Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally

Chapter 271 271: Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally [271]

"Eclipse, are you really planning to run in the Satsuki Sho?"

After leaving the Chairwoman's office and returning to the dorm, Kitahara couldn't help confirming it with Eclipse one more time.

"Mm."

Eclipse gave a flat little hum, her face expressionless, then asked,

"Why? Is that a problem?"

To be honest, Kitahara had a stomach full of questions right now. For instance, why had Eclipse, who had never liked racing before, suddenly signed up for the Satsuki Sho? Why had she said that as long as she entered, his problem would be solved...?

And he clearly remembered that because she had raced so few times, Eclipse's race points shouldn't have been remotely enough to enter the Satsuki Sho. On top of that, registration should already have closed by now. How had she even gotten in...?

But despite all the questions weighing on him, Kitahara fell silent for a moment, then chose not to press her.

"Then do you want me to help you train a little? I'm not doubting your ability, but you haven't run in a long time. Even if you don't want to train, it wouldn't hurt to warm up a bit before the race..."

"No need."

Eclipse shook her head slightly, her face as calm as ever.

"Fine."

Since Eclipse had put it that way, Kitahara didn't try to persuade her any further. In passing, he also asked about Neicha and why she had chosen to withdraw.

Before asking, Kitahara had actually been a little worried about Neicha, afraid she might have voluntarily stepped aside again because of her inferiority complex.

But after hearing Eclipse repeat Neicha's reason for withdrawing, Kitahara's expression slowly turned subtle.

That girl couldn't have awakened some strange new kink because of his "training"—as in correction and education—could she...?

Then, after deciding that he would have a proper talk with Neicha about this later, the two of them chatted on and off for a while.

As they talked, Kitahara seemed to remember something and suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Eclipse looked at him in surprise, not knowing what this idiot was acting up about now.

"Nothing."

Kitahara gently shook his head, then leaned back against the sofa with a faintly wistful air.

"It's just that while we were talking, I suddenly realized that compared with before, both of us really have changed a lot."

"I still remember telling you before we came to Tracen that I planned to spend three years here with you, coast along, collect my salary, and leave. Back then, I really had made up my mind. No matter what, I was going to slack off here until the end, never stir up trouble, and make sure I didn't attract anyone's attention..."

He opened his phone and looked at the endless stream of messages coming in one after another. He sighed, but there did not seem to be much helplessness in it. It sounded more like emotion.

"But now, not only have I recruited Umamusume, I've even formed a team. My name has spread all over Japan, and I'm about to become a world-class figure—even if it's mostly through infamy."

"As for you, I still remember how cold your face was when I wanted you to go to school back then. And every time I brought up friends, you would just sit there with a sour look and say nothing."

"But now, not only do you have plenty of friends willing to support and help you, you've even taken the initiative to enter the Satsuki Sho."

"I know you definitely didn't sign up for the Satsuki Sho entirely of your own will. But the fact that you're no longer stubbornly clinging to your own views, that you're willing to communicate with other people and accept their advice and help—compared with who you used to be, that's already an enormous change..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly, looked at Eclipse, and smiled.

"My efforts had some effect in the end, didn't they?"

Silence.

Eclipse did not answer the question, nor did she show the slightest hint of shyness. Instead, she looked at him as though she were looking at an idiot.

Kitahara didn't mind. After a moment of silence, he put away his smile and spoke again.

"We've all changed. And it's not just us. Everyone else is changing too."

"Neicha, that tiny little thing with the inferiority complex back then, is becoming more and more mature and confident. Oguri Cap, who performed so terribly at first because she couldn't get enough to eat, has now become a red-hot rising star."

"Special Week has become a lot more mature and steady. Tachyon can more or less listen to some of what I say now. Digital... Mm, she seems to be just as much of a pervert as ever, but she must have changed at least a little too. Her body has definitely developed quite a bit, at least."

After all, he had confirmed that with his own eyes—and even his own hands.

"So? What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that it isn't only us, and it isn't only the people around us. It isn't only humans or Umamusume either. Everything with meaning—the planet we exist on, this universe, even what lies beyond the universe—everything is changing. No matter what your own will might be, no one can escape it."

Hearing this, Eclipse vaguely sensed something. The three voices by her ear also grew increasingly noisy.

After a moment of silence, Eclipse slowly spoke.

"If you want, I can tell you..."

"No, I don't."

Before Eclipse could finish, Kitahara cut her off.

"Thinking is exhausting. Because of everything that's happened lately, I'm already tired enough as it is. I don't want to think about any other grand questions, and I don't want to know anything either."

"I'm a Trainer. Only a Trainer. What happens to the world in the future, what happens to the fate of humans and Umamusume—none of that is something a Trainer should be worrying about."

Silence.

"So you think 'change' is right? That we should leave our existing comfort zone?"

That was not Eclipse's question. Something was merely borrowing her mouth to ask him.

But Kitahara shook his head.

"I told you, I don't want to think about anything. What I said just now wasn't some opinion or suggestion. I was merely stating a fact."

"Going along with change and constantly changing yourself is certainly one direction. But change can also make things worse, even make them collapse completely. And facing every change by remaining unchanged, living forever and happily in a greenhouse, isn't necessarily a bad thing either. It might even be the true 'good ending.'"

