Agnes Digital's race concluded successfully.
Although the events afterward left Kitahara somewhat helpless—
Seeing how delighted she was after winning, Kitahara hesitated a bit but ultimately chose not to fuss about minor details at a moment like this.
Especially since after this incident, Kitahara noticed something:
Compared to before, Digital's eyes now carried a faint glow he'd never seen previously, and her words had grown slightly firmer.
Though the change was subtle, almost imperceptible—
Kitahara genuinely felt that her deep-seated inferiority complex had improved slightly.
Feeling comforted, he stopped worrying about it, entirely unaware that this improvement was actually drifting subtly toward a rather questionable direction.
Then came the Winner's Concert, and after that, the event fully ended.
The three of them returned to the academy, and Agnes Digital reverted completely to her usual self.
Even before returning, Digital had cleverly employed some tricks she'd learned previously to mask both her own and Kitahara's scents, completely erasing any trace of abnormality, allowing them to slip back into normal life unnoticed.
After everything settled back to normal, despite what had happened earlier—
Two days later, seeing that Digital hadn't become overly fixated, and the newfound sparkle in her eyes still lingered, Kitahara's remaining faint concerns fully vanished, allowing him to resume his comfortably idle days without worry.
But what he didn't realize was that even as he loafed around peacefully, the spark in Agnes Digital's eyes was quietly beginning to shift toward something strange and inexplicable.
Although Digital had seemed perfectly normal after the race—
In truth, over these past two days, whenever she closed her eyes, her thoughts immediately returned to that moment in the clubroom two days ago. She could almost still taste the lingering warmth on her lips.
Taking initiative, huh...?
She placed her finger, which had just touched Kitahara, gently onto her lips, softly extending her tongue and licking it.
Feeling that intoxicating presence still clinging there, Digital's cheeks flushed deeply, blooming like petals. The glint in her eyes became increasingly strange and alluring.
Although she understood perfectly that Kitahara-senpai's gentle expression back then hadn't been due to her kiss, but rather his happiness at seeing her newfound confidence.
She also knew clearly that to truly make him happy without causing any trouble, she should behave confidently while still maintaining a proper distance.
But the problem was—she couldn't do that.
The seed of her inferiority was buried too deep; her distorted self-image had taken root long ago. Though recently shaken, true improvement remained distant.
Previously, no matter how much she'd wanted to respond to Kitahara-senpai's expectations, it had all been useless.
Even if she'd forced herself to act confident, Kitahara would easily see through her. Thus, she could only repeatedly face his kindness and encouragement with her usual timidness, her sense of guilt accumulating endlessly.
But now, it seemed she'd found a new way she could respond to Kitahara-senpai:
By becoming proactive.
More importantly, this was something she not only could do but was deeply willing to try.
Yet despite this tempting thought, she hadn't acted on it yet, mostly due to a variety of reasons—shortage of time, embarrassment, her lingering shyness, and the constant watchfulness of the other Uma Musume around her.
So, up until now, this impulse remained purely within her thoughts.
If she continued this way, sooner or later, driven by the buildup of emotions, she'd inevitably transform those thoughts into actual actions.
But without external triggers, that transformation would occur slowly, gently, and gradually.
However…
The third day after Digital's race—also the day of Nature's event.
...
Early morning.
After finishing her preparations, Agnes Digital stepped out of her dorm room. She was just about to head toward the training grounds as usual, when her gaze suddenly caught sight of a certain figure on the academy walkway. Her footsteps paused briefly.
Watching that Uma Musume who walked unnoticed through the crowds, completely dressed in white with only pink eyes adding color, Digital's eyes filled with confusion.
Strange. Does the academy have someone like her? Why don't I have any impression...? And she somehow resembles Eclipse-san...
Was she perhaps a newly transferred student?
Thinking along these lines, Digital's gaze stayed on that white-clad figure, and she slowly started moving again.
