Slacking Professionally at Tracen [100]

By the time Agnes Digital woke up again, she had fully returned to normal.

Yet, something felt subtly different this time around. Kitahara Sota couldnā€™t help but notice the slight shift in how she looked at him and behaved around him.

Still, he didn't dwell on it much, chalking it up as a lingering side effect of the potion.

However...

Watching Agnes Digitalā€”now completely back to normalā€”still wandering around his dorm wearing that thin, pink sleepwear, Kitahara fell into contemplation.

Why is she here again?

"Um, well... I wanted to study more with you, Senpai, and... I thought it'd be nice to have a training camp with everyone..."

For some reason, Agnes Digital blushed slightly as she spoke, her tail swishing nervously behind her.

Kitahara didnā€™t doubt her reasoning. If anything, it made perfect sense.

After all, Agnes Digital usually lived alone, and although she had piles of Uma Musume clothing to comfort her, surely that couldnā€™t compare to directly sharing a dorm with actual Uma Musume?

Sure, she was a bit of a pervert, but Agnes Digital had always known her limits and wasnā€™t a threat. She might frequently sniff others' clothes, but she always behaved impeccably in person.

The only issue was her tendency to flood the area with nosebleeds whenever things became too blissful. But after spending significant time with the team, sheā€™d grown somewhat resistant to them. As long as she took some precautions at night, it would probably be fine.

And speaking of training camps...

Considering Agnes Digital was already a second-year Uma Musume, now nearing the end of June, it was indeed about time for a proper summer camp. Since Kitahara lacked a second-year Tantou, he'd previously shelved the idea, so technically he owed her a proper camp experience anyway.

Thinking this far, Kitahara stroked his chin, seriously considering.

Since things had already come to this, why not just make it a real training camp?

After all, heā€™d soon be busy with Agnes Digital and Grass Wonder on Black Forest matters. Daytime alone probably wouldnā€™t suffice. Moreover, he still hadn't added any of his team's members on LINE. If they really split up now, coordinating the Black Forest activities would become significantly harder, so he needed to find a reason to keep them both nearby.

Keeping just those two close would undoubtedly raise suspicion and cause jealousy among the others, but calling it a training camp would naturally resolve those concerns.

And Special Week was alone in her dorm since Silence Suzuka had left for summer camp. Considering her recent emotional struggles due to old trauma, he felt guilty sending her back to live alone.

As for Nice Nature, she practically lived with him anyway due to her ongoing care routine. Eclipse was also there, making five regular residentsā€”more than half the team. It seemed far simpler just to organize it as an official camp. After all, a lively group atmosphere was certainly preferable to being surrounded by just a couple of girls.

But a summer training camp shouldn't involve only a few peopleā€”it had to include the entire team.

So Kitahara asked Eclipse to send messages to everyone else, gauging their opinions.

In the end, only Tokai Teio declined.

It wasnā€™t that she didn't want to join. In fact, sheā€™d felt incredibly excited when she first saw the message, almost immediately responding positively. But just as she finished typing her reply, Teio suddenly realized something critical.

If she accepted, the delicate balance in her heart would probably spin wildly, twisting itself into knots with a speed comparable to a warp engine.

Reluctantly, she declined Kitahara's invitation, claiming she'd already promised her roommate to play a game together every night.

Kitahara wasnā€™t surprised. He and Tokai Teio were, after all, just casual friends. Her refusal was perfectly normal.

As for the othersā€¦

Eclipse needed no explanation. Agnes Digital and Grass Wonder had Black Forest duties; Special Week and Oguri Cap were just lively kids there for fun. Nice Nature practically lived there due to her care schedule, and then there was Agnes Tachyon...

Truthfully, Kitahara hadnā€™t really wanted to invite Agnes Tachyon.

After all, he had a lingering suspicion that if she moved in, heā€™d never be safe againā€”not even his water would remain trustworthy.

But on one hand, Agnes Digital had resumed caring for Tachyon since returning to normal, so if Kitahara wanted to keep Digital around, Tachyon inevitably had to come as well.

And while Tachyon had made a mistake with the potion incident, sheā€™d sincerely apologized, behaving impeccably ever since. She hadnā€™t attempted another sneak attack since that incident.

Moreover, before arriving, Tachyon had earnestly promised that during the camp period, sheā€™d absolutely not attempt any surprise drugging. She even invited Kitahara to personally search her belongings upon arrivalā€”if he found even a single suspicious potion, he was welcome to kick her out.

Seeing her sincerity, Kitahara finally agreed.

Thenā€¦

He watched, stunned, as Agnes Tachyon confidently walked in holding a large box filled with vials of various colorful liquids.

ā€œAgnes Tachyon, youā€¦ā€

"Iā€™m not hiding them, and I wonā€™t secretly drug you either," Tachyon declared innocently, placing the box openly on the nearby cabinet.

