Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

"Here, Trainer Kitano. This shiitake mushroom and chicken stew is C.B.'s favorite. Please have some more."

"Ah... thank you, Mrs. C.B."

At noon, C.B.'s living room was particularly lively. Kitano and Tamamo were now enjoying dinner with her family. C.B.'s parents, who had been a bit confrontational at their first meeting in the morning, were now showing great enthusiasm, enough to startle a normal person.

But fortunately, he himself was not a normal person. And he had had contact with them in a previous playthrough, so he understood very well that this couple, still in their honeymoon phase, were essentially very kind people. As long as it wasn't related to their daughter, they wouldn't have any extreme reactions.

They didn't meddle much in C.B.'s life, but that was precisely because they loved their only daughter too much. They knew her personality, so they respected her independent choices and all her decisions—because even if they wanted to stop her, they couldn't.

He had a deep appreciation for their open-mindedness. After all, to allow their daughter to choose a dying man as her trainer, and even have a ton of scandals about them in the media... any other parent would have probably beaten him up.

But they had affirmed all of their daughter's decisions. This had not only kept him off their blacklist but had even earned him their approval. It could be said that his impression of them was very good.

It's just... their enthusiasm today felt a little off. This didn't seem like the level of intimacy one could achieve on a first meeting. It was more like the level of hospitality he had received after helping C.B. win the undefeated Triple Crown.

He was a little suspicious, and this seemed to have been keenly picked up by them. C.B.'s mother immediately smiled and said to the slightly uneasy Kitano:

"Trainer Kitano, thank you so much for persuading C.B. You know her temper; she's particularly stubborn. Sometimes she won't even listen to us, so we were really worried this time."

"But fortunately, you managed to persuade her to come out and eat properly. This meal is not only to thank you but also to give her some nourishment."

Oh, so that's it. He had a sudden realization. Because he had learned so much he didn't know about C.B. during their heart-to-heart, and then he had become her trainer, the series of surprises had made him forget that he was here to persuade her to come out.

If that was the case, then everything today was reasonable. After all, this couple doted on their daughter the most. He had, at least, solved a difficult problem, so it was only right that he received a little care.

But at this moment, compared to the simple-minded, or rather, completely unguarded Kitano, a certain quiet, ash-haired horse girl beside him had a completely different opinion...

Keep making it up. Tamamo Cross, who was quietly eating, was not focused on the unprecedentedly sumptuous meal before her. She was now more concerned with the thoughts of the C.B. family, to see what their attitude towards him was.

Because she had also been eavesdropping, she had observed their expressions. Combined with their expressions now, she was absolutely certain that these two were treating him like a future son-in-law!

And at this thought, she was a little speechless. She had debuted relatively early... even Rudolf had only been student council president for a short time... but C.B. was a senior-level horse girl in her eyes. She could never have imagined that C.B. would only now, so long after retiring, have the idea of finding a trainer.

And, if you're going to find one, why fixate on this guy? Tamamo looked at the unusually quiet C.B., her eyes full of helplessness—because she knew very well that her own friend, Oguri Cap, was also very interested in him.

Especially since his cooking had made Oguri stop overeating and return to a relatively normal diet these past few days, Tamamo was certain that if there was one person who could completely cure Oguri's psychological illness in the future, he was the most likely candidate.

Based on this point alone, she had to find a way to pair Oguri with him. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about who would take care of Oguri at Tracen after she graduated. She was genuinely worried that without her, Oguri would die of a stomach ulcer from overeating the next day.

Therefore, she had volunteered to come here to "supervise" what happened. She had never expected to become a third wheel, witnessing C.B.'s "sweet" confession scene, which had made her stomach feel a little bloated before she had even eaten.

"No, no, I have to pull myself together. Since no one is watching me now, I should send a message to Oguri and tell her the situation."

Tamamo shook her head, breaking free from her thoughts. While the others were talking, she secretly pulled out a somewhat old-fashioned flip phone from her pocket and, almost by muscle memory, opened her messages and began to type.

And to avoid suspicion, she never took her eyes off the table, constantly observing everyone's reactions, while her fingers had already typed the first line.

...Speaking of which, is this really their first meeting? They get along so well, like a real family.

Tamamo observed the scene at the dinner table. C.B.'s mother enthusiastically served him more food, while her father drank sake alone, lamenting that if he were in better health, he would definitely have a drink with him, only to be immediately shut down by C.B.:

"Dad, Trainer-san is not well. Don't you dare think about making him drink."

