I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"That is?"

"is God."

Eclipse looked at Rudolf and said calmly.

"It is a young god who shares the same origin as those three idiots, but has not yet grown up."

What is it?

Rudolf was completely dumbfounded.

To be honest, before talking to Eclipse, Rudolf thought the worst-case scenario was that some of the horse-woman families were being a bit unruly and doing something not so good in private.

Although it's absurd to rewrite perceptions on such a large scale, Treson has seen many absurd horse girls over the years.

Closer to home, there are those under Shinji Kitahara's command, and further back, there's the alien monster that disappeared a long time ago and is still outside Treson, not yet returning. Compared to that, the rewriting of our understanding of the eclipse doesn't seem so outrageous.

Rudolph even prepared for the worst-case scenario, such as some dark organization conducting horse experiments and creating something as terrifying as the Eclipse—she thought that speculation was absurd enough.

But as it turns out, her imagination was still not rich enough.

This was not some kind of family feud, nor was it some dark organization threatening the world; it was a true 'war of gods' that transcended her understanding.

It took Rudolf quite some time to confirm that the eclipse was not a joke and to gradually process the information.

"Miss Eclipse, can you tell me why... you killed that 'Fourth Goddess'?"

Although he still found it quite hard to believe, Rudolf could only go along with the explanation of the solar eclipse.

Upon hearing her words, Eclipse gave her a somewhat strange look.

"Didn't I just say it? The black market, the horse hunting, and all that messy stuff you've seen... all of these are just pawns in her game. She's the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. Isn't that reason enough?"

Rudolf was speechless for a moment.

I was so focused on her status as the fourth goddess that I forgot about everything else...

Although he sensed that the matter behind this was probably not so simple, Rudolf wisely refrained from pressing the issue, seeing that Eclipse didn't want to say more.

After clearing his throat a few times, Rudolf suppressed his embarrassment and then thought of a very important question.

"Trainer Kitahara, does he know about this?"

"do not know."

The eclipse answered very concisely, and then added more details.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell him, but that I can’t tell him. Even what I’m telling you has to be kept secret from him.”

"...Can you tell me why?"

"can."

Eclipse nodded.

"To put it simply, he was not originally part of this chessboard, but one day, he suddenly barged into the chessboard and, by his own power, took all the pieces from both sides of the game."

"Killing a god is not easy. It's not simply a matter of finding her body and killing her directly. You must follow certain rules."

"The game I just mentioned was set up for this purpose. Only by defeating her on the chessboard can you have a chance to understand her true nature and then harm her."

"But now, all the pieces are in his hands, and the outcome of the entire game is naturally in his control."

"Then why not just tell him and ask him to help you win?" Rudolf asked, somewhat puzzled.

“If I could have done that, I would have told him long ago.”

Eclipse sighed softly, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

"But this game is not a real chess game, and the conditions for winning or losing are not about capturing all of one side's pieces."

"Otherwise, he would have already won."

After all, he not only captured all the pieces on the board, but even the players were not spared.

Hearing this, Rudolf was even more confused.

"If it's not about capturing all the opponent's pieces, then what determines the outcome of this game?"

Upon hearing this question, Eclipse looked down at its chest, staring at the illusory emptiness. After a moment of silence, it slowly raised its head.

It is 'love'.

She looked up at the moon outside the window and said something in a complicated tone.

"Use the world as the chessboard, people's hearts as the pieces, and love as the chips."

"The stakes are the future of this world."

......

the other side.

In the quiet, dense forest, Shinji Kitahara continued walking silently, his expression somewhat strange.

He had been lost in thought about the solar eclipse for a while, and when he came to his senses, he found himself in this dense forest that looked somewhat familiar, yet didn't seem to be in Tresenne.

Is there such a place on the academy grounds? It's been over a year; he can't possibly still be lost on campus...

Thinking this, Shinji Kitahara turned on his phone, intending to use navigation, but after pressing several buttons, the screen did not light up.

The power's out? But when he was in the student council room, it still had almost 70% battery left...

After fiddling with it for a while and confirming that the phone really couldn't be turned on, Shinji Kitahara gave up on the idea of ​​using navigation and put the phone away.

Let's try walking back. He remembered that he hadn't walked very far, and it wouldn't take long to go back the way he came... Hmm?

Shinji Kitahara was stunned.

Because when he turned around, what appeared before him was not the path he remembered, but a sea of ​​pure white flowers blooming in the sunlight.

Looking back, even the dense forest had disappeared, replaced by clusters of white flowers that started from Shinji Kitahara and stretched to the horizon.

Is he... dreaming?

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment, then reached out to pinch his own face to check if he was conscious.

But before he could touch himself, a hand reached out from the flower field beside him and grabbed his arm.

"This is not a dream, but it is not reality either."

Shinji Kitahara paused, not because of the sound, but because of the sensation on his arm.

It is illusory and ethereal, yet it has a real, tangible feel.

He turned around and, sure enough, saw that familiar figure he hadn't seen in a long time.

