I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"And what about you, Kitahara trainer? What are you doing here?"

"I... made an appointment with a friend to discuss something."

"And what about your friend?"

"She's not here yet."

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment, then spoke.

"Alright, you two go ahead and do your thing. I'll just wait here for a bit. You've come all this way, so remember to have fun—and be careful."

Although Kitahara Shinji said that, neither Satomi Kozumi nor Kita Genko seemed to have any intention of leaving. Instead, they sat down next to him and started chatting.

"Trainer Kitahara, the training plan you gave us before was really effective. I can already clearly feel the progress..."

"Trainer Kitahara, when school starts next year, Kita and I will officially be joining Treson. Please take good care of us then..."

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Kitahara, I've already talked to my parents about the training. They said they'd like to meet you if they have the chance."

"Besides, you've helped me so much, and I haven't had a chance to thank you. Since your friend hasn't arrived yet, would you like to come to my place for a while...?"

With gentle words, Hikari Satomi gradually steered the conversation in the direction he wanted, just one step away from luring his prey into the trap.

But just then, before Kitahara Shinji could answer, another gentle female voice rang out from the other side of Kitahara Shinji.

"Hmm? Trainer Kitahara?"

As the sound faded, a waterfall of light blue hair appeared before Shinji Kitahara, along with his signature purple eyes.

"Aldan?"

Shinji Kitahara looked up at her and spoke with a hint of surprise.

"Why are you here too?"

"also?"

His gaze swept over Satomi Hikari and Kita Genko, and Ikuro Ardan's expression changed slightly as he began to explain.

"Trainer Kitahara, don't you know? Today is a gathering of horse girls' families in Japan. Basically, every family that you can name has sent someone. I've been feeling a bit better lately, so I thought I'd come and check it out. I didn't expect to run into you..."

A social gathering of the Ma Musume family?

Upon hearing this information, Shinji Kitahara nodded, thinking to himself that it was no wonder the place was so lively today, with so many young ladies-in-waiting walking around.

Then, as he was talking, Meguro Ardan sat down next to Kitahara Shinji, asking him why he had come and trying to invite him to sit at the Meguro family's venue.

As for the original Satomi Hikari, although his plan was interrupted by Aldan's sudden appearance, he did not give up afterward.

During the subsequent conversation, he continued to try to steer the conversation in a way that would benefit him, and repeatedly tried to invite Shinji Kitahara to the meeting place at the Satomi family's house.

If only one side is pulling in the way, then given Kitahara Shinji's personality, although he might not be too keen on contacting the Uma Musume family, he might agree out of consideration for their acquaintance and after being pressured for a long time.

But now, because of the tug-of-war and competition between the two sides, he has more room to refuse, allowing him to comfortably shrink into this corner, secretly chatting and slacking off.

Moreover, after the stalemate had dragged on, Shinji Kitahara checked the time on his phone. It was almost noon, but the two old women still hadn't sent him any further instructions.

Although he thought it was impossible, Shinji Kitahara still silently prayed that the two old women had developed dementia and had forgotten about him.

It would be best to just let him forget about it until evening, then he can go straight back to Teresen without worrying about any other problems.

But just as he was thinking this, a sudden vibration came from his pocket, instantly shattering his illusion.

Okay, I've sent it.

Shinji Kitahara nervously took out his phone, about to sigh that what was bound to happen would happen, but his expression suddenly changed after seeing the message on the screen.

Hmm? Wait, this doesn't seem to be a message from those two old women.

Unlocking his screen, Shinji Kitahara opened the message from the unknown number and, after reading it for a while, his eyebrows gradually furrowed.

"What's wrong, Mr. Kitahara?"

"Sorry, my friend has arrived. I have to go and talk to her first. Let's chat again next time when we have time."

"Okay, but if you have time after you finish chatting with your friends, you can come and sit at our Satomi (Mejiro) house."

"...I'll try my best."

After bidding farewell to the three, Shinji Kitahara stood up, tidied his appearance slightly, and then walked towards the room indicated in the information while asking around.

"Room 1207... Room 1207... This is it."

After finding the room marked on the information, Shinji Kitahara knocked on the door, and a familiar, authoritative female voice rang out from inside.

"Who?"

"I, Kitahara Rudolf, what exactly is this message—?"

hum-

Before he could finish speaking, the door in front of Shinji Kitahara was suddenly pulled open, and a hand reached out and dragged him into the room.

"Come in and talk."

Chapter 208: Fatal Question

After Rudolf pulled her into the room, Shinji Kitahara discovered that not only was the Rudolf Symbol, who had just sent her a message, sitting inside, but also the Sirius Symbol, with whom she had always been at odds.

However, although the people were the same as before, the two people in front of Shinji Kitahara were dressed quite differently from what he remembered.

Not only were they dressed in formal gowns that he had rarely seen the two of them wear, but they also wore makeup that was different from their usual looks, but just right, which added even more radiance to their already beautiful appearances.

Logically speaking, anyone with a normal aesthetic sense would have to admire the beauty of these two dressed like this.

But Shinji Kitahara might be because he usually interacts with them more in the student council, where they typically dress and have a more capable demeanor.

As a result, when Kitahara Shinji first saw them dressed like this, he wasn't particularly impressed. Instead, he felt a strange sense of unease, like seeing his best friend of many years secretly dressed as a woman...

"So, can someone explain the current situation to me?"

Suppressing the strange sense of unease in his heart, Kitahara Shinji looked up at the two of them.

"Let me tell you."

After pulling Shinji Kitahara into the house, Rudolf symbolically inspected the corridor once more.

After confirming that no one nearby had seen Kitahara Shinji being brought in, she closed the door and then explained the whole story to Kitahara Shinji.

"Today is the day for the various horsegirl families to get together, Trainer Kitahara, you know that, right?"

