Tang Han waited for twenty minutes.
The shuttle bus did not come.
Ah yes. A horse-girl bus assault.
According to what Tazuna had said, once something like that happened, Tang Han would have to wait at least another forty minutes for the next bus.
But instead of going back into Tracen Academy to find somewhere to kill time, Tang Han simply sat down on the ground by the gate.
Going back was out of the question.
He had come out here precisely to get farther away from the horse girls on campus. Ideally, he wanted to get on the bus and return to the dorms as soon as possible. Only then would he feel at ease and not have to worry about getting jumped by a horse girl at any moment.
So Tang Han would rather sit on the ground and wait than go back inside to look for a chair.
That said, he was not idle.
He pulled out a notebook the system had given him, titled Trainer: From Beginner to Basement.
Supposedly, it could teach him how to become a qualified trainer.
Whether that was true or not, reading it could not hurt.
Tang Han opened to the first page.
How to Build a Good Relationship with Horse Girls
Method: Head pats
Flip.
Tang Han did not even bother reading before turning the page.
How to Keep Horse Girls in a Good Mood
Method: Hugs
Flip.
Next page.
How to Form a Bond with Horse Girls
Method: Kisses
How to Help Horse Girls Obtain Powerful Factors
Method: Drink the tea brewed by a horse girl
...
"Unbelievable. This is just a manual on how to get yourself sent to the basement faster."
Tang Han flipped through more than half the notebook, and it was almost all stuff like this—tips on raising horse girls' affection.
As expected, that bastard system had no good intentions. It was just trying to screw him over.
Just as Tang Han was about to skim the rest and toss the notebook in the trash, something suddenly caught his eye.
How to Judge a Horse Girl's Aptitude
Step One: Look at the legs
Method: ...(several thousand words omitted)
...
"This actually has some substance."
Tang Han could not help praising it.
Unlike the suicidal nonsense filling most of the earlier pages, the latter half of the notebook finally contained genuinely useful material.
Not only was the knowledge rich and detailed, it was also easy to understand. In a short span of time, Tang Han learned a great deal about training horse girls.
If he could fully master the second half of this notebook, then forget becoming merely a qualified trainer—he could easily become a veteran one.
Tang Han spent some time finishing the chapter on How to Judge a Horse Girl's Aptitude, and learned quite a lot from it.
By the time he looked up again, his perspective had changed.
He turned his head and looked at Tazuna, who was still standing near the school gate—more specifically, at her long legs wrapped in black stockings.
Hm?
Why did he suddenly want to touch them?
Not in the lecherous sense of a pervert ogling a beautiful woman, but in the admiring way that a master scout might look at a legendary racehorse.
There was a theory that although Tazuna Hayakawa appeared to be human on the surface, she was actually a horse girl herself—possibly the legendary Japanese hall-of-famer, the "phantom horse," Harvest Time.
After all, to work at Tracen Academy—a place where injury rates for both male and female trainers were absurdly high—and not only remain unhurt, but even be able to chase horse girls all over campus, clearly meant she was no ordinary human woman. Beneath that green cap, there were probably a pair of horse ears hidden away.
After all, the only thing that could beat a horse girl was another horse girl.
Tazuna had to be an extremely powerful horse girl to serve as the chairwoman's professional secretary at Tracen.
And that was why Tang Han had the urge to examine her legs.
Terrifying.
One more dangerous individual added to the list.
"Trainer Tang Han, is something the matter?"
Tazuna had also noticed Tang Han looking at her legs. But she was long used to people staring at them, so instead of getting angry, she simply responded with a professional smile.
Tang Han thought about it, then decided to use Tazuna as a test subject for what he had just learned.
"I want to ask—have you been feeling soreness in your left calf lately? Especially right after waking up?"
"Hm? How did you know that, Trainer Tang Han?"
Tazuna looked a little surprised at first, but quickly seemed to understand.
"My, even though you're a new trainer, your eye is on par with a veteran who's had thirty or forty years of experience."
Being able to identify the condition of someone's legs just by looking was not something possible without decades of experience.
Tazuna found herself wondering whether Tang Han was actually some retired veteran trainer who had disguised his identity and appearance to return to Tracen.
"You flatter me," Tang Han said modestly.
That composed air of his—really just his habit of being overly cautious—only made Tazuna suspect even more strongly that he was not a true rookie, but an old hand.
Still, as Tracen's professional secretary, Tazuna knew when to stop. She would not pry too deeply into someone else's secrets.
As for Tang Han's true identity, she decided not to concern herself with it.
"Then... is there a way to fix it?" Tazuna asked.
"There is."
Tang Han nodded.
"When you go back tonight, do this first... then that... and finally..."
He did not hold anything back, and directly told her the treatment method he had just learned.
Tang Han was not worried that this would bring the two of them too close. Tazuna had already been Tracen's secretary for many years and had dealt with countless trainers. He was merely one among many. Their relationship would not suddenly deepen just because he offered one small piece of advice.
Though Tazuna was probably a horse girl herself, she belonged to the "auntie generation," not to the flock of love-crazed young girls at the academy. Romance held no interest for her. She had already devoted all her love to the horse girls of Tracen Academy.
"Alright. Thank you very much, Trainer Tang Han."
Tazuna smiled.
Just as Tang Han had expected, it was still that professional smile. No sign whatsoever of romantic feeling.
But from the feel of it, their friendship had definitely increased a fair bit.
(Friendship bar: green.)
With nothing else to do, Tang Han started chatting with Tazuna.
After all, getting on her good side would not cause problems. And if he ever found himself surrounded by horse girls in the future, having Tazuna as a friend might give him one more path forward.
Namely, an escape route.
After the two of them chatted pleasantly for more than ten minutes, the second shuttle bus finally arrived.
Since the remaining veteran trainers had all been carted off, and the other new trainers were not ready to head back to the dorms yet, Tang Han was the only passenger boarding this bus.
"See you tomorrow, Trainer Tang Han."
"See you tomorrow, Miss Tazuna."
After saying goodbye to Tazuna, Tang Han walked toward the bus.
But just as he was about to board, a metal bar suddenly swung down in front of him, blocking his way.
The driver narrowed his eyes and stared at Tang Han with suspicion.
"You. Take off the hood."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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