I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

That's how it looks when a message comes in.

He paused for a moment, wondering who would message him so late, and then picked up his phone.

But after clicking on it, the relaxed expression on his face gradually disappeared, and his brows began to furrow.

The message itself was fine; it was just a normal invitation. I first asked if he was free the next day. If he was, the sender said he wanted to find a place to talk about some important personal matters.

The problem is that the sender's ID is Kazuya Hisadou.

Furthermore, at the end of the message, Hisato Kazuya specifically noted that if Kitahara Shinji felt uneasy, he could choose the specific location and time, and could even bring the eclipse along.

Shinji Kitahara's eyes narrowed as he looked at the message.

A moment later, accompanied by the sound of a light tapping of an index finger, the moonless night gradually deepened, and darkness swallowed everything.

Until the sun rises the next day.

Chapter 126: Do you have any clue about this?

The next day, early in the morning.

Shinji Kitahara woke up as usual, then washed up, got dressed, and went to the cafeteria for dinner, just like always.

Unlike before, after finishing his meal, Shinji Kitahara did not go to the training ground as usual, but instead went to the student council office first.

Then he returned to his dormitory, lay down on his bed, and his expression gradually became melancholy.

Ah, how boring.

Although I did agree to Hisato Kazuya's request last night, the problem is that they agreed to meet at noon, and breakfast hasn't even finished yet, so there's still plenty of time.

In the past, he would have already greeted the kids by now and then taken out his phone and slacked off on the training field.

But now, it's not that you can't put it in the dormitory.

But the problem is that there are only two people in the dormitory now, him and Eclipse, who he just brought back from outside. Who is he trying to impress by slacking off?

Moreover, for various reasons, he's not really in the mood to fidget with his phone right now.

After lying in bed for a while, he started thinking about whether he should just take another nap and sleep until noon.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, he felt a soft, familiar object on his body.

Without even opening his eyes, he knew from the familiar, soft, and warm touch that the solar eclipse had climbed onto him again.

Realizing this, Shinji Kitahara didn't hold back and skillfully pinched the little guy's cheeks in his arms, then began to rub them repeatedly.

The little black rice ball in his arms didn't react at all. It even closed its eyes while he rubbed it, and its breathing became steady after a while.

After falling asleep while watching the eclipse, Shinji Kitahara also intended to drift off to sleep.

But after opening his eyes and looking at the peaceful sleeping face of the little one in his arms, he suddenly lost his sleepiness.

It's not that he thought she looked cute while sleeping and got any ulterior motives.

As he looked at the Eclipse in his arms, the image of the horse girl named Clover, whom he had met in the hospital, suddenly flashed through his mind, along with the story he had heard about her and Hisadou Kazuya.

Then he couldn't help but think about what he would do if he were in that situation, if the eclipse had become like that to save him.

But after thinking it over and over, he couldn't even imagine what it would be like for the eclipse to be in such a state, let alone become like that.

Well, it's true that a typical horse girl might encounter an accident before she becomes fully developed, because she's not yet mature enough.

After reaching adulthood and completing their transformation into full-fledged characters, the female horse girls, with their exceptionally strong physical abilities, are virtually immune to accidents.

Even if you get hit by a car, as long as the speed isn't ridiculously fast, or it's not a large truck, you'll generally not have any major problems.

As for Eclipse, from the day he met her, she could easily subdue a fully-fledged horse girl, let alone a few ordinary human traffickers.

So even if Shinji Kitahara racked his brains to simulate it in his mind, the worst outcome would be nothing more than him going on a rampage in the street during the eclipse and tearing those human traffickers apart with his bare hands.

And even this was only achieved by his own active cooperation with the human traffickers.

Otherwise, let alone the solar eclipse, he alone would be perfectly capable of dealing with those human traffickers.

Therefore, this idea is simply not feasible.

So, after thinking for a while, Shinji Kitahara decided to change the simulation object.

For example, when he was in the countryside during Special Week, he was kidnapped by human traffickers while the eclipse was not around.

Then, in order to save him, Special Weekly was also seriously injured and found himself in a similar situation to Clover. How will he react?

Shinji Kitahara thought about it and figured that his reaction would be similar to that of Kazuya Hisadou.

It's the same constant companionship, the same effort to take care of her, and there's a high probability that he'll choose to become a trainer to help her realize the dream she can no longer achieve.

But unlike Kazuya Wakudo, he probably wouldn't dwell on questions like, "I've already ruined one person's life, I can't ruin another one."

Clover went to save Hisadou Kazuya willingly, and never regretted it afterward.

Kazuya Hisadou had done his best and hadn't done anything wrong. The blame should fall on the human traffickers, not on himself.

In this situation, Shinji Kitahara did not feel that there was a question of who ruined whom among them.

If he had to say it, he felt that they simply chose each other and remained steadfast in their decision to this day.

Therefore, although he could understand Hisato Kazuya's pain, it did not mean that he agreed with his way of handling it.

If Hisadou Kazuya really did enter the 'black market' because of this, and took some actions to atone for his guilt...

Kneading the black rice ball in his arms, Shinji Kitahara sighed softly.

To be honest, he didn't know how to judge Hisato Kazuya's behavior.

Especially given that his own hands aren't exactly clean, he has even less right to make a judgment.

But there's no need for him to judge anymore.

He used to be all alone, so when faced with danger, he could only use his own methods to solve it.

Now, all he needs to do is investigate and find out the truth.

And the rest...

After thinking it over, Shinji Kitahara resolutely decided to set it off.

Let Tresson and URA deal with that headache.

.......

Time flies by in the quiet.

Lunchtime at the Tressen cafeteria.

