I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Shinji Kitahara was certain that her final loss of speed was entirely an act.

As for the reason, it's possible that the horse owner felt sorry for her or that she lost her temper halfway through the race, and it doesn't really matter.

The important thing is that, according to Shinji Kitahara's estimate, even if she didn't go all out and just kept running at the same initial momentum, the gap between her and the second place would be no less than twenty horse lengths.

Twenty horse lengths—what does that mean?

Let alone those random passersby, even if the Emperor of the East Sea went up to her now, he would likely be dragged into a major mess.

More importantly, this wasn't even her full strength, and she had never even trained before.

Watching the black figure begin to walk back amidst the cheers of the crowd on the field, Shinji Kitahara stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

Isn't this world line shifting a bit too much?

How can just any random random horse girl be so powerful?

Chapter Seventy: A Small Interest

An hour later, in the temporary activity room.

The atmosphere was eerily silent.

All eyes were on the eclipse, but the eclipse remained staring blankly into thin air.

Their main reason for watching her was, of course, her performance on the field, but just now on the winner's stage, they were deeply shocked by Eclipse's behavior.

It's not fair to say she did anything particularly good; you could just say she didn't do anything at all.

Yes, it didn't move at all.

After winning the competition, she stood in the center of the winners' stage, holding the microphone, standing there without saying a word or moving an inch, as if someone had stuck a piece of black wood on her.

"Miss Eclipse, you... have absolutely no experience with live performance?"

The Emperor of the East Sea was the first to speak.

He nodded.

"Yeah, I haven't learned it, and I don't plan to."

"Huh? What about the matches after that...?"

"I try to choose venues with fewer people, or those without live music."

Emperor of the East Sea: "..."

So, Ms. Eclipse, what exactly are you thinking about?!

Next to speak was Grasshopper.

"Miss Eclipse, since you have such great strength, why haven't you been training before? If you hadn't lost speed at the end, you might have been able to set a record."

This solar eclipse, remarkably, directly addressed this issue.

"I am training, but the training methods may be somewhat different from what you are aware of."

So everyone's attention shifted to Shinji Kitahara, only to find that he also looked completely bewildered.

What is that? Why are you looking at him?

It's not like he taught them; he's even more confused than they are, okay?

The next to speak was Alice, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Miss Eclipse, would you like me to give you a full body checkup? I..."

"No."

The solar eclipse was rejected outright.

Next, Oguri Hat and Special Weekly each raised their own questions.

However, their main focus was on food. The former asked what she ate to run so fast, while the latter asked where they were going to have dinner.

All I can say is that Zhou is still performing consistently well.

As for Aili Digital?

The moment the eclipse returned, she fainted with a nosebleed streaming down her face.

However, since the team was already used to her behavior, they only settled her in for the time being and planned to put her in the infirmary after returning to Teresen.

As for Kitahara Shinji in the end...

He didn't ask anything.

There's no need to ask.

He had already heard all the answers that Eclipse was willing to give over the years.

Eclipse declined to answer, even though he knew she would answer if he pressed her, but he wasn't going to do so.

Just as an eclipse would unconditionally follow someone who wants to slowly rot in a cold, damp, stinking ditch, he also unconditionally believes in an eclipse.

As for curiosity, of course he was curious, but since the eclipse didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't force her.

After everyone had asked their questions and celebrated their victory, the group embarked on their journey back to Treson in a rather subtle and eerie atmosphere.

Back on campus, after dinner, everyone spent some more time in the activity room before parting ways again, each with their own thoughts.

However, this time, instead of going directly back to his dormitory, he followed Shinji Kitahara to his dormitory.

"What...do you want to do?"

Shinji Kitahara felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the Eclipse's bizarre performance after today's match.

Could it be that she didn't get enough fun running today and wants to vent her frustrations in some other way...?

Especially after entering the room, when Eclipse silently locked the door behind him, his worries reached their peak, and he even began to regret not having prepared some safety measures such as a parasol beforehand.

"Eclipse, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was pushed onto the sofa by Eclipse.

Just when Kitahara Shinji thought his clothes were about to tear, Eclipse rushed into his arms, hugged him, and buried her face in his chest.

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment, then reached out and hugged her back, gently patting her back.

"What's wrong? You won the game, so why are you still so unhappy?"

Perhaps to others, the eclipse looked no different from usual, and even Grasshopper didn't think there was anything unusual about her.

However, Shinji Kitahara could sense that Eclipse's mood had been poor ever since the match ended, even worse than before the match.

She wouldn't say she was sad, but she was definitely unhappy.

