Leaving Tokai Teio out was not because Shanish had anything against her.
Quite the opposite. She rather admired her.
But precisely because she admired her, she could not bring her along.
After all, Shanish still had a great deal of serious business to handle, and she could not let unnecessary distractions get in the way.
Then came the next day.
After a rare good night's sleep, Kitahara woke feeling refreshed and clear-headed.
Then he opened his eyes and saw Umamusume sprawled over him in all sorts of positions, or hugging one part of his body or another.
These girls really were...
He had no idea when they had changed into thin sleepwear, and for some reason, he vaguely felt as if something was off.
But seeing that they truly had not done anything to him, and that even his clothes were still in order, Kitahara blushed a little.
Because of what had happened before, he had spent yesterday thinking these troublemakers wanted to do something to him.
Now that he thought about it, it seemed he had overthought things.
It looked as if these girls really had seen how exhausted he was and wanted to take care of him, yet he had harbored that sort of suspicion...
Why did that make him feel kind of gross?
Shaking his head to shake off the strange thought, Kitahara carefully extracted himself from among them. After getting dressed, he began his busy day.
Although Tokai Teio's request was for him to devote himself fully to training her, Kitahara had more than one Umamusume under his care. He could not play favorites.
Of course, Kitahara had told Tokai Teio this as well, and she had agreed.
After all, strong opponents would also help when it came to breaking past her limits.
And since he had already decided to give it his all, out of a sense of responsibility toward the girls, Kitahara had started preparing early.
Training plans, new running-style plans, potion replenishment, and...
Top-tier care.
...
"Mm, Trainer-san, this..."
It was a request she herself had made, and she truly had steeled herself for it.
But seeing Kitahara standing by the care bed, his expression serious, fully prepared to begin, and remembering how it had felt before...
Tokai Teio's body could not help trembling.
And it was not just her. Looking at Kitahara over there, the expressions on the other Umamusume's faces were not exactly natural either.
It was not that they were unwilling to be close to Kitahara, but this thing...
All one could say was that it was genuinely a little hard to take.
Kitahara was not the type who liked forcing others.
Looking at the troubled faces of the Umamusume, he thought for a moment.
"As long as you all do your best, after the Kikuka Sho, I can grant each of you any one wish within my ability."
"The one who ultimately takes victory gets two more on top of that."
Now that was the sort of thing that woke them right up.
Although they were still hesitating mentally, the moment Kitahara said that, their bodies moved on their own.
And then...
There was no then.
Although he had not used his full power, Kitahara had pushed them as far as their bodies could take.
The effect was outstanding, but the price was just as obvious.
The row of Umamusume passed out on the beds was the best proof of that.
It was worth mentioning that Neicha did not intend to participate in the Kikuka Sho. In fact, she did not have much intention of participating in races after that either.
Kitahara had been shocked when he first heard the news, and he had tried persuading her.
...
"If you think there's something wrong with that running style of yours, or that it isn't very good, I can help you change it..."
He did not think there was anything wrong with Neicha's running style.
Perhaps it was easy to criticize. Perhaps it was not so glamorous. But wasn't competition like that? She had not broken any rules.
Besides, if it really did not work, it was not as if he could not change her running style. At worst, she would simply stop using griefing techniques in the future.
But...
"That's not why."
In truth, Neicha did not feel there was anything wrong with running through griefing techniques.
She even enjoyed the feeling a little.
She was giving up on competing for another reason.
"Because I think, compared to running, there are still many other things I can do."
She sat with her legs neatly drawn together, her smile faint and composed.
Perhaps because she had spent so many years as the eternal third-place finisher, Neicha's desire to win had always been astonishingly low compared to other Umamusume.
Especially after she met Kitahara. Over what little desire for victory she had, something else had settled over it.
And now, after talking with Shanish, her understanding of her own nature had become even clearer.
Was what she longed for victory? First place? Or the attention of everyone watching?
Those questions, which she had never considered before, surfaced in her mind, only to be rejected one by one.
At last, after stripping away those stray thoughts, she saw her own nature clearly.
What she had always longed for had never been victory.
It was happiness.
No grand vision. No fanciful dreams.
She simply wanted ordinary, simple happiness.
And now, her happiness was within reach.
"Neicha, you still have a long future ahead of you. You still have so many possibilities. There's no need to give up racing outright. Even earning a little more prize money would help lay the groundwork for your future life..."
"Mm, I know."
Neicha nodded, looking straight into Kitahara's eyes.
"But I don't think I need that sort of thing."
"How could you not need it? These days, without money, you can hardly take a single step..."
Kitahara tried to admonish her.
Neicha tilted her head.
"Don't I still have you?"
"...What do you take me for? An ATM?"
Kitahara retorted.
"Listen, Neicha, I'm not saying anything else, but you really do need to think about your future..."
Kitahara's voice gradually quieted.
No matter how dense he was, no matter how oblivious, faced with Neicha's far too obvious gaze, even Kitahara realized something was wrong.
"You said it before, didn't you? That I'd make a good wife."
She smiled as she looked at Kitahara.
"In that case, earning money is naturally the husband's job."
"Neicha, you..."
"I only said I don't want to push myself so hard on the racetrack anymore. I never said I wouldn't in other areas."
She leaned in, throwing herself directly into Kitahara's arms. Her hands circled around his neck as she lifted her head to look at him.
"Or is someone planning to leave after making an absolute mess of my body, then walk away and ignore me?"
"Just like before."
So-called griefing techniques had never been something that could only be used on the racetrack.
Such as now.
She was going to use her own future to pin Kitahara down.
If it had been in the past, or even when they had just reunited, then even if she had known griefing techniques, she could never have used them to stop Kitahara.
But just as Shanish had said, this guy was far too weak to softness.
Like boiling a frog in warm water.
Although even Neicha herself had not realized it, after Shanish pointed it out, she understood that the water on her side was already hot enough.
Then all that remained was for things to take their natural course.
While he was stunned, she pushed him down, then sat on top of him.
She bent at the waist and lowered her head.
"I promise you, I will become the finest wife."
But that was a matter for the future.
Back in the present, she was no longer third.
She was, between the two of them—
The only one.
---
T/N: HI IM BACK HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSAY ONLY UHHH 7 DAYS? 8 DAYS LATE!!!
ahh WEBSITE IS UP BTW!! ^_^
wisetl.com
bonus chaps
100 stones → 1 bonus chap
200 stones → 2 bonus chaps
300 stones → 3 bonus chaps
and so on :3
100+ new chaps every week across all my TLs on the P website :)
hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter = 5 bonus chaps...?
(for all ongoing tls)
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl
instagram: hanbaowise
twitter: WiseKingOfUruk_