For some reason, Kitahara Sota felt the mood was somewhat different from usual as their group walked toward the clothing shop.
Eclipse's quietness was normal, of course, but Agnes Tachyon hadn't spoken a word this entire trip either. Even the usually lively Tokai Teio remained oddly silent, her steps lacking their usual bounce.
If one looked carefully, they'd notice Teio and Tachyon kept their gazes locked on each other the whole way.
Tachyon smiled innocently, her expression no different than usual. And although Tokai Teio appeared cheerful on the surface as well, her eyes clearly reflected vigilance.
Kitahara rubbed his chin thoughtfully, forming a guess:
Did these two…become friends or something?
If it were any other day, those two girls would've been at each other's throats the moment they met. They'd exchange glares, banter sharply, and though they'd never actually fight, their relationship certainly couldn't be called good.
Yet today, not only had they refrained from arguing, they hadn't even traded their usual barbs. By all appearances, things had improved dramatically. In a certain sense, that could count as friendship… right?
As he mulled this over, Kitahara suddenly paused.
It wasn't because he'd spotted something unusual. Rather, he'd simply felt several gazes focused intently on him.
One, two, three…five pairs of eyes—each belonging to an Uma Musume.
Eclipse immediately noticed Kitahara's reaction and turned to him. Seeing him discreetly gesture, she paused briefly before nodding, her eyes gradually growing cold.
Meanwhile, Agnes Tachyon and Tokai Teio were still fixated on each other, completely missing Kitahara's strange behavior.
When they finally noticed something amiss, the surrounding crowd had noticeably thinned, and the path ahead was becoming even more secluded.
Teio, who hadn't visited the shop before, didn't notice immediately. But Tachyon, having already made this trip once, quickly sensed something was wrong and shot Kitahara a puzzled glance.
"Hey, Guinea Pig-kun, isn't this the wrong way?"
Then she noticed Kitahara's unusual behavior.
His expression was tense, his footsteps hurried, and his eyes showed an undisguised anxiety. Hearing her question, he nervously scanned their surroundings before quietly whispering:
"Keep your voice down—we're being followed. Hurry up."
Followed?
Agnes Tachyon and Tokai Teio both froze momentarily, then reacted differently:
Tachyon immediately reached into her pocket, gripping the icy-cold potion inside.
But soon afterward, a thought popped into her head:
Wait… If someone's following us, shouldn't we head toward a crowded area instead of slipping into a secluded alley? Besides, isn't he quite good at fighting himself?
Tokai Teio instinctively took out her phone to contact Symboli Rudolf, but due to the alley's poor signal, neither calls nor messages went through.
Amid silence and confusion, they quickened their pace, weaving through the shadowed alleys behind the bustling city.
Several minutes and numerous twists and turns later, they'd finally shaken off their pursuers.
One more turn and they'd be back on the brightly lit main street. Neon lights from storefronts were already visible ahead.
But right then, footsteps echoed from around the corner. Three masked Uma Musume, their tails hidden beneath jackets tied around their waists, stepped into view, each clutching a steel pipe as thick as a thumb.
Kitahara's group stopped dead in their tracks.
Agnes Tachyon and Tokai Teio wore grim expressions, while Kitahara himself had gone deathly pale, lips pressed tight in nervous silence.
Yet, it wasn't over.
More footsteps echoed from behind as four similarly dressed Uma Musume emerged, hostility radiating from their masked faces.
"Um, ladies," Kitahara forced out an awkward smile, "could we talk this out instead of resorting to violence?"
The lead Uma Musume sneered contemptuously, her eyes briefly scanning their group before giving a simple, cold command:
"Go. Break them."
Both groups charged forward simultaneously.
Agnes Tachyon's brow furrowed as she withdrew a small orange potion shimmering strangely from her pocket.
Teio, putting away her phone, tightened her fists, her expression betraying faint anxiety.
But before either could act, a pair of hands gently covered their eyes.
Then Kitahara's voice whispered softly, tinged with pity.
"Don't look."
The sudden action stunned them both momentarily.
When his hands fell away and their vision cleared again, an icy chill crawled up their spines at the horrific scene before them.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Those previously intimidating attackers now lay scattered across the ground.
Their injuries varied.
One clutched her stomach, bent double and vomiting violently after a brutal blow.
Another lay unconscious, utterly motionless.
Yet another had her head lodged firmly into a nearby wall, becoming a grotesque decoration.
Despite the varied injuries, one thing remained consistent: all were severe, limbs twisted grotesquely as if torn by some monstrous force. Blood dripped from exposed white bones.
Standing calmly amidst the fallen figures was Eclipse. She effortlessly lifted and tossed their limp bodies into a pile like throwing away trash, her face as serene as ever—perhaps even slightly cheerful.
Although no blood visibly stained her clothing, it might've just been obscured by her completely black outfit.
Gulp.
A nervous swallow broke the silence.
"Um, Trainer-san, this…?"
"Life was rough for Eclipse and me before," Kitahara casually explained, "so she picked up a few fighting skills along the way."
Without further comment, he stepped forward, crouched down next to one of the conscious Uma Musume, and sighed:
"Black Forest?"
Her eyes widened momentarily before she immediately denied it:
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Hm… Well, that's troublesome…"
Although their identity was nearly certain, there wasn't much he could do if she refused to admit it outright.
This was a major city, after all. Fighting on the streets was already problematic enough—resorting to interrogation or torture would make things even worse.
Getting expelled wouldn't bother him much, but damaging Tracen's reputation definitely would. Even if he didn't particularly care, Black Forest's goal from the start had been undermining Tracen's legitimacy, and he wasn't eager to give them what they wanted.
Just then, Agnes Tachyon approached, holding out a pale blue potion.
Kitahara raised an eyebrow.
"What's this?"
Tachyon smiled sweetly, eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Just a simple potion that forces people to tell only the truth for a limited time."
At her words, Kitahara suddenly recalled she'd indeed made something like this before—causing a minor accident, if memory served…
Wait.
He accepted the potion, about to pour it down the terrified attacker's throat, when a thought struck him.
"Wait a second. Why are you carrying something like this around in the first place?"
He stared straight into Tachyon's eyes.
Meeting his gaze, Agnes Tachyon tilted her head innocently, eyes darting away slightly as her ponytail gently swished behind her.
"Ahh… I wonder why~? I'm not really sure myself…"
"You haven't been waiting for a chance to force-feed this to me, have you?"
"Ahahaha, Guinea Pig-kun, there's no way I'd do something like that~ You're just overthinking things..."
Kitahara's expression darkened.
"Eclipse, Teio—hold her down. I'm going to force-feed this to her first, just to check if she's lying."