Even though, due to the earlier shock, the little Uma Musume's attitudes underwent slight, subtle shifts—
But because Kitahara explained everything quickly enough, and because the clubroom was already crowded to bursting,
Right up until the end, except for a certain ghost openly taking advantage of her intangible nature to steal snacks, nobody was able to take any overly drastic actions, allowing Kitahara to safely survive this wave of chaos.
As for the discussion's outcome—on the one hand, it was true that Hayakawa Tazuna genuinely needed help, and on the other, Kitahara had already made his decision.
Thus, after their brief persuasion attempts failed, they at least agreed on the surface, expressing willingness to cooperate with the plan to assist in Hayakawa-san's treatment.
This wasn't a lie—after all, Hayakawa Tazuna's dedication to Tracen was obvious to everyone.
Even Agnes Tachyon, who spent all day causing trouble and inevitably got caught and mercilessly disciplined by her, didn't dislike her.
Faced with a life-or-death matter, they naturally hoped she would recover soon, even proactively asking Kitahara if her potions would help.
But dedication was one thing; agreement was another.
When it came to her health, they were genuinely willing to help.
But beyond matters of health—especially when certain other aspects were involved…
They were also naturally willing to "help" in their own ways.
After concluding this matter, everyone parted ways, each harboring their own hidden thoughts.
Several days passed, sun and moon chasing each other a few times, and a new week arrived.
By now, thanks to the deliberate earlier "leak," along with the Chairwoman's machinations, news of Kitahara Sota and Hayakawa Tazuna dating had spread throughout the entirety of Tracen Academy.
Although the other trainers had received word that this was merely a fake arrangement to maintain stability and aid Hayakawa-san's recovery—
Remembering how Kitahara and Hayakawa acted together previously, the trainers fell into silent contemplation. Ultimately, no one voiced any objections, silently choosing to believe this was indeed just pretend.
Then, as planned, with the start of the new week, Hayakawa-san requested leave.
She prepared to officially assume her role as Kitahara's girlfriend, combining her treatment with certain other "operations."
Under the pretext of frequent caregiving needs—and conveniently shielded by the status of girlfriend—Hayakawa-san had earlier proposed moving into Kitahara's dorm room.
Considering the care required, Kitahara didn't refuse, readily agreeing that she could move in starting Monday.
Though she clearly knew Kitahara's block-headedness meant he probably didn't realize just how outrageous an invitation he'd just given—
Even so, hearing his straightforward agreement made the corners of Hayakawa-san's lips curl into a subtle smile.
Her mind began eagerly calculating all sorts of plans she intended to implement after moving in, anticipation quietly building in her chest.
But once she actually moved in, she quickly realized things weren't quite unfolding as she'd initially imagined.
The problem wasn't with Kitahara himself.
Indeed, his behavior matched perfectly with her expectations—compared to his level of obliviousness, even a tortoise crawling would seem swift as the wind.
Far from resisting her advances, even after she'd settled in, he still hadn't fully registered what he'd actually allowed to happen. Instead, he sincerely lectured her on topics related to health maintenance.
Such a serious, earnest expression might've been fine anywhere else—
But here and now, the feeling was rather like a little white sheep willingly inviting a big bad wolf into its home, closing the door, and earnestly lecturing the wolf about healthy eating habits.
Whether or not this lecture was effective, Hayakawa-san didn't know.
But there was one thing she was absolutely certain of: after the earnest lecture concluded, the little sheep before her only seemed more and more delicious…
Yet regrettably, no matter how tempting Kitahara looked, Hayakawa-san couldn't take action.
It wasn't that she didn't want to, but because there was a shepherd—or rather, wolves dressed as shepherds—watching her closely from the sidelines.
And there wasn't just one.
"Hayakawa-san, Kitahara-san is rather busy these days, so please allow me to handle your care before and after treatments. I hope this won't be too inconvenient for you."
Nice Nature stood beside Kitahara, wearing a faint, polite smile.
"...That would be most kind of you."
Hayakawa-san smiled warmly in response.
"However, Nice Nature-san, you're still a 'student,' after all. Between your studies and training, I imagine your schedule is quite packed. Perhaps it would be better to trouble Kitahara-san instead…"
"Oh, that won't be a problem at all."
Nice Nature shook her head, casting a glance towards Special Week and Grass Wonder standing to one side.
Noticing Nature's gaze, the two of them briefly paused their own rivalry, simultaneously turning their attention toward Hayakawa-san.
"When Nice Nature-san isn't available, we'd be glad to help out too!"
Special Week blinked innocently, her expression pure and harmless.
"Everyone appreciates all you've done for the Academy, Hayakawa-san. Usually, you're the one helping us—now that we have the chance, we really want to support you in return…"
As Special Week's words ended, Grass Wonder seamlessly picked up the baton:
"Don't worry about our availability. Our schedules differ from Nice Nature-san's, so whenever she's unavailable, we'll be free."
"Actually, it's not just us—the entire team knows about your situation and would gladly lend a hand. We'll be sure to take care of you '24 hours a day without fail,' whenever you need."
Care? More like surveillance!
But even though Hayakawa-san clearly understood their true intentions, she had no good way to counter it.
Their reasoning was solid, flawless even. If she wanted to argue back, she couldn't find a single loophole.
As for seeking a breakthrough via Kitahara?
Just one look at his touched expression showed he'd probably taken these little wolf pups at their word completely. Far from giving her an opening, he was probably inwardly moved by how thoughtful these "good children" were.
Thus, despite successfully moving into Kitahara's dorm, Hayakawa-san's original plans couldn't unfold immediately, allowing Kitahara Sota to comfortably pass the first night unscathed.
Then, the next day, finding the dorm too heavily monitored—
Hayakawa-san suggested she accompany Kitahara outside, claiming she was bored being on leave, secretly hoping for opportunities beyond the dorm walls.
But the moment they stepped outside—
The swarm of little Uma Musume immediately surged forward, tightly encircling Kitahara layer upon layer. Forget getting close—Hayakawa-san found herself thoroughly squeezed out, unable to even approach him.
Faced with such circumstances, Hayakawa-san felt rather helpless. After several unsuccessful attempts to break through, she eventually sighed softly.
Yet after sighing, the gentle smile never left her face. She maintained her usual calm demeanor, displaying neither impatience nor dissatisfaction.
When she realized further attempts to draw close were futile, she stopped trying altogether, content to linger just outside the tightly packed circle, maintaining a leisurely pace.
Although things had slightly surpassed her expectations, it wasn't by much.
After all, Kitahara's team was notorious for precisely this sort of behavior. Before coming, she'd already mentally prepared herself for interference from these little wolves.
She just hadn't anticipated they'd take things this far—setting aside their usual rivalry to jointly turn all their guns toward her.
But even that didn't matter much.
Maintaining her slow pace, casually chatting with Kitahara from afar, a faint, mysterious gleam flickered in Hayakawa-san's eyes.
No matter how united the Uma Musume were, no matter how well they blocked her—
In the end, they were just a bunch of 'children.'
But she was different. She was an adult—and moreover, she was currently Kitahara's openly acknowledged 'girlfriend.'
Unlike children playing house, adults had adult methods—and she'd soon show them exactly what that meant.
Yet, before that—since Kitahara would soon participate in two debut races, Hayakawa-san decided to wait a couple more days, just to avoid causing him unnecessary trouble.
And until then…
Watching the little Uma Musume clustering so protectively around Kitahara, Hayakawa-san smiled gently.
Go ahead and enjoy yourselves…for now.