Two weeks later.
At Tracen Academy, in a certain shaded grove where Agnes Tachyon used to haunt day after day.
Kitahara Sota sat on a stone bench, his expression weighed down by melancholy.
It had been exactly two weeks since the day they discussed merging teams.
The morning after, once Komata Hajime sobered up from the izakaya, once she remembered what had happened—her whole system crashed.
Making a ruckus in a bar, burrowing into Kitahara Sota's arms, even agreeing to merge their teams, and on top of that, volunteering to act as his assistant trainer...
She even considered, for a time, whether she should go to the Chairwoman and submit a letter of resignation.
But once she calmed down, thinking of her three tantou under her care, she gave up on the idea.
And later, faced with the requests of twelve Uma Musume after the merge, and with certain emotions in her heart that were hard to name out loud, she did not refuse.
And then...
"So you guys want to do training camp together?"
Unlike Kitahara's other Uma Musume, Tokai Teio, though exceptional both in racing and academics, had poured nearly all her energy into just those two things.
Which meant, when it came to feelings... maybe not "proficient," but let's just say: hopelessly clueless.
Not only could she not sneak off to do things in secret, she didn't even have the concept of "sneaking off."
Even now, she truly believed this camp was just a simple camp, because everyone was keeping each other in check.
So, for the sake of liveliness, and also to have more teammates for gaming, she invited them straight out.
Faced with her invitation, Super Creek—whose intentions were anything but pure—agreed instantly.
As for Tamamo Cross, though she felt something wasn't quite right, one part of her wanted to protect Kitahara Sota, another part of her felt that if everyone else was going, staying behind would seem unsociable. After a little hesitation, she followed along.
Nishino Flower too—when eleven Uma Musume in the team were already going, and when she was someone who naturally followed others' decisions, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Komata Hajime, though, felt shy. At first, she wanted to say no.
But with her three tantou already agreeing—especially with Tamamo Cross egging her on—she couldn't resist temptation. With cheeks burning, she nodded.
And so, four new beds were squeezed into Kitahara's dormitory, making what was once a spacious trainer's quarters and office feel crowded.
But space wasn't the biggest problem. The real problem was the developments that came after those four joined.
Or more precisely—the developments that came after Super Creek joined.
In the first few days, since the teams had only just merged, she acted with restraint.
Kitahara's other Uma Musume, though aware that she posed a very "large" threat to them in certain respects, could only file it under potential danger.
But as time passed, they began to sense something was wrong.
Waking in the middle of the night to find Super Creek sitting at their bedside, smiling at them...
Refusing to eat apples at meals, but the next second, something appeared in their mouths—and there she was, smiling...
Running up against time limits in gaming, begging Kitahara to let them finish just one more match—then suddenly, the world went dark, smothered in that suffocating embrace, almost fainting from lack of air...
And then those bizarre cans of baby formula, milk bottles, children's clothing, rattles... and the way Tamamo Cross and the others trembled from head to toe when they saw them...
The complete opposite of Sunday Silence, who had been scary at first, but grew reassuring the longer one stayed with her.
Super Creek was the kind who, at first glance, seemed gentle and safe—but the more you dealt with her, the scarier she became.
Not to mention others—aside from someone like Grass Wonder, who could manage herself to perfection and needed no looking after—even Eclipse, who feared nothing, began to feel her fur stand on end under that stare.
These days Eclipse had been burrowing into Kitahara's arms, relying on his care as a shield from Super Creek's gaze.
And no one thought Eclipse was acting strangely.
After all, even before camp began, she had always stayed by Kitahara's side, never hiding their closeness.
During camp, though, mindful of others, she held back—at least she hadn't voiced anything too wild in front of the group.
But still, she stuck to Kitahara day and night. In private, hugging, clinging, squeezing—none of that was lacking.
And today, partly to hide from Super Creek, partly to ease his mind, Kitahara once again came to this shady grove.
But unlike last time, there was no lonely girl and her ghostly friend here.
Only a troubled young trainer, and the Uma Musume who never left his side.
So why hadn't he been firm enough to refuse the merger that day?
