When did she fall so in love with him? Sometimes, Mihono Bourbon would ponder this question. But whenever she tried to find the answer, infinite images would echo in her mind.
The strongest memories that flooded her heart... her dream of winning the Triple Crown. Under Master's guidance, she began to overcome her weakness in stamina and the disadvantage of her naturally short back (a characteristic considered to be of a sprinter), accepting the brutal training tailored for her.
After each training session, exhausted, she would receive his wholehearted care. She still remembered him massaging her tired body, even creating recipes for her.
When she suggested extra training, he would try to persuade her against it. If she insisted, she would be scolded—Master was always overly worried about her getting injured, not even a little bit.
Although it was a scolding, her heart was incredibly warm. Her expression was faint, but that didn't mean her feelings were. On the contrary, she was a very emotional and delicate girl.
Therefore, at that time, she secretly made a resolution in her heart. She had to achieve her dream of becoming a Triple Crown Uma Musume, for no other reason than to repay Master's expectations and efforts. She had to win.
She still remembered the joy of winning her first race. That was the first time Master had held her in his arms.
She still remembered the elation when she won the Satsuki Sho and the Japanese Derby undefeated, just one step away from her dream.
At that time, she had made a secret resolution. If she could become the next undefeated Triple Crown winner, then... she would no longer hide her feelings. She would confess her heart to her Master.
...Of course, all of that became a persistent pursuit. Now, having this opportunity again, she had once again attached this thought to her heart, without showing it.
But if you were to ask her now what the catalyst for her falling in love with her Master was, then her answer would be without hesitation.
—From the very beginning, the moment he chose her, and did not doubt her dream of the Triple Crown, did not despise her mediocre bloodline, and believed that she could do it, she had already fallen in love with him.
She would forever remember the look in his eyes that day. For her, who came from a mediocre background, there was not a shred of contempt. Instead, it was as if he had discovered the most beautiful jewel in the world. He smiled and said:
"Then, let's work hard for this goal together, Mihono Bourbon."
"Although there's not much I can do, I will support you, until the day your dream comes true."
Yes, that gentle, trusting gaze was the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen.
—Just like the Kitano Ryuichi in front of her now.
"Master..."
"Finally... I've found you..."
She softly called out the name again. This time, her eyes shimmered with crystalline tears, but her face was filled with a joyful and satisfied smile.
Originally, she had been worried. She was lucky to have her past memories this time, but would the person in her memory still be him? After all, for her, this was another world. It would be normal if there were some minor changes in the people.
She had been struggling with whether the person would still be the one she loved if he had changed. But now, she no longer had this struggle.
She was certain. This was the person she was looking for, the Master she deeply loved!
He hadn't changed at all. He was still him. The one who would not discriminate against the mediocre, would not laugh at the hardworking. The one who wholeheartedly cared for her, worked for her, gave for her, the person she deeply loved!
She had found him. Finally, she had found him again.
For a moment, her heart pounded. Her cheeks flushed red. One hand instinctively went to her chest, where her heart was beating.
Calm down, calm down... Mihono Bourbon. Master is right in front of you. He won't run away. She has her biggest advantage. Even if in this world, Master seems to have become a little more popular, she still has ways to make him fall in love with her.
The first step was to win this selection race. No matter who stood in her way, even if it was Tokai Teio, she believed she could achieve victory.
"Master, you are mine... No matter where you go, Mihono Bourbon will surely find you."
Her eyes shone with a frightening stubbornness, and she murmured with a fearsome possessiveness, but all of it was hidden extremely well.
"With that said, student Teio, you should understand now, right?"
Kitano Ryuichi was not one to preach great principles. Because everyone understood great principles, everyone could be a moral model at times. It just depended on the occasion and whether one could seize the opportunity.
He was a hack, at least he thought so himself. And he was very clear about his own position. He was a hack, destined to stand on the same side as the ordinary majority. What right did he have to discriminate against those ordinary people? He was a member of this group himself.
If he had to work hard on his own, even the most ordinary Uma Musume at Tracen would be an existence he could never reach in his lifetime. What right did he have to be picky?
So he took care of every assigned Uma Musume with all his heart. In the process of countless loops, he had experienced history time and again as a witness. He came to understand more and more that, compared to the truly genius Uma Musume, those who were born ordinary but could reach the qualification to run with those geniuses, each and every one of them deserved respect.
Mihono Bourbon, Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, Seiun Sky... each of them had broken through the limitations of their bloodlines and reached heights that countless genius Uma Musume had never achieved.
They were the ones who were truly most worthy of admiration. That was why he said he would not open a green channel for Tokai Teio just because she was a genius.
If, just because she was a genius, the efforts of the so-called "mediocre" were to be disregarded, that would not be fair, nor would it be his style. In his bones, he still stood on the side of the so-called "mediocre."
This was also why he had encouraged Mejiro Palmer to persevere. Although she had an excellent bloodline, she had not yet found her own talent. Therefore, he hoped that this self-proclaimed mediocre Uma Musume could also continue to run.
"I... think I understand."
Teio murmured in reply. But not long after, the light in her eyes became brighter and brighter. Her originally proud gaze began to seriously re-examine him.
As expected, the President was right. This trainer—he's really different.
But it was precisely because of this that the Teio who had originally come just to carry out Rudolf's orders, now sincerely hoped that he would be her trainer. She realized that he was really, as Rudolf had said, a special trainer she had been searching for and yearning for.
Since I have to participate in the competition to become his assigned Uma Musume, then I won't use the back door. I'll just honestly participate, right?
Don't think that Tokai Teio only knows how to use the back door. When it comes to competition, I'm not afraid of anyone!
Her eyebrows raised slightly, looking very serious.
"So that means, as long as Teio-sama, like everyone else, wins the selection race, I can become your Uma Musume fair and square, right?"
"Alright! Trainer Kitano! I will, as you said, participate in the selection race with everyone else! When I win, I will make you admit with your own mouth that Teio-sama is your first assigned Uma Musume!"
"That's it! Preliminary Trainer-kun! Thank you for telling me all this. I'm going to train now! See ya!"
Finally, she ran off with a cheerful laugh. She was going to find Symboli Rudolf now. She wanted to tell the president that she had found the trainer she was looking for!
The president will definitely be very happy, right? Thinking this, the joy in her heart was uncontrollable, and her steps became even lighter.
Watching her leave, Ryuichi sighed in relief. When his gaze fell on King Halo beside him, he found that this young lady was, for some reason, also in a daze.
"...Student King?"
"Eh? Me—It's nothing!"
For some reason, when his soft reminder made her subconsciously react, her pretty face turned strangely red. Without another word, she immediately stood up.
"I-I'm full. I should go now!"
She hadn't touched a single bite of her food before she fled in a panic. He reached out, wanting to say something, but in the end, watching her retreating back, he seemed to understand something and muttered to himself:
"With that... it should be resolved, right? It seems, in the future, my team might not have just one assigned Uma Musume."
But... King Halo's attitude right now... He was certain that she definitely did not have past memories. This tsundere young lady's attitude was just too easy to read.
See, I told you. I've already restarted. How could any Uma Musume still have past memories? It never happened in so many previous loops. It's definitely impossible this time.
Thinking this, he was completely at ease. He felt that his life in this loop might have more of a future than any of the previous ones.
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