Air Groove took Kitano Ryuichi off to show him around Tracen Academy.
After the conversation ended, Narita Brian and Symboli Rudolf headed back toward the student council office.
For a while, they walked in silence.
Then Brian, who rarely spoke unless she had to, suddenly glanced at Rudolf and said, “Well, that was rare.” Rudolf turned her eyes toward her.
“Our mighty Emperor actually went soft.
You’re usually much harsher with new trainers.” Brian’s tone was dry, almost needling.
“The untouchable dignity of Tracen’s Emperor.
The undefeated Triple Crown, the Seven-Crown Uma Musume who reached the top by her own strength alone.
And yet that same Emperor compromised over a brand-new trainer’s assigned Uma Musume.” She shrugged.
“Care to explain?” Rudolf stopped walking.
“…What exactly do you want to know, Brian?” Brian met her gaze with an indifferent look.
“Nothing much.
I’m just curious.
You were awfully friendly to someone you only met today.” “…In that case, I’m curious as well.” Rudolf’s expression did not change, but her counterattack was instant.
“To think our famously aloof vice president, Narita Brian, would voluntarily shake hands with a new trainer.
Now that was truly rare.” “…” Brian fell silent.
For someone already bad with words, being hit with that kind of clean return fire left her with nowhere to run.
She could only stuff her hands into her pockets and continue walking beside Rudolf, looking faintly annoyed.
After a few more steps, she muttered, “…Hey.
Are you sure it’s fine to leave this to Air Groove?” “Don’t underestimate her,” Rudolf replied at once.
“In terms of efficiency, she’s better than anyone in the student council.
Better than either of us, honestly.” “That’s not what I meant.” Brian clicked her tongue under her breath.
Rudolf might not have noticed, but Brian had.
Air Groove’s reaction had been strange too.
The Empress was not the type to casually let strangers near her.
She was composed, strict, and wary by nature.
Yet this time, she had stepped in almost too readily.
And for some reason, the thought irritated Brian.
It felt like Air Groove had snatched away something that had fit perfectly in her own hand.
The worst part was that Brian herself had no idea where that feeling came from.
Rudolf failed to notice Air Groove’s oddness for one simple reason.
She had her own troubles to deal with.
That Kitano Ryuichi…
who is he?
Was he the middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared in her mind?
But if so, why did he look so young now?
And why had she called him “Trainer-kun”?
Symboli Rudolf had never taken a trainer since her debut.
Her family had tried to arrange several candidates for her over the years, but she had rejected every single one.
Sometimes, even Rudolf found her own pickiness strange.
None of them felt right.
Just imagining herself being trained under those people brought up a sharp, unmanageable anger.
A sick feeling, even.
It was not because they were incompetent.
They were all excellent in their own way.
But Rudolf had always felt that her trainer needed something beyond excellence.
At the very least, “excellent” was not the standard she truly wanted.
Yet today, after meeting Kitano Ryuichi for the first time, she had felt no disgust toward him at all.
If anything…
There had been a strange warmth.
A familiarity she could not explain.
“What is wrong with me…?” Rudolf rubbed at the corner of her eye.
Maybe she was simply tired.
Or maybe those impossible flashes of memory from earlier had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.
I should get some proper sleep tonight.
Once she finished the work on hand, she would rest early.
She could not allow today’s condition to affect tomorrow’s duties.
“Tracen Academy is divided into several major areas.
Broadly speaking, we have the dormitory district, the academic district, and the recreation district.” Air Groove walked ahead at a measured pace, explaining everything with crisp professionalism.
“A significant portion of the academy grounds is taken up by the training tracks, including the longest course, which measures two thousand meters per lap.” She continued smoothly.
“Even excluding the training facilities, Tracen is still quite large.
Today, aside from the academic facilities where Uma Musume study and train, I’ll focus more on the recreation district.
Trainers and Uma Musume alike need proper rest, especially under long-term training pressure.” Air Groove was being perfectly thorough.
Painfully thorough.
Kitano listened with a polite smile.
In all honesty, he was probably more qualified to guide a new trainer around Tracen than she was.
After all, if he added up all the loops he had spent working here, he had probably been a trainer at Tracen Academy for eighty or ninety years by now.
In the past, he had always played along.
He would act amazed, pretend it was his first time seeing everything, and exclaim how much he had learned.
In reality, he had watched half of these facilities being built.
This time, though?
He just wanted to skip the cutscene.
He could walk through Tracen with his eyes closed.
Please, no more tutorial dialogue.
“Air Groove-san,” Kitano said, choosing his words carefully, “I actually prefer exploring places on my own.
President Rudolf gave me a whole week to get familiar with the academy, right?
