The mediocre trainer doesn't want to reopen

"It's just that if you don't design the winning suit yourself, your mother will definitely force you to design the winning suit she designed, right?" Kitano, who knew all this last episode, responded gently, and his words made the Holy King Halo, whose heart was touched, finally raise his head slightly.

At that moment, the shy Saint King's eyes were watery, as if she could burst into tears at any moment. Seeing this, Kitano said nothing. He just gently rubbed her head and said, "It's okay, Saint King. You can definitely design the most suitable winning suit for everyone. I have always believed in you."

"Although I'm reluctant, my mother's designs are indeed much better than mine." Upon hearing this, the Saint King's aura dissipated a lot of his embarrassment. A hint of insecurity appeared in his pupils, and he said quietly, "Do you really believe that I can design better clothes than my mother?"

"It's okay, I'll help you." But Kitano didn't answer this question, neither blindly trusting nor rationally denying it. Instead, he directly told Saint King Halo his decision and said softly, "Don't look at me like this, I do know a little about design. Perhaps my advice can help you."

"From now on, put these things in the team room. Whenever you feel it's convenient, you can come to the team room to design them. If you need my help, just send me an email and I'll come right away."

"Ah, so, Holy King, you don't have my email yet... So I'll have to make you a key to the team room. It's okay, it's just a small task that can be completed in half a day."

The Holy King Halo stared at the chattering man in front of her and felt the gentle touch on her hair. After a long while, a hint of warmth appeared at the corners of her mouth, and even her eyes looking at Kitano suddenly became much softer.

What a troublesome guy, he only knows how to run around for other people's affairs... He was clearly lying in bed and couldn't wake up a few minutes ago, but now he has forgotten everything.

Really, if it weren't for her, this guy would probably have exhausted himself to the point of collapse. There's really no other way... As a first-rate trainer, I can only reluctantly help myself, a second-rate trainer, and share a little more of the burden.

"Humph, who do you think I am? I have the Holy King's Halo, so this little thing can't faze me."

"I will definitely design a better winning suit than Mom's. When the time comes, I will tell Mom that even if I am the top-notch in her field, I have already surpassed her."

With Kitano's comfort, the Saint King's aura, having regained its confidence, quickly rose to the sky again. Seeing that she seemed to have recovered, Kitano also reluctantly withdrew the hand that had been rubbing the Saint King's head.

At this moment, an idea suddenly occurred to Kitano. He stared at the Holy King's halo before him, pondered for a moment, and decided to speak it out.

"Holy King, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Oh, it's okay. I agree. This is your right." The Holy King Halo, who was in high spirits at the moment, generously allowed Kitano to express his request.

"I hope to elect a captain for our team. With a captain leading the team, even if I, the trainer, am temporarily absent, the captain can still guide everyone in continuing training. This captain must be a charismatic and veteran member of the team."

As he spoke, Kitano's gaze turned to Saint King Halo, who seemed to have realized something. Looking directly into the Saint King's slightly glazed eyes, Kitano said softly, "Based on everyone's performance during this period, I feel that this candidate must be you."

Chapter 151: The Designated Position of the Holy King's Halo

Kitano made the decision without thinking too much. In fact, a long time ago, after he saw the reality and determined that his future would basically involve leading a small group, he had been thinking for a while about who should be the captain of this team.

Kitano knew that his abilities were limited. Even if he was determined to treat all the horse girls in his team equally, once the number of people in the team exceeded his limit, he would not be able to withstand the limitations of his mental and physical strength, no matter how many ideas he had.

Once a person's mental and physical strength is exhausted, even the most good-tempered person will become unusually irritable. But as a trainer, Kitano will never allow himself to vent his emotions on the horse girls - whether they are on his team or not. This is the common bottom line of the trainers at Tresen Academy, and they will never bring personal emotions into their work.

But they are also human beings. They get angry, feel bored, feel suddenly extremely sad, and even have emotional breakdowns. Otherwise, why do you think Kitano, such a serious person, a good young man who did not smoke or drink before crossing over, proposed to build a trainer izakaya within the academy after just a few weeks at the academy?

Being a trainer is incredibly stressful. Even though the pay is good, it's still overwhelming. Don't think staring at beautiful girls all day is a happy, carefree existence. Even a virgin trainer like Kitano, staring at so many beautiful horse girls every day, is still tormented by them. He's still a good-tempered guy.

