I'm Ornn, and I'm about to be beaten to my knees by the Man-eating Horse Girl!

Orn didn't mention helping her buy clothes, even though he had already achieved basic financial freedom by selling swords, handicrafts, and hollow-tube cannons capable of blasting black bears. Buying a store wouldn't be an exaggeration for him, let alone one or two outfits.

However, he didn't do that. Judging from the red-haired girl's behavior, although she might not be wealthy, she possessed a high level of pride and would never accept his suggestion.

The relationship between the two sides might become even more tense when Ornn makes this suggestion, which would be bad.

After getting out of the car, the brand-new Radiant One rushed into the clothing store first, followed closely by Teng Zheng March with a sigh, while Oguri Hat, Meguro Ardan, and Excellent Quality were the last to step up the stairs.

Holding a melon, Orn checked whether the flatbed cart, which even Quesanti wouldn't frequent, was locked properly before following them into the clothing store.

With his superior qualities, he glanced at Orn, who was chatting with the shopkeeper, then turned to Meguro Aldan, who was skillfully selecting a skirt, and asked, "Aldan, does Trainer Orn often take you guys shopping? And does he always pay for everything?!"

Aldan took off a finely crafted blue-purple dress and replied, "Well... before Mr. Orn came to the Central Government, I wasn't really sure, but according to Oguri and the others, he always paid for everything when they went out."

Seemingly recalling something amusing, she covered her mouth and chuckled, "Hehe, actually I was thinking of helping Mr. Orn out, after all, I was really shocked when I first saw Oguri's astonishing appetite."

"But now it seems that Mr. Orn may have had some side jobs before becoming a trainer? In any case, he is certainly very well-off financially."

Little Chestnut Hat nodded in agreement. When she lived with her mother, she had already learned to control her predatory instincts; she only ate freely at school.

When Orn first went out to eat with Kasamatsu, she was a little timid, but as they went out to eat more often, she gradually became bolder and stopped suppressing her true nature.

Or rather, Little Chestnut Hat's skin has gotten thicker.

"Hey! What do you think of this outfit?"

Holding a strapless dress in her hand, she proudly held it up to herself and exclaimed, "Look! This dress is the latest and most fashionable style! I believe no one can resist its allure once they have it!"

"Not only does it have an off-shoulder design! It also shows off the back!!"

Before she could finish speaking, Teng Zhengzheng snatched the rather revealing dress away.

She shook her head, her face slightly flushed, and said, "No way! How can this dress be worn inappropriately?! Besides, we're here to choose everyday clothes, not formal gowns! Refuse!!"

"What about this one?!"

Shining brightly, she took another cheongsam from the rack behind her. The open, high-slit design made one wonder if the shopkeeper had accidentally placed it in the wrong spot.

The woman with excellent manners blushed almost as red as her hair. Was this the Dolan Squad, which had recently gained fame in the central government? Were they really this open?!

Although Teng Zheng maintained her icy expression, her increasingly rapid breathing revealed that her inner world was far from as calm as she appeared.

She imagined herself wearing these shameless, indecent, and morally bankrupt clothes, and her face began to flush uncontrollably.

Megumi Ardan didn't react much; on the contrary, she thought the new Radiant had good taste.

Although it's difficult for them to fill out the two outfits given their current figures, Guanghui at least does have a certain sense of aesthetics.

At least it's much better than my sister who works out weights every day; her personal style is a complete disaster.

Even Oguri Hat paused when she saw the dress, and whispered, "Isn't this dress... a little too revealing?"

"Ah~~~"

"But besides these, I don't know what other clothes I can choose!"

Shining Glory lowered his head in disappointment, but Aldan smiled and said, "Why don't we ask Mr. Orn? Perhaps he'll have some good suggestions?"

"That makes sense. I'll go ask them!"

After saying that, the newly radiant beauty trotted over to Ornn's side and looked up to ask, "Benefactor! Do you have any clothing recommendations? We've been looking for ages and haven't found anything suitable!"