Shinji Kitahara nodded.

"Yeah, I just found out, but is there a problem with that?"

"This is a huge problem..."

Rudolf sighed symbolically and then began to explain further.

The Uma Musume Family Association is a tradition that has been passed down for many years in the JP Uma Musume family.

As for the specific content, basically, each horse-related faction is allocated quotas according to its strength and achievements.

Then, within the limited number of spots, bring some promising talents from within the family to participate, get to know each other, and exchange ideas. This can be considered as expanding interpersonal relationships within the Ma Niang faction.

Although the main purpose of the association is to facilitate understanding and exchange between different factions, it also has other functions in addition to this main purpose.

"Those who can attend this social gathering are basically promising talents in their families. Whether it's their status, abilities, or even potential lineage, they are all quite outstanding..."

"Therefore, this social event is often regarded as a large-scale matchmaking event between different factions of Umaru-chan, as well as a large-scale trainer recruitment event..."

"Sirius and I have never been here before. I avoided it because I didn't go home much due to conflicts with my family, but Sirius... she said she wouldn't come if I didn't come, and so it's been dragging on until now..."

"But this time, because I needed to investigate something related to the 'black market,' I owed the Symbol family a favor. I had no choice but to go back to the Symbol family this year, and then I was dragged here..."

"And not only that, before I came here, that old woman... I mean, my grandmother, said that my blind date was today, but she didn't tell me anything else..."

"To be honest, I suspect she did this on purpose and wanted to let you know a long time ago."

"But the problem is that my grandmother seems to be on guard against this as well. She's been monitoring my messages, so it wasn't until just now that Sirius and I had the chance to use the waiter's phone to send you that message and bring you here..."

"That's it..."

Shinji Kitahara nodded.

Although Rudolf didn't explicitly state the symbolism, Shinji Kitahara could probably guess it.

Since the Uma Musume Friends Club is being used as a large-scale matchmaking event, Rudolph, with his 'undefeated three-time champion,' 'older single,' 'trainer,' and 'rarely attends this event' buffs stacked up, is definitely the most dazzling star in the venue.

Especially considering that Rudolph was a symbolist by birth and had focused on managing horse girls for many years, he wasn't particularly good at matters of the heart.

Add to that the bizarre arrangements made by her so-called 'grandmother,' and even Shinji Kitahara would be terrified for her, let alone Rudolf.

"So how do you want me to help you?" he asked.

Rudolf looked directly at him and said earnestly.

"It's simple, just pretend to be my date and stay with me until the end of this social event."

After Rudolf finished speaking, before Kitahara Shinji could reply, Sirius Symbol suddenly spoke up, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Hey, wait a minute, Rudolf, if you take him away, what about me?"

"Can't you figure out a solution yourself?"

"Isn't my solution right here? It's just that it seems like someone is trying to take it away from me... just like she has taken away things that should have been mine countless times before."

As he spoke, the Sirius symbol stood up and slowly walked toward the Rudolf symbol.

"Furthermore, speaking of which, as the 'Emperor,' to be unable to handle such a small matter alone and have to involve others, I don't think that's something to be proud of..."

"Knowing people and making good use of them is also an essential lesson for an 'emperor'."

Rudolf also turned to look at her, showing no sign of weakness.

“Knowing people and making good use of them is not the same as deceiving and fabricating, Your Majesty.”

As the two approached, the atmosphere inside the room gradually changed.

After all, the two of them were incompatible, and the only reason they were able to stay in the same room before was to find an opportunity to contact Shinji Kitahara.

Now that Shinji Kitahara has arrived, and there's only one shield left, the conflict that was originally directed at the outsider has shifted to each other, and the tension has naturally intensified rapidly.

Faced with this situation, Shinji Kitahara looked helpless.

After all, he had just been summoned to this room and suddenly bombarded with so much information. In addition, he also had a lot of troubles to deal with. Under these circumstances, he didn't know how to mediate the conflict between the two people in front of him for the time being.

Fortunately, he soon stopped having to think about this problem.

Because shortly after their standoff, Rudolf and Sirius realized that things couldn't continue like this, especially after glancing at the clock on the wall, they realized that lunch was approaching.

The moment they finished checking the time, the two of them turned around and looked at Kitahara Shinji at the same time, saying in unison.

"Trainer Kitahara"

Who are you planning to leave with?

Chapter 209: The Notorious Unscrupulous Trainer

More than an hour later, at the luncheon venue.

Shinji Kitahara sat at the dining table, head down, staring at the table in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

Beside him, the symbols of Rudolf and Sirius sat on either side of him, without exchanging any words, only a subtle atmosphere gradually spreading between them.

As for why things turned out this way, we have to go back to a little over an hour ago.

At that moment, faced with the two men's crucial questions, Shinji Kitahara didn't know how to answer.

After all, both of them had promised to help each other, so choosing either one now would be unfair.

As for saying "I want them all," which means accompanying both at once, it sounds like a solution, but upon closer examination, you'll find that this option is actually worse than the other two.

As for the other two options, the worst that could happen is to agree to one side, causing the other side some temporary discomfort. But given their personalities, they probably wouldn't care too much about such a small matter.

But if I choose to have them both, it means I won't consider their opinions. In other people's eyes, the two most famous seedlings of the family will fall into his hands.

That might make him the center of attention on the spot, even more dazzling than Rudolf, and who knows what kind of trouble he might cause.

Based on this, Shinji Kitahara thought for a moment but didn't dare to give an answer. Instead, he quickly came up with a plan and told the two about his situation.

"Wait a minute, everyone calm down, I also have something to explain..."

After saying that, Shinji Kitahara told him about the message that Kazuya Hisadou had sent him the night before, as well as his own situation of going on a blind date.