Chapter 29: So much for subtlety.

It was the afternoon of the day after Hoshino Wilm had vented her anger at me.

"All right, two more…!"

"Haa—haa… seriously, Wilm… your stamina is way too insane…!"

Two Uma Musume race up the slope.

One of them, as expressionless as ever, is my trainee, Hoshino Wilm.

The other is Nice Nature, her face twisted with exhaustion as she chases after Wilm’s back.

They’re running side by side… well, Nature is clearly lagging due to fatigue, but they’re still close enough that you could almost call it a paired run.

On a certain day in the past, this would have ended with Hoshino Wilm suddenly bolting ahead at full speed…

But now, there’s no sign of that reckless loss of control.

In the truest sense, she has overcome her weakness.

After completely breaking free from the curse of “coldness” at the Japan Derby, Hoshino Wilm has finally learned how to handle it.

Even while running alongside Nature like this, she can match pace, stay aware of her partner, and adjust her stride accordingly.

Of course, it’s not as though her “cold” state has disappeared. If she concentrates, she can still enter it at will.

In the past, Hoshino Wilm was forcibly pushed into “cold” mode the moment she competed with another Uma Musume. Now, however, she’s finally gotten her hands on a switch she can control herself.

Up until now, we’d dealt with the issue by making her run in the opposite direction or by keeping distance between runners. But at long last—finally—paired training has been unlocked.

Running with someone she knows brings out her competitive spirit, and her stats seem to improve more easily as well.

Unlocking paired training is truly—no, genuinely, seriously—a godsend.

"Nature, at that pace, you won’t make it through the Kikuka Sho."

"Tch… for someone just out of the hospital… don’t… get cocky!"

And so, today marked our first joint training session with Nature in a full three weeks.

Before the Derby, I’d turned her down because I didn’t have the leeway while pushing forward with the delegated plan. After the Derby, Hoshino Wilm had ended up hospitalized.

…Thinking back on it, I really did Nature wrong.

In the end, I held back her momentum.

I really am—

Ah—no, right. That was banned.

After yesterday’s incident, Hoshino Wilm forbade me from indulging in self-loathing or self-deprecation.

"Just seeing you like that messes with my condition," she said.

…Well, it wasn’t really affecting my condition or motivation, but if it damages her mental state, then it’s better to stop.

More than anything, self-loathing was never essential to begin with—just a bad habit, really.

What matters isn’t regret, but reflection. Taking the mistakes you made and using them next time.

So if she tells me to stop, then all I can do is try.

"…Phew."

It’s been about ten minutes.

I briefly lift my gaze from the binder in my hands, where my pen has been moving nonstop.

Hoshino Wilm still hasn’t been fully worn down. Even her short-term fatigue is light.

Nice Nature’s short-term fatigue should peak in about twenty more minutes. There’s still plenty of room before her failure rate starts to kick in.

Today’s joint training has about fifteen minutes left, so there’s no need for a break.

Still, there’s less than a week left until the Takarazuka Kinen.

Even if slope training is relatively light, I need to keep a close watch.

If an accident happened and she got injured, it wouldn’t be something to laugh off.

…No, in a way, the very act of continuing training like this is already pushing her toward potential danger.

"Was this really the right call…?"

Tap, tap. I knock the back of my pen against the stack of documents.

Should I be stopping her right now?

Should I be grabbing this girl who’s racing headlong through life by the collar and forcing her to stop?

I’ve been wavering over that question this whole time.

To be honest, Hoshino Wilm’s current condition isn’t one where she should be undergoing high-load training.

March 3rd, the Yayoi Sho.

April 14th, the Satsuki Sho.

May 26th, the Japan Derby.

Up to now, she’s been racing about once every month and a half.

That pace itself isn’t particularly extreme.

It’s said that an Uma Musume’s legs should rest for a full month after running in an official race.

While that’s not an absolute rule, you could say she’s had sufficient rest so far.

In fact, looking at her post-race medical checkups, there’s been no sign of excessive strain on her legs up to this point.

…But.

Things change from here on out.

This year’s Takarazuka Kinen is being held earlier than usual.

May 26th, the Japan Derby.

June 9th, the Takarazuka Kinen.

The gap between them is a mere thirteen days—nowhere near enough time to fully rest her legs.

On top of that, both are intense G1 races, so wear and tear on her legs is unavoidable.

If that were all, it wouldn’t have been a major issue.

Uma Musume bodies are tough. Pushing them a bit doesn’t lead to injury so easily.

