I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

This is the only explanation that Shinji Kitahara can come up with at the moment.

"...I'm not sure."

Kazuya Hisadou sighed. Seeing that the situation had been explained clearly, he didn't linger any longer. After telling Shinji Kitahara that he would continue the investigation, he got up and left.

Just before leaving, Shinji Kitahara, who was sitting in the same spot, suddenly thought of something and spoke up.

"Trainer Jiutang, what should I do if I want to join the 'Black Market'?"

Hisato Kazuya paused slightly in his steps.

He knew, of course, that Kitahara Shinji wanted to get involved in the investigation further, and he would be happy to have such a reliable helper, but...

"Although I really want to nod, you can't."

What do you mean I can't?

Shinji Kitahara looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Are you guys very strict in selecting members? Or am I just too well-known among you? If that's the case, I can just change my name and pretend to be someone else..."

"No, that's not the question."

Hisato Kazuya paused, carefully choosing his words before speaking.

"Actually, in terms of meeting the requirements to join the 'black market,' you should be more qualified than all of us, even... no, it's nothing, but I can tell you definitively that you cannot join the 'black market.'"

"No, why are you only saying half of what you mean?"

Although Shinji Kitahara was very displeased with Kazuya Hisadou's riddle-solving behavior.

But for some unknown reason, no matter how much Shinji Kitahara pressed him for an answer, Kazuya Hisadou never said another word after that, and then quickly left.

After Hisahito Kazuya left, Kitahara Shinji didn't dwell on the matter any further.

Although it's quite obvious that Hisadou Kazuya is hiding such a secret.

But judging from their previous actions, at least in terms of preventing tragedies, they are allies in the same front and have no ill intentions towards him, so he is willing to believe what he says.

But the problem is, if we believe him, how do we explain the behavior of those madmen? How can they act in such madness without leaving any evidence?

This situation could only occur if all of their members were exceptionally intelligent, with every plan perfectly executed and every action flawlessly carried out, leaving not a single trace; or...

"There's a mole inside."

Shinji Kitahara sighed.

Moreover, he wasn't just an ordinary mole; he might even be one of the people he had contacted before.

And so, after his meeting with Kazuya Wakudo ended, Shinji Kitahara sighed and returned to his house.

Then, as soon as he pushed open the door and saw the scene inside, Shinji Kitahara was stunned.

Super Cove, the symbol of Sirius, and Maruzensky were sitting in his house, seemingly having a pleasant conversation.

As soon as he pushed open the door, the conversation stopped abruptly, and then all three pairs of eyes focused on him.

"Little Bay, don't you have class today...?"

Unlike yesterday's day off, today was a regular school day. Shinji Kitahara was thinking about going to school, so he ran off early, intending to come back after she left.

but now.......

"I've taken leave."

Super Little Bay rested his cheek on his hand and smiled as he spoke.

this......

Looking at the undisguised look in her eyes, Shinji Kitahara felt a chill run down his spine, and then turned his gaze to the other two people.

"Um, I wonder what brings you two here..."

"Didn't we promise to help you, Trainer Kitahara, with your 'experiments'?"

Sirius, symbolized by a figure leaning back on the sofa, has a serious expression.

"Furthermore, this morning I received an investigation report from the Metropolitan Police Department stating that it was merely an accident caused by a mental patient's episode, and the explanation seems quite reasonable..."

"Um, is there a problem with this...?"

Shinji Kitahara tried to play dumb.

But it was clearly useless.

"Stop playing dumb. If it really was just an 'accident,' how could you have known about this beforehand?"

Sirius symbolizes a sharp gaze, and his words carry a subtle hint of anger.

"The Metropolitan Police Department has been incompetent for a long time, and I didn't expect them to uncover anything, but I didn't expect URA and Treson to be this muddle-headed..."

Looking at the expression on Kitahara Shinji's face, Sirius gave him a sidelong glance.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I didn't refute their conclusion, nor did I show any sign that I knew any extra information, and I kept it all a secret for you..."

Shinji Kitahara breathed a sigh of relief when Sirius said that no information had been revealed.

After all, based on his and Hisadou Kazuya's speculation, URA, Treson, and even the Metropolitan Police Department should have their people. If Sirius Symbol really revealed it, it might alert them.

However, before he could even catch his breath, the Sirius symbol spoke again.

"However, as a reward for keeping this confidential, I also have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

"......What's up?"

"It's very simple."

Sirius stood up, walked up to Shinji Kitahara, looked up at him, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

I don't trust those idiots.

"I should also be counted in the investigation of this matter."

Chapter 200: Cardiac Arrest

Shinji Kitahara ultimately did not refuse the request symbolized by Sirius.

Unlike other My Little Pony girls, Sirius Symbol is an adult with considerable abilities. With such a reliable person to help him, Shinji Kitahara had no reason to refuse.

As for things like building goodwill...

To reiterate, it's just working and investigating together. If this can build up goodwill, wouldn't Koya and Tsuna, who work and chat with him every day, have an overwhelming affection for him?

That's impossible, isn't it?

Thinking this way, Shinji Kitahara didn't pay much attention to the matter. He then contacted Kazuya Hakudo privately to confirm the situation with him again.

As previously agreed, Sirius symbolized the beginning of his 'research' and Maru Zensky began to cooperate with him.

Then, time passed.

Because of prior experience and the increased proficiency in controlling the abilities over the past few days, the research process went smoothly without any unexpected incidents.

After numerous experiments, Shinji Kitahara gradually began to confirm that the aura on his hand, at least when it was outwardly displayed, could indeed arouse certain desires in the horse girl's heart.

