Time rewinds to when Kazuo was called by Yoshida to buy coffee.
The old man squinted at the grassy slope on the other side of the track. Then he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number, and soon a lazy voice came from the other end:
"Hey, old man, what makes you have time to call me today?"
"Where are you right now?"
Yoshida was quite direct, looking like he couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush with this kid.
"Huh? I'm just wandering around the city. If you have something, bother someone else!"
Hearing his tone, Koji instantly became alert and was about to hang up the phone when he found an excuse.
"The 'wandering around' you mentioned—is that sitting on the academy lawn with binoculars, watching a race?"
"Guh…"
In the end, the older ginger is spicier; he didn't expect to be found out.
"Are you taking me for a fool, kid? I can still hear the broadcast commentary from where you are. Besides you, who else would be sitting on that lawn? Or are you saying you want me to call Tojo over to deal with you?"
"Oh no, not that, please not that."
Koji's head swelled when he heard this, but there was nothing he could do; he'd been caught. If Tojo found out about this, he would definitely be questioned, "If you can come all the way here, then why don't you come back?" and so on.
Thinking of how it would turn out, Koji could only surrender.
"So, what is it this time? It wouldn't be because of that kid again, would it!?"
Who Koji was referring to was obvious to those who knew.
"Heh, you're idle anyway right now, so it's perfect for you to do something for me. Find out where Narita Taishin's junior high school is, and use my name to get her records from the admissions office. Then, note down her former homeroom teacher's phone number."
"Uh… why do I need to do that?"
"Hmm… because I saw a very interesting expression on his face earlier."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"After all, occasionally someone will realize the hidden talent a Uma Musume possesses, which is the existence that unearths the core. The expression he showed overlapped with what I once saw in someone else… so it can't help but make me look forward to it…"
"…Alright."
Regarding the task the old man gave him, he could only accept it. There was no other way; his ability to stay at the school was entirely due to the old man's wishes.
"Oh, by the way, Koji, do you still remember that question I asked you before?"
As if recalling past events, the old man smiled somewhat happily.
"Hmph, how could I not know? On my first day of work, you asked me in front of everyone what the relationship between a Uma Musume and a Trainer was, making me lose face."
Koji grumbled in response. Even without him being in front of him, the old man could imagine he was rolling his eyes right now.
"He's at least better than you; he knows how to think."
"Hey! How can you say that? I directly said it was like a couple's relationship back then, why did you deduct three months of my salary?"
Apparently, he also recalled what happened on his first day of work.
To this, the old man smiled brightly: "Koji, do you still want to stay at this academy?"
"I'm sorry for my offense. Please be magnanimous and overlook my small transgression—"
He instantly chickened out.
"A Trainer is usually the one who guides the Uma Musume, like a lighthouse to a ship. A Uma Musume stakes her career and life for her dreams, while a Trainer, in the end, is only supporting her from behind while earning a salary. In fact, the two are not truly an equal relationship."
"But—"
"If someone is willing to actively stand on equal footing with them, then he must be someone willing to give a lot for them."
"Are you saying he's that kind of person?"
"Who knows? Don't let his appearance fool you; he might be very popular with Uma Musume?"
"Well, that being said, in reality, there are exceptions to everything. It's not always the Trainer guiding the athlete; many excellent Uma Musume themselves will, in turn, guide the Trainer…"
"The so-called 'existence that allows a genius to become a genius,' right? You've said that countless times, old man. To be honest, I haven't really seen it, have I?"
"Do you have the aptitude to be a genius?"
"Wow… don't just come out and discourage people like that."
"Heh heh… you've misunderstood. For you and Tojo, who are already geniuses, even if there were such a Uma Musume, she wouldn't choose to approach you, would she?"
"Sigh… I'm not a genius…"
His tone became much more subdued, but Koji quickly perked up again.
"So, this is the only thing you want me to do, right? It's really strange that you'd go to such trouble for him…"
"Hey, haven't I said it before?"
The old man's tone paused,
"I've quite liked this kid from the very beginning."
"Oh, by the way, since we have the chance, how about we make a bet?"
.
"Hello, I'm really sorry to bother you so late, but I'd like to understand Daijin's situation."
Kazuo stood alone in the dormitory hallway; he had already dialed the phone.
Who would have thought the man on the other end asked with some surprise:
"Didn't you call this afternoon?"
"Eh…?"
"Is it about Daijin's application for withdrawal? Regarding this matter, I'm still communicating with her parents… According to her parents' wishes, they prefer not to inform Daijin for now, wanting to have a good talk with her during the next academy holiday…"
The man subconsciously took him for the same person who called him in the afternoon. So he proceeded to report the current progress on his own.
