Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

However, if the extremely calculating Mejiro Palmer knew that the ultimate goal of her plan, which had dragged in almost all the "threatening" targets, had actually been achieved in advance by Mr. C.B., she might have shown an unprecedentedly wonderful expression.

Unfortunately, all the horse girls who signed the agreement abided by the rule of "not revealing the bet to Kitano." Kitano, who had returned from C.B.'s house, did not know what kind of gamble his charges had been involved in during his absence. He only knew that the moment he returned, Nakayama Festa had run up to him and said, word by word:

"Kitano, I want to win a G1! For the upcoming training, I want you to train me with the goal of winning a G1!"

"...This is the first time you've ever asked for extra training, Festa. It's a bit of a surprise. Back at home, you always used to run away when I offered to train you individually."

Back at Tracen, Kitano was a little surprised by her rather abrupt request. After all, he had never heard her express a desire to win a G1 before.

He knew she pursued thrilling duels. For her, winning was secondary. What mattered was whether a race gave her a "life-or-death" feeling. She loved the thrill of pushing herself to the brink and then unleashing all her potential at once!

It was only after becoming the charge of a man on the brink of death that she had developed a sense of urgency, which was why she could still unleash some potential on the track and not completely slack off. But that was about it.

Therefore, he didn't expect her to win a G1 so early. His plan was to slowly test how much strength she could exert in normal races during her rookie period. Even with Gold Ship, his margin for error was not high at this stage. If she went on a losing streak until her senior year's Takarazuka Kinen, as in the original story, he would probably be in trouble.

Therefore, the next race he had designated for her was the GIII Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes. But faced with her request to win a G1, he didn't think much of it and nodded. "If you've made up your mind, then let's aim for a G1 victory."

"...You really don't hesitate at all." Festa was a little surprised that he had agreed so readily. She had prepared a whole list of reasons but now felt she had overthought it. She couldn't help but ask softly, "Aren't you going to ask me why?"

Or... do you actually not care why I made this choice anymore? This thought, she did not say out loud. It came from the deepest fear in her heart, a fear that had existed since their time at home and had grown stronger as more horse girls gathered around him.

Because she knew that for a horse girl who had just won her debut race to immediately set her sights on a G1 was a bit ambitious. A normal trainer would definitely be surprised and repeatedly confirm. It was rare for someone like him to agree immediately after being startled.

Is it because he has Gold Ship now, so he thinks it doesn't matter if I mess around? Just as she had this thought, he, as if seeing through her, drove his wheelchair forward and said with a smile:

"You probably don't know, do you, Festa? The first lesson I learned when I decided to become an excellent trainer was to never go against my charge's wishes."

"We trainers can only plan what we think is the most reasonable route for our charges. But if our ideas conflict with their strong will, then even if we are helpless, we can only support them with all our might."

"Otherwise, they won't feel our support. The result will be not only a failure to maintain the relationship but also a failure to guarantee results."

—This was one of the deepest lessons he had learned in his playthrough with C.B. and Rudolf. Everyone knew C.B. was a horse girl who did as she pleased. Her seemingly gentle but unshakeable personality often caused her to clash with others. This was, in a way, why she didn't want a trainer; she didn't want an obstacle that would waste her time.

But he was different. He knew from the beginning that she was not someone who could be persuaded. Therefore, when he planned her race schedule, he always laid out his plan, explained his reasons clearly, and discussed with her which adjustments were acceptable and which races she definitely wanted to challenge.

Communication is important, and the process of respecting others' opinions before making a decision is also important. Even if it's just a formality, it's necessary to make the other person feel your respect. On this point, he had done very well from the beginning.

In the end, she readily accepted his well-reasoned arrangements, and he fully supported the races she insisted on. This was why their combination was praised as "perfect" in that playthrough, and why she was able to win the "undefeated Triple Crown" before Rudolf.

Therefore, faced with Festa's abrupt but clearly determined idea, he immediately chose to support it. He knew her nerves were even more sensitive than C.B.'s. He was worried that if he raised any doubts, she would fall into a "slump" state like in the game...

"Since you've decided to challenge a G1, then let's work towards that goal." He felt her return behind him, helping to push his wheelchair, and said softly:

"There are less than three months until the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and the Hopeful Stakes in December. If you've decided, the upcoming training will be very tough."

"I'm not afraid of tough," she said with an interested smile. "I like a challenge. Let them bring it on."

"Gold Ship wants to challenge the Hopeful Stakes, but she has to win her debut race first. I'll take the Asahi Hai. I'll win a G1 before she does."

"Mm, I believe you can do it." He nodded, reached a hand around his neck, and gently patted her hand on the wheelchair handle to show his encouragement. He was also looking forward to both of his charges winning a G1. With two G1 victories, he felt he could probably recover to the point where he could move freely.

