I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Eclipse shook its head slightly, its face still bearing that indifferent expression.

"alright."

Since the eclipse had already said that, Shinji Kitahara didn't try to persuade her any further. He then casually inquired about the situation in Necha and asked why she had chosen to withdraw from the competition.

Before asking, Shinji Kitahara was a little worried about the situation on Necha's side, thinking that she had chosen to back down because of her inferiority complex.

But after Eclipse repeated the reasons for Necha's withdrawal from the competition, Shinji Kitahara's expression gradually became subtle.

That child probably won't develop any strange fetishes because of his "training" (an abbreviation for helping to adjust and educate).

After making up their minds, they decided to talk to Nei about it, and then the two chatted for a while.

As they chatted, Shinji Kitahara seemed to remember something and suddenly chuckled softly.

"why are you laughing?"

Eclipse looked at him with some surprise as he suddenly burst into laughter, wondering what was wrong with him this time.

"nothing."

Shinji Kitahara shook his head slightly, then leaned back on the sofa, sighing with a hint of emotion.

"But as I was talking, I suddenly realized that we seem to have changed a lot compared to before."

“I remember telling you before I came to Treson that I planned to stay here with you for three years, collect my salary, and then leave. I was really determined to just coast along here no matter what, and not cause any trouble to avoid attracting attention…”

He opened his phone and looked at the endless stream of messages. He sighed, but there seemed to be little helplessness in his voice; rather, it was more of a sigh of regret.

"But now, I've not only recruited horse girls, but also formed a team, and my reputation has spread throughout Japan. I'm even about to become a world-class figure—though it's a bad reputation."

"As for you, I still remember that when I asked you to go to school before, your face was as cold as a brick. And every time we talked about friends, you always had a sour face and didn't say a word."

"But now, you not only have many friends who are willing to support and help you, but you have also volunteered to participate in the Satsuki Prize."

"I know that you didn't sign up for the Satsuki Prize entirely of your own volition, but the fact that you're no longer stubbornly sticking to your own opinions and are willing to communicate with others and accept their advice and help is a huge change compared to your past self..."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly, looked at the solar eclipse, and smiled.

"My efforts finally paid off, didn't they?"

silence.

The Eclipse did not answer his question, nor did it show any embarrassment. Instead, it looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Shinji Kitahara didn't mind. After a moment of silence, he put away his smile and spoke again.

“We have all changed, and not just us, everyone else has changed.”

“The little timid Nescha from back then has become more mature and confident, and the little kushima who performed poorly because he didn’t have enough to eat has now become a rising star.”

“Zhou has become much more mature and composed. Suko can now listen to me to some extent. As for Digital… well, she seems to be as perverted as ever, but she has definitely changed a bit. At least her body has definitely developed a lot.”

After all, he had witnessed it with his own eyes and even personally verified it.

"So? What do you want to say?"

"What I want to say is that it's not just us, nor just the people around us, nor just humans or horse girls, but everything in our lives, this planet we live on, this universe, and even beyond the universe, everything is changing, and no one can escape it, regardless of their own will."

Upon hearing this, the Eclipse vaguely sensed something, and the three voices around it grew increasingly noisy.

After a moment of silence, Eclipse slowly spoke.

"If you'd like, I can tell you..."

"No, I don't want to."

Before she could finish speaking about Eclipse, Shinji Kitahara interrupted her.

"Thinking is a very mentally taxing task. Because of all the things that have happened recently, I'm already very tired. I don't want to think about any other grand questions, nor do I want to know anything."

"I am a trainer, and only a trainer. What the future holds for this world, and what the fate of humans and horse girls will be, are not issues that a trainer should worry about."

silence.

"So, you think 'change' is the right thing to do? We should leave our current comfort zone?"

This isn't about the solar eclipse; it's just that she's using his words to ask him.

But Shinji Kitahara shook his head.

"As I said, I don't want to think about anything. What I just said wasn't an opinion or suggestion, but simply a statement of fact."

"Adapting to change and constantly adapting is certainly one direction, but change can also make things worse, or even lead to complete collapse. On the other hand, remaining unchanged in the face of all changes and living happily in a greenhouse forever is not necessarily a bad thing; it may even be a truly 'good ending'."

Shinji Kitahara looked at the solar eclipse, but his gaze seemed to pass right through her, looking at something else entirely.

"Before taking that step, no one can tell whether it's right or wrong, let alone predict what the future steps and choices will be like."

"I can't, you can't, Treson can't, URA can't, humans can't, horse girls can't... even gods can't."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent again.

Shinji Kitahara was not a fool. On the contrary, it was precisely because he could see many things clearly that he always forced himself not to think too much about the various anomalies in the eclipse, even though he noticed them.

Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing. He understood this before he transmigrated, and it was precisely because of this that he died.

But now, he's not going to keep forcibly closing his eyes any longer.

"...You did think about it."

The Eclipse spoke softly, it was unclear whether it was its own words or someone else's.

"Yes, I have thought about it."

Shinji Kitahara calmly met her gaze, his eyes serious.

"However, I must state that what I just said was not a lie. I am indeed very tired, have little energy, and am too lazy to think about grand questions such as the future of the world and humanity."

"I already have a lot to think about, and the remaining part of my brain can't hold too much or too big a thing. At most, it can only hold a simple thought."

He looked at her, but his gaze also went past her, looking at something else, his tone serious.

"I want to be with you."

"This is my only 'thought' right now."

silence.

Shinji Kitahara gazed at the solar eclipse before him, awaiting her, or rather, 'their', reply.

To be honest, although he spoke with great confidence, as if he knew the whole situation, in reality, Shinji Kitahara didn't know much about the situation.

