Tracen Academy seemed more lively than usual today. The normally spacious pathways were now lined with small, simple stalls. The horse girls were in high spirits, their excitement and joy palpable, a festive atmosphere filling the entire campus.
"Oh, is it time for the school festival already?" As a former student of Tracen, Mr. C.B. naturally recognized the signs. What surprised her, however, was that she had been completely unaware of such a lively event.
"Yes, the notice went out a bit late, so I had Air Groove and Narita Brian go to each grade to inform everyone. The fact that you didn't know, C.B., is probably because you've been living off-campus."
Rudolf was clearly not surprised by the scene before her. After all, she, as the student council president, had deliberately delayed the festival for this very day, to lay a trap for Kitano and verify her suspicions.
This entire festival was a stage she had set. She had already laid the bait she was confident would lure him in. Now, all she had to do was guide him to that spot...
"Because the notice was late, we're not restricting the content of the festival this time. It's a way to help the new students integrate. Let's let everyone have a little fun for the next few days."
"The food stalls are just setting up. Mr. Trainer, C.B., why don't we see what else is around? I'm sure there are some stalls that are already set up."
"Let's go then." Rudolf's arrangements were so plausible that neither Kitano nor C.B. noticed that her seemingly natural steps were subtly guiding them towards the stall she had prepared.
A short while later, under Rudolf's lead, they came across a particularly eye-catching stall. With his transmigrator's and Nth playthrough's worth of experience, Kitano quickly recognized the key elements of this stall—the pink color scheme and the unmissable poster depicting two horse girls gazing lovingly at each other, their faces cupped in each other's hands.
There was only one horse girl at Tracen Academy famous for this kind of art and theme: Agnes Digital. This well-known fan of horse girls, a purveyor of fan-made content whose creativity rivaled even Gold Ship's, had a famous hobby of creating "Horse Girl x Horse Girl" doujinshi.
What surprised Kitano, however, was that while he knew Agnes Digital often sold her self-published works at conventions, and was a fairly well-known artist in the industry, Tracen Academy's policy had always been to not interfere with her hobby, but to forbid the sale of such works on campus.
This time, Agnes Digital was here, openly selling her own doujinshi... Rudolf had really approved everything for this festival.
"Oh! President! You came in person!"
Just as Kitano was wondering, a girl with signature long pink hair and a bright red bow popped her head out from behind the small stall. Seeing Rudolf, she trembled for a moment before breaking into a wide, welcoming smile.
"Hello, Miss Digital," Rudolf greeted her warmly, as if she were just another special student under her care, in line with her usual image of a friendly yet dignified president. "How is your stall coming along? Is your first time at the school festival going well?"
"Hee hee... thanks to you allowing me to sell my doujinshi at the festival, President, I can already imagine the crowds of horse girls flocking here, even though the festival hasn't officially started!"
As she spoke, Agnes Digital's gaze then fell on Kitano, who was being pushed by C.B. Seeing his wheelchair, she immediately recognized the famous Tracen figure and greeted him with a slightly unnatural enthusiasm. "Ah! You must be Mr. Trainer! And Senior C.B.! Are you here to buy my doujinshi today?"
"Hello, Miss Digital," Kitano replied. Though he had no official relationship with her, he had had plenty of contact with her in previous playthroughs and wasn't fazed by her energy. In his memory, Agnes Digital was just this kind of enthusiastic horse girl, one who saw herself as a supporting character, a child who, despite her own interests, tried her best not to bother others.
But... today's Agnes Digital seemed a little different from usual. Why is her eye twitching? Is she trying to signal me?
Kitano sensed something and instinctively glanced at Rudolf and C.B. beside him, but saw nothing amiss. When he looked back, Agnes Digital's twitching eye was perfectly still, as if he had imagined it.
"What do you have for sale here, Miss Digital?" At this moment, Rudolf stepped forward, still smiling at Agnes Digital. Digital immediately nodded and said excitedly, "I'm selling some of my older works. Since it's my first time setting up a stall at the academy, the doujinshi for sale are all pretty wholesome."
"Of course, if you don't like them, President, I have other options! I also have a lot of cute horse girl merchandise and some pretty accessories!"
