The next day, early morning.
Kitahara Shinji woke up as usual, then washed up, got dressed, and went to the cafeteria for breakfast as usual.
It was just that, unlike before, after finishing his breakfast, Kitahara Shinji did not go to the training grounds as usual, but first went to the student council room.
Then he returned to his own dormitory, lay down on the bed, his expression gradually becoming melancholic.
Ah, so bored.
Although he had agreed to Kudo Kazuya's request last night, the problem was that they had arranged to meet at noon, and it wasn't long after breakfast now, so there was still plenty of time.
If it were as usual, at this time he would have already greeted those little guys and would be slacking off with his phone on the training grounds.
But now, although it wasn't impossible to slack off in the dorm, the problem was that right now it was just him and Eclipse, who he had just brought back from outside. Who was he going to slack off for?
And for various reasons, he was not in the mood to play with his phone right now.
After lying on the bed for a while, he began to wonder if he should just take another nap and sleep until noon.
But he had only just closed his eyes when he felt a soft, familiar object on his body.
Without opening his eyes, just by the familiar soft and warm touch, he knew it was Eclipse who had climbed on top of him again.
And after realizing this, Kitahara Shinji didn't stand on ceremony. He familiarly pinched the little guy's cheek in his arms and then began to rub it back and forth.
The black rice ball in his arms had no reaction to this, and even let him rub it while closing its eyes. After a while, its breathing became steady.
And after seeing Eclipse fall asleep, Kitahara Shinji himself had also wanted to just fall asleep like that.
But after opening his eyes and looking at the peaceful sleeping face of the little guy in his arms, he suddenly lost all desire to sleep.
It wasn't that he thought her sleeping face was cute and got some crooked ideas or anything.
It was just that looking at Eclipse in his arms, his mind suddenly flashed to the horse girl named Clover whom he had once met in the hospital, and the story he had heard about her and Kudo Kazuya.
Then he couldn't help but start to think, if he had encountered that situation, if Eclipse had become like that to save him, what would he have done?
But after thinking about it for a long time, forget about becoming like that, he couldn't even imagine any situation where Eclipse would be defeated.
An ordinary horse girl might indeed have an accident before her Honkaku-ka because she was not yet fully developed.
But after adulthood, with the completion of the Honkaku-ka, with their excessively strong physical fitness, forget about accidents.
Even if they were hit by a car, as long as the speed was not ridiculously fast, or it wasn't a large truck, there would basically be no major problems.
And Eclipse, from the day he met her, she could very easily subdue a horse girl who had already completed her Honkaku-ka, let alone a few ordinary human traffickers.
So, even if Kitahara Shinji racked his brains to simulate it in his mind, the worst result would only be Eclipse going on a rampage on the street and tearing those traffickers apart by hand.
And even this would only be achieved if he himself actively cooperated with the traffickers' actions.
Otherwise, forget about Eclipse, he alone was fully capable of taking care of those traffickers.
So this assumption was simply not valid.
Thus, after thinking for a while, Kitahara Shinji prepared to switch to a different simulation subject.
For example, when he was in Special Week's hometown, when Eclipse was not by his side, he was also kidnapped by traffickers.
Then Special Week, in order to save him, was also seriously injured and fell into a situation similar to Clover's. What would his reaction be then?
Kitahara Shinji thought about it and felt that his subsequent reaction would probably be similar to Kudo Kazuya's.
He would also provide constant companionship, also do his best to take care of her, and would also most likely choose to become a trainer because of this, to help her achieve the dream she could no longer achieve.
But unlike Kudo Kazuya, he probably wouldn't struggle with issues like 'I have already ruined one person's life, I can't ruin another'.
Clover willingly went to save Kudo Kazuya and never had a single regret afterward.
Kudo Kazuya had also done the best he could, and had not done anything wrong. The ones to blame were the traffickers, not himself.
In this situation, Kitahara Shinji didn't think there was a problem of who ruined whom.
If he had to say, he felt that they had just chosen each other and had remained steadfast to this day.
So, although he could understand Kudo Kazuya's pain, it didn't mean he agreed with his way of handling it.
And if Kudo Kazuya had indeed entered the 'black market' because of this, and had taken certain actions to atone for his guilt...
Kneading the black rice ball in his arms, Kitahara Shinji sighed softly.
