Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally

Chapter 267 267: Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally [267]

An information cocoon refers to the phenomenon where the information people pay attention to is habitually shaped by their own interests, gradually confining their lives inside a "cocoon" like a silkworm's.

Take Tracen, for example. Because it was an academy exclusively for racing Umamusume, and because of the guidance of certain hidden forces, everyone's attention was usually focused on fields related to Umamusume, or else on matters within the academy.

While that arrangement ensured a good environment inside Tracen Academy, allowing Umamusume in their "unstable period" to stay in a benevolent environment as much as possible, it also limited their understanding of the outside world.

For example, the matter of Kitahara being smeared online. Although it had already caused a storm in the outside world, not many people inside Tracen knew about it. Forget the student Umamusume—even among the Trainers, only a few were aware.

As for the Umamusume under Kitahara's name, that was partly because of the academy's situation, and partly because Kitahara did not want them to worry.

So aside from those like Agnes Digital and Grass Wonder, who had forces under them and were well-informed, the others knew absolutely nothing about Kitahara's situation outside. That was also the main reason Tokai Teio had mistakenly thought those Umamusume wanted to join their team, and had given those answers.

What she did not know was that, not long after she answered, her words spread through the mouths of the Umamusume who had questioned her, and gradually began to ferment.

It was worth mentioning, however, that although those Umamusume had asked Tokai Teio questions, and did spread her words afterward—

They did not embellish the facts. They simply repeated Tokai Teio's answers, without any malicious intent. Some of them even sighed in admiration, thinking that sure enough, there was a reason she could win. She had put in enough effort, and they had lost fair and square.

The problem was that even if they had no ill intentions, the people listening might not be the same.

Moreover, taking a step back, even setting aside those who were secretly fanning the flames, because the attacks against him had previously been allowed to continue unchecked, Kitahara's image in the outside world was already poor.

Even people who could not be called bad, after hearing enough rumors about him, would inevitably feel that he was not exactly a good person.

And now, hearing that he had set an enormous training volume for the Umamusume under his name—and hearing it as ironclad proof from someone on his own team—then combining it with the stories they had seen before about unscrupulous Trainers, even the kindest people would inevitably develop some resentment toward him.

Of course, there were also people who spoke up for Kitahara.

It was just that compared to the words smearing him, the voices defending him were far too weak, and their arguments were difficult to believe.

You said he treated the Umamusume well? Then why would he give them such a heavy training load?

You said he had methods to let Umamusume increase their training volume without harming them?

What a joke. Racing Umamusume competitions had been developing for how many years now? Everyone paid attention to them, and everyone more or less knew a bit about the inner workings.

If you said he increased their training volume by twenty or thirty percent, but used some special methods to help them recover, they might still believe it. But two or three times...?

One had to know that even a certain unscrupulous Trainer from before, whose influence had been particularly vile and who truly stopped at nothing for victory, had made his Umamusume drink aojiru every day—a special recovery drink for Umamusume—and even then, the training volume had not reached twice that of others.

And even though it had not reached double, while that unscrupulous Trainer's Umamusume did achieve decent results, she ultimately suffered psychological trauma. All the more so for Kitahara, whose team's average training volume was supposedly two to three times the norm.

Hm? You're asking what happened to that unscrupulous Trainer in the end?

Although in the public's eyes, what he had done was indeed excessive, it had not reached the point of breaking the law. So he did not receive any substantial punishment. After his term ended, he simply left Tracen and disappeared.

According to some rumors, however, after he resigned, someone witnessed that Trainer and his Tantou—his assigned Umamusume—appearing at Mejiro Castle.

The former had a pale face and unsteady steps, while the latter wore a smile, holding an entire crate of mare-jumping enhancement potions in her arms...

In short, because of all sorts of factors, after Tokai Teio's words spread, Kitahara's already poor image in the outside world rapidly worsened.

Even more seriously, after the matter spread, some people, acting on the principle that hearsay was unreliable, specially came to Tracen to ask around. In the end, they received affirmative answers, and even obtained more information.

Excessive training, strange drinks, a poor background with little money, frequently leaving the Umamusume to move about on their own while he ran around outside by himself doing who knew what, completely disregarding his identity as a Trainer...

None of these were rumors. They were things Kitahara was truly doing.

It was just that most people inside Tracen Main Campus knew exactly what he was busy with, and also knew that he had the ability to do those things.

But to outsiders who did not know the circumstances, he was a thoroughly unscrupulous and derelict Trainer—even more vile and irresponsible than the previous unscrupulous Trainer by several times over.

And so, as those words fermented, Kitahara's image fell again and again. The people who had already been attacking and smearing him naturally did not let this opportunity pass.

