I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Foodie, goofball, weirdo...

Stress Monster, Imperial Chamber, Frankenstein's Monster...

A Yamato Nadeshiko skilled in using a naginata, a girl who can see ghosts who is preparing to join the group, and a shameless ghost who always follows her around...

And then there's the one who will never understand what's going on in her head, who's still silently following behind him, and who's now successfully listed as one of the seven most unbelievable people in Treson School...

Let alone normal people, even if you put the people in his team in Tresson, they would be among the most abnormal.

And now, standing in front of him is Tamamo Cross, whose appearance is a bit young.

But those normal words, that crisp Kansai accent, that thin frame, that youthful face, all gave Kitahara Shinji a sense of security and peace of mind.

She's perfectly normal.

He was so normal that he didn't seem like a student at Tressen.

Tamamo Cross was also very surprised.

Upon arriving in Tressen, witnessing the various strange phenomena and experiencing the eerie atmosphere that was completely different from the rumors circulating outside, her young heart was deeply shocked.

Damn it, this Teresen isn't some place for horse girls to run and realize their dreams, it's more like a marriage academy!

What's even more outrageous is that whenever she complains about this to others, they always look at her with a strange gaze and say that these are all normal things.

Normal my foot!

Tamamo Cross felt extremely grief-stricken and then turned to find Koyaichi.

She thought to herself that Xiao Youyi was one of the few normal people in this godforsaken place, which was why she was chosen as a trainer, so she figured Xiao Youyi would understand her.

Then, Xiaoyouyi's answer delivered the final blow to Tamamo Cross.

"Oh, these things. Little Tamamo, you may not be used to them yet, but you'll probably get used to them after a while."

Although he looks young, he has been in Treisen for several years now.

Even at first, I couldn't understand this strange environment, and I was puzzled and even trembled with fear.

But now, after years of constantly being immersed in the messy world of Tresson, she has long since become accustomed to and understood all the chaos, even though she has never been involved.

Now, she can face her colleague's pelvic fracture and disappearance without batting an eye, and even when she occasionally hears strange noises while passing by certain corners, she can calmly walk past as if she didn't hear them.

Tamamo Cross was completely baffled.

What? Why does even trainer Koyoichi think there's nothing wrong with these things?

Is she really the one who's abnormal?

After that, Tamamo Cross fell into self-doubt.

Until today, when Shinji Kitahara half-jokingly complained to her, it stirred up the questions that had been suppressed in her heart for a long time. Then, she didn't even care about being nervous and immediately started her crazy complaining mode.

What surprised her even more was that, in the face of her complaints, Shinji Kitahara did not look at her with strange eyes like the others did, but instead agreed with her ideas.

This deeply moved Tamamo Cross.

She had already given up, and even began to doubt that she was the abnormal one.

But then, Shinji Kitahara appeared and told her that she was the normal one, and that the whole Treson Academy was the one that was wrong.

"Tamamo Cross..."

"Trainer Kitahara..."

The two stood there, gazing at each other with such deep affection, each seeing the same emotion in the other's eyes.

But Tama met a normal person!

Just then, a small, deliberate cough came from the side.

"Um, you two, it's probably best not to discuss this kind of topic on the training field..."

Xiao gave another subtle reminder.

After the words were spoken, Shinji Kitahara and Juji Tamamo realized that several strange eyes were watching them. They reluctantly ended the conversation, but there was still a hint of reluctance in their eyes.

After that, seeing that Tamamo Cross had relaxed, Kitahara Shinji stopped dawdling and began to discuss with Koya and Tamamo Cross how to deal with her problem.

Although regarding the problem with Tamamo Cross, Kitahara Shinji could have easily spent half an hour coming up with a solution and handed it over to Mataichi for her to execute.

The problem is that Tamamo Cross is not his horse girl, and Koyaichi is not his subordinate, but his senior, the kind of senior who took special care of him and helped him a lot.

Therefore, neither morally nor logically could Shinji Kitahara do that, so he took the initiative to lower his stance and help with the plan by guiding and suggesting in an almost consultative manner.

This fact did not escape Xiao Youyi's notice.

