Not long after Kitahara Sota's clothing situation was resolved, their vehicle arrived at the venue for the Basic Race.
They disembarked, entered the venue, picked up the temporary activity room keys from the organizers, and went straight there.
Since this was the team's first official race—and three of his members were racing at once—Kitahara had brought the whole team along. Besides adding to the excitement, it also allowed Special Week and the others to become familiar with the racing environment and procedures in advance.
Upon entering the room and settling in, Kitahara gathered the three Uma Musume set to compete, taking out the schedule provided by the organizers.
There were five races today: two in the morning and three in the afternoon.
Tokai Teio and Eclipse would be racing in the afternoon, giving them ample time to prepare, so there was no rush for them yet.
However, Agnes Tachyon's race was scheduled for the morning—in fact, exactly two hours from now. Thus, Kitahara turned his attention to her first.
"How are you feeling now? Any issues?" he asked.
He might typically be lazy, but at the very least he would fulfill a trainer's basic duties, including pre-race checks, preparations, and confirming the participant's condition.
Thanks to Agnes Digital's presence, however, Kitahara could skip much of the tedious work and jump directly to checking and adjusting Tachyon's current state.
In response to his question, Agnes Tachyon answered calmly and confidently.
"It's just a Basic Race. I'm not timid enough to get nervous over something like this. As for issues... well, I have plenty, but none relevant to today's race."
"Good, then." Kitahara nodded. "Stick to the plan we made earlier—rest for an hour, then start your warm-up. Remember the running style I taught you, and don't push too hard. Right now, your priority is still recovering your condition…"
"Yes, yes, yes. I got it already."
Since this plan had already been thoroughly discussed—and she'd even helped create it herself—Tachyon responded impatiently, casually waving her long sleeves as if to dismiss him.
Kitahara knew her personality well enough that he wasn't bothered. Nor was he worried that Tachyon's impatience would lead to mistakes.
Despite her outwardly frivolous, playful attitude, Tachyon was actually remarkably steady and reliable. Otherwise, given how often she stirred trouble, she wouldn't have stayed out of Tracen's disciplinary rooms for so long.
Even though she looked completely disinterested right now, Kitahara was certain she had the tactics and strategy fully memorized. She'd undoubtedly execute them perfectly during the race.
Because at the end of the day, even a mad scientist-type Uma Musume was still a racehorse girl at heart—and a remarkably talented and competitive one at that. Why wouldn't she crave victory?
Still, despite knowing she probably didn't need his repeated warnings, out of a trainer's sense of duty, he continued recapping the plan in detail. Only after finishing did he finally stop, putting away the board.
"That covers everything. Any further questions?"
Thank god he's done talking.
Agnes Tachyon inwardly sighed with relief. She was about to nod casually and head off to prepare, when from the corner of her eye, she spotted Tokai Teio. A flicker of inexplicable emotion flashed in her gem-like eyes.
Her nod froze mid-motion, her reply halted on the tip of her tongue.
Although not part of the plan, memories from the clothing shop and training ground inexplicably flashed through her mind, particularly scenes involving Teio's legs, causing an odd dissatisfaction to bubble up inside her.
Are her legs really that attractive? They're nothing special...
Tachyon concluded this misunderstanding was entirely due to Kitahara's poor taste. As his "owner," she felt obligated to correct his misguided aesthetic sense.
Thus, as the silence stretched out, a bold idea took shape.
"Wait a second, guinea pig-kun. I just remembered something."
"What is it?" Kitahara glanced over, puzzled.
"It's not anything major." She smiled sweetly, her tail unconsciously wagging behind her. "Didn't you mention previously that my legs have hidden risks? I consulted some specialists, and they suggested that a bit of pre-race care could significantly reduce potential issues…"
"Speak plainly."
"Massage my legs."
As Tachyon spoke, she lifted her white lab coat, deliberately exposing her legs to Kitahara. Her tail wagged slightly faster.
They were undoubtedly excellent legs.
Due to the nature of Uma Musume—built for running—their legs were naturally more appealing compared to normal human women's. Many outsiders wrongly assumed Uma Musume, especially racers, would have visibly muscular legs due to constant exercise. But this was a misconception.
Perhaps due to the blessing of the Three Goddesses, or other unknown factors, even with intense daily training, Uma Musume rarely developed noticeable muscle definition unless they specifically pursued muscle-building.
Yet training definitely impacted their legs—just not visibly muscular. Instead, they appeared remarkably healthy and toned.
