Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

In stark contrast to the situation in Kitano's dorm room, over at the student council office, the ever-busy Symboli Rudolf received an unusual guest, someone she never expected would voluntarily visit her.

Especially after hearing the reason for the visit, she found it even more incredible. She looked at the proudest "lofty flower" of the Mejiro family and, in response to her baseless request, gave her own answer:

"...Palmer, you say you want to choose a new contracted horse girl for Trainer Kitano. I must ask, what is the reason for this idea?"

"Did that girl, Nakayama Festa, do something to anger you? To the point that you want to replace her directly? And even if I am the student council president, I cannot do this without reason, especially since Trainer Kitano and Nakayama Festa have an emotional foundation."

"She did not anger me, Rudolf." Mejiro Palmer, who had already sent away the two vice presidents, now sat before Rudolf in a relaxed but elegant posture, her tone more commanding than explanatory as she replied:

"But she does have aspects that I find unsatisfactory... I don't deny the girl's talent, but her mindset displeases me."

"Oh? What's wrong with her?" Hearing Palmer's words, Rudolf couldn't help but become curious. Kitano and Festa had only been at Tracen for a day, and Palmer already had enough evidence to judge that Festa was not suitable for him?

"The girl lacks a fighting spirit, or rather, a certain spirit of forging ahead in the face of daunting challenges."

Palmer summarized her impression of Festa in a way she thought was easy to understand. However, the moment she said this, she was met with Rudolf's wry smile.

"Palmer, I think you've misjudged Nakayama Festa, or rather, you've misjudged all the horse girls of the Gold Family. They are the most lawless beings on the racetrack."

"Not to mention others, just speaking of Nakayama Festa, although she hasn't debuted yet, I've heard about her training at the Gold Family's home. She treats the racetrack like a gamble. She has the air of an outlaw, and she is a gambler who excels at pushing herself to the brink, trying to win it all in one go."

"—Sirius told me all this. She is very familiar with Festa's racing style. If you say she lacks fighting spirit and courage... I think that's a bit biased."

Rudolf's rebuttal was impeccable, analyzing and refuting based on her more comprehensive information. However, when she noticed Palmer's expression gradually turning serious after hearing her words, she wisely closed her mouth.

"...Rudolf, you don't seem to have noticed that while Nakayama Festa is indeed a gambler, she is not the type to lose her mind completely once she gets heated. This is her advantage."

"But she doesn't know how big her stakes are. She has no idea that some of her capital absolutely cannot be lost. If she knew this, she would never treat a race as a gamble."

Palmer took a deep breath, trying hard to convey her meaning to Rudolf. She didn't really want to replace Festa; she just wanted to add another, more stable and reliable horse girl to Kitano's team, one who wouldn't lose all the "stakes" at once.

The reason for this thought came entirely from the notebook she had found. In it, she had peeked into some of Kitano's secrets. After reading it repeatedly that night, she was surprised to find that if one accepted his miraculous nature, all his actions recorded in the notebook were logical.

More importantly, according to his records, his time was running out. This, combined with the fact that Festa was being sent to her debut race just a week after enrolling, so hastily, deepened Palmer's belief in the authenticity of these records.

She couldn't gamble. She didn't dare to bet a life on the absurdity of everything in the notebook. At the very least, she had to wait until after this debut race to see if Kitano's condition was as he had recorded it, before she could judge its truth.

And... she herself felt an unexpected anxiety. But Palmer didn't think her anxiety was abnormal. After all, a life was at stake. As a well-educated horse girl from a prestigious family, and as someone in the know, she should bear part of the responsibility.

But Palmer doubted whether Nakayama Festa, in her current state, could really win her debut race.

She couldn't be sure.

What she was sure of was that every race Festa ran was extremely dangerous. Especially since, based on clues from the notebook, Festa probably didn't even know that her trainer's life was directly linked to her performance!

"Motivation and pressure are separated by a thin line. And what Nakayama Festa is facing now is only the pressure."

"She only feels that she is shouldering the excessive expectations of a disabled man, and because of this expectation, she cannot run freely, cannot treat the race as a gamble anymore. She has no idea how much that man trusts her, how high the stakes are he has placed on her, and that the consequences of failure are something she cannot bear."

"That's why I say Trainer Kitano is not suitable for her. At least, until she finds her reason to run and the stakes she absolutely cannot lose, they are not a good match."

