I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Then, after a long while, her voice finally rang out.

"Then, Trainer-san, if you want, I'm willing to take on your responsibilities."

The initial excitement has subsided, and Libra has gradually calmed down.

Even so, she still mustered the courage to say those words.

As long as Shinji Kitahara is willing to add a weight to the scales, she is willing to give up whatever the other side may hold—the past, her self, or something else entirely.

But Shinji Kitahara said nothing.

He simply held her still, silently staying by her side, without making any unnecessary movements.

After a while, the Emperor of the East Sea spoke somewhat uneasily.

"Um, Trainer, are you unwilling? If not, that's okay, I won't force you... Or do you hate me...?"

“I just don’t think this is something you would say.”

Shinji Kitahara's voice rang out.

The Emperor of the East Sea stiffened slightly, then felt a hand touch her head, expertly picking up a small tuft of white hair from her forehead and gently rubbing it.

As she rubbed and felt the wonderful rhythm emanating from it, a strange sense of peace and satisfaction began to rise in her heart, and her unease gradually dissipated.

Then, after she relaxed, Shinji Kitahara spoke again.

“I know you’re probably feeling really bad right now, and maybe even a little self-doubting.”

"I don't want to say anything like 'I think you're right,' because I just think that trying to win an undefeated triple crown without relying on trainers is a slim hope and a very unwise thing to do."

"But a slim chance does not mean there is no hope, and an unwise decision does not necessarily mean it will not work."

"In life, we have to make many choices, some good and some bad, some important and some insignificant."

"But all these choices have one thing in common: you never know which one is right before you make the choice, and you may not even know it after you make the choice."

"What Rudolph and I can do is use our experience to help you determine which side has a higher probability of being right, rather than providing an absolutely correct option."

"This is not something I made up to comfort you. In fact, I have made even more unwise choices than you."

“When I was a child in a rural village, I witnessed a group of human traffickers kidnap a girl and flee into the mountains.”

“I knew very well that my wisest choice was to notify the adults in the neighborhood, then notify the police, and close off the mountain to search for them.”

"But I was afraid that this might drive them to desperate measures, and I was also worried that they might have some secret way to escape, so I followed them without consulting anyone, risking my life to win that slim gamble."

"Another time, I found myself in a very dangerous situation, surrounded by dangerous bad people."

"On my side, there was only me, who was still a child at the time, and my little darling who couldn't do anything right, only dragged me down, and had a very troublesome personality."

"I know that if I can shake her off, I can easily escape."

"Moreover, as long as I act quickly enough, I can call my accomplices who are already lying in wait outside and wipe them all out in one fell swoop. As long as that little rascal hides well, he is unlikely to encounter any danger."

"But I chose to trust her, entrusted everything to her, and then we worked together to escape from there."

"These were all very unwise choices, and I didn't know if they were right or wrong before I made them."

"When I reflect on it afterward, I often feel that I must have been out of my mind to insist on doing that when there were better and safer options available."

"But Your Majesty, I have never regretted my choice back then."

"Because I succeeded, I saved them."

"If I had chosen another 'correct' path, although the outcome might have been the same, there's no guarantee that something unexpected would have happened, and it might have made the situation worse."

Then, he lowered his head, looked at the girl in his arms, and spoke earnestly.

"the same as you."

"While it is unwise and unlikely to succeed in challenging for an undefeated triple crown without the help of trainers, perhaps this is the right path for you."

"While I think relying on trainers to win the undefeated triple crown is the right choice, you might regret it years later and feel that you could have challenged for even greater honors."

But that's not the most important thing.

"The most important thing is that you are not yourself right now."

He skillfully twirled a strand of the girl's hair with his fingers, guiding her to raise her head. He calmly met her gaze, his tone earnest.

"The East Sea Emperor I know is a lively, confident, and running-loving East Sea Emperor."

"She listens to other people's advice, but she also has her own opinions. She can be a little willful at times, but she is never ambiguous about important matters."

"When the trainers are not doing their job, she will take the initiative to liven up the atmosphere in the team and treat everyone with enthusiasm."

"I will also do everything I can to prepare before the competition, and win in the best possible way."

"I know that everyone has sad moments and it's impossible to stay calm all the time."

"But I hope you can calm down before you think carefully about the question you just asked me, and then confirm your decision."

"Whether you find a trainer or not, whether you go alone or not, I will respect your choice."

"And if you choose to continue on your own, I will still keep my promise and will not interfere with you in the slightest."

"And besides training, you can still leave everything else to me. I'll also talk to Rudolf about it..."

"do not want!"

Listening to Kitahara Shinji's words and feeling the tugging of his hair, the East Sea Emperor was already a little dazed and thought he would stay in his arms all day.

But as soon as she heard him say he was going to talk to the president about it, she immediately woke up in fright.

She had to be startled awake. If he and the chairman were to discuss this matter, their statements would be compared, and her previous concealment would be completely exposed.

Although she didn't answer or lie, what if the trainer thought she was a bad girl and stopped liking her because of it...?

Thinking about this, the Emperor of the East Sea suddenly regretted not being honest from the beginning.

But the thing is, it feels so good to be in the trainer's arms...

The emperor of the East Sea was conflicted.

Seeing her like this, Shinji Kitahara thought that the little one was probably worried about the various situations that might arise after he and Rudolf confronted each other.