Orn shrugged and said, "Choosing clothes? What do I, a grown man, know about these things?"

Upon hearing that a business opportunity had arisen, the proprietress standing next to Orn immediately launched into sales mode: "Hehe, although this gentleman may not know much about this kind of thing, I certainly do! Does this young lady want some casual everyday clothes? Or something more lively?"

"For girls, I still recommend a pleated skirt and a polo shirt. You can also add a bow tie, a small tie, or other personalized decorations at the neckline! This combination is generally suitable for all girls!"

"Or this French lace blouse paired with a fringed asymmetrical skirt, which is also a popular combination right now!"

As she spoke, the shopkeeper diligently took several styles of clothing from the hanger. She continued, "Hehe, my shop is often frequented by horse girls and their trainers. This outfit will definitely work!"

"If you see any clothes you like, you can try them on in the fitting room next door!"

"oh oh....."

Seeing the blue and pink dress in the shopkeeper's hands, Xiao Chestnut Hat's ears twitched. Although she usually acted a bit silly, deep down she really liked cute things like this.

She picked up the dress and excitedly went to the fitting room next door to change.

Tengzheng March and New Glory also selected their own clothes and entered the fitting room.

Despite being persuaded by Orn, she ultimately decided to go and choose a hat.

Orn, holding a melon, looked at the blue-haired girl beside him and asked, "Ardan? Aren't you going to pick out your own clothes?"

"Ah... I don't need it,"

Meguro Ardan said with some distress, "The mistress usually gives us clothes as gifts, and now I alone have over a hundred pieces of clothing in my wardrobe."

"Even with so many clothes, the matriarch still buys a lot every now and then. If we sisters refuse, she gives these clothes to the children who have branched out, or anonymously sends them to different welfare ranches."

"Many ranch managers are terrified by those gorgeous clothes, frantically asking those around them if they've done something wrong and are about to be silenced. The matriarch won't offer any explanation; she'll just let those managers speculate."

“I also asked Sister Gaofeng why she did this. She said that doing so could deter these people in charge. At least they would never dare to embezzle these valuable clothes of unknown origin. This way, the children of those ranches would have a greater chance of getting these clothes.”

Listening to Aldan's explanation, Orn asked, "Let me guess, these clothes donated to orphanages... the head of the Asama family must choose different orphanages each time, and there are always media interviews and displays, right?"

Megumi Ardan looked at Orn with some surprise, and nodded, saying, "That's true, but how did Mr. Orn know that?"

"Hehe, I guessed."

Orn laughed. To come up with such a clever and open scheme, this Asama family head was indeed quite wise.

From the perspective of the managers of those welfare ranches, these inexplicably anonymously delivered luxury clothes were definitely not something that ordinary charities could afford, nor could they be delivered by an individual's influence.

The appearance of such a thing can only mean one thing: some powerful figures are testing him. Perhaps they want to see if he will embezzle and sell these clothes.

If there were no selfish motives, and the welfare ranch was truly acting in the best interests of the horse girls as they claimed, then the outcome would be just as Megumi Asami hoped: the supplies would eventually reach the children safely.

If they have ulterior motives, and the welfare ranch is actually a tool for these people to amass wealth, they wouldn't dare to touch these donations lightly.

After all, they couldn't be sure what the person who sent these things wanted. What if it was a ploy to use someone else to do their dirty work, secretly arranging for reporters and media to expose their embezzlement? Then there would only be two possible outcomes.

At best, the offender would be dismissed from office and sent home to be tortured; at worst, they would be shot seven times in the back and die by suicide. Public opinion is extremely strict with welfare institutions that train horse girls. If any key evidence of corruption were to emerge, then even jumping into the Shinano River wouldn't clear their name.

'As expected of the head of the family, Head Asama's attitude towards all the horse girls is similar to that of Chairman Rudolf, but compared to the Chairman, her approach is more mature...'

Orn held the melon in his hands, deep in thought. This kind of reasoning and analysis would help him better understand his partners, the Mejiro family, the Kitajima family, and the Satomi family.