With that, Agnes Digital proudly displayed a wooden rack next to her stall, filled with various horse girl keychains and plushies. Kitano's eyes lit up as he saw merchandise of many horse girls he knew, even some he had trained.
But as his gaze drifted down the rack, he noticed a less conspicuous section of accessories below the merchandise. It was filled with cheap but shiny trinkets, plastic rings and necklaces, all popular items among the horse girls.
And there, a particularly familiar red plastic pendant caught his eye. Whether by coincidence or some other reason, this cheap product was also on Agnes Digital's shelf, placed in an inconspicuous spot. But Kitano, who had a deep impression of this small object, still spotted it. He couldn't help but wheel himself forward and touch the red pendant.
"What is it, Mr. Trainer?" At this moment, Rudolf, her face now showing an obvious, uncontrollable joy, stood out of Kitano's and C.B.'s line of sight. Under Agnes Digital's terrified gaze, Rudolf's smile twisted into something almost ferocious, but her voice remained perfectly calm as she asked, knowing the answer, "Do you like that little trinket?"
"...Maybe," Kitano murmured, his eyes fixed on the red pendant. C.B.'s eyes had been on Kitano the entire time, and as she looked at the pendant, it seemed increasingly familiar.
This pendant... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.
As C.B. stared at the pendant in Kitano's hand, a vision suddenly flooded her mind. The scene before her changed dramatically, the Tracen Academy street morphing into a coffee shop.
In the vision, Kitano's familiar fingers were in front of her... still toying with the same pendant. And in the vision, C.B. seemed to hear... her own voice?
"What's that, Mr. Trainer? A gift from an ex-girlfriend?"
"No... a childhood friend of mine left it with me. She said she'd take it back herself when we met again."
"But... we have met again, and she seems to have forgotten to take it back."
"Eh? Then she must have forgotten you, Mr. Trainer. To think you still hold onto the thing she gave you. You're surprisingly sentimental, Mr. Trainer."
"—But I'm the one you should be most concerned with now, right? Maybe I should give you something too, a memento that will make you think of me whenever you see it?"
"And it has to be better than the one your childhood friend gave you, something that will catch people's eye immediately. Hmm, what a dilemma. What should I choose?"
The voices of herself and Kitano echoed in her mind. In her daze, C.B. didn't even notice the way she addressed him in the vision. But she was sure that in their months of interaction, nothing like this had ever happened. She had never even seen this red pendant before.
But... if this was the first time she had seen it, what was with these visions? Why was the Kitano in the vision toying with the pendant so preciously, just like the real one?
Could it be... that this isn't a vision at all? Is it all real?
C.B.'s sudden silence went unnoticed by Kitano and Rudolf. At this moment, Kitano, looking at the small pendant, didn't think much of it. He simply picked it up out of a sense of affection and smiled at Agnes Digital. "I'd like to buy this. How much is it?"
"—Ah! That's just a cheap trinket, it's worth nothing! As a first-time customer discount for you, Mr. Trainer, please, take it as a gift!"
Agnes Digital, who had been watching Rudolf's expression the entire time, snapped back to reality at Kitano's voice. But this time, the smile on her face seemed forced... and the reason for this was Rudolf, who had instantly schooled all her expressions the moment Kitano turned his head.
In an instant, Rudolf's raw, triumphant joy, the twisted satisfaction of her plan succeeding, was all hidden away. Though she said nothing, her gaze was so intense it was hard for anyone to meet. The suppressed, overwhelming emotion was forcefully contained within her.
Rudolf's plan had succeeded! Kitano's small action had confirmed her suspicions—her Kitano remembered everything about their past! He remembered the pendant, their promise, her!
Even after this reincarnation, he still remembered her... And this time, Rudolf would absolutely not pretend not to know him, as she had in the previous life. She also had her complete memories. She knew what she had to do. She had a chance to fix her relationship with Kitano.
Until, just as before... he became her one and only light, shining on her from now on... Rudolf's hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. The joy was so overwhelming she dug her nails into her palms, drawing blood without feeling it. At this moment, Rudolf just wanted to shout in triumph, to thank the Three Goddesses for their favor!
She had already won!
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