Even though he had a premonition he would eventually return, Luo Cheng still felt a dizzying sensation. Coming back meant he was once again an invisible figure in this world.
He let go of the horse girl and let out a long sigh.
"Ah, Trainer." A soft green figure approached Luo Cheng outside the academic building. Seiun Sky's face held a relaxing smile. "What's the training plan for today?"
"Sky..." Luo Cheng opened his mouth. He had signed a contract with Seiun Sky. It seemed there was a connection between that world and this one. He had gained control here after signing the contract with Sky.
Walking up to Seiun Sky, Luo Cheng reached out and stroked her small head, gently holding her soft ears. Throughout this, Seiun Sky blinked, seemingly unaware of anything, waiting for Luo Cheng's command.
"You were secretly following me just the day before yesterday..."
Without a mind of their own, people were just shells. Luo Cheng couldn't even connect the Seiun Sky in front of him with the one who fed him cake yesterday.
"I'll give you your training plan this afternoon. Go have fun for now."
"Yes."
Seiun Sky nodded and turned to leave. Luo Cheng watched her back, frowning. "Sky!" he called out to her. "Do you remember anything from yesterday?"
There was no reply. Seiun Sky stood there blankly. A few seconds later, she left on her own, having not received a command.
As he expected.
She wouldn't give a response that went beyond the system. He also noticed that he hadn't added the command prefix "The task for today is—" yet Seiun Sky seemed to have understood what he was saying.
Luo Cheng looked for Teio and soon found her in the student council room, stuck to Rudolph.
"Trainer!" The moment she saw Luo Cheng, Tokai Teio ran over happily. Her innocent and adorable smile made Luo Cheng think Teio had "come to life," but it was just a trigger for a fixed greeting. After a smile, Teio returned to her usual expression.
"Teio, do you remember anything from yesterday?" Luo Cheng tried the same thing, but again, there was no response.
"Do two sets of push-ups on the ground."
Hearing this, Tokai Teio immediately got down and began doing push-ups.
Luo Cheng realized his command method had changed. He no longer needed to add a command prompt; Teio would do whatever he told her to. Was this an effect of the plot ending? These horse girls seemed to have a higher "intelligence" than before. Seeing Rudolph and Symboli Rudolf, Luo Cheng issued a command. A translucent dialogue box popped up in front of him, saying, [Not a relationship].
That's right, he had one more contracted horse girl.
He went to Agness Tachyon's lab, which was just as he remembered, filled with research equipment. However, unlike before, a piece of paper was taped in the most prominent spot, which read: "Investigate the connection between the two worlds."
Just as Agness Tachyon had said, what she did in that world had a synchronized effect on this world. The in-game Agness Tachyon was still conducting research on him.
Watching Agness Tachyon scribbling on a chair, Luo Cheng walked up to her.
"Tachyon."
"Piggy-kun." Agness Tachyon responded to Luo Cheng. "What's the training plan for today?"
Although it was also a fixed dialogue, what she was doing was closely related to him.
"I'll tell you when you come to the training ground this afternoon."
"Yes."
After answering, she automatically ignored Luo Cheng and continued with her experiments. The man left the lab without disturbing her.
What should he do now?
Now that this plotline was over, when was the next race? Returning to his room, Luo Cheng pulled out the Horse Girl Training Manual. He couldn't find this book in the real world; it only existed in the game world.
Luo Cheng opened Tokai Teio's page. After the debut race, the next race was the [Wakagoma Stakes], which was in December. That was more than three months away—a full 100 days.
Another 100 days...
He had already spent over a hundred days here. Just when he was able to live a normal life for a while, another hundred-plus days were coming! What would he become by then? But this was how horse girl races were: train for a few months, race once, then train for another few months.
Could it be that I'm destined to just be a 'player' after all?
In the office, Luo Cheng looked at Tokai Teio's stats. They had all exceeded 170. During the month he hadn't been training her, Tokai Teio's stats hadn't fallen behind, steadily improving every day. The logic of the game world still applied in the real world. A trainer was someone who combined these elements.
Seiun Sky's stats were much lower than Teio's. Many of her stats only increased by three to five points. This was probably because it wasn't yet the time for Seiun Sky's training arc, and her attribute growth was at its lowest. Luo Cheng looked at the Horse Girl Training Notes. The book seemed endless; it felt thin but had an infinite number of pages. A large portion of them were blank.
He wasn't sure if they were just blank pages or if they were for new characters that would appear in the future.
Luo Cheng stretched and commanded Seiun Sky to sit on his lap. Compared to Teio, Seiun Sky was slightly taller. When she sat on his lap, her head rested perfectly on Luo Cheng's chin. Her size was perfect for a pillow, especially with the faint scent of lavender on her body. Luo Cheng felt his mind and body relax as he smelled it.
Although Tokai Teio was far superior in terms of softness, Seiun Sky was more comfortable. Maybe he should just carry Seiun the big cat everywhere from now on?
Speaking of holding them, he didn't know what was wrong with Teio. The original command he gave her seemed to be impossible to lift. As long as he slept with Seiun Sky, Tokai Teio would come over, even at night. For example, the day before yesterday, Luo Cheng was using Seiun Sky as a body pillow when he got up to use the bathroom. He found Teio standing there, which startled him. Her blue eyes glowed eerily in the room.
That night, Luo Cheng slept with both of them.
They seemed to be bound together, or rather, pseudo-bound. When Luo Cheng took Teio, Seiun Sky would secretly follow. When he took Sky, Teio would stand openly nearby. This corresponded to what was happening in the real world.
Luo Cheng also discovered that affection levels also increased in the real world. After a few weeks over there, he came back to find Seiun Sky's affection level had a heart, which was a slightly lighter color than Tokai Teio's. Teio's heart had somehow turned a deep rose red, a much darker shade, and it seemed to be faintly beating.
"Sky, when will we get a chance to go fishing?"
Recalling their past conversations, Luo Cheng couldn't help but say it out loud.
Just as he finished his sentence, a dialogue box popped up in front of him.
[Triggered special event: Fishing]
Suddenly, the expression on Seiun Sky's face changed, becoming much more animated, while Tokai Teio, standing nearby, flushed a deep red, looking like she was about to explode.