…Of course, overdoing it will still shorten an athlete’s career.

I even checked with my older brother, and sure enough, Hoshino Wilm’s body is sturdier than average.

Based on her condition so far and historical precedent, even with a one-week gap, the chances of her legs breaking down were extremely low.

But this time, there’s one more bad factor stacked on top.

That thing Hoshino Wilm showed at the end of the Japan Derby—what she herself calls a “forward-leaning sprint.”

An extreme forward-tilted posture, paired with an extended stride length.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of Uma Musume medicine could tell at a glance.

That running style is absolutely terrible for the legs.

It’s not a way of running that a humanoid Uma Musume is meant to use.

It’s like buying temporary speed with your own lifespan. As a result, an extreme amount of stress builds up in the legs.

My brother called me immediately after the Derby ended.

It doesn’t take much imagination to grasp just how brutally she was abusing her legs.

Even if she spent the following week in the hospital in a semi-rest state…

The reckless stunt she pulled to beat Teio back then has unquestionably left negative effects on her legs.

And if she runs an official race again after such a short, one-week gap…

I don’t even want to think about it, but I can’t completely ignore the risk of injury.

Letting her run in the Takarazuka Kinen as she is means accepting that risk.

Unlike training, I can’t stop her mid-race or call out to her during an official event.

And this time, she’s entering one of the two major Grand Prix races—the Takarazuka Kinen.

It’s guaranteed to be heated, and there’s a real chance she’ll pull the same kind of reckless move she did at the Derby.

That risk can’t be quantified.

You could say it’s the most dangerous factor—one that can’t be managed even with “app reincarnation.”

That’s why I was planning to recommend that she skip the race.

The schedule was already tight, and she’d suffered an injury, however minor.

That’s more than enough justification to withdraw. The fans would probably feel relieved too.

Honestly, wanting her to run in the Takarazuka Kinen was basically my own selfishness.

Withdrawing isn’t a defeat. It wouldn’t interfere with her original goal of an undefeated Triple Crown.

No one would want her to be forced into such a punishing race under harsh conditions.

…Or so I thought.

"Let’s make this a match, Trainer Horino Ayumu. I’ll win the Takarazuka Kinen with your training plan. And if I do, make me—forever and ever—your Uma Musume alone!"

…What are you supposed to do when the person herself wants to run?

Of course, what I should do as a trainer is to stay close to her heart.

And staying close to her heart means, in the end, granting her wish.

If your trainee Uma Musume says, “Polar bears are black,” then it’s the trainer’s job to splash black paint over every polar bear in the world.

…Well, it’s not exactly something I can say with confidence, considering I misread her heart just yesterday and made her that angry.

Even now, I can still remember the utterly frightened expression Hoshino Wilm wore back then.

As her trainer, I never should have made her look like that.

…Looking back now, that was clearly a misjudgment.

I never imagined that Hoshino Wilm held that much affection for me.

I mean, if a trusted friend suddenly said, out of nowhere, "Hey, from now on, could you hang out with people other than me?" anyone would feel uneasy—and more than a little irritated.

On top of that, the way I brought it up was awful.

The strain from the previous day left my head foggy, and I ended up approaching it in a way that made her feel anxious.

Shaking her heart for no reason like that is something a trainer should never do.

What’s more, I should have shared more information and talked it through step by step.

If I’d simply asked from the start, "I’m thinking about delegating—what do you think?" she probably would’ve rejected it outright, and that would’ve been the end of it.

I wouldn’t have hurt her nearly as much as I did.

All in all, you could say it was a very “me” kind of mistake—an action riddled with errors.

Toward her, and toward myself… I keep getting things wrong.

I hate how clumsy I am.

…No. Regretting it now is pointless. More importantly, she’s forbidden me from doing that.

Switch gears. What I can do is reflect properly and apply it next time.

For now, the countermeasures are clear: listen more carefully to her wishes and outlook than ever before, and maintain close communication.

And make sure I don’t let my own fatigue pile up, so I can consistently make the right calls as her trainer.

…And yet.

Right now…

Is staying close to her heart really the correct choice?

Hoshino Wilm said she wanted to run in the Takarazuka Kinen, so I explained the strain that must be building up in her legs and suggested that we at least reduce the training load.

If we limited it to maintaining her current form—keeping things light—then the damage to her legs could be kept to a minimum.

That way, I thought, she could still enjoy the kind of “heated race” she wants.

