Fifteen minutes later, on the training grounds.
Watching Shinji Kitahara and Tamamo Cross, who were chatting more and more enthusiastically as if they were long-lost friends, Koyoi wore a subtle expression.
I'm supposed to be Tamamo Cross's trainer, but why do I feel like the outsider now?
At first, when Shinji and Tamamo Cross started talking, everything was normal. But as the conversation progressed, he noticed Tamamo Cross seemed a bit nervous. He decided to chat about some lighter topics to ease her tension, so he made a little joke, complaining to her about some of the ridiculous things at Tracen Academy, and then...
"Why are the trainer's dorm and office the same room?! Why are horse girls allowed to just walk into a trainer's dorm whenever they want?!"
"What the hell is with that abandoned warehouse?! Why is it that even though this is a school, there are trainers and horse girls dating everywhere?!"
"Isn't Tracen supposed to be a place for horse girls to run and achieve their dreams?! Then why do the trainers graduate when their horse girls graduate?! Is the horse girls' dream just the trainer?!"
"Whew—"
After her fierce rant, Tamamo Cross sighed and said helplessly, "But it seems like everyone thinks this is normal. Am I the one who's strange...?"
"No, Tamo, you're perfectly fine. It's this academy that's strange!"
After listening to Tamamo Cross's complaints, Shinji Kitahara was incredibly moved, his eyes almost welling up with tears. He felt like he had found a kindred spirit.
How can such a normal horse girl exist?!
Honestly, he had come into contact with a fair number of horse girls, and he now had a full eight under his charge. But if he really thought about it...
Foodies, airheads, perverts...
A pressure monster, an empress of the basement, a mad scientist...
A Yamato Nadeshiko skilled with a naginata, a girl who could see ghosts who was about to join, and the shameless ghost who was always with her...
And then there was the one whose mind he could never figure out, who still silently followed him to this day, and who had successfully become one of Tracen's Seven Mysteries...
Forget normal people; the members of his team were among the most abnormal even by Tracen's standards.
And now, Tamamo Cross stood before him. Though she looked a bit young, her normal words, her crisp Kansai dialect, her slender figure, and her youthful face all gave Shinji a sense of steadfastness and peace of mind.
She was so normal.
So normal that she didn't seem like a student at Tracen.
On the other hand, Tamamo Cross was also very surprised.
After arriving at Tracen and seeing all the strange phenomena, feeling the bizarre atmosphere that was completely different from the rumors, her young heart was greatly shaken.
Damn it, this Tracen isn't a place for horse girls to run and achieve their dreams, it's a whole matchmaking academy!
And what was even more ridiculous was that whenever she complained about this to others, they would always look at her with a strange gaze and say, "Isn't this all very normal?"
Normal my foot!
Tamamo Cross was filled with grief and indignation. She turned and went to find Koyoi. She had thought at the time that Koyoi was one of the few normal people in this godforsaken place, which was why she chose her as a trainer. She thought Koyoi would surely understand her.
Then, Koyoi's answer dealt the final blow to Tamamo Cross.
"Oh, that stuff? Little Tamo, you might not be used to it since you just arrived. You'll probably get used to it after a while."
Although she looked young, Koyoi had been at Tracen for several years. Even if she couldn't understand this strange environment at first and had been puzzled or even trembled in fear, now, after being soaked in the great dye vat of Tracen for years, although she had never participated in it, she had long since become accustomed to and understood all these messy things.
By now, she could face a colleague's shattered pelvis and disappearance without batting an eye. She could even walk calmly past strange noises coming from some corners as if she hadn't heard anything.
And so, Tamamo Cross was dumbfounded.
What the hell? Why does even Trainer Koyoi think this is fine?
Could it be that I'm the abnormal one?
After that, Tamamo Cross fell into self-doubt.
Until today, when Shinji Kitahara started complaining to her half-jokingly, triggering the questions that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time. She couldn't even bother to be nervous anymore and directly entered a frantic rant mode.
And what surprised her even more was that, in the face of her complaints, Shinji not only didn't look at her with strange eyes like others, but he also strongly agreed with her ideas.
This moved Tamamo Cross deeply.
She had already given up, even suspecting that she was the abnormal one. But just then, Shinji Kitahara appeared and told her, "You are the normal one; it's the entire Tracen Academy that's strange."
"Tamamo Cross..."
"Trainer Kitahara..."
The two of them stood there, gazing deeply at each other, both seeing the same emotion in the other's eyes.
I've finally met a normal person!
Just then, a small, deliberate cough came from the side.
"Um, you two, it's probably better not to talk about this topic on the training grounds..." Koyoi reminded them tactfully.
