Slacking Professionally at Tracen [29]

After leaving the Chairwoman’s office, Kitahara Sota looked as though he had lost all hope in life.

Tokai Teio, Symboli Rudolf, Grass Wonder, Agnes Tachyon…

It hadn’t even been a full week since he joined Tracen, yet he’d somehow managed to get entangled with practically all of the academy’s most dangerous Uma Musume—and now three of them had even joined his team.

The only one he hadn’t encountered yet was Satono Diamond—but that was only because she was currently studying at the Satono family’s private academy and hadn’t transferred over yet. Even if he’d wanted to provoke her, he couldn’t.

But glancing at the current members of his team, Kitahara couldn’t shake the feeling that the moment Satono Diamond arrived, she’d somehow cross paths with him too, inevitably ending up in his team as well.

Am I some kind of matatabi? Kitahara wondered bitterly. But even matatabi wouldn’t exclusively attract the dangerous ones.

However, his despair didn’t last long.

After all, things had already reached this point. Complaining wouldn’t help, so he’d be better off calming down and planning carefully to increase his chances of surviving these next three years peacefully.

With that decided, Kitahara analyzed his current situation and realized things might not actually be as dire as he feared.

First was the Student Council President, the Emperor—Symboli Rudolf.

Though they’d interacted, their current relationship could be considered negatively cordial. He was entirely safe there.

Next was Tokai Teio. Although she was officially under his care and active on the team, her behavior was merely due to her naturally energetic personality. He’d deliberately avoided triggering any affection events, and their relationship was purely professional—a safe, monetary-based bond.

Grass Wonder—well, she was the least of his worries.

He’d never been more grateful for her possessive obsession toward Special Week. Though slightly apologetic toward Special Week, it guaranteed his safety.

And as for Oguri Cap, he had absolutely nothing to worry about there.

That girl’s mind contained exactly one concept: eating. No matter how he looked at it, she was unquestionably the most harmless member of his team.

Considering all that, the only Uma Musume currently showing both interest in him personally and genuine danger was Agnes Tachyon. All he had to do was stay cautious around her.

As for Special Week? An innocent airhead didn’t even merit statistical analysis. Thanks.

Feeling reassured, Kitahara glanced sideways at Agnes Tachyon, who met his gaze with a gentle smile.

“What’s wrong, Kitahara-san—no, Trainer-san?” Tachyon asked pleasantly.

“Were you thinking about conducting my initial physical assessments? That won’t be necessary; I already have precise data here.”

Saying that, she pulled a thick stack of documents from her lab coat pocket, handing it directly to Kitahara.

Kitahara accepted without complaint. He preferred to avoid unnecessary work.

But after flipping through just a few pages and examining the data and analysis, he frowned deeply, and after a couple more pages, he stopped reading altogether.

Noticing his reaction, Tachyon tilted her head curiously. “What’s the matter, Trainer-san? Having trouble understanding it?”

“No, I understand it perfectly,” Kitahara shook his head, holding up the stack. “But this data isn’t accurate—in fact, it’s significantly off. You can’t use this as a foundation for training.”

“Impossible.” Tachyon instantly grew serious, the topic touching on her professional pride. “These are thoroughly tested and repeatedly verified results. There’s absolutely no way they’re wrong. If you’re confused, I can explain—”

“No need. I can show you several clear discrepancies right now.”

Kitahara pulled out a simplified anatomical chart from the documents, tapping his finger slightly to the left of the right knee.

“Watch closely and copy this motion.”

As he spoke, Kitahara bent his right leg slightly and twisted sideways, performing an unusual yet relatively simple movement.

Tachyon hesitated but obediently imitated his stance. Internally, however, she wondered if he was even more eccentric than she’d initially believed—

“Hiss—!”

Sharp pain immediately interrupted her thoughts.

The moment she completed the pose, a piercing pain shot through precisely where Kitahara had pointed earlier, accompanied by a sudden loss of strength.