Thinking back on the last two weeks, on how this might continue in the future, Kitahara couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
Fortunately, though Super Creek was terrifying, she had only joined halfway through August.
Now, after two weeks, it was already the end of the month.
Camp would end soon. The official holiday would begin. By then, Super Creek and the others would all return to their own dorms.
As for the remaining races this month, Tokai Teio's and Agnes Digital's...
Both were crushing victories, hardly worth elaborating.
Tokai Teio's race had been full of strong rivals, even higher in quality than Tachyon's, but she wasn't called a supernova for nothing. She won cleanly by four lengths.
Afterward, she happily reported to him and Rudolf, earning a head-pat as her reward.
Agnes Digital? She could win G1s—even against three-year-old Uma Musume. Dropping into a second-year OP class was pure dimensional reduction.
But Digital wasn't running for victory. She was running for love. So, very thoughtfully, she held back her speed, taking first by only three lengths.
After the race, aside from her usual custom of gifting him shoes, she gave Kitahara a formal suit as a keepsake.
Yes—that very suit she had once mentioned, unfinished at the time. She had intended it for his first time attending one of her G1s.
But this suit wasn't newly made. It was something she had secretly finished during the week she'd been under Tachyon's drug effect, never finding the right chance to gift it.
In truth, she had entered this OP race not because her favorite Uma Musume was there, as she claimed, but mainly to seize an opportunity to give him the suit.
Kitahara, unaware of her little scheme, accepted. Since it wasn't store-bought but hand-sewn by Agnes Digital herself, he didn't refuse.
Afterward, he placed it in his wardrobe, intending to wear it now and then as a spare.
What he didn't know was that at the very moment he hung the suit inside his wardrobe, in Digital's own, a matching ladies' version of the outfit was waiting quietly.
Because yes—Agnes Digital didn't make men's clothes just because. She had spent years shipping trainer × Uma Musume couples.
To be precise, she made couple's outfits, and the men's version was simply the "bonus."
As for when she would wear hers... she hadn't decided.
But at least, after camp ended, on nights when she couldn't see her beloved senpai, she could put it on, recalling how he had looked when trying on the suit earlier, and soothe certain emotions in her heart.
And then time marched to the present.
With the close of August, once camp ended, Tracen's true holiday would begin.
Though with all the endless self-competition, most trainers and Uma Musume could hardly take a real break.
Still, unless a race was imminent, training intensity would be eased, and there was even room to go out and have fun.
And as for Kitahara Sota's holiday plans...
He honestly didn't know how he was supposed to spend this holiday.
Of course, he would be staying at Tracen Academy, but Kitahara Sota wasn't planning to waste his days away at the training grounds the way he was now.
—Because what he wanted was to waste them away in his dorm. He didn't even want to step foot in the training grounds.
He wasn't one of those competition-addicts in Tracen. When you finally had a holiday, you were supposed to relax properly, weren't you?
Granted, he didn't usually have much to do anyway. Most of the time he just spent a little while writing up a training plan, then tossed it to his Uma Musume to carry out themselves.
On average, less than two hours of work a day. The rest was spent slacking and idling.
But even so, since he was fulfilling his duties, Kitahara felt he had the right to enjoy a holiday just like everyone else.
So after a little thought, he resolved firmly: as long as there weren't any races he was strictly responsible for in the near future, this holiday he would not step into the training grounds even once.
And once he made up his mind, with the end of training camp drawing near...
Just thinking that he could spend a whole month lazing peacefully in his dorm, and use it as a chance to keep some distance from the Uma Musume, maybe even lower his "impression score" a bit—most of his gloom scattered at once.
Although plenty had happened this semester—thirteen Uma Musume under his name if you counted Sunday Silence, and now Komata Hajime formally acting as his assistant trainer—as time went on, he realized Tracen Academy didn't seem as dangerous as he'd first imagined. At least not for him.
Take, for example, the four he ranked as "heaviest weights."
Tokai Teio was just a well-behaved, sensible kid, sometimes a little willful. Grass Wonder was scary, sure, but since her heart was still stuck on Special Week, there was nothing to worry about.