Saying this, Palmer didn't want to explain further. She looked directly at Rudolf, and for the first time, her perfect, unapproachable face showed a pleading expression as she said:

"So, I want to ask you to add a horse girl you think is good to Trainer Kitano's team. At least someone who can respond to expectations and perform to her full potential—for example, that girl named Tokai Teio would be good. I think she is very suitable."

"...Who Teio chooses as her trainer is up to her. Forcing it on her will only make her dissatisfied." After a long silence, Rudolf didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, she stared intently at Palmer and asked, word by word:

"On the contrary, Palmer, why are you so concerned about Trainer Kitano? He should have had no contact with your Mejiro family before. Why are you going to such lengths to beg me for him? This is not like you."

"And what do you mean by stakes that cannot be lost? Palmer, I want you to tell me the answer in the simplest terms."

Rudolf's mood suddenly became much more serious, stemming from a surge of irritation. The moment Palmer came to her about Kitano, acting as if she knew more about his situation than she did, Rudolf was already quite displeased.

Lately, Rudolf had also been secretly investigating Kitano's background and medical history. For some reason, when she saw him in his wheelchair, looking so weak yet still smiling gently, she felt very uneasy... a little anxious, a little afraid to look directly at him, but mostly, a sense of guilt.

It felt as if she had done something to wrong him in a past life. She attributed all this to the guilt of having wanted to oppress him with power before meeting him, but she knew this excuse was flimsy.

But Palmer's current behavior, acting as if she knew more secrets but wouldn't tell her, was truly annoying.

"I heard from Air Groove that C.B. volunteered to take care of Trainer Kitano. This morning, I saw on the forums that someone took a picture of them being close."

"Could it be, Palmer, that you have the same idea about him as C.B.? Are your tastes that similar?"

"..."

However, Rudolf belatedly realized her tone might have been too harsh. She was usually very polite to Palmer. Why was she attacking her like this now? This was not her usual way.

What surprised her even more was that Palmer, after hearing her words, didn't retort with a sarcastic tone. Instead, she showed a rare moment of dazed silence, not counter-attacking immediately.

And it was this momentary daze that made Rudolf feel something was wrong... Had she accidentally hit the mark?

"Palmer, you..."

"—I didn't expect our great President to say such harsh words." However, before Rudolf could apologize, Palmer seemed to have recovered from her shock. She squinted at Rudolf, her tone now tinged with a teasing flavor as she retorted:

"This isn't like our perfect President. Why are you so anxious? Or... are you actually the one with the idea? The moment you see someone else getting close to your crush, you get jealous like a petty woman?"

BANG!

The moment Palmer finished speaking, a loud noise suddenly erupted from the office desk. In front of her, Symboli Rudolf's body shot up from her seat. The "Emperor's" eyes showed a long-unseen authority and aggression from her active days—a pressure like the gaze of a tyrant immediately filled the entire student council room.

Palmer also slightly retracted her smile, countering with an equally cold aura. For a moment, the first undefeated Triple Crown winner and the first Filly Triple Crown winner clashed fiercely in the small student council room...

Knock, knock, knock.

"Rudolf? Are you in there? I have something important. Open the door."

"..."

A moment later, a familiar voice from outside broke the stalemate. Rudolf immediately retracted her aura, turned her gaze to the door, and said with forced calmness:

"Come in, Sirius."

Click.

As she finished speaking, a serious-looking Sirius Symboli pushed open the door. However, the moment she entered, she keenly sensed the lingering tension in the air. Looking at the slightly messy desk and the still-serious expressions of Palmer and Rudolf, she couldn't help but frown and ask:

"...Did you two have a fight? That's rare."

"Just a small disagreement with a certain lion-like horse girl," Palmer said, lightly brushing off the conflict and taking a sip of water. Rudolf also didn't want to say more. After sitting back down, she picked up her pen and continued:

"It's rare for you to come to the student council, Sirius. Did something troublesome happen?"

"Ah, I was just about to tell you." Sirius's face turned serious as she delivered the news she had received:

"That new trainer, Kitano Ryuichi, collapsed this morning. He's currently being resuscitated at the hospital. Do you think we should go see him personally?"

CRASH! SNAP!

The moment Sirius finished speaking, the sound of a water glass shattering on the floor and a pen tip breaking overlapped. Instantly, the dazed gazes of both Palmer and Rudolf shot towards Sirius, and for a long moment, they couldn't react.

All of this... happened so fast? At this moment, the same thought flashed through both their minds, and at the same time, they thought of... what the worst outcome would be.

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