I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

For most people, urban legends are basically just topics of conversation over tea or after dinner; they're something to ask around about, chat about, and brag about, and then it's over.

But for Shinji Kitahara, every single one of those verifiable urban legends was excellent research material.

Especially after vaguely realizing the true nature of the horse girl, Shinji Kitahara wanted to take the initiative to learn about and engage with some urban legends in order to advance the progress of his current research projects.

But before he could take any action, Satomi Hikaru 'coincidentally' mentioned to him that he knew something about this area.

He had conducted some research and then provided Kitahara Shinji with a large amount of valuable intelligence that he had previously obtained through the Satomi family.

Faced with such a gift from Satomi Hikari, Kitahara Shinji, who was eagerly craving such things, naturally could not refuse.

But Shinji Kitahara isn't the kind of person who likes to get things for free.

Although afterwards, Kozo Satomi stated that it was just based on information sharing among enthusiasts.

Besides, Shinji Kitahara had already told her many stories about his personal encounters with various "urban ghost stories" during his time as a homeless person, so he didn't need to repay her.

Even so, Shinji Kitahara still refused her offer.

Normally, since this data is used for research, if you want to give back to Li Guangzuo, you can simply send her a copy of the research results.

The problem is that everything he studies involves some degree of danger.

The essence of Ma Niang, the development of her domain, and the issue of Sunday tranquility...

It's fine for him to study these things in private.

If he dares to go public with this idea, the three goddesses will probably investigate him as soon as he even has the thought, and it's not impossible that they'll kill him to silence him.

Since sharing the results wasn't an option, Shinji Kitahara had no choice but to repay in another way.

The problem is that, in any other way, Shinji Kitahara really doesn't know what else he can offer her.

After all, Satomi Hikari is the eldest daughter of the Satomi family, and quite the favored one at that.

Not only do they lack nothing in their daily lives, but they also receive so many gifts during holidays that they are overwhelmed with gratitude, and the quality of these gifts is generally quite high.

In comparison, although he had quite a few gadgets, they were either unsuitable, such as nursing items, or things that people didn't need.

The only suitable approach would probably be to use my skills as a trainer to provide her with some training guidance.

As luck would have it, just as Shinji Kitahara came up with this idea, Mitsuzumi Satomi also 'coincidentally' made the same suggestion.

She explained that since Shinji Kitahara was an active trainer, he might have better information than those hired by her family, and she wanted to ask him for help, to occasionally guide her and Kitahara's training.

The rest followed naturally.

Although I don't really want the Satomi family to know exactly what his trainer abilities are.

However, Shinji Kitahara thought that if he only provided some minor modifications that would be difficult for ordinary trainers to notice, there shouldn't be any problems.

He agreed to Satomi Hikari's request and then secretly became her and Kita Genko's de facto trainer.

Furthermore, after agreeing, with the help of the information provided by Satomi Hikari, Kitahara Shinji's research progressed by leaps and bounds.

Especially in November, eight consecutive matches kept Shinji Kitahara a bit busy.

But the main reason he was so busy was actually his research into various situations.

After all, with his abilities, let alone eight games, even eighteen games would be enough if he worked hard for a few days, if we don't consider the time it would take to attend the games.

As for what he ultimately researched and what he gained from all that he was so busy with...

There's a lot to say.

First, the field was opened.

Although Shinji Kitahara has not yet fully figured out all the elements required to open the domain.

However, after this period of research, compared to the past, he added a few more conditions to his previous guesses for opening the domain.

For example, after consulting more relevant materials, Shinji Kitahara discovered that the vast majority of the horse girls who activated their domains did so during their orthodox period, with only a very small number activating them outside of that period.

Moreover, even this small portion was only activated after the orthodox system was completed; there is no mention of a horse girl whose domain was activated before the orthodox system was even started.

Secondly, Shinji Kitahara discovered that all the horse girls who had unlocked their domains shared a common trait that was difficult for ordinary people to notice.

They give off a very harmonious feeling.

As for something more specific, Shinji Kitahara couldn't really describe it, and he wasn't very clear about this aspect of his research, nor did he know exactly what this sense of harmony was all about.

However, although it is unknown where this sense of harmony comes from, Shinji Kitahara has noticed a small detail recently.

Those horse girls he cared for generally had a stronger sense of coordination than those he hadn't cared for, and the strength of their coordination was directly proportional to the intensity and frequency of his care.

It's just weird.

What's even stranger is that this sense of harmony is also reflected in the three-person team in the chairman's office, namely Akikawa Yayoi, Kashimoto Riko, and Surugawa Tezuna.

Unlike Surugawa Tesuna, although Surugawa Tesuna was a bit tired, his coordination was quite good.

As for Yayoi Akikawa, the sense of harmony is not only strong, but upon closer inspection, there is also a sense of abruptness, as if she is stuck.

As for Riko Kashimoto, not only is she abrupt, but she even gives people a sense of conflict.

It's like forcibly piecing together two completely incompatible systems; when it runs, it throws all sorts of errors, there are problems everywhere, and it looks bizarre no matter how you look at it.

Perhaps this is the reason why they have health problems?

Shinji Kitahara made this guess, but it cannot be confirmed at present and requires further research.

In addition to the area, thanks to the large amount of information about 'urban legends' provided by Satomi Kozo, they also benefited.

Based on his past experiences, Shinji Kitahara gained a deeper understanding of the nature of horse girls and came to a conclusion that sounds somewhat unbelievable.

Sunday was peaceful; in reality, it wasn't a ghost, but a normal horse girl.

But that doesn't mean she's the only normal horse girl, and the other horse girls are abnormal.

In fact, according to Shinji Kitahara's results.

Whether it's the normal horse girls in his team, or Zhou Ri Ningjing, or even the more eccentric ones, they all fall into the category of 'normal horse girls'.

