Busy times always pass quickly. By the time Kitahara Sota looked up, an entire week had gone by since school reopened.
Over the past week, Kitahara had buried himself completely in his team's preparations, barely paying attention to anything else.
As for the girls on his team—half dragged along by their rivals, half because it was rare to see Kitahara working so seriously—everyone tacitly behaved themselves, causing no extra trouble for him.
Not only within his team, but even externally, both Symboli Rudolf and Hayakawa Tazuna had their hands full with the start of the new semester. Though they'd briefly met a few times, they hadn't really spoken much.
And so, Kitahara spent a busy yet oddly peaceful week.
When he finally finished his tasks and had a moment to breathe, Kitahara suddenly noticed the campus atmosphere seemed a bit different compared to a week ago.
Tension? Anxiety? Oppression?
He couldn't quite pinpoint the exact feeling. He just vaguely sensed the Uma Musume passing by him seemed somewhat subdued, and even the training grounds had a heavier mood.
Yet oddly enough, while the girls seemed down, the trainers didn't seem affected at all.
Some trainers even appeared to be happier than usual, their footsteps notably lighter and more carefree.
Did something happen?
Kitahara grew curious and sent a message to the Chairwoman to ask.
After a short while, she replied:
[Akikawa Yayoi (Chairwoman)]:Explanation! The new arrival, Ms. Kashimoto Riko, dislikes the academy's current atmosphere and intends to clean it up. She hasn't officially started yet, but the news already leaked…
Ah, understood.
Without even needing to finish reading the message, Kitahara instantly grasped the situation.
Kitahara knew of Kashimoto Riko. Even before transmigrating, he'd read some information about her—though she wasn't especially popular, he remembered her clearly.
She appeared cool and composed, with a stern personality. But in private, she was a total klutz when it came to athletics. Her physical condition was famously awful; she even managed to score zero points on a dance machine.
—Seriously, you'd have to deliberately avoid stepping on anything to score zero points!
When Kashimoto first arrived, the Chairwoman had held a full trainer meeting to introduce this new third executive member of Tracen's administration.
Still, knowing about her didn't mean they were close. After all, Kashimoto had only been on the job for a week, and they'd only briefly met at that meeting. Because her duties mainly revolved around administration, all his dealings continued to be handled by Hayakawa.
So, aside from their initial meeting, forget talking—they hadn't even seen each other again.
But Kitahara wasn't surprised that she wanted to do something like this.
After all, Kashimoto clearly seemed like someone serious and strict, and she'd only just entered Tracen. Untainted and still holding onto normal values, it was perfectly logical she'd want to clean up the unhealthy atmosphere.
In fact, not only Kitahara but nearly every trainer at the academy cheered in agreement after hearing her plans. Some were even so moved they wanted to send her thank-you letters.
Oddly enough, their overly enthusiastic support made Kashimoto hesitate.
Though she'd joined Tracen recently, she'd worked at the URA for some time previously—but she'd never directly interacted with Uma Musume of the main generation. She knew very little about the true situation at Tracen.
Her image of Uma Musume was basically the same as that of ordinary people: they were pure, blessed creatures—symbols of beauty and innocence, incapable of any scandalous behavior.
Thus, she naturally assumed the campus's questionable atmosphere must be due to morally bankrupt trainers.
She also considered the Chairwoman and Hayakawa responsible for not properly managing their subordinates.
Yet, as her investigations deepened, Kashimoto gradually realized something wasn't quite as she'd imagined.
Both Akikawa and Hayakawa seemed entirely unconcerned about her inquiry. They didn't appear worried in the slightest about being exposed for incompetence.
Even more surprising were the trainers she'd expected would resist her—one after another, they passionately supported her righteous crusade. Moreover, upon investigating further, she found that these trainers weren't lacking in skill or moral fiber at all.
In fact, the closer trainers seemed to fit her initial image of "delinquents," the more likely they were to maintain completely normal relationships with their Uma Musume.
In contrast, those trainers who appeared exceptionally virtuous, talented, gentle, or considerate were the very ones frequently caught up in questionable incidents.
If they weren't already in trouble, they were clearly heading that way.
Kashimoto felt deeply perplexed, now unsure how to proceed.
Yet, her confusion aside, Kitahara Sota was actually in an exceptionally good mood.
Having finally wrapped up a week of hard work, he'd enjoyed some rare peace recently. And now, just as he was relaxing, he'd learned someone was planning to fix the campus atmosphere—what could be better?
Feeling cheerful, Kitahara opened the trainers' group chat, which he hadn't touched in ages. As expected, everyone was already enthusiastically discussing the matter.
He lurked quietly for a moment before joining in, voicing his full support for Kashimoto's decision.