While he was pondering, the three of them, wearing new clothes, came out of the fitting room.

"My benefactor! How was it! Wasn't it beautiful!"

Shining brightly, it struck various poses, thinking smugly, "Heh heh~~ My benefactor's eyes are glued to me! He must be completely captivated by me!!"

"Since that's the case, I, Lord Radiant, will mercifully continue to display my physique! Oh ho ho ho!!"

But the moment Ornn spoke, he shattered the illusion of a new, radiant future.

He stared at the hem of the skirt on the newly radiant figure that reached her feet, shook his head and said, "This won't do. This outfit doesn't look like it's suitable for training."

"Guanghui, why don't you change into a different set? I think the cargo pants next door are pretty good; they can be used for both strength training and willpower training, which is extremely efficient!"

Hearing Ornn's thunderous speech, the newly emerged Radiance seemed to be petrified.

Her mouth opened and closed, and it took her a long time before she seemed to regain some of her mobility.

"My benefactor! This is [casual clothing]! It's [clothing I wear normally]! How can you describe it using the evaluation of whether it's good or bad for training?!"

Orn asked in surprise, "Isn't this [their usual training attire]?"

As he spoke, a sad expression appeared on his face. "It's such a pity. Do you know how happy I was when I heard you say you wanted to buy [casual clothes], I mean, [training clothes]? Sigh! I thought you'd finally come to your senses!"

"My benefactor, your common sense is so bizarre!! How could anyone keep trying to make their own horse train?! You're abusing it!!"

Shining Radiance was practically spitting blood. Clutching her chest with one hand and pointing at her trainer with the other, she cried out, "Ugh...you!! My benefactor, has your brain been clogged with too much training?!"

"I protest! I protest!"

Chapter 145 Treson Natural Science Research Society

After much persuasion from everyone, Ornn finally relented.

Under the respectful gaze of the clothing store owner, the group, carrying plastic bags and melons, boarded the tricycle again and headed towards their next destination.

"By the way, excellent student, you mentioned before that tents and camping gear are available in those large convenience stores, right?"

Excellent qualities nodded and said, "Yes, although I don't know much about this, I saw a special [Wilderness Survival Zone] in the newly built shopping mall when I went shopping with Shengye and Miaomiao before."

"I think what Trainer Orn wants should be available there."

With a bag in his hand, the brand-new, radiant figure twitched as he said, "Wilderness survival zone? Really? They sell this around the school?"

With excellent manners, he waved his hand and said, "It wasn't real wilderness survival! That was just an exaggerated technique!"

"Hmm... I remember back in school, some upperclassmen suggested holding the school festival in a forest near Tokyo, saying they wanted to enhance students' connection with nature,"

Meguro Ardan thought for a moment and said, "Nechia should also know about this matter. It was about nine months ago, last autumn."

Following her recollection, the student council member said, "Ah, I think I remember now. Apparently, the student council even organized a group of people to conduct an on-site investigation."

"But I don't think I've heard anything about what happened next. Last year, the school's summer festival was held in three different training camp areas, right?"

Aldan replied, "Yes, they were indeed held in three different locations, but according to the original plan, the school wanted to hold the summer festival next to the shrine deep in the mountains."

"That mountain is in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo. There are many high peaks there, as well as many shrines and inns, making it a great tourist destination."

"However, after the student council sent members to check out the site, the proposal was abandoned, and the school ultimately decided to hold the school festival as originally planned during the summer training camp."

"The reason the student council announced was that the mountain path had been in disrepair for many years, and the forest was home to many venomous snakes and wild animals, making it very unsafe for students to go up there, so they abandoned the plan."

Fujimasa frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

She asked, "The stated reason? Is there also a hidden reason?"

Meguro Ardan said mysteriously, "Yes, there is indeed a rumor, but I only heard it from Sister Gao Feng, so I can't guarantee whether it's true or not!"

