girl next to Kitano-san is really growing stronger and stronger." The old horse girl pondered this question, and it was obvious that the seemingly ordinary dormitory manager seemed to be a member of an unspeakable big family.

However, Kitano obviously did not pay attention to this. After giving the bathroom to Ulala and the Holy King, he simply wiped himself all over with a towel and changed into dry clothes.

Kitano is now cooking a pot of hot soup in front of the stove. He has stocked up some instant miso soup in the refrigerator. He seldom cooks at ordinary times, and these soups can serve as his late-night meals when he wants to have a midnight snack but is not hungry.

But now, these soups are used to drive away the cold for Uma Musume... Kitano deliberately added a little more ginger. He really didn't have time to prepare better medicinal food. I hope this will be useful.

"Wow."

"Wow—it feels so good after taking a bath! Ah, it smells so good! What is Trainer Kitano cooking?"

"It's instant miso soup. Sorry, these are the only ones I can make quickly." Kitano also tentatively turned his head to look at Ulala who came out first. Because Ulala was wearing a raincoat, she was not soaked like the stubborn Saint King Halo, but the school uniform under the raincoat was still a little wet.

Currently, Ulala is wearing only a white short-sleeved shirt with the words "Arima Kinen" printed on it. Perhaps it's a fan uniform for the Arima Kinen race? Kitano has heard that some wealthy horse racing girls give away uniforms specifically for their fans at the Arima Kinen race.

Her lower body was only covered by a pair of faintly visible pink sports shorts, exposing Ulala's pair of long white legs - of course, Kitano didn't look at her for long, because who would have evil thoughts about the pure Ulala?

"Trainer Kitano can also cook! How amazing!" Ulala's eyes sparkled, and she looked at Kitano with admiration, as if even if Kitano could only boil water, she could still praise him like a flower.

"It's just instant food... Come on, Ulala-san, have a bowl first. Be careful, it's hot, and there's some shredded ginger in it. Even though it tastes a bit weird, it's best to drink it."

"It's okay! Ulala can eat anything!"

At this moment, Ulala took the bowl of miso soup filled with vegetables and eggs from Kitano's hand. At this moment, the sliding door of the bathroom creaked again. Ulala, holding the bowl, immediately turned around and said with a smile, "Seiwang classmate! Come and have a bowl. Trainer Kitano cooked it himself! This bowl is for you!"

"Can you cook soup?" Saint King Halo took the bowl of soup from Ulala's hand. Saint King Halo seemed to have recovered some energy after taking a bath. He raised his head curiously and looked at Kitano, as if he had gotten to know Kitano again.

The information about Holy King Halo was much worse than that of Ulala. If she wasn't a horse girl, she would have been bedridden by now. She ran in the heavy rain for nearly an hour, and every part of her body was wet.

Now all the clothes on the Holy King Halo have been taken off, and the dry clothes on his body are borrowed by Kitano from the elderly horse girl who is the dormitory manager... Although he really wants to see the Holy King wearing his shirt, the same thing applies: he has the idea but not the courage, so he should just be a gentleman.

"I borrowed this set of clothes from the dorm manager. She has a lot of girls' clothes there for some reason... I've given your clothes to the dorm manager to clean. You can come pick them up tomorrow."

"Thanks."

But now he obviously had no energy, and his horse ears were drooping like the aura of a holy king. In front of Kitano, it was as if his strong surface was broken, revealing the soft child inside, and he seemed much more frank.

Seeing the Holy King being so frank, Kitano was a little surprised, but then he smiled tolerantly and said, "Drink it quickly. I have some cold medicine here. After taking it, go to sleep and you will be better the next day."

"Then I'll start."

Saint King Halo sat down on the sofa beside her and took a sip of hot soup. Although it was instant food, for Saint King Halo now, it made her feel more comfortable than any delicacies. A warm current rose directly from her stomach to her heart, making her body feel warm.

"It's delicious...but what brand of instant miso soup is this?"

"You're just cold and hungry, it's that simple." Kitano smiled and gave Ulala another full bowl. Compared to the aura of the Holy King who had cultivation and etiquette almost engraved into his bones, Ulala seemed much quicker. After blowing on it gently a few times, she gulped down the bowl of hot soup without fear of the heat.

"It tastes delicious! I feel warm all over!" Ulala seemed to be revived and regained the vitality that everyone was familiar with, which made Kitano and the Holy King feel much better.

