I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Although I had noticed many problems with Alice before, and I knew from the beginning that she had a lot of leg problems due to spending a lot of time in the laboratory and an unbalanced diet.

But when he actually touched her, especially when he grabbed her ankle, Shinji Kitahara still felt a sense of suffocation.

Don't misunderstand, "suffocation" is an adjective, not a verb. Elise's feet didn't smell bad at all, even after she had just finished a race.

This is not surprising, after all, racehorse girls are girls too, and they are certainly concerned about their own body odor.

Not to mention that in addition to competing, they also have to work as idols, so they need to pay even more attention to these details.

Aromatherapy, supplements, shoe and sock selection, dietary planning, specialized foot care...

Horse racing is one of the most influential events in the world, and the related industries and the amounts of money involved are staggering. Not to mention that professional horse racers generally have high incomes and are willing to invest a lot of money in this field.

With the money and industry in place, plus the potential influence of the three goddesses, not to mention any odor, many of the female horses' feet won't smell at all, even after training in the sweltering summer. Some even have such good grooming that their sweat smells sweet.

And now...

To be honest, Shinji Kitahara knew that his current behavior was somewhat inappropriate.

But the problem is, he really can't help it.

To sum it up again, just watching Alice's daily activities was as unpleasant for him as an Italian watching the making of a pineapple pizza, a Chinese person watching the heretical act of adding strawberries to Mapo Tofu, or a Japanese person watching macaroni and sushi.

And now you dare to let him handle it directly? That's tantamount to making these three eat food that they can barely stand just looking at.

Shinji Kitahara's initial plan was simply to help her change her shoes and that would be the end of it.

The problem was, the moment he grasped her ankle and made physical contact, a strange sense of incongruity immediately entered his mind, causing his hand to move on its own.

Touch, knead, press.

The positioning was precise, the technique was skillful, and the force was just right.

Driven by instinct, he began to try to adjust the disharmony using techniques. Although he couldn't completely resolve it, he could at least alleviate the feeling of disharmony and reduce it to an acceptable level.

Then, when Shinji Kitahara came to his senses, Alice's tail had stopped wagging, her head was down, her sleeves were covering her expression, and her body was trembling slightly.

Shinji Kitahara was not surprised at all.

It was a solar eclipse. Even when he had helped with the care in the past, he was used to it, but sometimes he couldn't handle it. Let alone Alice, who was being treated like this for the first time and was sickly with all sorts of ailments.

That's a bit awkward...

Seeing her like this, Shinji Kitahara felt somewhat embarrassed.

However, besides feeling embarrassed, he was also a little confused, because he had been pinching her for at least three minutes. Although he couldn't help himself due to his professional instincts, she could have easily asked him to stop...

However, he didn't dwell on it for long. After all, to be fair, if someone were willing to massage his body to help him with his ailments, he would most likely choose to enjoy it secretly rather than speak up and stop them.

As he was thinking, he helped Alice change the foot he had just massaged into a spare shoe, then turned his gaze to the other foot and paused slightly.

Although he has regained his composure after venting his emotions, he is no longer so quick to pinch as soon as he touches it.

The problem is that if you finish massaging the other leg but don't massage this one, it always feels like something is wrong. Also, if the two sides are asymmetrical, it is easier to cause accidents.

After thinking it over, even though he knew this behavior might be inappropriate, Shinji Kitahara hesitated for a moment before turning to look at Alice and asking her in a low voice if she wanted to try it on her other leg as well.

After a moment of silence, a faint buzzing sound could be heard.

"......want."

So Shinji Kitahara stopped worrying and once again set his sights on Alice's other leg.

The familiar touch returned, a subtle and comfortable sensation that seemed to electrify her nerves.

The expression beneath her sleeves was no longer as composed as before; her face was flushed red like a ripe apple, her eyes shimmered with a hazy light, and her mind was completely blank.

What is she doing?

Alice didn't know.

She originally intended to use this opportunity to tease Shinji Kitahara, but now she has become his plaything.

A mere guinea pig, I'm clearly the owner...

Even though that's what she was thinking, her body couldn't muster the slightest strength to resist, and she even involuntarily cooperated with the other person's movements.

Judging from the current situation, she is more like his pet than his guinea pig.

A few minutes later, after another massage, I helped her change into a spare shoe for her other foot.

Shinji Kitahara got up, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, and lingered there for a few more minutes, intending to give her more time to calm down.

Even so, when he returned, Alice was still in the same position he had been in before he left, without moving an inch.

Shinji Kitahara glanced at the time. There was still quite a while before the winner's stage, so he wasn't in a hurry. He sat down next to her, intending to wait for her to calm down a bit before starting preparations for the winner's stage.

But as soon as he sat down, Alice's ears twitched, and she reached out, picked up the shoes he had taken off, and slowly handed them to him.

"......for you."

Alice kept her head down, making it impossible to see her expression, and her voice trembled slightly.

Shinji Kitahara was taken aback for a moment, then realized it was just a normal gift of shoes, and readily accepted it.

At the same time, he realized that her asking him to help her take off her shoes was probably not only a small act of revenge for his previous behavior, but also more for the sake of giving him the shoes now.

Sometimes she's quite adorable, isn't she?

Thinking this, Shinji Kitahara's opinion of Alice Soko rose even higher.

After the shoes were taken, the activity room fell silent again.

After a while, Alice suddenly spoke up, using the excuse that she needed someone to prepare the winner's stage for the next round, and kicked him out of the event room.

Shinji Kitahara had no doubts. After carefully putting away the shoes, he left the activity room. Once outside, he randomly found a corner and began to think.

"The winner's stage...?"

