This wasn't the first time Kitahara Shinji couldn't figure out what Eclipse was thinking.
But this time, it was a special kind of confusion.
After waking up that night and being assaulted by Eclipse, his mind was a blank.
Not emotionally blank, but physically blank.
He had been deprived of oxygen from her assault and it took him nearly a minute to recover his senses.
After recovering, looking at Eclipse, his first reaction was that this girl had probably gotten some ideas from watching him sleep and wanted to do him in right then and there.
But after waiting for a while, he found that she was just sitting there obediently, with no intention of making any further moves.
After that, under these ambiguous circumstances, the two returned to the dormitory.
And because their auras were so similar, no one noticed the issue with his mouth.
But even if no one noticed, he couldn't deceive himself.
Although this wasn't the first time he had done something like this with Eclipse, the problem was that the previous time was a complete accident, and it hadn't gone to this extent.
Specifically, one day in the past, while he was holding her and watching TV, they saw the male and female leads kissing, looking very happy. Eclipse suddenly turned around and gave him a peck on the lips.
After that peck, she showed no shyness or excitement at all, but instead looked a little confused.
But she wasn't confused for long. A few seconds later, she shrank back, continuing to nestle in his arms and watch TV, as if nothing had happened.
As for why Kitahara Shinji remembered this so clearly...
That was his only first kiss in two lifetimes combined. How could he not remember it clearly?
But the problem was that at that time, Eclipse was just a child who didn't know any better, playing around. So Kitahara Shinji didn't pay it too much mind.
But the other night...
Recalling the long assault that had left him short of breath, to say that it was a child innocently playing around would be pure self-deception.
Although it wasn't entirely Eclipse's fault. After all, he could feel that she wasn't holding him down too forcefully. If he didn't want to, he could have pushed her away at any time.
But even though he had no experience with this, Eclipse had gone that far, and he had subconsciously responded.
And in the aftermath, it was basically him on the offensive. In the end, it was even Eclipse who retreated first. It could be said that the responsibility was mainly his.
But the problem was, the initiator of this whole thing was Eclipse. She had assaulted him.
And it didn't seem like the innocent experimentation of the past. Although her movements were very clumsy, he could feel the seriousness of her attitude.
What did this mean?
To be honest, Kitahara Shinji didn't know.
It wasn't that he was playing dumb; he really couldn't grasp Eclipse's thoughts.
He wasn't an idiot. If any other horse girl had done this to him, he would definitely have recognized and affirmed their feelings.
But Eclipse was different.
Their relationship couldn't be described as friends at all; even "family" was a bit inappropriate.
After all, even as family, as close as brother and sister, you wouldn't sleep together after growing up, let alone say things like "if you want to jump, then jump, you don't have to be responsible, everything will be as usual" without batting an eye.
But to say they were lovers... he was very sure that Eclipse's feelings for him were definitely not love in the conventional sense.
So what did she mean?
Recalling the soft, warm touch that had spread in his mouth that night, Kitahara Shinji's expression became even more melancholic.
It wasn't that he hadn't asked her directly, but Eclipse, just like before, had simply ignored his question.
If this had been a few years ago, he might not have been so fixated on this issue.
After all, with Eclipse's peculiar way of thinking, forget kissing, she could even talk about "playing horsey" without changing her expression, and had even done outrageous things like giving him her own underwear and stockings.
But now was different.
It was already September. In another quarter, Eclipse would be eighteen.
Although legally, women here could marry at sixteen and men at eighteen, Kitahara Shinji stubbornly stuck to his own view that one should be at least eighteen to get married.
In other words, in three months, Eclipse would enter his acceptable range.
Kitahara Shinji hadn't thought about this problem before because although Eclipse always threatened to "jump" him, if he really expressed clear resistance, she definitely wouldn't force him.
But the assault a few nights ago made him realize that he had to make a decision.
Kitahara Shinji was never one to evade problems or do things he wasn't sure about.
