After everyone picked up a few gifts at the department store.
"Vrrr—"
The engine rumbled. The car started up again, merged onto the expressway, and the scenery outside the windows began to streak past.
From the bustle of Tokyo, it gradually transitioned into a sea of green.
The atmosphere inside the car, too, was quickly wrapped in a light, happy ease.
"By the way, what did everyone get to bring back this time?"
Berno hugged a bulging bag, leaning forward excitedly.
"Hmm... I got Noren some Tokyo specialty sweets, plus a couple of new knee braces."
March thought for a moment as she answered. After all, those girls were basically her first batch of fans and partners, and their relationship had always been pretty good.
"And... I also got something for my mom."
Berno blinked.
"What about Shibasaki-sensei and Kitahara-sensei? You're not bringing them anything?"
"..."
"Aren't those for Noren and the others?"
"... It's all together."
Only then did Berno cover her mouth and giggle.
"I'm about the same. Some charms and little gifts. But more importantly, there's this—"
As she spoke, she happily pulled out two soft, fluffy plushies from her bag.
One was silver, the other a pale gray-white, both adorably chibi.
"Limited chibi plushies of March and Cap. Noren heard I was coming back yesterday and kept urging me to buy them."
Berno pressed the fuzzy plushies to both cheeks and laughed.
"Aren't they cute?"
"Oh—!"
Off to the side, Oguri Cap cooperated fully, frowning with great seriousness.
"I brought lots of tasty things!"
Before anyone even asked, Cap raised her hand and answered first, looking proud.
"Special carrot burgers, dorayaki, and onigiri I made myself!"
"... Of course it's all food." Berno couldn't help snarking.
"Don't you like it?"
"Mm, it's not that I don't like it."
After laughing for a bit, Berno leaned forward again.
"What about you, Trainer Kuroha? What did you bring?"
"Hmm? Me?"
Kuroha kept driving, answering softly.
"Nothing special. Just... Shibasaki and the others wanted me to bring some... weird stuff."
"What kind of weird stuff?"
"..."
Thinking back to what they'd begged him to do a few days ago, Kuroha almost wanted to laugh.
"Ahem. They probably don't really want you girls to know."
"Okay then."
A trip of more than two hundred kilometers passed in the blink of an eye amid cheerful chatter.
Two hours later.
When that familiar gate appeared in their view.
When the slightly old, yet memory-laden Kasamatsu Tracen Academy emblem came into sight.
The three girls in the car stopped talking at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement.
They looked out at the familiar streets, the familiar embankment, and a deep nostalgia welled up in their eyes.
This was where their dreams began.
The land where those "Cinderellas" had sweated and cried before ever putting on their glass slippers.
Even though they'd come back once around New Year's, it had still been nearly five months.
Every time they returned home, they were always unbelievably excited.
Kuroha smiled faintly, turned the wheel, and stopped at the gate.
"Welcome home, everyone."
...
After getting out of the car.
The three horse girls each grabbed their big bags and packages and headed home first.
Kuroha walked along this path that felt both unfamiliar and oddly familiar, his emotions a tangled mix.
Kasamatsu Tracen Academy.
Unlike the grand, imposing Central Tracen Academy, this local academy looked simple and modest.
But the dreams it carried were no fewer.
Over these past years, the roads, the school buildings, and even the training grounds had clearly undergone repairs and renovations, no longer resembling the old, shabby state he'd seen the first time he came here.
"Looks like they've been riding Cap and March's coattails."
Kuroha thought to himself.
Oguri Cap and Fujimasa March, two horse girls who came from Kasamatsu Tracen Academy.
They'd shone brightly in Central and even held important posts, becoming the region's greatest pride.
Whether it was the local government or some local business owners, they all took pride in that, continuously investing in the academy.
After all, horse girl racing was the hottest comprehensive sport in this world. Investing funds into it was only natural.
Even though it was the weekend, the training grounds still had plenty of young horse girls working hard.
They ran around the track with heavy breathing, sweat flying.
Kuroha even occasionally spotted unfamiliar Kasamatsu trainers standing by the track, shouting themselves hoarse as they coached.
Though that teaching technique still looked a little rough, frankly speaking.
Not much different from when I left two years ago...
Kuroha rested both hands on the iron railing and watched for a while, then took out his phone and made a call.
Not long after, the call connected, and Shibasaki's slightly mature-sounding voice came through.
"Hello, Kuroha."
"Just got back."
As Kuroha watched the training grounds below, he suddenly smiled.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at the academy. As for Kitahara, he's probably still at home reviewing."
"Reviewing?" Kuroha paused.
On the other end, Shibasaki explained simply.
"You know, the Central License Exam is coming up again soon."
"Central license..."
Kuroha murmured to himself.
Including this year, that would make it Kitahara's third attempt, right?
Was it really that hard?
Or did Rudolf add some more weird new sections again?
"Of course I brought it."
Kuroha smiled.
"I even picked sizes that match your builds."
"That's great! I'll come over right now..."
Shibasaki stopped mid-sentence, his voice suddenly a little awkward.
"How come you don't get nauseous?"
"D-Don't say that. Just get over here."
Shibasaki stammered as he urged, then quickly hung up.
Kuroha could only shake his head, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and then headed toward the Kasamatsu trainer office he remembered.
...
Before long, inside a prominent administrative building at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy.
Trainer Office.
Shibasaki held up a brand-new set of clothes, his eyes practically shining.
It was a finely made, well-tailored uniform set—the standard Central Tracen Academy trainer uniform.
"So this is the Central trainer uniform? That's awesome."
He carefully stroked the cuff, his eyes full of envy and longing.
Kuroha stood to the side, leaning against a desk with a cup of water, expression calm.
"Yeah. Though we usually don't really wear it."
Central trainers all had their own styles.
Even Kuroha, after wearing it for a few days, rarely ever put it on again.
Hearing that, Shibasaki tempered his expression a little, gently folding the new uniform and stowing it away with care.
"By the way, Shibasaki."
Kuroha set down the cup and asked casually.
"Kitahara's been that persistent. Aren't you planning to take the Central exam too?"
"Central?"
Shibasaki froze, then gave a wry smile, looking back at Kuroha with a self-mocking glint.
"You think that thing's easy to pass?"
Kuroha raised an eyebrow.
He remembered what the Central License Exam covered. Even with the new sections added last year, it shouldn't be hard for a trainer with solid fundamentals.
Shibasaki slipped the clothes into a bag, then walked to his own desk.
His fingers rubbed across a thick stack of materials, his voice low.
"With my ability and what I've got stored up knowledge-wise... I'll probably spend my whole life in the local leagues."
He let out a light laugh. The tone sounded accepting, yet hid a faint, hard-to-detect regret.
"But it's not bad, either. Watching the new kids grow up strong here... that's nice too."
As he spoke, he blinked at Kuroha, half-joking now.
"Who knows. Maybe someday I'll send out a young horse girl with even more talent than Oguri Cap, yeah?"
(End of Chapter)
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