Ryuichi Kitano and Tazuna Hayakawa stood at the academy gates.
Both of them stared blankly at each other, their brains apparently having slammed into the same invisible wall.
Whatever had just happened had shaken them hard enough that neither moved for a good long moment.
Finally, Kitano’s mouth twitched.
“Um… Miss Tazuna,” he asked, forcing his expression to behave through sheer willpower, “we’re supposed to be meeting for the first time, right?” He paused.
“So why do you know my name?
Have we… met before?” Inside, Kitano had already made up his mind.
If Tazuna Hayakawa couldn’t give him a reasonable explanation, he was going to march straight to the nearest river and restart.
Yes, Kitano’s “restart” wasn’t like the mobile game, where you could simply give up on a run and start over.
If he wanted to reset quickly, he had to die.
The method did not really matter.
As long as it guaranteed death, it counted.
Kitano had already restarted several loops due to various accidents, so in that particular field, he could safely call himself experienced.
Sure, the process might hurt a little.
But compared to the kind of “pain” that made up Kitano’s life, dying once in exchange for a fresh start was honestly a bargain.
And he had a very good reason to consider restarting immediately.
Because if he hadn’t actually reset successfully, didn’t that mean the Uma Musume he had trained in the last loop still remembered everything?
She would remember their time together.
Remember how he had failed to help her reach her goal.
Remember how, after losing all hope, he had vanished for a while.
After doing something that awful, Kitano did not even need to think about what awaited him if he faced the Uma Musume from his previous loop again.
A furious Uma Musume beating the living daylights out of him.
And an ordinary horse girl’s physical ability was generally over three times that of a human.
Uma Musume were on another level entirely.
Getting beaten up by one of them would be a fate worse than death.
At that point, he would rather someone just finish him off quickly.
So whether Kitano needed to restart right now depended entirely on Tazuna Hayakawa’s answer.
The problem was, Tazuna herself had no idea why she had said the name of this somewhat handsome young man so naturally, like it had been muscle memory.
Now that she looked at him properly, she felt something else too.
For some reason, he seemed familiar.
She was certain this was her first time meeting him.
So why did she feel like she knew him?
It was almost as if… this was not their first meeting at all.
As if they had known each other for a very, very long time.
Tazuna was shocked by her own reaction, but she was still a veteran assistant with plenty of experience.
Her composure returned quickly.
Her eyes flickered ever so slightly, and then she smiled.
“Oh my, I’m terribly sorry.
The reason I know Trainer Kitano is that we were already notified in advance.” She spoke smoothly, her smile warm and professional.
“A new trainer was joining Tracen Academy today.
I looked over your materials beforehand, so I was waiting here to greet you.” Strictly speaking, Tazuna was not lying.
Part of the reason she had been standing at the school gate really had been to welcome the new trainer, Ryuichi Kitano.
She simply had not been sure that the man in front of her was him at first.
Now that his identity had been confirmed, her explanation was perfectly valid.
In fact, Tazuna felt that might not be enough.
She blinked, then tilted her head with a teasing smile.
“Although, Trainer Kitano, I do believe this is our first meeting, isn’t it?” Her tone turned curious.
“So why do you know my name?” She leaned in just a little.
“Could it be… we have met before?
Or perhaps we knew each other in the past?” “Ah… well…” Now that Tazuna had turned the question back on him, Kitano had no idea how to answer.
Of course, this was not his first time meeting Tazuna Hayakawa.
Before he had transmigrated, he had known her from the mobile game.
After transmigrating, she and Kitano had become old acquaintances.
As the Director’s assistant, Tazuna provided a wide range of support to the trainers at Tracen Academy.
And because Kitano usually acted alone outside of teaching his assigned Uma Musume, he and Tazuna, who also had few friends, had naturally formed a friendship over multiple loops.
In some loops, their relationship had even drifted into something a little hard to define.
Something vaguely ambiguous.
Of course, that was only Kitano’s private opinion.
What Tazuna herself thought, he did not know.
And he had never dared to ask.
What if he asked and lost his only friend slash drinking buddy?
If Kitano had that kind of social courage, he wouldn’t have gone through this many loops without a single assigned Uma Musume ever confessing to him.
In any case, their friendship belonged to the past.
The current Kitano and the current Tazuna Hayakawa were, in theory, supposed to be complete strangers.
