Please Treat Me Well!
7: Chapter 7: I’m Not Worthy…
Please Treat Me Well!
“Hmm, Mr.
Kouki, I will submit my team transfer request to my Trainer tomorrow.
Please take good care of me from now on.” After hanging up the phone, Silence Suzuka picked up a book as usual and started reading.
Because she had no close friends, she spent most of her time before bed reading books.
Even though her dorm room was a double, no one had wanted to room with her, so she was never disturbed.
In a way, it was the perfect quiet room for reading.
*Knock, knock, knock.* The nighttime silence of the dormitory was broken by a sudden knock at the door.
Suzuka looked up from her book toward the door, her face filled with confusion.
She didn’t have any friends who would visit her late at night.
*Who could it be?
Was it Fuji-senpai?
Or Amazon-senpai, who was always trying to get her to change dorm rooms?* “Please come in, the door is unlocked,” Silence Suzuka called out.
*Click.* The door swung open, and to Silence Suzuka’s surprise, standing outside alongside Fuji Kiseki was the girl who had been standing next to Kouki in the spectator stands earlier today.
“Ah!
It’s Suzuka-san!” The girl’s face lit up with pure joy the moment she saw her, her ears even twitching in excitement.
*Why is she so happy?* Suzuka wondered silently.
“Ah, you two should get acquainted,” Fuji Kiseki said with a warm smile.
She stepped aside and gently pushed the girl into the room, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Suzuka, this is Special Week, who moved in today.
From now on, she’ll be your new roommate.” “Living with Suzuka-san?!” Special Week’s ears twitched even faster, and Silence Suzuka subconsciously stared at her tail, which was wagging frantically.
*Why is she so thrilled?* Silence Suzuka couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.
After Fuji Kiseki left, Special Week unpacked her belongings, pulled out a notebook and a pen, and immediately lay down at the desk to start writing.
“What are you doing?” Silence Suzuka couldn’t help asking.
This girl had already sparked too many questions in Suzuka’s mind tonight.
Even though Suzuka was naturally distant toward others, she couldn’t suppress her curiosity.
“I’m writing a letter to Mom!” Special Week replied cheerfully.
“I watched a live race for the very first time today, got to meet Suzuka-san, and now I’m sharing a room with Suzuka-san!
I want to tell Mom all about it!” Watching Special Week enthusiastically write her letter, Silence Suzuka let out a soft, gentle smile and returned to reading on her bed.
*Mother…* Such a distant concept for Silence Suzuka.
She still remembered the very first time she left her mother as a young child her mother had made a huge fuss, but after that, there was no one left to comfort her when she cried.
From then on, she had unconsciously developed the habit of walking counterclockwise around the track.
Once, feeling that waiting in the starting gate took far too long, she had even crawled out from underneath the gate during a race.
*What was my younger self thinking back then?* “All done!” Suzuka, who had been lost in her memories, was suddenly startled by Special Week’s joyful cheer.
“Um, Suzuka-san!
I…
I watched your race today!” “I really admire Suzuka-san!” “So…
um…
I’m clumsy and inexperienced, but please treat me well!” “Special Week, that’s a rather peculiar choice of words.
But…
please take good care of me too.” Looking at the energetic, smiling country girl standing before her, a faint smile touched the corners of Silence Suzuka’s lips.
“Special Week…
may I call you that?” Silence Suzuka asked softly.
“Of course!
Coming from you, Suzuka-san, you can call me whatever you like!” Special Week laughed brightly.
“Special Week, you can just call me Suzuka.” “No, no!
Calling you Suzuka-san sounds much more respectful and nice!” “Heh, as long as you like it.” “Ah!
That’s right!
Suzuka-san!
I brought some fresh carrots grown back home!
Would you like some?” “No…
it’s too late at night for snacks.” The two of them chatted casually until drowsiness finally took over.
They exchanged goodnights and turned off the lights to sleep.
Before drifting off, Silence Suzuka glanced at the clock on the wall.
*Huh?
Have I ever stayed up this late before?* *** The next day, after classes ended, Silence Suzuka headed toward her current team’s Break Room.
Today, she was going to ask her Trainer for something completely unreasonable.
Even though she usually didn’t care about others’ stares or opinions…
Every time she remembered how her Trainer had chosen her during the Selection Race, trained alongside her, supported her, and even offered so much thoughtful advice for her social anxiety…
Suzuka suddenly felt a heavy wave of anxiety and guilt.
When Silence Suzuka arrived outside the Break Room, she saw Kouki squatting right outside the door, holding one side of his face with a hand while rolling his eyes.
“Mr.
Kouki?
