"What—so you're saying you want me to do that?"
Staring at the woman in a green office-lady outfit standing in front of him, Fujimura Hikaru wore a look of pure disbelief.
"Ms. Junikawa, are you serious? You want me to handle that many people? I'm not sure I can keep everyone under control…"
"Easy now, Coach Fujimura."
The woman he called "Junikawa" lifted a hand with a gentle smile, signaling him to calm down.
"We're only asking you to serve as a temporary training camp instructor during this period. It won't take up too much of your time. You just need to teach them the basics—race fundamentals and some basic training guidelines."
"Uh… let me think about it…"
Hikaru rubbed his chin, his expression turning contemplative.
It sounded simple when Ms. Junikawa put it that way, but in reality, it was unexpectedly troublesome.
A "training camp instructor" was basically the homeroom teacher of Tracen.
At Central Tracen Academy, not every horse girl was assigned a trainer from the very start. New students were first grouped by class, and then the academy's hired training camp instructors would teach them the essentials—rules and formats of racing—while also running basic training and mock races.
The workload wasn't overwhelming, but it was still training an entire group of horse girls. Calling it a cushy assignment would be a stretch.
Hikaru's main concern was Anmoku.
Anmoku hadn't debuted yet, but proper preparation before a debut race was still critical. Compared to a group of horse girls he'd never even met, his own assigned trainee was obviously more important. If this instructor job interfered with Anmoku's program, he wasn't going to take it.
"What about the original instructor?"
"Apparently their back gave out. They're in the hospital right now."
"…"
Hikaru stared at Ms. Junikawa's smiling face and couldn't shake the feeling she had him neatly in the palm of her hand.
"By the way, why pick me as the training camp instructor? There are plenty of trainers in the academy. A lot of them would jump at the chance."
After all, there were trainers like Okino who didn't have an assigned horse girl. If those guys heard this position was open, there was no way they'd pass up a prime opportunity to scout prospects.
"It was the Chairwoman's decision," Ms. Junikawa said. "And if you ask me, a trainer as capable as you should be able to handle the assignment perfectly."
So his past performance had basically made him too visible, huh?
"And you really don't need to worry," she continued, still smiling. "We're only asking you to cover the vacancy. Once we hire a new training camp instructor, you can go right back to focusing on your own horse girl."
"…Alright. I understand."
With the situation clear, Hikaru nodded and accepted the assignment.
Yes, taking on another job would increase his workload—but it might not be a bad thing.
Getting paid twice was one thing. More importantly, the instructor role gave him the chance to interact with far more horse girls.
He hadn't forgotten the upgrade condition for the achievement Friend of Horse Girls. If he helped more horse girls, he'd have a shot at upgrading the title.
And if he could push that title all the way to an epic tier, his illness might finally be cured.
All things considered, being a training camp instructor was a task he could accept.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
After confirming his answer, Ms. Junikawa exchanged a few polite remarks and left.
Watching her walk away, Hikaru pulled out his phone and checked the time.
"Alright… first, I should go talk to Anmoku."
—
"I got it."
As Anmoku performed lateral steps during her warm-up, she replied without hesitation.
"…That was quick."
Hikaru watched her focus on stretching and felt a little surprised. He'd expected her to struggle with it, maybe even feel conflicted—but it seemed his worry had been unnecessary.
"What, did you think I'd throw a tantrum?"
Anmoku answered without even looking up. Her long legs tightened slightly with the stretch, their beautiful lines visible to Hikaru alone.
"Well…"
Hikaru scratched the side of his nose, a bit awkward.
"To be honest, it'd be fine if you did get a little mad, you know?"
"I wouldn't do something like that." Anmoku shook her head. "Besides, why would I be angry? The fact that you're my trainer doesn't change. Sure, I'm a little unwilling to lose some time with you… but if you accepted this job, that means you really need it, right?"
Hikaru froze for a moment. He hadn't expected her to see through him so cleanly.
After finishing her warm-up, Anmoku looked up and caught Hikaru's blank expression. She curled her lips into a faint smile, put her hands on her hips, and continued.
"If my trainer needs something, how could I, as your assigned horse girl, stay stubborn and childish? We're a team—we're bound by fate."
She smiled like a girl next door, gentle and warm, and somehow the emotion in her words slipped straight into Hikaru's chest.
