Air Groove took Kitano Ryuichi to familiarize him with Tracen Academy. After the conversation ended, Narita Brian and Symboli Rudolf were walking back to the Student Council office. It was then that the usually silent Narita Brian uncharacteristically struck up a conversation with Rudolf.
"How rare. For our great 'Emperor' to actually go soft on someone. You've always been so strict with other new trainers."
"It's famous throughout all of Tracen Academy, the inviolable majesty of the Emperor, the seven-time GI champion who achieved the undefeated Triple Crown all on her own. And this great Emperor actually went soft on a new trainer, even compromising on the issue of his first assigned Uma Musume... Care to tell me what that was all about?"
"...What do you want to know, Brian?"
Facing Brian's somewhat passive-aggressive words, Rudolf stopped and turned to look at her. Narita Brian just shrugged and said nonchalantly:
"Nothing. I'm just curious why you were so friendly to someone you just met."
"...I'm also curious why our cool-headed (emphasis added) Vice President, Narita Brian, would proactively shake hands with a new trainer. Now that's what's truly rare."
Rudolf didn't answer the question directly, instead firing back a small counterattack at Narita Brian, leaving the usually quiet Vice President speechless. She could only lower her head and continue following Rudolf.
"...Hey, are you sure it's okay to just leave this to Air Groove?" Narita Brian started trying to make small talk to ease the awkwardness.
"Don't underestimate Air Groove's abilities. If you ask me, she's more efficient than anyone else here," Rudolf said, completely confident in Air Groove's work ethic. However, it was clear that wasn't what Brian meant.
Rudolf might not have noticed, but Narita Brian felt that the 'Empress's' reaction was also highly unusual... She wasn't one to enjoy physical contact with strangers either, so why was she so proactive this time?
Thinking of Air Groove's strange reaction, for some reason, the annoyance in Narita Brian's heart grew. It was as if something she really liked had been snatched away by Air Groove, but Brian herself didn't know the source of her irritation.
The main reason Rudolf hadn't noticed the change in Air Groove was because she was troubled by the same thing.
That Kitano Ryuichi… who is he? Is he the middle-aged man who suddenly appeared in my memories? But… why does he look so young now?
And why did I call him 'Trainer-kun'? From her debut until now, Rudolf had never sought out a trainer. Although her family had tried to arrange several for her, she had never accepted a single one. Sometimes, even Rudolf herself found her own pickiness strange.
She always felt that those people didn't meet her standards for a trainer. Just imagining herself under their guidance... Rudolf felt an almost uncontrollable surge of anger and nausea.
It wasn't because they weren't outstanding, but Rudolf always felt her trainer should have something more than just excellence. At the very least, "excellence" wasn't the primary standard Rudolf was looking for.
But this was their first meeting, and yet Rudolf didn't sense any of that repulsive aura from Kitano Ryuichi. In fact... she actually felt a strange sense of affinity from him.
"What's wrong with me..." Rudolf subconsciously rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was just too tired today, or if those baseless memories that flashed in her mind had affected her.
I should get a good night's sleep when I get back. Rudolf felt something was very off about herself today. She decided to finish her work and rest early to avoid affecting her performance tomorrow.
"Tracen Academy is divided into several areas, but generally speaking, it's separated into the dormitory area, the academic area, and the recreation area. A portion of Tracen's grounds is taken up by a racetrack with a maximum lap length of 2000 meters."
"Of course, even without the training grounds, Tracen Academy is still vast. Besides the academic area dedicated to the Uma Musume's studies and training, I'll be focusing on introducing the recreation area to you this time. After all, both trainers and Uma Musume need to rest in such a perpetually high-stakes training environment."
On the other side, Air Groove was dutifully introducing the various facilities of Tracen Academy to Kitano Ryuichi. To be honest, however, Ryuichi felt he was more qualified to give the tour than she was—after all, he had worked here for several lifetimes. If you added up his tenures from all his loops, he had probably been a trainer at Tracen for eighty or ninety years.
