While the shameless old geezers in the private room upstairs continued their chatter about Kitahara, the luncheon downstairs finally drew to a close.
Maybe it was because they'd turned down so many people, or perhaps their "chatting tactic" had proven effective—in any case, Kitahara's table was hardly bothered again until lunch ended.
Yet even though the luncheon was over, the troublesome part wasn't. If anything, it was just getting started.
Lunch had felt busy enough, but at least there'd been an anchor—everyone had fixed seats, making it difficult to roam around.
But after lunch, once everyone had rested briefly, the entire afternoon ahead was dedicated to mingling and socializing—exactly the segment everyone anticipated would be most exhausting.
And sure enough, once the break ended, the guests who'd previously only observed from a distance began to stir restlessly.
Just as Kitahara sighed internally, bracing himself for another round of trouble, an unexpected group of visitors beat everyone else to him.
"Afternoon, Trainer Kitahara. Never thought I'd run into you here…"
The guys and gals from the grab-your-bucket-and-run group chat approached, their Tantou smiling stiffly behind them, never letting their charges out of sight.
"I didn't expect to see you here either." Kitahara sighed and lowered his voice once they got closer. "So… your grab-your-bucket-and-run plan failed, huh?"
"No shit. If we'd succeeded, would we be here?" one Trainer grumbled, then shot Kitahara a strange look. "Wait—don't tell me you weren't dragged here too?"
"Of course not." Kitahara rolled his eyes helplessly. "What are you even thinking? I'm not like you guys. I just… had something I needed to deal with, so I came—if you don't believe me, look at who's around me. Do you see a single one from my team?"
"…Fine. If you say so."
The Trainer didn't argue further. He glanced back and, after confirming his own Tantou was a little distance away, lowered his already quiet voice even further.
"Emergency, so I'll keep it short. Our Tantou have been watching us nonstop—we haven't had any chance to reach out to anyone outside. Can you help us contact Tracen, see if they can get us out…?"
I knew it.
Kitahara wasn't surprised at all. He shook his head.
"Probably not."
"It's not that I don't want to help. It's just that at this hour, Hayakawa-san is probably out playing with the girls under my name, and as for the Chairwoman… she's probably still asleep."
He wasn't lying. After receiving last night's messages and realizing he probably wouldn't have time today to accompany the kids, he'd asked Hayakawa to take them out in his stead.
As for the Chairwoman—due to various circumstances—she hadn't gone home either. When she visited yesterday for the holiday, the kids had unintentionally made several remarks about her youthful looks.
To prove she was an adult, the Chairwoman got worked up, challenged Komata-san to a drinking contest, and then…
There was no "then."
In short, according to Hayakawa's judgment, the Chairwoman likely wouldn't sober up until evening.
And besides those two, everyone else at Tracen was on holiday—there was nobody left to rescue them.
However, Kitahara found it odd that, after explaining this, the Trainers' expressions became subtly strange.
Especially their eyes—like they were saying, Yeah, sounds about right coming from you.
…Am I imagining things?
Kitahara shook his head, brushed aside the weird feeling, and continued.
"So I really can't help. You'll have to find your own way out."
"Th-this…" The leading Trainer looked distressed. After a pause, his gaze flickered toward Rudolf nearby. "Wait, Trainer Kitahara—if the Chairwoman's out, could you at least talk to the Student Council President? We're not even asking for a rescue, just a few words from her…"
"That I can do."
Kitahara nodded. He pretended to chat normally with the Trainers a bit longer, then turned to Rudolf and relayed the situation.
But before Rudolf could respond, Sirius cut in first.
"If you ask me, they brought this entirely on themselves. Kitahara, there's no reason for you to get involved."
"I know they're usually blockheads, but it's the New Year—" Kitahara attempted to defend them out of professional courtesy, but Sirius cut him off again.
"I'm not talking about 'usually.'"
Sirius paused, then explained.
