Although she was verbally asking Shinji Kitahara who the two girls were, Tokai Teio actually knew their identities.
Special Week and Oguri Cap. Two transfer students who had enrolled in the main Tracen Academy campus a year ago. On their very first day, they had successfully eaten the academy's prized all-you-can-eat cafeteria into a state of collapse, leaving a deep psychological scar on the staff.
In terms of performance, while their talent was said to be good, their full-fledged development had just begun, so they had no immediate plans to debut and hadn't attracted the attention of any trainers.
But knowing them and being familiar with them were two different things. Since they were horse girls who had yet to debut, Tokai Teio hadn't interacted with them much.
She was just a little curious as to why these two were here and why they were gathered around Shinji Kitahara.
"Teio, you're here."
Normally, the sudden appearance of Tokai Teio would have startled Shinji, putting him on high alert. But right now, his mind had just been steamrolled by Special Week and Oguri Cap's stats, and he was in a state of utter despair. He didn't have the mental energy to be wary of Tokai Teio.
After a sigh, he told her what had happened.
Although he and Tokai Teio were technically in a charge relationship, and by rights, he should have consulted her about forming a team, their relationship was a special case. It was the kind where they stayed out of each other's way, did as they pleased, and as long as they didn't bother one another, it was fine. So, it was perfectly normal for Shinji not to consult her.
In fact, if he had gone to discuss it with her, Tokai Teio would have found it strange.
Teio understood this principle, but after hearing the story, she still felt a little uncomfortable. However, she didn't show it. Suppressing the slight unease in her heart, she maintained her usual cheerful demeanor and waved at the other two with a smile.
"Well then, I guess we're teammates from now on."
"Eh? Miss Tokai Teio, are you also on Mr. Kitahara's team?"
As she was the rising star of the moment, they had both heard of Tokai Teio's name.
"That's right! I'm his second charge," Teio replied with a smile. Although their charge relationship was one of complete non-interference, they still had to put on a show for others on the surface.
After some simple introductions, they all got to know each other.
Shinji looked at the time, figured it was about right, and interrupted their conversation.
"We should go check out the clubroom."
The clubroom, officially the 'Team Activity Room,' was the main location for team activities and a place to store equipment for the team's horse girls and trainer. After his team application was approved, Shinji had received the key to a clubroom from the Chairwoman, but he had been too busy with testing to go there right away.
He then looked at Tokai Teio, who was clearly dressed for training, and after a moment's hesitation, asked tentatively, "Do you want to come with us? Or continue training?"
Although he had said he wouldn't interfere with any of Teio's decisions, it didn't seem right to exclude her from a group activity like this. After thinking it over, he decided it was best to ask her opinion directly.
"Of course, I'll come!" Tokai Teio nodded immediately.
At the end of the day, Tokai Teio was still just a kid. While the blood of a runner flowed through her veins, she also longed for companionship and fun. As for Shinji, although their charge relationship was a bit strange, she didn't dislike him, given that he had been very respectful in strictly adhering to their agreement. While they couldn't have a normal trainer-charge relationship, being friends was perfectly fine.
And so, with Tokai Teio's agreement, the group of five headed to their assigned clubroom.
When they pushed open the door, the room wasn't exactly filthy, but it was covered in a thin layer of dust and couldn't be used immediately. Shinji had no choice but to lead the others in a major cleanup.
Sweeping, mopping, wiping windows, dealing with clutter... After they had finished with everything, it was already dinnertime.
Normally, after such labor, Shinji, as the trainer, should have treated them to a nice meal as the new team's first bonding activity. But looking at the three titans—Special Week, Oguri Cap, and Eclipse—standing before him, he simply couldn't muster the courage to propose the idea.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to care about such trivial matters and headed straight to the cafeteria after cleaning the clubroom.
And then, Tokai Teio froze.
Staring at the three mountains of food piled on the trays before her, Tokai Teio felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. Her own portion of food was normal, even a little larger than other horse girls' due to her training. But in front of these three nightmares of the Tracen cafeteria, her meal seemed utterly tiny and insignificant.
"Trainer Kitahara, this is..."
"Don't mind them. Just eat your own food."
Watching the three of them devour their food like a storm, and thinking about the future where he might have to take them out to celebrate after they won a race, Shinji felt a sharp pain in his wallet. The prize money from horse races was substantial, but it might not be enough to handle the appetites of these three.
After dinner, Tokai Teio went back to her classroom to review her lessons, planning to rest for a bit before heading back to the training grounds for more self-training. Eclipse also left, saying she was going back to the dorm to meet her roommate—Tracen's dorms were all two-person rooms. Although that was her explanation, Shinji had a feeling she was just looking for an excuse to escape before he could ask her about the incident in the cafeteria.
