The training office of Kiryuin Aoi.
This place was practically a temple dedicated to "Science" and "Rigor".
The walls were covered with precise anatomical diagrams of human muscles, aerodynamic resistance analysis for different track curves, and dense molecular structures from nutritional science.
An enormous whiteboard was packed with complex functional equations regarding stride frequency and heart rate, enough to make an average person dizzy just by looking at them.
The desk was overflowing with training data reports, as thick as bricks.
The air in the entire room felt as if it were composed of binary code, charged with a sense of rational, cold, and totally impersonal pressure.
Kiryuin Aoi, an intellectual beauty wearing rimless glasses and an elegant professional suit, sat with her arms crossed behind her impeccable desk.
She observed the man who had just entered her "temple," Kaito, with a look that mixed scrutiny, curiosity, and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of contempt.
This was the setting for an academic defense.
And Kaito was the presenter of the heretical theory, which was about to be judged.
"Mr. Kaito, I have heard of your reputation for some time now"
Kiryuin did not stand up; she simply gestured with her eyes for Kaito to sit in the chair across from her.
Her assistant served Kaito a glass of water, but in front of Kiryuin, there was only an open data book full of notes.
Her voice was polite and courteous, but the sense of distance, of pushing others thousands of miles away, was colder than the office air conditioning.
"I have heard that lately you have used certain special methods to solve many thorny problems that even we, the front-line trainers, found complicated; the Director, in particular, speaks very highly of you"
Although she used the word "highly," the phrase "special methods" was loaded with overt disdain.
The subtext, translated, was:
"I have heard that lately you have been resorting to fraudulent and unorthodox tricks to deceive many girls"
She did not give Kaito much chance to speak and immediately pushed a stack of data reports, thick enough to kill someone, with a loud thud across the desk toward him.
"These are all the training data, absolutely everything, of Narita Taishin during the last three months"
"Including, but not limited to, her instantaneous heart rate, maximum oxygen consumption, stride frequency fluctuation curve, post-race lactate threshold, and stress response reports for each key muscle..."
She adjusted her glasses and spoke with the calm and authoritative tone of an AI:
"All the data clearly indicate that her physical condition is extremely healthy, and she is even improving steadily following a very positive curve"
"However, her performance has stagnated and even... shows a subtle downward trend"
She raised her head, her piercing eyes hidden behind the lenses, staring intently at Kaito.
"Do you know what this means, Mr. Kaito?"
"It means: 'The limit of talent'"
"This is something clearly and unequivocally written in her genetic sequence; it is an irrefutable scientific fact that cannot be altered by any type of treatment, whether physical therapy or even so-called psychological comfort"
She was trying to use her most precious and powerful weapon—scientific data—to build an insurmountable and unbreakable wall of logic.
Her intention was to use "science" to force this man, who had achieved fame through "mysticism," to retreat in the face of difficulties.
However, contrary to all of Kiryuin Aoi's expectations...
Kaito did not even glance at the stack of valuable data reports she had been collecting over countless nights.
He simply leaned back lazily in his chair and then gently shook his head.
"Miss Kiryuin, you are wrong"
His voice was soft and thin, but so clear that it sounded like thunder exploding next to Kiryuin's ear.
"What you see is simply the data recorded by cold machines, belonging to a system called 'Narita Taishin'..."
Kiryuin's eyebrows instantly furrowed tightly.
The expression on her face—"How dare an amateur question my expertise?"—was completely evident.
Kaito's gaze intensified, seemingly penetrating the dense data reports, seeing through the walls, and reaching the soul running alone on the racetrack.
"Have you ever considered...?"
"That Taishin's problem does not lie in 'can she do it?', but in 'does she dare?'"
"She has not yet reached the so-called limit of talent; instead, she is afraid of reaching her own limits"
"Because, in the depths of her heart, there is a nightmare voice whispering to her day and night..."
