I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Although it hasn't been three years yet, due to the increase in the number of female horses under his command, the unexpected results, and the income from various competitions, he has already exceeded his goals. He could take this opportunity to run away, live in anonymity, and live the kind of peaceful life he had always longed for.

But now he has no intention of doing so, and has not even entertained the slightest thought of it.

Perhaps it was out of a sense of responsibility as a trainer, perhaps it was out of affection for them, or perhaps it was because of the 'accidents' that had happened before.

In any case, Shinji Kitahara had no intention of abandoning them and running away, nor did he plan to use the opportunity to escape.

"The situation is getting a little serious..."

Surugawa Tessuna looked at Kitahara Shinji, his worry clearly visible in his eyes.

"Trainer Kitahara, are you sure you don't need our help? If this continues, you might be in serious danger..."

Faced with Tsuna's concerns, Shinji Kitahara did not answer immediately. After a moment of contemplation, he opened his phone and accessed what could be considered the most crucial group chat within his anti-Tsuna camp.

As he expected, the group instantly became lively after the public outcry, with various congratulatory messages and attacks against him flooding the screen. However, Shinji Kitahara looked at those messages without any sadness on his face; in fact, the corners of his mouth even curled up slightly.

"Trainer Kitahara, are you... alright?"

Riko Kashimoto looked at him with concern.

"I'm fine, in fact, I'm perfectly fine..."

Shinji Kitahara raised his head, looked at the other three, and gave them a confident smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not crazy. This accident is indeed a bit of a problem for me, but on the other hand, it's also an opportunity—an opportunity for me to find those 'black market' members..."

"......What?"

Upon hearing Shinji Kitahara's words, the trio paused, momentarily confused about the relationship between the two.

In fact, not only did they not think of it, even Kitahara Shinji himself thought it was a bit outrageous when he first came up with the idea. So far, he had only mentioned it to Hisadou Kazuya, who had a rather subtle expression after hearing his plan.

As for the specific details of the plan...

"Although there is no concrete evidence yet, based on the clues given to me by my insider in the 'black market,' this public opinion against me was probably initiated by members of the 'black market.'"

"Logically speaking, as someone who ruined many of their plans, I should be hated by them to the core. But strangely enough, those people supposedly like me a lot, and even when they have nothing else to do, they buy and sell my merchandise on the 'black market'..."

"Based on this, we can conclude that although those people launched this operation against me, they themselves do not dislike me."

"Even if it weren't for a certain purpose, they might be the opposite of those people, but they had to participate in this operation because of the plan, acting as the behind-the-scenes manipulators."

"Now that the plan is complete, people who generally dislike me should be very happy, or at least they should be showing off their foresight to others and attacking me even more."

"But the members of the 'black market' are quite the opposite. After completing their mission, even if they don't immediately cut off contact with those people, they won't be too happy. They won't be more enthusiastic in their speech; in fact, they might be even quieter than usual..."

"In other words, to put it simply, under the current circumstances, the less people smear and attack me, the more likely they are to be members of the 'black market'."

As he spoke, Shinji Kitahara contacted 'Seize Victory' and asked her to record those who weren't currently criticizing him, especially those whose behavior differed greatly from their usual actions, so he could investigate them thoroughly later.

"Trainer Kitahara, your method..."

"Although I know it does sound a bit strange, it's likely to work."

Shinji Kitahara nodded, then added.

"Moreover, those guys are incredibly good at hiding themselves. I've been dealing with them for over ten years now, but so far, I've only found one member who almost deliberately exposed himself to me, and he's currently my only insider in the black market..."

"If we hadn't used this surprise method and instead followed the normal investigation, this would probably have ended up like the Black Forest incident, where after the whole incident was over, we would only have been able to find some traces of their existence, and then we would have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with them again..."

"I know what you want to ask, but you don't need to. I can answer directly: this media storm was part of my plan from the start. It's the core element of my fishing scheme, and the main reason I haven't let you interfere. I can even tell you that I have my own backers behind this..."

Is everything planned?