"Then let's blow-dry your hair after you finish drinking." After Kitano finished the remaining soup, he also put the bowl aside and said to Ulala, "The hair dryer is in my room, Ulala-san, do you need me to get it out?"

"No need! Just blow it in Trainer Kitano's room!"

And Ulala never caused trouble to others. She followed Kitano to the room at the side. Soon, Saint King Halo was the only one left in the living room.

After drinking half a bowl of hot soup, Saint King Halo's drooping ears suddenly stood up. She put down her bowl of soup and carefully approached Kitano's door.

Let her make it clear first, she doesn't have any extra feelings towards Kitano. Although she is very grateful to Kitano for lending her a helping hand at this time, she has to make sure that Ulala will not be led astray by this guy whose lifestyle is obviously problematic and who has ambiguous relationships with the three horse girls on her team!

I will protect Ulala-san! Thinking this, Saint King Aura put his ear to the door. With the help of his horse girl's better hearing, he soon heard the movement inside.

Is that the sound of the hair dryer, and also the voice of Ulala?

"Trainer Kitano, can I ask you a question?"

"Ok?"

"What do you think of Sheng Wang? Do you like her?"

—Ulala-san!!

When Saint King Halo heard Ulala's words, he almost fainted. What kind of weird questions was this fool asking?

Chapter 073: Kitano's feelings of being indebted to the Holy King's aura

"Ulala-san, please sit here. I'll get you a hairdryer."

"Well, please trouble Trainer Kitano!"

Ulala was very well-behaved and sat upright on a chair, as quiet as an obedient child in kindergarten. When Kitano took out the hair dryer and slowly began to blow hot air on Ulala's hair, Ulala was in a good mood and shook her head slightly, expressing her cheerful mood without causing too much trouble to Kitano.

"Trainer Kitano, thank you so much. Ulala was right. You are the only one who can persuade Sheng Wang to come back!"

"Actually, I didn't expect this to be so simple. Based on my understanding of the Saint King, the process should have been more difficult and troublesome. Today's situation is an unexpected surprise."

This was Kitano's true feelings. After a week of getting along with Saint King Halo, he realized that their intimacy was far inferior to that of Bourbon, Mi Yu and Shanxin. They all came to Kitano for massage every now and then. Saint King Halo was the only one who did not bother Kitano in this regard.

But how could Kitano bring this up with Sheng Wang? He couldn't just say, "Everyone's having a massage in my dorm, Sheng Wang, why don't you come too?" Wouldn't that be harassment?

Moreover, Kitano still had no idea how much favor he had in the Saint King's heart. Based on Kitano's understanding of the Saint King's heart last episode, if someone who was not familiar with her dared to harass her, even if that person would suffer, the daughter of the Saint King, who was born into a noble family, was not an ordinary woman who could not fight a chicken.

Then there is a high probability that Kitano's Central Professional Qualification Certificate will be declared as worthless the next day, and he will never be hired again. Then Kitano can almost prepare to start over again.

So, many things were indeed unfair, because Kitano couldn't bring himself to speak up about many things, otherwise the nature of the matter would change. Furthermore, the other three Umamusumes on the team had all hinted at the Holy King, but it was only Holy King Halo who couldn't let go of his pride and asked. His unsociability was simply due to his personality.

But at the same time, she is like a princess who wants to act coquettishly but pretends to be strong. She has this awkward personality where she complains in her heart that no one cares about her, but when others care about her, she often turns a blind eye... I can only say that it's a good thing that she is a horse girl, which gives her an attribute bonus in Kitano's eyes.

Otherwise, if it was any other woman, with Bei Ye's personality, she would have stopped serving him long ago. If I can't afford to offend her, can I just avoid her? This kind of lady is really too difficult to serve.

Of course, the main reason is that Kitano Ryuichi knows the nature of the Holy King. She is not the kind of person who makes trouble for no reason. There are many reasons for her awkward personality, but at least Kitano knows clearly and has felt the "gentle" side of the Holy King's halo.

Although he reopened it after a short while, he could still understand the Holy King's Halo.

"I can't watch over the Holy King all the time, so most of the time, I need you to persuade her. Please, Ulala-san."