Based solely on the previous statement from the white horse girl, the strangeness surrounding Eclipse, and the recent Satsuki Sho incident, he had essentially concluded that Eclipse was related to the Three Goddesses.

After all, it's well-known that URA is slow and inflexible. Even the most powerful Symbolists have very limited influence over URA. The only reason Kitahara Shinji can think of is that the Three Goddesses could make them act so efficiently and even break the rules.

But aside from the fact that he could roughly confirm that the solar eclipse was related to the three goddesses, and that even the 'mission' she mentioned earlier should be related to them, Shinji Kitahara was unclear about the rest.

After all, he had never actually come into contact with the Three Goddesses, and out of a desire to avoid trouble, he always walked around the shrines of the Three Goddesses while he was wandering, and never went to worship them.

He knew nothing about who they were, what their personalities were, or their attitudes toward mortals; he could only guess based on his past experiences.

Mysterious, powerful, majestic...

It has never shown its true face, seemingly nonexistent, yet it seems to be everywhere...

Although Shinji Kitahara used to mentally criticize these three useless people whenever something happened, he knew very well that they were probably far more powerful and terrifying than most people imagined.

Although he couldn't see the 'veil' that covered the entire planet's sky, he, coming from another world, had already sensed the strangeness of this world long before he encountered the solar eclipse.

Compared to the world he lived in before he transmigrated, this world was far too kind and beautiful, so much so that it felt unreal and even frightening.

People in this world have lived in this environment for so long that they are like people who have grown up in a honey pot, and they have long taken that sweetness for granted.

However, as an outsider, Shinji Kitahara could easily sense the anomaly behind all this and easily deduce the 'mastermind' behind it all.

So even though he often complained in his heart that the three goddesses were useless, Shinji Kitahara still valued them quite a bit, otherwise he wouldn't have kept circling around them when he was wandering.

Now, although he still doesn't want to deal with these three people, for the sake of Eclipse, he decides to take the initiative to break the ice between them and express his attitude.

As for what will happen after that is revealed...

Is it a cold, indifferent rejection? Is it a haughty disregard? Or is it a feeling of being offended, or even worse, divine punishment?

Shinji Kitahara didn't know.

All he knew was that for the sake of the solar eclipse, whether he refused, ignored it, or even suffered divine punishment and became an enemy of the gods, his resolve would not waver in the slightest.

But just as he was mentally preparing for the worst, looking at the eclipse with a serious expression and waiting for the divine response, the eclipse suddenly stood up and, while he was still stunned, pressed him down onto the sofa.

"...Solar eclipse?"

Shinji Kitahara was taken aback.

"You are..."

"They told me to jump over you."

After a pause, Eclipse added a sentence.

"I don't object to their suggestion either."

Shinji Kitahara: "...Huh?"

After a moment of stunned silence, looking at the Eclipse that was starting to rip at his clothes, he finally realized what had happened.

"Wait, Eclipse. Necha and the others should be back from training soon, and they'll see this place..."

"Oh, it's Okay."

She ripped off her clothes and lowered her head.

"We can just invite them to come together then."

"Huh? Wait, what did you say about a solar eclipse—"

"Uuuuuu——"

Chapter 282: The Leader of the Black Market

A few days later, a corner of the Satsuki Shonen Stadium.

Disguised, Shinji Kitahara stood in a secluded corner, watching the horse girls slowly stepping onto the racetrack in the distance, his expression melancholy.

"I'm puzzled! Trainer Kitahara, you seem a bit down lately. Has something happened?"

Beside him, Akikawa Yayoi, who was also disguised, asked a question curiously.

For some reason, Akikawa Yayoi actually had a fairly deep understanding of Kitahara Shinji, so she didn't think that Kitahara Shinji would be sad because of those comments on the internet.

But precisely because of this, she became even more curious, wondering what had happened to make this man, who could be targeted by the whole world without batting an eye, behave so strangely for several days in a row, something that had never happened before.

When faced with Akikawa Yayoi's question, Kitahara Shinji looked at the distant arena, remained silent for a while, and then sighed.

"I don't know how to explain it to you, because it's a bit complicated..."

He paused, then sensed his surroundings to make sure no one else was watching and there were no cameras or recording devices nearby before adding in a low voice.

"To put it simply, a few days ago, I jumped with the eclipse horse."

"......ah?"

Upon hearing Shinji Kitahara's statement, Yayoi Akikawa showed a shocked expression.

Just as Kitahara Shinji thought she was going to condemn his behavior of violating school discipline as the head of the academy's board of directors, Akikawa Yayoi, regaining her senses, flicked her folding fan and sighed.

"Shocking! You guys only jumped for the first time a few days ago? And you're still standing here perfectly fine, instead of being in the infirmary recovering from your pelvic injury..."

"...So, as the chairman of the board of Treson Academy, don't you think something is wrong with this?"

"Wrong? Is something wrong?"

Faced with Shinji Kitahara's question, Yayoi Akikawa looked somewhat bewildered.

After a moment of silent staring at each other, Shinji Kitahara sighed, thinking to himself that this academy was truly hopeless.

"I'm puzzled! Jumping with the eclipse horse. Shouldn't that be a good thing? Why are you feeling sad, Trainer Kitahara?"

Akikawa Yayoi looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Could it be that safety measures weren't in place? While that's certainly a problem, there are plenty of impulsive horse girls and trainers in Tressen, and the school clinic has well-established strategies to handle it, ensuring it won't affect the horse girls' health. If you need anything..."

"No, it's not a safety measure..."

Shinji Kitahara paused for a moment, then continued speaking, his tone becoming increasingly melancholy.