She cleared her throat and said in a tone like an old woman telling her granddaughter a ghost story, "According to my sister, the members responsible for scouting the terrain this time were Manchester Tea House student, Kobayashi Adventure student, and Machigane Fukuro."

"Liqi often helps people adjust the layout of their rooms and feng shui at school, Fulai's fortune-telling shop is also very famous at school, and Chazuo... as one of the main characters of the Seven Mysteries of Central Teresa, she also has a lot to say in investigation."

"The Seven Wonders of Central Treisen? What are these?"

Shining Bright was a little confused. Wasn't this supposed to be about camping? How did this "Seven Wonders" thing come up again?

Meguro Ardan nodded and said, "The Seven Mysteries... I'll talk about this later if I have the chance! I'll finish telling you this little tidbit first."

"Ahem, after returning to school from the investigation, Manchester Tea House seemed to be in extremely poor spirits; the dark circles under her eyes looked like she had been staying up for two consecutive nights."

"Kobayashi Riki's face was also somewhat pale. She and the senior tea house attendant very seriously suggested to Chairman Rudolf and the chairman that the festival plans be changed."

"As for Fukuro Touken... it was as if she had no memory of this. My sister was also in the student council office at the time, and she said that Fukuro's behavior was less calm and composed and more like she was completely unaware of it, as if she was waiting at the foot of the mountain for the other two to come up and explore."

"Both Liqi and Chazuo remained silent about what happened on the mountain at the time, only repeatedly emphasizing that they must never go to the top of the mountain."

"After discussion, the plan to hold the festival on the mountain was abandoned, and the school chose to hold the festival according to the original plan."

“I heard from my classmate, Taiken Fukurai, that he caught a cold after returning to his dormitory. The cold then developed into a fever, and it took a week for him to fully recover.”

"Okay, that's all the information I have."

After Ardan finished telling the ghost story, apart from the occasional rattling sound from the tricycle, no one spoke.

Oguri's expression remained remarkably calm, but it seemed she always wore this expression, no matter what happened.

Judging from her drooping ears, her defensive posture of hugging her knees and wrapping her tail around her body, Oguri Hat was definitely frightened.

The woman beside her, Fujimasa, hesitated. Although she didn't know who Kobayashi Riki was, she had heard rumors about the fortune teller, Touken Fukuro, at school. More importantly, she was the only one of the six people on the bus who had been in close contact with the woman from the Manchester Tea House.

The strange elevator, the dark stairwell, the seemingly abandoned fifth floor, the newspapers read aloud in an unknown, viscous, multicolored liquid on the windows, and the constant feeling of being watched—all these things made Fujimasa's March feel uneasy.

Seemingly unable to bear the somewhat eerie silence, Shining Radiance gave a dry laugh: "Haha... I, I have heard of a fortune-telling shop in the school. Could this Machigane Fukuro-senpai be the manager of that fortune-telling shop?"

With her excellent qualities gradually calming her racing heart, she nodded and said, "Yes, her fortune-telling shop seems to be doing quite well. Every day, groups of students go to her for fortune-telling. The price isn't expensive either; a few carrots are enough to pay for it. I've been there several times!"

"However, the questions people ask are often quite bizarre. Some students even go there not to ask for divination, but to express their innermost questions. It feels more like... well... more like a confessional in a church!"

With a hint of disbelief, the newly radiant figure said, "A confessional? Senior Fu Lai would take on something like that?"

Meguro Ardan smiled and said, "Yes, that's right. Not only that, she also seems to be part-time as the president of a club. She occasionally tries to recruit more people to join her club by pushing it on her regular customers who come for fortune telling."

"However, for well-known reasons, no one has ever joined her somewhat strange club."

"Let me think, her club name seems to be... [Trexon Natural Science Research Club], and the members are herself, Tea House classmate and Adventure classmate."

Fujimasa couldn't help but complain, "What natural science... Is this even considered science? I think it should be renamed the 'Central Teresen Theological Research Department'!"

Chapter 146 The Seven Wonders of Central Treson (Part 1)