Rather than being conflicted when the time came, it was better to face the problem early, make a decision in advance, and then act on it.
Then, after just a few seconds of thought, he came to an answer.
That was, he definitely couldn't refuse Eclipse.
After all, even if they weren't lovers, their relationship was destined to be inseparable. So no matter how much he agonized over it, in the end, there was only one option: to accept.
And after reaching this answer, he went to find Eclipse and expressed his thoughts very directly.
"If you want, I can agree. After the new year, I can start dating you, and we can be together as lovers from now on."
"Or if you want to get married, I can agree to that too. But since you're still a racehorse, the wedding will have to be after you finish these three years. But I can buy you a ring or something to get engaged first."
But in the face of his direct attack, Eclipse had no response. Just like his previous direct questions, she simply ignored it.
Clearly, she did not agree with his ideas.
This made Kitahara Shinji completely melancholic.
Although, based on his years of understanding Eclipse, he had more or less anticipated this result before he came, when it actually happened, he couldn't help but have a big question mark pop up in his mind.
He really wanted to grab her by the legs, turn her upside down, and shake all the thoughts out of her head to see what on earth she was thinking.
If you say you like him, he offers to marry you, but you don't agree.
If you say you don't like him, her directness is something even married couples might not be able to match.
Of course, Kitahara Shinji's acceptance did not mean he agreed to start "jumping" immediately.
After all, Eclipse was still studying at Tracen and was an active racehorse. Neither identity was suitable for that kind of thing.
And although Tracen was very open in some aspects, the bottom line was that you couldn't get anyone pregnant, in every sense of the word. If you violated this, the punishment would be extremely severe.
So even those trainers who had improper relationships with their charges would usually only go all the way towards the end of the three-year race period, so that even if there was an accident, the impact wouldn't be too great.
Even the more eager ones would wait until the latter half of the second year. The case of "jumping" a day and a half after signing was an exception. The subsequent period of restraint would be very difficult, and it could further affect their racing performance.
So even though he had made a decision in his heart, Kitahara Shinji was also prepared to wait until Eclipse had finished her three years before considering certain things.
But the problem now was not this, but that after he had made his choice, Eclipse clearly disagreed...
This made Kitahara Shinji very melancholic.
They had kissed, they could "jump" at any time, and she was inseparable from him all day long. But as soon as he mentioned dating or marriage, she would immediately turn her head and avoid his gaze...
Reaching out, he pinched Eclipse's cheek. Kitahara Shinji rubbed her face fiercely while speaking helplessly.
"What on earth is going on in your head..."
But Eclipse still had no reaction, nor did she have any intention of answering his question. She just let him rub her face, as if nothing had happened between them.
Then, Kitahara Shinji quickly stopped dwelling on it.
After all, he had made his decision, and Eclipse had given her response. Although it was different from what he had expected, the matter was now closed.
And actually, whether she agreed or refused, it wouldn't have any impact on their relationship.
Perhaps for some other couples, that document proving their relationship was a symbol of happiness.
But for the two of them, with or without that document, their way of getting along would still be the same.
At most, after the three years were over, when it was time to "jump," Kitahara Shinji would have less of a psychological burden.
Now that she had refused, it just meant that everything would remain as it was.
As for the future...
If in the future Eclipse had a change of heart and agreed, he wouldn't refuse.
And if she didn't have a change of heart, it wasn't impossible to maintain this way of getting along forever.
And, if at that time, Eclipse still wanted to "jump" with him, even without that document proving their relationship, he wouldn't be coy.
But that was a long time in the future.
Right now, even if Eclipse had agreed, he couldn't have agreed to it immediately.
Not to mention she had refused, so for now, these were all things that didn't need to be considered.
So what did Kitahara Shinji need to consider now?
The answer was the blue-haired horse girl watching him from the edge of the training grounds not far away.
Mejiro Ardan.
