"Takayama Gamu…"
Agnes Tachyon murmured the name under her breath as she squatted on a chair, eyes practically glued to a laptop screen. On it was a page from one of Tracen's internal trainer forums.
She was doxxing him.
Technically, only trainers were supposed to be able to log in—but the security was basically the same as Steam's "Are you over 18?" popup. As long as you weren't too innocent, any horse girl could get in.
"Are you a horse girl?"
"No."
"Are you a trainer?"
"Yes."
"Your employee number?"
"350264."
Tachyon typed in a random string of numbers.
"Welcome to this forum."
She smiled—equal parts pity and mockery. This "trainers-only" forum had security that wouldn't even pass muster in the Land of Light's labs, and yet the poor trainers treated it as their one safe haven: a place to vent and chat without horse girls finding out, freely posting their complaints.
Not realizing they were slowly walking into the abyss.
Still… the forum was useful, beyond documenting trainers' gradual descent. It contained profiles on nearly every Central trainer. Tachyon intended to find out exactly who Takayama Gamu really was.
A pinned, admin-made megathread filled her screen:
Perfect score on the theory exam. Unprecedented theory genius. Seventeen-year-old quantum mechanics PhD. An unbelievable cross-disciplinary outlier. Alchemy Star—Takayama Gamu!!
Tachyon fell silent.
"…Who the hell lured him into Tracen?"
...
"Your answers are pretty decent."
Elsewhere, Takayama Gamu skimmed through the analyses Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap had submitted. It was obvious they'd taken it seriously, so he praised them.
Oguri Cap's write-up was a little too brief—borderline stream-of-consciousness—but Gamu decided not to make things hard for her. She was still a kid, after all.
The moment she received his approval, Oguri instantly lost what little structural integrity she had left. She collapsed onto the sofa, eyes vacant, looking like she'd burned through every last drop of brainpower.
Tamamo Cross, meanwhile, stood nervously in front of him, her gaze bouncing between his face and the papers in his hands. Her tail swished restlessly.
"Tamamo Cross—run with this plan and you'll be fine. Basically no issues."
Compared to Oguri, Tamamo's analysis was far more detailed—thorough, careful, desperate to prove herself, like a child on the verge of bursting.
"Coach Gamu… what's the best tactic?"
Tamamo exhaled in relief, then immediately asked again—earnest and intense.
She didn't just want to win. She wanted to win beautifully, with the cleanest possible strategy.
Coach Gamu would definitely have something even better than what she'd come up with. Tamamo believed that with all her heart.
Under her expectant stare, Gamu scratched his head.
"There's no need to chase 'the best' tactic."
"…Huh?"
"In any race, what decides the outcome is the athlete's own ability. A 'tactic' is just a way to create a situation that suits you—so you can fully express your strength. Sometimes a good tactic can cover for weaknesses and let the underdog beat the favorite… but you don't need to go that far anymore."
As he spoke, he gently patted Tamamo's ash-gray hair. She clearly took great care of it; it felt amazingly soft under his hand.
At her height—barely 140 cm—he had trouble thinking of Tamamo the same way he did Oguri. So in day-to-day interactions, Gamu found himself drifting toward something more like an older brother looking after a younger sister.
"Win with absolute strength. That's the best tactic. If I had to give just one reminder…"
Tamamo's eyes reflected his smile, and her chest filled with rapid, sharp heartbeats.
She wanted to look away, but her body wouldn't move—some instinct pinning her in place. So Tamamo stared into Gamu's clear, unguarded eyes, and the moment grew strangely warm—sweet, and unbearably hot.
Coach Gamu…
"…It's to run with joy, and accept the victory that should've been yours from the start."
"Y-Yes!"
Tamamo snapped back to her senses. Realizing what kind of ridiculous thoughts had just flashed through her mind, she stiffened straight as a board and answered too loudly—mortified, furious with herself.
Damn it!
Tracen Academy isn't a matchmaking service! Trainers marrying their horse girls is just a rumor—so how could she even feel this way about Coach Gamu?!
That's ethically messed up!
"Relax. Training's over for today."
Gamu looked honestly puzzled, as if he had no idea what he'd said to make her tense up.
"Tomorrow's the Japanese Derby. I managed to get infield tickets. I can take you two out for a bit—anywhere you want to go?"
They'd been running high-intensity training for two straight weeks. Even though Gamu had controlled the load precisely enough to avoid injuries, mental fatigue was unavoidable.
"Food!!"
Oguri, sprawled on the sofa, sprang up like a fish flopping out of a tank and cheered.
"No problem." Gamu patted his chest. Akikawa Yayoi's funding wasn't enough to build new equipment, but feeding a few horse girls? That was absolutely doable.
"And we can buy you new shoes while we're out."
He looked down at the clearly worn-out running shoes they were wearing. From what he'd learned, neither Tamamo nor Oguri came from comfortable circumstances. Those shoes had been used for a long time. It was time.
Ideally, he'd custom-build shoes based on their body metrics and running styles—but right now, neither his budget nor their popularity could support that kind of plan.
Unless he could get the right materials and build them by hand.
With Gaia's superhuman strength, Gamu was more than capable. The anti-gravity device itself had only been possible because he'd used Gaia's power and precision—Akikawa's investment alone would never have been enough.
"I feel like… these shoes can still last a bit longer," Tamamo said, fidgeting.
Shoes that could withstand a horse girl's impact forces were far more expensive than human running shoes. She couldn't accept something so costly without guilt gnawing at her.
"But you deserve better," Gamu said with a smile. "Consider it a reward for working so hard these past two weeks. You're both great kids."
"…Coach Gamu…"
Tamamo lowered her head and spoke only in her heart.
I'll bring you victory. No matter what.
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