Maybe I should go and ask first.
...
Elsewhere—Kitahara and Nature arrived at the racetrack, collected their number tags, then proceeded directly to their temporary clubroom.
Unlike the other Uma Musume, Nature made no unusual moves before the race and had no shy, awkward request for rewards.
Everything was completely ordinary—so ordinary, in fact, that Kitahara felt slightly uncomfortable.
After all, he'd been attending so many races recently, each accompanied by countless unpredictable antics from his little Uma Musume, that he'd almost begun to expect such things. He'd even mentally prepared himself to deal with whatever nonsense Nature might throw at him this time.
But now, seeing someone acting completely as usual—apart from being pleasantly surprised, Kitahara found himself feeling oddly uneasy.
As expected, Nature really is easygoing…
Kitahara sighed appreciatively, then accompanied Nature toward the starting gates.
The race itself didn't warrant much mention.
Though known for consistently placing third, Nature's raw talent and physical abilities were, without doubt, fully on par with top-tier Uma Musume.
And after Kitahara's personal "adjustments"—
Nature could now easily beat first-rate, even top-ranked Uma Musume without activating her red skill.
If she unleashed her full skillset, within her cohort, apart from those teammates who'd also been specially adjusted by Kitahara using a similarly "flexible standard," she'd find it difficult to lose even deliberately.
However, although she could easily win without using red skills, Nature didn't hesitate to use them during the race.
She intentionally stayed in the middle of the pack right from the start, perfectly positioned to cast her skills again and again.
After each skill activation, she'd deliberately lower her speed further, stubbornly holding her ideal position even when it bordered on overly slow.
Thus, she spent nearly two-thirds of the race torturing the other Uma Musume around her—only accelerating once her rivals were completely drained, ultimately claiming first place with casual ease.
Then, after achieving victory, Nature continued to behave perfectly normally, refraining from any unusual actions.
Even when Kitahara took the initiative to ask what reward she wanted, she simply told him there was no rush—she'd let him know after the Winner's Concert.
Nature really is easygoing, after all.
Kitahara sighed again in appreciation.
Yet he couldn't quite shake off a sense of unease. During preparations for the Winner's Concert, Nature's behavior felt distinctly different from usual.
Instead of the joy one might expect after winning, she seemed troubled, conflicted—as if something was weighing heavily on her mind.
Could it be that she injured herself during the race...?
Concerned, Kitahara carefully looked Nature over, even resorting to the rarely used system check, yet found nothing wrong.
But strangely enough, after Kitahara finished inspecting her—or perhaps, more accurately, once Nature noticed him inspecting her—her conflicted, hesitant feelings became even more pronounced, tinged now with a faint trace of irritation.
Odd. Did I upset her recently...?
After noticing Nature's strange reaction, Kitahara rubbed his chin, carefully recalling recent events, but he couldn't figure out where he might have upset her.
Forget upsetting her—even though she willingly (or rather insistently) handled many chores for him recently, Kitahara had felt a bit guilty seeing Nature tirelessly busy around him once he had more free time.
So, these past few days, he'd been deliberately making it up to her. From clothes and styling, to daily training, even the nighttime treatments—he'd catered carefully to her preferences in just about everything.
Not only in daily matters, either.
After confirming that Nature particularly enjoyed having her ears and tail rubbed, he'd even quietly rewarded her several times in private.
And while doing so, Kitahara had discovered something interesting:
Although Nature would often put on an aggrieved expression whenever he touched her ears and tail, she actually enjoyed it deeply—her apparent distress seemingly proportional to her true enjoyment.
Nature herself was naturally the type that invited a little teasing, and upon realizing this, even Kitahara began entertaining some unusual thoughts.
What would happen if, without warning, I surprised her from behind while she's busy tidying up...?
With this thought in mind, Kitahara quietly approached Nature as she was cleaning the room, his hands slowly reaching out toward her soft ears and fluffy tail.