As for whether the desires aroused are truly what they crave deep down, and what changes will occur after this power is ingested internally, Shinji Kitahara is still uncertain.

After the experiment, the two chatted with Shinji Kitahara for a while, agreed on a time to meet the next day, and then left as usual.

After they left, Shinji Kitahara intended to relax on the sofa for a while, as usual, and sort out his recent thoughts.

But he had only been slumped for a few seconds when he felt a burning gaze coming from behind him, which was still getting closer and closer. Kitahara Shinji immediately got up from the sofa.

And coincidentally, the moment he got up, his cell phone rang in his pocket.

After opening the message, he found that it was from his senior, Ma Niang, who said that she had time tonight and wanted to meet with him to talk about recent events and the incident that had happened before.

In the past, Shinji Kitahara would probably not have been happy to receive a sudden invitation from his senior, Makoto.

But now, feeling the increasingly intense gaze approaching from behind, Shinji Kitahara felt as if he had been granted a pardon and used this as an excuse to escape from his home, temporarily escaping the clutches of the Super Bay.

Then, I took Eclipse out and followed the navigation on my phone, winding my way into a seemingly inconspicuous izakaya in a small alley.

As always, although the outside looked a bit run-down, the interior of the izakaya was actually quite nice, and there were no other customers inside except for the senior, Uma-chan, who was sitting there alone.

After tidying himself up a bit, he sat down and, before the other person could ask any questions, Kitahara Shinji began to recount what he knew about the whole story of what had happened before.

The senior, Ma Niang, didn't speak, but listened quietly until he finished his entire story, then slowly nodded.

“You’re right. Hisodo Kazuya is currently our only source of information about the ‘black market.’ Even if we’re going to go to trial, we’ll have to wait until the threat from the ‘black market’ is eliminated.”

As she spoke, the elderly woman picked up the wine cup on the table, took a small sip, and then continued.

"There's one more thing. Although I haven't told you before, my investigation has been ongoing and has made some progress—or, to put it more directly, I've identified a few people."

Then, before Kitahara Shinji could ask any questions, the senior, Ma-chan, pulled out a stack of documents and handed them to Kitahara Shinji.

Before even opening the stack of documents, after only glancing at the cover, Shinji Kitahara was stunned.

Daisuke Kamisato.

That was the first sheet of all the materials, which contained detailed information about Daisuke Kamisato.

"What, you know him?"

Senior Ma-chan noticed the change in Kitahara Shinji's expression.

Shinji Kitahara nodded, then picked up the stack of documents and, while flipping through them, recounted his experiences dealing with Daisuke Kamisato to his senior, Ma-chan.

Although Shinji Kitahara and Speed ​​Symbol had teamed up many times before in the Horse Girl Hunting Incident.

However, because Speed ​​Symbol did not want to reveal his identity, he had not met with the liaison personnel from URA, so he was not familiar with Daisuke Kamisato and had only had a few interactions with him.

After recounting his interactions with Daisuke Kamisato, Shinji Kitahara finished flipping through the stack of documents.

Although Shinji Kitahara was taken aback by the appearance of Daisuke Kamisato, he realized after flipping through the stack of documents that there weren't as many familiar faces as he had imagined.

Let alone people like Daisuke Kamisato, whom he was relatively familiar with, he had never even heard of most of them.

There were only a few, and they were either trainers he had met during his years of wandering or currently serving in Treson, but who had never really interacted with him and had only met him a few times.

Having confirmed this, Shinji Kitahara tapped the table lightly with his index finger and then looked up at the symbol of speed.

"You mean, these people could all be members of the 'black market'?"

Speed ​​symbolizes a nod.

"Where's the evidence?"

"No."

Speed ​​symbolizes a decisive opening.

“If I had evidence, what you have now wouldn’t be documents, but a judgment.”

"...That's true."

Shinji Kitahara nodded, then spoke.

"Could you explain why you suspect them? I just reviewed these documents, but there are no members of any anti-Uma Musume groups listed. In fact, many of them have participated in or even led various Uma Musume protection actions..."

That's why I'm suspicious of them.

Speed ​​symbol interrupted Kitahara Shinji's words and then explained his reasons for doubting them.

“When we first didn’t know anything about them, we all thought that the so-called ‘black market’ was a bunch of scum who would do anything to make money, and even targeted young horse girls. So our investigation was more focused on the economic aspects.”

"But it's clear, based on the information we've recently gathered, that this so-called 'black market' is quite complex, with most of its members being wealthy and harboring no ill will towards Ma Niang..."

"So let's change our perspective. If they're not in it for the money at all, then what are they trying to achieve by doing all this messy stuff?"

"Kyudo Kazuya is driven by guilt from the past and wants to atone for his sins. His two accomplices are doing this to warn society and hopefully guide some change..."

“Birds of a feather flock together. If they all think like this, then everyone else in the ‘black market’ must think the same way.”

"So this time, I changed the direction of my investigation, shifting from economic factors to people who are 'ambitious,' 'want to change the world,' or 'have experienced major upheavals.'"

"Then I discovered that many of these people, although they seemed normal, actually had some abnormalities in private."

Ambitious, wanting to change the world, and having experienced major upheavals...

As soon as he uttered those three words, the image of Daisuke Kamisato immediately appeared in Shinji Kitahara's mind.

Because they had interacted quite a few times, especially since Daisuke Kamisato, when he was still a child, would often chat with him without reservation about his past, trying to teach him some lessons.

Therefore, Shinji Kitahara knew a great deal about Daisuke Kamisato's past, far more than just the snippets in the documents.