5 The License Test

Horse-girl trainer. Inarguably, it is the most prestigious occupation, albeit only in this Earth. Like its counterpart, a horse-girl trainer comes with its many and countless responsibilities. And not everybody is capable to be a full-fledged trainer, regardless of all their prior experiences working with horse-girls or the specialized courses which they took.

In short, getting a license is a hit-or-miss.

In order to get into the industry, one must overcome its notoriously difficult test. After completing a 4-hour long written examination, the candidate must attend a face-to-face evaluation, with a set of interviewers—with most would compare the process to an interrogation—to determine if they are ready for the job, and to discard the so-called "bad news" applicants.

Akin to its counterpart on Henrik's and Leona's Earth, being a trainer is not always about working with horse-girls to get them ready for races and shows. One is expected to build a long and lasting relationship with their horse-girls; horse-girls' attraction to humans is one of a kind. Some take it further. Dating, and marrying, though the latter is largely done in secrecy due to regulations.

And unfortunately, much like a relationship, some trainers use that trust from their horse-girls for their own purposes, leading to a number of extreme abuse and severe traumatization. With such is the regrettable recent case of Air Groove, the Empress. Not widely known to the public, yet in the Japanese horse-girl racing industry, it is an incident—putting it mildly—which changed how a person is qualified and get tested for the trainer license.

In Henrik's own words: "Cocksuckers are fucking everywhere."

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Chapter V: The License Test

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The Saturday weekend in the campus of Tracen Academy is a particularly bright day. With the students of the school, especially the newcomers, either use this opportunity to explore their second home with their new friends, or simply relax themselves after a week of studying and training, or take this time to hit the gym or exercise in the running track. Simply put, it is a well-earned reward for their hard-work throughout the week, inside and outside the classroom.

For the unofficial horse-girls of Team Polaris, they choose to enjoy some sweet cold honey tea in a cafe in the campus, sitting at the table with the wide view of Tracen's advanced running track. Tokai Teio, keeping it casual for the weekend—with a white sweatshirt and black leggings—being a fangirl that she is, stares keenly at a heaving Symboli Rudolf, who is training alongside her Rigil teammates, as she wipes away her sweats with her tracksuit sleeve.

"Absurd," Mejiro McQueen, dressing in an elegant ocean-blue apron dress over a white blouse—fitting for a horse-girl of the Mejiro household—notes blandly, sipping her cup of honey tea, yet cannot help but frown slightly. "He actually meant it when he told us he'd take the test the same day as our sensei."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Tokai Teio turns to Mejiro McQueen.

"Good? How is Henrik-sensei expecting to pass the exam with just under a week to prepare, and only a mere month worth of experience with horse-girls?" Mejiro McQueen inquires. "To be one certified trainer, a person has to take years to accumulate sufficient knowledge, and experience. And even then, their chance of getting a license isn't guaranteed, thanks to the notoriously tiring interview right after the 4-hour written test."

Tokai Teio simply waves her hand nonchalantly. "You're being too pessimistic, McQueen~."

"Pessimistic?!" The Mejiro horse-girl looks offended. "I am being realistic here! Granted that one could retake the license test as many times as they want, those who failed their first time is already listed in the blacklist, reducing their chances to succeed in their next test."

"For someone who claimed to hate his guts, you're pretty anxious and worried for teach. Or you are just afraid he's gonna win the bet, aren't you~?"

El Condor Pasa, wearing a simply crew-neck t-shirt and shorts, grins ear to ear, knowingly, pokes Mejiro McQueen's cheek teasingly, making the girl in question huffs and crosses her arms.

"Me, afraid? Hah! As if a miracle would happen," Mejiro McQueen says. "Having said that, what exactly are you doing here anyway, El Condor Pasa-san? Not that we mind it when you wanted to tag along, but I doubt you're here just to hang out with us alone."

