"Um, Mejiro Rivera, ma'am?"
"Yes, thank you."
She had arrived through a strange chain of events—drawn in by a carrot-themed recruitment stunt—and now stood before me, introducing herself as Mejiro Rivera.
I tilted my head.
"If you're a Mejiro, you probably already have a trainer connected to your family."
"Well… yes."
Most prestigious families do. Even if they don't have a personal trainer assigned, they're closely tied to one. Rice's chestnut family is an exception, teetering on the edge of racing collapse. But the Mejiro family? There's no way they don't have someone.
It's not that she couldn't sign with someone else. But there's no reason to go looking so desperately. So why come to me?
"Rudolph told me to call Viola if I had any trouble."
"A Symboli Rudolf case?"
I hadn't expected that name to come up.
It's true that Sanei Thank You owes Rudolph a favor. If Rudolph asks for help, it's not shameful to offer it. But why would she be helping a Mejiro girl?
"Any trouble?"
"Yeah, very… Viola-trainer, will you let me run?"
"What do you mean?"
"Unfortunately, I'm not very talented. My legs are weak. I was wondering if you could do something about it."
"No, I can't."
I answered plainly.
If you ask how good I am as a trainer… I'm decent. I'm good at building bodies that don't break. But when it comes to enhancing raw ability? There are many better than me.
Rice-chan and Thank You-san shine because they're naturally gifted. Rivera… doesn't seem to be.
"Why not!?"
"Weak legs, I can help with. I'm good at injury prevention and physical conditioning. But improving ability? That's not my strength. I'm nowhere near McQueen's trainer, Nase, or Rudolf's trainer, Tojo."
Compared to top-tier trainers, I'm not equipped to push someone past their limits.
And training to overcome a lack of talent is brutal. Risky. It demands methods I won't use—not because they're wrong, but because they're dangerous. It's a matter of philosophy.
"If you really want to go that route, I think you should talk to Trainer Toujou through Rudolf."
"…I'll think about it."
With that, she left.