"I love you."
After those words left her mouth, the temporary clubroom fell completely silent.
Nature raised her head, cheeks blazing red like ripened apples, her eyes full of nervousness and anxiety.
Yet even then, she showed no sign of lowering her head. She held it high, her pupils reflecting the face inches away from hers, her body trembling slightly.
Across from her, Kitahara sat frozen. After finally processing what had just happened, he fell into deep contemplation.
If he wasn't mistaken, had this girl just confessed her feelings to him?
But…why?
Though it wasn't as if no other Uma Musume had confessed before, those girls each had their own unique circumstances.
Sunday Silence's situation and personality were obvious, and Manhattan Café had simply been misled by her.
Agnes Tachyon had confessed after mistakenly taking that potion, while Agnes Digital probably confused certain feelings for romantic affection due to her own personality, side effects from medication, and his previous actions.
Right—actually, Kitahara had always rationalized Agnes Digital's feelings that way, never really finding them particularly strange.
But Nature…
To be honest, Kitahara couldn't figure out why Nature would actually fall for him.
Sure, he'd helped her out in small ways, but he'd also asked for compensation in return.
Whether using her as a test subject for all sorts of experiments, tormenting her repeatedly, or later receiving constant care and help from her—from every angle, it was Nature who'd done far more. So much more, in fact, that he even felt slightly guilty about it.
Until now, rather than worrying about her liking him, he'd even been concerned about whether she secretly resented him.
But now…
Looking at Nature, who, despite her extreme embarrassment, was determinedly lifting her head, staring straight into his eyes and waiting for an answer—
Kitahara remained silent for a moment, then spoke hesitantly.
"Um, Nature, did you maybe lose a game of truth-or-dare with the others...?"
"No."
Nature answered firmly, refusing to take the easy way out, not retreating even slightly.
"And even if I did, I'd still choose truth."
"...Then, could you repeat what you just said?"
"Kitahara Sota—I love you."
After saying it again, Nature leaned forward once more.
Their lips separated after a lingering moment. Her face was scorching hot now, and her voice trembled slightly with embarrassment as she spoke.
"Is this proof enough?"
That was certainly proof enough.
Kitahara quietly sighed inwardly, his expression growing helpless. So, this girl's completely normal behavior today was just a front—she'd been waiting to drop this bombshell on him...
Then, how should he reply?
Kitahara quickly considered his options.
Accepting was out of the question, of course.
Though he genuinely thought Nature would make an excellent wife someday, and her personality aligned closely with what he imagined for his future, the future was the future, and the present was the present. Whether it was timing or their current positions, he simply couldn't agree now.
But just as he began contemplating how best to gently reject her—or perhaps push the matter until after the three-year racing period—
Nature spoke up first, interrupting his thoughts.
"Anyway, you wouldn't agree now, would you?"
Kitahara froze for a moment, about to say something in reply.
Before he could explain, Nature gently reached out, pinched his cheek, effectively silencing him, then continued softly:
"My age, my status, you not having those sorts of feelings yet, wanting to wait until after my three-year racing career ends, maintaining a normal relationship until then… Anyway, you wouldn't accept now, right?"
Facing Nature's accurate assessment, Kitahara fell silent, then nodded slowly.
"…I knew it."
Nature sighed softly, the blush slowly fading from her face. She relaxed slightly, quietly resting her head against Kitahara's chest.
Seeing Nature nestled in his arms, Kitahara hesitated for a moment before slowly wrapping his arms around her, gently rubbing her hair with one hand, his voice soft and apologetic.
"Sorry, Nature."
Sorry, huh…
Hearing Kitahara's response, Nature tightened her hold on his arm slightly, but there wasn't much disappointment or sadness in her heart.
Because she'd already predicted this outcome before she'd even made the decision to confess.
But even then, that didn't mean she would simply retreat.
After a brief silence, just as Kitahara was contemplating how to comfort her, Nature suddenly raised her head again, gazing directly into his eyes.
"But even so—I won't give up."
"Nature…"
Looking at Nature, who was clearly at her limit of embarrassment but still bravely insisting on confessing again, Kitahara felt a stronger wave of helplessness.
"Then can you at least tell me exactly what you like about me?"
"So you can avoid or even fix those parts in the future?"
"...I'm just curious."
