Kaito glanced at Tokai Teio, her cheeks puffed out in mock irritation.
"You lazy Trainer, sleeping through the day again…" she said, but within seconds, she couldn't hold it in and snickered. "I just can't resist teasing you when I see you asleep. Did you stay up late rewriting training plans again last night?"
Kaito's mind spun. He thought of the manual on the desk—the first page labeled [Tokai Teio Race Schedule]. At first, he assumed someone had arranged Teio's races for her. Now, seeing her alive and vibrant, he wondered if his crossing over into this world was tied to that manual somehow.
According to the debut race training section, the start date was today. There was also an end date. Could it be… that his stay here was only temporary? Would he return eventually?
Was this really reality?
A shiver ran down Kaito's spine. He felt as if he were living in a half-real, half-fake world—a seemingly normal reality secretly controlled by a complex system. From a gaming perspective, he was stuck inside a cutscene. He was still a "player," no matter how real everything felt.
"Teio!"
"Yes!"
"Take your clothes off."
Tokai Teio blinked. "Huh?"
"Quick—take them off. I want to see."
"W-wait… Trainer! Suddenly asking me to undress is… too weird! What do you intend to do?"
"I just want to see."
"Eh??" Her wide, sky-blue eyes stared at him in disbelief.
In truth, before falling asleep on Teio's thighs the previous night, Kaito had done a little… preparation. He had marked a few strawberries on her chest, positioned just so. If this were a cutscene, the marks would still be there.
Seeing the determination on Kaito's face, Teio hesitated, conflicted. Then, biting her lip, she slowly began to remove her clothes.
Her breathing grew heavier, and soon she stood clad only in a pristine white bra. Her soft, dewy skin glowed against it, the faint natural scent of a young girl lingering in the air—she looked like a perfectly presented dessert waiting to be savored. She clutched her chest tightly, her cheeks dusted with a soft pink blush.
"Why in the office, though? Couldn't we go to the Trainer's room…? What if someone sees…" she muttered, but despite her complaints, she obeyed Kaito.
After a brief, almost reverent inspection of her delicate form, Kaito moved on to business. He noticed faint reddish marks on her shoulders and the curve of her chest.
"Teio… how did this happen?"
Looking down at the strange pink spots, Teio frowned in puzzlement. After a moment of thought, she shrugged. "I don't know… maybe it's from sleeping?"
Sleeping… on her chest?
Were you lying face-down? Did you develop a habit of sleeping like that? Kaito didn't quite believe it.
"How long are you going to look?" Teio's embarrassment was reaching its limit. Kaito seemed captivated, staring at her chest without doing anything else, and it was driving her slightly insane.
"Either let me put my clothes back on, or… do something! But just staring like this? Are you enjoying seeing me embarrassed?!"
Her thoughts suddenly teetered toward… taking matters into her own hands. There was no reason—she just felt that the Trainer belonged to her, entirely and only to her. From the moment of their contract, he was hers to do with as she pleased.
"The debut race… how long until then?" she asked.
"One month," Kaito replied, rifling through the desk to find the training plan he had drafted out of boredom.
Seeing Teio in vivid, living form made him decide to immerse himself, if only briefly, in this half-real, half-fake world. Even if he didn't understand what was happening, he wanted to feel normal life for once. He had grown tired of the aimless game world.
"Today, we'll train according to this plan."
"Okay…" Teio looked at him, her expression tinged with disappointment. She tugged on his hand. "Trainer, come with me to buy horseshoes. The ones for the debut race."
Kaito noticed her tone—she sensed something was off with his expression.
"Horseshoes… huh!? We can go outside?"
"Of course. Why not?"
Outside… he could actually leave?
Kaito's heart pounded. In the game world, he'd been confined to Tracen Academy, unable to step even a millimeter beyond the walls. Now, he would finally see the world beyond the academy.
"Elbow!"
After over a hundred days trapped in Tracen, he was finally stepping out of the school gates. His long-suppressed excitement surged back to life.
He put on his coat and walked down the hall, greeting the passing students by habit. "Good morning, little Uma Musume."
Their faces flushed pink at his greeting. They lowered their heads and whispered, "Good morning, Trainer…" before scurrying off shyly.
Oh? Interesting.
Before, their responses had been purely mechanical. Now, they displayed emotion, subtle gestures—had the AI evolved?
Kaito greeted everyone he passed, savoring the novelty. Soon, he encountered a rare favorite: Seiun Sky, a girl known as both the "Curling King" and "Awakening Queen."
Her short, green hair fluttered like fresh leaves, her sky-blue eyes soft and warm. Her delicate features naturally invited a gentle squeeze.
"Yaho~ Kaito Trainer, good morning!" she called, approaching cheerfully.
"Good morning, Green Big Cat," Kaito replied.
Even in the game world, her greeting style had personality—she stood out from the others. In a visual novel, she would definitely be a routeable character.
Beyond her unique greetings, Seiun Sky had other quirks. Sometimes, Kaito would spot her napping in the grass, like unlocking a hidden CG scene in the wild—a rare pleasure in his otherwise monotonous life at Tracen. Seeking her out and discovering new "poses" became one of his few joys.
Among the characters whose affection he'd built, Seiun Sky had the highest, nearing ninety points.
"Trainer, are you heading out? If you come back, do you want to nap with Seiun?"
"Sure… if you want to sleep…"
"Trainer, you have to come with me now—no time to laze around," Tokai Teio suddenly interrupted, pulling Kaito along toward the exit.