For the third time that day, Shinji Kitahara saw the short Chairwoman.
Once at the morning meeting, once for the team application, and now he had been dragged here again. It was like the three visits of Zhuge Liang.
Because he hadn't resisted at all, Shinji was unharmed. He had obediently followed the group of horse girls and trainers who had rushed to the scene and was now having a staring contest with the Chairwoman.
"Question! Trainer Shinji Kitahara, do you have anything you'd like to explain?" Yayoi Akikawa, the short Chairwoman, asked, brandishing the folding fan in her hand.
Shinji shrugged and pointed at the camera on the desk. "Does this look like something I can afford?"
Yayoi Akikawa blinked. She looked at the cheap, obviously worn suit on Shinji, then at the clearly high-end camera on the table, and snapped her fan shut.
"Confirmed! Trainer Kitahara is not the culprit!"
Shinji Kitahara: "...?"
Wait a minute, this isn't right. How can you make a judgment so easily?
According to the usual script, shouldn't the school still believe he was the culprit, no matter how much he argued? But they wouldn't have any conclusive evidence to fire him. In the end, although he would still be employed at Tracen, his reputation would be ruined, and no horse girl would be willing to train under him, forcing him to happily—no, I mean, painfully—slack off.
Shouldn't that have been the development?
He didn't like being falsely accused or being seen as a pervert. But if it meant reducing the desire of dangerous horse girls to approach him, allowing him to slack off in peace, he didn't mind tarnishing his own name a little, as long as there were no real consequences.
After all, he was already planning to slack off. Did he really expect to have a good reputation?
"Chairwoman, are you sure you don't want to double-check? I might really be the culprit, you know," Shinji couldn't help but say.
Yayoi Akikawa snapped open her fan, her voice crisp. "No need! I believe in your character, Trainer Kitahara... and your financial situation."
After staring at the short Chairwoman for a moment, Shinji turned his hopeful gaze to the group who had dragged him here. The Chairwoman had spoken, but surely the original victims wouldn't be completely without suspicion? They could at least start some rumors, right?
And then...
"We're sorry, we misunderstood."
"I heard the sound of someone running away outside. You must have scared off the real peeping tom. Thank you so much."
The two from the warehouse apologized sincerely, completely dispelling the last shred of suspicion against him.
With things having reached this point, Shinji had no room for argument. With a melancholic expression, he truthfully recounted what had just happened to the Chairwoman.
"Understood! Thank you for your hard work on this matter. Please go back and get some rest. I will notify you when there are any developments."
With those words, Shinji was sent out by Yayoi Akikawa.
The group that had escorted him here began to apologize. Although he inwardly felt it was a pity he hadn't been misunderstood, he waved his hand and said they had done the right thing, as he was indeed highly suspicious under the circumstances.
After taking some time to part with the group, Shinji was about to head home when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw that some trainers wanted to hold a welcome party at a nearby izakaya and were inviting him to join.
As a slacking expert, Shinji knew that to slack off well, the help and cooperation of his colleagues were essential. So, this was a welcome party he had to attend.
He opened his phone and followed the navigation to the designated location. Many trainers were already seated inside, and the atmosphere was lively.
When he entered, the lively atmosphere reached a new level. Many trainers who hadn't been able to approach him during the day now eagerly crowded around him, wanting to see this living urban legend with their own eyes. Some had heard that Tokai Teio had become his charge and wanted to see what he looked like and what was so special about him that the Tokai Teio had chosen him.
In short, after a round of enthusiastic exchanges, he became familiar with all the trainers present, officially integrating into the Tracen workplace environment.
"Sigh, you newcomers should really cherish this time. Once you have a charge, you'll rarely have such carefree days," a senior trainer couldn't help but say.
"Hm? Why is that?" A new trainer looked confused. "I looked at the school regulations, and the required working hours don't seem that long. There are plenty of holidays, so there should be a lot of time to relax, right?"
"Plenty of time to relax? Heh."
Hearing his words, the senior trainers present all sneered.
"School requirements? If school requirements were effective, trainers wouldn't be ending up in the hospital every year at Tracen."
