If he wanted Eclipse to change her mind, Kitahara Sota had to reason with her right as she made a decision.
Because once Eclipse had truly set her mind on something, she wouldn't budge an inch, no matter how much he pleaded.
This was a lesson he'd painfully learned over years of living together.
Thinking about the hellish training awaiting him once he recovered, Kitahara began to regret even resisting earlier.
I should have just let myself get beaten up.
Although he still didn't understand his attacker's true intentions, her initial blows had clearly been held back. Had he not fought back, he probably would have escaped with a few minor injuries at worst—injuries that would have healed in a couple of days, even without the recovery potions.
Yet now, not only had he ended up hospitalized, he'd wasted four precious potions and earned himself increased training…
I'd have been better off just taking that beating!
The more Kitahara thought about it, the gloomier he became, until finally, he made up his mind:
Forget it. It's pointless thinking anymore.
Time to slack off!
He pulled out his phone, initially intending to check Tracen's forum for amusing trainer gossip. But perhaps due to the recent crackdown following the rumors, the forum was depressingly quiet today.
With no amusing threads available, Kitahara switched to watching videos instead. But just before clicking on one, thoughts of the impending hellish training resurfaced, instantly killing his mood.
Screw it. This might be my last peaceful moment, better spend it chatting with someone.
He glanced at the hospital bed next to his, separated by a curtain.
"Hey, buddy, you awake?"
Due to the curtain, Kitahara couldn't see who was on the other side. But since this was a trainer-exclusive ward, it was definitely another trainer.
"Kitahara-san?" came a familiar voice from behind the curtain.
Kitahara froze briefly before cautiously replying, "Higashimori-san?"
"It's me," Higashimori Yosuke responded, sliding open the curtain with surprise. "Kitahara-san, what brings you here?"
"Ah, it's kind of a long story… How about you? Got attacked by an Uma Musume?"
"No, nothing like that. I just tripped on the road and twisted my arm," Higashimori said, smiling sheepishly and showing the ointment-covered hand.
Kitahara glanced at the identical ointment applied on his own arm, lips twitching.
"Looks like we're here for similar reasons."
He paused, then continued, "By the way, where's your tantou?"
"She's training by herself right now," Higashimori replied softly, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't want to disturb her training, so I told her I had something to do and came here alone. After all, we agreed to maintain some distance."
Hearing that, Kitahara fell silent for a moment, then patted Higashimori on the shoulder with his uninjured hand.
"You'd better pray your tantou never finds out about this."
"Huh…?"
"Don't say I didn't warn you when you end up in trouble."
Retracting his hand, Kitahara's gaze moved beyond Higashimori toward another bed concealed by curtains, clearly occupied by someone else.
"Who's that over there?"
"Oh, that's Matsui-senpai," Higashimori answered with an awkward expression. "He's in here because…he fractured his pelvis."
Kitahara: "..."
Well, that's certainly a common injury around here, isn't it?
"Anyway, Higashimori-san, who was your tantou again?"
When Kitahara asked, Higashimori replied with a name he didn't recognize—probably some lesser-known Uma Musume.
"How's it been going so far?"
"Well… it's fine, I guess," Higashimori replied, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "She's a local-level Uma Musume whom I was previously in charge of…"
Ah, good luck with that.
Kitahara silently mourned for Higashimori's pelvis—and his fiancée—for a good three seconds.
After chatting a little longer, Kitahara changed the subject.
"By the way, Higashimori-san, there's something I wanted to ask you about."
"What is it?"
"You saw the forum drama from a few days ago, right?"
"Yeah."
Higashimori nodded apologetically. "I actually wanted to speak up for you, but since you told me before that you wanted to keep your matters private, I didn't post anything."
"Don't worry about that—if you'd actually spoken up, it might've caused me more trouble," Kitahara chuckled softly before turning serious again. "Anyway, according to information from the Chairwoman, that whole rumor storm was deliberately orchestrated. Whoever was behind it hid their IP addresses thoroughly..."
"Someone purposely set you up, Kitahara-san?" Higashimori asked, surprised.
"No, it wasn't specifically about framing me," Kitahara shook his head with a sigh. "Their real target is Tracen itself."
Secret photography, public controversy, and an assault disguised as a crazed fan…
While he was the direct victim, careful thought revealed these incidents, had they escalated further, would've resulted in far greater harm:
Gathering blackmail material, stirring internal conflict, and using fan violence to tarnish the reputation of Tokai Teio—Tracen's most dazzling rising star in recent years…
On the surface, he appeared the victim, but the true target was clearly Tracen Academy as a whole.
The Chairwoman had suspected something was amiss as early as the covert photography incident. Similar strange events had also occurred elsewhere on campus. Though no serious harm had resulted, due largely to certain preventive measures by some mysterious individual, she had grown increasingly wary.
Even before Kitahara delivered that unconscious Uma Musume to her office, the Chairwoman had pieced together clues confirming that Tracen was the intended victim. Kitahara himself had simply been collateral damage—albeit repeatedly and severely.
It wasn't information that required secrecy among trainers, either.
Although the Chairwoman had advised against openly informing students, fearing mass panic, sharing the information among trainers was acceptable. Compared to Uma Musume, human trainers were significantly more vulnerable, making them likely targets.
Even if Kitahara didn't say anything to Higashimori now, the Chairwoman planned to broadcast the information to all trainers shortly anyway, urging vigilance.
Moreover, Kitahara recalled from their initial meeting that Higashimori had mentioned working odd jobs around the city near Tracen HQ during the years he'd been away from training.
Thinking Higashimori might know something about suspicious organizations, Kitahara decided to ask him directly.
"I'm just an ordinary part-timer…" Higashimori admitted with a bitter smile, clearly shocked by Kitahara's revelations. "Training is about the only thing I'm decent at—I don't participate in social activities much, so you probably know more about this than I do. How could I…"
He abruptly stopped mid-sentence, brows furrowing deeply.
Wait a second… Actually, now that I think about it, there might've been something suspicious.
"Kitahara-san, I'm not sure if this is relevant," he began slowly, recalling carefully. "But before officially rejoining Tracen, someone approached me. They invited me to join them, offering a substantial salary, but they didn't seem very legitimate, so I declined."
As if Tracen, where people occasionally fracture their pelvises, could claim legitimacy, Kitahara inwardly quipped, but asked seriously, "What was this organization's name?"
Higashimori's brow furrowed deeper. "If I remember correctly, they called themselves..."
"Black Forest."
---
"Teio, perfect timing."
Just as Tokai Teio opened the student council room door, before she could speak, Symboli Rudolf lifted her head gravely.
"I was about to go find you."
"What happened, Prez?"
"According to the Chairwoman, an organization called 'Black Forest' is targeting Tracen Academy for unknown reasons. They're actively working against us, and one of their primary targets…is you."
Symboli Rudolf's voice was solemn, eyes serious.
"Both you, and that troublesome trainer of yours, are in considerable danger."