Whether Eclipse's threat to "break him" was a joke or serious, Shinji Kitahara didn't know, nor did he want to find out.
Admittedly, Eclipse's looks were outstanding even in Tracen Academy, a place teeming with beautiful horse girls. They weren't related by blood, so if something did happen, it wouldn't violate any ethical codes.
But two problems remained.
First, his relationship with Eclipse was rather delicate. They were less like lovers and more like family members who depended on each other for survival. It would be a lie to say he'd never had those kinds of thoughts, but at least for now, he saw her as family—his only family—and he had no desire to change that. As for Eclipse's feelings, that was an even bigger mystery. To this day, Shinji had no idea how she truly saw him.
Second, Eclipse was still a minor.
He had no desire to go to jail.
In the end, the matter concluded with him doing three thousand push-ups. Though he was exhausted to the point of collapse, his previous training provided a solid foundation, and a good night's sleep was all it took to recover.
And so, the next day arrived.
The two of them woke up early, and after washing up and eating breakfast, they headed towards Tracen.
Today was the official first day of school. Yesterday was a pre-registration day, a measure the academy took to prevent overcrowding and accidents, allowing students who lived nearby and returning students to arrive early.
Today, with the official start of the term, the Tracen cafeteria and dormitories, which were still being prepared yesterday, would be open. Eclipse could go and eat to her heart's content without worrying about the cost, and she no longer had to return to their small, rundown apartment at night; she could stay in the dorms.
As for Shinji Kitahara...
He was nervous.
The official start of school meant that a horde of new horse girls without trainers would be flooding the campus. While it was unlikely any horse girl would choose a rookie trainer like him who had barely scraped by, he couldn't rule out the possibility that some oddball might take a liking to him at first sight. He did not want a repeat of the Tokai Teio incident.
To that end, he had even deliberately altered his appearance.
He messed up his hair, wore his clothes slightly askew, yawned as he walked, and let his trainer's name badge hang crookedly. He looked every bit the part of a flippant, unreliable bum.
It had to be said, his disguise was remarkably effective.
Forget the other horse girls; even Eclipse couldn't stand it and pretended not to know him.
Excellent. Slacking off on the first day is going so smoothly. I really do have a talent for this.
He dropped Eclipse off at her classroom, letting her go greet her classmates on her own. Then, after tidying his appearance slightly, he went to the trainer's meeting convened by the Chairwoman.
Yayoi Akikawa, the Chairwoman of the main Tracen Academy campus, was a mysterious creature who looked like a little girl and wasn't even as tall as her own office desk. Although she was short and had to stand on her desk to speak, and her face wasn't particularly imposing, the aura she projected when she was serious was quite powerful. It was enough to startle all the new trainers—all except Shinji Kitahara.
And Shinji?
He was here to slack off. What did her authority have to do with him?
As for the content of her speech, it was the usual leadership meeting routine. She started with some pleasantries, then briefly outlined the year's educational plan and asked the senior trainers to look after the newcomers.
After the meeting, the trainers didn't disperse. Instead, they gathered together, with the senior trainers taking the lead in explaining some of Tracen's unwritten rules to the rookies.
"First, at Tracen, if you are attacked by a horse girl with grey hair, or if you feel like you've been stuffed into a burlap sack, do not panic. Try not to react at all. If you ignore her, she'll leave you alone soon enough."
"Second, a horse girl in a white lab coat sometimes appears in the green spaces at the edge of the teaching district. If you see her, remain calm. Do not agree to any of her requests, and prevent your charge from interacting with her. Otherwise, terrible consequences may follow."
"Third, although the Tracen forum has an anonymous posting option, it is not completely anonymous. Certain special individuals can obtain information through specific means, so please exercise restraint. As for strange comments or ideas, we have a private chat group for that—but even that is not entirely secure."
"Fourth, do not inquire about the Chairwoman's age. This is an absolute taboo..."
The senior trainers listed about twenty rules in total, leaving the newcomers stunned and feeling as though they had mistakenly enrolled in some kind of school for urban legends.
Shinji Kitahara, however, was different. Fear stems from the unknown, and as a transmigrator, he knew exactly where the senior trainers' rules came from.
The one who liked to attack people with burlap sacks was Gold Ship. The reason? As the freest alien-monster-horse on Earth, did she need a reason for anything she did? Shinji wouldn't even be surprised if she showed up in a giant robot one day, announcing she was going back to her home on Mars for a family visit.
The horse girl in the white lab coat was Agnes Tachyon, Tracen's infamous mad scientist, whose greatest hobby was concocting all sorts of absurd potions and finding people to test them on. She was also classified as an extremely dangerous horse girl.
He could guess the origins of the rest of the rules as well. He had a good grasp of who was capable of what.
After the senior trainers finished, the newcomers began to discuss amongst themselves.
New trainers, due to their lack of experience, often had a hard time finding a charge, no matter how outstanding their own records were. They also didn't believe they had the ability to independently train a horse girl, so most planned to join a senior trainer's team as an assistant to gain experience and build their resumes.
Naturally, the topic of conversation turned to which senior trainer's team to join. Some said Senior Otani's team had a great atmosphere, others mentioned Senior Mochiyuu's team had better results, and some simply knew a certain senior trainer personally...
As the discussion heated up, someone noticed a problem.
In the corner, there was a person who had been like an invisible man the entire time, quietly watching them talk without saying a word or showing any reaction.
Someone glanced at his name badge and spoke up, "Trainer Kitahara, do you have any plans?"
At his words, all the other trainers' eyes focused on him. It wasn't out of malice; setting aside all the bizarre stuff, Tracen's educational atmosphere was excellent and worthy of its title as the number one horse girl academy. Although the colleagues were in competition, their relationships were surprisingly good.
"Ah, that..."
Shinji Kitahara rubbed his nose. "I'm not planning to join another team as an assistant, because I already have a charge..."
"You have a charge?"
"Yes, two of them."
"No way!" a voice exclaimed in amazement.
"Which two horse girls are they?" someone asked curiously.
"Um, one is Eclipse, a new transfer student in the high school division, and the other is... Tokai Teio."
It was something he'd have to reveal sooner or later, so he might as well say it now.
But this time, there were no gasps of surprise. Instead, there was dead silence.
After a long pause, a weak voice finally spoke up.
"Is it the 'Tokai Teio'?"
"I don't think there's another horse girl with that name, is there?"
Silence.
The new trainers looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
They didn't know Eclipse, but they certainly knew the name Tokai Teio.
The most dazzling star of the middle school division, the successor favored by Symboli Rudolf, the presumed undefeated Triple Crown winner. She had yet to begin her brilliant career simply because she hadn't found a trainer.
As trainers themselves, they had all speculated before joining Tracen about whose hands this star would shine in. But no one had ever guessed she would choose a rookie trainer who had just barely scraped his way into the academy.
"Wait a minute."
A voice broke the silence.
Everyone's gaze shifted to the person who had spoken, only to find him pointing a finger at Shinji Kitahara—or more precisely, at his name badge.
"He's Shinji Kitahara! That Shinji Kitahara! Didn't any of you notice?"
"Shinji Kitahara?"
Perhaps Teio's brilliance was so dazzling that it had made them overlook certain things hidden beneath the light.
And when they finally processed it, the name 'Shinji Kitahara' once again became the source of silence.
-------
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