But…

"No. Please keep the load right at the absolute limit. I’ll say this clearly—I want that, from the bottom of my heart. The Takarazuka Kinen… I don’t think the seniors are opponents you can beat with gentle training."

She shot me down without hesitation.

She’s right—the Takarazuka Kinen is a brutal race.

No matter what kind of prodigy they were, no one has ever won it while still in the Classic class.

It’s simply too early to challenge the Senior class, and the race’s prestige naturally draws in the strongest competitors.

This year, Mejiro McQueen, Mejiro Ryan, and Seiun Sky are almost guaranteed to run.

The star of the turf—Mejiro McQueen.

The reigning strongest stayer, so dominant that people say her overwhelming strength makes races “boring.”

She narrowly finished second in this year’s Tenno Sho (Spring), but rather than being discouraged, she’s reportedly throwing herself back into training even harder.

The elegant powerhouse—Mejiro Ryan.

Her record isn’t as flashy as McQueen’s, but she’s never once failed to place on the board in a graded race. A quiet monster.

It seems her camp has narrowed their focus to this year’s two major Grand Prix races, and when I scouted them recently, their motivation was downright terrifying.

There’s no doubt she’ll be in the thick of the fight, armed with a frightening finishing kick.

And then there’s the trickster—Seiun Sky.

…She hardly needs an introduction. The revived cornerstone of the Golden Generation.

At the Tenno Sho (Spring), she cleanly escaped and secured a decisive victory against McQueen, who had been considered a sure win.

Most likely, she’ll be the tallest wall standing in Hoshino Wilm’s way.

Every one of them is top-tier even among Seniors. Seiun Sky, in particular, is already in her third full year as a Senior.

For a Classic-class Uma Musume, it would be a battle on an entirely different level—one she realistically can’t win.

Even for a once-in-a-generation genius like Hoshino Wilm, a hard fight is unavoidable.

Victory… to be blunt, it looks grim.

Her guiding goal of an undefeated Triple Crown might very well shatter here.

…Though she herself probably wouldn’t mind.

Publicly, people believe Hoshino Wilm is aiming for an undefeated Triple Crown. I’ve answered interviews that way myself.

But in reality, it seems she doesn’t place much importance on it.

I first heard that… sometime near the start of this year, I think.

When I asked her back then, she said she only claimed that goal because she didn’t have anything else in mind. As long as she can feel passion in a race, that’s enough for her.

Which is precisely why she planned to run in the Takarazuka Kinen, despite her slim chances.

In that sense, losing the Takarazuka Kinen is fine.

Well—“fine” might not be the right word.

It certainly wouldn’t be good, but it also wouldn’t have a major negative impact on her future.

To put it bluntly, neither she nor I have any real reason to cling to an undefeated record.

We both ignore public opinion. Even if people say she challenged recklessly and failed, honestly, I couldn’t care less.

As long as I can give her a hot, thrilling race she can enjoy, that’s enough.

Sorry, but fulfilling the fans’ desire for her to win comes second.

If anything, the experience of running in the Takarazuka Kinen—facing opponents that strong, challenges that severe—will be an opportunity for growth.

Now that she’s overcome “cold,” even if she loses, as long as I don’t neglect the aftercare, she should be able to accept the result.

In that sense, losing the Takarazuka Kinen isn’t the real problem.

…But.

An injury—that is absolutely unacceptable.

That would undoubtedly cast a dark shadow over her future.

That’s why I believe I shouldn’t be putting her through high-load training in her current state.

The higher the load, the more rest we forgo, the greater the chance her legs cross a line they can’t come back from.

As a trainer, that’s a future I’m supposed to prevent.

And yet, at the same time…

She herself wants it.

Tokai Teio was the same.

Uma Musume aren’t creatures who always act based on a careful balance of future prospects.

Sometimes, they want to push themselves—no matter the cost—just to overcome the towering wall in front of them.

Right now, she’s in that state of obsession.

She wants to win the Takarazuka Kinen, even if it means risking injury.

So then, as her trainer…

Should I support that?

Or should I stop her?

……I don’t know.

As Horino’s trainer, if she can run without a single regret and come away satisfied in the end, then I feel I should support her.

After all, injuries aren’t something that inevitably happen just because you enter a race while carrying accumulated strain.

It’s simply that the possibility stops being zero.

There is… a chance that she completes this training, runs in the Takarazuka Kinen, and comes back without incident. And it’s not a low chance, either.

