I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

"Before I begin my formal account, I would like to ask you a few questions, Mr. Shinji—what is your view on the current state of the world you live in?"

Shinji Kitahara was a little confused about the meaning of her question, but after thinking about it, he felt there was no need to hide it.

"I think it's pretty good. Although there are all sorts of problems, it's not perfect, but it's not terrible either... I'm personally quite satisfied."

"What about horse girls? What do you think of horse girls as a type of creature?"

"It's...pretty good, isn't it?"

Shinji Kitahara thought for a moment.

"She has a cute appearance and a likable personality. Although she can be quite a headache at times, especially in the last few years when she was more authentic, overall she is very good and I like her quite a bit."

Upon hearing this answer, the white horse girl's ears twitched, and her tail swayed behind her before she continued speaking.

"Then, what about humans? Especially compared to horse girls."

"Compared to humans..."

Shinji Kitahara thought for a moment.

"Although I am human myself, objectively speaking, humans are inferior to horse girls on average in terms of physical fitness, moral character, and some other aspects."

"However, in terms of mental labor and the upper and lower limits of various industries, perhaps due to the large number of people, humans perform better than horses in these areas. It can be said that each has its own strengths."

The white horse girl nodded and asked one last question.

"What about the three goddesses?"

You mean those three good-for-nothings—

The words stopped abruptly.

Shinji Kitahara, snapping out of his daze, blinked, then looked at the white horse girl in front of him, coughed a few times, and spoke with a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Well, I'm not really sure about that, since... I've never actually seen them."

Just kidding, there are real gods in this world. Casually chatting about one's views on the world and various races is within the bounds of normal conversation, but as for the sharp critique of the three goddesses...

Although he had muttered a lot of complaints about those three good-for-nothings in his heart, it would be too reckless to say it outright.

Moreover, judging from the behavior of this horse girl in front of her, she doesn't seem like an ordinary person at all. Maybe she's an alternate account of one of the three goddesses?

"I'm not."

Perhaps Shinji Kitahara's expression was too obvious, because the pure white horse girl easily saw through his suspicion. After noticing that he seemed to be wary of her, she looked a little unhappy.

However, despite being unhappy and seemingly wanting to explain something, after a moment, it's unclear whether it was because he felt the topic was inconvenient to discuss or because time was of the essence.

But in any case, Pure White Horse Girl didn't dwell on this issue. After denying it, she looked directly into Kitahara Shinji's eyes and spoke again, earnestly.

"What if I told you that everything you feel good about, everything you're satisfied with, is all a lie?"

Shinji Kitahara was stunned for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"literal meaning."

As she spoke, the pure white horse pointed to the surrounding sea of ​​white flowers.

"To give an analogy, it's like the sea of ​​flowers we're in right now. They don't exist naturally; they're created by gardeners who meticulously trim them according to their own preferences."

"They are beautiful, pretty, but this beauty and prettiness are just appearances I created. They are exquisite, but fake, and... fragile."

As she spoke, she gently raised her hand, and a flame ignited from her fingertip, casting it into the sea of ​​flowers.

The next instant, under Shinji Kitahara's gaze, bright flames shot into the sky, and the originally tranquil and beautiful sea of ​​flowers was instantly transformed into a sea of ​​fire. The white petals withered and fell in the flames until they turned into dust.

A few seconds later, or maybe a few minutes later.

It could be because they were inside the domain, or it could be that the white horse girl accelerated time.

In any case, by the time Kitahara Shinji came to his senses, the white sea of ​​flowers in front of him was gone, leaving only an endless expanse of ashes, looking desolate and lifeless.

"Now let's look at another possibility."

The pure white horse girl raised her hand again, and time began to flow faster.

The sun and moon in the sky began to rotate rapidly, and new shoots began to emerge from the ashes on the ground, then began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But this time, without the gardener's pruning and restraint, things other than white flowers began to grow in the garden.

Vines, thorns, weeds, shrubs...

Without the gardener's care, the fragile white flowers quickly lost out in the competition, completely unable to compete with those that grew wildly, with only a few white flowers remaining scattered everywhere.

Then, after the evolution was complete, the pure white horse girl threw out a flame once again.

But this time, faced with the wildly growing dark jungle, the flames flickered and went out, causing no damage whatsoever.

After that, seeing that the flames were ineffective, the pure white horse girl threw out a series of things such as storms, droughts, and floods.

Although these disasters caused some damage to the newly formed wild jungle, they did not completely destroy it, and after each trial, the jungle seemed to become more resilient.

“I know that such jungles are far more difficult to manage than the previous sea of ​​flowers, but they are real and resilient. When faced with external threats, they have the most basic ability to protect themselves, instead of just relying on so-called ‘gardeners’.”

After listening to her words, Shinji Kitahara raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, everything I'm satisfied with now is also the result of the 'gardener's' pruning?"

The pure white horse girl nodded, then snapped her fingers lightly, restoring the environment to its original state of a sea of ​​flowers, before speaking.

"I admit that the flower field is beautiful, and I also love the beautiful flower field, but even the most beautiful things need to survive first before we can consider anything else."

"For thousands of years, ever since humans and horse girls met, gardeners have been interfering with this world, pruning the branches and decorating everything in their own way, along with the initial coincidence.

"Eliminate war, resist death, act early to eradicate plagues at their source, regulate the climate, and eliminate famine from the world..."

"They arrogantly alter the laws of the world, plucking away anything deemed superfluous, proclaiming themselves as protectors of all things, and firmly believing in the righteousness of their actions..."