"C.B. really cares about him," her mother said, seeing her daughter's nervous reaction to even a joke, and couldn't help but show an ambiguous smile. "It reminds me of the past. Your father couldn't hold his liquor either, but to get your grandfather to agree to our marriage, he drank a lot. I was trying to persuade him just like you are now."

"Yeah, and then I got drunk and fell asleep at my father-in-law's house. If I hadn't been drunk then, you might have been born a few months earlier."

"Dad!"

As expected, after this very deliberate conversation, C.B., who was still in a relationship with her parents, blushed furiously. Especially since the topic was rather private, she finally couldn't help but stand up and stop them.

...It's nice, this kind of family atmosphere. But besides being a little poor and run-down, my family is not bad at all.

Tamamo watched the family interaction, a hint of envy in her eyes. And soon, her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to her own family... although it was in a remote countryside, and there were many children, her parents had done their best to give her the best...

Involuntarily, she was lost in a brief memory. When was the best family gathering she remembered?

"Ah, that's not fair! Big Sis has an extra piece of pork cutlet on her plate! She's abusing her power!"

"Idiot! That's for your big brother! If it weren't for him, our family would still be eating potato croquettes. Where would we get the money to eat meat?! You should be grateful, you little brat!"

...Huh? Big brother? When was that? Who was the "big brother" the little ones were talking about?

And why was the dinner table in my memory so lavish? We never ate that well even during New Year's. And from what they just said, it seems like the family's debts have all been paid off? Didn't that happen after I won my prize money?

However, Tamamo gradually felt that something was wrong with this non-existent memory. But soon, a strange silence fell in the memory, and finally, her younger brother's confused voice came faintly:

"...Big Sis, it's been several years. You should accept the truth, right? Big brother, he's already—"

"Hah!"

Suddenly, as if a video had skipped, Tamamo violently broke free from the memory. And when she came to, she found herself panting heavily, covered in a cold sweat, as if she had just woken from a nightmare.

Wait... what did I just... think of?

However, the memory that had frightened her seemed to have been erased, as if... some kind of protective mechanism in her brain had been triggered? When she encountered a particularly bad memory, she would subconsciously resist it to protect her own sanity.

But she didn't know any of this now. She only felt that she had been distracted for a moment, and her mind was now completely blank of the previous memory.

And in the next moment, she secretly glanced at the unsent message in her hand. After a moment of silence, she slowly closed the phone without a trace and put it back in her pocket.

...Oh well, nothing happened anyway. I don't need to worry so much. I can just tell Oguri when I get back to Tracen.

...

"Still no message from Tamamo."

At this moment, in the Tracen Academy coffee shop, Oguri Cap, who had been waiting for her message, finally gave up after seeing the "typing..." indicator disappear again and put her phone away, saying calmly to her companions.

"It's already noon, and they're still not back." The extremely annoyed Nakayama Festa was restlessly stirring her ice cream, which had long since turned into a brown mush, a testament to her uneasy mood.

She had thought they would be back in the morning. Now it was almost lunchtime, and there was still no sign of them. Frustrated, she shot a fierce glare at Gold Ship, who was competing with Special Week to see who could eat a parfait faster.

If that idiot had been there, this wouldn't have been so troublesome. For the first time ever, she wished Gold Ship had been by his side. At least then she would have been more at ease, because Gold Ship would never do anything out of line.

But C.B.'s house, that place was an ogre's den! Honestly, why wasn't I more assertive? If I had just been a little firmer, that guy would never have dared to do anything to her!

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted it. At this moment, Suzuka, who had been walking in circles around the table, seemingly thinking about something, noticed a familiar figure approaching in the distance. She finally stopped and asked softly:

"Narita-san? Are you looking for me?"

"—Not just you. I'm looking for all of you."

The person who had just walked over was the other vice president, Narita Brian. This horse girl, who had been lucky enough not to be assigned any work by Rudolf because she had arrived a little late in the morning, scanned the group and said, word by word:

"Everyone, come with me to the student council office. The President seems to have something to say to you. It's about Trainer Kitano's ideal. If anyone is not interested, you don't have to go."

As expected, the moment she said this, Suzuka's group fell silent. Even the resentful Festa closed her mouth and, with a cold snort, stood up and chose to go with her.

And what they didn't know was that Rudolf, who had now recovered her past memories, had developed a strong sense of crisis because of C.B. Now that she knew the whole tragedy and the solution, she, with the help of another, had already prepared her first plan...

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