After that minor incident, Kitahara Sota's group faced no further trouble and soon arrived safely at the clothing shop. Along the way, they even stopped to pick up a few gifts suited for an elderly Uma Musume.
In truth, Kitahara had intended to buy her a gift last time.
But knowing the stubborn old mare's personality, she'd rather he give her money directly—though of course, she'd never actually accept it. Thus, he had to settle for the next best option: buying thoughtful gifts instead.
Entering the shop, they greeted the elderly Uma Musume warmly, handed over the presents, and explained the reason for their visit.
She didn't waste any time, swiftly preparing to measure everything necessary to craft their racing outfits.
Height, weight, body measurements…
Limb proportions, flexibility, skin sensitivity…
Design preferences, color choices, detail work…
The reason they hadn't done this for Eclipse and Agnes Tachyon the previous week was that making racing outfits wasn't a one-way process. Before officially accepting any orders, the elderly mare needed to check her inventory and determine what was possible, as well as acquire new measurement tools.
This was the first order she'd accepted since moving here, so naturally, there was much to prepare.
Kitahara had considered offering his help—perhaps buying some equipment or at least carrying a few bags.
But despite his excellent eye for clothing, tailoring was far beyond his expertise. Asking him to buy equipment would cause more harm than good. As for carrying things around?
Even elderly Uma Musume were still Uma Musume; she hardly needed help from a fragile human.
Once the measurements were smoothly completed, the elderly mare glanced at the time and offered to have them stay for dinner. Seeing how rare these visits were, Kitahara readily agreed.
Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon, being here for the first and second time respectively, hesitated slightly—but with Kitahara's invitation, they soon agreed. Once they did, though, both quickly turned their gazes toward Eclipse.
"I know exactly how much she eats. No need to worry," the elderly mare reassured them, smiling faintly as she disappeared into the kitchen. She explicitly refused any assistance, instructing them to sit tight.
Soon after, several dishes so large they might as well have been bowls were brought out. And it wasn't just the quantity—the color, aroma, and taste of the dishes were exceptional.
The Tracen Academy cafeteria, though serving buffet-style meals prepared by renowned chefs comparable to fine dining outside, seemed bland by comparison.
Even Tokai Teio and Agnes Tachyon, who had both been rather reserved, ate eagerly. As for Eclipse, the food in front of her vanished at an alarming speed.
Once the meal concluded, Eclipse offered to help clear the table, and Tokai Teio swiftly joined her.
Agnes Tachyon had also wanted to lend a hand, but as a famously inept person when it came to domestic chores, she was forced to remain seated, idly considering whether to bring some special potions as a gift the next time she visited.
While notorious for troublemaking and questionable experiments, Tachyon did have several genuinely useful potions stashed away. The trouble was that those effective potions were few, and most had already been generously gifted to a certain younger Uma Musume she admired, leaving her own reserves minimal.
As for Kitahara and the elderly mare…
Once finished eating, she beckoned him out into the courtyard behind the shop. Finding a place to sit, she pulled out an expensive-looking antique pipe, lit it, and took a deep drag. Exhaling a stream of smoke, her gaze became distant, as if drifting back decades.
"Brat, that new girl—she's connected to the Symboli family, isn't she?"
Kitahara didn't know why she'd suddenly brought this up, but he didn't think much of it, nodding honestly. "Her name is Tokai Teio. She's not exactly connected to the Symboli household, but she's extremely close with Symboli Rudolf. Apparently, Rudolf-sama has already chosen her as a successor."
"Is that so…" she nodded slightly, furrowing her brows. "No wonder. But it's still odd—that foolish woman actually tolerates something like this…"
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, dissolving into muttering. Kitahara couldn't catch what she said afterward.
After a pause, she spoke again, her voice clear once more. "That girl is fine—but as for the rest of the Symboli household, especially the main family, I advise you never to approach them. Stay as far away as you possibly can."
"They're nothing but monsters in human form."
"I fully understand." Kitahara's tone was deadly serious, wholeheartedly agreeing with the elderly mare's words.
Approach the Symboli family? Is she joking?
Uma Musume were already dangerous enough on their own, and those from prominent families were especially hazardous. Among them, Symboli Rudolf stood out as the most lethal of all.
Never mind approaching them—he wished desperately to distance himself from such dangerous existences. In fact, he'd deliberately avoided raising Rudolf's favorability, even risking negative impressions, to reduce potential dangers.
With ordinary Uma Musume, Kitahara could handle himself with his practiced agility. But if any of these high-society mares—especially Rudolf—targeted him, he'd have no hope. He was only human; struggling against an entire family would be impossible.
Seeing his earnest reaction, the elderly mare smiled briefly in approval. But soon, remembering something else, her expression twisted strangely.
"Say, brat," she took another deep puff from her pipe, exhaling slowly. Shrouded by smoke, her expression became unreadable. "What do you think about settling down?"
"I don't have any thoughts like that right now," Kitahara answered sincerely. "You know how it is, Granny—settling down while working at Tracen Academy is like keeping a time bomb at home. At least until Eclipse graduates, I don't plan on even considering it."
"So you're planning to marry her?" she asked suddenly.
Hearing that, Kitahara laughed awkwardly, shaking his head. "Granny, you know perfectly well how our relationship is. At least at the moment, neither of us thinks of each other that way. As for the future… we'll cross that bridge when we get there."
The future? You actually think you have a future?
Amid the drifting smoke, the elderly mare's expression turned complicated. For a moment, she strongly considered throwing her expensive pipe directly at his face.
"You do realize the situation you're in, right? It hasn't even been two weeks since the semester started."
"I'm well aware," Kitahara insisted confidently. "But don't worry, Granny. Even though I've got plenty of Uma Musume under my supervision, I'm not like those reckless trainers. I've carefully maintained a proper distance from all of them. In fact, I haven't even added a single one of them on LINE yet. There's absolutely no way there'll be a problem."
His squad consisted of drinking buddy Tokai Teio, the glutton duo Special Week and Oguri Cap, the scientifically obsessed Tachyon who treated him as nothing more than a lab rat, and two members who were merely honorary teammates.
Sure, there were seven Uma Musume in his squad, but he'd only personally instructed three. Two were harmless gluttons, and the other only cared about her experiments.
Compared to other trainers, Kitahara's interactions with his assigned Uma Musume were laughably sparse, not even approaching a fraction of their usual interactions. He hadn't even added them on LINE.
He'd gone to such great lengths—surely, there was no way he could fail this setup, right?
Silence.
The elderly mare had originally planned to caution him more strongly, but after hearing his confident reply, the look in her eyes slowly shifted.
This brat—he absolutely deserves whatever happens next.
"Fine. Don't come crying to me later," she said flatly, a curious smile appearing on her lips.
Kitahara stared at her in confusion, but before he could speak, she glanced back inside the shop, addressing him once again.
"I rather like the ones you brought today. When you have time, bring the others too."
"You mean the three Uma Musume left who ordered racing outfits, right? They're not debuting anytime soon, so it's not urgent—"
She cut him off with a sidelong glance, eyes filled with equal parts pity and sympathy—and overwhelming schadenfreude.
"No worries. Bring them over earlier; bring as many as you like. After all, when it comes to racing outfits—if a certain someone isn't worried about quantity, then neither am I."