Some time later, after Kitano Ryuuichi and Shizukawa Tazuna smoothly made their way into the director's office—something both of them had grown very familiar with—Kitano found himself once again face-to-face with the head of Tracen Academy: Director Akikawa Yayoi.
"Welcome, Trainer Kitano Ryuuichi! You're the only trainee from the Central Trainer Academy to graduate this year—and you even broke the record for the youngest trainer ever accepted into Tracen!"
"So! I hold very high expectations for you, New Trainer Kitano Ryuuichi! I hope you'll seize this opportunity and contribute to the success and glory of Tracen Academy's horsegirls! That is all!"
Director Akikawa Yayoi though small in stature, barely taller than a child. But whether she was actually an uma musume. Kitano wasn't sure. In his previous life, there were always rumors claiming that Akikawa Yayoi was actually the horsegirl "Northern Taste," but even after so many loops, Kitano had never confirmed it.
It was the same with Shizukawa Tazuna—was she truly "Tokino Minoru"? The hints were many, and all the signs pointed that way… yet Kitano still didn't dare assume.
After all, how was he supposed to casually ask his boss:
"By the way, did you used to race under the name Northern Taste?"
In a Japanese workplace, asking something like that would be suicide. And he wasn't as close to the director as he was with Tazuna.
If Kitano and Tazuna had, over many loops, grown from coworkers to drinking buddies and friends, then Akikawa Yayoi—despite her occasional childish temper—was simply a very good superior.
One major reason Kitano continued returning to Tracen Academy, loop after loop, was simple:
The treatment for Central Trainers was too good.
Kitano had spent several loops working as a local trainer first—and compared to central trainers, the difference was heaven and earth. Higher salary, better benefits, generous insurance… he had even calculated it before: if he retired at the standard age, he would live comfortably middle-class, maybe even better.
And at Tracen, most expenses could be reimbursed by Central HQ—running shoes, racing outfits, even some personal trainer expenses. Trainers had meal subsidies, a single dorm room, free utilities…
Honestly, with Kitano's skills, there was no job in this world better suited for him.
And Director Akikawa Yayoi was an extremely generous boss. Anything he submitted for reimbursement was approved instantly. Leaves were granted easily, as long as the trainer didn't neglect their horsegirl's training.
With a superior so generous, and such high pay and benefits, Kitano naturally liked working under her.
Although the director sometimes asked him to help with a few odd favors, Kitano never complained. After all, "If you pay me well, then whatever you say is correct."
And her requests were never unreasonable: tending her vegetable garden, accompanying her and Tazuna during social events, sometimes carrying her back to the academy when she was exhausted… all normal workplace obligations.
The most troublesome task was when she asked him to prepare a secret resting room in the school building—without Tazuna knowing—so she could sleep during her endless overtime.
As for why Tazuna couldn't know… Kitano guessed it was because the director didn't want her assistant to worry. Tazuna lived far from the city; if she returned home too late, she wouldn't get enough rest.
To Kitano—who had been a corporate drone in his previous life and knew all about handling unreasonable bosses—this was nothing. She treated him well, so he never minded helping her.
Anyway, he got reimbursed.
But still—Kitano and Akikawa Yayoi were nothing more than superior and subordinate. He didn't dare cross that line. Even if he had fantasies of getting a rich boss wife… his self-esteem (and lifelong inexperience with romance) never let him think too far.
He had gone through so many loops, and not once had he even "captured" his own assigned horsegirl.
Where would he find the confidence?
"Hmm…"
As Kitano drifted off in thought, Director Akikawa Yayoi examined him curiously. The more she looked, the more pleasing his face seemed.
"How curious! Trainer Kitano Ryuuichi, have we met before? Why do I feel that…"
That seeing you fills me with a strange, warm joy?
She didn't dare say the rest—it would sound far too much like love at first sight.
Thinking this, she snapped open the folding fan she kept with her, covering her face slightly to hide the heat rising in her cheeks. If Kitano noticed, she'd die of embarrassment.
She was the director, after all. How could she let herself look like she was happy to see a new trainer?
Shizukawa Tazuna, however, noticed instantly. Having worked with the director for so long, nothing escaped her.
