In the bar, Fujiwara Chiya was drinking his sorrows away.
His senior, a man with a handlebar mustache, set down his glass.
"Listen, Chiya," he said, "I think you should ask the Chairwoman for a few days off. Your current mindset isn't suited for being a trainer. You're not just holding them back; you're holding yourself back."
"I was thinking the same thing," Fujiwara Chiya answered groggily, swaying slightly as he addressed his senior. "Paid leave sounds great, but if I leave, the team I worked so hard to build will just fall apart again."
Fujiwara Chiya, who had earned his central trainer license at twenty-two and passed a series of rigorous selections to enter Tracen Academy, was considered incredibly lucky by others. But only a year into his career, his performance had plummeted.
The reason was simple: the two Horse Girls he was in charge of had lost their races and subsequently terminated their contracts with him.
The main reason they lost was their impatience. Eager to win, they fought for position early in the race, exhausting their stamina and leaving them with no energy for the final sprint.
To say they lost just because they didn't listen would be too simplistic. After all, getting a Horse Girl to follow instructions is part of a trainer's job. As a rookie, Fujiwara Chiya's methods were too gentle to be effective.
He should have reprimanded them, punished them! Disobedient Horse Girls should be sent to the track for twenty penalty laps! No food until they finish! No carrots for half a month!
A trainer needed to establish authority. Who would listen to someone who was constantly meek and subservient? A combination of tough and gentle approaches yielded the best results.
Clearly, Fujiwara Chiya didn't understand this. The Horse Girls blamed him for their failures and angrily terminated their contracts.
From his senior's experienced perspective, Chiya's training methods weren't wrong. Some of his ideas were even uniquely brilliant. Unfortunately, his luck was terrible. The two Horse Girls on his team were both disobedient and had fiery tempers.
Their departure was a massive blow to Chiya, sending him into a spiral of self-doubt. Sometimes, he would change the training schedule three times in a single day.
Seeing his junior's worsening state, the senior had invited him out for a drink and some much-needed counseling.
"Chiya, I wasn't a great trainer back in the day either," the senior said. "Plenty of Horse Girls wanted to terminate their contracts with me. But I never gave up. I worked on improving myself every day, and I kept at it. Didn't I end up training a kid like Inari One?"
"That's because you're talented, senior."
"Haha! Go ahead and ask how many people get into Tracen at twenty-two. You can count them on one hand. When it comes to talent, you're not worse than anyone, you brat."
With that, the senior clapped him on the shoulder.
"Let me teach you a few tricks. As a trainer, the first thing you need is confidence! If you don't even believe in your own words, how can you expect a Horse Girl to believe in you?"
Confidence...
"Second, you have to sell them a big dream!"
"A big dream?"
"That's right. Say things like, 'I'm going to make you the next Triple Crown Horse Girl,' or 'I'll definitely turn you into a world-class athlete.' It doesn't matter if you can actually do it. Just paint the picture and give them something to look forward to."
"And finally, the most important point: you have to understand what the Horse Girls are thinking!"
"What they're thinking..."
The senior grabbed his bottle and took several long gulps.
"You need to be observant. Reprimand them, but don't hurt their pride. Punish them, but don't make them rebellious. Lend a hand when they need help, and comfort them when they fail."
"Being a trainer is all about balance. If you can't get that balance right, they'll grow to hate you, and you'll end up with a terminated contract."
Listening to his senior's advice, Fujiwara Chiya's eyes widened. This was some seriously seasoned wisdom. Although Chiya never understood why the injury rate for trainers at Tracen was so much higher than elsewhere, his senior had been teaching there for seven years. His experience was undeniable.
"That's all I have to say. Chiya, if you want to keep your job at Tracen, you have to remember my words."
"I understand."
With a meaningful smile, the senior stood up and left the bar.
Fujiwara Chiya watched him go.
Be observant, understand their thoughts... That seems tough for me.
Just as Chiya was about to leave, a waitress with a headscarf, brown skin, and emerald-green eyes gently took his hand.
