Regardless of what was happening in the student council room at Central Tracen Academy.
After taking Brand New Shine back to the academy, Zhou Tai'an arranged for the chestnut-haired Horse Girl to deliver the shoes and horseshoes they had bought to Oguri Cap. Then, he went back to his office to pack up and leave early. This attitude was unique at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy—the other trainers, even if they had nothing to do, would dutifully stay at their desks until the designated quitting time.
Only the young man who had the permission of the academy's Chairwoman could be so leisurely.
"No races for a while. Next week, we'll be in summer vacation mode," Zhou Tai'an thought to himself, humming a little tune as he walked cheerfully towards his office. "Then I'll take Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine to Hokkaido, give Oguri Cap some special training there, visit her mother, and finally, try our best to win the Hokkaido Yushun Championship... As long as we achieve that last point, this summer vacation will be perfect."
At least for now, Zhou Tai'an couldn't think of anything else he needed to do during the summer vacation.
…
But when he arrived at his office and found his friend pacing back and forth at the door, he couldn't help but complain under his breath, "Why is Kitahara-san standing here again?"
Unable to guess the reason, Zhou Tai'an walked up and greeted his friend simply, "Kitahara-san, good afternoon. What brings you here? Did you come for a chat?"
"Good afternoon, Tai'an-san. I came to find you because I heard some rumors at the academy," Kitahara denied Zhou Tai'an's guess and then got straight to the point.
"What rumors?" Zhou Tai'an tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Don't tell me it's a rumor about me and Brand New Shine going on a date? I just went with her to pick out spare running shoes and horseshoes for Oguri Cap."
He and Brand New Shine had only known each other for less than two months. How could the academy's gossip mill have already fast-forwarded them to dating? Zhou Tai'an grumbled to himself.
"No, it's not like that," Kitahara waved his hands vigorously. "There's a rumor at the academy that Oguri Cap is going to transfer to Central very soon..."
"Huh? I haven't even heard that. Where did the people at the academy hear it?" Hearing the unexpected "rumor," Zhou Tai'an's eyes went wide. "Someone that well-informed is willing to stay at Kasamatsu?"
"Uh—" Kitahara's mouth twitched, and he retorted along the same lines, "Then the Oguri Cap you're in charge of, isn't she also..."
"I haven't heard anything about this," Zhou Tai'an shook his head, denying it again.
"Then what if Central Tracen Academy extends an invitation? What will you do, Tai'an-san? Will you stop her?" Kitahara pressed on. He hoped his friend would make contingency plans for various situations. He had put himself in his friend's shoes and thought that if Fujimasa March were poached by Central, he would be so heartbroken he would want to quit being a trainer.
"Then I'll go with her," Zhou Tai'an answered without a second thought, his tone quite casual.
Kitahara rolled his eyes helplessly, muttering "I knew it" to himself, while reminding his friend out loud, "Tai'an-san, don't forget that Central trainers have to take an exam, and it's only held once a year in June. This year's exam is already over. The next one is a year from now."
"..."
Zhou Tai'an fell silent. Of course, he knew that Central trainers in Japan needed to take an exam, but he had never thought about entering Central Tracen Academy through that route. He had always thought he would make a name for himself and then have the "Emperor" recommend him.
"Is the exam mandatory? Isn't there any way around it?" he asked his friend, his brow furrowed.
Kitahara guessed what Zhou Tai'an was thinking and gave a bitter smile with the harsh answer, "Since the establishment of the Japan URA, there have been no exceptions. Anyone who wants to become a Central trainer must pass the Central exam, which is held only once a year."
Zhou Tai'an was not confident enough to believe he would be the first "exception" in history. He was long past the chuunibyou stage of thinking he was the protagonist. His friend's answer also made his heart clench—
"Before next June, if Central extends an olive branch to Oguri Cap..."
If Oguri Cap were being trained by any other local trainer, going to Central would definitely be a great benefit to her future.
But Oguri Cap's current trainer was Zhou Tai'an.
In the past six months, he had gained a deep understanding of the level of trainers here in Japan.
If Oguri Cap were to go to Central, she would get better living conditions, get to know a group of Central's Horse Girls, and have better training facilities...
But if she stayed with him... He glanced at the Stat Viewer, looking at Oguri Cap's stats, especially the Affinity, whose specific function was still unknown, and then thought about the training levels of the Central and local trainers.
Zhou Tai'an made up his mind.
"I will not let go," he said, holding his ground, his voice unwavering. "No one is more suitable to train Oguri Cap than me. Not even the trainers at Central. And she is the only hope I've seen after waiting here for half a year. No one can take her from me. Not even the 'Emperor' at Central."
"But what if they promise Oguri Cap a better future if she goes to 'Central'..." Kitahara, knowing his friend's temperament, cautiously proposed a not-so-unlikely hypothetical. Similar things had happened many times in other regions. Just recently, the Horse Girl who had won the Tokai Oka Sho had declared her intention to go to "Central" after being scouted.
"The trainers at Central can't deliver on their promises—my training level is much higher than theirs," Zhou Tai'an grinned. "Even the 'Emperor's' expedition was turned into a complete mess by those idiots. Why should Oguri Cap, why should I, believe those guys can train her better than I can? Just because of the word 'Central'?"
Zhou Tai'an instinctively reached for his breast pocket—the place where he used to keep his trainer's license back at the West Coast Tracen Academy.
Only when his hand came up empty did he remember that he had already resigned.
"'Central' is indeed stronger than the local regions, and I admit I really want to go to Central," he said, ignoring the small hiccup, his face serious as he continued to speak to Kitahara. "But the most suitable trainer for Oguri Cap is me, and the most suitable place for her to be is here."
"I will take down the arrogance of 'Central' with her, step by step," Zhou Tai'an clenched his fists. "Who says a local Horse Girl can't conquer the world?!"
At this moment, Zhou Tai'an abandoned the goal he had previously set for Oguri Cap, "to win a Central Graded Race."
"I will make Oguri Cap conquer all of Japan!" he said to himself.
Neither Zhou Tai'an nor Kitahara noticed a pair of gray-coated Horse Girl's ears peeking out from around the corner of the hallway, twitching.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (330 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (130 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (140 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (370 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (160 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (170 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (90 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (130 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (140 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (148 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (150 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (130 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (100 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (60 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (110 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (120 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (60 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (100 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it