Hearing Shinji Kitahara say this, the other three breathed a sigh of relief, looked at each other, and then looked at him to speak.

"Trainer Kitahara, we understand your plan. So what are you going to do next? Do you need our cooperation in any way?"

Upon hearing this question, Shinji Kitahara blinked.

"After what?"

Seeing Shinji Kitahara's reaction, the three of them instantly had a bad feeling.

"After identifying those 'black market' members, how do you plan to handle this public opinion and restore your reputation...?"

"Oh, this."

Shinji Kitahara shook his head and said calmly.

“I have no intention of dealing with this thing—nor is there any need to.”

This doesn't mean that Shinji Kitahara gave up the struggle, but rather that he was well aware that if public opinion was allowed to ferment to this point, let alone the Treson or the Ma Musume family, unless the three goddesses stepped in to change people's collective perception, there was basically no way to resolve this matter.

If it were before things escalated, he could have asked URA and Treson to take action against the articles that were smearing him and to clarify the situation, thus preventing things from getting out of hand.

But now, this matter has topped the trending list, and judging from the level of discussion, it has become a national issue. Even if the Japanese government were to get involved, it would be difficult to suppress it, let alone Tresson.

Moreover, even if the news is suppressed and blocked online, people's memories will never disappear.

No matter how strict the blockade, it will take at least several generations to get over it. In the meantime, this behavior will greatly damage the prestige and image of those who helped him, and may even shake the trust of the entire society.

As for clarification...

If clarification were effective, there wouldn't be so many rumors in the world.

Humans are creatures of habit, and once they form an initial impression of something, it is very difficult to change it later.

Especially when it comes to things like getting people to admit that the person they were just criticizing is actually a good person, which is almost like slapping themselves in the face, it is even more difficult.

Even if it succeeds, it certainly won't change everyone. It will most likely split people into two factions, and then the opposition between them will become more and more extreme.

Compared to these potentially serious consequences, the departure of a mere trainer seems insignificant.

Of course, it's not that Shinji Kitahara wanted to use this as an excuse to get away with it, but given his relationship with Treson and URA, it wouldn't be difficult for him to publicly resign, put the team under the name of Koya or Galerizho, and then continue to take care of these children in private.

Then, if they actually did that, people outside would be proud of their 'just execution,' Treson and URA could use the 'punishment of unscrupulous trainers' to strengthen their own prestige, and he could also use this opportunity to expose the black market members. Besides bearing some infamy, there wouldn't be any real consequences...

Anyway, Shinji Kitahara thought the plan was worthwhile.

What puzzled him was that after he finished explaining his considerations and plans, the three people opposite him did not nod immediately as he had expected. Instead, the way they looked at him changed.

Especially Tsuna, although he was still smiling on the surface, his hands were clenched into fists at some point, and his knuckles were slightly white.

"Trainer Kitahara, don't you think there's something wrong with your plan...?"

"I admit, this plan is indeed a bit far-fetched, but the thing is, it's the most likely success story I can come up with so far..."

"you......"

"Junchuan!"

The chairman suddenly waved his folding fan, blocking Tsuna's way, and then looked up at Shinji Kitahara.

"Alright, Trainer Kitahara, we know your plan. If I'm not mistaken, you'll be investigating the identities of those 'black market' members next. You'll probably have quite a bit to do, so go ahead and get busy..."

"Okay, see you later."

Just as Akikawa Yayoi said, Kitahara Shinji did indeed have a lot of things to do right now, so after she spoke, he nodded and left.

Only after he left did Akikawa Yayoi sigh and put down the fan that had been covering Surugawa Tesuna's angry expression.

"I understand. I know you're angry about his reckless behavior, Junchuan, and it's not just you; I'm also having a headache right now. But anger won't solve anything..."

"Chairman..."

"All right!"

With another flick of her folding fan, Akikawa Yayoi interrupted Surugawa Tesuna, the word 'serious' now appearing on the fan.

“I know what you want to say, Junchuan. Treson will not give up on trainer Kitahara, nor will he allow this situation to develop.”

