I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Seeing that Rudolf had taken the initiative to change the subject, Kitahara Shinji, who didn't think the topic was particularly good to begin with, didn't dwell on it and readily continued to chat with Rudolf about work.

After chatting for a while, Shinji Kitahara's cell phone rang.

He opened the message and saw it was from Tsuna Sugawa, saying that the chairman had finished venting his anger and wanted to talk to him.

Since it was an invitation from his superior, Shinji Kitahara naturally couldn't refuse. After telling Rudolf, he prepared to go.

However, before he left, Rudolf suddenly called out to him.

"Trainer Kitahara, could you please let Ms. Eclipse stay here for a moment?"

Rudolf's eyes flickered as he looked at the swaying shadow behind Shinji Kitahara.

"I have something I'd like to discuss with her privately."

Hmm? Chatting with the solar eclipse?

Shinji Kitahara looked at Rudolf with a strange expression, then glanced at the eclipse beside him.

"Then you should ask her yourself. But I can tell you in advance that chatting with her probably won't be a pleasant experience, since this taciturn girl often won't utter a single word all day... ugh—"

"I'll stay here and talk to her."

Eclipse withdrew his hand expressionlessly, without even turning his eyes, as if he hadn't done anything at all.

Hearing Eclipse say this, Kitahara Shinji was somewhat surprised, but he quickly agreed with her and even felt a little gratified.

After all, this child basically stays by his side all year round except when necessary. Now that he can stay and chat with others on his own initiative, it can be said that his efforts over the years have not been in vain.

With that thought in mind, Shinji Kitahara left the student council room, leaving the two of them alone, and went to the chairman's office by himself.

What he didn't know was that the atmosphere inside the student council room changed the moment he was confirmed to have left.

Rudolf's smile vanished, and he stared intently at the eclipse with a wary look.

As for Eclipse, he sat in the spot where Shinji Kitahara had just been, and looked up at the school motto of Trexon displayed in the center of the student council room.

Eclipse First, the Rest Nowhere.

When one horse takes the lead, all other horses lose their luster.

This is the most common translation of this sentence, and it is also the most widely accepted and official translation by Treson.

But strangely enough, no matter how you look at it, this translation doesn't seem to match the original text very well.

However, this is not really a big deal. After all, in translation, the more important thing is to express the meaning of the sentences compared to the original text. So, the translation of "one horse takes the lead, and ten thousand horses are left without a trace" is also acceptable.

However, if we disregard the literary aspects of the translation and instead adhere to the original text...

"Eclipse First, the Rest Nowhere."

Rudolf stared at the solar eclipse before him, his expression serious.

“In the past, I didn’t notice this. I just subconsciously thought that the meaning of ‘eclipse’ in this sentence was just a metaphor to describe a powerful force.”

"But recently, I received some news, started looking up some related information, and then discovered some rather strange things."

"No matter the language or the document, there is no clear evidence to support my previous explanation. On the contrary, many documents vaguely mention a legend."

"What's even stranger is that, despite so many documents mentioning that legend, not a single document mentions the legend's name."

"Or some of them are written down, but the handwriting is either too blurry to read or the content is damaged, and the name is just missing."

"It's as if its existence was deliberately erased by some great power."

"After that, after verifying from many sources, I made a bold guess: perhaps the name of that legendary person is hidden in this school motto, but for the same reason, even if we see it, we are unaware of it."

Looking directly into the eclipse's eyes, Rudolf spoke slowly.

"What do you think, Eclipse?"

Chapter 243: Welcome to My Domain

In fact, Rudolf was not the only one who noticed the unusual eclipse.

Several years ago, after Speed ​​Symbol and Shinji Kitahara gradually became acquainted, despite the powerful cognitive distortions created by certain beings.

But faced with the eclipse's undisguised and excessive abnormality, and after a long period of interaction, that distorted perception was eventually worn away by the persistent effort, allowing the symbol of speed to see a glimpse of something.

Unlike Rudolph, Speed ​​Symbol, as the head of the Symbol family, and an elderly one at that, knows more about the 'secrets' of this world than the others, and understands the importance of restraining her curiosity.

In addition, as the head of the family, she had to consider the needs of her family members. So even today, despite having had many interactions with her and knowing that Eclipse's identity was unusual, she had never gone too far in investigating anything, let alone thought of getting to the bottom of it.

But Rudolph was different.

She is still young and not the head of the family. Although she does have some responsibilities, she is not implicated in any way.

Especially after learning that Shinji Kitahara was her trainer, she became increasingly concerned about Eclipse, who had always been by his side. The filter that distorted her perception was gradually thinned until it finally broke.

She also knew that, faced with such an obviously strange presence, it might be better to pretend not to see it.

But whether it was for Shinji Kitahara, or as the student council president for the safety of other students in the academy, Rudolf had a reason to stand up.

However, despite being mentally prepared for all sorts of situations after the truth was revealed, to Rudolf's surprise, Eclipse did not show any particular reaction after listening to her speech.

She even seemed not to have heard what she said at all, just tilting her head back, looking at the school motto posted in the student council room, as quiet as a sculpture.

"that......"

Rudolph was starting to lose his composure.

"Eclipse, did you hear what I just said?"

"heard it."

Eclipse responded calmly, then looked away and turned to Rudolf.