"There are exactly 48 potions here. I wonā€™t ambush you or force you to drink them, but if possible, Iā€™d still appreciate it if youā€™d voluntarily test some."

Tachyon explained this openly.

As for why Tachyon always tested on humans or Uma Musume rather than animalsā€¦

It was as she'd explained beforeā€”her potions involved mystical elements. Using them on animals yielded drastically different, even contradictory, results compared to humans or Uma Musume. Furthermore, the mystical nature made predicting the exact effects impossible; even identical recipes differed depending on location, time, and other factors. Hence, testing was essential before public distribution.

Additionally, not all of Tachyonā€™s potions caused trouble.

In fact, despite occasionally causing chaos on campus, many of her creations had greatly benefited Tracen. The pelvic healing potions currently in use at the academy hospital, which had even inspired treatments enabling injured Uma Musume to race again, were based on Tachyonā€™s initial recipes.

Incidents were simply the inevitable risks of medical research.

Understanding this, Kitahara couldnā€™t remain angry forever, although he still cautiously questioned how she'd prevent future incidents.

ā€œThough the exact effects are unpredictable, I can at least estimate their duration. In the future, I'll just keep test subjects under my direct supervision until effects fade,ā€ Tachyon calmly explained.

Kitahara considered this. It seemed slightly off, but reasonable enough, so he agreed.

With Agnes Tachyonā€™s arrival, Kitaharaā€™s team began their makeshift summer training camp.

However, despite calling it a training camp, it was essentially just the girls sharing dorm space.

Kitahara himself had already set up a makeshift room outside the main dorm, surrounded by partitions and curtains, isolating himself from the group as much as possible. Normally, he remained hidden there, resting privately each night.

Yet, while Kitahara tried avoiding them, the same didnā€™t hold true for everyone else.

Nice Nature moved first.

Claiming she couldnā€™t sleep among other Uma Musume due to her unique condition, she straightforwardly set up a futon near Kitaharaā€™s partition and immediately began tidying up his area.

Next was Agnes Digital.

Although trainers' dorm beds were absurdly large and sturdy (for certain unspeakable reasons), fitting six Uma Musume would still feel cramped. Plus, Digital had returned to ā€œnormalā€ and wanted to spare the others discomfort. Sleeping outside was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

Though even then, she wasn't bold enough to sleep directly beside Nice Nature. Instead, she settled herself at a comfortable distanceā€”not too far, yet safely out of Natureā€™s intimidating aura.

Besides sleeping arrangements, Agnes Digital made another move.

Despite appearing somewhat clumsy during their earlier lessons, Digital was actually highly skilled in therapeutic massageā€”on par with some of the elite caregivers Kitahara had consulted previously. Her quick appreciation of his techniques proved her ability.

Using this skill, she proactively offered massages to Kitahara, partly to refine her own technique through his direct feedback and partly to repay him for tirelessly caring for her recently.

Under different circumstances, Kitahara might hesitate. But this was Agnes Digitalā€”the second-most harmless Uma Musume on Earth (after a certain alien mystery horse heā€™d never met).

Thus, after brief contemplation, Kitahara gladly accepted her offer. Though physical exhaustion wasnā€™t an issue, emotional fatigue was real, and Digitalā€™s care seemed the perfect remedy.

Still, he did have one request:

ā€œUm, Digital...could you please change your sleepwear?ā€

Loose, thin pajamas constantly flaunted in front of him. Even someone as disciplined as Kitahara had limitsā€”especially during massages requiring close physical contact.

Digital blushed uncharacteristically, agreeing shyly.

Kitahara assumed sheā€™d recognized the issue, but when Digital showed up the next day presenting several alternatives for approval, he realized his mistake.

Because that thin pink set had actually been her most conservative sleepwear!

Lace, sheer, tight-fitting... every design was even riskier.

Not that Digital had odd personal tastes. She simply designed private Uma Musume lingerie, accumulating numerous rejected prototypes sheā€™d modified into personal sleepwear rather than discarding.

Realizing he couldn't allow her to wear any of these, Kitahara promptly took the entire group shopping at Old Maā€™s boutique to select something appropriate.

As soon as they entered, Old Ma sniffed the unmistakable mix of scents and fresh markings surrounding Kitaharaā€”including a notably new one. Recognizing Digital, the famously safe Uma Musume, she stared incredulously.

After listening intently to recent events, Old Ma sighed deeply, pity filling her gaze.

"Boy, I'm fine," she said quietly. "But whether a certain brat whose brain's gone soft in a honey-pot is fine... I can't say."

Kitahara tilted his head, puzzled.

Might she be implying something?

Shaking off doubts, he quickly returned to his (seemingly) peaceful everyday life.

---

This is a fan translation of äŗŗåœØē‰¹é›·ę£®ļ¼Œäø“čŒę‘†ēƒ‚ by å¤šåŠŸčƒ½å¤čÆ»ęœŗ All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!