Under such work pressure, the trainers of Tresen Academy, both men and women, are addicted to smoking and drinking. However, they don't need to do this in the brothel - the extent to which they have been forced to jump has completely made them lose all worldly desires in this regard. Some even hope that their pelvic fractures will last longer.

Don't get me wrong, those people are not masochists, nor are they sex-crazed ghosts who would jump on a horse even if their pelvis is broken. They are just weak to begin with, but since they are sure to jump on them again, it is better to jump them to the hospital in one go, and then enjoy the happiness of giving themselves and their brothers a vacation in the next few months.

Kitano is no exception. He doesn't smoke and only drinks lightly. However, this relatively healthy lifestyle also requires Kitano to rely on his willpower to withstand greater pressure than other trainers. Moreover, his ability is not as strong as those talented trainers, and he cannot numb himself through other means.

Kitano was quite self-aware. He hadn't thought he was that capable of handling so many Uma Musume at once, and for three years at a time. In order to avoid emotional overload, it was necessary to have a few people to help him share the pressure.

The team captain is the member who can supervise and lead the other horse girls to train hard together on Kitano's behalf when Kitano is not around or in poor condition.

Kitano had been considering this candidate before. He initially thought that this position should be suitable for Bourbon Miura - because in his playthrough, when Kitano was seriously ill, Bourbon Miura had also trained himself for a long time. Although Kitano did not have the energy to verify it at the time, he still believed in Bourbon Miura.

But what happened today made Kitano completely determined. Compared with Miura Bourbon, Sheng Wang is a more suitable person to be the captain of the team.

First of all, Saint King Halo should care more about the people around her - it’s not that the other people are not like this, but Saint King Halo’s care makes Kitano feel that she will do her best to help everyone.

And most importantly, while obeying Kitano's arrangements, the Holy King will not wait blindly like Mi Yu and Bourbon. She has her own set of rules of conduct, so she will not be at a loss and do nothing when Kitano is gone.

This wasn't Kitano's random comment, but rather the result of his numerous experiences. While both Miyu and Bourbon made Kitano feel at ease, their weaknesses were also evident: if Kitano fell into chaos and decadence first, they would be completely lost.

Bourbon was okay. At least when Kitano was seriously ill, she would obey orders given to her. But Miyu was really bad at this. If Kitano couldn't hold on first, Miyu would completely collapse. She wanted to be around Kitano every day. If Kitano didn't recover, she would be unable to think about anything else.

In comparison, Saint King Halo is much calmer. She is not someone who cannot survive without Kitano. This is what she said to Kitano during a conversation with him last week.

"Holy King, if one day I suddenly left you, what would you do?"

"I will wait for you, for five years. If you still don't come back, I will assume you are dead, give you a funeral, and then remain a widow for five years." Saint King Halo's tone at the time was mostly joking, but he still added, "I'm joking. I'm not your wife, how can I remain a widow for you? I will continue to look for you for three years. If I still can't find you, I'm not the kind of person who will hang myself on a tree. Do you think I will die for you?"

"That would be great." Kitano smiled gently when he heard this. After hearing this, he felt relieved knowing that he was destined to leave one day in the future.

And the performance of the Holy King today was also in line with Kitano's wishes. When Kitano overslept and did not make it to the gathering, and when other members were waiting for Kitano, it was the Holy King Halo who first organized everyone to carry out the same training as yesterday.

In addition, the fact that Saint King Halo started planning the decisive server for everyone's GI competition shortly after joining the team made Kitano feel that she was the best candidate to be the captain who cares about the team - although her temper was a bit bad and she was not very frank, but her heart and actions were the best proof.

As expected, when Kitano entrusted this responsibility to Saint King Halo, even she did not expect that this responsibility would come so suddenly.

"Let me be the captain? I thought you would give this position to your number one horse girl."

"Bourbon has her own strengths, and you have yours." Kitano, listening to Saint King Halo's gloomy tone, knew she was still sulking over losing the "number one" position to Miura Bourbon. He found it amusing and said, "Saint King, you can do things that no one else on the team can. That's why I think you're the most suitable candidate."

"In this respect, you are definitely number one, surpassing everyone else on the team. You are the horse girl I trust the most, so I will give this position to you."