As her voice fell, Shinji and Tamamo Cross also came to their senses. They noticed a few strange gazes looking their way and reluctantly ended the topic, though a hint of reluctance still lingered in their eyes.
Afterward, seeing that Tamamo Cross had relaxed, Shinji stopped wasting time and began to discuss with Koyoi and Tamamo Cross how to deal with her problems.
Although Shinji could have spent half an hour coming up with a plan for Tamamo Cross's problems and just handed it to Koyoi to execute, the problem was that Tamamo Cross was not his horse girl, and Koyoi was not his subordinate but his senior—a senior who had taken special care of him and helped him a lot.
So, both emotionally and rationally, Shinji couldn't do that. He took a humble posture, almost like asking for advice, and helped with the planning through guidance and suggestions.
And this did not escape Koyoi's notice.
After all, she wasn't stupid. She had heard about Shinji's various deeds and had even covered for his team before. She knew more about his abilities as a trainer than others. Especially since Agnes Tachyon's situation was far more serious than Tamamo Cross's, and he could come up with a complete adjustment plan for her all by himself, there was no reason why he couldn't just throw out a plan for Tamamo Cross.
But although she noticed his little actions, Koyoi didn't expose them. She was even enjoying it a little.
Just think about it, such a rookie whose ability was far superior to hers, who was not bad looking, who was not only usually obedient and sensible, but also called her "senpai" all the time. And now he was here, using his clumsy to the point of being cute acting skills to carefully protect her dignity as a senior.
Seeing his hesitant look, Koyoi's senpai-gokoro was more than satisfied. She wanted to hug him and rub his head vigorously.
But that wasn't the most "foul" part.
The most "foul" part was that when the discussion was almost over, with her senpai-gokoro swelling, Koyoi wanted to reach out and pat his shoulder, but after extending her hand, she realized that it was a bit difficult to do so from her height.
Just then, Shinji noticed Koyoi's predicament and proactively lowered his height, allowing Koyoi to pat his shoulder with ease.
But looking at Shinji, who had lowered himself to protect her, Koyoi's hand paused for a moment, then changed direction from his shoulder to his head, rubbing it to her heart's content while Shinji looked on helplessly.
How can there be such a perfect kouhai!
And after the rubbing, Shinji straightened up again and finalized the adjustment plan for Tamamo Cross.
But after finishing, Shinji didn't leave. Instead, he asked Tamamo Cross if she was worried about her family's situation.
At the mention of this, Tamamo Cross, who had been happy from the conversation just now, immediately became dejected. Her eyes started to dart around, and she stuttered. It was impossible for her not to have some dignity or persistence, having grown up in that kind of family environment. Not to mention that her family had sold the things Shinji had kindly left behind due to their financial situation, which made her even more ashamed to face him.
But also because she had seen it before, she knew that Shinji was aware of her family's situation. So, although she was hesitant, she still told him her situation intermittently.
"My family is in a lot of debt because they had to support my training..."
"The villagers are all very nice, but my parents are still a little uneasy..."
"I also have a younger brother and sister, and they're growing up now. Food, clothes, school, all cost money, and my parents are too embarrassed to borrow anymore..."
"And I haven't started racing yet, so I have no income at all, and I still have to take money from my family..."
After listening to Tamamo Cross's account, Shinji nodded calmly, without any expression of surprise or astonishment. After all, he used to be active in the countryside and had seen more than one or two poor families, some of which were even more difficult than Tamamo Cross's. He was used to it.
And the reason why he resolutely agreed to the Black Forest, even though he knew it might be Kudo Kazuya's or even the 'Black Market's' plan, was not only because of the money the Chief Director gave him, but also because he wanted to do his best to improve this situation.
He wasn't a saint who could selflessly give to others when he couldn't even feed himself. But when he could eat his fill and even had a lot of extra income, he certainly didn't mind doing his best to provide some help to others.
And it wasn't just the Black Forest, nor just the countryside, but also the Tamamo Cross in front of him now.
He could see that she was a little uneasy and nervous, even a little embarrassed, and didn't want to talk about this topic much. But he still insisted on asking, and only stopped after Tamamo Cross had explained everything. He didn't want to be inconsiderate of Tamamo Cross's feelings, but the problem was that in some situations, being soft-hearted was tantamount to escaping, which would only make some solvable problems more difficult.
And, after asking everything, after Tamamo Cross had confessed everything, she felt much more relaxed. After all, some things, although embarrassing to talk about, once they were poured out, they would no longer be so suppressed in the heart.
And after understanding the situation, Shinji fell into thought.
Actually, Tamamo Cross's problem was not serious. In fact, from a realistic point of view, there was no problem at all.