After all, she wasn't stupid. She had heard about Shinji Kitahara's various exploits and had even led a class in Shinji Kitahara's team. She knew more about his abilities as a trainer than others.

In particular, since Alice's situation is far more serious than Tamamo Cross's, and he can come up with a complete adjustment plan all by himself, there is no reason why Tamamo Cross cannot also come up with a plan.

Although she noticed his little tricks, Xiao Youyi didn't expose him, and even seemed to enjoy it a bit.

Just think about it, this newcomer is far more capable than me, and he's not bad looking either. He's not only well-behaved and sensible, but he also calls me "senior" all the time.

He's still quite sensible here, carefully maintaining her dignity as a senior with his clumsy yet somewhat endearing acting skills.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Xiao Youyi felt incredibly satisfied and wished he could just pull him into his arms and give him a good rub.

But that's not the most foul.

The most egregious mistake was that, as the conversation was nearing its end, Xiao Youyi, feeling a surge of seniority, wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but then realized that it would be difficult to do so at his height.

Just then, Shinji Kitahara noticed Yoichi's predicament and lowered his own height so that Yoichi could easily pat his shoulder.

Seeing Kitahara Shinji lower his height to protect her, Koya paused for a moment, then turned his hand from her shoulder to her head and rubbed it thoroughly under Kitahara Shinji's helpless gaze.

How can there be such a perfect junior!

After finishing the adjustment, Shinji Kitahara straightened up again and completed the adjustment plan for the Tamamo Cross.

After finishing up, Kitahara Shinji did not leave, but instead asked Tamamo Cross if she was troubled by family matters.

Mentioning this, Tamamo Cross, who had been having a pleasant conversation, immediately became depressed, her eyes began to dart away, and she began to stammer.

It's impossible for her to have grown up in that kind of family environment without any sense of dignity or principles.

Not to mention that her family had sold all the things that Shinji Kitahara had kindly left behind because of their financial situation, which made it even more difficult for her to face Shinji Kitahara.

But because she had met him before, she knew very well that Shinji Kitahara was aware of her family situation, so despite some hesitation, she honestly told him about her situation in fits and starts.

"My family already had a lot of debt because of the money they had to pay for my training..."

"The villagers are all very kind, but I'm still a little uneasy about my parents' situation..."

“I also have a younger brother and sister, who are now grown up. They need money for food, clothing, and school, and my parents are really embarrassed to borrow money again…”

"Besides, I haven't even started the competition yet, so I have no income at all and have to get money from my family..."

After listening to Tamamo Cross's account, Kitahara Shinji nodded calmly, showing no surprise or astonishment whatsoever.

After all, he used to operate mainly in the countryside, and he had seen many impoverished families, some of whom were even worse off than Tamamo Shiki's family. He was used to it.

The reason he resolutely agreed to the Black Forest plan, even though he knew it might be a scheme by Hisato Kazuya or even the 'black market', was not only because of the money given by the chairman, but also because he wanted to do everything he could to improve the situation.

He is not a saint who can selflessly give to others even when he himself is starving.

But if he can eat his fill and even has a considerable amount of extra income, he would never mind doing his best to help others.

And it's not just the Black Forest, nor just the countryside, but also the Tamamo Cross that's standing in front of him now.

He could tell that she was somewhat uneasy and nervous, even a little embarrassed, and didn't really want to talk about the topic.

But he persisted in asking until Tamamo Cross revealed the whole situation before he stopped.

It wasn't that he didn't want to understand Tamamo Cross's feelings, but the problem was that in some situations, being soft-hearted was tantamount to escapism, which could make some solvable problems more difficult.

Moreover, after asking all the questions and explaining everything, Tamamo Cross felt much more relaxed.

After all, some things, though embarrassing to talk about, are no longer so suppressed once they are vented.

After learning about the situation, Shinji Kitahara fell into thought.

Actually, the problem with the Tamamo Cross is not serious; in fact, from a practical point of view, there is no problem at all.

Although her family had indeed taken out a loan, it wasn't a high-interest loan, and the villagers were all aware of her family's difficulties and never pressured them to pay for it. They would even deliberately avoid the topic when they encountered her parents.