"You are......"

"I don't have a name. You can call me whatever you want."

The pure white horse stood there, right beside him, holding his arm, looking up at him intently.

A moment later, she suddenly stood on tiptoe, and then felt a wet sensation.

"Long time no see, Kitahara."

She looked at him, her eyes filled with undisguised love, her voice as soft as a cloud.

"Welcome to my realm."

Chapter 244: The Innate Mission

Layer upon layer of flowers stretch from our feet to the horizon, bathed in the warm sunlight, resembling a pure white ocean, rippling in the wind, and filled with a refreshing fragrance.

Faced with such a beautiful scene, after regaining his senses, Shinji Kitahara's eyes showed little joy, and even some unease.

Who's in the mood to appreciate this in a situation like this?!

It was the middle of the night just now, and he was wandering around the academy alone, preparing to go and talk to the chairman about work.

But in the blink of an eye, he found himself wandering around in an unfamiliar dense forest, unable to turn on his phone at all. Then, when he turned around, the whole world had changed. This twist wouldn't be considered abrupt even in a horror movie.

The only good news was that the 'being' in front of him didn't seem to have any ill intentions, and although the place was strange in every way, at least the scenery was passable and there didn't seem to be any obvious danger.

As for that last bit...

Touching his lips, which still seemed to retain a slight sweetness, Kitahara Shinji thought for a moment and decided not to dwell on it—who knows what kind of thinking this was, which was clearly not normal.

"Excuse me, may I ask who you are...?"

After a moment's thought, just to be on the safe side, Shinji Kitahara decided to start by asking about the other party's identity.

but......

"I don't have a name."

The pure white horse girl repeated what she had said before.

"As for this place, it is my domain. You can simply understand it as a world constructed purely of spirit, and it will not be perceived by 'her' and 'them'."

Then, before Kitahara Shinji could ask any questions, she began to explain the issues that Kitahara Shinji might be concerned about at the moment.

"Actually, I've been wanting to have a private talk with you for a long time, but I haven't been able to because of some things. It wasn't until recently that I successfully built this 'domain' that I had the opportunity to bring you here."

“We’ve met before, you should remember. I really wanted to say something to you then, but unfortunately 'she' was nearby, and I was worried that if I spoke too loudly, it might attract 'her' attention…”

“But it doesn’t matter here. In this realm built by pure spirit, it is a place that ‘she’ could never set foot in, and it is the only place where I can talk to you safely.”

After listening to her words, Shinji Kitahara pondered for a moment, his expression gradually becoming subtle, before tentatively speaking.

"Um, the 'she' you just mentioned, could it be the solar eclipse...?"

"Well, it's her."

The pure white horse girl readily admitted this, and then spoke earnestly.

"I can't really tell you the specific reasons, but I can tell you that she is very dangerous, and not just to me, but to other people, and even to the existence of this world itself."

"There is only one exception."

"......ah?"

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment, not quite understanding what she was saying.

Is a solar eclipse dangerous? Is it?

"Um, is there some kind of misunderstanding between you and her?"

Shinji Kitahara paused.

"Although she does have a bit of a strange temper and is quite strong, she's not a bad person at heart. If you two have any conflicts, I can act as a mediator and you can all sit down and talk it over..."

Shinji Kitahara remembered that Eclipse had told him before that if he encountered this white horse girl again, he should contact her immediately.

Adding to what the white horse girl said earlier, Shinji Kitahara, although unsure of the exact relationship between the two, believed they knew each other and likely had some conflict.

The problem is that, although Eclipse repeatedly emphasized the danger of this white horse girl, he had contacted her privately more than once or twice, and she didn't seem like the kind of heinous monster.

If given the chance, Shinji Kitahara would really like to get them to sit down and talk things out, to see if they can clear things up.

However, despite Shinji Kitahara's good intentions, White Horse Girl didn't seem to want to discuss the matter further.

“The situation between her and me is quite complicated; it’s not something that can be resolved simply by sitting down and talking.”

As she spoke, she looked around, seemingly feeling that it wasn't appropriate to stand and talk like this, so she stretched out one hand and lightly snapped her fingers.

despair.

After the snap of his fingers, a set of table and chairs appeared out of thin air, with steaming hot tea on it.

The white horse girl sat down naturally, and Kitahara Shinji, after looking at her, also sat down opposite her at her prompting.

"Although I really want to talk to you more and try my best to answer your questions."

"But unfortunately there are some things I can't tell you, because they won't help you at all, and might even be harmful."

"Furthermore, I've only just started building this field, and it's not completely stable yet, so I can only talk to you about some important topics first. I hope you don't mind."

As she spoke, the pure white horse girl got up and poured a cup of tea for Kitahara Shinji, her apology sincere.

Hearing her say that, and with such a sincere, even somewhat humble, attitude, Kitahara Shinji didn't know what else to say and simply nodded.

"Then tell me."

Seeing Kitahara Shinji nod, the pure white horse girl seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief. After thinking for a while, she looked at his face and slowly spoke.