Why are you here?” Silence Suzuka asked in surprise.
“You came to talk to your senior Trainer about changing teams, right?
Ow…
no need to go in.” Kouki’s voice was slightly slurred, and he winced as he spoke.
Only then did Silence Suzuka notice that the cheek Kouki was clutching was noticeably swollen and red.
“Ah!
Mr.
Kouki, are you hurt?!
What happened?!
You need treatment right away!” Suzuka gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
Then, recalling what Kouki had just said, she asked urgently, “What do you mean ‘no need to go in’?
Is the Trainer not inside?” “Nah, I already asked your senior Trainer for permission.
At first, he refused to let you go.
But then he got so furious listening to me mouth off that he punched me, so I threatened to ruin his reputation if he didn’t hand Silence Suzuka over to me!” Kouki pointed to the bruise on his cheek and boasted proudly.
“How could you do something like that?!
That’s far too shameless!
I still have to go in!
I’ll apologize and persuade the Trainer myself!” Suzuka said, left completely speechless.
“Pfft, why take it so seriously?
Of course I’m joking,” Kouki rolled his eyes and said with a grin.
“Taking a punch is no big deal.
How could a Trainer give up an Umamusume he worked so hard to cultivate just over a fake threat?” “I just thought it wasn’t right for a quiet girl like you to handle an awkward situation like this, so I came alone.” “Even though your senior Trainer is a bit hot-tempered, he’s actually a good guy.
I talked to him about your future, Silence Suzuka, and convinced him of my plans for you.” “Though he still shouted something like, ‘Even so, she’s a child I raised with my own hands, I can’t just hand her over to you like this!’ and gave me a light punch out of frustration.” “Honestly, Silence Suzuka, you’ve only been enrolled for two or three years!
‘Raised with my own hands’ is a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” “If you don’t win a few G1 races for me in the future to make up for this bruise, I’m sending you right back to your old Trainer, got it?!” Looking at Kouki in front of her—his cheek swollen red, grimacing in pain as he wanted to touch the bruise but didn’t dare—Silence Suzuka froze.
At that moment, Silence Suzuka felt as if she were trapped inside a *Silent Territory*.
Not the *Silent Territory* on the track where she raced far ahead of everyone else, leaving all sounds behind.
Rather, it was a silent world in her mind where her thoughts were in complete turmoil, tears blurred her eyes, and all ambient sound faded away.
*Why is this person so good to me?* He was the one who gave her guidance in her darkest hour before dawn, pulling her out of the abyss of failure.
He was also the one who understood her true feelings and took the initiative to approach her Trainer to handle the team transfer for her.
*Why do I deserve such kindness from him?
Just because I possess extraordinary talent?* Silence Suzuka didn’t know.
Her mind was filled with far too many questions.
She couldn’t understand, didn’t want to understand, and didn’t know how to try.
For her, running was her passion, and it was also her natural gift.
Did she really not care about others’ stares?
Did she really dislike communicating with people?
Did she truly enjoy training all by herself in the freezing morning wind?
Of course not.
But whether it was listening to others’ thoughts or trying to make herself understood, it had always been far too difficult.
Whenever she tried to comfort a junior who lost a race, she would only be told: *”Quiet Suzuka-senpai wouldn’t understand!
Someone with your level of talent is just on a completely different planet from us!”* Why did they say that?
Did she practice any less than they did?
Suzuka had always felt that she and the other Umamusume were all climbing up the exact same steep slope.
She had simply run faster and farther up the hill than the rest.
Yet whenever the sounds behind her faded and she looked back…
They were always sitting together at the bottom of the slope in groups of two or three, looking up at her.
And saying: *”Silence Suzuka is truly a genius after all.”* So she won race after race, until she experienced her very first defeat.
Then their voices shifted to: *”Even a monster like Suzuka-senpai lost, so that other runner must be even stronger.
I guess there’s always a bigger genius out there, huh~”* Suzuka could never comprehend that way of thinking, so she chose to isolate herself from them.
If she hadn’t met Mr.
Kouki, she would probably still be trapped in that cycle of defeat, wouldn’t she?
If she didn’t trust the man who shouted to the world that he believed in her, what would her life look like after this?
As these thoughts flooded her mind, Silence Suzuka stared at Kouki, who looked utterly bewildered as to why she had suddenly burst into tears.
Through her tears, Silence Suzuka let out a gentle, radiant smile—like a lotus blossom glistening with morning dew, so breathtakingly beautiful that it made one’s heart skip a beat.
“Mr.
Kouki…
no, Trainer…
I’m clumsy and inexperienced, but please take good care of me!”