After thinking for a while, he said that if she was worried, he would not tell Rudolf about it for now, but if there was a next time, he would definitely have to go and give her a good talking-to.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of the East Sea immediately agreed, then snuggled in his arms for a while before reluctantly leaving.

Even after leaving that warm embrace, feeling the lingering warmth on her body, although she still couldn't make the most difficult choice, at least she could make another one.

"Trainer, is it still possible for me to go for the training camp now?"

She made the request with a slight blush, and the speed at which her tail wagged behind her gradually increased.

Shinji Kitahara noticed her unusual behavior, but assumed she was just embarrassed.

After all, she was the only one who had refused the request to join the training camp before, and now she suddenly wants to join. Even if it were Kitahara Shinji, let alone the Emperor of the East Sea, he would want to crawl into a hole and hide if he really did that.

"What about the game?"

he asks.

A moment of silence.

The Emperor of the East Sea slightly averted his gaze and whispered.

"...I've already cleared the game."

"Then it's up to you—but I might not have enough beds on my end, so you might have to sleep on the floor outside with Alice Digital."

"Huh? Trainer, is your bed in the dorm that small? Didn't you have money...?"

"Have you forgotten how many people are in our team?"

"...Ah, then it seems that it's not your problem, trainer."

They chatted as they walked out of the corner, and then the two parted ways.

Shinji Kitahara still needs to talk to Rudolf about the Black Forest, while the Emperor of the East Sea is going back to his dorm tonight to pack up and prepare to move in for a group stay tomorrow.

However, Kitahara Shinji left very decisively, but the East Sea Emperor stopped after taking two steps, turned around and looked at him, his tail swaying more and more.

Gazing at that retreating figure and feeling the lingering warmth on his body, the Emperor of the East Sea blinked, his face slightly flushed.

To be clear, she didn't have any particularly bad, weird, or dangerous thoughts about her trainer, San.

Just being able to be held in his arms and pampered when there's nothing to do seems nice.

But if we could do something deeper than just embracing...

For some unknown reason, the East Sea Emperor wagged his tail and ran away with a red face.

Chapter 111: There are just too many people!

After that day, the Emperor of the East Sea also joined the training camp.

Her arrival was warmly welcomed by everyone.

After all, kids are basically powerless against the idea of ​​living together and messing around.

Moreover, although they are enemies in some ways, they are also teammates. They train together, eat together, and play together, and they have long since formed a considerable friendship.

Among them, the most lively and steady yet playful, the East Sea Emperor, gets along with almost everyone and is a core figure in the team, or even the captain.

So while the rest of the team breathed a sigh of relief at her previous rejection because there was one less competitor, they were still somewhat disappointed overall.

But now, all they feel is a simple welcome to the arrival of the Emperor of the East Sea.

As for the reason?

There are just too many people, I can't make a move at all!

Before the training camp, some of the female participants had already started making various plans in their minds.

While it's unlikely that he'll reach base directly, he can certainly take advantage of this training camp to close the gap with Shinji Kitahara.

But in fact, once they arrived, they found that their little schemes were completely useless.

If you make a smaller move, you won't be able to budge Shinji Kitahara, that perfect blockhead. Instead, all your attacks will backfire on you, and you'll only be gaining goodwill on your own side.

If you make a big move, the other members of the team aren't blind. Even if they don't interfere or stop you, they can easily imitate you.

Although various things did happen along the way, and all sorts of situations arose.

The problem is that those situations didn't cause the slightest damage to the log; instead, they dealt a ton of blows to themselves.

If this continues, they might end up hurting and dying before they even manage to poke at that stubborn mule.

If I lose control and do something wrong in a moment of impulse, not only will I be eliminated from the Kitahara Cup, but I might also give others an opportunity to take advantage of my vulnerability.

Thus, with checks and balances from various parties, this training camp, which was supposed to lead to something, actually became safer than when there was no training camp before.

Having confirmed this, they all abandoned their unnecessary schemes and settled down to enjoy the lively atmosphere of the retreat, naturally welcoming the arrival of the East Sea Emperor.

However, after joining, the East Sea Emperor's happiness was short-lived, as she received news that caused her heart and lungs to stop.

"Ah, the 'friend' from the teahouse is here now, and seems quite interested in you."

Shinji Kitahara casually mentioned it.

The Emperor of the East Sea was taken aback, then thought of a certain rumor, and his expression gradually stiffened.

"Um, where is that 'friend'? I can't find him..."

"It's right behind you."

After a pause, Shinji Kitahara added a sentence.

"Oh, right, I forgot she's a ghost, so you probably can't see her..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shinji Kitahara's vision went black.

It wasn't that he fainted, but after hearing that there was a ghost behind him, he jumped three feet high and clung to Kitahara Shinji's face like a facehugger, his face pale and his body trembling.

The Empress of the East Sea was afraid of ghosts.

And this is just the beginning.

Because this room is full of heavyweights, Zhou Ri Ningjing has been losing confidence lately and has even started to wonder if she is about to become a Buddha, so she is not as scary as before.

But the appearance of the Emperor of the East Sea restored her confidence, and then his wicked nature immediately kicked in. He kept circling around her and would touch her from time to time.

The next second, she got a flick on the forehead from Shinji Kitahara.