At first, when Nature heard familiar footsteps approaching from behind, she paid no mind.
After all, this was Kitahara's dorm, and he often paced around while working or researching.
Nature had long grown accustomed to this; she was even thinking about reminding him not to disturb areas she'd just tidied up.
But just as that thought crossed her mind, she felt a familiar sensation gently pressing against her ears and tail, causing her entire body to tense up slightly, her thoughts instantly interrupted.
Before she could fully react, Kitahara's hands had already begun moving, gently kneading her ears and tail.
Nature's body stiffened further; one hand tightly grasped the clothes she was tidying, the other leaned for support against the closet.
Facing away from Kitahara, Nature's face slowly turned red. She pressed her lips together tightly, desperately trying to suppress the embarrassing sounds threatening to escape.
A short while later, finally managing to adapt to the sensations, Nature slowly resumed her tidying up.
But even though she could move again, she didn't stop Kitahara.
Thus, she remained standing with her back turned, enduring Kitahara's teasing, and struggled to finish cleaning the room in this incredibly difficult position.
Midway through, Kitahara worried that his actions might be disturbing her work and considered withdrawing his hands—but Nature actively pulled him back, further confirming his earlier suspicions.
Could it be that this is what made her upset?
Kitahara rubbed his chin again, even more puzzled now.
But the issue was, didn't she clearly enjoy this? And originally, he'd only planned a quick little tease, but she herself insisted on pulling him back to continue the entire time.
Even after finishing cleaning, Nature hadn't left immediately; instead, she'd nestled into his arms, demanding he continue rubbing her for quite a while longer before finally leaving.
Carrying this lingering confusion, Kitahara climbed up to the Trainer's viewing stand, quietly watched Nature's Winner's Concert, and then waited again for her afterward in the corridor.
"Nature, you—"
He barely began speaking before Nature pointedly turned her head away, obviously unwilling to listen.
Seeing her reaction, Kitahara's confusion and helplessness deepened further.
She was perfectly normal just moments ago during the Winner's Concert, so why the sudden shift as soon as she got off the stage? And it even seems her mood's gotten worse…
It was genuinely puzzling.
With that awkward tension lingering between them, Kitahara quietly led Nature back to the temporary clubroom, where they sat opposite each other.
After sitting down, Kitahara originally intended to talk to Nature properly.
But immediately after sitting, Nature stubbornly turned her head to the side, clearly showing she didn't want to engage, leaving him no opening to speak.
Sigh... Whatever, let's just wait quietly until she cools down.
Holding back a sigh, Kitahara chose not to speak again, quietly waiting across from her for her to initiate conversation.
A long silence stretched.
The minute hand spun through countless rotations before Nature finally gathered enough courage to slowly turn her head back toward Kitahara.
As she did, Kitahara saw her face had turned as red as a fully cooked shrimp, even seeming to emit faint traces of steam.
Oh boy, just what did I do this time to get her so angry...?
Seeing Nature like this, Kitahara was just about to quickly ask her what had happened.
But before he could even open his mouth, Nature suddenly stood up, promptly settling herself into his lap. She buried her face against his chest, her voice so tiny it was barely audible:
"Ears... and tail..."
Instantly understanding, Kitahara reached out and gently began rubbing her ears and tail again.
After resuming this, he patiently held back any immediate questions about her mood.
Only once he felt the tension gradually melting from Nature's body did he softly ask, voice low and gentle, about what exactly was bothering her.
The stiffness returned briefly at his words.
Moments later, as the stiffness faded away again, Nature slowly lifted her head, placing both hands lightly on Kitahara's shoulders.
She leaned gently toward his face, which was only inches away.
A long, lingering moment passed before their lips finally parted.
Meeting Kitahara's confused, questioning gaze, Nature looked straight into his eyes, her voice perfectly clear as she pronounced each word slowly and carefully:
"Kitahara Sota."
"I—love—you."