Eclipse did not answer his question immediately, but simply held him in silence.

Shinji Kitahara wasn't in a hurry. He gently patted her back while pondering what might be causing her unhappiness.

After a long while, the eclipse finally began to slowly open its mouth.

"I don't like competitions."

"why?"

"Because I'm bored."

"......boring?"

Upon hearing her answer, a flash of inspiration struck Shinji Kitahara, who was deep in thought. A certain conjecture gradually rose in his mind, and his expression as he looked at the eclipse became increasingly strange.

"Eclipse, you...you don't think the match is boring because the opponents are all too weak, do you?"

The eclipse did not answer, but given her past behavior, this was essentially tantamount to acquiescence.

Now it's Shinji Kitahara's turn.

He considered many possible reasons why the eclipse might be unhappy, such as disliking the venue, being stared at strangely by her teammates, or not having given her psychological counseling before the competition...

But he really didn't expect it to be for this reason.

How am I supposed to comfort her like that? Do you expect him to create a rival for her right now?

He didn't doubt Eclipse's words, after all, she hadn't even used her full strength yet, and didn't even know how much effort she had put in to pull someone up twenty horse lengths. Even someone of the level of the East Sea Emperor could be greatly outmatched, so it was indeed impossible to find an opponent in the same generation.

Why don't we try different years?

Rudolph, the undefeated triple crown champion, and Tsuna, nicknamed "The One Who Looks Down on Everything," both of them, though past their prime, are still...

"No way."

Before he could think about it further, Eclipse spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.

"They are all decent racehorse girls, but they are still not enough."

Shinji Kitahara wasn't surprised that she knew what he was thinking, but he was amused by her words and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"You're not that old, but you've got quite the nerve. You know you'd get beaten up if you said that outside?"

However, despite saying that, Shinji Kitahara did not think she was being childish or bragging.

After all, this was the first time he had ever seen a monster who could casually produce a professional-level racehorse girl with a length of twenty without even taking it seriously.

You have to understand, these aren't ordinary racehorse girls that even locals might not get to participate in regular races. Especially that racehorse girl who was pulled nine lengths by her today, she would have a chance to win even in an OP-level race.

Thinking of this, Shinji Kitahara recalled his past days of wandering and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"If I had known you were this good, I would have let you compete in some high-paying races. You wouldn't have had such a hard time before..."

"I don't want to," Eclipse replied sullenly.

"Okay, then we won't run."

Shinji Kitahara immediately changed his tune.

"So what are you planning to do next? Treson doesn't necessarily require students to participate in competitions. If you don't want to, you can cancel all other competitions..."

Even if Eclipse didn't want to run away, he had enough horse girls under his command, and their quality was quite high.

To put it bluntly, if he can successfully make it through these three years, the money he can earn will not only be enough for him and Eclipse to live on for the rest of their lives, but even after paying off the money owed to his elderly mother, there will still be a considerable amount left over.

But Eclipse rejected his suggestion.

"No need, I'll just run around casually."

Although she had said the same thing when they discussed the competition before, he now felt a greater sense of understanding.

Even a casual attitude can cause the East Sea Emperor to fall far behind at the start, so how can it be considered just a casual run?

After much deliberation, many thoughts and questions flashed through my mind, such as her current situation as a professional, her actual strength, why she doesn't like running competitions and learning live performances, and why she could conclude that Rudolf's Symbol and Tsuna Suguru were both incompetent without even having run a competition...

In the end, he just sighed and rubbed Eclipse's little head a few times.

"As expected, I still don't understand what you're thinking."

He put down his hand that was rubbing Eclipse's head and pulled her into his arms, and she tightened her grip on his arm.

Silence spread again, and time ticked by.

Shinji Kitahara yawned and glanced at the clock on the wall; the hands were almost at curfew.

So he poked the little black ball of fur that was almost asleep in his arms.

"Hey, get up, it's almost curfew, if you don't go back soon you won't be able to get back."

Awakened from a half-asleep state, Eclipse glanced at the clock, then looked down again.

"It's okay, I don't plan to go back."

Upon hearing her words, Shinji Kitahara stiffened.

You're not planning to go back? That means...

"Yes, I plan to sleep here tonight."

Perhaps she had regained some clarity, because she released her grip on Shinji Kitahara's arm, sat up on him, and then added a sentence.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to do anything to you. I've just been living in the dorm for a long time and I miss you a bit."

"Then I'll sleep on the sofa..."

Shinji Kitahara made a last-ditch effort.

Eclipse nodded, then took out the bottle of green potion that had been hidden somewhere before.