Days rose and set, the calm routine flowing by swiftly. Before he knew it, two weeks had passed.
Despite his dorm being crowded with Uma Musume—and one invisible ghost wandering around—Kitahara Sota's life hadn't changed much.
He still spent his days standing around at the training grounds, assisting Agnes Digital with her tasks, and occasionally lending Grass Wonder a hand.
In his spare moments, he'd gently tease Special Week, feed Oguri Cap, regularly help Nice Nature with her care, and even tested several potions for Agnes Tachyon.
Manhattan Cafe now visited his dorm daily, sitting quietly alongside Eclipse and Grass Wonder, forming a trio known affectionately as the "silent squad." Slowly, smiles became more frequent on her usually reserved face.
Meanwhile, Sunday Silence, whom Kitahara had expected to cling to him constantly or request endless touching sessions, was surprisingly well-behaved. Sure, he could tell she desperately wanted his attention, but for some reason, she restrained herself, only occasionally nudging him gently during breaks, nothing like her bold behavior back in the woods.
Kitahara suspected Sunday Silence's newfound restraint had something to do with her earlier comments about sensing something terrifying from Eclipse. Given that, caution seemed entirely understandable.
Speaking of terrifying, though...
Kitahara casually reached out and ruffled the hair of a certain small black-haired Uma Musume as he walked by, quietly wondering to himself, What's so frightening about this little thing?
Honestly, in terms of being scary, the invisible ghost standing quietly in the corner of the room should've been far more alarming. A mere glimpse of Sunday Silence would frighten ordinary Uma Musume senseless.
Well, ordinary Uma Musume, perhaps…
But the girls living in Kitahara's dorm were far from ordinary.
Eclipse needed no explanation.
Agnes Tachyon had known about the ghost from the start, and her reaction was more curiosity than fear.
Grass Wonder had initially been wary, unconsciously reaching for her shinai whenever Sunday Silence drew close, but after explanations from Kitahara and Cafe, she adapted swiftly, eventually holding normal conversations with her—albeit through Cafe's translations.
Agnes Digital had briefly been scared until she learned Sunday Silence was actually an Uma Musume. At that point, the predator-prey dynamic reversed dramatically, with Sunday Silence now terrified and fleeing Agnes Digital's eager camera.
And as for Oguri Cap…
After she absently muttered something about "wondering if ghosts tasted good," Sunday Silence wisely kept a safe distance, secretly relieved Oguri couldn't actually touch her.
As for Special Week and Nice Nature—they were genuinely a bit afraid of ghosts at first. But once they realized they could use fear as an excuse to cuddle closer to Kitahara, especially Nice Nature, who'd already snuck into Kitahara's small private room a few times, their terror swiftly morphed into gratitude.
A ghost? What ghost? She's practically our benefactor!
Thus, Sunday Silence was quickly accepted by all the Uma Musume in Kitahara's dorm, and Manhattan Cafe gradually became friends with everyone as well.
Despite their identical appearances and similar fashion choices, Cafe and Sunday Silence couldn't be more different in personality.
Sunday Silence was outgoing, irreverent, and even slightly morally flexible, thanks to years of invisibility and isolation. Once she felt comfortable around Kitahara—and after confirming Eclipse didn't object—she'd even attempted once to guide his hand to her chest, casually explaining she was curious if ghosts could experience certain sensations.
Kitahara had promptly refused.
Even if Sunday Silence was technically a ghost and appeared shameless, she still resembled Cafe perfectly—and Cafe had been standing right there, wide-eyed with shock. Kitahara couldn't possibly do such a thing in good conscience.
On the other hand, Cafe herself was reserved, shy, and gentle by nature. Polite, thoughtful, and obedient, her social difficulties stemmed solely from Sunday Silence's constant presence. But now, with Sunday Silence accepted, Cafe gradually opened up to everyone, forming genuine bonds.
With daily training progressing steadily, preparations for Black Forest advancing smoothly, and now even Cafe and Sunday Silence integrated into the group…
Everything was going remarkably well. By all rights, Kitahara should've felt incredibly content.
Yet instead of happiness, his face was clouded with a melancholy so deep it seemed about to spill over.
As for the reason behind his gloom…
Surrounded constantly by youthful, lively Uma Musume wandering freely around the dorm in pajamas, their enticing scents filling the air, and frequent intimate contacts—from sudden embraces and skin-to-skin care routines to affectionate tail-wrapping, not to mention Nice Nature regularly sneaking into his bed using "ghost fear" as an excuse—Kitahara felt his stress rapidly approaching its breaking point.