Which is why… I should probably support her.

As Horino’s trainer, I should back her decision.

And yet.

Why do I keep agonizing over it? What am I even hesitating about?

…No, it’s obvious. I’ve known the answer from the start.

I don’t want it.

I don’t want her to get injured and lose the ability to run.

This is nothing more than selfishness. A purely self-centered desire.

That’s why I should suppress it, bury it, forget it.

Like always, I should be crushing it down.

"…Since when did I…"

Being a trainer of the Horino family.

Being someone I could be proud of.

Those have always been restraints I imposed on myself—ever since I was born into this world.

Never waver. Never be shaken. That was my ideal way of living.

And now, I’m on the verge of losing to something as trivial as my own desires.

When did I become… this soft?

I close my eyes and think it through once more.

Two possible futures, one week from now.

One is a future where I speak firmly and force her to withdraw from the Takarazuka Kinen—or at least reduce the training load, even now.

If I do that… Hoshino Wilm probably won’t get injured.

But it would mean abandoning our match… and more than anything, forcing my trainee to give up on her wish is not something a Horino trainer is allowed to do.

The other is a future where, as a Horino trainer, I stay close to her desire and allow the training—and her entry into the Takarazuka Kinen—to continue.

If I choose that path… her legs might get injured.

At worst, she might never be able to run properly again.

“Might.” “Possibly.” Everything is a matter of probability.

But they are probabilities that undeniably exist.

I hate that.

She hasn’t found happiness yet.

She needs to be recognized by more people, loved by more fans… she needs to be saved.

…But after hearing every single risk, she still said, “I want to do it anyway.”

"I’ll be fine. Please trust me."

Part of me truly wants to believe those words.

Hoshino Wilm is an extraordinary genius. There’s a future where she surpasses all my predictions and comes back in first place without a scratch.

But… isn’t that blind faith?

I don’t repeat the same mistake twice. I make sure to learn from failure.

If someone as clumsy as me stays stuck in the same place, I’ll be left behind by everyone else’s growth.

After misjudging the weight of her feelings once and causing trouble, I don’t want to assume anything about her again.

That’s exactly why I keep hesitating.

I do believe Hoshino Wilm is a genius.

I believe she’s the strongest Uma Musume, beyond human comprehension.

…And yet.

The girl who showed me anger yesterday, who spoke on raw emotion, looked exactly like what she was.

A normal girl.

Just an ordinary middle schooler you could find anywhere.

She might be a genius.

She might be a chosen Uma Musume, gifted by the gods.

But even so, the person living here and now is just one Uma Musume.

A girl barely over ten years old.

Is taking her words at face value really what an adult should do?

As the one responsible for her, shouldn’t I be the one to stop her?

…Or is this just my own desire, dressing itself up in convenient reasoning?

"No answer, huh… or maybe there is no answer."

I’m painfully aware of how difficult it is to “believe.”

At face value, it looks like a virtuous act—but taken too far, it turns into blind faith and bares its fangs.

Yet if you don’t believe, you can’t build trust.

And sometimes, what you thought you believed turns out to differ from reality, just like yesterday, and causes harm.

As the person responsible for raising a girl named Hoshino Wilm, I…

Should I believe her?

Or should I protect her?

…Man, written out like this, it sounds just like parenting.

Well, I guess it kind of is—since I’m acting as her stand-in father.

…Honestly, though.

Even while worrying like this, I’ve already reached a tentative answer.

There’s less than a week left until the Takarazuka Kinen.

The fact that I’m still putting her through training at all means my heart is already decided.

If her legs show no problems right up until the last moment…

I’ll let her run in the Takarazuka Kinen.

What I can do for her, then, is put together the best training plan I can think of…

And believe in her.

"…She’s trusting me, after all."

She said she wants to win with me.

She said she’s my Uma Musume alone.

She told me that.

I never imagined Hoshino Wilm trusted me that deeply.

Even if there was trust between us, I thought it was like that of a teacher and student.

Something that would end one day with a polite “Thank you for everything,” and that would be it.

I was taught that, as a Horino trainer, that was the ideal distance.

…And I never thought a genius like her would evaluate someone as ordinary as me so highly.

But now, as a matter of fact—

She trusts me.

Even if it’s more than I deserve, trust must be repaid with trust.

If she believes in me unconditionally, then I too… even without solid grounds, should believe in her.

Believe in my trainee Uma Musume.

Believe, from the bottom of my heart, that Hoshino Wilm will get through this training and win the Takarazuka Kinen.

