Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live

"I'm back again... Tracen Academy."

As the train arrived at the station, Kitano, with Nakayama Festa's help, was seated in his wheelchair before the gates of the Central Tracen Academy. Looking at the horse girl academy he had visited countless times, a wave of emotion washed over him.

Unlike most transmigrators, Kitano's every attempt to enter Tracen Academy was fraught with difficulty. As mentioned, his physical exam was a non-starter. He had almost no chance of getting a central trainer's license through normal channels. To make matters worse, he had to sign a contract with a horse girl to establish a formal relationship; otherwise, their victories would have no effect on his lifespan.

Therefore, Kitano had an extra, arduous task compared to other trainers: first, he had to gain Tracen's approval and get a trainer's license.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that trouble anymore," Nakayama Festa said calmly as she pushed his wheelchair. "Today is the start of the school year. You and I will go to the Director's office later. Big Sis has already put in a good word, and the Director knows about your situation."

"Don't say anything later, just let me do the talking. I'll just tell them that if they don't take you, I won't run. I'm sure the Director won't make things difficult for you."

Yes, several years ago, the head of the Gold Family, "Stay Gold," had forcefully "picked up" the sickly university student Kitano and brought him home. And so, Kitano had once again, inexplicably, become the in-house trainer for the Gold Family's horse girls.

What? Why "once again"? Because Stay Gold had also been one of Kitano's contracted horse girls in a previous playthrough. And in that playthrough, Stay Gold had acted in a very similar, non-negotiable manner, forcefully making the sickly Kitano her trainer. Her reasons were also similar to Festa's—she felt that someone as desperate as Kitano could bring out her potential.

This made Kitano wonder in this current playthrough if the Gold Family had some strange, hereditary requirement for trainers. Otherwise, why would both Stay Gold and Nakayama Festa be so fixated on him?

Regardless, while Stay Gold's racing record wasn't stellar—neither in Kitano's previous playthrough nor in the current one—she somehow seemed to have a lot of connections, or perhaps the Gold Family had some special persuasion techniques. In any case, in the playthrough with Stay Gold, Kitano had faced the least resistance in obtaining his license.

"Alright, let's go in."

Without another word, Nakayama Festa pushed Kitano into the academy. Behind them, a tall horse girl in a Tracen Academy uniform, surrounded by several new students, noticed Nakayama Festa's figure passing by.

"Sirius-senpai? What is it?"

"—It's nothing. I just thought I saw someone I know."

Sirius Symboli's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Nakayama Festa pushing the wheelchair with interest. Or rather, she was interested in the person in the wheelchair.

Although Festa was a new student, Sirius had known her for some time. Sirius had always found Festa's "gambler" personality to her liking. For this reason, she had already spoken with the student council to arrange for Festa to be her roommate.

Sirius knew Festa's character, which was why she was so intrigued by the person Festa cared so much about. After all, Sirius, who had a similar personality to Festa, didn't have many close friends. The fact that Festa had such an intimate companion made her intensely curious.

"He doesn't look like a relative... A while ago, I heard from the President that the Gold Family was recommending a trainer. The President seemed quite displeased with this kind of backdoor dealing."

"Could it be... that's him?"

Nakayama Festa had no idea that Kitano, whom she had just been musing no normal person would be interested in, had already been targeted by an unexpected person the moment she set foot in the school.

She pushed Kitano slowly towards the student council office, her pace steady. Since it was the start of the school year, the most common sight for them along the way were the various trainers at Tracen Academy beginning their recruitment activities.

Each year, the influx of new students was the most active time for Tracen's trainers and horse girls. New trainers hoped to seize the opportunity to find promising prospects and cultivate a horse girl who could win a G-race. Many rookie trainers, having just started, didn't have a single contract and were casting a wide net, eager to recruit as many as they could.

However, the veteran trainers who had already produced G-race winners, or even G1 champions, were much more cautious.

Or rather, the glares from the senior horse girls surrounding them, who scanned every passing new student with hawk-like eyes, forced them to be cautious.