At that time, he wouldn't have to risk his life to do many things. Besides cooking for Oguri, there was also his extremely skilled acupuncture—a skill he had slowly honed over countless reincarnations. Although he didn't get to use it much in each playthrough due to his physical condition, it still had miraculous effects.

Of course, his acupuncture was just for promoting blood circulation and relieving stress for the horse girls. The kind of acupuncture in novels that could cure any illness, and even speed up the healing of fractures, was something he had never seen. If someone in this world could do that, he would seriously suspect they had a system.

But even just for stress relief, acupuncture could have miraculous effects at times. For example, the enhanced training he was about to implement for her. This intensity couldn't be done every day; even the legendary iron legs of the Gold Family couldn't take it. If he could assist with acupuncture, their training progress would undoubtedly be much faster.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do it for them every day now, unless he was prepared to shorten his lifespan... But there was no need for that yet. Unless one of them really had a leg problem during training, he still preferred them to recover in other ways.

"If only there was a way to reduce the physical burden on them... Golshi is one thing, but Festa's condition needs to be carefully observed."

He murmured to himself, lost in thought. And from an angle he couldn't see, her originally battle-ready smile finally tilted slightly in a gentle direction... Since enrolling, the opportunities to be alone with him had become fewer and fewer, to the point that she was starting to miss it.

To miss the time when he only looked at her... Only then did she feel that this person belonged only to her.

I just wanted you to belong only to me... I wouldn't compare you to anyone, I just needed to be the one who understood your talent. Why has it become so difficult now?

I just want you to be my only supporter, my one and only... "dealer."

Gradually, as she faced his exposed neck, her gaze froze for a moment—she had a sudden impulse, a primal urge to leave her "mark" on his neck.

But before she could act on it, she keenly sensed a sharp gaze coming from not far away. In an instant, her head, which had been bent towards his ear, immediately lifted, her steps stopped, and her sharp gaze fixed on a horse girl in a white lab coat over there!

"—Finally found you, the rumored Trainer Kitano."

"You look a little better than I imagined. I heard that when you first started, you were as pale as if you were about to die. But looking at you now, that must have been an exaggerated rumor, right?"

In the distance, the brown-haired, red-eyed horse girl in a white lab coat was completely unfazed by Festa's glare. She retracted her initial sharp gaze and focused all her attention on Kitano, whose eyes were now darting around evasively.

"Who are you? Are you following us?" Festa, her primal urge interrupted, asked with an extremely unfriendly tone, faced with yet another strange horse girl approaching him. But Agnes Tachyon was not afraid of her threat at all and said, word by word:

"My name is Agnes Tachyon. You can think of me as a dangerous person—however, I also smell a kindred spirit on you. Are you also a latent dangerous element?"

"Huh? You looking for a fight?"

At their first meeting, the atmosphere between the two was extremely tense, like drawn swords. But Tachyon had not come to cause trouble. She soon turned her gaze to Kitano and, seeing that his eyes met hers for a moment before darting away again, she became suspicious, but the smile on her face widened.

He seems to know me. She could tell from his expression that he clearly had some knowledge of her. This inability to meet her gaze was clearly because he was worried she would harm him and understood that her purpose here was for his body.

But in reality... she was only half right. He probably knew her purpose, but the reason he didn't dare to meet her gaze was largely due to his own guilt.

He had said before that although he had gone through so many playthroughs, he had done his best for every charge. He had arranged all his affairs before his death to ensure they could move on from the shadow of his death and continue to live.

But now, he had to take that back... There were still times when he hadn't arranged things properly. Or rather, he had done his best, but he had never expected to still cause trouble for his charge at the end of his life.

And this charge was now standing right in front of him. He didn't dare to meet her gaze because the moment he saw her, he couldn't help but remember the last scene before his death in that playthrough...

...

"Drink it—Trainer-kun! I will succeed! I will definitely succeed! Believe in me!"

"Don't... don't do this... my theory should have worked, please... don't do this to me..."

"Don't die! Without you... I'll never find another guinea pig again..."

...

"How about it? Trainer Kitano, are you willing to talk with me?"

"Huh?" However, coming back from his thoughts, he looked at her with a slightly dazed expression. Tachyon waved her long sleeves, a mysterious smile still on her face as she said softly:

"Let's talk about cooperation. I want to collect some samples from you for experiments. In return, I will provide you with some assistance, perhaps even assistance that can change your sickly body. What do you think?"

The moment she said this, before he could speak, Nakayama Festa, who had been holding his wheelchair handles, froze for a moment, her breathing unconsciously quickening—it was the excitement of this sudden hope! And the instinctive joy and impatience that came with the realization that if this were true, it would change everything!

Change his body... is that really possible? If so, then—

Festa didn't speak, but her heavy breathing seemed to have answered for her. She only felt that the urge to bite his neck from before seemed to have... magnified many times over...

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