Whether Eclipse's threat about jumping him if he refused was a joke or serious, Kitahara Sota neither knew nor wanted to know.
Admittedly, even by Tracen's standards, where beautiful Uma Musume roamed in droves, Eclipse stood out as exceptional. They weren't related by blood either, so nothing would be ethically wrong if something did happen.
But two problems still remained:
One was the rather complicated nature of his relationship with Eclipse—less lovers and more like family who depended on each other.
He'd be lying if he claimed he'd never had those thoughts, but at least for now, he considered her family, and his only family at that. He wasn't eager to change their dynamic.
As for Eclipse's own feelings—well, that was even more of a mystery. Even now, Kitahara still had no clue what she truly thought of him.
The second problem was simpler:
Eclipse was still underage.
And he had no intention of going to prison.
In any case, last night ended with him doing the three thousand push-ups.
Though he'd ended up as exhausted as a dog, thanks to his regular training, a night's rest was enough for him to fully recover.
Then, morning arrived.
They both got up early, washed up, had breakfast, and began heading toward Tracen.
Today was officially the first day of school at Tracen Academy.
Yesterday had been a pre-registration day, designed to prevent overcrowding and accidents by allowing local students and returning upperclassmen to check in early.
But today, as classes formally began, the cafeteria and dorms—still preparing yesterday—would finally open. Eclipse could now freely enjoy the buffet without worrying about expenses. She wouldn't need to return to that shabby apartment tonight, either; she could simply stay in the dormitory.
As for Kitahara Sota...
He was extremely nervous.
With the official start of school, a swarm of freshman Uma Musume without trainers would arrive.
While it was unlikely any Uma Musume would deliberately pick a rookie trainer who barely scraped into Tracen, he couldn't discount the possibility of another Uma Musume like Tokai Teio setting her eyes on him. He absolutely refused to repeat yesterday's disaster.
To prevent that scenario, he'd even deliberately worsened his appearance.
His hair was intentionally messy, his clothes slightly askew, yawning constantly as he walked, his trainer badge sloppily hanging from his neck. Everything screamed unreliable slacker at a glance.
Truthfully, the effect was outstanding.
Forget the other Uma Musume—even Eclipse pretended not to recognize him.
Excellent.
He was off to a perfect start slacking on the very first day of school. Clearly, he had unmatched talent in this area.
After escorting Eclipse to her class and leaving her to mingle, he tidied up a little and headed to the Chairwoman's office for a trainer meeting.
Akikawa Yayoi—the Chairwoman of Tracen Academy HQ—was a creature of unknown origin, appearing as a petite loli barely tall enough to peek above her office desk.
Though tiny, needing to stand on her desk to deliver speeches, and not particularly intimidating at first glance, the aura she radiated when serious startled every new trainer present—everyone except Kitahara, of course.
He was here to slack off; what did authority have to do with him?
As for her speech, it was the usual generic leadership stuff. She began with meaningless pleasantries, briefly outlined the academic plans for the year, and encouraged veteran trainers to look out for their juniors.
After the meeting ended, the trainers didn't immediately disperse. Instead, the veterans stayed behind to introduce the rookies to certain special guidelines unique to Tracen.
"First, at Tracen, if you're attacked by a grey-haired Uma Musume, or you suddenly feel like you've been stuffed into a sack, remain calm. Try not to react. As long as you don't pay attention to her, she'll soon leave."
"Second, around the edges of the campus greenery, you may occasionally encounter an Uma Musume in a white lab coat. When you see her, stay composed. Don't accept any of her requests, and avoid allowing your tantou to have contact with her—otherwise, terrible things may happen."
"Third, though the Tracen forum has anonymous posting options, it's not entirely anonymous. Some special entities can still access your identity, so please restrain yourselves. For more questionable ideas or topics, we have private groups—but even those aren't entirely secure."
"Fourth, never investigate the Chairwoman's actual age. It's an absolute taboo..."
The veteran trainers rattled off around twenty such guidelines, leaving the rookies completely bewildered, feeling as though they'd mistakenly entered some urban-legend-infested academy.
Kitahara Sota was different.
Fear stemmed from ignorance, but as a transmigrator, he knew exactly where these bizarre rules originated.
The grey-haired attacker who enjoyed stuffing people into sacks was obviously Gold Ship.
As for her motive?
As the freest extraterrestrial horse-girl on Earth, did Gold Ship need a reason for anything she did? Even if she suddenly piloted a Gundam and announced she was heading back to Mars to visit family, Kitahara wouldn't be surprised.
The white lab-coated Uma Musume was Agnes Tachyon, Tracen's renowned mad scientist. Her hobby was concocting dubious medicines and seeking guinea pigs—another extremely dangerous presence.
The rest were similarly easy to deduce; he had a good grasp of which Uma Musume could cause which kinds of trouble.
Once the veteran trainers finished, the rookies began their own discussions.
As newcomers lacking seniority, even outstanding candidates rarely secured their own tantou right away.
Additionally, most doubted their ability to independently train Uma Musume. Thus, their plan was to join experienced trainers' teams as assistants, accumulating experience first.
The rookies eagerly debated whose team they'd join: some praised Ohtani-senpai's friendly atmosphere, others cited Mochiyuki-senpai's impressive track record, and some simply claimed they were already acquainted with certain senpai…
When the discussion reached its peak, someone suddenly noticed an anomaly.
In a corner sat an "invisible" person who'd quietly observed their discussion, neither speaking nor reacting.
One rookie glanced at his trainer badge, then asked cautiously, "Kitahara-san, do you have any plans?"
Everyone's attention immediately focused on Kitahara.
There was no malice behind the inquiry. Ignoring all the strange gossip, Tracen genuinely had a positive teaching environment, worthy of its reputation as the top Uma Musume academy. Despite competition, relationships among colleagues were surprisingly friendly.
"Ah, about that..."
Kitahara scratched his nose awkwardly. "I don't plan on joining any other teams, because I already have a tantou assigned..."
"Already have a tantou?"
"Yeah, two."
"Whoa, impressive."
Amazed murmurs broke out.
"Which Uma Musume are they?" someone asked curiously.
"Um…one is Eclipse, a new transfer in the senior division. The other one is…Tokai Teio."
He had to reveal this eventually anyway, so there was no point in hiding it.
But instead of shocked cries, the room plunged into silence.
After a long pause, someone timidly asked, "That…Tokai Teio?"
"I don't think there's another Uma Musume by that name, right?"
Another silence.
The rookie trainers exchanged uncertain glances, unsure what to say.
They didn't recognize Eclipse's name, but Tokai Teio was well-known even to them...
The brightest rising star from the middle division, Symboli Rudolf's prized junior, the predicted undefeated Triple Crown champion. Her potential was obvious, but her official debut had stalled due to lacking a trainer.
Before joining Tracen, they'd speculated about who this star might eventually choose—but nobody could've guessed she'd pick a rookie trainer who barely scraped into Tracen Academy.
"Wait a second!"
A sudden shout broke the silence.
Everyone turned to the speaker, who was pointing at Kitahara—more specifically, at his trainer badge.
"He's Kitahara Sota! That Kitahara Sota! Didn't any of you notice?"
"Kitahara Sota?"
Perhaps Teio's dazzling presence had distracted them, causing them to overlook another crucial detail.
And once they finally realized, Kitahara Sota's name plunged the room back into silence again.