While Kitano quietly sighed in relief, he stammered out an answer.
“W-Well, before coming here, I did some proper research on Tracen Academy and everyone involved.
I mean, I’m joining this new big family, right?
So I thought if I learned about some of the academy’s seniors ahead of time and built good relationships with everyone, it’d be easier for me to get by here.” “…Is that so?” Tazuna fell silent for a brief moment.
She could tell.
Kitano was not good with words to begin with, and just now his eyes had very obviously darted away.
A sign of lying.
He definitely knew her.
But why did she not remember him?
And if she truly did not know him, then why had she recognized him at first glance?
I really am strange today, Tazuna thought.
Yet for some reason, when she heard Kitano’s answer implying that he did not know her, something in her chest felt a little uncomfortable.
That feeling nudged her forward.
Tazuna unconsciously pressed her lips together, then spoke in a faintly complicated tone.
“Then, since Trainer Kitano knows me…” She looked at him.
“Then… does that mean you’d like to get closer to me too, Trainer Kitano?” “…?” Wait.
Was she always this forward?
Could she joke around like that with someone she had just met?
After experiencing several loops, Kitano suddenly felt as if he had rediscovered his old friend from scratch.
“I’m sorry.
I think that joke went a little too far.” Tazuna seemed to realize a beat too late that her wording had been somewhat dangerous.
She immediately bowed to Kitano in apology.
A faint flush colored her pretty face.
Even near the area by her hips, something seemed to start swaying ever so slightly, as if it could not help itself.
Calm down.
Calm down, Tazuna Hayakawa.
What is wrong with you today?
You and Trainer Kitano have only just met.
You need to have some self-restraint.
After taking several deep breaths, Tazuna barely managed to steady herself.
Soon, her professional smile returned to her face.
Though no matter how one looked at it, that smile seemed just a little forced.
And just a little lonely.
“Welcome to Tracen Academy, Trainer Kitano.
From today onward, you are officially one of us.” “I heard you were not only the sole trainer to pass this round of exams, but also the youngest trainer ever hired by Tracen Academy.” Her smile brightened.
“I believe we may have welcomed another genius trainer.” “A genius, huh…” Kitano gave a dry little laugh.
“Then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.” Kitano had no real thoughts about that illusion of genius.
Anyone forced to take the same question bank over and over for several lifetimes would eventually earn the title of “genius” sooner than everyone else.
Sure, this loop was indeed the fastest he had ever entered Tracen Academy.
But Kitano knew the truth.
It was fake.
He had memorized the answers.
That was all.
And what did being the youngest hire even matter?
Theory and practice were two completely different things when it came to training Uma Musume.
If Kitano’s theory was built on memorized exam questions, then his practical ability as a trainer was nothing short of catastrophic.
Even now, he still believed that.
So he had no plans to become some outstanding trainer.
As long as he was not completely useless, that was enough.
Kitano had grown used to everyone calling him a “mediocre talent.” But that did not mean hearing it no longer hurt.
“Is that so?
But Trainer Kitano, you—” “Whether I’m a genius or a nobody, everyone else will decide for themselves.” Kitano cut in with a self-deprecating shrug.
“All I can say is, Miss Tazuna, it’s better not to expect too much from my abilities.” Then he changed the subject.
“By the way, Miss Tazuna, where are we heading now?” “Ah.
According to procedure, newly hired trainers must first report to the chairwoman’s office.
After that, you will meet the Student Council President.
Once those steps are complete, your employment can officially begin.” Tazuna opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to comfort Kitano after that self-mocking comment.
In the end, she swallowed those words back down and answered with a smile instead.
“Don’t worry.
The chairwoman is a very kind person.
As for the current Student Council President…” She paused, choosing her words.
“She used to have a bit of a temper, but now she is a very gentle and broad-minded Uma Musume.” “Who is the Student Council President right now?” Kitano nodded, but still asked the question.
He needed to confirm the current timeline.
So far, only one loop had ever given him a different answer, but asking would not hurt.
Tazuna answered without hesitation.
“The current Student Council President is Symboli Rudolf.
Why do you ask?
Are you interested in getting to know her as well, Trainer Kitano?” …No, not really.
I already know her a little too well.
Hearing that expected answer, Kitano still could not help feeling a little emotional.
Symboli Rudolf, huh… Well, whatever.
I’ll probably only see her this once.
Better not think too much about it.