"You've only been working half a year, so you might not know. But this whole thing with kids grabbing their Trainers over the New Year? The Trainers themselves are largely to blame."
"In the beginning, the New Year atmosphere at the academy was normal. Trainers and Umamusume would talk things out properly and choose how to spend the holiday together in ways both could accept."
"But then, one year, a Trainer who had a terminal illness—because he didn't want to impact his Tantou's final racing year—invented an excuse to separate from her over the New Year."
"In his final days, he recorded a ton of videos and wrote countless letters, using them to pretend he was still alive and 'accompany' her throughout her last racing year."
"Sure, his intentions were good. When the truth came out, neither that Umamusume nor anyone else thought he was wrong."
"But after that, while the Umamusume were moved, they also started fearing their own Trainers might pull something similar."
"Especially later on—when a few Trainers in similar situations copied that senpai convincingly—a crisis of trust emerged. More and more Umamusume became unwilling to separate from their Trainers at the New Year."
"And in the same period, aside from the terminally ill, Trainers whose contracts were ending, who couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye, started getting 'inspired' and attempted similar stunts. This intensified the trust crisis further."
"At that point, there was still a way out. The Umamusume were only reluctant because they were worried."
"If the Trainers had been willing to clearly explain and negotiate acceptable plans, it wasn't impossible for the Umamusume to understand."
"But the problem was, instead of reflecting on how things got this way, the Trainers at Tracen just kept getting worse."
"Originally, only Trainers with legitimate reasons ran off during New Year. Now, even 'normal' Trainers started running away too."
"If they'd just communicated properly and honestly with their Tantou, it wouldn't have escalated to the point where their Tantou are on constant high alert. But now…" Sirius glanced at the Trainers waiting anxiously and clicked her tongue. "They've brought it entirely upon themselves."
After Sirius finished, Kitahara looked to Rudolf and saw her nod, confirming the story.
"It's exactly as Sirius described. Even as Student Council President, this isn't something I can interfere with."
Since Rudolf put it that way, Kitahara didn't press further. He quickly returned and passed on Rudolf's response.
The moment the Trainers heard Rudolf's answer, they let out a chorus of hopeless groans.
Just as they gave up and started walking away, Kitahara suddenly called out to them.
"I just heard from the President about running off. Her explanation was that because the trust crisis worsened, some reckless Trainers began running blindly—but I have a slightly different theory."
He looked straight at the Trainers who'd failed to escape, voice calm.
"I don't think Trainers capable of entering Tracen—especially Tracen's main campus—wouldn't see this situation clearly."
"So, another possibility came to mind: maybe there's another reason behind it."
"For example, if only Trainers who 'had something going on' ran off, then even success would amount to a death sentence for those smart kids."
"But if everyone runs off, then even if someone loses contact, without definite news, at least a thread of hope remains."
"If you fail, worst-case scenario, you're caught. It's your own Tantou—they're not going to cause a serious incident."
"But if you succeed, then among those who manage it… maybe some really won't be returning. This way, there's at least a sliver of something to hold onto."
"So—what do you think, failed runners?"
A long silence stretched out, finally broken by a sigh.
"Or maybe we just wanted to run, and you're overthinking it? Tracen produces blockheads by the truckload. Running at the first sign of trouble is normal, right?"
"Then let's say I overthought it."
To the Trainers' surprise, Kitahara didn't push the issue at all. He smoothly let the subject drop.
"Anyway, even if the Chairwoman and the President can't save you—and even if they think you brought it on yourselves—personally, as fellow Trainers at Tracen, I believe we should help each other out."
Hearing this, several Trainers seemed to grasp what he meant. Their eyes lit up.
"Trainer Kitahara… you're saying…?"
"I can't provide direct rescue," Kitahara replied with a smile, blinking calmly, "but I can at least help ease your burden a little."
"Coincidentally, we're about to face some trouble of our own. If some of you could lend a hand, that'd be perfect."
"So—what do you say?"
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