Seeing the director blush, Tazuna suddenly felt an unexplainable urgency rising inside her. She quickly stepped forward with a polite smile:
"Director, you probably feel that way because you reviewed Trainer Kitano's documents yesterday, right? His photo was attached. No wonder he seems familiar."
"Suspicious! Really?" the director asked doubtfully.
"It's true, you know."
Tazuna Hayakawa, continued to maintain her gentle smile—the kind where her eyes narrow peacefully, the kind that looks friendly but actually makes people nervous.
"The chairman's memory is really terrible. I recognized Trainer Kitano the moment I saw him at the school gates."
"Oh, uh… I see… so that's what happened."
And of course, Akikawa Yayoi knew her old friend too well. Whenever Shizukawa smiled like that, it meant danger. She had no idea why Tazuna was suddenly upset, but that didn't stop Yayoi from instinctively shrinking back. She was so startled that even her usual verbal tic disappeared.
Still, Yayoi couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than it seemed. She would need to think carefully later about whether she really had met Kitano Ryuuichi sometime in the past.
"Back to business! Now then, Rookie Trainer Kitano—
since you've officially become a new trainer of Tracen Academy, it's time to decide your assigned horsegirl!"
"You can tell me what kind of child you prefer to train. Don't worry—every girl in Tracen Academy is a solar eclipse among horses! (The horsegirl equivalent of 'a dragon among humans.')
In theory, each one has the ability to challenge GI races!"
Her words were as good as openly giving Kitano a special privilege. She didn't know why she naturally felt such fondness for Kitano—but if she liked someone, she wasn't above quietly using some authority to give them a few promising talents.
Tazuna understood the chairman's intention immediately. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something… but decided to let it pass.
…Well, if it benefits Trainer Kitano, then it's fine. Even if the chairman was being a bit unreasonable this time.
"I don't have any particular requests."
Kitano replied seriously the moment the topic turned formal:
"I'm only a beginner. I don't need exceptionally talented girls. I'm worried that my lack of experience might hold them back."
"Chairman, just assign me some ordinary horsegirls. One or two is enough. If there are too many, I won't be able to take proper care of them."
After all, in every previous 'run,' he had nearly died from exhaustion caring for even one assigned horsegirl. How could he handle more than that?
And Kitano had no intention of training 'genius' horsegirls anymore. Those girls deserved trainers who could make full use of their talent—not someone like him, a completely ordinary man. Better not ruin their brilliance.
He wasn't even confident about training regular horsegirls yet.
Even after countless loops, all of the practical knowledge he had came from the horsegirls who once taught him—and he had zero confidence in his own abilities.
"Um…"
His response actually put both the chairman and Tazuna in a difficult position.
They were originally planning to recommend some highly talented newcomers to him…
but Kitano was surprisingly humble—wanting to start completely from zero.
That was fine too, but…
You're 21, the youngest trainer in the Central Racing District! Do you really have no ambition at all!?
At that moment—
Knock, knock, knock.
A confident female voice followed.
"Chairman, this is Symboli Rudolf. I'm here to help with the orientation for the new trainer."
"Come in!" Yayoi immediately answered. She was troubled enough already—perhaps these girls could help persuade Kitano to set his goals a little higher.
As the office door opened, the first person who stepped inside was a tall horsegirl with a natural air of authority. Her presence alone radiated dignity. Her chestnut hair had a distinctive crescent-moon streak woven through it.
Symboli Rudolf—the current student council president of Tracen Academy.
The exact moment she entered was also the moment Kitano Ryuuichi turned around.
For Rudolf, this was the first time she had ever seen Kitano.
But for Kitano… this was the who-knows-how-many-th time he had stood before Symboli Rudolf.
It was exactly like the very first time he had seen her, long ago.
The only difference was that this time, he was young and composed.
Back then… he had already lost his youth, and he had long since lost his composure.
But one thing remained unchanged—
Kitano still didn't dare meet her gaze.
Because after everything he'd been through…
he was still the same as he was on that first day he met Symboli Rudolf:
insignificant, unremarkable, a man who had achieved nothing.