"But I refuse!"
Even though Mejiro McQueen's proposal sounded perfectly reasonable, Tang Han still chose to reject it.
"Huh? Why?" McQueen stared at him in disbelief.
It was such a flawless idea. Why was Trainer Tang Han still unwilling to agree?
Naturally, Tang Han had his reasons.
Just because the Mejiro family's veteran trainer had once guided another horse girl to victory in the Arima Kinen did not mean he could also train Urara to win it.
That horse girl who had taken first in the Arima Kinen must have possessed a certain level of talent to begin with, plus a bit of luck on top of that, which was why she had succeeded under a veteran trainer's guidance.
But Urara was different. She did not have the gifts of those genius horse girls. The only way for her to barely stand on the same starting line as them was through several times their effort.
No matter how capable that veteran trainer was, he probably still could not achieve the goal of making Urara win the Arima Kinen.
Rather than trust some trainer he had never even met, Tang Han would much rather trust the mysterious basement veteran who wrote From Beginner Trainer to Basement Dweller.
Could that veteran of yours take one glance at a horse girl and immediately see the condition of her body, then produce a perfect solution tailored to her exact situation?
The basement veteran could not only do that himself, he could even write an entire book teaching others how to do it.
As the saying goes, teaching can never be one hundred percent efficient. Even one-on-one instruction leaves many things unexpressed, let alone trying to teach by writing a book.
And yet Tang Han could understand that book at a glance.
That meant the basement veteran had already reached the very peak, becoming the number one trainer in the world—the kind who left second place in the dust.
His basement veteran was unrivaled! Tang Han refused to acknowledge anyone else!
Of course, he could not possibly say that directly to Mejiro McQueen. That would have been a slap in the face to the Mejiro family. So he had to put it more tactfully.
"That's because teaching Urara is my responsibility." Tang Han placed a hand over his chest and spoke with deep sincerity.
"From the moment I spoke those vows, there was no way I could leave Urara behind."
"Even if I'm only a rookie trainer, even if I still lack experience, I'll study with everything I have for her sake. No matter how hard it is or how exhausting it gets, that's a burden I should carry."
"And besides, striving together with your own horse girl, suffering setbacks together, overcoming obstacles together, and then sharing in the glory of victory together—isn't that the true joy of being a trainer?"
"So I will never hand Urara over to someone else."
"Urara and I are of one heart and one mind!"
Tang Han shouted the last line with full chuunibyou intensity.
That speech struck straight at the hearts of every horse girl present.
"Trainer-san~" Urara threw herself into Tang Han's arms again, overwhelmed with emotion. But perhaps remembering how she had hurt him last time, this hug was exceptionally gentle.
"Big Brother really is so kind," Rice Shower said with a smile.
I wish Big Brother could become my trainer too, she quietly wished to herself.
The lucky charm hanging on her chest gave a small tremble.
"He's really that devoted to Urara..." Saint Royal looked at Tang Han with a hint of jealousy in her eyes, then sighed as if resigning herself.
"Fine. I'll acknowledge him a little, at least..."
"Responsibility..." Tokai Teio, meanwhile, recalled something Rudolf had once said to her.
"Teio, do you know what the most important quality in a trainer is?"
"It's responsibility."
"Experience and ability are secondary. Only a trainer who clearly understands his responsibilities is worthy of being entrusted with someone."
"And one more thing, Teio. When you go looking for a trainer in the future, never choose one who likes touching you all the time. Things like holding hands and kissing are what couples do, and that violates school rules. So a trainer who can always maintain a proper distance from his horse girl is a good trainer."
Teio watched Tang Han quietly disengage from Urara's embrace once more, and a knowing smile appeared on her face.
"Urara found herself a good trainer."
But when would she find one of her own?
The other three horse girls were happy for Tang Han's decision not to give up on Urara.
McQueen, however, felt conflicted.
"But... but..." she muttered, knitting her brows together.
Tang Han's words had moved her too, yes—but she still could not accept a future where she would not get to drink honey beverages every single day.
Did that really mean she had no choice but to use her family's power to have Tang Han hauled away?
Looking at the increasingly dangerous light in McQueen's eyes, Tang Han felt a bad premonition creeping up on him.
Help. Why did it feel like she was about to send over a whole van full of suited men to kidnap him?
"All right, then. I can make honey drinks for you every day, as much as you want. But I have two conditions."
Tang Han raised two fingers.
"Please, go ahead!" McQueen immediately straightened and asked with utmost respect the moment she saw room for negotiation.
Tang Han nodded.
"Condition one: you may drink as much of my honey beverage as you like, but you are not allowed to give it to anyone else, nor let anyone else know about my craft."
"Condition two: you must accompany Urara in training every school day of the week—five days total. If you don't have time to train with her, you may substitute it with money instead. Let's say... five thousand yen a day."
"Can you do that?"
McQueen carefully considered his two conditions.
Honestly, there was no downside for her. If anything, she was profiting tremendously.
All she had to do was train alongside Urara. That was nothing serious. And on days she was unavailable, she could simply pay instead. A mere five thousand yen? Meals in the Mejiro household cost dozens of times that.
The only drawback was that she would not be able to share the delicious honey drink with her close friends. She would have to drink it secretly every day, hiding it from her sisters at home, like she was committing some sort of crime.
...Wait.
Why did that sound kind of exciting?
"All right then..." McQueen agreed.
And just like that, another member was added to Urara's friendship-training team.
"Yay! Urara loves running with friends the most!" Urara beamed and held out her hand to McQueen.
"Please take care of me, McQueen-chan~"
"Likewise, Urara-san," Mejiro McQueen replied politely, shaking her hand.
Looking at the healing smile on Urara's face, McQueen suddenly felt that the condition of training with her was actually an incredible bargain.
"Then let's begin today's happy training session~"
Under Tang Han's professional guidance, and with the support of four powerful horse girls—Rice Shower, Saint Royal, Tokai Teio, and Mejiro McQueen—Urara's strength began to rise at an astonishing pace.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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