In the past, Ryuichi had always played along, acting like it was his first time, oohing and aahing, claiming to be amazed, when in reality, he had watched many of these facilities being built.
But now... Ryuichi just wanted to skip the cutscene. He could navigate Tracen with his eyes closed; he really didn't need another introduction.
"Ms. Air Groove, I actually prefer to explore on my own. Didn't the President give me a week to get familiar with the place? I think a week should be plenty of time for me to explore by myself."
However, Ryuichi's words made Air Groove stop and turn around. At that moment, he noticed her expression was a little strange… as if she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to ask.
"Ms. Air Groove?"
"...Trainer Kitano, I hope you're not angry with the President."
Just then, Air Groove seemed to have misunderstood something. She thought Ryuichi's silence was due to being upset by Rudolf's earlier scolding. In a rare moment, she offered words of comfort, "The President is usually a very strict person, but those who know her well understand that she's actually very gentle at heart. She just doesn't like to show her weaker side."
"The President has always been strong, so she often can't stand to see others looking dejected. But please, don't hold it against her."
"...I think you've misunderstood something, Ms. Air Groove. I'm not mad at Ru— I mean, at the President."
He had almost let his old way of addressing her slip out. But as Rudolf's former trainer, Ryuichi knew her temperament well. He wasn't angry about her scolding him; on the contrary, he would have found it strange if she hadn't scolded him.
Back in his first loop, before he had experienced so much, Ryuichi was a one-track-minded person, and Rudolf was a proud and fiery "tyrant." Their break-in period had been quite rough. Adding to that, Rudolf had seen through Ryuichi's limits and talents early on, leading to many arguments. They had even come close to parting ways several times.
But after that period, both of them began to understand each other's strengths. Ryuichi accepted his limitations and began to meekly absorb experience from Rudolf, while Rudolf enjoyed the post-race support services he provided. Only then did the two truly become partners.
That period, after her undefeated Triple Crown, was also when Ryuichi faced the most criticism from the media and the public. He was always in a bad mood from seeing the negative press, and Rudolf would constantly scold him, telling him to pull himself together and become a trainer worthy of her.
Ryuichi was very grateful for her encouragement along the way. This was also why, despite his utter failure in the first loop, he never gave up on being a trainer—if he had given up then, he would have truly been letting down Rudolf's expectations and teachings.
It was just a pity that while much of what he knew was taught by Rudolf, he still couldn't fully grasp and apply it. Even now, he still didn't get it, which made him even more ashamed to face her. Why would he be upset by her scolding?
"The President was absolutely right. I understand that I need to get my act together. Although my talent is limited, I think it's about time I tried to push my own limits."
Although Ryuichi wasn't very confident, his personality, which hated worrying others, forced him to try things he wasn't good at—even if his initial plan had been to just be a mediocre trainer.
But no matter what, he absolutely would not restart this time. He couldn't run away anymore. After so many loops, Ryuichi really should try to raise a Uma Musume and break through his own barriers.
"Ms. Air Groove, let's go to the school building and see the girls. I think I should be able to find a Uma Musume who's a good match for me."
"...Then let's go this way."
Hearing Ryuichi's somewhat revitalized words, Air Groove was silent for a moment. The next second, a genuinely pleased smile appeared on her face, and her gaze towards him seemed to hold a newfound appreciation and care.
She didn't know why… but Air Groove really liked Ryuichi's current relaxed and slightly energized state. Seeing him like this made her happy, whereas seeing his initial "I don't care about anything" attitude made her feel instinctively sad.
"The quality of this year's Uma Musume is generally quite good. But, since you are someone the President has high hopes for, I will recommend a few girls that I'm personally optimistic about."
"Then I'll be in your care," Ryuichi shrugged and nodded in agreement. In reality, however, he was the person who least wanted to go to the academic area.
Because he would always run into some Uma Musume he really didn't want to see… But since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well go. Anyway, they didn't know him anymore. The only things tormenting him were his own incompetence and his guilty conscience.
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