That’s what I should be focusing on right now.

---

"Trainer."

"Hm? Finished already, Hoshino Wilm?"

Before I knew it, Hoshino Wilm was standing on the other side of my binder.

She has her hands on her hips… and she’s staring at me with eyes tinged with a bit of irritation.

Her ears aren’t pinned back, so she’s probably not seriously angry, but… yeah, she looks a little annoyed.

"You seemed lost in thought. Don’t tell me it was self-loathing again? I told you that was banned."

"No, this time it’s different. I was thinking about how happy I am that you trust me."

"…………I see."

Why did you look away just now? Did I crack our trust again somehow?

…Ah, no, this is something she’s done occasionally before.

Hmm. I still don’t really know what that gesture means.

Even when I asked my brother, he hesitated and never gave me a clear answer. A mystery.

There’s still a lot about her I don’t understand.

We’ve signed a contract, so hopefully one day I’ll be able to understand her fully, but…

Well, that time will come eventually.

For now, I should just praise her for finishing training safely.

"Good work today, Hoshino Wilm. Here—water and some salt candy. Have you been eating properly?"

"…Ah, thank you very much. As for meals… if anything, I think I’ve been eating more than usual."

"I see. But if your weight hasn’t increased even a little… maybe you have an especially high basal metabolism, even among Uma Musume?"

"…Now that you mention it, my hands do stay warm even in winter."

"I see. …Hmm, in that case, we should probably increase your food intake even when you’re out."

While making idle conversation, I quickly organize the documents clipped to my binder.

Thanks to Hoshino Wilm’s surging popularity, the amount of paperwork I have to deal with has increased.

So much so that I have to process it even while watching her train.

…Well, not just because the volume’s gone up—there’s another reason, too.

"Where’s Nice Nature?"

"Weren’t you watching? Her trainer came to pick her up and carried her off, completely worn out. He asked me to pass on a message: ‘Don’t push yourselves too hard.’"

"…Guess he was being considerate."

"Perhaps. You were wearing a rather serious expression and staying quiet, Trainer."

He could’ve just spoken to me directly.

We’ve known each other a long time; I think we could be a bit more casual…

But maybe that’s “familiarity doesn’t excuse discourtesy.”

"So, Trainer. Will you have time?"

"Yeah, I wrapped up my work without any issues. I’ve cleared about three hours starting at ten tomorrow."

"…That’s good."

Her refined face breaks into a loose, relieved smile.

…Yeah. Seeing that expression makes all the nonstop work since yesterday feel worthwhile.

I never hesitate to make time for my trainee.

I’ve been taught since long ago that this is the correct way for a Horino trainer to act.

…More than that, it makes me happy.

Her affection still doesn’t quite feel real to me, but when it takes tangible form like this, I can accept it as solid proof.

I don’t know exactly what she’s acknowledged in me, but at the very least, she cares enough to want to spend time together.

And if that’s the case, then responding to it is only natural—for a trainer, and for a human being.

If cutting two hours of sleep makes her happy, that’s a cheap price to pay.

"Then, I’ll see you at ten. I’ll be waiting at the dorm."

"Got it. I’ll come pick you up."

Tomorrow—Sunday—training is forbidden until 3 p.m.

Hoshino Wilm stuffed plans with me into that empty slot.

The mess I caused yesterday gets wiped clean with this outing… a sort of pseudo reward.

The price of forgiveness she demanded was that we go to the aquarium together.

---

When was the last time I went to an aquarium?

Not once in this life. It has nothing to do with being a trainer.

The last time in my previous life… middle school, maybe? I think I went with my family.

…Ah.

I can’t remember my family’s faces from my previous life.

We were a perfectly happy family, and I loved them dearly.

Guess my memory’s just bad. Over twenty years since reincarnation—my memories have completely degraded.

Sorry, Mom and Dad from my past life. I really did love you.

…Well, let’s set that aside for now.

I discarded my old name and became Horino Ayumu. I can’t keep clinging to the past forever.

In any case, this is my first time at an aquarium in over thirty years.

I didn’t even remember what kind of place it was.

And when we actually got there…

"Look, Trainer. Aren’t these jellyfish cute?"

"Oh… yeah."

It feels… awkward.

Surrounded by families and couples, an adult man and an Uma Musume—with nearly a forty-centimeter height difference—stand out painfully.

Hoshino Wilm, disguised with fake glasses, doesn’t seem to mind at all, but the stares are pretty intense.