Kitahara looked at Eclipse, but his gaze seemed to pass through her, staring at something else.

"Before you truly take that step, no one can distinguish right from wrong within it. And there's no way to know what the many steps and choices that follow will become after that first step."

"I can't. You can't. Tracen can't. URA can't. Humans can't. Umamusume can't... and gods can't either."

When his words fell, the room sank into silence once more.

Kitahara was not an idiot. Quite the opposite. It was precisely because he could see so many things clearly that, despite noticing all sorts of abnormalities about Eclipse, he had always forced himself not to think too deeply about them.

Sometimes, knowing too much was not a good thing. He had understood that even before crossing over into this world. In fact, that was exactly how he had died.

But now, he was no longer prepared to keep forcibly shutting his eyes.

"...You still thought about it."

Eclipse spoke softly. He did not know whether those were her own words or someone else's being conveyed through her.

"Yes, I did."

Kitahara met her gaze calmly, his eyes serious.

"But I have to make this clear. What I said just now wasn't a lie. I really am tired, and I don't have much energy. I'm too lazy to think about some grand topic like the future of the world and humanity."

"I already have too many things to think about now. The tiny bit of brain capacity I have left can't hold too much, or anything too big. At most, it can only hold one simple thought."

He looked at her, and at the same time, his gaze passed beyond her, looking at something else. His tone was serious.

"I want to be with you."

"That is my only 'thought' right now."

Silence.

Kitahara looked at Eclipse in front of him, waiting for her—or rather, Their—answer.

To be honest, although he had sounded full of momentum just now, as though he already knew everything, in reality, Kitahara did not understand much about the situation at all.

Based on what that white Umamusume had said earlier, Eclipse's oddities, and the Satsuki Sho incident this time, he had only more or less confirmed that Eclipse was connected to the Three Goddesses.

After all, URA was universally known for being slow and rigid. Even the Symboli family at its current peak had very limited influence over URA. To make them act so efficiently, and even break the rules—apart from the Three Goddesses, Kitahara could not think of any other possibility.

But aside from being able to roughly confirm that Eclipse was connected to the Three Goddesses, and that the "mission" she had mentioned before was probably connected to Them as well, Kitahara knew nothing about the rest.

After all, he had never actually come into contact with the Three Goddesses. And because he was afraid of trouble, even while he had been wandering, he had always gone out of his way to avoid shrines to the Three Goddesses, much less worshiped at one.

What exactly were They? What were Their personalities like? What sort of attitude did They have toward mortals? He knew none of it, and could only make guesses based on some of the things he had seen and heard in the past.

Mysterious, powerful, majestic...

They had never shown Their true faces, seemed not to exist, yet also seemed to be everywhere...

Although whenever something had happened before, Kitahara loved complaining in his heart that those three useless gods weren't worth a damn, he understood very clearly that They were probably far more powerful and terrifying than ordinary people imagined.

Though he could not see the "curtain" covering the sky of this entire planet, as someone from another world, he had already sensed this world's strangeness long before he met Eclipse.

Compared with the world he had crossed over from, this world was too kind and beautiful—so kind and beautiful that it felt false, even frightening.

The people of this world had always lived in this kind of environment. Like people who had grown up soaking in a honey jar, they had long since accepted all that sweetness as the natural course of things.

But as an outsider, Kitahara could very easily notice the abnormality behind all of this, and could very easily deduce the existence of a "mastermind" behind it.

So even though he often complained in his heart that the Three Goddesses were useless as hell, Kitahara actually took Them quite seriously. Otherwise, he would not have constantly gone out of his way to avoid Them while he was wandering.

And now, although he still very much did not want to deal with those three, for Eclipse's sake, he had decided to take the initiative to pierce the thin paper between them and state his position.

As for what would happen after he stated it...

A cold and indifferent rejection? Lofty disregard? Or would They feel offended and go even further, bringing down divine punishment?

Kitahara did not know.

He only knew that for Eclipse's sake, whether it was rejection, disregard, or even divine punishment and making enemies of gods, his thoughts would not waver in the slightest.

But just as he had mentally prepared himself to face the worst, staring solemnly at Eclipse and waiting to receive the gods' reply, Eclipse suddenly stood up. Then, while he was still stunned, she pushed him down onto the sofa.

"...Eclipse?"

Kitahara froze.

"What are you..."

"They told me to Uma Pyoi you."

After a pause, Eclipse added,

"I don't object to Their suggestion either."

Kitahara: "...Huh?"

He froze for a moment. Then, looking at Eclipse in front of him as she had already begun tugging at his clothes, he finally realized what was happening.

"Wait, Eclipse. Neicha and the others should be back from training soon. They'll see us here..."

"Oh, that's fine."

Tearing off her own clothes, Eclipse lowered her head.

"When that happens, we'll just call them over too."

"What? Wait, Eclipse, what did you just—"

"Mmph—"

---

bonus chaps

200 stones -> 1 chapter

400 stones -> 2 chapters

600 stones -> 3 chapters

and so on

hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter is 5 bonus chapters...? (for all tls ongoing)

patreon.com/wisetl

instagram: hanbaowise

twitter: WiseKingOfUruk_