Just when Kaito felt he was about to be executed by the slow cutting edge of four gazes, the door to the room opened with a soft "creak"
The small figure of President Yayoi Akikawa was the first to enter.
Behind her were several high-ranking figures with powerful auras, clearly the top brass of the Academy.
When they saw the crowded scene inside the ward, even the Academy executives, who were accustomed to major events, froze collectively.
Four Umas, famous throughout Tracen Academy, each with a different personality, surrounded a common-looking male masseur in the center, holding him tightly in an extremely strange posture.
In front of them were four paintings, very different in style, but all overflowing with intense emotion.
The scene looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
However, something even stranger occurred.
The moment the Director and her entourage entered, the four female protagonists, who had been hostile just a second ago as if ready to fight to the death, uniformly switched modes in a single second.
Gold City retracted her murderous expression, returning to that of a cool and slightly tsundere tomboy.
The fake smile on TM Opera O's face instantly became sincere and magnificent, as if she were truly visiting a classmate.
Agnes Tachyon quickly put away the painting, took up her data tablet again, and adopted a professional expression that suggested: "I am only here to collect data"
Manhattan Cafe silently released Kaito's sleeve and retreated to the quiet corner, except her eyes were no longer as empty as before.
Kaito was completely shocked by the speed of this transformation.
"Oh, everyone is here"
President Yayoi Akikawa acted as if she hadn't seen the strange scene that had just occurred, walking around the room with small steps and her hands clasped behind her back like a veteran inspecting officer.
Her gaze swept over Gold City, TM Opera O, and Agnes Tachyon, finally stopping on Manhattan Cafe in the quiet corner; she was still silent, but there was now a spark of light in her eyes.
A flash of poorly disguised surprise and relief appeared in her eyes.
She did not press them on what had just happened, but instead turned her gaze directly to Kaito and announced in a tone of public praise:
"Kaito-kun, it seems your work has been remarkably effective!"
She pointed to the rejuvenated Gold City and TM Opera O, then pointed to Agnes Tachyon, whose eyes were again lit by a thirst for knowledge (though the direction was slightly strange), and finally pointed toward Manhattan Cafe
"Not only have you helped several champions who were in a slump to regain their form, but you have also... created a miracle, allowing our classmate Manhattan Cafe to voluntarily step out of her closed world"
She turned around and addressed the still-stunned Academy executives behind her in a tone that suggested "Everything is under control":
"This proves we were entirely correct in resisting pressure, overcoming objections, and especially in establishing the 'Fierce Umas Division', and furthermore, in bravely adopting this new and special treatment plan that deeply integrates personalized 'psychological counseling' with 'physical rehabilitation'"
Kaito was completely dumbfounded as he listened.
What "individual attention"? What "psychological counseling"?
With just a few discreet phrases, the Director had skillfully and perfectly "officially defined" his chaotic daily life (which had involved both battlefields and bases) and had completely legitimized and rationalized it.
"Great! Truly great! (╥﹏╥)"
"Therefore!"
The Director raised her voice and publicly announced her decision.
"To congratulate Kaito-kun on his outstanding contribution to his position and to ensure that more students in need receive effective treatment, the Academy's Board of Directors has unanimously decided..."
"First, the Fierce Umas Division will undergo comprehensive expansion and upgrades!"
"Secondly, Kaito-kun has been officially appointed Chief Rehabilitation Therapist of the Fierce Umas Division, and will be fully responsible for the formulation and execution of treatment plans for all special cases"
Kaito had been promoted.
This appointment was not a simple promotion and pay raise.
This meant that, at the highest level of the Academy, his "special treatment relationship" with these top-tier Umas was tacitly approved, granting him greater authority and more freedom to operate.
After resolving official matters, President Yayoi Akikawa showed a mischievous and cunning smile.
She looked at the four Umas in front of her, who had practically formed a mahjong table, and said with a laugh:
"Now then, since all of your conditions have returned to—or even exceeded—their peak, isn't it time to consider returning to the track and reclaiming the glory that belongs to you?"
"I look forward to your 'splendid performances' on the track during the upcoming G1 series"
This phrase, like a key, instantly opened Pandora's box.
It was equivalent to issuing a new "declaration of war" to these four fierce Umas, who had just been bickering over "harem status"; they were going to start a real war on the track to determine who was the strongest.
And that night.
When Kaito returned exhausted to his small dormitory, which had already endured several "wars"
He found a quiet and beautiful figure, like a night elf, lying on her side in his bed.
His dormitory had welcomed its fourth uninvited "guest"
...
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