"Even if I give it my all, even if I burn everything I have, I will not become the strongest; this deep despair regarding the very concept of 'talent'... that is the invisible bond that truly holds her back"
This statement did not cite data or use scientific terminology.
However, it was like a unique key, forged by the most precise craftsman.
With a "click," it fit perfectly into the mental block that Kiryuin had not been able to solve or demonstrate with data for months!
She was completely stunned.
After a brief moment of shock, Kiryuin regained control thanks to her powerful and rational mind.
"No! This is impossible! It must be a coincidence! It is the kind of vague psychological trick that charlatans usually use!"
Her inner pride and her almost religious defense of "Science" led her to feel an unprecedented anger at being offended and humiliated by a stranger.
She stood up abruptly, slamming the table with both hands with a "snap," leaning forward and staring intently at Kaito with an extremely intimidating posture.
"That... sounds very good, Mr. Kaito"
She said almost through gritted teeth.
"It seems you understand my teammate better than I do, her personal trainer who spends every day with her"
She let out a cold laugh, with a smile loaded with icy fury.
"Since you are so sure of yourself, do you dare to bet with me?"
"I'll give you one week!"
"If you can use your pretentious 'mysticism' to achieve even a 0.1-second breakthrough in Taishin's performance during the next internal simulation race!"
"I admit your 'theory' has merit! And I will cooperate unconditionally with all your subsequent 'treatment' plans! I might even accept that inexplicable 'Special Cooperation Plan' that the Director keeps pushing!"
"But"
Her gaze became incredibly piercing, like two surgical scalpels about to be unsheathed.
"If you fail!"
"I demand that, from today on, you never again interfere in the internal affairs of any first-rate trainer!"
"Take your massage oils and your parlor mystic tricks and go back to your little physical therapy room!"
Faced with this ultimatum from Kiryuin, which amounted to a "career-defining bet".
Kaito calmly picked up the glass of water on the desk and took a slow sip.
Then, smiling, he stood up slowly and extended his hand toward Kiryuin.
"It's a deal, however..."
He said, looking into Kiryuin's eyes, which seemed brighter due to her anger, and speaking with a low but extremely confident tone.
"I don't need a week; three days will be enough"
That arrogant confidence made Kiryuin pause again, and a flash of doubt, which she could not suppress, arose in her heart.
"Is this man... a lunatic, or... does he really possess such skill?"
But the bet was already made, and there was no possibility of backing out.
She also reached out, shaking Kaito's hand with a cold handshake.
"I'll be waiting"
Just as the two shook hands and the "bet" was formally established.
The office door opened gently.
Narita Taishin entered carrying a stack of training reports.
She had long bangs that almost covered half of her face, her expression was somber, and her attitude was solitary, like that of a lonely and cautious wolf who always stays away from the pack.
When she saw Kaito, especially when she saw him shaking hands with her trainer, Kiryuin, she simply looked at him with indifference, devoid of any emotion.
Then, she immediately looked away, as if Kaito were nothing more than an insignificant cloud of air.
She placed the documents on the desk and told Kiryuin in an almost completely expressionless voice.
"Miss Kiryuin, these are today's reports"
Immediately afterward, she prepared to turn around and leave the place that made her uncomfortable.
From beginning to end, she did not look at Kaito again.
"Narita Taishin"
Just as she was about to leave, Kaito suddenly spoke, calling her.
Taishin stopped, but did not turn around.
Kaito observed her solitary silhouette, which seemed to reject the entire world, and smiled while uttering a phrase that confused both Kiryuin and Narita Taishin herself.
"Your shackles are very beautiful"
"But"
"Wearing them for too long will tire you out"
Narita Taishin's slender body trembled violently, almost imperceptibly.
She said nothing in response; she simply quickened her pace and ran out of the office.
Meanwhile, Kiryuin wore an expression of confusion that screamed, "What the hell are you talking about?", while looking at the man smiling like a charlatan in front of her.
But Kaito knew.
His "treatment"... had already begun.