Staring directly into Kitahara's eyes, Nature hesitated for a moment before giving her answer.
"Everything."
"…Everything?"
"Yes. Everything," Nature repeated with a nod.
"Your appearance, your personality, your knowledge, your abilities as a trainer, how much you care for me, our compatibility in working together… I like all of it very much."
After hearing her answer, Kitahara remained silent for a long while, then sighed quietly.
Everything, huh…?
Truthfully, even after hearing her reply, Kitahara still didn't quite understand why Nature liked him so much.
It wasn't like he'd intentionally tried to increase her affection—he'd spent most of his time lazing around, being cared for by her, or even occasionally tormenting her through his 'special treatments'…
No matter how he thought about it, these weren't actions that should inspire affection.
As for his personal charm? That was even more impossible.
From childhood to adolescence, during his years wandering around, he'd interacted with and helped countless Uma Musume.
Though some younger girls had liked clinging to him, they were just children after all.
Forget romance—they probably didn't even know what liking someone truly meant.
They stuck to him mostly out of trust or pure curiosity about a playmate—at least, that's how he'd always seen it.
And while younger Uma Musume might enjoy clinging to him, he'd noticed as they grew older, though the younger girls still happily followed him around, those closer to his own age tended to become resistant after he'd helped them—similar to how Nature initially reacted, though usually less severely.
In some extreme cases, they'd even give him openly sour expressions, secretly sabotaging him, resisting or outright rejecting any further help.
This hadn't particularly surprised Kitahara, since solving some Uma Musume's problems inevitably meant asking them to do things they disliked:
Reducing training loads, eating disliked vegetables, participating in activities they hated—it was natural to become unpopular.
The only strange thing was—even though they hadn't reached their True Awakening, Uma Musume were usually far stronger physically than ordinary people. Yet whenever they resisted him, their strength oddly became weaker than a normal human girl their own age.
Also, because of their resistance, Kitahara often spent more time and effort helping them compared to more obedient girls.
But these were just minor details that didn't matter in the end.
After experiencing repeated rejections, Kitahara gradually realized something.
Although he'd always been popular with little kids, he probably wasn't the type older girls liked very much.
Thinking it over, it made sense.
Back then, he had no home, no car, drifted from place to place—frankly speaking, he was basically homeless.
Under those circumstances, he also had Eclipse, that troublesome burden, clinging to him.
And he had zero ambitions, not an ounce of motivation, spending every day just thinking about how to scrounge up enough food to eat, dressing carelessly to the point of sloppiness…
Even though his skills with Uma Musume were indeed exceptional, under the pile of those negative buffs, Kitahara genuinely believed that anyone falling for him would've been truly strange.
Right now, though he was no longer drifting after joining Tracen, nothing else had really improved much. At most, his trainer abilities had grown just a tiny bit stronger—
But he was always good at that anyway. Plus, because he consciously limited himself, he hardly used those abilities, making that slight improvement practically meaningless.
And yet, despite all that, Nature had confessed to him.
And unlike the others, it was very clear—due to their long familiarity and tacit understanding—that Kitahara fully understood the sincerity behind Nature's feelings.
This was a genuine affection without any possibility of misunderstanding.
Thinking up to this point, Kitahara's expression grew increasingly helpless, and he was just about to sigh.
But in the very next second, another thought crossed his mind. After a brief pause, he suddenly smiled.
Faced with Kitahara's sudden smile, even Nature—who usually understood him perfectly—was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp what exactly had amused him, confusion filling her eyes.
But before she could dwell on it for too long, Kitahara quickly opened his mouth and cleared up her confusion.
"Nature, you've really grown, haven't you?"
If it were the Nature from before, even if she had feelings, she probably wouldn't have had the courage to express them clearly.
Forget about one year—he doubted if even after three whole years that girl who'd gotten so used to placing third would've ever gathered the nerve to confess to someone she liked.
And yet now, here she was, directly and bravely responding to him despite repeated questions, forcing herself through embarrassment and nervousness to give a clear and resolute answer.
Maybe it was because she had finally won races, or maybe something else entirely.
Either way, this girl—who used to be almost as timid as Agnes Digital—had finally developed courage of her own with his help, daring to openly fight for something she wanted.
Although it would've been better if that something weren't him.