Back when he was chatting with Yui at the izakaya, Kitahara Shinji had said that he had noticed Mejiro Ardan's presence for a while.
And he had also noticed that not only had she not approached him, she was even deliberately hiding her presence. If it weren't for his strong counter-surveillance skills, he might not have noticed her at all.
And, after observing for a long time, he also found that she wasn't just looking at him. Sometimes she would also look at the horse girls running on the training grounds, her eyes filled with envy and longing.
To be honest, if it were any other horse girl, Kitahara Shinji would have gone straight up and asked her if anything was wrong.
As for Mejiro Ardan, it wasn't that he didn't want to help her.
But the problem was, her surname was Mejiro.
When chatting with Yui before, he had said that he also wanted to help Mejiro Ardan, but if something went wrong during the treatment, things could get troublesome.
But that wasn't all.
Contrary to the Symboli family, the Mejiro family was known for its lenient family style, and their way of doing things was more gentle.
So even if something really went wrong during the treatment and Mejiro Ardan's condition worsened, although it certainly wouldn't be pleasant, he definitely wouldn't be thrown into Tokyo Bay. Most likely, he would just be kicked out, and that would be the end of it.
But all this was on the premise that the treatment went wrong and ultimately failed.
And if nothing went wrong, if he really managed to heal her...
Then he'd be even more screwed!
If the treatment went wrong and failed, the Mejiro family would have expected it.
After all, their entire Mejiro family had tried their best and couldn't solve this problem. So if he couldn't solve it, although they would certainly be disappointed, they wouldn't blame him too much.
But if, by some chance, he really did heal her, then faced with a trainer who could solve a problem that the entire Mejiro family, working together, could not, would the Mejiro family let him go?
And, there was another point. The Mejiro family's way of doing things was relatively gentle compared to other families.
If they really took an interest in him, they probably wouldn't be like a certain hot-tempered family next door, who would think of using force from the beginning, tying him up in the basement or something.
And if they used force, Kitahara Shinji actually wasn't that afraid. After all, he himself had some fighting ability, and there was also an outlier-level existence like Eclipse.
But if they used soft tactics...
Kitahara Shinji was very self-aware of his willpower.
He couldn't even stand up to the wheedling of a few young horse girls in his team, let alone the Mejiro family.
So he was very conflicted now.
If you asked him if he wanted to help Ardan, he definitely did.
But if you asked him if he dared to help Ardan, that was uncertain.
After much thought, he could only pretend not to have noticed her for now, slacking off on the training grounds as before...
Wait a minute.
Just as he took out his phone, Kitahara Shinji suddenly realized something was wrong.
Hold on, it was already the beginning of September, the vacation had already started!
Although Nice Nature's G3 race was in two days, he had already helped her with all the pre-race preparations, and the last day was for relaxation. In other words, he had no reason to come to the training grounds anymore.
But although he thought of this, Kitahara Shinji didn't just turn around and leave. He first lazed around the training grounds for another day.
Then, at the end of the day, he called everyone over and announced his decision to lie around in his dorm for the next month.
If this had been before, the horse girls probably wouldn't have agreed to his decision.
After all, if he didn't come to the training grounds, they would have less time to interact with him.
But the problem was, because of the incident with Agnes Tachyon's potion, forget about getting close to him, just looking at him would cause their bodies to react, even affecting their training.
In this situation, letting him go back to the dorm for a few days so they could calm down was indeed a more appropriate plan, so no one objected to his proposal.
And seeing them agree so readily, Kitahara Shinji became even more convinced of his previous speculation.
Just think about it. His suggestion, coupled with the fact that he still hadn't added any of the horse girls on LINE, was basically a declaration that he would be separated from them for the next month.
If they really had feelings for him, then even if they didn't stop him from leaving, they at least wouldn't have agreed to his decision so readily.
It was just that he seemed to have forgotten that although the training camp was over, the horse girls now knew the location of his dorm, and even had keys...