Hisato Kazuya sat in a corner of the cafeteria, looking at Kitahara Shinji, who had a calm expression on his face, with a strange look in his eyes.

When Kitahara Shinji agreed to meet him last night, they arranged to meet at an izakaya (Japanese pub) outside the school.

Because he had been following Kitahara Shinji's information for many years, Hisato Kazuya knew that he was cautious in his actions and would most likely find an excuse to change the location before meeting him, so he was mentally prepared.

But to his surprise, Shinji Kitahara was able to move him to the cafeteria.

It's not that it's impossible, but it's something that was originally quite serious and proper, but after being poked in this place...

It's like two world leaders sitting on a stone bench in the street, cracking sunflower seeds and exchanging nuclear codes—it feels rather awkward...

Shinji Kitahara, however, seemed quite self-righteous in response to Kazuya Hisadou's strange expression.

What's wrong with the cafeteria?

With enough people, identity verification is required to enter, which can also prevent bribing chefs to poison food.

Although Shinji Kitahara felt that Hisadou meant him no harm, there is a saying that one should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others.

Not to mention all of the above, before he came he also put on a bulletproof vest that he had taken from the Treson Guard and called Rudolf to help support him from a distance.

And most importantly, given Eclipse's appetite, taking her to those upscale and respectable places to eat would still be a considerable burden, even for him now.

So even though he clearly sensed the implied meaning in Hisato Kazuya's message, Kitahara Shinji insisted on choosing the cafeteria.

You can't eat face or pretentiousness; practicality is what matters.

Shinji Kitahara thinks so.

After a brief, subtle silence, Shinji Kitahara spoke first.

"So, Senior Hisadou, what is it you wanted to say to me?"

Upon hearing Shinji Kitahara's question, Kazuya Hisado gradually composed himself and then took out his phone.

"Well, there's something I'd like to ask Trainer Kitahara for help with..."

"Please speak frankly, senior," Kitahara Shinji replied calmly.

Hisato Kazuya paused, tapped his phone screen a few times, and then spoke.

"Here's the thing, I recently contacted a few friends to ask if they were interested in cooperating with Black Forest. They said yes, but they'd like to meet with Black Forest's representative first..."

Hisato Kazu said the same thing.

As he spoke, he turned his phone screen around, revealing two lines of text that had just been typed out and hadn't even been confirmed yet.

Someone is planning to target the students at the Treson headquarters. I'd like to ask Trainer Kitahara to keep an eye on them.

[By the way, I suspect Trainer Kitahara has a recording device on him, so I had to communicate with you this way. Please forgive me.]

Although before coming, when Kitahara Shinji saw the last message from Hisato Kazuya that said he could bring Eclipse if he was worried, he realized that Hisato Kazuya probably didn't want to hide his identity.

However, Shinji Kitahara was still a little surprised to see Kazuya Hisato so straightforward in revealing his true intentions.

While he was surprised, he also felt a little regretful.

It's not surprising that the recording device was discovered. After all, if Kazuya Kudo didn't even have this basic awareness of security, it's impossible that he could have kept it hidden until now without being discovered.

But the fact that even the typed words weren't confirmed made Shinji Kitahara feel a little disappointed.

Because input methods, in order to improve user experience, usually leave a record after clicking "confirm," which can be retrieved through certain means. Combined with cafeteria surveillance footage, this can serve as evidence. But now...

Looking at Hisadou Kazuya in front of him, Kitahara Shinji muttered "old fox" to himself before speaking again.

"So, Trainer Hisadou, where did you hear this news from?"

Since the other party had taken the initiative to lay his cards on the table, Shinji Kitahara didn't bother to be polite with him.

When confronted with his questioning, Hisato Kazuya outwardly pretended to be 'I don't know what you're talking about,' but the text on his phone screen was very honest.

[No need to test me, Trainer Kitahara. You and I both know exactly where my information comes from.]

However, this time the situation is different from before. It wasn't me who proactively approached the 'buyer,' but rather the 'buyer' who contacted me first.

Because of his previous investigation, Shinji Kitahara immediately understood what Kazuya Hisadou meant. While somewhat surprised by Hisadou's frankness, he also frowned slightly.

"They contacted you on their own initiative? That means you didn't know who they were?"

Yes, the buyer was very cautious and never revealed any information about himself.

"How dare he have designs on the students at Treson headquarters? And who would even dare to take on a job like this?"

【this......】

Hisato Kazuya paused.

[This buyer's request was rather strange; he strictly forbade the 'seller' from harming the horse girls, while also stating that he himself did not intend to harm them or imprison them.]

He said he only needed those horse girls for three days at most, and then he would send them to a safe place intact, ensuring their safety and preventing them from attracting the attention of Treson and the three goddesses.

"That sounds nice, but what actual guarantees are there?"

No, but those 'sellers' chose to believe it.

[Because the buyer offered an extremely high price, and according to his description there would be no risk, he even offered to provide them with some potent and side-effect-free anesthetic specifically for female horses.]

Shinji Kitahara tapped the table in thought for a while, then frowned.

"In that case, why don't you just find a way to leak the 'seller's' information to Treson when they're in action, so that Miss Junchuan can take people to handle it directly?"

【no】

The buyer has become aware of my unusual behavior, and even the unusual activity of the "black market." They have already cut off contact with me and are preparing to communicate directly with the "seller" and personally direct their actions.

In this situation, if I were to actively intervene or investigate, the buyer would likely be able to directly confirm my unusual behavior, thus completely severing contact and making it impossible to trace his identity.

Upon hearing his words, Shinji Kitahara's eyebrows twitched.

"So the entire 'black market' is full of people like you?"