Strangely, immediately after his message, the group briefly went silent. When conversation resumed, the atmosphere felt somewhat off.
But Kitahara paid no attention to such small details. After chatting a bit longer, he glanced at the clock on the wall, realized it was getting late, and went to bed.
Night fell, then the sun rose again.
Kitahara woke up as usual, got dressed, washed up, and headed to the cafeteria.
Today, however, after breakfast he didn't go to the training grounds. Instead, he went to an open space near the school gate. After waiting briefly, he saw Agnes Tachyon approaching in her Racing Outfit.
Today was Agnes Tachyon's race day, her very first graded stakes.
That was why Kitahara skipped the training grounds today, accompanying her to the race instead.
Greeting each other, chatting, and finally heading to the racecourse—throughout it all, Agnes Tachyon behaved impeccably, without any suspicious actions.
Not that she didn't want to seize this opportunity to do something to Kitahara, of course.
But first, she'd recently done that under the potion's influence, and doing anything else now would raise suspicion. Moreover, she couldn't take potions before the race, and without them, despite having improved her resistance after multiple encounters, it still wouldn't hold up under serious strain. Thus, she dared not make a risky move.
Secondly, she gradually realized that she couldn't rely on potions forever, nor on secretly seducing him in private.
Those tactics certainly felt good and did weaken this dense blockhead's defenses, but ultimately, if she wanted him to genuinely fall for her, such tricks alone wouldn't be enough. It depended on her own actions.
Sure, she could act spoiled when necessary—but she had to take care of business too.
Besides, her lips had already tasted his—and possibly even first at that.
She no longer felt desperate to mark him again immediately and was ready to try a different approach.
Thus, despite being alone together today—and even though Kitahara appeared totally off-guard due to her recent good behavior—she refrained from making any overt moves before the race.
At most, she'd clung close to him while walking, and during the ride to the racetrack, she nestled comfortably in his arms.
To keep him from tossing her away, she brought up some idle chatter to distract him.
"Say, Guinea Pig-kun, have you noticed your name appearing more often online lately?"
"You mean on the Tracen forums?"
"No, I mean externally—on the wider internet."
Externally?
Kitahara blinked. Then he realized it wasn't surprising.
According to other trainers, his name was already somewhat notorious due to past events, previously treated mostly as urban legend because it had been confined to niche circles.
But now, with him joining Tracen and managing more and more Uma Musume—including superstars-in-the-making like Tokai Teio, or Agnes Digital, whose notoriety had spread inside and outside school—it was natural he'd gain broader recognition.
Yet while understanding, Kitahara frowned slightly. He wasn't thrilled about this growing fame, as it clashed directly with his plan of quietly finishing his three-year stint, then slipping away to anonymity.
Before he could worry further, Agnes Tachyon added something that eased his concerns slightly:
"But, Guinea Pig-kun, there are some criticisms too—especially regarding Nature-san."
"Nature?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow. "Is it about her running style?"
"Yes," Tachyon nodded, explaining the situation briefly.
As he'd expected, people online criticized Nature's purely disruptive racing style. Though nothing was overly harsh yet, Kitahara realized it could potentially harm Nature's image down the road as her success grew.
Not worried for himself—in fact, he wouldn't mind damaging his reputation to keep certain powerful families away—he only worried this negativity might affect Nature unnecessarily.
Realizing he could turn this situation to his advantage, he fell deep in thought, completely missing Tachyon gently wriggling in his lap.
If he publicly took responsibility for Nature's controversial methods, it could protect her and conveniently tarnish his own growing fame, providing a plausible reason to leave someday.
Deciding he'd delegate the task to his favored candidate, GraspVictory, Kitahara finally snapped out of it when they arrived at the venue, focusing once more on Tachyon's race.
Exiting the car, they moved through preparations until, in the corridor to the track, Tachyon suddenly turned, eyes gleaming playfully.
"Guinea Pig-kun, if I win, I'd like a reward from you."
Kitahara sighed, amused rather than worried.
"You all really like raising flags right before a race. Aren't you scared of losing?"
Tachyon smiled mysteriously.
Another sigh escaped him. "Fine, fine. Win or lose, I'll fulfill your request. If you do win, I'll throw in something extra."
"Really?" Tachyon's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You said it yourself—no regrets, Guinea Pig-kun."
"Yes, yes. Now go already, or you'll be late."
He shooed her forward, watching her tail sway as she walked away.
Just as she stepped out onto the track, his voice echoed behind her, filled with sincerity:
"This time, run with everything you've got."
"No worries, no fears."
"Whatever happens, I'll always be here. Leave all your doubts and burdens to me."
"All you need to do is run."
"I'll handle the rest."
"I'll be waiting for your triumphant return."