—In reality, Kitano had great confidence in each of the horse girls, but his level of confidence lay in the assumption that, as long as Kitano himself made no mistakes, they would definitely not let him down. But the "confidence" Kitano was referring to was the assurance that the Holy King's aura would still be able to stabilize everyone's emotions even if he was temporarily absent for some reason.

Therefore, Kitano can actually use this sentence pattern many times, and can use this sentence on any horse girl in his team. But there is no doubt that this method is very good, at least for people like the Holy King Aura who are very sensitive to praise, Kitano's method is very effective.

As expected, after Kitano told Saint King Halo this, Saint King Halo, who had originally thought it was a matter of the past and was a little emotional, was silent for a while. Instead of puffing out his chest with pride as usual, he turned his head away a little unnaturally and said in a low voice, "That's how it is. There's really nothing we can do about it."

"In that case, I have no choice but to take on this position. After all... there's no one more suitable to be the captain of this team than me, a top-notch player, right?"

"Don't push yourself too hard," Kitano kindly reminded Saint King Halo. Saint King Halo often ignored their own fatigue and limitations in order to help others. Kitano knew this, so he hoped she wouldn't push herself too hard because of her importance to this position.

He let Saint King Halo be the captain in order to help himself share the pressure due to his limited abilities, but not to push all the things onto Saint King Halo. Kitano would never forget this.

"When everyone is gathered together, I will solemnly announce this to everyone. For now, I will inform everyone of this matter via email."

Kitano chuckled and opened his phone, sending the message to everyone on the team via email. The Holy King beside him was slightly stunned when he saw this, and subconsciously asked, "Idiot, everyone will have opinions about this, you are the one who made the decision!"

"That's why I told everyone in advance to avoid this." Bei Ye replied while editing the message, "Because the emperor will hear about it tomorrow and say that I didn't inform her in advance and will be dissatisfied. Telling them this first will give everyone time to digest it."

"Don't worry, Holy King. I will say that this is a decision I made based on my daily observations. I won't let anyone have any objections to you because of this."

"Thanks."

Saint King Halo opened her mouth, but in the end she said thank you softly with her pupils wandering. She was rarely so frank, but at least this could hide her slightly flushed face.

This time it was not because of shyness, but because of a wonderful feeling that surged in the Saint King's heart, making her feel... that she was valued, and in Kitano's eyes, she was not just a member of the team.

This feeling of being valued made the Saint King feel familiar, and at the same time, a sense of joy rose from the bottom of his heart... It was as if she had once received such attention from him in the past.

At that time, she was the only one in his eyes... But now, she just felt that she could get more attention from others.

"Hey, you, you haven't had lunch yet, right?"

"Huh? Yeah, I just woke up and haven't had breakfast or lunch yet."

As he spoke, Kitano subconsciously clutched his stomach, belatedly feeling the onset of hunger. Seeing this, Saint King Halo chuckled and said, "It's really impossible. You really can't do anything without me."

"Let me see if there are any leftover ingredients. It's your honor. Get ready to enjoy the first-class food I'll make for you. This is a treatment that even your mother has never enjoyed."

Chapter 152: Cao Shangfei, have you really betrayed me too?!

The news that Kitano had designated Holy King Halo as the team captain was soon conveyed to the other horse girls in the team via email. As Kitano expected, everyone's reactions varied, but generally they supported Kitano's approach.

"Oh! So cunning! Is it because of what happened this morning? If I had known about the emperor, I would have taken everyone to train together! Now I'm not the captain anymore, wuwuwu..."

"The position of team captain has been confirmed. Miura Bourbon has understood it. Since it is the master's order, Miura Bourbon will obey it."

"Seiou-san is our captain? I'm really surprised... But Miyu has no objection. Brother, you make the decision. I'll listen to everything you say."

"Oh, what a surprise! I thought Bourbon would be the captain—but that's great too. Seiou-san is perfect for the position. She's the one training with us today. By the way, Trainer-kun, how are you? You didn't come this morning, and I was a little worried about your condition."

"I'm fine, I just overslept. Don't worry, I will continue to supervise everyone's training tomorrow." In response to Shanxin's private message, Kitano also responded to her message, and everyone's reaction now is much better than Kitano had imagined. He had originally planned that the Emperor of the East China Sea would not understand and make a fuss.

Fortunately, everyone understood his approach, which was of course the best outcome. He had to convey this matter so that everyone on the team wouldn't have any emotions—even if they did, they wouldn't be motivated by the Saint King's aura. After all, he was the one who made this decision, and he didn't want any internal discord within his team.

