News that Oguri Cap was about to begin an overseas campaign was never going to stay hidden.
As the summer break ended early, the overseas itinerary was finalized, and the related procedures were processed, the tone of public opinion quietly flipped.
Only now did people finally understand why this top-class horse girl—known as the "Grey Monster"—had chosen to transfer out of Ginjirou's team and into Chasing Light.
It wasn't because of some so-called "she can't beat the Chasing Light horse girls," so she got scared and defected.
It was because—
The Grey Monster's gaze had already leapt over Central's walls, and fixed itself on a much wider world beyond.
…
Early morning, the trainers' dorm.
Sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, scattering dappled shadows across the floor.
On the big bed, Kuroha lay with his left hand propped behind his head, staring blankly as he raised his right hand and examined it over and over.
And pressed against his chest, a soft, warm presence wrapped tightly around half his body—gentle, reassuring heat.
A head of sleek, glossy silver hair was sprawled messily across him.
His gaze drifted lower: a pale, clean collarbone, and a wide expanse of porcelain-smooth skin rising and falling with calm breaths.
Warm, rhythmic breaths brushed against Kuroha's neck, sending a faint, tingling itch through his skin.
Fujimasa March was nestled against his chest, sleeping soundly.
Kuroha had no intention of disturbing her. He simply watched his right hand in silence.
At a thought, he slowly curled his fingers into a fist—then eased them open again.
Humm—
In a field of view only he could see, a faint glow rose deep within his pupils.
With Body and Breath Perception active—
It was as if strands of rainbow light in the air became misty currents, gathering slowly into his palm, radiating a sacred, mellow warmth.
To be honest.
If the system hadn't suddenly popped up that notification this morning, Kuroha almost would've forgotten.
His long-quiet system really did still have that "promotion reward" function.
[Congratulations, Host. Achievement unlocked: National-Level Trainer]
[Reward: Blessing Power]
A trainer's license rank usually fell into three tiers: Local, Central, and National.
The last time the system had triggered an achievement notification like this was a year and a half ago, when he'd officially become a Central-level trainer.
And yesterday, after returning home with Yayoi… who knew what that chairwoman had done in that sealed private space.
Because when Kuroha woke up this morning, his system-evaluated rank had clearly changed to:
[National-Level Trainer]
Which triggered the reward.
As for Blessing Power…
Kuroha focused his mind and opened the system panel.
[Host: Kuroha]
[Rank: National-Level Trainer]
[Stamina: G1-tier +++] (Possesses stamina several times greater than an international G1-winning horse girl.)
[Abilities:
Body and Breath Perception (Discerns a horse girl's physical condition, stride strengths and weaknesses, and breathing rhythm.)
Tuina (Unblocks meridians, treats injury and pain; stimulates physical potential through special techniques.)
Blessing Power (Grants the target "divine blessings." Duration: 30 days if the target is the same species; 30 minutes if the target is a different species.)]
"So it's the same kind of blessing power as the Three Horse Girl Goddesses… except it's a 'human version'?"
Staring at the glow on his hand, Kuroha mulled it over, then slowly pressed that rainbow light into his own chest.
The glow flared for an instant—then vanished.
But Kuroha could clearly feel it: a warm current surged through his limbs and bones in a heartbeat, like every cell in his body was cheering.
His already powerful bodily function was being nourished by that force, evolving even further.
"Similar effect to a Fortifying Tonic. And compared to the medicine that only lasts one day, this blessing lasts a full month… that's not bad."
Kuroha nodded in satisfaction.
This meant he wouldn't have to keep drinking medicine every day just to maintain a "blessed" state.
One use, one month. That saved him a lot of trouble.
More importantly—
This power seemed like it could be used on horse girls too?
"Even if it's only thirty minutes, it's still something no one's ever had before."
A thoughtful look crossed Kuroha's face.
"I should try it on Inari and Obey Your Master, see what the actual effect looks like."
He lowered his arm, naturally wrapping it around March's smooth, warm body, fingers sliding lightly through her silver hair.
The girl seemed to sense him, nuzzling closer without waking.
"But…"
"Now that I have blessing power, what does that make me? A horse-girl male god?"
"No, no. The system said it's a human-exclusive blessing… so I guess it'd be… a human male god?"
"...Ugh. That name sounds awful."
Kuroha's mouth twitched. He immediately tossed the naming problem aside.
…
At the same time.
Somewhere beyond the world, in an unknown sacred sanctuary.
The very moment rainbow radiance rose from Kuroha's hand—
Three slender figures, breathtakingly beautiful and wreathed in divine light, all seemed to sense it at once and paused what they were doing.
Those deep, starfield-like eyes met, each seeing the other's shock.
"Which one of you secretly went down there to play?"
"Not me. I've been here drinking tea."
"I thought it was you two…"
"…"
"Then who was it?"
"No idea."
The three goddesses talked over each other until all three of them were completely confused.
They couldn't trace it, they couldn't find the source—so in the end, they could only scratch their heads and fall into deep thought.
...
The Mejiro estate, private training ground.
After a full day of testing and trial-and-error, Kuroha finally figured out the new skill, Blessing Power, down to the last detail.
Its effect matched the description almost exactly.
In addition to granting Blessing to a human—
When used on a horse girl, it could grant her thirty minutes of "return to peak condition," but it came with a fifteen-day cooldown for that same horse girl.
At the end, Kuroha tried patting Mihono Bourbon on the head.
But this cyber-loli—who still hadn't reached True Blooming—just blinked her eyes and stared back at him, blank and innocent, with nothing happening at all.
Clearly, for horse girls who hadn't reached True Blooming yet, the "permission" was invalid.
"The limitations are pretty annoying, but having it is still better than not."
Kuroha scooped the little cyber-loli up into his arms. Like always, he pinched her still-baby-soft cheeks and chuckled.
"Bourbon, school starts in a month."
"Next I'm taking the team overseas."
"While I'm gone, remember to listen to Aoi-nee, okay?"
The little loli had heard yesterday that Kuroha was back, and she'd obediently run to the Mejiro training ground early this morning.
By contrast, Milo and Silent Suzuka were being kept on a tight leash by their parents, still enjoying the last stretch of summer vacation.
"Mhm. Understood. Command received."
Bourbon nodded, expressionless but extremely well-behaved as she let him mess with her cheeks.
"Bourbon will execute the training plan strictly, and wait for Master's return."
(End of Chapter)
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