As for Special Week and Oguri Cap, they were tired after a full afternoon of testing and cleaning the clubroom, so Shinji told them to go rest. He planned to finish their training plans tonight and give them to them tomorrow.
And so, after seeing everyone off, he was alone once again.
After dinner, a cool breeze blew. All sorts of horse girls and trainers walked around the campus. Some looked normal, others seemed a bit intimate. Some were even holding hands without any attempt to hide it, which made his eyelids twitch.
What the hell, how did Tracen become like this!
Oh, it was always like this. Never mind then.
With the intention of clearing his head and familiarizing himself with the campus, he began to wander around.
Unlike before, he was no longer worried about bumping into some strange horse girl and causing an incident. Although it wasn't his intention, he now had two charges and had even formed a team. With this established fact, no matter who wanted to join his team or interact with him, he could use "lack of energy" as a reason to refuse, and no one could find fault with it.
Perhaps heaven itself sensed his conviction, because his walk was exceptionally smooth. No horse girls suddenly approached him to ask him to be their trainer, nor did he run into any acquaintances.
He had only been employed for less than two days, but the events that had transpired could only be described as a chain-reaction car crash. The long-lost feeling of being able to finally slack off in peace almost brought him to tears.
It's too wonderful. This feeling is just too wonderful. After saying goodbye to those ridiculously dangerous horse girls, I can finally embrace the pure and beautiful life of slacking off. No one will ever bother me again—
"Wh-what do you want?"
"Calm down! I promised I'd marry you after you graduate! Don't do something rash—"
As he passed the abandoned warehouse, the voices from inside interrupted his blissful thoughts.
For crying out loud, a repeat performance, are you kidding me!
His face darkened as he looked over, wondering if he should suddenly go give the two inside a surprise. But as he turned his head, he noticed something strange.
Thanks to Eclipse's long-term training and some of his own inherent factors, his eyesight was much better than a normal person's, and he was more sensitive to abnormalities in his surroundings. So, the moment he turned, he noticed that by the window of the abandoned warehouse, a strangely arranged pile of junk was slowly trembling, and there was a faint reflection.
A hidden camera.
He wouldn't interfere in the messy affairs between horse girls and trainers. After all, who knew what the relationship between the two crying "yamete!" in the warehouse was really like. Maybe it was just to add some spice to their romance. It was better to leave such matters to the school authorities.
But a hidden camera was a different matter. No matter how you looked at it, it was not an acceptable behavior, especially on a school campus.
No, wait a minute. Doing that on campus is pretty ridiculous in the first place, isn't it?
He didn't consider himself a warm-hearted good Samaritan, but this was a place where he had to slack off for at least three years. Even for the sake of his future peaceful, lazy life, he couldn't let this slide.
What if he was caught on camera slacking off one day?
Muttering to himself, "I'm doing this to uphold campus morale," he stealthily crept up behind the strange pile of junk under the cover of night.
The person in the junk pile seemed focused on filming and didn't notice his approach, still holding the camera.
As he got closer, Shinji could see the scene inside the abandoned warehouse through the window.
It was just... two people cuddling together, whispering to each other.
Nothing more.
Tch. All that drama, and this is it? What a letdown.
Glancing at the scene inside the warehouse, Shinji focused his gaze back on the junk pile in front of him. After pinpointing the source of the reflection, he reached out.
Swish—
He snatched a camera and held it in his hand.
The person holding the camera was completely caught off guard. After the camera disappeared from their hands, they froze for a few seconds, and then—
Bang—
Realizing what had happened, the pile of junk exploded outwards in an instant.
Shinji instinctively wanted to grab the figure, but after a second thought, he pulled his hand back. He sidestepped the exploding debris, and the figure took the opportunity to escape into the darkness.
Due to the flying junk and the darkness of the night, Shinji didn't get a clear look at her face. But the pair of horse ears and the swishing ponytail behind her back revealed her identity.
A horse girl?
Shinji pinched his chin and chose not to pursue her. Judging by her clothes, she was likely a Tracen student.
Don't tell me this is going to turn into a 'Trainer, you wouldn't want this video to be leaked, would you?' kind of scenario?
Aren't today's young horse girls playing a little too wild?
As he was pondering, the people inside the warehouse heard the commotion outside and came out.
Shinji looked at them, raised the camera in his hand, and was about to explain, but he heard them shout in terror first.
"Help! There's a perverted peeping tom!"
-------
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