"Waiting for teach, obviously," El Condor Pasa answers, then noticing the confused looks on her fellow schoolmates. "What? Teach didn't tell you?"

Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen share each other a look. "Uh, told us what?"

In response, El Condor Pasa grins wider. "I'm the third member of team Polaris," she announces with a broad beam, giving the two the peace finger-sign.

"Eh? That's so cool~!" Tokai Teio shifts her tail, excited. "When did that happen, El-chan?"

"Wednesday, right after our class' assessment," El Condor Pasa replies. "Asked me after I finished training. I just said yes in response."

"Even though you're aware he has yet to become a licensed trainer?" Mejiro McQueen raises an understandably questioning brow.

"Duh, it's teach, y'know." El Condor Pasa shrugs casually. "I know he recently got deep into the industry thanks to Leona-sensei. But I'm pretty confident that he knows what he's doing."

"And where does that confident exactly come from?" Mejiro McQueen presses.

"Let us just say it's a horse-girl's hunch~."

"A hunch..." Mejiro McQueen deadpans.

In the span of the first week working and teaching in Tracen Academy, Henrik has cemented his position as the newest and hottest topic in the school, and the most popular teacher amongst the students and horse-girls alike. All thanks to his unorthodox way of teaching and engaging in every class, alongside his openly obsession with thighs, especially horse-girls' thighs.

Soon, he was dubbed as the "gentleman pervert," a title which he gladly accepted. What is more, much to the Mejiro horse-girl's utter dismay, the sight of Henrik dodging her kicks as the teacher and his student exchange words, mostly his pestering towards the horse-girl, before she is caught and teased in his arm each morning has grown into a norm.

"I don't understand how can you both like him so much." Mejiro McQueen fumes, twitches her brow. "Thanks to him, now everybody calls me a white cat! I am a proud horse-girl of the Mejiro family, not some house pet to be made fun of and roughly manhandled around! And my hair is not even white in the slightest!"

"White cat," Tokai Teio tastes the word in her mouth before she smiles. "I think it is a really cute nickname. Isn't that correct, El-chan~?"

"Oh, I totally agree~. White cat does sound cute~." El Condor Pasa concurs with a teasing smile, as the Mejiro horse-girl rolls her eyes. "You know, McQueen, you should be more honest. Every time I see you and teach together, you always looked to be having fun. And even right now, you are worried that he might fail the license exam, aren't you? What a tsundere~."

Mejiro McQueen twitches her ears, giving El Condor Pasa a half-lidded glare. "Excuse me? What do you mean by that—"

"Your ears and tail don't lie, McQueen," Tokai Teio chimes in. "Besides, didn't you tell me that you admittedly kinda enjoy his—"

"Aaaah! Stupid Teio, you should be keeping that as our secret—!"

Mejiro McQueen immediately slaps her hands over her mouth, glancing across the cafe, realizing she might've been a little bit too loud, with a red face. To which she returns her attention to both Tokai Teio and El Condor Pasa, who are smiling and grinning respectively. And for a moment, she only stares at the two, before long puts her hands down and releases a defeated sigh, knowing she cannot win against them.

"I-I guess despite his antics and 'inappropriate' remarks about my thighs whenever we train, you could say I have grown a soft spot for him," Mejiro McQueen admits earnestly, curling the sidelock with her finger as she slightly averts her gaze, blushing.

"Ooh, finally sincere to yourself?" El Condor Pasa teases, while Tokai Teio retains her beam and Mejiro McQueen picks up her cup and sips the tea. "So, is it a crush on our teacher~? Gotta be quick about it, McQueen, or other girls will take him away from you~."

Promptly, the Mejiro horse-girl does a spit-take right at Tokai Teio's eyes, who instantly got onto the floor and rolls around, whilst clutching her eyes and screaming in pain. The lavender-haired horse-girl coughs a few times, hitting her chest with her fist as she composes herself, her face looks bright red, easily putting the tomatoes into shame.

