I looked at Tokai Teio in front of me. She didn't have a stat UI; this wasn't the game. With a mischievous smile, she wrapped her arms around my neck and swayed back and forth. I was very familiar with the decor in the room; it was exactly how it was when I first entered an event. I would never forget the scene from that day.
I'm... back again?
I touched Tokai Teio's arms around my neck. They were soft and tender. I clearly remembered that when I first came to the real world, I touched Tokai Teio's face and kissed her. At that time, she wasn't swaying back and forth behind me like she was now.
"Trainer, Trainer~" Tokai Teio said in her cute, childlike voice.
Why can I come back? And where am I now?
I thought the event replay was just for watching videos, but I was clearly back to the very beginning. At that moment, I noticed three small dots in the upper corner of my eye. I reached out and tapped them, and a prompt appeared.
[Would you like to exit Event Replay mode? Yes/No]
It was confirmed. I was in event mode.
But could the real world be replayed? Was what I experienced before reality, or was it all just part of the game?
"Trainer, did you zone out? Don't ignore me, Teio-sama!" Tokai Teio shook my head and rubbed my ears.
Speaking of which, which period of Teio was this? Were the horse girls in the event replay in their past state? Thinking about this, I asked, "Teio, how did your debut race go? Did you win?"
"Win?" Tokai Teio blinked. "What are you talking about, Trainer? The debut race hasn't started yet. But if you're asking if I'll win, with me, Tokai Teio-sama, on the job, how could I possibly lose?"
Tokai Teio giggled. As if playing with a toy, she put her hands inside my ears and scratched my ear canals.
This Teio wasn't the Teio from after the Wakakoma Stakes. She had a very strong childlike innocence and was clearly purer than the Teio from six months later.
As for her affection... I thought she was also in a state of high affection. Tokai Teio hugged my neck and rubbed her face against mine. "Trainer, just watch how I, Teio-sama, will make those opponents look like they're wilting flowers."
It seemed that she only became that way after I kissed her. If we were to just get along, Teio wouldn't be... how should I put it, so aggressive. Without breaking through that barrier, Teio would, at most, hug and embrace me like this.
Wait, was this Teio the same Teio as the other one? What was their relationship? Were they in the past? That couldn't be, right? Wouldn't that cause a butterfly effect? If I did something to this Teio, many of the subsequent events would change.
I was more inclined to believe that this was a separate space, just like the support card events. They were all horse girls, they were all the real deals, but they weren't the ones I knew. So there shouldn't be a problem with treating the current Tokai Teio as a brand-new Teio, right?
I reached up and stroked Teio's head. Her eyes happily narrowed.
"Let's go for a walk."
"Go play? Okay!"
Leaving the office, I found that besides my conversations with Tokai Teio, everything was exactly as I had first seen it. The horse girls who greeted me, the people training, the teachers passing by—everything was something I had already experienced. It was like watching a familiar movie, but I was inside it.
I waved to them, and they looked up and waved back. It felt just like a dream.
All my past experiences became figments of my imagination. Reality and illusion were intertwined. How should I describe it? A sense of detachment. Yes, it was as if I had been detached from the world.
The protagonist of Steins;Gate must have felt something similar. I felt a sense of empathy for no reason. Being detached from the timeline, I felt more fear than excitement.
"Mmm... What's wrong, Trainer?"
"Nothing..."
My hands were shaking uncontrollably. I shook my head. My brain was putting more strain on me.
Don't look, don't listen, don't think, I told myself. Don't look, don't listen, don't think...
I shouldn't seriously think about anything illogical. Otherwise, my sanity wouldn't be able to handle it. With philosophy, the deeper you think, the more lost you become.
I grabbed Teio's hand and held her tightly. A sweet, refreshing scent filled my nose.
"Trainer? You're so clingy now, Trainer. Hehe~" Tokai Teio patted my back. "It's okay. You can be as clingy as you want, Trainer. After all, I, Teio-sama, am your horse girl."
Hmm, the pure version of Teio seemed pretty good, too.
"Oh my, are you two getting cozy?" a leisurely voice asked from beside us. Sky put her hands behind her head, a smile of unknown meaning on her face.
"That's right, I'm getting cozy with my Trainer," Tokai Teio said bluntly.
"Since that's the case, why don't you include me?" Sky said, pointing to herself.
"Why would I? He's my Trainer, not yours. If you want to get cozy, why don't you go find your own Trainer? Let's go, Trainer, let's go play." Tokai Teio said, pulling my hand and running outside. I turned my head and waved to Sky, and she smiled.
'I'll be waiting for you to come back and sleep in with me,' Sky mouthed.
At the school gate, I ran into Handyman Hayakawa again. Her expression, tone, demeanor, and the things she said were all exactly the same as before. This time, I changed things up a bit.
"Hayakawa, you look beautiful today, as always."
"Oh, Trainer Luo Cheng, really, don't say such things in front of others..." Handyman Hayakawa said, holding her blushing face. Tokai Teio puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"Trainer, let's hurry to Central Park! Don't waste time here!"
"See you later, Trainer Luo Cheng."
The second time around was much smoother than the first. I wasn't a stranger to the surroundings anymore. The yellow food truck was still in the park, and the young female vendor was making the honey special drink. Tokai Teio still ordered the extra-large cup and drank it with me.
This world was still following the original storyline. The beginning was the same, the ending was the same, and the only difference was probably the process.
"It tastes good, right, Trainer?"
"Yeah."
"Only those who understand know the deliciousness of adding extra syrup. It's great that you understood so quickly, Trainer." Tokai Teio nodded, her ears bouncing with vigor. She sat next to me, swinging her clean, white legs.
"Where should we go next?"
"Let's go to the bookstore," I said.