WiseTL

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [99]

The potion’s effects didn’t fade without warning.

The morning the potion wore off, Agnes Digital had already sensed something unusual when she woke up—like something was desperately trying to burst free inside her.

But she forcefully pushed the feeling back down.

Just like she’d done for the past few days.

She knew exactly what that sensation meant. She knew that if she tried just a bit, the shaky barrier within her would instantly collapse, and she'd fully ret...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [98]

The moment Kitahara Sota saw Grass Wonder, all his problems were instantly solved.

A student, trustworthy, reliable, imposing enough to manage others, highly knowledgeable, strong enough to defend herself—and since she hadn’t officially begun racing yet, she had plenty of free time…

Wasn’t this exactly the kind of person he needed right now?

Moreover, he’d always felt a strange sense of déjà vu about Grass Wonder from the start.

She rarely showed her true e...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [97]

Though the number of Uma Musume staying in his dorm was steadily increasing, Kitahara Sota’s life hadn't changed all that much.

He rose as usual, washed up, headed to the training grounds, and took out his two phones:

One for scrolling through forums and group chats, the other for handling Agnes Digital’s workload.

As for Grass Wonder, despite being thoroughly "massaged" the previous night, she truly lived up to her reputation.

The next morning, though her tail twi...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [96]

After finalizing all his arrangements, Kitahara Sota’s life gradually became hectic.

And naturally, the main cause of his newfound busyness was Agnes Digital.

Though he had previously managed to contain her negative emotions, the potion’s effects lingered, leaving her emotionally fragile and barely able to withstand any setbacks.

To ensure she didn’t get hurt during this sensitive period, Kitahara decided to keep her by his side nearly twenty-four hours a day.

He...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [95]

Thanks to his previous experiences, Kitahara Sota was well-acquainted with handling emotionally volatile little troublemakers drowning in negative emotions. Thus, he knew exactly how to quickly stabilize Agnes Digital’s current state.

Normal communication wouldn’t work.

With these self-critical little troublemakers, the more you comforted them or attempted rational conversation, the more energized they'd become, even using their vast experience to trap you in conversational de...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [94]

Agnes Tachyon had caused trouble again.

Wait. Why did I say "again"?

Kitahara Sota stroked his chin, lost briefly in thought, then decisively sold out Agnes Tachyon without hesitation.

After politely thanking him, Hayakawa Tazuna asked if Agnes Tachyon could have the day off, and Kitahara immediately agreed.

He wasn't sure what Tachyon would endure today, but recalling her recent concoction—“Pleasure Inhibitor + Sensitivity Amplifier”—he concluded that...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [93]

The calm, everyday routine continued without interruption.

Kitahara Sota wasn’t aware of Agnes Digital’s current situation—and even if he was, he probably wouldn't care too much.

After all, it wasn’t unusual for Agnes Tachyon's experiments to have occasional mishaps, and Agnes Digital had been helping her test potions frequently these days. A couple of unexpected outcomes were perfectly normal. As long as nothing serious happened, everything was fine.

Even if a probl...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [92]

June 5th, Sunny. Agnes Digital’s race day.

Tokyo Racecourse.

As the other competitors diligently warmed up in preparation for the upcoming race, a certain pink-haired pervert displayed not a trace of anxiety, instead darting gleefully between the other Uma Musume, her obsessive gaze causing chills wherever it landed.

If this had been anyone else, she'd have been promptly restrained, sternly warned, or possibly even disqualified for disrupting the other participants.

...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [91]

After realizing further investigation wouldn't yield any results, Kitahara Sota decisively paused his plans and returned to his usual idle routine.

Time slipped by quietly, and soon it was Agnes Digital's turn to race.

During this period, Kitahara had been remarkably tranquil, neither guiding training nor investigating Black Forest matters. He simply wasted time on his phone or slacked off, completely reverting to his earlier lethargic self.

Though he remained peaceful, the ...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [90]

Shortly afterward, Kitahara Sota and Symboli Rudolf finally met Clover-san.

She lay on a hospital bed, and though she was already in her forties, she looked barely older than Rudolf herself. Her expression and demeanor were vibrant, giving her a youthful charm that defied her age.

Yet, that liveliness sharply contrasted with the numerous tubes and medical equipment attached to her body.

The accident more than twenty years ago had damaged more than just her legs. Her internal...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [89]

After entrusting the investigation to Symboli Rudolf, Kitahara Sota set aside his worries about Kudou Kazuya and returned fully to his normal daily routine.

Playing with his phone, browsing forums, chatting idly with other trainers…

Occasionally guiding Agnes Digital as her next race approached, assisting Grass Wonder’s ongoing schemes.