The so-called winner's stage is where, after the race, the horse girls stand on the stage as idols for a live performance, with the one who ranks higher getting closer to the center position.

Generally speaking, the winners' stage will be held a few hours after the competition ends, so that the contestants have enough time to rest and prepare, and some may even have to change into uniform clothing.

However, since this is just a basic competition, and its main purpose is to familiarize the players with the competition process, the rest time given to the players is very short.

And they weren't aiming for a dramatic stage presence; they were just going through the motions. Otherwise, their teammates would have come back anyway.

Shinji Kitahara didn't quite understand this thing at first.

After all, you're just running, what does that have to do with idols? Not to mention singing, dancing, and rapping, it can only be attributed to the idol complex unique to Japanese people.

But after years of wandering and observation, Shinji Kitahara slowly formed a guess in his mind: that the winner's stage, in addition to its own influence and economic benefits, may have another important function.

To please the three goddesses.

No, it can't be called pleasing them. It's more likely that the three goddesses could achieve some purpose or collect something through this method.

For example, collecting beliefs and emotions, or expanding the influence of the horse race, while ensuring the maintenance of their beliefs.

Shinji Kitahara's guess was not entirely unfounded.

In ancient times, it was not uncommon to see people using performances to please or appease deities.

The more sophisticated kind is called sacrificial dance, while the more common kind is shamanistic dancing.

Times have changed, and changing it to "Idol Live" is just a different name.

After all, if gods really exist, they must need offerings, so it's normal for them to keep up with the times.

However, Shinji Kitahara didn't dwell on it too much. After all, the Three Goddesses sounded very high-class, and it was impossible for them to be related to a lowly trainer like him.

So he would think about it occasionally, but he never studied it in too much depth.

Then, after a while, the door to the activity room was opened.

Alice, still damp with moisture, emerged from the room. Her winning outfit had been thoroughly cleaned, and she was much cleaner all over.

I don't know if it's because she just took a shower, but her face is still a little red.

After they came out, Alice saw him.

In the past, given Alice's usual style, she would have greeted him first, and then tried to tease him with various jokes, while he would have led her to the winner's stage with "Ah, yes, yes, yes" all the way.

But it didn't.

For some reason, Alice only glanced at him briefly before turning her head away.

Not to mention, it seems she doesn't even want to talk to him.

Shinji Kitahara wasn't surprised, after all, she had just come out of that state, so it was reasonable for her not to want to talk, as this was a normal phenomenon after his massage, and it wasn't the first time it had happened.

Then, without saying a word, Alice was led to the winner's stage, where they parted in silence.

Before parting ways, Shinji Kitahara told her not to be nervous on the winner's stage later, and then went to the audience seats.

After much effort, he finally found his little ones in the packed audience and sat down among them.

The girls were delighted to see Shinji Kitahara arrive. After he took his seat, they started chatting with him about Elisako's victory and said they would all go over to celebrate with her after Elisako's winner's stage.

Meanwhile, the East Sea Emperor had also planned to go over and chat with his trainer, Sando.

But as soon as she got close, her movements suddenly stopped, and the words she was about to say got stuck in her throat.

Then, her gaze slowly moved downwards, finally landing on Shinji Kitahara's hands placed in front of him.

She had said before that Ma Niang had a very keen sense of smell, and she herself was one of the most sensitive among them.

That's why, even though the area had been cleaned, the lingering scent from several minutes of contact was still very noticeable to her.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Shinji Kitahara noticed her unusual behavior and looked at her with a smile.

The Emperor of the East Sea was silent for a moment, then raised his head and resumed his usual lively demeanor.

"I'm wondering where I can buy honey drinks around here; I haven't had any for hours..."

"Be careful of cavities if you drink so many honey drinks all the time."

"No way! The invincible emperor's teeth are very powerful."

As they were chatting, the lights suddenly came on, signaling the start of the winners' stage.

Both Kitahara Shinji and the Tokai Emperor looked over, but the former was very focused, while the latter's gaze would occasionally drift to the former's hands, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, his hands slightly clenched.

"Trainer..."

An unconscious murmur arose, only to be drowned out by the clamor emanating from the stage.

No one heard it.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Passerby Horse Girl

Not long after Alice Soko's winning stage performance ended, Shinji Kitahara and his group returned to the event room.

Because the winner's stage was closer to the activity room, Alice returned to the activity room before them, and by the time they came in, she had already returned to normal and showed no signs of anything amiss.

He greeted people, joked around, and secretly tried to add something to Shinji Kitahara's water glass.

Seeing that Alice had completely returned to normal, Shinji Kitahara breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, if she still looked so strange after the winner's stage, he really wouldn't know how to explain it to others.

Moreover, judging from Alice's current demeanor, she doesn't seem to intend to talk about what just happened with anyone else, so naturally he's even less likely to bring it up on his own initiative.

Furthermore, changing shoes and giving a few minutes of foot care is perfectly normal between trainers and horse girls with a normal relationship, and there's nothing to be surprised about.

Furthermore, since Alice now appears to have fully recovered, Shinji Kitahara quickly put this trivial incident behind him.

However, what he didn't notice was that although Alice looked the same as before, there seemed to be some subtle changes.

For example, when you see someone come back, you might gently twist your ankle.

For example, when talking to others, its tail will unconsciously wag slightly after its gaze falls on someone.

Perhaps for some people, those few minutes are just a perfectly normal, trivial incident that doesn't need to be taken seriously.

But for others, a few minutes are enough for a seed that was once planted to take root, sprout, and break through the soil.

I just don't know how long it will take for it to grow into a towering tree.

......

Alice's match is over.

After everyone finished their brief celebration, Shinji Kitahara fell into thought.