After a full day of training, Luo Cheng dragged his exhausted body back to his dorm. This was the first time he had seriously gone through the entire routine. Usually, he just set Teio's tasks and went about his business; Teio had a built-in "GPS" and would always find him to report: "Trainer, I've finished. What's next?"
That was the fixed dialogue for finishing a session. Even if he locked himself in his room, Teio would find a way in. Once, he had even hidden in a closet, and she still found him with uncanny precision, squeezing in right next to him. After that, he grew quite fond of closets.
"Am I going to have to train like this every day...?" Even just standing on the sidelines for several hours was draining.
Why wasn't I born as a horse girl? He couldn't help but wonder. If he were one, he'd have inexhaustible stamina. Seeing them run for hours on end made them look like superheroes to him. He had experienced their speed once when he asked Teio to give him a ride around the track. He nearly threw up his breakfast; that speed was basically a car. Using their ears as handlebars worked fine, provided you could handle the "vibrations" that made your internal organs quiver.
But becoming a horse girl meant losing something very important to him, which he couldn't accept. Being transmigrated into a school full of beautiful girls as a girl himself? How was that different from being killed? No, it was worse! As a male, they could be his pillows. As a female... they'd just be "action figures." Thinking about it that way, being transmigrated exactly as he was felt like an act of divine mercy.
Speaking of divinity, there was one thing Luo Cheng had to address. In the world of Uma Musume, all irrationalities are linked to God. According to the lore, the gods here have physical forms and aren't just abstract concepts. The creators of the horse girls are the Three Goddesses. If he could find them, he might figure out what was happening.
He had considered two ways to meet them. First, the fountain in front of the school, which held statues of the Three Goddesses where one could pray. Second, a shrine, where a wish might cause them to manifest. Months ago, when the loneliness was driving him to a breakdown, he had run to the fountain and screamed at the statues, begging for help.
Nothing happened. There were no Three Goddesses in the game world.
So, what about this "reality"? Did they exist here? Luo Cheng sat up abruptly. He took a taxi to the nearest shrine to offer a donation and a wish. He didn't know the proper ritual, so he mimicked what he'd seen in movies and rang the bell.
He sat in the shrine for hours. Nothing happened.
By the time he returned to Tracen, it was the middle of the night. A cold moon hung in the sky, casting a silver veil over the ground. Perhaps there were no Three Goddesses in this world either. If there were, they would have appeared long ago when he first started "messing around" with the girls. He had already slept with half of Tracen, and yet there wasn't a sign of them.
Maybe in this irrational world, the Three Goddesses were just game characters, too. There was no bleaker answer: even the one being who could challenge the rules was bound by them.
Oh well. Aside from the occasional pang of unbearable loneliness, this world had no flaws. No worries about food or clothing, surrounded by beauties, and free to do as he pleased. Looking up at the moon, Luo Cheng walked to the center of the track and lay down flat on the ground.
He liked lying here in the evening breeze with Cafe in his arms. Her pale face and golden eyes complemented the night perfectly. It was one of the few times he didn't have any lewd thoughts. He treated Cafe as a friend, telling her stories of his past. Occasionally, she would let out a soft "mm," though he never knew if it was instinct or if she actually heard him.
He hoped it was the latter. Humans are social creatures; they need dialogue. One cannot survive alone; even if it's a charade, one must pretend there is someone there. Long-term isolation makes the mind go soft.
Time ticked away. The wind blew, and footsteps approached. He looked up to see a dark-haired girl approaching. Her beautiful long hair blended with the night, and her pale face reflected the moon's glow, looking even more delicate under its light. But the most beautiful part was her eyes—clear, golden eyes without a hint of impurity, like stars in the night.
"Trainer, you're here. I was wondering where you went." She smoothed her skirt, pressed her legs together, and sat obediently beside him.
"Cafe..."
"Yes, Trainer?"
"Knee-pillow."
"?" Cafe blinked. It took her a moment to understand, a blush coloring her cheeks. She adjusted her legs and whispered, "Please, Trainer."
Luo Cheng shifted his body, resting his head on Cafe's lap. A warm, soft sensation enveloped him. As expected of a max-affection girl, she accepted such a request easily. Considering her bond was as high as Teio's, she'd surely agree to even more "outrageous" things.
He leaned into her, breathing in her faint scent, which held a trace of soap. She must have just showered in the dorm.
"Cafe, you can see ghosts, right?"
"Yes, Trainer." She nodded. "I've seen them since I was very little."
"Do you think ghosts are real? Or is it possible that only you can see them, and they don't actually exist? That your world is just different from everyone else's?"
Cafe shook her head. She had never considered such a complex question. She simply viewed her ability as a unique trait and accepted her own difference.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world. That you're all fake. That even I might be fake—that I'm already dead, and this is just my final dream." Luo Cheng vented his emotions while lying on her lap.
Cafe watched him. Unlike others, Luo Cheng's eyes were a bottomless black, as if no light could enter them. Even while he was venting, his eyes showed no emotional change. Cafe thought for a moment and chose the most reliable "move."
She kissed him.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Uma Musume: Inside the Game (40 Chapters – Ongoing)
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