"Alright, this is the newly drafted employment contract. The salary and benefits have also been approved and decided by the Chairman."
Taking the contract handed to him by Hayakawa-san, Kazuo read it carefully. This document, bearing the official seal of Tracen Academy, clearly stated the salary and benefits for a permanent employee in black and white.
It must be said, it truly lived up to its name as the Tracen Academy in Tokyo. Even for a newcomer like Kazuo, who had just joined and only recently obtained his Trainer license, the salary offered made one secretly gasp.
"In addition to the provided accommodation, as an employee, the Academy's magnetic card will have a 30,000 yen meal subsidy added to it each month. Furthermore, this is just Asama-kun's basic monthly salary. For performance evaluations, bonuses are linked to the competition rankings of the athletes in your team. Also, please provide your bank account number for monthly salary deposits here, and I will forward it to the finance department."
Hayakawa-san truly lived up to her reputation as one of the Academy's mainstays. As Secretary, her work was impeccable. Today, she invited Kazuo to discuss the terms and quickly presented the best solution. Not only that, but she also explained everything to him very thoughtfully.
Kazuo nodded, listening carefully, and after a brief thought, he asked, "Regarding this, I wonder if I could ask Hayakawa-san for a favor."
"What is it?"
"Regarding the salary, can I provide two bank account numbers here? Could the finance department split the monthly transfer in half? After all, I want to send half the money back to my family."
Although expenses in Tokyo were high, Tracen Academy provided accommodation and a monthly meal subsidy.
So, he didn't particularly need a lot of money himself. Sending half his salary back home to help his family might be more prudent.
Hayakawa-san had heard Kazuo mention his family situation before. Although she hesitated a little, she still nodded and agreed:
"I see... Hmm, you can write them down first. I'll instruct the finance department later, and it should be possible to get it approved for you."
"That would be a great help."
Kazuo bowed his head in gratitude, but Hayakawa-san waved her hand and smiled, "It's nothing, just a small favor. Compared to that, if you've confirmed there are no issues with the contract, shall we sign it here?"
Kazuo had largely reviewed the contract. He took the pen and signed it readily.
Taking the contract, Hayakawa-san smiled and extended her hand:
"Asama-kun, please guide me in the future."
Kazuo also shook her hand generously:
"Yes, please guide me in the future as well."
"Oh, and after you're done here, remember to go back to Group A. Tojo-san said she needs to see you."
"Alright."
.
Back in the office, Tojo Hana and the other Trainers were unusually not busy with their own work, as if waiting for someone.
As soon as Kazuo entered the room, everyone stood up in unison. Tojo Hana even came over to him and said:
"Now, Asama Kazutomi has also become an official Trainer, and he will continue to learn and work in our Group A. Let's welcome our new member to the group."
After speaking, Tojo Hana, as the section leader, personally led the applause, and everyone else also welcomed Kazuo's arrival.
This feeling was quite new. Kazuo had already been in the department for over a month, but this formal scale was the first time.
This also meant that he had indeed become a member of the Tracen Academy's Group A Trainer team.
In fact, the members of Group A had privately speculated how long Kazuo would last, as he was working directly under Tojo Hana's supervision. Originally, no one had taken this eighteen-year-old boy seriously, but what no one expected was that Kazuo had now become the youngest person in the department to obtain a Trainer qualification.
Assistant Group Leader Sasaki looked at Kazuo with a smile and kindly said, "From today onwards, Asama-kun is also a member of our Group A. If you have any questions, ask Kitamura, who is sitting opposite you. You can ask him about what to do first."
Kitamura was the somewhat aloof-looking man sitting opposite Kazuo, but in reality, he was a warm-hearted person despite his cold exterior.
He was one of the few people Kazuo could talk to back then, so Kazuo naturally had no objections to this arrangement.
After all, once he became a Trainer, he would still need someone to guide him. Being a Trainer is not a profession where you can simply talk your way through it.
If Kazuo was previously a miscellaneous worker in the group, serving tea and water, then now Kazuo was officially considered a newcomer to Group A.
Kazuo couldn't help but look at the slightly aloof, short-haired man with glasses next to him. Kitamura also looked up at him, nodded slightly as a greeting, and then returned his attention to his work.
"Senior Sasaki! Why aren't I the one to guide Asama!?"
Todo, who was sitting next to Kazuo, questioned.
Clearly, he also wanted to experience the feeling of guiding a newcomer—
However, Sasaki sighed helplessly and said,
"The problem is that Todo-kun only has one Horse Girl right now, right? Instead of guiding Asama-kun, Todo-kun needs to work harder himself... Moreover, Asama-kun passed the exam on his first try, you know."
This was truly a blatant attack.
Asama Kazutomi—seizing an opportunity, he crammed for over a month and obtained his qualification certificate, an 18-year-old rookie Trainer.
Todo—failed the qualification exam twice, only passing it at the age of twenty-eight, a pseudo-uncle who had nothing stronger than Kazuo except for his age.
This was indeed a blow. As soon as Todo heard Sasaki mention this, his face immediately turned green, and he quietly shut his mouth.
To this day, he was still working hard to find other Horse Girls for himself.
Saying he wanted to guide Kazuo was actually just an excuse to experience the "addiction of being called 'senior.'"
After all, here, Todo still had to call Kitamura, who was four years younger than him, "senior." Now, a newcomer had finally arrived... and now there was even a situation where he was clearly outclassed, which made him sigh that it was truly infuriating to compare oneself to others.
"Senior Todo, I'll have to trouble you with some things later."
Kazuo naturally didn't have so many ulterior motives; he simply spoke to Todo, the person who would show off to him for no reason over the past month. Although a bit flamboyant, Kazuo knew that this person's nature wasn't bad.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the first to proactively approach and talk to him back then.
Honestly, Kazuo's relationship with him and Kitamura was the best among these people.
Tojo Hana clapped her hands and said, "It's settled then. Everyone else, return to your positions and continue working. Also, Kitamura, guide Kazuo in registering for the Horse Racing Association website. All right, meeting adjourned."
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