That should be more than enough.
I think I’d like to look around by myself.” Air Groove stopped.
She turned around.
Kitano blinked.
Her expression was…
complicated.
It looked as though she wanted to say something, but could not quite bring herself to ask.
“Air Groove-san?” “…Trainer Kitano.” Her voice softened.
“I hope you won’t be upset with the president.” Kitano paused.
Air Groove seemed to have misunderstood his silence.
Apparently, she thought Rudolf’s earlier scolding had hurt him.
“The president may seem strict most of the time,” Air Groove continued, her tone unusually gentle, “but those close to her know she is actually very kind.
She simply dislikes showing weakness.” “She has always been strong.
Because of that, she struggles to watch others fall into despair.” Air Groove lowered her gaze slightly.
“So please, don’t blame her.” “…I think you’ve misunderstood something, Air Groove-san.” Kitano gave a small, wry smile.
“I’m not angry at Ru—” He stopped himself just in time.
“…at the president.” That had been close.
His mouth had almost slipped into the old way of addressing her.
As Rudolf’s former trainer, Kitano understood her temper better than almost anyone.
He was not angry because she had scolded him.
Actually, if Rudolf had not scolded him back then, he would have found it stranger.
In his first loop, before he had gone through all those failures, Kitano had been stubborn to a fault.
Rudolf, meanwhile, had still been a proud, fiery “Tyrant” with her head held high and her temper burning hot.
Their adjustment period had been rough.
Very rough.
Rudolf saw through Kitano’s ceiling early.
She understood his limits and his lack of talent better than anyone.
Because of that, they argued often.
More than once, things had almost escalated to the point where Rudolf left the team.
But once they got through that phase, they began to understand each other.
Kitano accepted himself.
He started learning meekly from Rudolf, absorbing whatever experience she could offer him.
Rudolf, in turn, grew used to the care he provided after each race.
Recovery, scheduling, media management, daily support.
He might not have been brilliant, but he was steady.
Only then did they truly become partners.
That was also the period after Rudolf’s undefeated Triple Crown, when Kitano suffered the fiercest criticism from the media and the outside world.
Every day, he saw people calling him useless.
Dead weight.
A nobody riding on the Emperor’s glory.
And every time he sank into that gloom, Rudolf would scold him.
Stand up.
Raise your head.
Become a trainer worthy of standing beside me.
Kitano was grateful for that.
That was why, even though his first loop had been such a failure, he never abandoned the path of a trainer.
If he had given up back then, he would have betrayed Rudolf’s expectations.
Worse, he would have betrayed everything she had taught him.
Unfortunately…
Many of Kitano’s skills had come from Rudolf, but he had never managed to truly make them his own.
Even now, he still did not understand how to bring everything together.
That was why he had no face to meet her.
So how could he possibly be hurt by a single scolding?
“The president was right,” Kitano said.
“I know I need to pull myself together.” He looked ahead, his smile faint but steady.
“My talent is limited, but I suppose it’s about time I tried using my own ability to break through that limit.” He did not have much confidence.
But he had always hated making others worry about him.
That part of him had not changed.
So even though his original plan had been to become a perfectly ordinary, unremarkable trainer, he forced himself to take one step forward.
No matter what happened, he would not restart again.
Not this time.
He had run away for too many loops already.
After so many lives, Kitano Ryuichi really should try to train one Uma Musume properly with his own hands.
Even if only once.
“Air Groove-san,” he said, “let’s go take a look at the academic building.
I think I might be able to find an Uma Musume who matches me.” “…This way, then.” For a moment, Air Groove said nothing.
Then, quietly, she smiled.
It was not the stiff, formal smile of the student council’s vice president.
It was warm.
Genuine.
Relieved, even.
The way she looked at Kitano changed slightly, gaining a trace of admiration.
A touch of concern.
Air Groove did not know why.
But she liked seeing Kitano like this.
A little more at peace.
A little more willing to stand back up.
When he had first arrived, wearing that empty expression like nothing in the world mattered, something inside her had ached.
But now, seeing him raise his head even slightly made her strangely happy.
“This year’s Uma Musume are generally quite promising,” Air Groove said.
“And since you are someone the president has personally acknowledged, I’ll recommend a few candidates I have high hopes for.” “Thank you.
I appreciate it.” Kitano gave a casual shrug and nodded.
On the surface, he looked cooperative.
Inside, he was anything but.
The academic district was the one place he least wanted to visit.
Because there was always a chance he would run into certain Uma Musume.
Certain faces he really did not want to see.
Still, if he could not avoid it, he might as well go.
After all, they no longer knew him.
The only things tormenting him now were his own incompetence…
and the conscience he still could not silence.