"Wait!"
His hands and feet were cold, and Kazuo didn't even understand what any of this meant.
It took a full half-second for the word "withdrawal" to fill his mind.
"Expulsion!?"
"What exactly happened?"
"What's wrong…?"
"Expulsion… what exactly does that mean?"
"Aren't you from Tracen Academy? Isn't this decided by you? Is the expulsion of Daijin meant for us to accept and reintroduce her to other local schools?"
The person on the other end was also confused.
Why… why did he know nothing? What exactly happened… "I'm sorry… this is the first I've heard of this… Could you please tell me the details of the situation?"
Kazuo forced himself to calm down and asked.
"Ah… this afternoon, a Ms. Kawakami, who claimed to be from your academy, contacted me. She sent us relevant documents and also informed us about Narita Daijin's performance at the academy. She said that Daijin's test scores were unsatisfactory… and that she didn't comply with the academy's management, and there were many violations at the academy… The school discussed it and, based on the training class's recommendations, decided to suggest expulsion."
Expulsion… at the end of the day, it's just another way of saying dismissal… Damn it—
Kazuo's tightly clenched fists were even bleeding, but at this moment, he was completely unaware of it.
"It is said that there's still a week of grace period, so they want us to work together to counsel her parents and her…"
"I know this situation must be difficult for students to accept, but if she truly cannot adapt to your academy's training. We are already trying to contact other relatively good schools that are willing to accept her transfer…"
"Cannot accept…"
Kazuo lowered his voice, enunciating each word.
"…What are you saying?"
"You were Daijin's former homeroom teacher, right? Do you really believe that Daijin is the kind of bad student who doesn't follow rules?"
Silence fell on the other end for a moment.
After a long while.
"To be honest… when I found out about this, I was also very surprised… Daijin, although somewhat withdrawn and introverted, always wanted to be first in everything she did in class. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have asked the principal to write a letter of recommendation for her to your academy…"
The man's voice was clearly trembling, and it was clear that he seemed to feel bad about this matter.
"Although I had always wanted to persuade her to choose a good local school, as I also believed that the competition at your academy would be very intense… with Daijin's personality… she might not adapt well to academy life there… But—she truly loves running… when she was running on the school team, that was when she smiled the most… So, at the career guidance seminar, the strong desire she expressed and the look in her eyes at that time…"
"If I had insisted on my opinion and tried harder to persuade her parents not to choose your academy, perhaps the situation would have been different…"
Self-blame and regret, such emotions were clearly conveyed.
"Guh…"
Kazuo's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down, but then a resolute expression appeared on his face.
"Excuse me, teacher, I'd like to ask for your name."
"Yamaji Hidezawa."
"Teacher Yamaji, I want to tell you clearly that Daijin is excellent, she is definitely not a bad student, I can vouch for that. I… I will not let her drop out… Absolutely not!"
"…Your name is Asama… Kazuo, right? Teacher Asama… may I ask who you are to Daijin…?"
The homeroom teacher, Yamaji, couldn't help but ask.
Kazuo was silent for a moment, but then replied with an incredibly firm tone:
"I am… the person who wants to become her Trainer."
Silence fell on the other end for a moment, but Kazuo did not intend to give up: "Teacher Yamaji! I hope you can help me. I need to properly understand Daijin's situation. Only then will we have a chance to reverse this situation… There's still a week, we must find a way…!"
"…I understand! Teacher Asama, actually, I'll be taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo tomorrow. I originally planned to come with her mother to counsel Daijin… But since you've said that, I hope we can meet then. We can discuss the details at that time…"
"Also, actually, all the competition videos of our school team's students, from previous years, are recorded on CDs. I happen to still have backup CDs of all of Daijin's competition videos from her three years. I'll bring them all with me then, and I hope this will be helpful to you."
"!"
"I understand, I will definitely not let your kindness go to waste. I will absolutely not let Daijin drop out… Absolutely not!"
After hanging up the phone, Kazuo was like a changed person.
His eyes were incredibly serious, and his expression was equally solemn.
Looking at the academy under the night sky, he only knew one thing.
This time, he could no longer stand by and do nothing!
—
The relationship between a Trainer and an Uma Musume?
Trainers usually stand behind the Uma Musume, silently supporting them.
But—
When necessary, Trainers will also step forward to protect their Uma Musume.
That's right, from now on, it's Asama Kazuo's battle.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
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