Drawing the attention of the three beside him, Kitahara remained silent for a mont, took a deep breath, and slowly said:
"I understand Tazuna-san's kindness. In fact, I know very well that only by coming to Central can Oguri Cap and Belno Light fully realize their talents.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought them here to tour."
With a hesitant nod, Tazuna Hayakawa opened her mouth, seemingly about to speak, but stopped.
Kitahara continued:
"But not now.
"Oguri Cap has already explained her reason—she made a promise to her friend. At the very least, she won't transfer until after the Tokai Derby."
After saying this, Kitahara fell silent again.
After a while, seeing no further words, Tazuna Hayakawa asked hesitantly:
"In that case, there's really no problem, is there?"
"The Tokai Derby and the Japanese Derby are around the sa ti, both in May. Although it would be a sha for Oguri Cap not to participate in the Japanese Derby given her abilities, the promise to her friend is also very important. I fully support that."
Hearing this, Oguri Cap looked at Tazuna Hayakawa with gratitude, "Thank you for understanding."
"Hmm…"
Tazuna Hayakawa nodded to Oguri Cap, then turned to Kitahara, still confused:
"But once she cos to Central, there's no problem attending the Tokai Derby. It's completely possible…"
"Sorry, I already said it," Oguri Cap interrupted Tazuna-san again, showing an apologetic expression. "I won't co to Central until Kitahara passes the exam."
"…I see, alright then…"
A faint bitter smile appeared on Tazuna Hayakawa's face as she nodded. "The bond between you three really is extraordinary…" Her expression carried a fleeting trace of nostalgia.
At that mont, Kitahara suddenly spoke:
"Actually, the one who should apologize is ."
For an instant, the three glanced at him again.
"…Kitahara?"
"Huh? Mr. Kitahara…"
"Mr. Kitahara…?"
They all spoke in unison, confused.
"I know very well that even if I were eventually admitted to Central, even if Oguri Cap could transfer at that ti, …"
Kitahara took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, smiling wryly like Tazuna-san:
"…but transferring a few months earlier or later makes a completely different difference.
"The conditions at Central are incomparable to a local academy. Oguri Cap's talent can only be fully realized at Central.
"And I also know that even if she goes to Central first, she can still participate in the Tokai Derby.
"But I'm selfish. I don't want to give Oguri Cap to anyone else.
"Even if it's just for a few months.
"I can't accept that."
When voicing this, Kitahara braced himself for scorn.
He had hesitated and fallen silent before because he was worried about possible contempt.
It's simple—an outstanding perforr in any field, selfishly preventing soone from accessing better training or competition, is a shaful act.
However, Kitahara ultimately chose to speak.
Perhaps after being around these horse girls for a long ti, he increasingly felt at ease and joyful.
They were truly pure—no ulterior motives, no malice. Even Norn Ace, who had tried to exclude others, admitted their faults and showed sincerity after Oguri Cap impressed them.
What Kitahara liked most was this purity.
For that reason, he didn't want to hide anything from such pure horse girls, so he decided to reveal his selfish feelings.
"So… if an Uma Musu hears such selfish thoughts from , how would she react…"
Kitahara had never shown this side of himself before. In the original story, such a scene did not exist. At this mont, he felt extrely anxious and unsure what to think.
However, he was soon surprised to find the reactions of the three beside him were completely natural and unexpected.
"You don't want to give to anyone else? Kitahara thinks the sa as ?"
Oguri Cap was the first to speak, startling Kitahara.
"…Huh? Wait, Oguri Cap, you an… you also don't want to go to soone else? Wait, that kind of statent…" Kitahara felt embarrassed. From a human perspective, this sounded quite intimate.
But thinking about it, he had just said the sa thing—so it made sense. He felt even more embarrassed.
Oguri Cap's response was straightforward:
"Yes," she nodded. "Kitahara is amazing. When I chat with March and the Norns, they said you're the most skilled and patient trainer in Kasamatsu.
"It makes sense. Whatever the problem, I can always rely on Kitahara.
"I'm slow to rember things, but Kitahara patiently explains everything to , even more than once.
"That's really impressive, very patient." Repeating this, she nodded firmly, her expression gradually showing worry:
"So if you were given to soone else, there'd be no one to teach running, no one with that kind of patience. I'd be sad.
"Ugh… just thinking about that makes so sad I can't even eat."
Kitahara inhaled sharply.