Some veterans, seeing rookie trainers recklessly trying to recruit several new horse girls at once, would cast pitiful glances, lamenting another naive young person making the same mistake they all once made.

"I think this trainer seems nice! He's new and doesn't have any other contracts. I should be able to focus on running with him, right?" "Really? I prefer someone a bit more mature. They should have more experience." "Okay, I've decided— Excuse me, Trainer-san! If you don't mind, may I join your team?!" "Huh? Really? Then let's go sign the contract right now— Wait, what are you guys doing?! Why are you grabbing me! Where are you taking me?!"

"..." With rather indifferent expressions, Nakayama Festa and Kitano witnessed yet another trainer being dragged away by his contracted horse girls, their faces dark, after he tried to recruit a new member. As for where he was being dragged... that wasn't important. What was important was that everyone, except for the innocent new students who didn't know the inside story, knew what fate awaited this trainer.

"Another hero has fallen." "I think all the horse girls on his team are graduating next year, right? I wonder if he'll make it." "He's definitely not making it to the Director's meeting today. I wonder if he brought his medicine with him. He won't survive this otherwise." "...Lately, even with medicine, I can't get past the third round. This guy's ordeal won't end in just three rounds."

A few familiar senior trainers spoke with sighs of lament or shared sorrow. Nakayama Festa, passing by this scene, said to Kitano with an unchanged, indifferent expression:

"...How boring. Don't you think so, Kitano?"

"Hm?" Kitano, who was feeling sad about Tracen's increasingly severe "corporate culture," was pulled back by Festa's words. He heard this relatively normal horse girl from the Gold Family say:

"The relationship between a trainer and a horse girl isn't that shallow. A trainer should bring out all of a horse girl's potential, and a horse girl must have the resolve to bet everything on victory—that's what a true partnership is." "I had heard things about this Tracen Academy... but I didn't expect so many people to misunderstand the relationship between a trainer and their charge."

At this, Nakayama Festa clicked her tongue dismissively and said to Kitano, "Ultimately, the relationship between a trainer and a horse girl shouldn't develop into a romantic one. How can you win against other horse girls like that?"

"...I hate to say it, but you're right, Festa."

After a moment of strange silence, Kitano expressed his agreement. He was well aware of the situation at Tracen Academy and understood the "deep water and scorching fire" the trainers found themselves in—but what did that have to do with him?

Kitano himself was about to die; what time did he have to think about such things? Besides, in all his past playthroughs, none of his long-term contracted horse girls had ever shown any extraordinary feelings for him.

The reason, Kitano knew, was that he was a dying man. He had made this crystal clear to every horse girl he contracted. This behavior largely prevented any romantic entanglements.

A normal horse girl in the prime of her youth wouldn't invest romantic feelings in a dying man.

And Kitano was desperate for his horse girls to win more races so he could live a few more years. To repeat—his own life was about to end, where would he find the time to manage romantic affairs?

Now, with no desire to die again, Kitano had summed up his numerous past failures and was determined to be a "cold and heartless" trainer in this playthrough. Feelings? Romance? What was more important than his own survival?

Therefore, Kitano chose to support Nakayama Festa's view, standing with his soon-to-be official charge. But just as he was thinking this, a voice suddenly came from the shade of the trees they were passing.

"I don't really see it that way. While I'm not a fan of how some of the younger ones act these days, if a horse girl and her trainer can freely develop a romantic relationship, surely that can help them break through barriers and unlock even more of the horse girl's potential?"

"The power that comes from free love is very strong, you know. On this point, this senpai has plenty of experience~"

The moment that familiar female voice sounded, Kitano's expression went blank for a second. Suddenly, a dashing figure leaped down from a thick tree branch, revealing a physique more slender and healthy than most women. Her signature smile, as gentle as a spring breeze, made everyone who saw her feel instantly better.

And that included the stunned Kitano. But he wasn't captivated by the horse girl's beauty. Rather, a thousand thoughts flooded his mind at that moment, making his heart beat a little faster.

Kitano had to admit, he had spoken too soon. Humans aren't made of wood and stone; how can they be without feelings? His current reaction was the best proof.

Mr. C.B.... It really has been a long time.

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