To be honest, he didn't know how to judge Kudo Kazuya's behavior.
Especially since his own hands weren't very clean, he was even less qualified to make a judgment.
But he didn't need to judge.
In the past, he was alone, so when faced with danger, he could only solve it his own way.
And now, he just had to be responsible for investigating the truth.
As for the rest...
Kitahara Shinji thought for a moment, and then resolutely decided to let it go.
Let Tracen and the URA have the headache.
...
In the peace, time flew by.
Noon, Tracen cafeteria.
Kudo Kazuya sat in a corner of the cafeteria, looking at the calm-faced Kitahara Shinji in front of him, his expression a little strange.
Last night when Kitahara Shinji agreed to meet him, they had arranged for an off-campus izakaya.
Because he had been following Kitahara Shinji's information for a long time, Kudo Kazuya knew that he tended to be cautious and would likely find a reason to change the location at the last minute, so he was mentally prepared.
But what he didn't expect was that Kitahara Shinji would change it to the cafeteria.
Although it wasn't impossible, a serious and formal matter, when placed in this location, it was like two national leaders sitting on a stone pier on the street, cracking melon seeds while exchanging nuclear codes. It just felt a bit strange...
And in response to Kudo Kazuya's strange expression, Kitahara Shinji appeared very righteous.
What's wrong with the cafeteria?
There are enough people, you need ID to enter, and you can prevent the chef from being bribed to poison the food.
Although Kitahara Shinji felt that Kudo Kazuya had no ill intentions towards him, as the saying goes, one should not have the heart to harm others, but one must not be without the heart to guard against others.
Forget about the above; before coming, he had even put on a bulletproof vest he had 'borrowed' from the Tracen security team, and had also called Symboli Rudolf to watch from a distance.
And the most important point was that with Eclipse's appetite, if he really took her to those more high-end and formal places to eat, even for him now, it would still be a considerable burden.
So even though he had clearly noticed the suggestive meaning in Kudo Kazuya's message, Kitahara Shinji still insisted on choosing the cafeteria.
Face and prestige couldn't be eaten. Practicality was king.
That's what Kitahara Shinji believed.
Then, after a moment of subtle silence, Kitahara Shinji spoke first.
"So, Kudo-senpai, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Hearing Kitahara Shinji's question, Kudo Kazuya gradually composed his expression and then took out his phone.
"It's like this, I have something I'd like to ask for your help with, Kitahara-trainer..."
"Senpai, just say it." Kitahara Shinji replied calmly.
Kudo Kazuya paused, tapped his finger on the phone screen a few times, and then spoke.
"It's like this, I recently contacted a few friends and asked them if they were interested in cooperating with Black Forest. They said they were, but they wanted to meet the person in charge of Black Forest first..."
That's what Kudo Kazuya said.
But at the same time, he turned his phone screen around. On the screen were two lines of text that had just been typed and not even confirmed.
[Someone is planning to target a student at Tracen headquarters soon. I'd like to ask for your help in keeping an eye out, Kitahara-trainer.]
[By the way, I guess you probably have a recording device running, so I have to communicate with you this way. Please forgive me.]
Although before coming, seeing the reminder at the end of Kudo Kazuya's message that he could bring Eclipse if he felt uneasy, Kitahara Shinji had realized that he probably didn't want to hide his identity much anymore.
But seeing Kudo Kazuya lay his cards on the table so frankly, Kitahara Shinji was still a little surprised.
But at the same time as being surprised, he also felt a little regretful in his heart.
It wasn't surprising that the recording device was noticed. After all, if Kudo Kazuya didn't even have this basic level of vigilance, he wouldn't have been able to maintain his disguise until now without being discovered.
But the fact that he didn't even confirm the typed words made Kitahara Shinji a little regretful.
Because input methods, in order to improve the user experience, would generally leave a record after confirming, which could be retrieved through certain means. Combined with the cafeteria's surveillance, it could more or less be considered evidence, but now...
Looking at Kudo Kazuya in front of him, Kitahara Shinji muttered 'old fox' in his heart, and then spoke again.
"So, Trainer Kudo, where did you get this information?"
Since the other party had taken the initiative to lay his cards on the table, Kitahara Shinji didn't bother to be polite with him.
And in the face of his questioning, although Kudo Kazuya put on an 'I don't know what you're talking about' expression on the surface, the text on his phone screen was very frank.
