What Responsibility Means

"Sorry."

From atop the horse, Ochiai 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 could be blamed on himself.

"Not at all."

Kitano bowed deeply.

He had been able to tell as early as the parade ring that Mejiro Tenma had been brought into excellent condition.

The race arrangements had been perfectly reasonable as well.

The trainer, training assistants, stable staff, and jockey had all done everything they could.

There was nothing to complain about.

"Thank you for your hard work."

He spoke, then patted Mejiro Tenma on the head again.

"You did great too!"

The gray horse snorted out a hot breath, sweat continuously streaming down her body.

She looked somewhat downcast. Was she also unwilling to accept the loss?

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 by 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 when she ran!"

"The pre-race fan service was adorable too!"

"As long as she finished safely..."

A slightly disorderly assortment of replies came back.

Kitano was quietly moved by their words.

It really was strange.

Most of them were young people who did not know much about horse racing, yet they could feel such enthusiasm for a horse they had never known before.

"Either way, 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 reminded him repeatedly did he sheepishly put away his pen.

"You worked hard too, trainer lad. You did pretty well yourself!"

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 lad?"

"I'm not a stablehand either..."

He followed behind Kitano as though fleeing.

"Owner Kitano!"

While they were walking away from 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 recognize the man before him.

"I'm Kimura Keisei from New Life Ranch. Just call me Kimura."

"I was there for that race too. What a pity—you were so close to taking it."

As he spoke at length, the man enthusiastically handed over a business card.

[New Life Ranch Co., Ltd.]

[Representative: Kimura Keisei]

"Pleased to meet you, Representative Kimura."

After glancing at the information on the card, Kitano handed over one of his own.

"Please take care of me!"

[Make connections with 100 industry professionals: 100/100 (Completed)]

[Reward: Silver Amulet ×1]

After closing the two lines of text that appeared before him, Kitano put away the business card.

"Then I won't disturb you any longer."

Kimura shifted his gaze away from Ogawa Masaru's somewhat dejected face and smiled without saying anything more.

"New Life Ranch... is it that impressive?"

After Kimura left, Kitano turned and asked.

"They just have more people and better equipment..."

"When it comes to training horses, Dad is way better than them!"

Ogawa Masaru looked unconvinced. After a pause, he continued, "But... if we're talking purely about bloodlines, the foals produced by their ranch really are better than ours."

By the end, a trace of unwillingness had entered the boy's voice.

"I see."

Kitano nodded without speaking further, as though considering something.

"Larger ranches hold annual elite auctions for industry people. If you're interested, Mr. Kitano, you could go take a look when the time comes."

Although he was displeased with Kimura openly trying to poach a major client from their ranch, Ogawa Masaru still gave his advice with a serious expression. "As for the horses at public auctions or sold through private deals, they're actually not much different from the foals produced by small ranches outside. There's no need to waste money on them."

"Thanks, 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 another horse."

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 it all into his career as an owner, he might be able to complete quite a few tasks in one go.

But he did not intend to do that.

Besides the items in the shop that could only be bought with amulets, there were other considerations as well.

The longer he remained a horse owner, the more he felt how difficult it was to maintain that identity.

Just as the old man who had commented in X's replies had said, every matter demanded a considerable amount of energy.

Simply increasing the number of racehorses under his name because he had money on hand would not be a responsible thing to do, whether toward the people involved or the horses themselves.

"Huh?"

Apparently surprised by how Kitano had addressed him, Ogawa Masaru looked up at him in astonishment.

But soon, the boy scratched his head and said, "It's fine. After all, Mr. Kitano has helped us a lot too."

"It's been the same with you, A-Sheng. You've taught me plenty since the beginning, and Pegasus has been in your care all this time."

Even though the other person was nearly ten years younger than him, Kitano did not look down on him.

He sincerely felt that it was remarkable for someone his age to possess so much knowledge related to horses.

"If you don't mind, you can just call me by my name from now on."

His tone was earnest.

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 was it some calculating concern of an adult in society.

He simply wanted to become companions 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 trying to call me by my surname directly?"

Kitano asked with a smile.

"That still won't work! But Mr. Kitano... Brother Kitano, if you have any horse racing-related questions later, just come find me..."

"If I really can't handle it, I can go ask Dad for help too, haha!"

Ogawa Masaru laughed along with him, and the two walked side by side out of the somewhat stuffy racecourse.