Besides, the villagers aren't stupid. Tamamo Cross has already entered Tressen headquarters, and she was even specially promoted. So in the future, let alone repaying the loan, they might even have to ask her for help. They're happy to lend her money.

And even if she doesn't get many requests for help in the future, once she becomes famous, those villagers can use it as bragging rights, saying how they had such a keen eye back then, recognizing Xiao Yuzao's extraordinary talent at a glance, blah blah blah...

It's just that Tamamo Cross can't get past its own side.

If this were a different trainer, they might try to comfort her, provide her with psychological counseling, or even give her money directly.

But Shinji Kitahara is different.

Because he is really very experienced in dealing with poverty.

Even if we only consider their poor family background, the Tamamo family, who could support a racehorse girl and two children, was not even worthy of carrying the shoes of someone like him who was destitute, wandering around, and had to find a way to support Eclipse.

—Wait a minute, this doesn't seem like something to be proud of, does it?

In short, because of his past experience, Shinji Kitahara knew very well what Tamamo Cross needed now, and it wasn't just money.

And coincidentally, Shinji Kitahara happened to have just one of those things that could help her solve the problem.

"Then tell me, Tamamo, have you ever considered getting a part-time job?"

"I did consider it, but nobody wants it..."

In fact, Tamamo Cross is old enough to work part-time outside the home, and there are no restrictions on this in Treson.

Many women work part-time near Tresson, whether for economic reasons, out of hobby, or simply because they find it interesting. Among them are super-working warriors who juggle multiple jobs.

However, the Tamamo Cross presents some difficulties in this regard.

After all, it's common for underage students to work part-time, but it's not exactly something that can be openly discussed.

In addition, given her young age, it's easy for people to mistakenly believe she's a child laborer, which could lead to unnecessary trouble.

Xiao Youyi, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement when she heard this.

Even now, because of her presence, Treson still receives complaints about child labor from time to time, so she is well aware of the issue.

"Oh, that's alright. That place is a bit out of the way, and it's usually frequented by acquaintances."

After a pause, Shinji Kitahara added.

"However, although you don't have to worry about being mistaken for a child laborer there, the shop owner... well... has a rather awful personality. I don't know if you can handle that..."

Shinji Kitahara refers to the elderly horse girl in that clothing store.

Recently, the number of horse girls in Shinji Kitahara's team has been increasing, and the older horse girls are also becoming more and more interested in making the final outfit.

In the past, she could work non-stop for months on end, wearing a high-quality custom-made outfit every two or three days, and only need three to five days of rest in between to fully recover.

But now, although she is gradually regaining her strength, time waits for no one. After realizing that she could no longer be as energetic as before, she wanted to ask Shinji Kitahara to find her a helper.

Furthermore, she specifically specified that this helper, in addition to being obedient and sensible, must be a student of Tresenne, and cannot be someone that Shinji Kitahara has brought to meet her.

Shinji Kitahara was puzzled by this requirement, thinking to himself that it would be better to hire an assistant who is a properly graduated adult.

And why does it always feel like she's enjoying the drama when she talks about this?

However, Shinji Kitahara didn't dwell on it too much. Since Tamamo Cross also had a need, he brought it up.

As for salary...

Although the elderly woman hadn't told him about this, Shinji Kitahara knew she was well-off; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to give him two sets of the Final Battle outfits at such low prices every few days as a form of charity.

In response to Shinji Kitahara's suggestion, Juji Tamamo immediately said that he could go for an interview.

Perhaps if it were someone else, Tamamo Cross wouldn't have agreed so readily, but...

That's Shinji Kitahara!

The living legend was now standing right in front of her, and she still carried a button that Shinji Kitahara had dropped at her house years ago as a lucky charm.

Moreover, even if Kitahara Shinji is not a legend, based on his normal statement just now, Tamamo Cross would not doubt him.

So she immediately agreed to Shinji Kitahara's suggestion and promised to go with him to the clothing store for an interview the next day, Saturday.

Thus, the problem of the Tamamo Cross was solved.

After agreeing to go to the clothing store together the next day, Tamamo Cross went back to training, while Kitahara Shinji planned to leave.

But just then, Xiao You, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, his tone slightly hesitant.