“He has his plans, but we have our actions. Since he only cares about others and doesn’t want to take responsibility for himself, then we’ll handle this matter.”

"However, given the severity of the situation, I'm afraid the three of us alone cannot handle it. We need more help and companions..."

After a pause, Akikawa Yayoi swiftly closed her folding fan, a hint of authority in her eyes.

“Jun Chuan, go and call over all the women under that idiot’s name, as well as everyone who is ‘connected’ to him—you know what I mean.”

She paused, then seemed to remember something and added.

"Oh, and remember to call that 'Miss Eclipse' too."

“I have some information here that she might be interested in.”

I'm really sorry, I have to take another day off today.

RT, it's the same old problem. I wanted to hold on, but I'm a bit too weak and I'm going to the hospital for an IV drip. It will be difficult to update today, I'm very sorry. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll try to update twice to make up for it.

One hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters one hundred characters.

Just letting you know, I'm still alive.

I've been having a persistent stomach problem, they say it's erosive gastritis or something. Although I don't need to be hospitalized, these past few days have been quite awful. I feel nauseous at any time of day or night. I even ate some mutton dumplings when I was feeling a little better (I'm such an idiot—), and then the situation worsened again.

My head is still foggy right now, so I can't type, play games, or even use QQ much. Please give me a few more days to recover, and I'll resume updates when I feel better. Please forgive me.

Bonus Chapter: He and She

--years ago.

"Are you leaving again?"

Looking at Shinji Kitahara running around packing up luggage that looked like junk, Eclipse asked.

"Ah."

Shinji Kitahara nodded in response as he packed his luggage.

"The problems here have been mostly resolved. If we stay any longer, it will be difficult to obtain food through helping others. It's time to leave..."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

Shinji Kitahara paused, then shook his head and continued packing his luggage.

"Let's forget it. I don't really like that kind of atmosphere, and you know I'm not a decisive person. If something happens when we part, it'll be a question whether I can even leave."

"Wouldn't it be better to stay?"

Eclipse walked over, lightly leaped, and sat on a suitcase nearby, looking at him with a slightly puzzled expression.

"I remember you said you wanted a peaceful, normal life. If you stay, given your abilities and the way people treat you, you should be able to live the kind of life you want here. And if you're willing, there are quite a few families willing to adopt you..."

Shinji Kitahara did not answer the question about the eclipse, but continued packing his luggage as if he had not heard anything.

Many years later, someone often complained that the Eclipse was a riddle, and that it was impossible to understand what she was thinking.

But in fact, he himself had many similar experiences a few years ago, and even the eclipse riddle man behavior was, to some extent, influenced by him.

After packing, Shinji Kitahara gave half of his luggage to Eclipse, and then, as he had done many times before, he walked out of the house after nightfall.

After closing the door, I placed the note with the word "farewell" in a conspicuous place, picked up my luggage, and slowly took a step towards the unknown distance.

The two of them didn't say much along the way.

It wasn't just because Eclipse was a taciturn person, but also because Shinji Kitahara didn't seem to be in a good mood.

Although many years later, Shinji Kitahara always seemed very relaxed when talking about various farewells, sometimes making people wonder if he had no concept of it at all, and he also angered the sentimental horse girls several times because of it.

But perhaps only Eclipse knows how quiet this man, who usually likes to talk to himself, is on the road each time he leaves.

He was far less magnanimous than he appeared on the surface, a fact known only to her.

Thinking this, and gazing at the figure in front of her, Eclipse quickened her pace.

"......What are you doing?"

Feeling the sensation of being surrounded around his waist, Shinji Kitahara stopped and turned around with a hint of confusion to look at Eclipse, who had suddenly hugged him from behind.

no answer.

She held her head high and calmly met his gaze.

What the hell...

After staring at each other for a while, Shinji Kitahara still couldn't figure out what she meant, but he didn't dwell on it too much, since it wasn't the first or second time she had done something he couldn't understand.

Are you tired? Let's rest here for a while.

After careful calculation, several hours had passed since the two set off, and the moon was high in the sky; it was indeed time to rest.