And for now, even if Kitahara Shinji slacked off, Yui had now joined the team and was also very responsible, acting more like the main trainer than Kitahara Shinji.
But being a trainer or not was not the main point.
The main point was that since she was responsible, even if Kitahara Shinji didn't come to the training grounds, they could take the opportunity to keep an eye on Yui, so they didn't have to worry about her getting a head start.
After that, the exchange ended, and everyone dispersed with their own thoughts.
The group that had finished the training camp returned to their respective dorms. Kitahara Shinji also returned to his own dorm for the first time in a long while. Looking at the empty room in front of him, he was in a daze for a while.
After being at the training camp for a full two months and getting used to the lively environment, returning to the dorm alone, Kitahara Shinji was indeed a little unaccustomed to it.
But unaccustomed or not, Kitahara Shinji also knew that that was the abnormal state, so he was only in a daze for a while before returning to his usual life rhythm.
Shower, change into pajamas, then sit down at the computer.
He had originally planned to browse the forums, chat in group chats, and then watch some videos before going to sleep, just like before.
But after sitting down and looking at the deserted surroundings, Kitahara Shinji was silent for a while, then opened the game that Tokai Teio had recommended to him.
Just for a little while.
He thought, and then entered the ranked queue.
One win, two wins, three wins...
Thanks to his reaction speed, which was far superior to that of ordinary people and even horse girls, and nearly half a month of serious study, his gaming skills now had a significant improvement compared to when he used to beat Tokai Teio and the others so badly they didn't want to play with him anymore.
It was just that because he usually did other things and played very little, his ranking was not very high.
Since he was bored now, he wanted to see how far he could go if he played seriously.
Then, three hours later.
Looking at the 97% win rate displayed on the screen, and his game ID, which had rapidly risen to the top 100 on the overall leaderboard under the bonus of a terrifying winning streak, Kitahara Shinji fell into deep thought.
Perhaps, compared to being a trainer, the path of a professional esports player might be more suitable for him?
But it was just a thought.
After all, he knew his own situation.
With his strange luck that would bring disaster to everything except horse girl-related matters, if he signed with a team one day, the entire game would probably be shut down the next.
And after reaching the top 100, Kitahara Shinji did not continue to play.
It wasn't that he couldn't play anymore; in fact, he was still full of energy.
And counting his previous records, his current winning streak was close to one hundred. If he really wanted to, even if his ranking was already so high, it wouldn't be difficult to continue winning.
As for the 3% loss rate?
That was from when he was just starting out and being beaten by Tokai Teio and the others.
But after his skills improved, he basically never lost again.
So why did he stop playing?
The answer was that someone had sent him a message.
[Grasp Victory]: Carrot-Hoku-niisan, you there?
Carrot-Hoku, was Kitahara Shinji's game name.
But he didn't choose this name himself. It was secretly concocted by a certain trio of stooges, and then relayed to him by Eclipse.
Because Eclipse often did things he couldn't understand, when she told him about this name, although he couldn't quite figure out what she was thinking, he thought about it and felt that it saved him the trouble of coming up with a name, so he just agreed.
And now...
[Carrot-Hoku]: Here
[Carrot-Hoku]: What's up, want to play a round? I'm free right now
Compared to climbing the ranks, he actually preferred to play games with people he knew.
Especially since this 'Grasp Victory' was clearly a bit of a dense, silly kid, so he could hold back and fool around without any scruples, purely enjoying the fun of the game without having to worry about raising the other person's affection.
But today, facing the rare invitation from 'Carrot-Hoku-niisan', 'Grasp Victory' did not immediately agree as usual.
After a long silence, 'Grasp Victory' slowly responded.
[Grasp Victory]: Um, Carrot-Hoku-niisan
[Grasp Victory]: Do you know, like, what's a good gift to give a girl?
Seeing this sentence, Kitahara Shinji raised an eyebrow, his expression gradually becoming subtle.
This little brat, could he be in love?
....
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