Sad enough to make Oguri Cap—the "Food King"—lose her appetite? That's extrely sad indeed…
He secretly laughed:
"So that's what 'not giving to soone else' ans… truly a pure Uma Musu…"
At that mont, Belno Light was also surprised.
"Sad enough to make Oguri lose her appetite? That's too sad."
Reading Kitahara's mind like she could, she laughed:
"But I think my thoughts are similar."
"I've worried for a long ti. Even though we're in the sa team, Oguri is so much stronger than . I worried whether Kitahara would only focus on Oguri and ignore ."
Oguri Cap and Kitahara spoke together:
"No, Kitahara wouldn't do that."
"…Hey, I'm not that kind of person, right…"
After speaking, both paused briefly and then smiled at each other.
Belno Light's smile beca even brighter:
"So I quickly realized I was overthinking.
"Kitahara not only didn't ignore , but also did so much for .
"I know, with my ability, if it were another trainer, I might not have even won my debut race.
"But with Kitahara, I not only won but won two in a row! This is… sothing I never even dread of achieving before!"
Belno Light grew excited:
"And Kitahara gave a real direction. I increasingly believe what he said—that I have talent! Not running talent like Oguri, but technical talent!"
"I actually have sothing to tell you and Oguri."
"I secretly took the Central Tracen Academy staff trainee exam. Although I haven't received the results yet, I'm sure I can pass!"
"Even if I don't pass this ti, I'll keep trying!
"I will always follow Kitahara and Oguri and never fall behind!"
Kitahara and Oguri Cap were both surprised. Kitahara exclaid:
"Huh? Staff trainee exam? When? How co I didn't know?"
Oguri Cap looked at Belno Light with full confidence:
"I believe you'll pass, Light."
Belno Light nodded vigorously:
"Yes!"
Then she shyly scratched her cheek:"I didn't have much confidence in passing at first…
"And I only happened to find out about the exam, which I could take in Kasamatsu. So I tried it on a day off… You wouldn't know, and I was embarrassed to tell you at first…"
"I see," Kitahara smiled confidently, reaching out to pat Belno Light's head, "Don't worry. I believe in your talent. You'll pass for sure."
"Mm!" Belno Light nodded firmly again, then shyly rubbed her head against Kitahara's palm.
Smiling, Kitahara withdrew his hand, suddenly rembering Tazuna Hayakawa and feeling a bit apologetic, wanting to look her way.
However, soone tugged his sleeve.
He instinctively looked over and saw Oguri Cap looking at him seriously, then slightly lowering her head.
Kitahara was briefly stunned but then couldn't help chuckling. He understood what Oguri Cap ant.
So he reached out and patted Oguri Cap's head as well.
"…Truly pure."
Feeling the silky hair in his palm, Kitahara secretly laughed:
"I made the right choice. No matter what thoughts I have, I can tell these pure Uma Musu openly, no need to hide like I would with humans…"
After interacting briefly with the two Uma Musu, seeing their satisfied expressions, Kitahara smiled faintly and finally looked at Tazuna Hayakawa.
The gentle lady was smiling too, hands clasped like a pillow beside her head, tilting her head slightly, looking congratulatory.
"You all seem very happy. Let's make the current atmosphere even happier."
"Actually, the staff trainee exam results are already out; they just haven't been sent to the candidates yet.
"Simply put, congratulations, Belno Light, you passed the staff trainee exam. Once notified, you can report to Central Tracen Academy anyti.
"And by the way, Kitahara was right—you have talent in this area, because…"
"Your exam result is first place."
After announcing Belno Light's result, a brief silence filled the train.
Then, a voice full of tears of joy echoed throughout the carriage:
"I! This! Oguri! Kitahara! I… I… sob… it's… it's so wonderful! We… we can all go to Central together!"
Almost imdiately, Belno Light cried tears of excitent.
"Congratulations, Light!" Oguri Cap hugged her friend tightly, "It's great! Even at Central, we can still be together!"
But soon, the atmosphere beca slightly awkward.
"…Ah ah ah! O-Oguri! Y-You're too strong! L-Let go! My bones… might break!"
After the burst of excitent, the mont ended a bit awkwardly, but the mood was still joyous.
Kitahara, amidst the joy, felt slightly unprepared.
He knew horse girls almost never lie, so everything Belno Light said was true.
aning she truly registered at the last minute without expectations, took the staff trainee exam, and achieved first place among all candidates.
This exam is nationwide, issued by Central, and is no less difficult than a trainer exam—arguably more competitive than any horse girl race.