My trainee is seriously way too understanding…
"Thank you, Anmoku."
Hikaru meant it. Her maturity gave him more room to choose a path forward.
"I'm not saying I'm completely selfless, though."
Seeing him thank her so earnestly, Anmoku's mood brightened. She lifted a finger lightly to the corner of her lips, a mischievous glint in her smile.
"Selfish…?"
"You had another trainee before me, didn't you?"
"Ah…"
Yes—Anmoku wasn't Hikaru's first horse girl.
Before becoming her trainer, he'd coached a different horse girl. And it was that horse girl's brilliant performances that had made Hikaru's name so well-known at Central Tracen.
"Do you remember the promise we made back then?"
"Of course."
Facing Anmoku's serious gaze, Hikaru nodded.
How could he forget? It was the promise—no, the vow—that sealed their relationship as trainer and trainee.
"I'll raise you into a horse girl who surpasses the 'Overlord of the Century's End'—one who opens a brand-new era."
That was the promise between Hikaru and Anmoku, and it was their ultimate goal.
Opera O.
Hikaru's first horse girl—an overwhelming powerhouse who swept multiple top-tier GI races in the Shining Series, a true overlord on the track.
"I'll become the strongest horse girl under you. No matter how many you take on later, I'll be the strongest of them all!"
The girl had declared it to her trainer with absolute conviction.
Anmoku's competitive spirit really hasn't changed.
Watching her brimming with energy, Hikaru smiled—his determination to see this through growing stronger.
He didn't want to be absent on the day Anmoku finally reached her goal.
—
"Hey, I heard we got a new teacher…"
"Who is it?"
"They say it's a really impressive trainer who's teaching now!"
"No way!"
"It's true! I heard it from Ms. Junikawa—apparently he's even a handsome guy!"
"Ooh—!"
In the classroom, the horse girls waiting for their new teacher chattered excitedly. Having been told a new instructor would be taking over, the fresh first-years were practically buzzing.
Their previous instructor had been an older coach—responsible and dedicated, but there was inevitably a generational gap in how he communicated with them.
Now they were getting a younger instructor, and they were thrilled.
More importantly, the new teacher was also an active trainer, and Ms. Junikawa herself had vouched for his ability. That meant he was the real deal. If they could join his team, it would be a huge win for any of them.
Among the excited crowd, a few horse girls remained calm and composed.
"A new teacher, huh? What do you think, Cafe?"
A short-haired girl with tea-colored hair, seated along the wall, smiled as she asked the person beside her.
"No interest…"
The girl called Cafe had long, night-black hair, and golden eyes that gleamed like starlight against the darkness.
"No interest? He might be interesting."
"That's just… your guess, Tachyon…"
"What you're calling a 'guess' is more properly known as intuition."
The girl called Tachyon answered with a grin. Unlike Cafe's blank expression, Tachyon's emotions were written all over her face.
Not far from them, Mejiro McQueen sat upright with her eyes closed, as if the surrounding noise couldn't disturb her at all.
In her mind, yesterday's scene—when Hitomi had helped her—played again and again.
I really need to thank Miss Hitomi properly.
With that thought, she'd asked Ms. Junikawa earlier about "Hitomi."
"Hitomi… I don't recall anyone at the academy with that name."
Even from Ms. Junikawa—who was usually the best-informed—McQueen couldn't get any information about Hitomi. It left her deeply troubled.
Could it be that Miss Hitomi's name isn't actually Hitomi…?
Did Miss Hitomi lie? Or did Ms. Junikawa simply misremember?
Either way, it wasn't good news for McQueen, who wanted to repay her kindness.
"Miss Hitomi… where are you… I should've asked for contact information…"
Unable to find any trace of Hitomi, McQueen stopped pretending to meditate, and instead melted into a purple, ash-gray-haired dumpling slumped over her desk.
Ring-ring-ring—
The class bell rang. The horse girls who'd been clustered together hurried back to their seats, waiting for the new teacher to arrive.
Click, click, click.
The classroom door opened, and a figure strode in quickly.
"Pfft."
Someone in the room burst out laughing.
It wasn't that her sense of humor was weak—it was just that the new teacher's outfit was genuinely bizarre—
Why is he dressed like the KFC grandpa?
-------
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