Maybe people have realized she’s a two-crown Uma Musume. From now on, I might need to make her disguise more thorough.

…Well, no point worrying about it.

Let’s focus on the exhibits.

A fantastical, beautiful space bathed in dim, moody lighting.

Several cylindrical tanks are arranged throughout the wide area, jellyfish—half-spheres trailing countless fine threads—floating lazily inside.

Lit by colored lights… well, how should I put it.

They’re very… jellyfish-like.

…Are these really cute? All I can think is, “Yep, those are jellyfish.”

"Trainer, what kind of aquatic creature do you like? I like rays."

"…I don’t really have a favorite."

"Then please tell me which one you liked the most out of what we saw today."

"Roger that."

She gives a faint smile, and I end up agreeing without thinking.

I agreed, sure—but what does it even mean to like an aquatic creature in the first place?

Jellyfish are… jellyfish. It’s not like you love them or hate them, right?

…Man. Ever since I was young, I’ve always been the type who freezes up when asked about favorite foods or favorite colors.

Especially in this life, where I’ve done nothing but study to become a trainer… my life experience is, frankly, lacking.

I think the sensitivity to have your heart moved by something is cultivated through life experience.

And for the past twenty years, I’ve lived solely as a trainer.

As a result, when it comes to things unrelated to training, it’s like… I don’t really get them. Or maybe I just don’t care much.

To be blunt, feelings like “I like this” or “I hate that” don’t come easily to me.

That said, if I don’t come up with some fish I like, I won’t be able to answer Hoshino Wilm’s request.

Somehow… while walking around the aquarium, I need to make myself like a fish…!

---

One hour later.

"…Oh. A shark."

Behind her—eyes sparkling faintly as she gazed into the tank—I was breaking out in a cold sweat.

I don’t get it.

What does it mean to have a favorite fish?

…What does it even mean to like a fish?

A fish is a fish. To me, it’s either food or a living creature.

Just like how I can’t narrow down a favorite color, I don’t have one fish I like more than the others.

Th-this is bad. At this rate, I won’t be able to fulfill her request.

The trust we’ve been slowly rebuilding will crumble all over again!

Urgently hiring: a way to like fish.

Someone, please help!

"You’re making that difficult face again, Trainer. What are you thinking about?"

Hoshino Wilm, who had been peering into the tank, hurried over with a slightly worried look.

No, it’s really not something worth worrying about that much.

Still, ever since that incident, she’s been paying a lot more attention to me… almost overly protective.

She reminds me of my brother.

Honestly, I can’t apologize enough for making her worry in so many ways.

I need to pull myself together again, rebuild our trust, and become someone she can rely on without a second thought.

…Saying this at such an important moment really isn’t great.

But we did promise no secrets between us.

I can’t talk about things related to my past life—that could shatter our trust—but this should be fine.

If embarrassing myself a little helps put her at ease, it’s worth it.

"I was just… thinking about what it means to ‘like’ something."

"Huh, l-like…?"

"I was thinking about how one goes about liking something."

"I… see. Um, liking something isn’t really something you force yourself to do. It’s something that happens naturally, isn’t it?

If I had to put it into words… if being together feels comfortable, then that’s liking it… I think?"

"!"

I see. That makes perfect sense.

You don’t make yourself like something—you naturally find that you do.

If being together feels comfortable, then that’s liking it.

That truth sank into my heart deeper than anything else.

It’s like talking with my brother.

Amazing. A genius Uma Musume—even understands the human heart.

"I see. That is perfectly sound logic.

All right, leave it to me. I’ll find a fish I like."

"…Yes. Of course you will. That’s exactly how it works. I knew you’d get it."

---

…In the end, the one that made me feel the most comfortable was an ugly fish whose name I never learned.

It wasn’t cute in the slightest, and the way it drifted around lazily was almost infuriatingly slothful, but…

Yeah. Somehow, it just felt familiar.

Hm?

Feeling comfortable together equals liking something.

It’s true—both in my past life and this one, being with my family felt comfortable.

Which means I like my family.

So far, so good.

But if that’s the case… then it also means I like Hoshino Wilm.

That’s a problem…

As a Horino trainer, affection and trust are one thing, but having personal likes or dislikes toward your trainee isn’t exactly appropriate.

…Well, maybe I should just give up worrying about it.

At this point, there’s no way I can have a purely businesslike relationship with Hoshino Wilm anyway.