Maruzensky deftly took the tea set from the cabinet and began to brew.
As she worked, her gaze drifted over the mountain of documents Rudolf had brought, curiosity bubbling up. "So much on your plate first thing in the morning? What kind of work is all this?"
"Hm…"
Rudolf melted bonelessly into the sofa, let out a small sigh. "Most of them are proposal drafts."
"Because the Shining Series hype is back, the URA Committee is rushing us on commercial rollouts."
"Merch, games, manga… even convenience-store and drink-shop tie-ins. We've been flooded with pitches of every kind."
At that, she glanced at Kuroha. "You probably have the clearest picture."
"Mn." Kuroha nodded, took the file Rudolf passed across, and casually flipped through it.
As the hottest, strongest squad in Central today, Chasing the Light had become the name on everyone's lips.
Ever since Fujimasa March beat Oguri Cap head-to-head in the Arima Kinen, people outside had started calling them "the team with Central's strongest horse girl."
So these collaboration proposals? They actually got the most of them on his side.
Even though, as a trainer, he earned almost nothing from them—the money went to the featured girls and the academy—
Kuroha still sifted them carefully to find the worthwhile ones.
After all, the bulk of those profits would go to his own girls.
Take Inari One and Fujimasa March as examples: just one month of plushie merchandise sales alone rivaled the prize money of a G2 graded stakes.
And that was only the merch slice.
Maruzensky leaned in, curious, peeking at the colorful pages in Kuroha's hands.
"I always wonder… do these odds-and-ends really count as your job too?"
Hearing that, Rudolf gave a slightly strained smile. "Haha… since it concerns the academy's students, let's say… it counts, kind of?"
She stretched again. In front of Maruzensky and Kuroha, she'd dropped the student-council-president façade completely.
"Well, either way, there's no keeping up. Which only proves how ravenous the demand is."
"This thing's good… that thing's fine… All of it is thanks to them."
A genuine smile surfaced on Rudolf's face, and in her heart she added, silently:
They stirred Central's stagnant pond into a storming sea.
It's… wonderful.
"Come to think of it, ever since you showed up, Kuroha, it feels like everything changed~"
Maruzensky mused as she lifted the pot and filled Kuroha's cup.
"So nostalgic. Our first meeting at Oi Racecourse… it feels like ages ago."
Kuroha chuckled. "True. I never imagined that just a bit over a year later, I'd be… where I am now."
"Heehee, Rudolf was so scary back then," Maruzensky said, covering her mouth with a mischievous giggle. "Face all stiff, asking if you were questioning Central."
"Maruzensky…" Rudolf gave her a long, weary look.
"Ma, ma—have some tea."
The brown-haired onee-san's long horse ears flicked, her mood buoyant from a prank well played.
She took a small sip, then idly picked up a proposal and started reading.
"Mm… 'Horse-Girl Natto,' 'Horse-Girl Sausages,' 'Horse-Girl Tractor'… Horse-Girl Tractor?!"
Maruzensky's expression drifted from curious to blank. "What are these proposals…"
"Heh."
Rudolf smiled helplessly and let that topic die.
But her eyes, almost by accident, fell on the slim stack Kuroha had set on the sofa beside him.
The title on the top sheet came into focus, crisp and merciless.
[Sakura Chiyono O — Retirement Filing]
Rudolf's smile froze.
She sat up straight. The relaxed air vanished, replaced by a hard, solemn edge.
She frowned, her voice dropping. "Kuroha, is that…?"
"Mm?"
Maruzensky felt the mood shift and looked up, following Rudolf's line.
Kuroha picked up the stack. Somehow, his voice had grown hoarse.
"Chiyono O's retirement filing. I plan to report it to the academy today."
He paused, then added, "I'm arranging the upcoming Arima Kinen to be her retirement race."
His tone sounded calm, but both Maruzensky and Rudolf caught it—Kuroha's heart was anything but.
Staring at the thin filing, Kuroha's eyes unfocused.
Why choose a race she can almost certainly not win… for Sakura Chiyono O's send-off?
Kuroha didn't know…
If he'd followed his coldest logic—
once he learned that because of that bout of excessive True Blooming, Sakura Chiyono O had only one race left in her career—
he had two plans for her farewell.
Either pick an officially sanctioned championship at her very best distance, to secure the win.
Or use a G3 or even an open-class race to keep her ticking, then make some G1 in the spring her beautiful final bow.
But Sakura Chiyono O refused.
"At the very end, I want to run together with everyone."
That was the unyielding will she showed him before the Japan Cup.
Maybe, afterward, he took her out for a day of pure, cathartic fun, and that lifted her mood.
But the will rooted in her heart hadn't budged an inch.
So, before the Arima Kinen, Kuroha compiled Sakura Chiyono O's retirement dossier.
Only… the closer he came to handing it in, the heavier his chest grew.
The little cherry blossom who'd begged for cuddles just last year.
The stubborn girl who insisted on the Japanese Derby even if it meant sacrificing her future…
Now, at last, she had reached the end of her racing road.
The brilliance of a horse girl is born in silence.
Once, he could only feel the weight of that line through cold print.
But now that he was truly a trainer—now that one of his girls was really about to retire—
Kuroha discovered just how deep the sorrow ran.
"Kuroha… are you alright?"
Seeing his dazed look, Maruzensky's voice came soft and careful.
"…I'm fine. It's something we all face eventually."
Kuroha gave a rueful shake of the head and set the filing down.
They sat a while longer, skirting the heavy subject with campus anecdotes.
But the room never quite returned to its early ease.
Before long, Kuroha rose, took his leave, and stepped out of the president's office.
Only Maruzensky and Rudolf remained, watching his retreating back in silence, the office hushed.
As horse girls, no one understood better than they the unwillingness and pain of retiring.
But today, they truly felt a different ache—radiating from a dear friend by their side.
When a girl is about to retire, the trainer… hurts, too.
"Kuroha…"
Maruzensky stared at the closed door, worry glinting in her eyes.
Just then, Rudolf laughed—quietly.
It was a small sound, but it blew away the last wisps of gloom.
"Don't worry."
The Emperor's voice was steady, imbued with a certainty that brooked no doubt. "He's not someone who goes down so easily."
She turned, amethyst eyes alight with conviction, and enunciated each word:
"He is the man who will become the strongest trainer in the world."
…
"So… what was my trainer doing when I retired?"
After Kuroha left, the voices of two legends rose again in the office.
"Thought I'd barely finished my Classic year, couldn't run much G1 anyway, and was too expensive?" Maruzensky poked her cheek, rummaging for memories.
"…Your trainer was like that?"
"Mm. I really regret not asking."
Rudolf felt a prickle of dread. "You've been retired how long, and you're thinking of poaching trainers from the youngsters?"
Maruzensky's smile went sunny and unapologetic. "Haven't I been obvious enough?"
"Kuroha's just been hesitant to answer me because of Chiyono O's situation."
"Happiness is something you fight for yourself!"
The brown-haired onee-san winked, then waved briskly and was gone in a gust before Rudolf could stop her.
"Wai—"
Wind swirled in the room.
"…At least help me process some of this work."
Rudolf stared at the towering piles and heaved a deep sigh.
"But… happiness, huh…"
(End of Chapter)
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