"Unfortunately, I am not the 'legend' you are looking for."

Then, before Rudolf could ask a question, Eclipse spoke again, its gaze passing over Rudolf and turning to the window, calmly as if talking to itself.

“You’re right about one thing: there was indeed a legendary horse named ‘Eclipse’ in history, and it was because of her that the proverb ‘One horse leads the way, and all other horses pale in comparison’ came about.”

“But I am not her, that legendary horse girl of the ‘Eclipse’, who died hundreds of years ago.”

The eclipse spoke in a very calm tone, saying something truly remarkable.

"......What?"

Because of the sheer amount of information conveyed in that statement, even Rudolf showed a clear look of astonishment upon hearing it.

Did the Eclipse die hundreds of years ago? Then who is this person in front of her now?

Seemingly sensing the doubt in Rudolf's eyes, Eclipse looked at her and spoke calmly.

"It's a very simple principle. No matter how legendary a horse girl is, she's still a horse girl, and her lifespan is limited. The documents you're reading are at least two hundred years old, which is far beyond the lifespan limit of a horse girl. How could she still be alive?"

"this......"

After thinking about it, Rudolf realized that what was said about the solar eclipse was true.

But then another problem arises.

If the solar eclipse in front of her is not the 'solar eclipse' she was investigating, then what about the strange things she discovered, and who exactly is the solar eclipse in front of her?

Rudolf felt his head was spinning.

Fortunately, before she could be confused for long, Eclipse spoke again and answered her questions.

"There are some things I can't tell you, because just knowing them could hurt you and the people around you, so I can't tell you."

"But there are some things I can tell you, such as my background and purpose, but even after hearing this information, you will not be able to remain uninvolved."

"So, I'm confirming with you one last time."

"Rudolph symbol, are you sure you want to continue this investigation?"

As he finished speaking, Eclipse's expression became unusually serious. He looked intently at Rudolf in front of him, and a sense of majesty, which he had never shown before, gradually emanated from his not-so-tall body.

She means it.

Rudolf quickly realized this, and then—

He nodded without hesitation.

"Tell me everything you can. If there's anything I can do to help, I will do my best."

She believed in Shinji Kitahara and in Eclipse. Although they might be hostile to each other in some ways, Rudolf at least did not doubt Eclipse's character.

Seeing that she agreed so readily, Eclipse glanced at her with slight surprise, but then quickly began to answer without much hesitation.

"Alright then, since you've made your decision, I just hope you won't regret it."

After a pause, the eclipse resumed its usual demeanor, beginning its narration in a completely emotionless tone.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Eclipse. I am not the same horse as the legendary Eclipse in history, but I am indeed related to her."

"To put it simply, I am a 'product' that was created based on her at her peak, with many improvements and many other things added on top of that."

"As for the person who created me, or the 'god', it's those three idiots you worship in your academy."

"Commonly known as the Three Goddesses."

"......What?"

Rudolf was a little confused.

Despite the fact that Eclipse had just given a lot of information as a prelude, Rudolf was prepared to hear some shocking secrets.

Despite having prepared herself mentally, Eclipse's opening line about the Three Goddesses still left her momentarily stunned, and she began to doubt her own ears.

Although most people in this world believe in the Three Goddesses and occasionally witness miracles caused by them, many people actually have doubts about the existence of the Three Goddesses.

Because from beginning to end, although faith and miracles existed, no one ever saw them with their own eyes. Over time, even with miracles as a foundation, it was inevitable that people would have doubts.

Perhaps those so-called miracles are actually man-made or simply natural phenomena?

As for Rudolph, although she is a horse girl and also believes in the Three Goddesses, her faith is not as pure as that of the other horse girls. Although she has never publicly expressed it, she is one of the people who is more skeptical of the existence of the Three Goddesses.

And now, right before her eyes, the Eclipse directly spoke of the creations of its three goddesses...

This had a certain impact on Rudolf's worldview.

But before Rudolf could recover from his shock, Eclipse spoke again and continued.

“I have already told you my identity, and it’s not just you. The chairman has also received some information. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her to verify it.”

"However, it should be noted that only the chairman has information. Everyone else, including Tsuna and the new agent, is completely unaware of my situation."

"As for my purpose, it's quite simple: to find someone, kill her, and take her place. That's my goal, and that's the meaning behind my creation."

kill......

It took Rudolf quite some time to process the information he had received from the eclipse.

After barely understanding, she looked up at the solar eclipse and said uncertainly.

"Then, Miss Eclipse, who do you want to kill? Is it those horse hunters? Or perhaps the 'black market' behind them?"

No, it wasn't them.

Eclipse shook its head.

“Those people are just pawns that ‘she’s’ put on the table. The one I really want to kill is the one behind them, the real ‘player’.”

Is there someone behind the 'black market'?

Rudolf frowned upon hearing this news.

"Miss Eclipse, do you know the identity of that 'chess player'? And don't the three goddesses care about this kind of thing?"

"I know, but she's not human."

The eclipse was met with a calm response.

"As for those three idiots, they were restricted and couldn't handle this matter themselves, so they created me to take charge of it."

Even the three goddesses couldn't handle it, and...

"Not human?"

Rudolf astutely grasped the message in the eclipse's words.

"Could it be Ma Niang?"

"No, it's not a horse either."