On top of those extreme remarks, they fabricated and listed even more crimes against him, trying to portray him as an unforgivable sinner who would stop at nothing for victory, exploiting Umamusume in order to seize it.

Fanning the wind, lighting the fire.

Pushing the waves, fueling the tide.

Tokai Teio's words were like a fuse, igniting the gunpowder that had accumulated bit by bit over the previous months. In an extremely short time, they sparked a massive wave of discussion, even charging onto the outside internet's trending searches and rapidly taking the top spot.

Suspicion, contempt, even abuse...

For a time, the denunciation of Kitahara reached its peak. Some people even began trying to unite others, signing petitions together to ask Tracen to dismiss him, and even to have the URA ban his race eligibility.

Under this surging tide of public opinion, not only Tracen Main Campus, but even the Umamusume families that had once had contact with him cast astonished gazes in Tracen's direction.

Some had even begun planning how, if he really could not withstand the pressure, they might snatch him over before the other families made their move.

So, while public opinion was fermenting wildly, what was Kitahara doing?

The answer was that he was being squeezed dry.

In the physical sense.

The origin of the matter was that, a few days after Tokai Teio's race ended, Kitahara was once again dragged to Agnes Tachyon's lab to undergo a "physical examination."

Although he had already had some in-depth exchanges with Rudolf before this, due to various reasons, Rudolf had not yet explained the matter to anyone else, nor had she joined the ranks of the "physical examinations."

She would only occasionally call Kitahara to the Student Council in private, avoid Air Groove and Narita Brian's eyes under the pretext of private work, and then...

Mm. Carry out some rather private work.

And the problem lay precisely in these two points.

The first problem arose with the "physical examinations." During another examination in Agnes Tachyon's lab, a certain ghost, accustomed to using her special traits to drift through places without knocking, happened to stumble right into the "physical examination" taking place inside the lab.

Then, just as Kitahara realized what had happened and was about to remind the others while also explaining the situation to Sunday Silence—

Before he could speak, Sunday Silence suddenly stripped off her own clothes and charged toward him like a wild wolf that had spotted a lamb.

"Let me join too!"

And then...

There was no then.

Although Sunday Silence had come in with overwhelming momentum, a few minutes later, all that had been added was another small fry twitching on the floor whom ordinary people could not see.

If it had only been Sunday Silence, Kitahara would not have found it that much of a headache.

The problem was that, unlike Rudolf, after Sunday Silence had enjoyed herself, she did not forget to look after her own little one. After going back, she shared the matter with Manhattan Cafe, then brought Manhattan Cafe to find Kitahara and declared that after those girls finished their "examinations" with him next time, Cafe had to be included too.

Faced with Sunday Silence's outrageous statement, and looking at the shy Manhattan Cafe in front of him, Kitahara's eye twitched, and he immediately refused. But...

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. After those girls finish their 'examinations' with you, their abilities all improve. Forget everything else—just look at their training condition after each examination. They clearly have more stamina than usual..."

"The Satsuki Sho is coming up before long. Neicha and Agnes Tachyon will both be racing, and Cafe will have to compete on the same stage as them. If you don't include Cafe, then wouldn't you be giving them special treatment and extra lessons in private?"

Before this, the Umamusume on Kitahara's team had all been very fierce about dragging one another down. But after the Valentine's incident, they realized that compared with competing against one another and holding each other back, joining forces against the enemy seemed to be the better option...

Especially after actually attempting to "exchange" with Kitahara, they increasingly realized something. Even without mentioning whether they could ultimately achieve final victory if they stopped dragging one another down—

Even if they won, relying on only one of them, it would probably be very difficult to withstand Kitahara's "affection."

After all, even with such a large group now, and with Eclipse included, they still could not even make him catch his breath more than a couple extra times. In the end, he was usually the one left to handle the rest and clean up the battlefield. If it were only one of them alone, the result would probably not be as simple as collapsing in bed...

In short, after actually trying to exchange with Kitahara, the Umamusume who had originally still felt some misgivings about sharing Kitahara with others instantly changed their thinking. After repeated defeats, they had even once considered dragging more people in to share the pressure.

That said, while they no longer minded sharing Kitahara with others that much, that "not minding much" was still limited to those within their team.

After all, after spending so much time together, everyone had developed some degree of affection for one another. Especially after joining forces to deal with Kitahara last time, they even felt somewhat like comrades-in-arms, so naturally, their reservations diminished.

But if an outsider came in, then aside from someone like Agnes Digital, who felt the more people there were, the livelier it became, the others would probably instantly turn their weapons around and join forces against the enemy.

As for Sunday Silence, she had always been very open-minded in that area to begin with. Combined with the current situation, naturally, she brought Manhattan Cafe over.

