"I'm an idiot. Seriously."
On the way ho, Kitahara Sota stared emptily ahead.
"I always knew money could make ghosts grind the millstone, but I never thought I'd be the one falling into that trap soday."
He'd clearly resolved to avoid becoming any Uma Musu's trainer until Eclipse graduated. Yet the mont Tokai Teio made her offer, he'd shafully caved in.
For trainers at Tracen Academy, besides their generous base salary, their main source of inco ca from the prize money earned by their assigned Uma Musu.
Whenever their assigned Uma Musu won a race, trainers received a certain percentage of the winnings—a system designed to motivate them.
As one of JP's top-ranked Uma Musu, Tokai Teio's race earnings were at the pinnacle of the sport, and even the standard trainer's share was sizable. If doubled...
To put it simply, even if Teio stayed under his na without the double share, she'd still earn enough to support both him and Eclipse comfortably for life.
Of course, Kitahara understood Tokai Teio wouldn't remain under him indefinitely.
Once she proved her capability or had an accident preventing her from racing, his inco source would dry up imdiately.
But even that's fine!
With Teio's ability, even just one year—no, even half a year—could save him from struggling for several years or even a decade.
The lure of easy money had shafully swayed him.
Besides, she'd explicitly stated he shouldn't interfere with her, aning he wouldn't need to interact with her at all. There'd be no chances to accidentally increase affection or slip into a basent. As long as he handled things well, the odds of disaster approached zero.
All he had to do was lie around at ho and watch the money flow into his bank account. Was there a better job in this world?
But even so, there was still one thing he needed clarified.
"Eclipse."
"Mm."
"You're the one who nudged Tokai Teio into choosing , aren't you?"
A suspiciously convenient Teio had suddenly appeared, precisely needing a trainer like him who'd slack off completely. And she had "coincidentally" heard he liked money, offering exactly the right price he couldn't refuse.
Too many coincidences weren't coincidences at all.
Eclipse's face remained as calm as ever. "I didn't arrange anything. I just happened to hear she was worried about her trainer situation and casually ntioned knowing soone suitable."
That wasn't just casually ntioning. You practically handed her a targeted strategy to deal with . Kitahara silently retorted as he took out his keys and unlocked the apartnt door.
He pushed the door open, walked in, and sprawled out on the sofa as usual. Eclipse naturally went into the kitchen.
"What's for dinner tonight?" he asked.
"Carrot salad and stewed at," she replied.
Indeed, they lived together.
But sadly, he and Eclipse weren't lovers.
If he had to define their relationship, he couldn't exactly say they were close—just that they'd been relying on each other since childhood.
Actually, if Kitahara lived alone, his previous jobs would have provided sufficient inco. The real issue was Eclipse.
While Uma Musu had at least three tis a human's physical strength, their calorie consumption was equally massive. Even inactive Uma Musu ate about twice as much as an adult human.
So especially ravenous ones were legendary, like a certain overly round girl, or a certain small chestnut, or… Eclipse herself.
The first ti Kitahara saw Eclipse's appetite, he'd been utterly shocked. After she entered puberty and started specialized training, her appetite skyrocketed even further, to the point that one ordinary al cost him half a day's wages—without even including expensive ingredients.
He'd thought about sending her to a local Tracen branch to ease the financial burden with their cafeteria.
But Eclipse had adamantly refused, and local Tracen cafeterias, though subsidized, weren't fully free either.
He'd also considered having her race to earn prize money. He'd even discussed this with her, but she'd shown resistance, insisting that he'd have to be her trainer if she competed.
Kitahara was lazy, sure—but he wasn't completely trashy. He wouldn't force her into sothing she disliked.
Besides, the na "Eclipse" had never appeared in the ga. She was probably just a talentless, ordinary Uma Musu who'd be crushed in actual races anyway.
Then, instead of prize money, her appetite would balloon from intense training, worsening his financial troubles.
But now, that wasn't an issue anymore.
"Tracen Academy HQ, huh…"
Kitahara slumped deeper into the sofa, gazing into the distance.
While the dark side hidden beneath its surface could be unsettling, the staff and students' unlimited access to the completely free buffet cafeteria was undeniably tempting.
Their food issue had been solved, and they'd have substantial inco. He just needed to idle away the next few years, after which he could finally do whatever he wanted without worrying about money…
The only catch was the unintended involvent with Tokai Teio.
Tokai Teio stood near the top of his danger rankings—soone he should ideally avoid even exchanging a single word with. Comparable threats included Symboli Rudolf, Grass Wonder, and Satono Diamond.
He'd also ntally listed so Uma Musu he considered relatively safe, suitable for casual contact or even as potential tantou if truly desperate.
For example, Twin Turbo, Agnes Digital, and Gold Ship.
These three were eccentric heavyweights themselves—respectively representing "idiot," "pervert," and "alien." Not exactly easygoing, but surprisingly harmless mudslides—no, clear streams—amid the deluge of horrifying fanfiction.
They were so negative, they looped right around to positive.
But now that he already had two tantou—one being Tokai Teio—there was no longer a need to risk interacting with them.
As he drifted off into thought, dinner was soon ready. Midway through eating, he suddenly rembered sothing.
"By the way, Eclipse, co to think of it, I've never actually seen you lose—I an, in a race."
"Why should I lose?" Eclipse shot back plainly.
That's not exactly how this works, right?
Her blunt question broke Kitahara's train of thought, so he quietly resud eating, mulling it over.
Now that he really thought about it, Eclipse seed quite a bit stronger than the average Uma Musu. Although she rarely competed, every race's outco seed entirely based on her mood.
In a good mood, she'd win by a slight margin; neutral, she'd crush her opponents decisively; in a bad mood… actually, she'd never been in a bad mood.
Ah, forget it. It's not like I'm counting on her to earn money anyway. Why worry about this pointless stuff?
"Sota."
After dinner, Eclipse's voice suddenly broke his thoughts.
Standing in the kitchen washing dishes with one hand, she calmly tapped the air with the other and said:
"Before bed tonight, do three thousand push-ups in thirty minutes."
"Why so many today?" Kitahara was startled. Eclipse occasionally issued random instructions, such as running a certain distance within a ti limit or doing pull-ups, but she'd never demanded so much before.
"Could we maybe reduce it a bit?" he ventured carefully.
"Not even one fewer. And no delays or dividing them up," Eclipse calmly replied.
Completely indifferent about nearly everything else, Eclipse had always been particularly strict when it ca to this.
Perhaps because he'd slacked off extra hard today, residual laziness surged through Kitahara, prompting a rare impulse to rebel.
"But… I refuse."
His expression beca stern. "Kitahara Sota's favorite thing to do is—"
Eclipse stepped out of the kitchen, staring at him coldly, as if looking at a dead man.
"Do it or I'll jump you. Choose."
"...I'll do it. Okay? I'll do it."
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