I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Narita Shirahito returned to his seat and asked, "What about that trainer? What did you think of him? He seemed pretty angry with you."

"That trainer."

When Shinji Kitahara was mentioned, Rudolf paused for a moment in thought, then sighed.

"Although his abilities are not great and he is quite stubborn, he is not bad in terms of responsibility and keeping promises. As a trainer, he is barely qualified."

Narita Shirahito blinked: "You've made him so angry, yet it sounds like you actually think highly of him?"

Rudolf gave her a disapproving look: "Do you think I'm that petty? Besides, my conflict with him was just based on different positions. From his perspective, he did quite well."

She paused, a hint of doubt appearing in her eyes, as if she were speaking to Narita Shirahito, or perhaps to herself.

"Besides, I feel like I've heard the name Kitahara Shinji somewhere before..."

Chapter Fifteen: Shinji Kitahara, the One Who Was Disliked

The next day, early in the morning.

It's a new beginning.

Although a lot happened last night, things that might have caused sleep deprivation for others, made him feel incredibly at ease.

She obtained the SSR-level life-saving charm 'Rudolph's Symbol of Disgust', explained the whole story to the Emperor of the East Sea, strengthened her belief that she should not interfere, and even got caught up in a wave of controversy online because of her.

Because of a series of recent events, he felt that his future was bleak and he was heading towards a basement, a broken pelvis, or even being torn apart by five horses.

But these events were like a sudden ray of hope when he was at his wit's end, successfully pulling down his ever-increasing reputation and giving him hope to give up again.

As for the pressure from all sides? Those are simply not worth mentioning.

The only thing that could exert direct physical pressure on him was the symbol of Rudolf.

Apart from her, most other people would just rant online or gossip about him behind his back.

And the best way to deal with this kind of pressure is...

That means opening the shop, of course.

As long as he's assertive enough, pressure won't work on him!

I got dressed, washed up, went out, ate breakfast at the cafeteria, and then went to the training ground.

The Emperor of the East Sea was already practicing there, and greeted him with a smile when he saw him.

Good morning, Trainer-san.

Good morning, Emperor of the East Sea.

Although he sensed that she addressed him differently than before, Shinji Kitahara didn't pay too much attention to these details.

After all, he had already arranged things this way, and last night he had angered her favorite president, Rudolf, and repeatedly emphasized to her that their relationship was purely financial. He had perfectly avoided all options that might damage her favor, so there was no way he could have messed up.

How does flying dragon riding face lose?

So let's change the way we address each other. He's already made his point, why bother with the little details?

As usual, he found a place to pretend to supervise training and turned on his phone, browsing through previously cached videos and books.

In the routine of daily life, time slips away quietly.

As the sun rose higher, an eclipse occurred. Special Week and Oguri Hat arrived at the training ground one after another as time passed.

As usual, there was no training during the Eclipse event; instead, they just stood there blankly next to Shinji Kitahara. However, Special Week and Oguri Hat greeted Shinji Kitahara before getting into training.

Perhaps because of the uproar on the forum yesterday, Shinji Kitahara clearly felt that he was being stared at much more often today than yesterday while he was putting up with his game.

But what does that have to do with him, who has already started?

As long as he's assertive enough, no rumors can hurt him.

To some extent, these gazes and words could even serve as camouflage for him, preventing those dangerous horse girls from targeting him, which was actually a good thing.

But speaking of that forum incident...

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment as he swiped his phone screen.

Rudolf symbolically stated that someone deliberately stirred up trouble for him on the forum yesterday, which is why things escalated so much.

But he didn't remember offending anyone, and the only symbol of Rudolf didn't need to resort to such methods.

If you really want to talk about it, the woman who was secretly taking pictures of him and was scared away could be considered an enemy. But since she didn't turn around even once from the moment she fled until she disappeared, she didn't give him a chance to remember her face, and she couldn't possibly know what he looked like either.

Perhaps it's the work of a fanatical fan of some East Sea Emperor who doesn't like him, or maybe it's the work of a seemingly friendly but secretly jealous trainer?

It's all possible.

Because there was so little information available at the moment, he couldn't deduce the other party's identity. After thinking for a while, he continued scrolling through his phone.

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it, let's just keep setting it up.

If the other party really has their eye on him, they will definitely make another move.

If it's just someone's momentary impulse, then the other party won't pose any further threat to him.

Thinking like this, the morning slipped away in a state of idleness.

After lunch, I went to the team's activity room as usual, planning to browse my phone for a while before heading to the training ground.

But today, he had barely taken his phone out, and before he could even unlock the screen, a small hand snatched it away.

"Trainer, looking at your phone all the time isn't good for your eyes."

The Emperor of the East Sea appeared in front of him at some point, holding his phone between two fingers and waving it around.

Kitahara Shinji was taken aback and was about to ask the emperor to return his phone to him.

But before he could speak, he heard the little chestnut hat next to him speak first.

“Trainer Kitahara, I think the Empress is right. You are indeed a bit too addicted to the virtual world.”

"Shinji-san, if this continues, you'll become a cripple," Special Zhou added from the side.

Isolated and helpless, Shinji Kitahara remained silent for a moment before turning his gaze to the solar eclipse.

The latter remained silent for a moment before delivering the final blow.

"Now that a team has been formed, shouldn't we at least take on some responsibility?"

