Early next morning. Another brand-new day.
Though last night had been full of events—ones that might've left anyone else sleepless—Kitahara, on the contrary, woke up with a sense of profound relief.
He'd obtained Symboli Rudolf's outright disdain—a ★★★-level life-saving talisman—and had clarified things thoroughly with Tokai Teio, further solidifying her intention to keep him out of her business. On top of that, the incident on the school forums had painted him in a dubious light, dragging down his previously rising popularity.
All these events, which would normally be disastrous for any other trainer, instead felt like a blessed reversal for Kitahara. Recently, he'd felt his laid-back lifestyle was in jeopardy—rushing headlong toward broken bones or even worse, being torn apart by the Uma Musume equivalent of wild horses. But now, at the brink of despair, the universe had graciously opened a path back toward safe, carefree mediocrity.
And as for pressure from outside? That wasn't even worth mentioning.
The only one who could actually cause him trouble in real life was Symboli Rudolf herself. Aside from her, the rest were just idle voices on the internet or gossip whispered behind his back.
The best way to deal with this pressure, of course…
…Was simply not to care.
As long as he kept slacking off, their criticisms couldn't touch him.
Dressing himself, washing up, stepping out to the cafeteria for breakfast, then heading straight for the training grounds—his day began as usual.
Tokai Teio was already training there. Spotting him, she cheerfully waved hello.
"Good morning, Trainer-san!"
"Good morning, Teio."
Though Kitahara felt vaguely aware her tone toward him had subtly changed, he didn't dwell on it. After all, he'd openly declared himself useless, angered her beloved President Rudolf, and clearly emphasized their strictly transactional relationship. He'd meticulously avoided every scenario that could earn her favor.
It was impossible to lose this round, right?
If Teio wanted to change how she called him, fine by him. He was committed to not caring about minor details like that anyway.
As usual, he took a seat pretending to supervise, pulled out his phone, and started browsing through videos and books he'd downloaded earlier.
Time slipped by uneventfully.
As the sun climbed higher, Eclipse, Special Week, and Oguri Cap arrived at the training grounds, one after another.
Eclipse, as always, chose not to train, simply standing quietly beside Kitahara and staring blankly into space. Special Week and Oguri Cap greeted Kitahara politely before beginning their scheduled routines.
Perhaps due to yesterday's uproar on the forums, Kitahara distinctly felt far more eyes focused on him today. But what did that matter to someone already committed to total apathy?
The more people judged him, the safer he was. Those sidelong glances were practically camouflage, shielding him from being targeted by the more dangerous Uma Musume.
Speaking of yesterday's forum incident…
Kitahara's scrolling finger paused briefly.
Symboli Rudolf had mentioned someone intentionally causing trouble online. But Kitahara didn't recall offending anyone, and the one person who might have held a grudge—Rudolf herself—would hardly resort to such petty tactics.
The only possible suspect was the camera-wielding Uma Musume he'd startled away. But considering how quickly she'd bolted without even glancing back, she likely hadn't seen his face clearly either.
Perhaps it was just some crazed Tokai Teio fan offended by his mere existence, or maybe another trainer quietly jealous of his apparent luck?
It could be anyone.
With too little information to speculate further, Kitahara quickly gave up.
Ah, forget it. Why waste energy guessing?
If the culprit really was determined, they'd show up again. And if it was just a passing incident, then it wouldn't pose further risk.
Deciding it wasn't worth worrying about, Kitahara quickly resumed his leisure-filled morning.
After lunch, the group headed as usual to their team activity room. Kitahara intended to spend some more time peacefully browsing his phone before returning to the training field.
But today, just as he pulled out his phone, a small hand swiftly snatched it away.
"Trainer-san, staring at your phone all day isn't good for your eyes, you know?"
Tokai Teio appeared before him, playfully dangling his phone between two fingers.
Kitahara stared blankly for a second, then opened his mouth to protest, but Oguri Cap beat him to it.
"I think Teio is right, Trainer. You really are too obsessed with your virtual world."
"Sato-san, if you continue like this, you'll become a good-for-nothing!" Special Week cheerfully added from the side.
Now cornered, Kitahara paused, then turned a pleading look toward Eclipse.