According to his investigation, the horse-like creature does not seem to have any particularly strict constraints regarding its 'life form'.

Whether it's a normal 'horse girl,' a 'Miss Surugawa' who looks no different from a human, a ghostly 'Sunday Serenity,' or even some stranger things...

They are few in number, but they do exist.

Moreover, after actually meeting them, Shinji Kitahara was able to confirm that, at least in terms of their inner qualities, they were at least extremely similar to Uma Musume, if not exactly the same.

Moreover, after further investigation, Shinji Kitahara vaguely realized...

The reason why horse girls are horse girls is probably not a matter of race, but rather that in their own understanding, they are simply 'horse girls'...

Or to put it more humorously, they believe they are horse girls, therefore they are horse girls.

This can explain many strange things in the world, and if you follow this line of thought, most of the strange things URA and Treson do can also be explained.

Alternatively, it can be summarized in one sentence.

Maintain the horse girl's self-awareness.

Of course, this theory is certainly incomplete, and there are definitely aspects that Shinji Kitahara didn't understand.

After all, if the horse girl could really turn into whatever she thought of, then compared to the horse girl, if they thought of themselves as space battleships, then we could directly step into space and usher in the age of stars.

However, Shinji Kitahara did not pursue the research further.

It's not because of a lack of time, nor because of a lack of ability.

But he always felt that if he continued to study like this, the three goddesses might come to him in his dreams at night to check on him.

What he didn't know was that, in fact, those three rascals had appeared in his dreams countless times over the years.

However, although we cannot continue to study this point, after having this speculation, the situation on Ning Jing's side on Sunday showed some signs of improvement.

According to this theory, the reason why Zhou Ri Ningjing was in a 'ghost state' might be because, in her self-perception, she herself was a ghost.

If her self-perception could be changed, perhaps her situation could be altered.

Of course, I can't tell her about this.

After all, if the person involved knew about this, the treatment effect might be greatly reduced.

Moreover, Shinji Kitahara doesn't have any concrete evidence to prove this so far; it's still just speculation.

If it were said early on, but it doesn't work out in the end, then Zhou Ningjing would probably be quite upset on Sunday.

Having made these advances, Shinji Kitahara should logically continue his efforts.

Even if we don't pursue further research in areas that might be less dangerous, at least we can start considering how to solve the various problems at hand.

For example, the chairman's development, the ghost of Sunday tranquility, and even that acting chairman who he hasn't had much interaction with yet, but is unusually weak and clumsy...

But he took no action and instead continued to let things fall apart as usual.

It wasn't that he didn't want to continue; in fact, if he had a choice, Shinji Kitahara would very much like to continue.

After all, the chairman is always generous, and the acting chairman is said to be a young lady from a wealthy family. If their problems can be solved, the income will definitely be substantial.

Although Zhou Ningjing had no money, her constant clinging and various actions were driving him to the brink of high blood pressure. Kitahara Shinji was now eager to give her a physical body so he could get rid of this situation.

But the problem is, just when he was about to do so, a completely new and unexpected problem suddenly arose.

He himself had health problems.

As mentioned before, due to various factors, Shinji Kitahara has a much stronger control over his body than the average person.

Therefore, even if the changes are very subtle and slight, normal people would not even notice them, let alone have any illusions.

But he quickly noticed the anomaly shortly after the change began.

As for the specific unusual symptoms...

After agreeing to meet Hikari and seeing her off, Shinji Kitahara went to the shady spot where Elisako had previously been. He picked up a rather thick twig from the ground and then applied slight pressure.

stab.

With a tearing sound, Shinji Kitahara snapped the branch in his hand into two pieces.

After finishing, Shinji Kitahara stood there, looking at the branch that had been broken into two pieces in his hand, with a clear look of contemplation in his eyes.

Clearly, this is not something that can be done with normal human strength.

Even if he had broken this branch before, it wouldn't have been difficult for him, but it would have been impossible for him to snap it off as easily as he does now.

If that were all, Shinji Kitahara wouldn't have considered it so much.

After all, having more strength is always a good thing.

Especially now that Necha has confessed to him, although he doesn't think Necha, with her personality and her top-ranking status as the safest horse girl, would do anything outrageous, it's always good to be on the safe side.

The problem is that his power is not continuous, but rather a one-time consumable.

Through some means, he briefly acquired a certain amount of power, and through an absurdly high level of self-control, he prevented it from dissipating on its own, storing it within his body, and just now used it.

After it was used, the power dissipated considerably along with the branch. It looked like it would completely dissipate if two or three more branches were broken.

If the source of this power is relatively normal, then Shinji Kitahara will need to conduct at least two more repeated experiments to see what exactly is going on.

But the problem is that the source of his power is a bit strange.

For example, the kiss in Necha earlier.

In fact, this was not the first time Shinji Kitahara had felt this power.

He couldn't quite pinpoint exactly when he started to feel it.

Because this thing cannot be used on its own and will dissipate on its own, Shinji Kitahara initially thought it was just his imagination.

After I gradually became more familiar with it, I was still not proficient enough at first, so I kept failing to use it or even save it until today when I finally succeeded for the first time.

Something feels off...

Shinji Kitahara stared into thought as he looked at his fingers.

If this power came from a more legitimate source, he would probably be happy.

The problem is that, upon careful recollection of the times he acquired this power, it seems that it was almost always during the period when he was forcibly kissed.

Does he have some kind of special ability that makes him stronger when kissed?

Shinji Kitahara thought so, but he immediately dismissed it himself.

No, it shouldn't be. He's just an ordinary human being; he shouldn't have such a thing.

In comparison, he felt that the reason this situation occurred might be due to the special characteristics of horse girls.