"Sorry."
Ochiai, still on horseback, could only say that much.
Mejiro Tenma had been in excellent condition and had performed wonderfully on the track.
That meant the only reason for the loss was himself.
"Not at all."
Kitano gave a deep bow.
He had noticed as early as the parade ring that Mejiro Tenma had been brought into excellent condition.
The race arrangements had been reasonable as well.
The race arrangements were also quite reasonable. Whether it was the assistant trainer, training assistants, Trainer, or Jockey, everyone had done their utmost.
There was nothing to complain about.
"Thank you for your hard work."
He said this.
Then he patted Mejiro Tenma on the head again.
"You worked hard too!"
The gray horse snorted out a blast of hot breath, sweat constantly streaming down his body.
He seemed a little down. Was he also unwilling to accept the defeat?
Loosening his overly tight tie, Kitano followed the same route as last time.
"Sorry I couldn't show you the victory you were hoping for."
As he passed the edge of the stands, he spoke to the supporters behind the banners.
"Not at all, Owner Kitano!"
"It's a little disappointing, but Pegasus ran brilliantly!"
"That's right! Pegasus looked absolutely dazzling while running!"
"The pre-race fan service was adorable too!"
"As long as he finished safely..."
A slightly disorderly chorus of replies came from them.
Kitano was quietly moved by their words.
It was strange, really.
Most of them were young people who did not know much about the sport of Racehorse racing, yet they could feel such passion for a horse they had never known before.
"Anyway, thank you all for your support today."
He began signing autographs for the supporters again.
"Owner Kitano, um... that should be enough."
Only after the staff repeatedly reminded him did he sheepishly put away his pen.
"You worked hard too, Trainer kid. You did a pretty good job!"
One supporter patted Ogawa Masaru on the shoulder in consolation.
Though he did not actually know what Ogawa Masaru had done.
"I'm not a Trainer..."
Ogawa Masaru's face flushed slightly as he hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
"Then... stablehand kid?"
"I'm not a stablehand either..."
He followed behind Kitano as though fleeing.
"Owner Kitano!"
As they were walking out of the racecourse, a middle-aged man with noticeably thinning hair called out to Kitano from behind.
"You are...?"
Kitano's tone was hesitant.
He truly did not know the man before him.
"I'm Kimura Keisei from New Life Ranch. Just call me Kimura."
"I was at that race too. What a pity—you were so close to taking it."
Talking endlessly, the man enthusiastically handed over a business card.
[New Life Ranch Co., Ltd.] [Representative: Kimura Keisei]
"Nice to meet you, Representative Kimura."
After glancing at the information on the card, Kitano handed over his own business card as well.
"Please take care of me!"
[Make connections with 100 people in the industry: 100/100 (Completed)] [Reward: Silver Amulet ×1]
After closing the two lines of text that had appeared before him, Kitano put away the business card.
"Then I won't disturb you any further."
Kimura shifted his gaze away from Ogawa Masaru's somewhat sullen face and smiled without saying anything more.
"New Life Ranch... is it impressive?"
After Kimura left, Kitano turned and asked.
"They only have more people and better equipment..."
"When it comes to training horses, Dad is far better than them!"
Ogawa Masaru looked unconvinced. After pausing, he continued, "But... if we're only talking about bloodlines, the foals produced by their ranch... really are better than ours."
By the end, there was a trace of unwillingness in the boy's voice.
"I see."
Kitano nodded but said nothing more, seemingly lost in thought.
"Larger ranches hold annual elite auctions for industry insiders. If you're interested, Mr. Kitano, you could consider attending one."
Though he was displeased by Kimura openly trying to poach a major client from their ranch, Ogawa Masaru still offered his advice seriously. "As for public auctions and private sales, the horses there aren't really much different from the foals produced by smaller ranches outside. There's no need to waste money on them."
"Thank you, A-Sheng."
Kitano said as he patted the boy on the shoulder.
"But at least for the near future, I have no plans to buy any new horses."
Kitano was telling the truth.
If he exchanged all the Amulets he had for cash, he would probably have around twenty million yen.
If he invested all of it into his horse owner business, he might be able to complete quite a few tasks at once.
But he had no intention of doing so.
Aside from the items in the shop that could only be bought with Amulets, there were other considerations as well.
The longer he was a horse owner, the more he felt how difficult it was to maintain that identity.
Just as the old man who had commented in the "X" comment section said that day, every matter demanded a considerable amount of energy.
Simply increasing the number of Racehorses he owned because he had money on hand was not responsible behavior, whether toward the people involved or the Racehorses themselves.
"Huh?"
Seemingly surprised by how Kitano addressed him, Ogawa Masaru looked up at him in astonishment.
But the boy soon scratched his head and said, "It's fine. After all, Mr. Kitano has helped us a lot too."
"You're the one who's taught me plenty since the beginning, A-Sheng. And Pegasus has always been in your care."
Even though the other party was a boy nearly ten years younger than himself, Kitano did not look down on him.
He sincerely felt that it was remarkable for someone his age to have mastered so much knowledge related to horses.
"If you don't mind, you can just call me by my name from now on."
He spoke earnestly.
Ogawa Masaru's care for Mejiro Tenma went beyond mere duty or responsibility.
Even Kitano, as an outsider, could easily sense the boy's heartfelt love for horses.
It was not because of system tasks, nor the calculations of an adult in society.
He simply wanted to become friends with him.
"No way, no way. If Dad heard that, he'd definitely scold me again!"
Ogawa Masaru waved his hands with an exaggerated expression.
"Then how about just calling me by my surname?"
Kitano asked with a smile.
"That still won't work! But Mr. Kitano... Brother Kitano, if you ever have any questions related to Racehorse racing, just come find me..."
"If I really can't handle it, I can ask Dad for help too, haha!"
Ogawa Masaru laughed along with him as the two walked side by side out of the somewhat stifling racecourse.