"Wh-Wh-What—N-No, it is not like that!" Mejiro McQueen denies, slamming the table, although she soon calms down, stares at the floor and grips her dress. "It's... It's not a crush. It's more like a... I don't know how to put it in words, but..."

"Go on~."

Mejiro McQueen takes a deep breath and puts her cup down, looks into El Condor Pasa's eyes, as she mellows her gaze. "Most of my life, I've always been surrounded with people who tried to get on my good side. And it is vexing. Don't great me wrong, I'm proud to be a horse-girl of the Mejiro household, though it almost seems that everybody wanted to befriend me because of the name of my family, not me or who I am."

"Until teach came along~," El Condor Pasa adds, carefully rubbing Tokai Teio's face with her handkerchief as she mouths a quiet thank you.

"Yes. Until Kaiser-sensei came along," Mejiro McQueen confirms warmly. "Aside my family, my sisters and my servants, he doesn't act like most people I've met in my life. He isn't afraid to get me mad and get a reaction out of me. Of course, it's infuriating at times. Yet it also seems so, well, refreshing and new. Equally, he treats me just like any other student of his; and while I loathe to say this out loud, I honestly appreciate that part of him. Besides..."

...

"Kaiser-sensei, I wish to withdraw from Team Polaris."

Henrik, who was working on his journal and reviewing his teaching materials after a hearty lunch, blinked several times. "Withdraw?" he asked, staring at the Mejiro horse-girl.

"Please don't take it the wrong sense, sensei. I'm really grateful for your advices and your pointers on how to increase my core strengths," Mejiro McQueen clarified stiffly. "It is just... I don't think I should bother you and Leona-sensei any longer."

"Bother? But you don't—"

"I'm not intending to make my debut anytime soon. Not this year," Mejiro McQueen confessed, deflected her gaze from his. "A trainer's main job is helping a horse-girl getting prepared for her debut at the Twinkle Series. With you and Leona-sense diverting your attention for somebody who isn't going to make her debut soon, unlike Tokai Teio, I would not want her chance to have an utmost successful decreased because she doesn't get enough attention—Ouch!"

Mejiro McQueen clutched her forehead as she yelped, while Henrik sighed. "Silly lass. You are going to quit the team because you thought you'd hinder Tokai Teio? Silly."

"But I'm being serious here, sensei!" Mejiro McQueen said, pouting. "You and Leona-sensei are already busy with your works on the school, and training only a horse-girl as new trainers are not as easy as they make it out to be. Me, somebody isn't joining the debut race anytime soon, being in your team is going to end up as a weight for everyone. And I don't want that—Ouch!"

Henrik flicked her forehead again, but this time he also chuckled. "Let me guess. You must have read articles and reports about novice trainers with multiple horse-girls being trained in their first year as a licensed trainer tend to fall flat more than those who work with a sole horse-girl, yes?"

Mejiro McQueen slowly nodded her head, rubbing her forehead.

Which Henrik placed his hand on her head, stroking her hair and her ears. "I get your meaning, lass. I am glad you care about us a lot, but it isn't something you should be worrying about. You are a part of our team now; our responsibility. If you don't find it comfortable with starting your debut in your first year, that's totally fine. Better get well-prepared than going there while you are not in your best. Always better to go with your own pace, after all."

"But your work—"

"Frankly, our schedules are pretty free. One of the main reasons why I always choose stay in the school in the afternoon is because I have nothing to do at home," Henrik explained. "Moreover, it's great to watch thighs getting their deserved workout. Like yours for example."

"S-Sensei, not now!"

"Jokes aside," Henrik continued, ignoring her pout and blush, "you might not know, but Leone here used to work alongside the greatest minds of So—Russia. And I, myself, trained soldiers. So, trust me when I tell you training some horse-girls is more of a walk in the park compared to our old jobs before we even came to Japan."