After training ended, he headed to the lab to tend to a reluctant Agnes Tachyon, then back to his dorm to research and purchase supplies...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [88]

Kitahara Sota wasn’t at all surprised that Symboli Rudolf had noticed his unusual relationship with Tokai Teio.

After all, even Special Week had vaguely caught on after a month, let alone Rudolf, who closely observed Teio every day.

What did surprise him, however, was that after he admitted the truth, Rudolf didn’t show the dangerous expression from before. Nor did she insist he distance himself from Teio. Instead, she just sighed helplessly.

“So that girl really hasn�...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [87]

Despite the slight hiccup earlier, the first day of care concluded rather smoothly.

As for what had happened earlier, Kitahara Sota certainly remembered it, but he didn't linger too much on it.

After all, it was clearly just another accident caused by Agnes Tachyon’s experiments—only this time, instead of some unfortunate victim, she'd become her own guinea pig.

As for her earlier declaration of affection, that was obviously nothing more than the side-effect-induced fant...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [86]

Faced with Agnes Tachyon’s mysterious declaration, Kitahara Sota fell silent for a moment before gently pushing her away, sighing helplessly.

“Alright, alright, I get it already—you really like me. But if there’s anything else, let’s talk about it in half an hour…”

“Guinea Pig-kun, I know what you're worried about, but none of that matters.”

She stared at him earnestly, her normally icy rationality interwoven with blazing emotion, sharpening her mind more t...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [85]

Turning excess stimulation into affection.

When Kitahara Sota heard Agnes Tachyon’s explanation, his brain momentarily froze.

Sis—no, you’re my boss now—didn’t you bother checking the side effects before taking this potion? And isn’t this effect way too fantastical?!

He was already starting to regret it.

Had he known this was the potion’s effect, he never would’ve gone so hard with the massage...

No, forget "going hard," he wouldn’t hav...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [84]

Setting up matchmaking dates for Kitahara Sota was a decision Symboli Speed had made before learning he'd joined Tracen Academy.

After all, such an outstanding talent couldn’t be allowed to slip away to some foolish rival family, could he?

In fact, forget recently—years ago, she’d even entertained the idea of directly snatching him up and raising him under the Symboli household, though certain complications had prevented her from following through.

And now…

“...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [83]

Early the next morning.

After the usual routine of washing up, breakfast, and arriving at the training grounds, Kitahara Sota greeted everyone and started the day’s training.

Strangely, yesterday he'd distinctly felt something odd in the atmosphere at the training grounds.

Yet today, as soon as training began, everything reverted to normal—or even better, with everyone's morale and performance noticeably improved.

Kids sure are hard to understand…

...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [82]

Those people.

Special Week hadn’t said exactly who, but Kitahara Sota instantly knew what she meant.

After all, she was different from the others—she’d personally experienced those horrors herself.

But hadn’t she forgotten all that? How did she even know…

“Because they're the only ones you'd proactively go after, right, Sato-san?”

Her voice was very soft, completely different from her usual cheerful tone.

“Special Week—”

Kitahara f...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [81]

After dealing with those few youngsters, Kitahara Sota found himself completely idle.

The information he'd gathered from Black Forest had already been sent to the senior Uma Musume. Not being a professional intelligence operative, he could only wait for their reply, hoping they could make sense of it.

As for training—his style had always been hands-off and automated, so there wasn’t much to supervise. Besides, interfering too much tended to invite trouble, leaving him with not...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [80]

The information-gathering lasted a full two weeks.

Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t just information gathering.

Once the Chairman and Hayakawa Tazuna realized how influential Kitahara Sato was among those young Uma Musume, they wasted no time piling on more responsibilities. True to the spirit of "useful people get worked to death," they assigned him the additional task of overseeing their rehabilitation within the detention center.

Seriously, isn’t Tracen basically Br...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [79]

The next day, morning.

At the training grounds, the number of Uma Musume awaiting Kitahara Sato had increased to eight.

Unlike the others, however, Nice Nature wasn’t standing among the group. Instead, she stood quietly in a distant corner, as if deliberately isolating herself.

It wasn’t that nobody tried inviting her to join; rather, the moment they approached, the oppressive aura radiating from her immediately drove them back. Only then did they understand why Eclipse ...

Slacking Professionally at Tracen [78]

Normally, reunions after a long separation should bring happiness.

Yet, at this moment, all Kitahara Sato felt was an overwhelming awkwardness.

This feeling peaked when he noticed Nice Nature staring at him with eyes full of silent reproach.

Come on, Nature. Let’s talk about this—can you please stop looking at me like that?

I know what I did back then wasn’t great. Two months of torment was indeed harsh—but didn't we discuss it thoroughly beforehan...