Since everyone agreed with this matter, tomorrow's work would be easy. But Kitano had something more important to do right now... eating.

Although before this, in the team room, the Holy King Halo, in a good mood, had already cooked a meal for Kitano himself, even giving Kitano the illusion that "Could it be that the Holy King Halo can actually cook this week?"

However, the facts proved that the young lady was still the same young lady, it was just that Kitano had forgotten the pain after the scar healed. Saint King Halo confidently processed some ingredients stored in the refrigerator in the team room, but the finished product... was really not satisfactory.

It's not that it tastes terrible, it's just that it can't possibly be delicious. Bei Ye had been through so many rounds, and he'd tasted the top cuisine of many great families, but he couldn't say enough good things about the food that Saint King Halo made himself.

Fortunately, Saint King Halo is not that kind of young lady in the anime who has no idea about her cooking skills. She was not satisfied with the dish she made and kept redoing it several times. After finally using up all the ingredients, she took out a dish that looked edible. Kitano only took a few bites symbolically.

"Why would I still have high hopes for the Holy King's cooking skills? Her housework skills aren't much better than her mother's. She studied with me for so long last week, and she hasn't improved much, has she?"

Although Kitano complained like this, he actually knew that it would be unreasonable for him not to eat a few bites in that situation. Kitano never refused the food that Saint King Halo brought to him, because he knew that even if the food made by Saint King Halo didn't look very good sometimes, she was just like him and would always do her best before serving it to him.

From this point of view, Kitano would not refuse the Halo of the Holy King, because he himself would not want his best work to be despised by others. This feeling is not good.

Besides, it wasn't that bad...it was just bland. And Saint King Halo even made Kitano a cup of coffee. If nothing else, Saint King was pretty good at these essential areas for young ladies.

Next time, I should praise Sheng Wang more for her strengths, such as desserts, tea art, and coffee. She has always done very well. In this way, she should give up making some "common" food.

Thinking this way, Kitano also came to the cafeteria. He was really hungry this time, so he ordered a portion of food that was about the same as Uma Musume's. He couldn't wait to find a nearby seat with the plate and started eating immediately.

Just after Kitano had eaten all the food, he finally burped in satisfaction. Before he could even catch his breath, a soft laugh rang out beside him: "Trainer Kitano, eating like this is very unhealthy. You don't know how to take care of yourself. It's really worrying."

"Hehe, Xiaocao really knows how to care about others. Trainer Kitano will be attracted to you."

However, following two familiar female voices, Cao Shangfei and Qing Yuntiankong slowly sat down in the seats in front of Kitano. The difference was that Cao Shangfei's face was filled with worry and gloom, while Qing Yuntiankong, though smiling easily, still had a flicker of evasive anxiety in his eyes.

Kitano stared at the two horse girls in front of him. Their expressions didn't escape Kitano, who thought he had trained horse girls for countless rounds, but was particularly experienced in this area of ​​insight. Kitano asked curiously, "You... seem to be worried? Are you worried about something?"

"Huh?" However, Qingyun Tiankong and Cao Shangfei were subconsciously stunned when they heard this, and their reactions obviously verified Kitano's thoughts.

"No, no, no, how is that possible--" Qingyun Tiankong obviously didn't want Kitano to know what happened before they came here, so he shook his head pretending to be relaxed.

However, Qingyun Tiankong's gaze was more or less focused on Cao Shangfei, who seemed a little silent on the side. At this moment, Cao Shangfei's expression was a little strange. Her eyes were always staring at Beiye, and she bit her lower lip slightly, as if she was making a decision.

This scene made Qingyun Tiankong's uneasy heart beat faster unconsciously. She couldn't help but recall an hour ago when Cao Shangfei came to her and asked her firmly, "Qingyun, this is the last time I ask you - are you really not planning to join Trainer Kitano's team yet?"

"To be honest, I've already spoken to Trainer Kitano. He's very welcoming of you joining the team and says he's open to you anytime you're willing. The only prerequisite is that you submit your application to him."

At that moment, Cao Shangfei's expression was truly solemn, as if her patience had reached its limit. She spoke to Qingyun Tiankong word by word, "Xing-chan, to be honest, I think Trainer Kitano's request is very reasonable... A good relationship of responsibility isn't about one-sided dedication from one party to the other; it's about mutual trust. That's the only way to build a good relationship of responsibility."