Eclipse considered for a moment, then delivered the final blow:
"Since you've formed a team, maybe it's time you took some responsibility?"
How do you have the nerve to say that?
Kitahara nearly howled in frustration.
Was this woman shameless? Who exactly had secretly orchestrated this team's creation, refused to let him do his job afterward, and left him idle enough to browse his phone all day? Did she have no self-awareness at all?
Perhaps sensing his silent accusations, Eclipse met his gaze for just a few seconds before quietly looking away.
Kitahara gave up. Shaking his head with resignation, he looked at the expectant faces before him.
"All right. What do you want me to do?"
Their sudden teamwork made their hidden agenda obvious.
Teio smiled innocently as she sat back down, chin propped up casually with one hand.
"It's not really about wanting something, exactly. But isn't it too much? Our team's existed three whole days, and yet all you do is fiddle with your phone, only caring about yourself without acting like a proper trainer at all."
And whose fault is that exactly, hmm?
Kitahara shot her a pointed glare, identical to the one he'd given Eclipse earlier.
Teio quickly averted her gaze, clearing her throat guiltily before continuing,
"Anyway, I think our team can't just stay this lifeless forever. We need to do something."
"Such as?" Kitahara asked skeptically.
Teio began counting possibilities on her fingers.
"Maybe organize some friendly races to get to know each other better, or prepare some team games for fun—or we could all go out for a meal… On second thought, forget the meal."
These were all standard bonding activities for normal teams, but the last one obviously wouldn't work for them—after all, Kitahara might genuinely go bankrupt feeding these three bottomless pits.
Frankly speaking, Kitahara would rather avoid these events entirely.
If it had just been Eclipse and Teio, he'd immediately refuse without hesitation.
He knew Eclipse had zero interest in such things. And with Teio, he wanted to avoid any unnecessary favorability gains at all costs.
But unfortunately, alongside those two, there sat two adorably earnest (yet terrifyingly gluttonous) kids looking up at him with pleading eyes, making him feel guilty even thinking about refusing them.
They'd obediently followed his training plans without complaint; surely he owed them a little reward. Helping Uma Musume relax and adjust their mental state was part of a trainer's job, after all—he'd just avoided doing it until now to minimize the risk of accidental favorability spikes.
But now that the issue had been brought up, he couldn't keep running away.
After a long silence, Kitahara finally gave a defeated sigh and nodded reluctantly.
"All right, fine."
Though he agreed, Kitahara still mentally complained.
Hey, Teio. Didn't we agree clearly not to interfere with each other? Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic about team activities now?
She hadn't genuinely started seeing him as a real trainer, had she? Their relationship was purely financial, just as he'd stressed only last night!
Kitahara grumbled internally but wisely said nothing out loud. After all, many of the worst scenarios from the darkest Uma Musume fanfics began exactly this way—with trainers carelessly opening their mouths at the wrong time.
"Then let's go get some games to play. I'll buy them now," Kitahara said as he stood up.
"I think an internal team race to bond first would be better? That's what other teams usually do," Teio immediately suggested.
Kitahara fixed her with a disdainful look. "Your debut is just around the corner, and you're one of the top favorites—Special Week and Oguri have barely even started training. How can you race them with a straight face?"
"It's just a friendly match anyway…"
Teio paused, glancing sideways at the quiet Eclipse standing nearby. Something flashed briefly in her eyes.
"What about Eclipse-san then? She's not just starting out, is she?"
Kitahara shrugged carelessly. "Then ask her yourself."
He couldn't be bothered to organize a race, and he was certain Eclipse would refuse anyway.
With those words, Kitahara left the room. But just a moment later, he suddenly poked his head back through the door, suspicion etched on his face.
"Wait a minute—since when did all of you get this close, anyway?"
They'd hardly interacted before, but suddenly their teamwork was flawless, as if they'd discussed it beforehand.
After a brief silence, Oguri Cap honestly admitted:
"Um, Trainer-san, we created a group chat right after the team formed. We usually talk through our phones…"
"...Why wasn't I invited?"
Oguri answered candidly, without hesitation, "Eclipse-san said there was no point inviting you, since you'd never join anyway."