"To put it simply, if you have a charge, you'll definitely want her to win races, right? And to win, you need to practice more and put in more effort than others. In that situation, when you see other teams doing extra training on rest days, can you really sleep soundly at home?"
"And that's just about racing. If your charge is the clingy or suspicious type, it's even worse. Besides preparing for races, you have to find ways to deal with her. It's not something that can be described as just 'troublesome'."
"Finally, if—and I mean if—you fail to maintain a proper distance with your charge and something happens, then you're even more miserable. 'Marriage is the tomb of a man's freedom.' That saying didn't come from nowhere."
The senior trainers complained for a while, then suddenly remembered something and turned their gazes to Shinji, their eyes filled with a mixture of pity and schadenfreude.
"But speaking of which, although you're all newcomers, it seems two of you have already lost the chance to enjoy this final freedom."
"Trainer Kitahara, and Trainer Higashimori, am I right?"
Needless to say, Shinji was one of them. Although the news of him forming a team hadn't been exposed yet, everyone knew he had two charges. In the eyes of the senior trainers, he already had one foot in the dark side of Tracen. Coupled with the fact that Eclipse was his childhood friend in their eyes, they wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in the hospital the very next day.
As for Trainer Higashimori, his full name was Yosuke Higashimori. He had ranked first among the trainers who passed the entrance exam for Tracen this year, and his score on the theoretical part was a perfect score, something not seen in years.
However, contrary to his number-one status, he wasn't arrogant at all. In fact, he was rather shy and slender, wearing thick glasses, looking every bit the part of an honest, small-town top student.
After hearing the seniors' joke, Shinji didn't argue. He just slumped back in his chair, looking like, "I'm already slacking off, nothing you say can affect me."
But Yosuke Higashimori was different. After a moment of silence, he blushed and retorted in a small voice, "Um, seniors, I'm already engaged to my girlfriend. Please don't make these kinds of jokes anymore..."
"Engaged to a girlfriend?"
Every trainer present, including Shinji, felt their eyelids twitch at his words, their expressions gradually turning strange.
"Silly boy, listen to your big bro's advice. Either break up with that girlfriend right now, or resign immediately. In a place like Tracen, trainers with girlfriends usually have... rather miserable ends." A senior trainer couldn't help but advise him.
But Yosuke Higashimori shook his head firmly.
"It's okay. I already told my charge about my situation before we signed the contract. She's a very understanding girl, and I will be careful to maintain my distance from her."
He paused, then added, "Besides, I don't plan to work here for too long. As soon as I've earned enough money for our wedding, I plan to go back and marry her. I might even resign before the three years are up."
"At that time, I might have to trouble one of you to take care of my charge." Yosuke's tone was sincere.
While others reacted in their own ways to his words, Shinji, who had been pretending to be a dead slacker, couldn't help but open his eyes, a hint of pity in them.
Brother, with all the death flags you're raising, it wouldn't be surprising if you got stuffed in a sack and thrown into a basement to die tomorrow.
And also...
"Trainer Higashimori, from your tone, it sounds like this isn't your first time being a trainer?" Shinji asked.
Yosuke was taken aback, then nodded. "I used to be a trainer at a local academy, but I resigned for personal reasons."
Shinji nodded and then lay back down to continue slacking.
As time passed and the night deepened, the welcome party came to an end. The seniors generously treated everyone instead of splitting the bill. After saying their goodbyes, Shinji left the izakaya and followed the navigation to his assigned staff dormitory.
He took out the key, opened the door, and entered. The space inside was quite large; it was more like an apartment than a dorm. It was fully equipped with all the necessary living amenities, even a computer.
Not bad. He had been worried that if the dorm was empty this late at night, he wouldn't know where to buy daily necessities. It seemed the Tracen school authorities were more reliable than he had imagined.
After familiarizing himself with the layout, he took off his clothes, showered, and sat down at the computer, taking out the notes from his bag.
Although a lot had happened today, he hadn't forgotten his promise to create training plans for Special Week and Oguri Cap.
The night was long.
Accompanied by the soft rustle of pen on paper, the world fell into a peaceful slumber.
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