"If you continue to not express your thoughts, even someone as tolerant as Trainer Kitano won't take the final step towards you."

Because that last step was about dignity. Kusanagi Fei actually felt that Kitano had done well enough. He had taken ninety-nine steps towards every Uma Musume he wanted to invite to join the team. It didn't matter if he got even one step of response, everything would be perfect.

But what Qingyun Tiankong lacked was still that simple, yet incredibly difficult step for her! Cao Shangfei had been anxious for several days, but Qingyun Tiankong hadn't taken any action yet. Inspired by the divine eagle yesterday, Cao Shangfei felt the need to change his approach.

However, before Cao Shangfei changed her tactics, she asked Qing Yuntiankong one last time. This time, she was very serious, just hoping that Qing Yuntiankong would have even a little reaction, a reaction to overcome his inferiority complex.

However, the truth was, Cao Shangfei was disappointed. Qingyun Tiankong hesitated for a long time, evading and generally not directly answering Cao Shangfei's questions. Finally, Cao Shangfei closed his eyes.

If possible, she really didn't want to do this, but if she didn't, Qingyun Tiankong would probably never take that crucial step.

For this reason, even though their friendship might be strained because of this, she also hopes... that Qingyuntiankong can have a trainer who can help her and pursue a better future.

Cao Shangfei made up her mind, so she brought Qingyun Tiankong to the cafeteria, planning to look for Beiye after dinner, but she didn't expect Beiye to be there, which made Cao Shangfei, who was still hesitating, make a decision.

Since he had decided to provoke Qingyun Tiankong, what could be a more intense method than provoking him in person? Thinking this, Cao Shangfei bit his lower lip and immediately stood up.

"Huh?" Kitano and Qingyun Tiankong were both startled by Kusagami Fei's sudden action. However, compared to Qingyun Tiankong's trembling eyes that seemed to have anticipated something, Kitano was simply startled. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Kusagami Fei? Did you forget to take something?"

"Trainer Kitano." However, Kusagami bit her lower lip, then, true to her spirit of never retreating on the battlefield, she bowed deeply to Kitano. Her chestnut hair, as golden as rice, fell with her movements, obscuring her features. She whispered, "Trainer Kitano, although this may be abrupt, I have a wish. Please listen carefully."

"I also want to be a reserve member of your team, just like Donghai Emperor-san. Once I become stronger, I will become one of your designated horse girls."

"Please accept my sincerity and let me join you."

Boom!

At this moment, under the clear sky, a loud thunder suddenly sounded for unknown reasons, as if it was a warning about someone's false words - but this thunder undoubtedly struck the hearts of the other two people present, enough to express their inner shock at the moment.

Why... even the grass...

Qingyun Tiankong's pupils were unfocused for a moment, and even the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground. He stared in disbelief at Kusakami Fei who was bowing to Kitano beside him, as if he did not understand the scene in front of him at all.

At this moment, Qingyun Tiankong's blue hair seemed to appear a little brighter under the sunlight... just like the sadness in Qingyun Tiankong's heart at this moment.

Chapter 153: The fishing fruit that Qingyun Tiankong fears is zero

Did Qingyun Tiankong really want to join Kitano's team? If she were to ask herself this question, the voice deep within her heart would answer "yes" without hesitation, shouting it loudly for everyone to hear.

However, the wall of the soul is like a soundproof wall, which always silences the deepest voice in a person's heart several times. By the time it comes out of the mouth, it has gone through several layers of processing and is no longer what the person wanted to express in the first place.

This is particularly evident in several horse girls from Tresen Academy. The most representative of them is the aura of the Holy King, who appears strong and proud on the outside but is actually fragile and emotional on the inside.

Perhaps few people would believe that in Qingyun Tiankong's eyes, she and Saint King Halo were the same kind of people. But... Qingyun Tiankong really felt that way.

Did Saint King Halo truly not know her own limitations? Did she truly believe she could manipulate all distance adaptations for a horse girl? If this belief was true in the early stages, then after a period of training with Kitano, Saint King Halo would have clearly understood her own abilities and areas of expertise.

But did the Holy King's aura give up? Of course not. She continued to push herself relentlessly, becoming a horsegirl who "accommodates all distances." Her pride and confidence were all a facade, a cover-up for her own shortcomings and... her own inability to accept her own shortcomings.