Truly… unimaginable talent. Even with comparisons from another world, while he had guessed her technical talent, he never expected this level.
Passing first place casually while he had been desperately preparing—it stung a bit.
However, this is also a good thing. Perhaps in the future, if Belno Light talks more about the advanced ideas from the other world, who knows what kind of "black tech" she might bring to this world…
Of course, I need to work hard myself as well.
Silently encouraging himself, Kitahara thought for a mont and looked at Tazuna Hayakawa.
"Thank you very much, Tazuna-san, for sharing this good news in advance.
"In short, that's the situation: Oguri Cap wants to keep the promise to her friend, and I don't want to give her to anyone else. That's it.
"So the matter of transferring to Central can be discussed later."
As he spoke, Kitahara sohow felt that Tazuna Hayakawa would understand, perhaps even support, this decision.
Sure enough, with a slightly unusual expression, Tazuna nodded.
"A bond like that is truly enviable… and it's impossible to bear breaking it."
After saying this, she fell silent for a mont, then smiled gently, though her tone carried so gravity.
"However, with this, I have a suggestion. The previous plan for visiting the academy will need so adjustnts."
Kitahara was slightly startled, suddenly rembering that their initial topic had been the academy visit.
Tazuna continued:
"I suggest that during the academy visit, and also while touring Tokyo, Mr. Kitahara should avoid ntioning their achievents, especially Oguri Cap's.
"Winning 10 out of 10 races—even if at the local level—is already an astonishing result that demonstrates talent. If people at Central were to find out, they certainly wouldn't let such talented Uma Musu remain at a local academy.
"Especially the student council president, Symboli Rudolph.
"She can be said to be the most attentive president toward Uma Musu in the history of student council leadership, and extrely diligent. Everything she does is for the future of Uma Musu.
"I can roughly guess that letting a genius like Oguri Cap remain at a local academy would be seen by Symboli Rudolph as irresponsible for her future.
"She will try every possible way to bring Oguri Cap to Central, to receive higher-level training and better treatnt.
"Even a delay of just three months would be hard for her to allow or accept.
"And Symboli Rudolph has significant influence in the academy and even in the wider horse girl world. Few can go against her will.
"In other words, once she or anyone else at Central finds out Oguri Cap's talent, trouble is inevitable."
At this point, Tazuna's tone beca serious.
Kitahara was stunned.
…Wait a minute…aren't you also from Central? Don't you have the sa intention? Kitahara wanted to ask this.
As if reading his thoughts, Tazuna showed a gentle smile.
"I… am not quite like them."
She shook her head, her tone a little unusual.
"What I value isn't that, it's…"
She didn't finish the sentence, then shifted.
"In any case, the bond between you three moved . I hope you can accept my earlier suggestion."
Seeing that Tazuna didn't want to discuss herself further, Kitahara nodded and changed the topic.
"So, will these considerations affect the academy visit?" he asked about another matter.
"Yes," Tazuna nodded, slightly apologetic."If we don't ntion their achievents, then Mr. Kitahara is rely a local trainer, and Oguri Cap and Belno Light… are just local Uma Musu.
"Although personally, I don't like facing this reality, the fact is, locally, everything is still discriminated against in Central and elsewhere…"
Her speech quickened."In short, if I lead the visit, there will be no problem. But as for joint runs… there may not be many Uma Musu willing to run alongside local Uma Musus."
Perhaps it's seen as a waste of ti… Or from the perspective of Uma Musus' simplicity, maybe they fear discouraging the local girls' morale? Not impossible…
In the other world, when there's a huge difference in ability, one competitor could even make another cry. For a competitive horse girl, discovering a talent gap could make her give up entirely.
Kitahara remained silent, pondering. Seeing this, Tazuna's apologetic expression deepened.
"However, I will do my best to find so outstanding horse girls for joint runs."
She pursed her lips, clasped her fists to her chest, and shook slightly, as if cheering herself on.
"In any case, I will not let Mr. Kitahara co all this way in vain."
Seeing her like this, Kitahara couldn't help but find her a little cute and shook his head, smiling.
"Actually, it's not that troubleso. We're not without the ability to enter Central ourselves. If we want to see sothing, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"That's true…" Tazuna also smiled.
However, Kitahara's mind suddenly stirred, and he slightly rephrased.
"By the way, if possible," he thought, "could we have so interaction with the new generation of horse girls?"
"Not the ones about to debut, but younger ones, like the two we t today."
In his mind appeared TM Opera O and isho Doto, still little girls.
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