Faced with Sunday Silence's argument, although Kitahara knew in his heart that she was twisting logic, when he looked at Manhattan Cafe in front of him, whose disappointment and sadness were practically spilling over after hearing his refusal—

After a period of silence, Kitahara ultimately failed to harden his heart. In the end, he still sighed and agreed.

"But Cafe, I hope you'll go back and think carefully about what this means. This matter isn't a game. It concerns your future. Don't make a decision you'll regret because of a momentary impulse..."

"Mm, I know."

Manhattan Cafe raised her head, her face bright red as she looked at Kitahara and spoke softly.

"But I won't regret it. Because I really, really like Trainer Kitahara..."

"...In any case, go back and think it over first. There are still several days before the next 'examination.'"

Just like that, after temporarily appeasing Manhattan Cafe, Kitahara received another message from Rudolf, inviting him to the Student Council to discuss some "private work."

Seeing that message, Kitahara had a headache. But since they had already done that sort of thing, he had no intention of running away. Not long after receiving the message, he went to the Student Council room.

And just as he had expected, Rudolf's invitation was indeed not about discussing anything proper. After casually finding an excuse to send Air Groove and Narita Brian away, she sat smiling in his lap and lightly hooked a finger under his chin.

"Trainer Kitahara, I told you. I won't lose to those little troublemakers..."

"...You're sure you want to do this in the Student Council room?"

The corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched.

"This is where you work..."

"The problem is, where else can we go? If the two of us enter some room alone and get seen, we'll probably make the front page of the Tracen forum the next day..."

As she spoke, Rudolf used her other hand to undo the buttons on Kitahara's clothes, then continued.

"Besides, I can guarantee that Air Groove and Brian won't be back before dinner. The door is locked too. We have plenty of time..."

Hearing that, Kitahara could not help commenting.

"You really think we need that long? Last time, you didn't even last three minutes. I think half an hour should be enough. If I hold back a little, you should be able to recover in about twenty minutes..."

Hearing Kitahara's words, Rudolf stiffened. Then a smile that was not quite a smile appeared on her face, and she turned around and pushed Kitahara down onto the sofa.

"Very well. You said that yourself. Don't regret it..."

That was what Rudolf said.

Then, a little over three minutes later, she once again lay limp on the sofa, eyes unfocused, chest rising and falling as she panted heavily.

Seeing her like that, Kitahara could not help sighing.

"I mean, Presi... Luna, why don't you go to the lab next time too? At least there are more people there..."

Faced with Kitahara's kind suggestion, Rudolf merely shot him a fierce glare, but did not say anything—mainly because she currently did not have the strength to say anything.

However, just as Kitahara was about to continue saying something, accompanied by the sound of something opening, a familiar female voice rang out.

"Tch, this place really isn't easy to climb through. I seriously don't know what Mr. C.B. is thinking, coming in through here every day like this... in?"

On a rare whim, Sirius had imitated Mr. C.B. and climbed into the Student Council room through the window. The moment she landed, her eyes met Kitahara's as he sat on the sofa with his clothes in disarray. At the same time, she also saw Rudolf, whose clothes were even more disheveled on the sofa, and whose condition looked very wrong no matter how one looked at it.

Dead silence.

Kitahara looked at Sirius Symboli in front of him. After a moment of silence, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Um, Sirius, listen to me. This isn't what you think..."

"Oh? Then what is it?"

After seeing the situation inside the room clearly, Sirius also wore that same smile that was not quite a smile. Then she strode forward, slowly walking up to Kitahara.

And just as Kitahara was racking his brain, trying to figure out how to explain, a familiar force came over him, and he was once again pushed down onto the sofa.

"...Sirius-san?"

Kitahara froze, not knowing what she intended to do.

As for Sirius, she did not answer Kitahara's question. Instead, she turned to look at Rudolf, who could not move beside them, and a provocative smile appeared on her face.

"Well, well. Look at our dear 'Emperor' now. What a state you're in..."

Rudolf did not answer. She only lay limp on the sofa and silently looked at her. There was not the slightest anger in her eyes after being provoked. If anything, there was a little more pity.

Seeing Rudolf give no response, Sirius clicked her tongue, then turned her gaze back to Kitahara, thinking that she refused to believe Rudolf could stay this calm if Sirius stole her man right in front of her...

Then, while thinking that, Sirius lowered her head, and...

There was no then.

A little over two minutes later, there was one more "corpse" on the sofa.

The Symboli duo, renowned far and wide, lay limp on the sofa like that, reflected in each other's eyes—one gloating, the other ashamed and furious.

Beside them, Kitahara looked at his clothes, which had been torn in quite a few places, and at certain obvious marks on his body. He could not help sighing.

"What even is all this..."