Satono Diamond, though familiar with him now, had made it clear several times that her family had already arranged a trainer for her. Not only did she have no intentions toward him, she even deliberately kept her distance.
And the heaviest of them all—Symboli Rudolf. Their first meeting had been unpleasant, but after getting used to each other, he discovered her true nature as a slacker. At present, they were even somewhat like-minded.
Though because of Tokai Teio, the two were closer now, Kitahara had also noticed: Rudolf might want to be friends, but she was deliberately avoiding that side of things. Recently, her words had even carried repeated hints of recruitment.
It was obvious—she had no interest in that way. She just valued his ability, wanted to pull him into the Student Council, maybe even into the Symboli family itself.
And there was no way Kitahara Sota would accept such an offer.
As he'd said before, unless he was a fool, there was no way he would willingly get tangled up with the Symboli family.
If the "heaviest" four were like this, then the others were even less of an issue.
Special Week was still the same cheerful dummy as before. Oguri Cap cared only about food. Nice Nature was so safe she made you feel like bullying her.
Agnes Tachyon's drugs were terrifying, yes—but after that lab accident, she'd reined herself in a lot. He even helped her test a few potions since then, and nothing had gone wrong.
Agnes Digital was perverted, but her perversion was aimed at other Uma Musume, not him.
Sunday Silence, though fixated on him, was behaving herself now, even cooperating in his research. She seemed to understand restraint.
As for the three who had just joined—Tamamo Cross was a rare normal person, Nishino Flower acted like a timid repeater who just followed whatever others did.
And then there was Super Creek...
She was admittedly a little frightening, but frightening was all it was.
Her sudden appearances, her strange behavior—they were scary, but it was all for the sake of taking care of others.
For instance—since she joined, though many Uma Musume had already suffered under her "care" and developed a kind of psychological fear of her, under Komata Hajime's supervision and Super Creek's strict execution, their daily routines and habits had clearly improved. Some even showed obvious physical recovery.
Though Kitahara himself was skilled at healing, able to fix big issues through treatment, he never meddled in their everyday habits. And since care wasn't omnipotent, they still needed to mind the little things themselves.
Super Creek's arrival happened to fill in the gap where Kitahara neglected them. Her actions were frightening, yes—but overall, her forceful caretaking was beneficial, even strengthening the team as a whole.
If only she could manage not to glance his way so often while caring for the others, it would be perfect...
Kitahara sighed.
After the sigh, he looked into the shade before him, felt the quiet around him, and his mind slowly eased, drowsiness stealing in.
With a small yawn, he decided not to fight it. After glancing around to see no one nearby, he prepared to lie back on the stone bench, close his eyes, and nap in the breeze.
But just as he was about to lie down, a finger poked him at the waist.
"What is it?"
He turned his head toward Eclipse. She was calmly watching him, and as he turned, she patted her own thighs.
Kitahara froze for a second, then realized—she wanted him to use them as a pillow.
If it were anyone else, he'd never dare.
But with Eclipse—back then they had outright slept together. To fuss over this now would just be pretentious.
So he didn't hesitate. He switched direction, settled his head on her lap, and his expression gradually relaxed.
Warm. Soft. With a faint fragrance. A thousand times better than a hard, cold stone bench.
Once he was settled, Eclipse slowly reached out and gently embraced him.
Kitahara didn't resist. He let her hold him, and before long, his breathing deepened.
Forget any other Uma Musume—even when he slept alone, he couldn't relax this quickly.
But Eclipse could.
Even if he never quite understood her thoughts. Even if she sometimes threatened him. Even if she had stabbed him in the back multiple times since he entered Tracen.
Still—her side was the place where he could feel the safest.
And Eclipse, after holding him, made no further move. Once he drifted off, she even softened her own breathing, as if guarding his rest with utmost care.
Time passed.
A breeze rustled through the shade. A single leaf drifted down, landing on her shoulder.
She didn't move.
Only lowered her head, gazing quietly at the man in her arms.
As if in all the world, there was only the two of them.