The vacation ended.
Regarding what happened with Agnes Digital, Kitahara Sota had originally planned to sit her down and have a proper talk after she finally let go of him.
But the moment she loosened her grip, without his support, Agnes Digital reverted instantly to her default state—nose gushing blood and a blissful smile plastered on her face as she fainted on the spot. In the end, Eclipse had to carry her back.
After Agnes Digital recovered, her interactions with Kitahara didn't change at all.
The two of them tacitly never mentioned what had happened that night, nor showed any unusual behavior toward each other afterward, acting as if nothing had ever occurred.
Soon after that incident, the new semester arrived.
With the vacation over, the campus returned to its busy rhythm.
The Chairwoman was occupied with preparations for the new semester, holding meetings with trainers.
Symboli Rudolf was busy compiling student information and planning student council activities.
The other trainers, apart from necessary adjustments and preparations, were also busy with various things.
For example, those who'd spent the holidays with their tantou were busy nursing their waists and pelvises.
Those who hadn't spent the holidays with their tantou were busy preparing to nurse their waists and pelvises.
As for Kitahara's acquaintances, each had their own problems:
Futō Daichi had gotten a fresh bottle of blood-pressure medication; Higashimori Yōsuke had acquired several new injuries.
Nishiguchi Eiji stared despairingly at her obviously rounder tantou, sighed deeply, and resigned herself to taking her on a weight-loss program.
Mikuni Taishi, aside from discussing Silence Suzuka's transfer with Kitahara, had—perhaps out of sympathy—also met him briefly near the vacation's end, gently trying to warn him about the situation within his team.
Naturally, he failed spectacularly.
Even Kitahara Sota, who had firmly resolved to slack off, surprisingly became busy at the start of the semester.
As always, Kitahara was firmly anti-overwork and refused to get involved in pointless competition during vacation time.
But now that the vacation was over, as a trainer, he still dutifully fulfilled his responsibilities.
On the very first day of school, amidst his team's shocked stares, he gathered the girls and carefully inspected each of their current conditions.
Special Week, Oguri Cap, and Grass Wonder had all already completed their running-style improvements.
Though there had been minor hiccups, they'd largely followed the training schedule Kitahara set. With Komata Hajime's later adjustments, they were now in excellent shape, definitely ready for their debut races in November.
—Though whether their opponents would survive those races was another question entirely.
As for the sickly Agnes Tachyon, after long-term adjustments, her physical problems were largely resolved.
Kitahara planned to have her run a G3 in October to build points, after which he'd start improving her running style.
Thanks to Agnes Tachyon's improved condition, Agnes Digital was now freed up as well.
Especially since Digital had signed up for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) at the end of this month, Kitahara intended to upgrade her running style too, and as quickly as possible.
Then there was Manhattan Café, who had debuted alongside Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon, specializing in long-distance races.
But since long-distance events were rare, and there weren't even any suitable ones available for first-year Uma Musume, after some discussion, Kitahara settled for signing her up for a medium-distance race at the end of November. Before then, he would adapt her running style to better suit medium-distance races.
If she adapted well, Kitahara planned for her to enter the G1 Hopeful Stakes—the only medium-distance G1 event open to first-year Uma Musume, among the four available in late December.
Coincidentally, these four G1 races were all concentrated in late December, allowing each Uma Musume to enter only one.
And since Kitahara currently had exactly four first-year debutantes, he planned for each of them to enter one G1, matching their distance preferences.
The only complication was that one of these events was a dirt-track race—something all four of his first-years currently had a very poor aptitude for.
But this wasn't a major problem. In fact, it suited Kitahara's plans perfectly.
Recently, thanks to repeated practice, his caretaking skills had improved significantly, sparking his interest in experimenting further.
Specifically—aptitude modification.
While all four of his debutantes currently had dirt-track ratings at the absolute worst "G" level, Kitahara wanted to see if he could improve them—through caretaking, running-style alterations, and additional adjustments—to "A" or even "S."
When it came to modifications, the first candidate to come to mind was naturally Nice Nature—whose state Kitahara thoroughly understood, and who had become virtually molded by his care.
Of course, Kitahara didn't act on impulse. He carefully explained everything to Nature beforehand, openly asking her opinion and making sure she fully understood his plans.
Nature didn't hesitate before agreeing immediately.
She accepted quickly—not only out of trust, but also for other personal reasons.
Recently, thanks to Kitahara's care, her self-control problems were nearly resolved.