[No need to probe, Kitahara-trainer. You and I both know very well where my information comes from.]
[However, the situation this time is different from before. It's not me who actively sought out the 'buyer', but the 'buyer' who actively contacted me.]
Because of his previous investigation, Kitahara Shinji immediately understood Kudo Kazuya's meaning. While being a little surprised at his frankness, he also frowned slightly.
"They actively sought you out? Does that mean you don't know the other party's identity?"
[Yes, that buyer is very cautious and has never revealed any information about himself.]
"How dare he have ideas about a student at Tracen headquarters? And someone dares to take on such a job?"
[This...]
Kudo Kazuya paused.
[This buyer's request is rather strange. He strictly forbids the 'seller' from harming the horse girl, and also says that he himself does not intend to harm the horse girl, nor does he intend to imprison her.]
[Three days. He said he only needs the horse girl for at most three days, and then he will return her to a safe place untouched. During this period, he will also guarantee her safety and ensure that it will not attract the attention of Tracen and the Three Goddesses.]
"Nice words. Is there any actual guarantee?"
[No, but those 'sellers' chose to believe it.]
[Because that buyer offered an extremely high price, and according to his description, there would be no risk. He even said he was willing to provide some strong, side-effect-free anesthetics specifically for horse girls for them to use.]
Kitahara Shinji tapped the table and thought for a while, frowning.
"In that case, can't you just leak the 'sellers'' information to Tracen when they are about to act, and let Miss Tazuna handle it directly?"
[I can't.]
[That buyer has already become aware of me, and even the 'black market's' anomaly. He has currently cut off contact with me and is preparing to communicate with the 'seller' directly and command their actions personally.]
[In this situation, if I actively interfere or try to find out more, that buyer will probably be able to directly confirm my anomaly, and then completely cut off contact. There will be no possibility of tracing his identity anymore.]
Seeing his words, Kitahara Shinji's brow twitched.
"So the entire 'black market' is full of people like you?"
Hearing Kitahara Shinji's question, Kudo Kazuya's expression became a bit subtle, and then he slowly typed.
[Although I would also like to answer your question, Kitahara-trainer, I regret to say that I don't know the answer to this question either.]
[I know this sounds strange. After all, you should have already locked onto my identity a few months ago and probably guessed that I am a member of the 'black market', and I admit this point.]
[But unfortunately, I don't know much about the 'black market' either.]
[It's not that I'm a peripheral member or anything. In fact, my status within the 'black market' should be quite high, and I've been a member for a relatively long time.]
[But the problem is, the 'black market' is not a normal organization. The identities of its members are kept secret from each other.]
[And usually, we don't communicate with each other, and we know very little about each other. So I don't know the identities and purposes of the other members.]
Looking at Kudo Kazuya's answer, Kitahara Shinji was silent for a while, his expression gradually becoming subtle.
What's with this guy today?
He had been so careful to maintain his disguise before, why was he just spilling everything today?
Kitahara Shinji did not hide his confusion. Kudo Kazuya easily saw through his thoughts and then gave a response.
[It's simple. Because I trust you, Kitahara-trainer.]
[I didn't reveal it to you before simply because I didn't find a suitable opportunity, and I was also worried that you wouldn't believe me or would misunderstand.]
[Now, I don't know how much information you've already traced, but it must be enough to lock onto me. And since I also have a favor to ask of you, I thought I might as well just be honest about everything at once.]
[And, that's not all. If you have any other questions, as long as I know the answer, I will do my best to answer.]
Seeing his words, Kitahara Shinji raised an eyebrow.
"As long as you know, you will answer?"
[Yes.]
Kudo Kazuya nodded.
"Alright then."
After seeing his answer, Kitahara Shinji sat up straight, staring intently at Kudo Kazuya's eyes. Amidst the other's awkward expression, he said through gritted teeth.
"Then, Trainer Kudo, can you answer a question for me?"
"That is, in the past few years, why is it that out of a total of sixty-eight horse girl hunting incidents, I alone have encountered sixty-four of them?"
"Oh, no, wait. Counting the one that's about to happen, it should be sixty-five out of sixty-nine incidents that I've encountered alone."
As he spoke, he leaned closer to the increasingly awkward Kudo Kazuya, enunciating each word.
"Do you have any idea about this?"
"Trainer Kudo."
....
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