Contracts between trainers and Uma Musume came in several forms, the most common being those of tantou Uma Musume and team Uma Musume.
A tantou relationship was rather serious: numerous complex rules, heavy responsibilities, and strict requirements.
Once established, barring extraordinary circumstances, trainer and tantou remained bound for the Uma Musume's entire three-year professional debut—through glory and setbacks alike. It was safe to say they shared a single fate.
And it was also an area prone to "accidents."
Team Uma Musume, by comparison, were much simpler—essentially club members.
Although nominally joining a trainer's team, trainers had minimal responsibility toward them. Whether they followed the trainer's instructions or not depended entirely on their mood. Transferring between teams was easy, and membership was largely casual.
After all, humans had limited energy. Even veteran trainers found it difficult managing more than a couple of tantou at once.
Not to mention that emotional connections also posed risks—handling one tantou Uma Musume could fracture your pelvis; handling multiple... ever heard of being drawn and quartered?
Thus, experienced trainers typically built a team around one or two tantou, filling the rest with team Uma Musume.
Veteran trainers would focus on their own tantou, providing minimal guidance to the team Uma Musume, delegating most tasks to rookie trainers joining their team.
Those rookies, in turn, would accumulate valuable experience, slowly build rapport with the team Uma Musume, and eventually pick suitable candidates from among them to form their own tantou relationships. Then, they would start their own teams, perpetuating the cycle.
"But I'm a rookie trainer!"
Outside the Chairwoman's office, Kitahara Sota felt despair grip him.
"Why would Tracen approve a rookie trainer's team formation request? Are they really that desperate for trainers? Don't they screen at all?"
Back in the cafeteria, after reaching that point in conversation, Kitahara hadn't been able to reject Special Week and Oguri Cap's requests to join outright.
But at the time, he hadn't been particularly worried.
After all, logically speaking, a borderline-hired, barely-one-day-old rookie trainer like himself surely wouldn't have his request approved. He could simply let the academy reject the application and then casually dismiss the whole matter.
But reality slapped him hard: his application was smoothly approved.
The reason?
"Approved! Kitahara Sota-san, I've received numerous glowing reports about you from regional Tracen branches. I'm confident in your abilities as a trainer. Please continue doing your best!"
So said the little lolita Chairwoman, who apparently had been watching him for quite a long time.
And just like that, Special Week and Oguri Cap happily joined his team.
Eclipse, too, seemed satisfied—whether because her scheme succeeded or something else entirely.
Only Kitahara himself remained miserable.
Looking at the four vibrant names on his newly formed team roster, he felt his dream of a quiet, lazy life fading further away.
I just wanted to coast for three years… is that really so difficult?
Sighing deeply, he tucked the documents into his bag, then turned to face the three behind him, each with varied expressions.
"Let's head to the training grounds."
Unlike Tokai Teio and Eclipse—technically his tantou, but completely independent and unlikely to listen even if he gave instructions—Special Week and Oguri Cap were just team members yet would likely follow him obediently. Even if he wanted to coast, he had at least minimal duties as their trainer.
The first step, naturally, was basic testing. Although he'd tested them before, that data was several years outdated and required updating to create a proper training plan.
They quickly geared up, warmed up, and testing commenced.
Speed, stamina, power, guts, intelligence.
Due to limited time and space, the tests were fairly rudimentary. Still, the results filled Kitahara with despair.
What the hell is this...?
He knew well that Special Week and Oguri Cap were both renowned Uma Musume. The former was famously dubbed "Japan's Strongest Contender," the latter "The Monster of the Grey Coat."
But your stats are still ridiculously high!
As a transmigrator, he'd initially had a training-system cheat that allowed him to view Uma Musume's detailed stats and conditions after a verbal agreement. During his early wandering years, it helped him resolve problems even veteran trainers couldn't.
But now, he hardly used the system at all.
The reason?
The system, while useful at first, was vague and provided only general overviews of Uma Musume attributes and problems.
After years interacting extensively with numerous Uma Musume, Kitahara could now identify their attributes with pinpoint accuracy just by watching them run. He could quantify attributes precisely down to single digits and recognize issues even better than the system ever could.
Hence, gradually, he'd stopped relying on it, preferring his own intuition.
Thanks to this honed skill, he instantly grasped how strong Special Week and Oguri Cap had become.
Despite just starting their full-fledged professional training—usually a stage when Uma Musume were relatively weak—the two displayed speed and strength comparable to others at their peak.
Once these two reached their peak, their abilities would be genuinely terrifying.
Certainly, their extraordinary talent and relentless hard work played roles. Yet Kitahara himself had made minor adjustments to their training years ago, further enhancing their growth beyond their original paths.
In the original timeline, both Special Week and Oguri Cap were already exceptional, among the absolute top tier. With these added adjustments...
Without disrespecting others, rival trainers might need to install turbo boosters to catch up.
Moreover, his team roster also included Tokai Teio. Even though her basement reputation was terrifying, her prowess on the track was no less fearsome.
Including Eclipse—whose true abilities remained unknown, since she'd never agreed verbally to reveal her stats nor ever run at full speed—the lineup was dreamlike. A little training, and they could effortlessly dominate competitions.
Any other trainer receiving this lineup would probably be too excited to sleep.
Kitahara also couldn't sleep—but out of dread rather than excitement.
Are you kidding? All I wanted was to quietly coast as a nobody!
If he seriously unleashed this squad, he'd inevitably become a media sensation—at minimum branded the "Monstrous Trainer of Tracen."
Then countless other Uma Musume would seek him out, particularly those with powerful families backing them. They definitely wouldn't let him off easily.
Pain. So much pain.
All I ever wanted was three lazy, carefree years. Why does fate torment me like this?
His heart bled internally, but work had to continue. After finishing the tests, Kitahara began drafting training plans.
Curious, Special Week and Oguri Cap leaned over to see what he was writing.
Eclipse stood quietly to the side, staring into space, thoughts unreadable.
It was then that a familiar, energetic voice chimed in from nearby.
"Good afternoon, Trainer-san!"
Tokai Teio, having just finished her classes, approached the training field and immediately spotted Kitahara. She greeted him brightly, then paused as her eyes narrowed slightly, noticing the two unfamiliar figures next to him.
"Trainer-san, who might these two be?"