Although her family was in debt, it wasn't a high-interest loan, and the villagers knew her family's difficulties and never pressed for payment. They would even deliberately avoid this topic when they met her parents. And, the villagers were not stupid. Tamamo Cross had entered the main Tracen campus and was specially promoted. In the future, let alone paying back the money, she might even have to be asked for help. They were happy to lend her family money. And even if she didn't need their help in the future, when she became famous, those villagers could use this as bragging rights in the future, saying how they had a good eye for talent back then and saw little Tamo's extraordinary potential blah blah blah...
It was just that Tamamo Cross herself couldn't get over it.
If it were another trainer, they might choose to comfort her, give her psychological counseling, or even give her money directly.
But Shinji was different.
Because he was really experienced when it came to being poor. In fact, if we were only talking about poor family backgrounds, the Tamamo family, which could support a racehorse girl and two other children, was not even worthy of carrying his shoes, as he was a homeless wanderer who had to find ways to feed Eclipse.
—Wait, that doesn't seem like something to be proud of, right?
Anyway, in short, because of his past experience, Shinji knew very well what Tamamo Cross needed now, and it wasn't just money.
And it just so happened that Shinji had something on hand that could help her solve her problem.
"So I was thinking, Tamo, have you considered getting a part-time job?"
"I've thought about it, but no one wants to hire me..."
Actually, Tamamo Cross was old enough to work part-time, and Tracen had no restrictions on it. Many horse girls worked part-time near Tracen for financial reasons, or out of hobby, or even just for fun. And among them, there was even a super part-time warrior who held multiple jobs.
But Tamamo Cross had some difficulties in this area. After all, an underage student working part-time, although common, was not something that could be put on the table. Plus, she looked so young, it was easy for people to get the wrong impression that they were hiring child labor, which could lead to unnecessary trouble.
Koyoi, on the side, nodded in strong agreement when she heard this. To this day, because of her existence, Tracen still receives complaints about hiring child labor from time to time, so she was deeply experienced in this.
"Ah, that's fine. That place is a bit out of the way, and usually only acquaintances go there." After a pause, Shinji added. "But although you don't have to worry about being mistaken for a child laborer there, the owner of that shop... um... has a bit of a bad personality. I don't know if you can accept it..."
Shinji was referring to the elderly horse girl in the clothing store.
Because the number of horse girls in Shinji's team was increasing, the elderly horse girl's enthusiasm for making勝負服was also growing. In the past, she could work continuously for several months, making a high-quality custom outfit every two or three days, and only needed three to five days of rest to fully recover. But now, although her state was gradually returning, age was ultimately unforgiving. When she found that she couldn't be as energetic as before, she asked Shinji to find her a helper.
And she specifically pointed out that besides being obedient and sensible, this helper must be a student at Tracen and could not be someone Shinji had brought to see her before.
Shinji was very puzzled by this request. He thought to himself, shouldn't a helper be a proper adult graduate? And why does it feel like she's enjoying the show and doesn't mind a little chaos?
But Shinji didn't dwell on it too much. It just so happened that Tamamo Cross also had a need, so he brought it up.
As for the salary...
Although the elderly horse girl had never told him about this, Shinji knew that she was not short of money. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to throw him two sets of勝負服at such a low price as charity every few days.
And for Shinji's suggestion, Tamamo Cross immediately said that she could go for an interview.
Perhaps if it were someone else, Tamamo Cross might not have agreed so readily, but...
That was the Shinji Kitahara!
The living legend was standing right in front of her. She even still had a button that Shinji had dropped at her house back then in her pocket as a lucky charm. And even if Shinji wasn't a legend, just based on his normal person's speech just now, Tamamo Cross would not doubt him.
So she immediately agreed to Shinji's suggestion and promised to go with him to the clothing store for an interview tomorrow, Saturday.
And so, Tamamo Cross's problem was solved.
After agreeing to go to the clothing store tomorrow, Tamamo Cross went back to training, and Shinji was about to leave.
But just then, the voice of Koyoi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly sounded, with a hint of hesitation in her tone.
"Um, Trainer Kitahara, I suddenly remembered something that I might need your help with. I was wondering if you have time..."
"What's wrong, senpai?"
"Well, that is..." Koyoi's face gradually showed an embarrassed expression, and her tone became weaker. "You know, at my age, my family might be pushing for some things. I was so annoyed before that I lied to them and said I already had a boyfriend. I thought it was over, but they brought it up again recently, and they insist on seeing him in person, so..."
Hearing this, a bad premonition suddenly arose in Shinji's heart.
"Wait, senpai, you don't mean..."
"Yes, that's it..."
"Could you please pretend to be my boyfriend then?"
-------
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