Even his high-intensity workouts and acupressure techniques were no longer enough to suppress it. Without discovering that Sunday Silence's chilly presence helped mitigate certain urges, he might've lost control entirely last week.
But now, as he grew accustomed to Sunday Silence's presence, the calming effect was fading. Worse yet, Sunday Silence's occasional bold antics were pushing his blood pressure dangerously high.
In short, he was at his limit. He'd nearly exposed his growing discomfort several times already.
Eclipse, always observant, noticed his growing distress almost immediately and quickly discerned the problem.
Thus…
"Would you like me to help relieve you?"
Her expression was completely calm, her voice serious.
"Our scents are similar enough. As long as we're careful, no one would notice."
"...No, thank you. I'll manage on my own," Kitahara answered painfully.
Truthfully, he wasn't some saint immune to desire. He was a healthy young man in his prime, and these urges were perfectly natural.
Previously, he'd maintained the illusion of having no desires by carefully managing himself, but recent overwhelming stimulation had rendered that approach ineffective.
Eclipse was undeniably attractive, and given her straightforward offer, it'd be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Yet, he viewed Eclipse as family and wasn't willing to risk damaging that bond.
Moreover, another serious factor was Eclipse's age. She hadn't reached adulthood by this world's standard of twenty—nor even eighteen, his own mental baseline.
Well, truthfully, he wasn't entirely sure of Eclipse's exact age. After all, he'd found her as a child, and even she herself didn't know how old she was. When enrolling at Tracen, they'd randomly filled in an age of seventeen, putting her several months shy of eighteen.
Even Kitahara himself, registered officially as twenty-one, was fully aware he was actually under twenty—too young even to drink alcohol legally.
In short, now was absolutely not the right time.
After gently turning down Eclipse's offer, Kitahara sank back into anxiety, considering seriously how to resolve his issue. Endlessly suppressing his urges wasn't sustainable—it could even affect his health, leading to even more embarrassing scenarios.
But he had virtually no experience in this area. Before, during his wandering years, he'd constantly worried about finding enough food for Eclipse. Struggling to survive left little time or energy for thoughts of romance or intimacy.
But now, living comfortably in Tracen Academy, surrounded daily by blossoming young Uma Musume, with abundant food and rest—his problem was inevitable.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone.
Pulling out his phone, Kitahara opened the trainers' group chat.
In truth, nearly every trainer at Tracen dealt with similar issues. It was a common, if rarely openly discussed, topic—how to manage both one's and one's Uma Musume's increasing desires without crossing dangerous boundaries or suffering the infamous "basin fracture."
Thus, it was common for trainers to privately discuss this matter, especially those who shared close bonds.
Considering his acquaintances, Kitahara mentally reviewed who he might ask:
Mio Taishi, Higashimori Yosuke, Futou Daichi, Komata Hajime, Nishiguchi Eiji, and…
Kudou Kazuya.
Mio Taishi was immediately eliminated—a textbook failure. Futou Daichi had already committed to marriage with his tantou. Yosuke admitted to embarrassingly being caught by his tantou, making him unsuitable at the moment.
As for Kudou Kazuya—well, Kitahara still wasn't sure if he could trust the veteran trainer. It'd be too risky to hand him any kind of leverage.
That left only one realistic option—Komata Hajime.
Ideally, Kitahara would rather not discuss something this sensitive with a female trainer, but circumstances left him little choice. Despite her youthful appearance, Hajime was actually a few years older, had considerable experience at Tracen, and thanks to recent frequent visits—initially to escape Super Creek's motherly affection—they'd developed a friendly rapport.
After considerable hesitation, Kitahara messaged Hajime in a tactful, roundabout manner. Her reply came swiftly:
[Komata Hajime]:You mean you're having trouble with THAT, right?
[Komata Hajime]:Don't worry, I've seen way worse over the years—fractured pelvises and all.
[Komata Hajime]: I don't have this issue personally, and obviously I'm not a guy, but I can dig through some old chat logs. Some unfortunate guys discussed this just a few days ago.
[Komata Hajime]:I'll send you their suggestions, plus other methods I've heard about. Feel free to ask anytime. Consider it my thanks for all your help recently!
[Kitahara Sota]:Thank you, senpai.
[Komata Hajime]:Don't mention it!
[Komata Hajime]:Oh, by the way, Kitahara-kun, are you free right now?
[Kitahara Sota]:Yeah, what's up?
[Komata Hajime]:Tamamo seems to be having some trouble. I'm not sure what to do, but she mentioned knowing you from before, so would you mind coming over to take a look...?
[Kitahara Sota]:Sure thing. I'll head over right away.