Air Groove was guiding Ryuichi Kitano around Tracen Academy to help him get familiar with the environment. After their earlier discussion ended, Narita Brian and Symboli Rudolf were walking together back toward the student council office. And at that moment, the usually quiet Narita Brian unexpectedly took the initiative to speak to Rudolf:
"Pretty rare, huh? Seeing our dear Emperor go soft. You're normally extremely strict with new trainers."
"All of Tracen Academy knows your terrifying imperial dignity. You became an undefeated Triple Crown winner and a Seven-Crown champion all on your own. And yet today—you actually went easy on some new trainer? You even compromised on the matter of his first assigned horse girl. Care to explain?"
"…What exactly is it you want to know, Brian?"
Rudolf stopped walking and turned to look at her. Brian only shrugged casually:
"Nothing much. I'm just curious why you're being unusually gentle toward someone you just met."
"…And I'm curious why our cold and aloof vice president, Narita Brian, actually took the initiative to shake hands with a new trainer. That's far rarer than anything I did."
Rudolf didn't answer Brian's question. Instead, she shot back lightly. Brian, who was never good with words to begin with, instantly fell silent and lowered her head, simply following Rudolf forward.
"…Hey, is it really fine leaving all that to her?" Brian asked, clearly searching for any random topic to ease the awkwardness.
"Don't underestimate Air Groove's ability. If anything, she's more efficient than any of us," Rudolf replied. But Brian wasn't talking about that.
Rudolf didn't seem to notice, but Brian definitely had. her reaction earlier had been extremely unusual… She wasn't someone who liked getting close to strangers, yet today she was bizarrely proactive.
And thinking about Air Groove's odd behavior only made Brian feel even more unhappy—like something important to her was being taken away. Even she didn't know why she felt that way.
Meanwhile, Rudolf was troubled by the exact same thing.
Ryuichi Kitano… just who is he? Was he that middle-aged man who suddenly appeared in her mind earlier? But… why is he so young now?
And why did she instinctively call him "trainer-kun"? Ever since her debut, Rudolf had never accepted a single trainer. Her family had tried arranging several, but she always rejected them. Even she found her own pickiness strange.
It wasn't that those trainers weren't excellent—she simply felt none of them met the "something more" she believed her trainer should have. For Rudolf, mere excellence was never the standard she sought.
But today, during their very first meeting, she didn't feel the slightest dislike toward Kitano. In fact… she felt an inexplicable warmth from him.
"What's wrong with me today…" Rudolf rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was just tired, or if those strange, impossible memories that flashed through her mind earlier were affecting her.
Yes… She should go home and sleep early. Something about today felt terribly off.
---
Meanwhile…
"Tracen Academy is divided into several areas, but mainly the dormitories, the education district, and the leisure district. A large portion of the grounds is taken up by our 2000-meter race track."
"Of course, even without the training grounds, the campus is massive. Besides the facilities for study and training, I'll focus today on the leisure district. After all, both trainers and horse girls need rest from such intense training schedules."
Air Groove diligently introduced the entire campus to Kitano. But honestly, Kitano felt he was more qualified to give tours—after all, he'd spent what amounted to eighty or ninety years working here across countless loops.
In past timelines, he would pretend to be amazed, play along, act like it was his first time seeing everything. He'd watched half these buildings get constructed.
But now… all he wanted was to skip the cutscene entirely. He could walk Tracen blindfolded.
"Um I actually prefer exploring things slowly on my own. The president gave me an entire week to get familiar with the academy, right? That's plenty of time. Let me look around by myself."
But Air Groove suddenly stopped and turned around. Her expression was… complicated. Like she wanted to say something, but felt embarrassed.
"Air Groove?"
"…Trainer Kitano, please don't be upset with the president."
She clearly misunderstood his silence. Thinking he was still hurt by Rudolf's earlier scolding, she actually tried to comfort him—something extremely rare for her.
"The president is strict, but anyone who knows her knows she's very gentle inside. She just doesn't like showing weakness."
"She hates seeing others look defeated. So please don't blame her."
"…You misunderstood, Kisou. I'm not angry at Ru—at the president."
He almost said her name the way he did in previous lifetimes.
As Rudolf's former trainer, he understood her personality better than anyone. He could never be angry at her for scolding him. If anything, he would've been surprised if she didn't.
Back in his first loop, the two of them clashed terribly. He was stubborn and inexperienced; she was proud, fiery, and harsh. They argued constantly, almost to the point of splitting up several times.
But after that rough period, they learned each other's strengths. Kitano humbled himself and learned from her. Rudolf relied on him to support her behind every race. Only then did they become true partners.
Even during the harsh media storms after her Triple Crown victories, when Kitano suffered the worst criticism of his life, it was Rudolf who would scold him back onto his feet. She always demanded he become a trainer worthy of her.
He owed her too much to ever resent her.
"Everything she said was right. I do need to pull myself together. My talents are limited, but… I think it's time I at least try to overcome my limits."
He had no confidence, but he refused to make others worry about him. He had to try—no matter how many times he'd failed before.
This time, he would not restart. He wouldn't run away again. After so many loops, he had to try raising a horse girl properly.
" let's go to the education wing. Maybe I can find a horse girl who matches me."
"…Then this way, please."
Something in his tone made Air Groove pause. Then she smiled—gently, genuinely. She liked this version of him: the one who was trying, the one who had a little bit of spirit in his eyes. It made her happy in a way she didn't quite understand.
"This year's horse girls are generally excellent. Since the president sees potential in you, I'll recommend a few promising ones."
"I'll be counting on you," Kitano replied casually—though in truth, the education wing was the last place he wanted to go.
He always ran into certain horse girls he really didn't want to face…
But he couldn't avoid them forever. And besides, they didn't remember him anymore. The only thing tormenting him was his own guilt and uselessness.