Teio watched the shift in Rudolf’s demeanor and felt pretty sure her tactic was working.
She didn’t know why the President favored her so much, having looked after her daily life since she enrolled at Tracen.
But after her legs broke three times and Rudolf advised her to give up racing, Teio had unilaterally cut off contact with her.
Usually, if she spotted the President from afar, she’d just switch routes.
Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn’t even bother nodding in greeting.
In short, while she used to idolize the President, she felt nothing for her now.
She didn’t want to see her anymore, so she avoided the Student Council office unless she had to.
Yet even like this, the President would still occasionally seek her out on purpose, as if completely oblivious to Teio’s deliberate avoidance.
Given the situation, Teio decided to pull this exact move.
Rudolf’s face lit up.
“Teio, is something wrong?”
Teio cupped her right hand with both of hers, giving her best pitiful puppy-dog look.
“Can’t I just give it a try?
I’ll take good care of my legs.
I won’t get hurt.”
“Hmm…
that might not be a good idea.”
“Why not?
Don’t you want to run with me anymore?” Teio squeezed her hand tighter, her eyes glistening as if misted over.
“I really want to grow up and race against the President I admire, head-to-head, fairly.”
Seeing her pitiful expression, Rudolf’s soft spot was constantly being tugged at.
She opened her mouth to object but couldn’t bring herself to say no.
Meanwhile, Nakajima Shin watched from the side, taking a sip of tea.
Watching them put on this “loving mother and daughter” act, he couldn’t help but think: Some things just work on specific people.
That block of braised tofu really can’t handle Teio’s charm offensive.
She can’t even string together a single objection.
The Emperor is so weak.
While he was muttering to himself, Rudolf reluctantly turned her head back.
She took a deep breath, fixed her gaze squarely on Nakajima Shin, and spoke as if entrusting him with a precious family member:
“Fine.
I’ll give you both this one chance to try.
But if you lose your debut race, don’t even think about competing anymore.
Just stick to easy-paced runs for fun.
After all, you just want Teio to run anyway.
At that point, Teio, you’ll terminate the contract.
Don’t let this ruin his career.”
“Y-yes!” Teio nodded eagerly.
Nakajima Shin didn’t object either.
Yesterday, he’d invited Teio to be his trainee purely to avoid leaving her in the lurch after stirring up her resolve.
If he wanted to motivate her to pull herself together, he naturally needed to be her trainer and give her a path forward.
Now, with Rudolf’s words as a safety net, Teio could give her debut race her all.
Even if the result wasn’t pretty, her mental state would improve.
She’d face her leg issues calmly instead of falling back into self-destructive patterns.
And he could sign Daiichi Ruby or another Umamusume, make enough money, and bounce.
Of course, all of this hinged on Teio losing her debut race.
But Shin didn’t actually want her to lose.
Now that he was her trainer and they were entering races, he had only one thought.
Win.
“Alright, hand me the contracts.
I’ll process them now,” Rudolf said.
Teio quickly pulled the contract from behind her back and handed it over.
She only truly relaxed after watching Rudolf process it and submit the registration to the URA.
“Well then…” Rudolf opened her mouth to say something more, but Teio was already holding Nakajima Shin’s wrist and standing up.
“We’re done here, so we should head out.
Goodbye, President.”
“Wait, won’t you stay a bit longer, Teio?” Rudolf asked, looking hopeful.
Teio’s expression went flat.
“No thanks.
Unlike you, President, I actually have classes to attend.”
“It’s fine, I’ll just approve a leave slip for you.
I bought some freshly baked carrot cookies today, you know.”
As she spoke, Rudolf took a box out of a cabinet.
The moment she opened it, the rich scent of wheat filled the air—the exact same brand Teio had eaten last night.
“No thanks.
I’m watching my diet.
Goodbye, President.”
With that, Teio didn’t hesitate for a second.
She took Nakajima Shin’s hand and made a swift exit, leaving the Emperor zero chance to beg her to stay.
“Teio, wait…”
Bang.
The wooden door shut, cutting off the sounds from the Student Council office.
Letting out a long sigh, Teio looked up at the bright sunlight.
Her tail wagged excitedly, a joyous smile spreading across her face as she threw her arms around Nakajima Shin.
“It’s finally over.
I’m really your trainee now.”
“That happy?” Shin rubbed the back of her head.
“Of course.
Because of you, I found my reason to run again.” Teio pressed her cheek against his neck, enjoying his touch.
“So I can’t let you down.
I’m going to keep running.
You absolutely have to watch me race without blinking, okay?”
Is this getting a bit too heavy all of a sudden?
Shin thought to himself, but replied smoothly: “Of course.
I’ll be watching you run.
So come by my place after lunch.
I’ll hand you the training plan.
Just adjust it moderately based on how your legs feel.”
“Why noon?
Can’t we do it now?” Teio asked, looking up.
“We could, but don’t you have class?”
“Not going.” Teio said decisively.
“I already missed one period.
Might as well skip the rest.”
Hearing that, the corners of Shin’s mouth twitched upward.
It felt like he was back in college with his dorm mates, skipping every elective and picking and choosing which required courses to attend.
Those were glorious days for a student.
Now that he was basically playing teacher, his duty was pretty clear.
“Go back to class,” Shin said, his tone firming up.
“Missing one period isn’t an excuse to skip the rest.”
“No way.” Teio pouted.
“Come on, come on.
I need to catch up on sleep.
I don’t have time to negotiate training schedules with you.”
Seeing his uncompromising expression, Teio’s horse ears drooped.
She muttered unhappily, “…Fine.”
After taking one last deep breath of the lingering scent between them, she reluctantly let go and jogged toward the academic building.
But after just a few steps, she suddenly stopped and turned her head back.
“By the way, Trainer, are you an Oguri Cap fan?”
“No.
I don’t stan anyone,” Shin replied, shaking his head firmly.
Not to mention that back in his day, he’d actually ridden horses and competed in races.
He wasn’t easily swept up by the sight of an Umamusume running.
Besides, his past self had never felt a spark for any Umamusume.
He’d taken out a loan to become a trainer purely for the money.
With money, he could live the good life where he doesn’t have to dilute his shampoo.
With money, he could donate to the orphanage that raised him for 18 years.
With money, he could…
Nowadays, the only thing about Umamusume that might catch his eye was probably just their good looks.
“Then, Trainer, I’ll definitely make you my fan.” Teio smiled and waved.
“Goodbye, Trainer.”
“See you at noon, Tokai Teio.”
Watching her walk away, Shin shook his head and muttered, “Doesn’t a trainer automatically become their trainee’s first fan?
There’s no need to announce that out loud.”
Shaking his head again, he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed toward White Lily’s office.
As a veteran trainer at Tracen, White Lily had naturally earned her own private office through years of solid results.
After sorting things out yesterday, she’d handed him the key to borrow it.
This morning, he could finally get a peaceful nap there.