"Perhaps their intentions were good, but now, looking around, under their protection, although the world is as beautiful as a work of art, the more you explore it, the more you discover its falseness and fragility."

After listening to the pure white horse girl's words, Kitahara Shinji remained silent for a while, then shook his head.

"...I don't quite understand what you're saying."

"You really don't understand?"

The pure white horse spoke softly, her pale pink pupils staring straight at him.

“I know that with your abilities, you must have already realized some of the truth about the horse girl.”

"Then you should also understand why URA can't provide any investigation results regarding the true nature of Uma Musume, why they want to focus the world's attention on Uma Musume events, and why they strictly control public opinion, not giving 'malice' even the slightest chance to ferment..."

"Because if any of these links go wrong, it could directly lead to the collapse of the world."

Shinji Kitahara did not answer.

how to say......

Although Shinji Kitahara has not yet fully explored the true nature of the horse girl due to certain reasons, he has basically confirmed that the existence of horse girls is easily influenced by their surrounding environment, especially their emotions.

Or to put it more clearly, the existence of Ma Niang is, to some extent, based on 'cognition'.

The reason for not releasing the survey results is to preserve the identity of the "Horse Girls" themselves.

Continuing to operate the Uma Musume race and constantly maintaining and expanding its influence is to maintain the outside world's, or rather the world's, awareness of the concept of 'Uma Musume'.

Strict control over public opinion and the secrecy surrounding heinous incidents such as horse hunting are intended to maintain a benevolent atmosphere in the world and prevent horse girls from being contaminated by 'malicious' perceptions.

After numerous investigations and studies, Shinji Kitahara had long been aware of these things, but he simply hadn't said anything.

but......

Even if you say that, it won't do me any good...

Shinji Kitahara smiled helplessly.

"For something like this, I think you should talk to the people in charge. I'm just an ordinary trainer, so there's no point in me knowing more."

"Besides, to be honest, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Although wild jungle plants are indeed more resilient, a garden with a gardener is also nice, and it's beautiful..."

"I know."

To Shinji Kitahara's surprise, the pure white horse girl nodded.

"I don't mean to force you to accept my views. I just want to tell you about the situation in this world. You don't need to do anything."

"Furthermore, I don't dislike the 'gardeners' behavior. If the situation were still the same as before, I might even support them or join their ranks..."

“But recently, because of some things, I’ve found that the ‘gardeners’ don’t seem to be that reliable, and outside the greenhouse, it doesn’t seem to be an empty desert.”

"However, time is running out, so let's talk about this topic next time we meet. Right now, I have something else that I'm sure you're more interested in."

What topics are you more concerned about?

Shinji Kitahara raised an eyebrow.

What topic?

"About the child you care about most."

Seeing Kitahara Shinji's reaction after the eclipse was mentioned, a hint of envy flashed in Pure White Horse Girl's eyes before she slowly spoke.

"There are some things she hasn't told you."

"She doesn't tell me many things."

Shinji Kitahara answered immediately.

"No, it's not a trivial matter; it concerns her mission and her very existence."

Sitting in her chair, the pure white horse girl stared at Kitahara Shinji and spoke seriously.

“I believe you should realize that she has been acting with a purpose for a long time, but she has never told you what her purpose is or how she intends to accomplish it.”

"For certain reasons, I can't tell you these things, but I can tell you that if one day she achieves her goal and fulfills her innate mission..."

At this point, the pure white horse girl paused for a moment, looked directly into Kitahara Shinji's eyes, and emphasized her words with seriousness.

"Then, the day she finishes everything will also be the day she leaves you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, with the sound of a teacup hitting the ground, Kitahara Shinji raised his head and stared intently at the pure white horse girl in front of him.

"You, what did you just say?"

Chapter 245: Just Bear With It

Shinji Kitahara knew about the things the pure white horse girl had mentioned before, such as 'gardener,' 'garden,' and 'fake,' but he didn't take them very seriously.

After all, regardless of whether the 'gardener' mentioned by the pure white horse girl is the three goddesses or something else, whether the current state of this world is natural or man-made, and what the future holds, these are not issues that a mere trainer like him should worry about.

But a solar eclipse is different.

As someone who habitually throws himself away when faced with difficulties, he doesn't care about the future direction of the world, nor is he bothered to explore grand themes like truth and falsehood.

But when faced with something happening right in front of him, he'll usually lend a hand if he can.

Not to mention that this involves a solar eclipse, so even if it's beyond his capabilities, he would find a way to hold it up, even if the sky were to fall.

"Calm down. I only said she would leave you, not that she would die."

The pure white horse girl comforted Kitahara Shinji and then explained.

"To put it simply, I believe you've also noticed that Eclipse's overall abilities are already somewhat beyond the norm compared to ordinary horse girls."

"...Is there?"

Shinji Kitahara's tone carried a hint of doubt, which didn't seem feigned.

"I admit, she is indeed a bit better than the average horse girl, but is she really that outstanding?"

The pure white horse girl paused, looking at Kitahara Shinji with a serious expression, her eyes gradually becoming subtle.

"You... really think so?"

"if not?"

Shinji Kitahara looked at her with a strange expression.

“Isn’t it normal for a horse to be stronger and have better physical fitness? I know she is indeed stronger than the average horse and reacts faster.”

"But I also know an old lady named Ma. She's in her seventies or eighties, but she's still very strong and capable of fighting. It's true that Eclipse is much stronger than her, but the problem is that Eclipse is in her prime. Isn't that normal..."