Long-term training gave Uma Musume exceptional legs—balanced, toned, and graceful, superior in shape and texture to ordinary human legs, especially among professional racers.
A certain anonymous user had once controversially declared on a forum that compared to their faces, the true beauty of Uma Musume lay in their legs. This had ignited a massive debate, dominating the forum's top spot for a full week.
Surprisingly, those who opposed the original poster weren't championing their faces. Instead, they argued passionately that, compared to legs, an Uma Musume's true charm lay in her feet.
Debate aside, Agnes Tachyon's currently exposed legs certainly justified the original poster's wild claim.
They were slender, elegant, yet neither too thin nor too thick, perfect in proportion and extremely attractive. Her high-quality stockings accentuated their allure, shimmering faintly under the room's lights.
Even without touching, one could vividly imagine how lovely they'd feel.
Kitahara stared at them and fell silent—not because he was tempted by Tachyon's legs.
After all, if he really wanted, Eclipse often wore stockings around him. Her legs were easily as attractive, and if he asked, she'd definitely let him touch them. In fact, Eclipse had once offered him her own used stockings, after hearing that adolescent boys might have certain "needs." He had refused, naturally.
What made him hesitate now was Tachyon's mention of "pre-race care."
In the context of trainers and Uma Musume, "care" usually meant maintaining and caring for their legs and feet—through diet, herbal baths, massages, and more.
Because legs were central to an Uma Musume's performance, leg and foot care was critical, becoming a mandatory skill for trainers—Kitahara naturally possessed it too.
Yet, he'd never used it with his own Uma Musume.
Firstly, he wanted minimal physical interaction with them. Leg care was extremely intimate, and once exposed, it could rapidly boost their affection toward him—something he preferred to avoid.
Secondly, and more importantly, his skills were... somewhat absurd.
Most trainers' care involved nutritional diet planning and simple massages to relieve fatigue, perhaps boosting performance slightly.
But Kitahara was different.
Due to a previous obsession, he'd deeply studied this subject, exchanging knowledge with numerous trainers across his wandering journeys. But practical experience was crucial, so he'd eventually experimented exclusively on Eclipse.
Initially, Eclipse had enjoyed his massages, which rapidly improved and provided significant relaxation and recovery. But gradually, Kitahara's ambitions expanded, moving from legs and feet to full-body massages, developing increasingly bizarre and powerful methods.
It wasn't until one day, after a session, that Eclipse noticed alarming changes in herself. Horrified, she'd immediately banned him from touching her ever again.
But Kitahara hadn't understood the seriousness of this incident at the time. Driven by curiosity, he'd continued experimenting on another nearby Uma Musume who seemed harmless—thus producing something utterly terrifying.
To explain briefly: Uma Musume skills could be acceleration, stamina recovery, or the so-called "debuff" (red skills), which passively affected opponents' performance.
Through his care methods, Kitahara discovered he could alter an Uma Musume's "aura," granting them devastating passive debuffs.
When he'd finally realized what he'd created—an utterly monstrous skill set—he'd promptly stopped. Yet the memory and knowledge remained.
Thus, he hesitated now. If Tachyon genuinely risked injury without his care, he couldn't easily ignore her request. He stared at Tachyon, who waited expectantly, patting her legs cutely.
Just this once…?
Half-resigned, Kitahara sighed. "Fine, then I…"
"I'm good at pre-race care too!"
Two voices rang out simultaneously.
Kitahara froze, turning to see Agnes Digital stepping forward.
"Kitahara-senpai, you know leg care too?"
Digital had assumed Kitahara hesitated because he lacked experience, so she volunteered herself.
Kitahara blinked, suddenly realizing—why hadn't he thought of this "convenient tool"… err, Agnes Digital?
"I know a bit," Kitahara nodded quickly, correcting himself. "Then, Digital, how about you handle Tachyon? It's a good chance for me to teach—I mean, exchange knowledge with you."
Digital's eyes lit up instantly at the thought of legitimately massaging Tachyon's legs while learning from Kitahara. From past experience, "a bit" from Kitahara meant invaluable skills. She eagerly accepted.
She approached Tachyon joyfully, expecting her usual reluctance or outright escape.
But Tachyon didn't move. She stood quietly, head lowered, her expression unreadable beneath her hair. Only when Digital came closer did Tachyon finally raise her head, looking straight into Digital's eyes.
Gulp.
Seeing the undisguised murderous intent in Tachyon's gaze, Digital swallowed nervously.
I have no idea why, but...
It feels like I'm in big trouble.