Henrik put his hand down from her head, smiling, softly. "You are not a bother to us. I promise you, lass. We don't mind waiting until you feel comfortable to make your debut, nor sharing our attention to you. To go with, having you in Team Polaris does help us a whole lot too."

Mejiro McQueen shifted her ears curiously. "Me? Helping you?"

"Tokai Teio looks up to you, you know that?" Henrik reveals. "After watching how you ran, she told straight to me that you're cool, and awesome. Every afternoon, in that running field, that lass is striving to be as good as you than you. Aside Symboli Rudolf, you're her motivation to become better every single day. In other words, she starts seeing you as a rival, a worthy challenger."

"As good as me?" she asked. "Teio performed better than me in the assessment."

"You saw how she almost went out of her breath while you barely sweated?" Henrik pointed out, as the Mejiro horse-girl started to realize. "Perhaps in the short and medium-distanced races, she would dominate with her speed in the final stretch. But—when it comes to stamina, she holds no candle to you. You require rest less than her. You run and workout longer than her. It's a good foundation; you already have it. With a proper training and diet, speed won't be a problem. Teio knows it. When you began your training on speed, she will lose. That's why she's been working hard these past days on her core strengths. And you ARE the reason. So let go of the thought you're a bother and a weight to us. You are an important part of our team."

Henrik exhaled. "Alright. I've talked my share. If you still wish to follow through... with your decision, that's your choice and I respect it. Anyhow, I'm going to prepare for my class' afternoon assessment, so need to run now. Oh, if I have to take a guess, you're intending to train on your own once you quit, yes? Not saying it's bad. Though, wouldn't it be better if you have people by your side to push you towards your best version, lass? Food for thought."

Mejiro McQueen stares at Henrik, unable to form any word.

"I know I already said this before, and you must be tired of hearing it, but I'll just say it again for the heck of it: I do give a damn about your future. And—if becoming a trainer to make the best out of it, to help you become the kind of horse-girl you want to be, it's not much," Henrik says with a grin. "I do know about how the Mejiro family likes to emphasize on independency. Me, personally, I'd say it is okay to depend on us. That is why we're called a team, right? Alone you go fast, but together you go far."

...

"McQueen? You okay there?"

Mejiro McQueen blinks, looking at Tokai Teio. She smiles softly. "My apologizes. I... was lost in thoughts about a recent event."

"But still, from kicking sensei in his face after he accidently saw your underwear, to this," Tokai Teio remarks, with her face now clean, wipes away a fake tear, "you surely have grown a lot in just a week, McQueen. I'm so proud of you."

"Who would have known the usually cold-appearing Mejiro McQueen would actually have this endearing hidden side, eh~?"

"Still, McQueen is right," Tokai Teio continues. "Henrik-sensei isn't like most teachers. He wants us to have fun in his classes. He does not make us do a lot of homework. And his teachings are easy to understand too. I'm actually beginning to like Math now."

"Not to mention teach is quite tolerable when it comes to pranks, and teases, as long as they are not harmful to me and others," El Condor Pasa states further, grinning. "Gotta say, he is the best teacher I've had in a while. I'm really looking forward to more of his Spanish classes~."

"That being said—" Mejiro McQueen clears her throat, coughs into her hand "—I'm still worried about his license test. He recently got into the industry, yet he already thought about taking it so soon. Just... so rash. Absurd. Unbelievable."

"Aww~, so you are worried for him, after all~," Tokai Teio says gleefully.

"Well, what is the point of hiding it when I already spilled the beans?" Mejiro McQueen remarks with a small sigh. "I'm very aware he knows how to train us, but would his interviewers have the same opinion? In addition, it's not like a miracle is going to happen—"

All of a sudden, a very familiar hand places a very familiar-looking card on the table, right before Mejiro McQueen's eyesight.

"—right...?"