"Sir, you need to settle the bill."
"The bill? What bill?" Chiya was confused. "My senior was treating me."
"That gentleman didn't pay," the waitress said with a gentle smile.
Huh? So that's what that smile meant?
My treat, your money!
"Could you tell me... how much is it?"
"A total of 10,000 yen."
"That expensive?! I only had one drink!"
"But that gentleman had nine."
"When did he drink that much?"
"Right around the time you were slumped over the table, mumbling about how your team fell apart."
Thanks for the reminder, miss!
Chiya reluctantly handed over the only large bill in his wallet.
"By the way, sir," the waitress said after taking the money. "If you're ever in trouble, you can make a wish to the Three Goddesses. If they're in a good mood, they might just help you."
"When in doubt, pray to the gods?"
"Sometimes, seeking a divine solution isn't a bad idea."
Looking at her gentle smile, Fujiwara Chiya turned, gave a small wave, and left the bar.
It was nearly dusk when he returned to Tracen Academy. The plaza in front of the main building was empty.
Damn it! That old sly fox!
Chiya couldn't help but curse under his breath. The more he thought about it on the way back, the angrier he got. He thought his senior was there to help, but he just ended up mooching a free, expensive round of drinks. His already foul mood soured even further.
He found a bench in front of the plaza's fountain and sat down.
Thinking about it, though, what my senior said wasn't wrong.
Consider the Horse Girls' feelings.
To be honest, Chiya wasn't good at that sort of thing. In high school, he could never figure out what the girl sitting next to him was thinking. Every time he tried to talk to her, he'd get scolded for no reason. Even more ridiculously, on graduation day, she confessed to him.
"I think we'd be a good match."
A good match? A good match, my foot! You yelled at me for three years, and now you're telling me we're a good match? Naturally, he rejected her confession. She ran out of the school crying and never contacted him again.
Gazing up at the starry sky, Chiya's eyes drifted to the statue of the Three Goddesses in the center of the fountain. The waitress's words echoed in his mind.
'Sometimes, seeking a divine solution isn't a bad idea.'
Gods, huh.
Chiya sighed. There was no such thing as a god who would grant any wish you made. If there were, the world would have been at peace long ago.
Just as he was about to leave, the image of the waitress's face and her piercing green eyes, which seemed to see right through him, appeared in his mind.
He stopped, reaching for his neck. Hanging there was a coin imprinted with a horseshoe. It was a souvenir a staff member had given him at the first race he ever attended. He had worn it ever since.
He took it off.
"Goddesses, this is probably the most valuable thing I own. If you can, please grant my wish."
With that, he tossed it into the fountain.
I wish for a Horse Girl who will listen to me, one with whom I can share a mutual understanding... and if possible, it'd be great if she was beautiful, with a gentle and kind personality. Well, maybe not gentle and kind, but at least reasonable. Yeah, just like me.
After making a long list of demands, Chiya clapped his hands and bowed his head to the statue.
Naturally, the statue gave no response. It was just a block of stone, after all.
What am I doing? Do I think this is a wishing well?
Watching his souvenir coin disappear into the water, Chiya gave a bitter smile, turned, and left the plaza.
...
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Fujiwara Chiya opened his eyes.
My head is spinning.
It was probably because of the drink last night. His head felt foggy. But no matter how low his tolerance was, could one drink really cause a hangover?
Rubbing his eyes, Chiya yawned.
At that moment, he heard a delicate, charming "Haaah~" from beside him.
Huh? What was that sound?
His eyes shot open. He looked toward the source of the sound and was shocked to find that his vision seemed to have been split in two, showing two different images simultaneously.
One was of a young man with short black hair and a gentle face.
The other was a girl of breathtaking beauty, with white hair, blue eyes, and fluffy, snow-like ears perched on her head.
Click.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and then—
""Ahhhh—!!""
A delicate scream and a rough shout overlapped, echoing through the trainer's dormitory at Tracen Academy.
-------
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