Slacking Professionally at Tracen [31]

Even after leaving the clothing store, Kitahara Sota still couldn’t figure out what the elderly Uma Musume had meant with her cryptic remark.

Well, if I can’t understand it, I’ll just stop thinking about it.

Kitahara’s mindset had always been relaxed. It probably wasn’t anything important anyway, so if he couldn’t grasp it, then so be it.

But apart from that puzzling statement, something else strange had occurred in the shop that left him thoroughly confused.

For some inexplicable reason, Agnes Tachyon had insisted he help pick out her clothes.

Not only regular clothing, but even intimate items like stockings—making him wonder briefly if she had some unusual fetish.

Thankfully, the elderly shopkeeper finally took pity and explained, dispelling his bizarre suspicions.

Agnes Tachyon herself had initially been confident, believing this task was nothing compared to her usual experiments, and that she could treat it as just another scientific observation.

But once the process began, she quickly realized she’d severely overestimated her endurance.

Although infamous at school, regularly concocting absurd potions, and seemingly unfazed by anything, she had practically zero interaction with males since entering Tracen Academy.

Tracen was essentially a girls-only academy, with male trainers making up an extremely small percentage, and they were strictly off-limits due to the universally acknowledged “Monopolization” of Uma Musume.

Besides, Agnes Tachyon spent most of her days holed up in her lab, rarely chatting even online, much less stepping outside. Naturally, close interactions with men were nonexistent.

She had been like an onlooker, watching all sorts of outrageous events at Tracen, gradually assuming herself an experienced expert, believing handling Kitahara would be trivial.

But when her turn actually came, she discovered things weren’t nearly that simple.

Though she appeared calm on the surface—even managing some playful teasing—her tail had betrayed her true feelings, trembling anxiously from the moment the selection began.

By the time they’d finished, her tail hairs felt nearly frazzled, and her gaze had become noticeably unfocused.

Fortunately, since she always faced Kitahara directly, maintaining a composed exterior—even avoiding a blush—he remained unaware of her hidden distress.

However, in hindsight, everything she’d endured was undeniably worth it.

Agnes Tachyon had no idea how Kitahara had done it. Despite meeting only a few times and having none of her body measurements, he’d managed to pick out clothes that fit astonishingly well—far better than what she had chosen herself.

Beyond just fitting, once she put on the set Kitahara had selected, her body felt more relaxed than ever before.

The fatigue accumulated from continuous experimentation vanished rapidly. Her footsteps felt lighter, and even her thoughts became clearer.

Admittedly, the unique clothing played a role, but Kitahara’s selection undoubtedly contributed significantly.

In comparison, her own choices—though nice enough—felt mediocre at best. They couldn’t hold a candle to what Kitahara had picked.

Maybe I should keep him around as a personal shopper?

As she seriously pondered this, her tail behind her gently swayed again, seemingly on its own accord.

As for Eclipse, although Kitahara had helped her choose even intimate clothing, given their relationship, there wasn’t any embarrassment.

Ironically, it was Kitahara himself who had protested, saying she was grown-up now and deserved some privacy.

Of course, that was merely an excuse.

He wasn’t embarrassed at all; rather, he was terrified that the moment he began picking out her undergarments, Eclipse might lose control—thanks to that mysterious green potion—and pin him down right then and there.

Luckily, Eclipse had behaved herself throughout, leaving Kitahara’s fears mercifully unrealized.

In any case, after a noisy round of shopping, the trio bid farewell to the elderly shopkeeper and began heading back.

The journey home went surprisingly smoothly—no mysterious black sedans appeared, no strange Uma Musume ambushed them—and soon enough, they safely returned to Tracen Academy.

Upon entering campus, Agnes Tachyon was first to depart, eager to return to her lab to handle her suspiciously heavy purchases.

Eclipse, after escorting Kitahara safely back to his dorm, also left to settle her own belongings.

Now finally alone, Kitahara tossed his newly bought clothes into the washing machine, tidied up briefly, then flopped onto a chair. Popping open an ice-cold soda, he took a satisfying gulp, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

Ah, finally finished. No more weird Uma Musume coming to bother me. I can relax at last.

Then, his phone vibrated.

Checking the message, his smile immediately froze:

[Eclipse]: I forgot to send you today’s training goals. Here you go.
[Eclipse]: Don’t even think about slacking, or else—
[Eclipse]: GreenPotion.jpg

Kitahara: “…”

Crap!

…

Shopping, exercising, writing training plans…

By the time Kitahara finished everything, night had already fallen.

Tonight, the trainer group chat was unusually active.

Perhaps because it was the first Saturday of the new academic year, or perhaps because they’d spent nearly the entire previous week together, the Uma Musume had mercifully released their trainers tonight, choosing instead to catch up with friends.

Meanwhile, after an exhausting day of overtime, the freed trainers relaxed, launching into enthusiastic conversations in the group chat.

Topics ranged wildly—from games and anime to astronomy and geography. These guys spoke expertly on every subject, causing topics to shift rapidly.
Kitahara stared for a long while, unable to grasp exactly what they were even discussing.

But soon after, several images were posted, instantly silencing the entire chat, shifting everyone’s attention to a single, unified topic:

[Little Yuuichi]: @Kitahara Sota, still alive, buddy?

[Mio Taishi]: @Kitahara Sota, please tell me that’s photoshopped.

[Nishiguchi Ei]: @Kitahara Sota, why are you with her? Don’t lose hope yet!

The attached pictures clearly showed Kitahara, Eclipse, and Agnes Tachyon walking together on campus. The images were crystal-clear, lacking anything misleading, simply depicting three seemingly good friends enjoying a stroll.

But there was a problem—one of them was Agnes Tachyon.

Thus, the images instantly took on a sinister undertone.

[Kitahara Sota]: Thanks for your concern. Currently still alive.

[Mio Taishi]: @Kitahara Sota, seriously, how did you get involved with her?

[Kitahara Sota]: Trust me, I didn’t want to. But this morning she blocked my dorm door, demanding that I become her trainer.

[Little Yuuichi]: …

[Nishiguchi Ei]: You didn’t accept, did you?

[Kitahara Sota]: Refused. Failed.

[Little Yuuichi]: You poor soul…

[Nishiguchi Ei]: Kitahara-san, I know a great funeral service. Need recommendations?

[Mio Taishi]: Rest in peace, Kitahara. I’ll burn incense for you.

[Kitahara Sota]: By the way, where’d you guys even get these photos?

He wasn’t surprised that photos existed—after all, Tachyon was notoriously infamous. Many students recognized her instantly and snapped photos openly as they’d walked.

However, these particular images were different—extremely clear, obviously captured by professional equipment, and taken intermittently throughout their trip, strongly suggesting they’d been followed for some time.

Yet, Kitahara hadn’t noticed the stalker at all, clearly highlighting the stalker’s skill.

More importantly, he couldn’t figure out why anyone would track them or take such high-quality shots. Only the Black Forest group would have any real motive to stir up trouble.

Are they targeting me again? Kitahara immediately suspected.

However, the trainers’ subsequent replies quickly dispelled that suspicion:

[Nishiguchi Ei]: They’re circulating through a certain Uma Musume fan group. The original uploader goes by “Digital-tan,” who seems to be the group’s admin.

[Kitahara Sota]: …

[Kitahara Sota]: Got it. I know exactly who it is.

—

This is a fan translation of 人在特雷森，专职摆烂 by 多功能复读机 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!