The Mejiro horse-girl blinks, picks up the card, noticing how warm it is, and brings it to her eyes, which slowly widen. She tilts her head around as Henrik simply smiles and squeezes her shoulder lightly. "Told you it isn't much, didn't I, lass?"

Mejiro McQueen gradually drops her jaw, glances at Henrik and his license card back and forth, unable to utter any word, as if she is already frozen in her place.

"And I brought a friend."

Then another hand places on her other shoulder, grabbing her attention with a hat connected to a strap similar to a headstall and a long flowing silver-gray hair.

"G-G-Gold Ship?!" Mejiro McQueen springs upright from her seat, recoils, her tail between her legs. "J-J-Just what are you doing here with sensei—Oh, oh no. S-Sensei, you did not...!"

"I did." Henrik straightens his posture, smirking alongside Gold Ship, as Mejiro McQueen starts to go significantly pale. "Lasses, let's welcome our 4th member of Team Polaris: Gold Ship."

A horse-girl with divine, and distinguished beauty with her beautiful long silver-grey hair which reaches past her waist, Gold Ship is easily amongst one of the most popular horse-girls in Tracen Academy, and a well-known prankster, specifically targeting Mejiro McQueen. Naturally, Henrik and Gold Shop, with the same goal in their mind, quickly ended up as close friends, and together they form the Duo of Trouble.

Gold Ship, wearing a tight-fitted black crop top, exposing her pleasantly smooth midriff, and dark jeans, chortles with a wide beam. "Take care of me from now on, all right, McQueen~?"

As one would expect, the moment Mejiro McQueen doesn't take this news with thrill. "No! No! I'm done! I quit! Dealing with you alone—" which she points at accusingly at Henrik "—is already enough for my mental health. Including her in the team is just going to make me go crazy before I even got the chance to make my debut. So absolutely no—"

Suddenly, Gold Ship's rosewood eyes start tearing up.

"E-Eh...?"

"But... but I want to run with you," Gold Ship says, her voice cracking.

Which Mejiro McQueen starts to panic, gazing to Henrik, who shrugs, then to Gold Ship. "Hey, y-you don't have to cry. I didn't really mean it—" Gold Ship sobs louder. "G-Geez! Fine, if this is going to make you feel better... p-please take care of me from now as well, Gold Ship-san."

"Ya ta!" Gold Ship cheers, wrapping Mejiro McQueen into a bear-hug with a wide beam, rubbing her cheek against McQueen's lovingly. "We're gonna make lots of good memories together now, right, McQueen~?"

"Aren't you supposed to be sobbing?!" the Mejiro horse-girl cries. "A-And let go of me! You are hugging me too tightly! Sensei, a-a little help here!?"

Meanwhile, everyone nearing the two has the same thought. 'Poor girl/McQueen/lass played right into her hand.'

Henrik chuckles wholeheartedly, before long Tokai Teio rushes to him and hugs his waist, looks up to him with her broad smile. "Henrik-sensei, congratulations! I knew you can do it!"

In response, the man smiles back, ruffling her hair. "Thanks a lot, champ."

Getting himself a chair, the man sits next to Tokai Teio. He yawns into his fist, and takes off his coat, hanging it over the chair. He stretches his shoulders, humming to himself, grinning as Mejiro McQueen and the horse-girls read the license card, all over and over again, in order to check its validity. He simply watches his students in amusement.

"You've been checking my license for about five minutes already," Henrik says. "Could I please have it back now?"

"How is this possible?" Mejiro McQueen let out a deep breath, looking into his eyes. "Not going to talk about the fact you managed to did all this in just a week. Just... how in the world did you finish both the written-exam and the interview in less than a freaking hour?"

"Well, the written-test is easier than I thought. Done in about 15 minutes or so," Henrik answers, as he takes a sip out of a cup of cold water. "The interview was overwhelmingly... disappointing. They always told me it was going to be like an interrogation of sorts. For somebody who had to go through literal torturing during interrogations back then, I give it a 0.5, out of 10. Bloody hell, they even used a damned polygraph during the interview. Excessive, don't you think?"