"Well! Leave it to Ulala!" Ulala also smiled happily, and then her pure and flawless eyes, contrasting with the cherry blossom color, suddenly flashed, and without warning asked: "Trainer Kitano, what do you think of Shengwang? Do you like her?"

However, just as Ulala finished her words, a soft, dull sound was heard outside the door. However, because the sound of the hair dryer was too loud, it was not so obvious. But Ulala, as a horse girl, noticed it immediately.

——Sheng Wang, are you eavesdropping outside? Ulala’s clever little head suddenly thought of something at this moment, and thought to herself:

It seems that Sheng Wang's relationship with Trainer Kitano is not harmonious enough. So, let me, Ulala, help Sheng Wang to get closer to Trainer Kitano!

"Trainer Kitano, since you care so much about Shengwang, you must like her very much, right?!" Ulala asked while the iron was hot.

"I like it..." Kitano was silent after hearing this. He didn't think Ulala knew what "like" meant. Based on his understanding of Uma Musume characters, Ulala's understanding of "love" was probably worse than that of the Emperor of the East China Sea. The "like" she mentioned was probably just a simple liking.

"But to be honest...if I were to say I like someone, I wouldn't really say I like the Holy King, right?"

"Ugh?"

Ulala, who received an unexpected answer, let out a long, surprised sound of doubt. At this moment, there was suddenly no movement outside the door, as if someone's heart had died.

Wulala obviously sensed this and quickly added, "Then, why don't you like Shengwang? Wulala thinks Shengwang is very outstanding!"

"She's excellent, I don't deny that." Kitano grumbled softly while blowing Wulala's hair. "But she's such a troublesome person. She's proud and stubborn, and always gets stuck in a rut. They say you won't turn back until you hit the wall, but she's been hitting the wall and still insists on pushing it down. You can't disagree with her, or she'll get angry."

"She's clearly afraid of loneliness, but she never lets anyone see it. If she does, she'll even scold anyone who finds out. Even if I know she's kind, I can't handle her initially difficult personality. It's really troublesome."

While blowing Ulala's hair, Kitano seemed to have opened up a conversation, and he couldn't stop complaining, saying, "Really, the Holy King is really not easy to get along with. If we really want to get along with him, it has to be my Mi Yu. He calls me brother all the time, and it makes me feel so comfortable."

"Ugh……"

At this moment, even Ulala didn't know how to make amends. The kind-hearted Ulala thought carefully about her initial interactions with the Holy King's Halo.

Uh...it seems, maybe, there is indeed a little bit of trouble? Wulala didn't know what to say for a moment. Although she never felt troubled and never had any bad thoughts towards anyone, her initial relationship with Saint King Halo was indeed difficult to describe as harmonious.

Even Ulala had this feeling, so you can imagine how difficult it was for strangers to get along with the Holy King Halo at the beginning, especially since the Holy King Halo always regarded itself as a noble family, which made her relationship with some horse girls who were born into commoner families not so good.

"Then... Trainer Kitano, do you hate Shengwang?" Ulala asked pitifully. She had already begun to feel sad for Shengwang's halo in her heart.

"It's annoying... but you can't say that."

In response to Ulala's opinion, Kitano smiled gently and said softly, "I rarely dislike someone. As for the Holy King, I can't say I like her, but I definitely don't dislike her either."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have taught her, right? And I wouldn't have gone with Ulala-san to find the Holy King today, right?"

"I just hope... sometimes the goodwill I convey can get a little response from Saint King. If Saint King could respond even a little to everyone's kindness, I believe her popularity would be much better now."

This was Kitano's true words, but he knew it was unlikely. At least in his first playthrough, Saint King Aura had never opened up to anyone else. At that time, Kitano could touch the softness in Saint King Aura's heart, but others were not qualified.

The Holy King's personality destined her to have only a few close friends in her life, and those few close friends were the ones she would never give up in her life. Kitano was sure of that.

"I don't like it, but I don't hate it either... It's so hard to understand."

Ulala's little brain obviously couldn't comprehend the complex emotions Kitano was talking about, but Kitano smiled softly and replied gently, "It's normal for Ulala-san not to understand, but actually, this kind of emotion is not difficult to understand."

"Just like I'm complaining to you, Ulala, about how difficult Sheng Wang is to get along with, but I'm still going with you to persuade Sheng Wang. Actually, when I said I was going, I was prepared for the worst."

"worst plans?"