Once fully cured, she'd lose her primary excuse to stay close to him, possibly even needing to move out of his dorm room. She'd been worried about what to do next—so when this opportunity appeared, it was like receiving a pillow just as she was getting sleepy. Naturally, she had no reason to refuse.
Yet Nature's swift acceptance made Kitahara feel a bit guilty.
After all, Nature was managing his team, handling his daily needs, and now even volunteering to be his test subject. He'd given her practically nothing in return, leaving him feeling deeply indebted.
Seeing his expression, Nature inwardly thought that just having him by her side was reward enough—but saying that felt too much like a confession, so she stayed silent.
After thinking briefly, she asked for something else instead:
"If I win that G3 race, can we change our contract and make me your tantou?"
Kitahara paused in surprise before responding, his expression subtly shifting.
"Nature, you do know I already have two tantou, right? If you join, that would mean…"
Although it had been a long time, Kitahara still clearly remembered Nature's aversion to placing third, carefully avoiding mentioning "third place" around her whenever possible.
What Kitahara didn't know, however, was that after he'd left many years ago, Nature had stopped minding being third so much. After their reunion, she cared even less, since her precious first place—Kitahara himself—was now always by her side. Plus, she'd already secured first place in a graded race, with more likely to come. With his presence breaking her third-place curse, what was there left to fear?
After Nature assured him she had no issue with becoming his third tantou, Kitahara still hesitated—not because he disliked the idea, but mainly worried others might follow her lead.
But considering how much she'd done for him without ever asking for anything, he eventually agreed to her request.
Although, as always, he slightly modified her request—fearing setting a "flag," he decided that whether or not Nature won, he'd still revise their contract. If she did win, he'd simply add an extra reward.
Nature, naturally, didn't refuse this generous "buy one, get one free" offer and happily agreed, starting her preparations immediately.
Nature and Manhattan Café both chose G3 races in November to prepare for their G1 challenges.
Tokai Teio confidently set her sights on a G2 in November. Nature avoided that race—not out of fear, since after Kitahara's improvements, Nature was strong enough that others should be wary of her instead—but because her running style could easily ruin friendships. Ideally, she'd avoid racing alongside teammates altogether.
After discussing Kitahara's original members, the next were Komata's trio who'd transferred over.
For Nishino Flower, Kitahara didn't need to intervene much; Komata Hajime still took primary responsibility, with Kitahara just occasionally advising.
The remaining two—Super Creek and Tamamo Cross—though looking vastly different in age, were actually in the same school year as Special Week and Oguri Cap, preparing for their debut races in November.
Tamamo Cross's running-style improvement could soon begin, but for Super Creek, Kitahara planned to wait a bit longer, first fixing issues with her legs before applying more intensive training.
Plus, with many girls soon incapacitated due to running-style changes, Kitahara needed someone dependable to help care for them—and Super Creek was ideal.
Kitahara knew Super Creek would happily take that role—though the others might feel differently.
But Kitahara had already made up his mind.
Because lately, he'd noticed Super Creek increasingly eyeing him with unsettling intensity. If Nature weren't around constantly, he suspected he'd already have fallen prey to her during vacation.
Thus, in addition to fixing her leg, he intended to distract her attention by using the incapacitated girls as shields. Hopefully, by the time they'd recovered, Super Creek's leg issue would be mostly resolved, allowing him to buy even more time by improving her running style.
What to do after that, Kitahara honestly had no idea.
But as the saying goes: "When the car reaches the mountain, a path will appear." He had time—at least until next year—to think it through.
With all these tasks ahead, Kitahara set aside his usual laziness and began seriously working around-the-clock—a rare sight indeed.
---
As Kitahara busied himself, two unfamiliar figures quietly entered Tracen Academy.
One, with black hair and pale golden eyes, stern and serious-looking, headed straight for the Chairwoman's office. Seeing trainers staggering around pale-faced, some even bearing visible bite marks, she scowled.
What's going on here in broad daylight? She resolved to fix the academy's increasingly outrageous behavior.
Another newcomer, tall with flaxen hair and orange eyes, wandered curiously through the campus, turning her new trainer badge thoughtfully in her hand.
So this is Tracen headquarters? Security seems lax. How could our previous operation fail here?
She sighed softly, murmuring as she pinned the badge to her chest:
"Hopefully I won't get discovered..."
Then she slipped quietly into the crowd.