How dare you say that!

Upon hearing her words, Shinji Kitahara almost roared inwardly.

Does this woman have any shame? Who secretly put together this team? And who, after becoming his supervisor, didn't let him manage anything, leaving him with nothing to do but scroll through his phone? Doesn't she have any self-awareness?

Perhaps his gaze was too direct, for after staring at him for a while, Eclipse turned his head away.

Forget it.

He turned his gaze away and looked helplessly at the group.

"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

The fact that these people are suddenly so united must mean they have some purpose.

"It's not really a goal."

The Emperor of the East Sea sat back down, resting his cheek on his hand and glancing at him sideways.

"The team has been established for three days, but Trainer-san, you still only know how to play on your phone all day and only care about your own things. You don't act like a trainer at all. Isn't that a bit too much?"

Don't you have any idea why I don't look like a trainer?

Kitahara Shinji began to glare at the Eastern Sea Emperor with the same look he had when he watched the solar eclipse before.

The Emperor of the East Sea knew he was in the wrong, so he looked away guiltily and coughed twice.

"In short, I think our team can't continue to be so sluggish; we have to do something."

"For example?" Shinji Kitahara asked, glancing sideways.

The Emperor of the East Sea began counting on his fingers.

"For example, organizing some intra-team competitions to get to know each other better, preparing some fun games for everyone to play together, or going out to eat together... no, let's forget about that."

She mentioned methods for relaxation and team building that are common in most teams, but the last one obviously wouldn't work for their team—because Shinji Kitahara might really be bankrupted by them.

To be honest, Shinji Kitahara really didn't want to get involved in all this nonsense.

If it were just the Eclipse and the Emperor of the East Sea, he would most likely reject the proposal without hesitation.

Because he knew very well that solar eclipses had no interest in such things.

As for the Emperor of the East Sea, he wanted to avoid any events that might increase her favorability.

The problem was that, besides the two of them, there were two other pitiful children sitting nearby, looking at him with expectant eyes, who were well-behaved (but had huge appetites), making it impossible for him to be heartless and refuse.

Kids are naturally playful, and they're already quite obedient during training. After the training plan was given, he basically didn't have to worry about them. It would be a bit unreasonable not to give them some rewards.

Moreover, helping the horse girls relax and have fun is part of the trainer's job. However, he was worried that he might accidentally gain someone's favor and increase the risk of pelvic fracture, so he had not taken any action.

But now that he's been pointed out, he can no longer keep running away.

After a long silence, Shinji Kitahara sighed and nodded.

"alright."

Although he agreed to the East Sea Emperor's proposal, Kitahara Shinji couldn't help but complain in his heart.

We clearly agreed not to interfere with each other, but why are you so enthusiastic about getting involved in the team's affairs, Your Majesty?

Surely they can't actually see him as a trainer? Their relationship is clearly purely financial.

And I emphasized that just last night, and you agreed to it.

Shinji Kitahara internally ranted, but dared not voice it.

After all, many strange books and the beginnings of Shigemachi's life were started from a trainer's careless remark that led to his downfall, and he would not follow in his predecessor's footsteps.

"Then let's get some entertainment games. I'll go buy them now," he said, getting up to leave.

"Wouldn't it be better to organize an intra-team competition first to help each other get to know each other better? I've seen other teams doing that."

The Emperor of the East Sea made a suggestion, which was met with a disdainful look from Shinji Kitahara.

"You're almost finished with your orthodox style, and you're the hottest rising star, but Special Week and Oguri Hat are just getting started. How dare you compare yourself to them?"

"It's just a friendly match..."

The Emperor of the East Sea paused, his gaze sweeping over a black-haired horse girl who was quietly lost in thought, a strange emotion flashing in his eyes.

"What about Miss Eclipse? She shouldn't have just started her orthodox transformation, right?"

"Then you should discuss it with her yourself."

He couldn't be bothered to organize any intra-team competitions, and Eclipse probably wouldn't agree anyway, but he was too lazy to explain.

Let the Emperor of the East Sea try it himself; he'll understand once he hits a wall.

After saying that, Shinji Kitahara left the activity room.

But the next second, he suddenly turned back, craning his neck and looking suspiciously into the room.

"Wait a minute, when did you guys become so close?"

They hadn't really communicated before, and were always on their phones in the training room, but today they suddenly formed a united front and their teamwork was so smooth, it was as if they had planned it in advance.

This question silenced everyone in the room for a few seconds. They looked at each other, and finally, it was the more honest Little Chestnut Hat who spoke up.

"Um, trainer, we created a chat group on the first day the team was formed, and we usually communicate via mobile phone..."

"...Why didn't I know?"

Little Chestnut Hat answered honestly, "Miss Eclipse said that since you wouldn't come in even if I invited you, I didn't invite you."

Chapter Sixteen: The Emperor's Canary

Shinji Kitahara looked dejected as he walked toward Teresen Supermarket.

He understood why his team had created a group chat but didn't include him, the trainer.

After all, he had been trying to avoid communicating with them since he started the team. Even now, he hasn't added them on Line (a chat software similar to WeChat), let alone created a group chat for them.

Although he could understand why they hadn't invited him to the group, and in a way, this also suited his desire not to get too close to the female horses under his name, he should logically be happy. But why couldn't he feel happy at all...?