“See?” Kitahara said with a knowing expression. “I never said your data was entirely wrong—I rely heavily on data myself. But the foundation for trusting data is knowing the accuracy and reliability of your measurements in the first place.”

The intense pain subsided quickly. A few seconds later, Tachyon straightened up again, her expression back to normal—though now tinged with confusion.

“How could you tell?”

“It’s simple. I used my eyes.” Kitahara shrugged casually. “I know you might not believe that explanation, but it’s true. If you’re still skeptical, I can point out several more inaccuracies.”

“…No need,” Tachyon replied softly.

She knew that motion wasn’t commonly used, but it occasionally appeared during sharp cornering in races. Because it wasn’t standard practice, she’d completely overlooked testing it.

Without Kitahara’s warning, had she attempted it in an actual race, she would almost certainly have stumbled—at best losing the race, and at worst suffering a serious injury or getting trampled by the others behind her.

Realizing this, her eyes shone with renewed curiosity and intrigue toward Kitahara.

No wonder Tokai Teio chose him as a trainer. He clearly has some hidden talents.

“So, Trainer-san, shall we proceed with the assessment now?” she suggested.

But Kitahara immediately shook his head firmly. “Not now. Wait until Monday.”

“…Why?”

“Because it’s the weekend,” Kitahara replied confidently.

What kind of joke was that? He was a professional slacker—no way he’d sacrifice his weekend to work overtime.

Sure, the trainers at Tracen HQ had absurdly competitive work ethics. They willingly sacrificed weekends, holidays, and even annual vacations to stay close to their Uma Musume, pouring extra sweat and effort into training—though perhaps not always willingly.

That’s precisely why, despite generous official holidays and flexible hours, trainers were always impossibly busy, often too exhausted to even keep themselves physically fit.

But what did that have to do with him?

From the very start, Kitahara had joined Tracen purely to earn an easy paycheck. Fame, victory—none of that mattered much to him.

As long as he could quietly pass these three years without breaking his pelvis or earning permanent residence rights in someone’s basement, he’d consider that a successful life.

Of course, that didn’t mean he disrespected his role as a trainer. No matter how lazy he was, he took his duties seriously enough to justify his salary.

But anything beyond that—like voluntarily competing with other trainers, working unpaid overtime, or engaging in risky relationships with his Tantou—was something he’d absolutely never touch.

Thus, Kitahara flatly rejected Tachyon’s request for an immediate assessment, proceeding with his original plan of going shopping instead.

Rejected, Tachyon wasn’t offended. On the contrary, her interest in him seemed to deepen even further.

Truthfully, if Kitahara hadn’t rejected her the first time, she wouldn’t have sought him out today at all.

Back in the infirmary, she’d merely considered him a rare test subject worth recruiting for experiments. But after being rejected, her curiosity spiked. Once her current experiment was complete, she’d researched and observed him carefully, becoming more astonished by each revelation.

Now, after witnessing his exceptional observational skills firsthand, she realized he might be far more fascinating than she’d ever imagined. All the incredible things she’d discovered so far were likely just the tip of the iceberg, intensifying her interest even further.

Blinking her crimson eyes thoughtfully, she propped her chin up and smiled warmly.

“Actually, I have some shopping to do as well. Perhaps we can go together—ah, no, on second thought, I just remembered I have something else to handle.”

She suddenly noticed Eclipse standing silently to the side, and swiftly changed her tune.

Although she was intrigued by Kitahara, she could clearly see the two were planning a date. She wasn’t quite dense enough to intrude on that.

Kitahara also noticed Tachyon’s gaze, easily guessing her thoughts. But he didn’t clarify anything—frankly, he wanted to get away from this dangerous woman as quickly as possible.

However—

“We’re not in that kind of relationship,” Eclipse suddenly declared, turning toward Tachyon with a serious expression. “Honestly, I’m worried he might try something funny on the way. So, if your errand isn’t too urgent, could you possibly come along?”

Kitahara: “…?”

No, seriously, how can you say that with a straight face?

—

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!