Not long after Kitahara spoke, Nature gradually grasped the meaning behind his words.
"I'm not a little kid anymore…" she softly protested.
"Yes, yes, our Miss Nature has grown into quite the lovely young lady now, certainly no longer a little kid."
Kitahara gently rubbed her head before continuing,
"So then, Nature, what do you plan to do from now on?"
From now on…
Nature remained silent for a moment before slowly replying.
"Anyway, I'm definitely not moving out of your dorm. And don't you dare stop letting me take care of you. Otherwise…otherwise I'll call Creek over…"
"I won't make you leave, even without Creek's help."
Kitahara gently pinched the base of her ear, then continued,
"But, Nature, I hope you understand clearly. This isn't something we can rush. So for now, I'd prefer you keep these feelings hidden, and let's just continue getting along normally…"
Normally...?
Thinking back on their recent interactions, Nature quietly muttered under her breath,
"In what way is that normal...? We look like a couple no matter how you slice it…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing at all."
Even though she'd openly confessed, Nature had only done so after carefully confirming through various means that confessing wouldn't negatively impact their current relationship dynamic.
But if Kitahara actually heard what she'd just muttered, she probably wouldn't be able to enjoy those little interactions anymore.
Quickly shifting topics to divert Kitahara's attention, Nature brought up another matter,
"Oh right, usually after winning a race, I should get two 'reward' opportunities, shouldn't I?"
"…What exactly are you planning?"
Kitahara instantly became wary upon hearing her words.
Seeing his immediate cautious reaction, Nature hesitated instead of acting, knitting her brows together slightly.
Strange—based on her understanding of this dense blockhead, even if she mentioned a 'reward' right now, he wouldn't normally jump straight to that kind of thought—at least not immediately.
But now…
A possibility soon flashed through Nature's mind, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Kitahara-san… Has someone else already asked you for something inappropriate after a race before?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
After a brief silence, Kitahara nodded slightly.
"…Who was it?"
After another pause, Nature quickly added,
"I know I'm not your girlfriend yet, but at least—I deserve to know who my competition is…"
Though Nature was well aware practically everyone on the team—and even some off it—were technically her rivals, she'd never imagined that someone might already have advanced so far.
Who could it be…?
She began seriously considering possibilities.
Chairwoman Akikawa and Komata-san were immediately eliminated—they didn't even race…
Tokai Teio? Impossible, that girl was totally out of it recently…
Agnes Tachyon? A decent possibility, given how strange the potions she brewed were…
Special Week, Grass Wonder, Sunday Silence…
Nature mentally cycled through nearly every teammate, suspecting each one by one. Even Tamamo Cross and Super Creek weren't spared suspicion.
After all, most of them had raced recently, and even those who hadn't clearly showed strong feelings for Kitahara—any one of them might've crossed a line after their races.
Yet despite suspecting nearly everyone, Nature still unconsciously overlooked one person.
Considering that pink-haired horse girl's usual antics, Nature simply couldn't bring herself to doubt her even slightly.
After all, why bother suspecting a known pervert?
In fact, compared to suspecting her interest in Kitahara, Nature was more inclined to believe that girl was interested in Eclipse instead.
Everyone knew Agnes Digital's obsession with Uma Musume was public knowledge. Though some teammates might've doubted her due to how closely she often stuck to Kitahara, nobody had found any evidence of anything suspicious between them at all.
Compared to Kitahara, Digital usually seemed far more interested in her teammates—often fainting happily at the sight of their casual interactions during practice.
Yet around Kitahara himself, these exaggerated reactions rarely occurred. This surely indicated something important.
"It was Agnes Digital," Kitahara finally answered.
"Oh, Agnes Digital, was it…?"
Nature nodded instinctively, then suddenly froze as realization hit.
"Wait, who did you just say…?"
"Agnes Digital."
Kitahara calmly repeated his answer, adding casually,
"Speaking of her, you two are actually somewhat alike. Digital's very unconfident too—arguably even more severe than you."
"If possible, as her senpai, I'd appreciate it if you could help guide her a bit, share your experience with her when you get the chance… Nature? What's wrong?"
"I…"
Nature opened her mouth slightly but failed to form a single coherent word.
Because she was utterly stunned.
Agnes Digital…? THAT Agnes Digital?
How's that even possible...?