Mejiro McQueen looks to her teammates, before returning to Henrik. "Kaiser-sensei... you really are not normal at all, aren't you?" she asks dryly, as the horse-girls nod along.

"Never claimed I'm normal once."

"Sensei," Tokai Teio calls out to him, "why did you recruit Gold Ship to the team?"

"I just saw she has a lot of potential during her assessment," Henrik responses, as Gold Ship goes to his side, prompts him to scratches under her chin, eliciting a purr while she wags her tail. "As for the record, I didn't exactly recruit her. She just found me after I got my license and asked me if she could join our team. Which is like five minutes ago."

"And you said yes." Mejiro McQueen "glares" intently. "Gosh. This is going to be a long year."

"What's really the problem, anyway?" Henrik rubs Gold Ship's cheek, as the horse-girl hugs his neck and starts to rub her cheek against his. "Well, she looks kind of dorky with the hat. But you have to admit she's quite adorable in her own ways. Like a pup. Am I right, Golshi~?"

"He he he~. Sensei, you don't have to flatter me~."

"And he even gave her a nickname! Just how close are you two pranksters?"

"What's the matter, my little white cat~? Jealous already~?"

Mejiro McQueen rolls her eyes. "Ugh. I'm not even going to bother taking your bait, because I know I won't be able to win against you two."

Tokai Teio giggles and turns to Henrik. "Sensei, is Leona-sensei still taking the test?"

"Knowing her, she should be here, like..."

The door to the cafe opens, revealing Leona. The blonde-haired beauty flashes a beam, holding up her license for her team to feast their eyes on proudly.

"...now." Henrik snorts. "Quite disappointing, wasn't it?"

"You tell me." Leona pulls a chair to Henrik's side, rests her head on his shoulder, before putting on a tired smile. "Thought I was going against a challenge. Turns out it was an elementary test that anyone could pass with flying colours with enough knowledge in their head. Still, what's with that slap mark on your face, Henrik?"

"This?" He points to his left cheek, receiving nods from Leona and the horse-girls. "Well, I did... have our school's chairman attending my interview. And during the interview I, well, called her a jailbait. Even got it on the phone too."

Immediately, El Condor Pasa spits her drink on Tokai Teio's eyes. Gold Ship bursts out laughing while Mejiro McQueen's jaw dropped to the floor. Leona simply giggles. "Jailbait? I know she is young and all. But to call her that, isn't it a bit too much? I actually feel bad for Yayoi-san."

"Please, have you taken a look at her?" Henrik asks Leona blandly. "She looks like a goddamn middle schooler. How could someone her age be that... small? At first glance, I even thought she was some child who either got lost in here, or the kid of one of the interviewers. For real, Japan is weird sometimes."

"Oh, Henrik." Leona teases with a smile. "You're too blunt for your own good sometimes."

"Not that I really give a damn anyway," Henrik says. "In any case, McQueen, you look like you have something you want to tell me and Leona."

"...Finishing the test under an hour and taking the notorious interview like some sort of a child's play, Henrik-sensei, you and Leona-sensei both are definitely not humans."

"Don't worry, darling~. We get that a lot."

"Either way, this calls for a celebration for the official beginning of Team Polaris!" Henrik cheers, grinning broadly. "Tonight, we shall feast in my place. So do get yourself properly clean and get your most comfortable clothes before coming over, alright? I'm speaking to you, Teio."

"D-Don't remind me of that embarrassing time! I know it already!" Tokai Teio's face goes beet-red, as El Condor Pasa wipes her face whilst apologizing repeatedly.

"Anyhow, there is still one more place that I need to visit. Our 5th member's."

"A 5th member?" El Condor Pasa asks curiously. "Is she someone we know, teach?"

"A yes-and-no? I don't actually know. But I do know the lass is hell of a genius at hard work."

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