Eras were always changing.
From apes to Homo sapiens, and from Homo sapiens to humans.
From formless creatures to Umamusume, and from Umamusume to racing Umamusume.
Whether humans or racing Umamusume, both had been changing little by little across the long span of time until they were almost unrecognizable.
In truth, a very long time ago, the Three Goddesses had already realized that the relationship between racing Umamusume and humans could not remain unchanged forever. Even They Themselves were changing.
If They hardened Their hearts and adopted harsh measures to strictly limit the development of this world, freezing the relationship between humans and Umamusume forever at a certain moment in time, it was not as though They could not do it.
But if They were capable of doing something like that, this world would not be what it was today.
It was time to make a choice.
The moment They decided to let Eclipse race, the Three Goddesses realized this. After thinking for some time, tonight, They reached Their conclusion.
The era of racing Umamusume should end.
To put it simply, They had also realized that continuing to maintain the current state was not very possible. Forcing it to continue would only add unnecessary trouble. Better to let go and allow things to take their natural course.
Or, to put it more simply.
They gave up.
But...
"Don't you have a more moderate plan?"
After a night had passed, Kitahara, with dark circles under his eyes, looked at Eclipse in confusion.
He had not slept all night. Setting aside the fact that no one could sleep after hearing that mess of information, ever since he heard both the Three Goddesses' plan and Shanish's plan, he had felt that something was strange.
Then, after thinking for an entire night, he finally realized where the problem lay.
"Isn't your thinking a little too extreme?"
Either everything remained unchanged, or everything changed completely. Either They monitored the whole process, or They threw down Their tools and quit entirely.
And it was not only the Three Goddesses. Everyone else in this world was the same too, including but not limited to URA, rigid to the core; the Black Market, which used extreme methods at the drop of a hat; and those extremist Umamusume protection organizations and anti-Umamusume organizations...
Thinking carefully about everything he had seen and heard since crossing over, this world seemed peaceful and normal on the surface, but the number of binary thinkers in it was unexpectedly high.
Faced with Kitahara's question, however, the Three Goddesses revealed puzzled expressions.
"Isn't this just a question of letting go or not letting go? How else can it be moderated?"
Kitahara frowned.
"Like, haven't you ever considered slightly reducing the control and guidance, starting changes from small details, gradually expanding openness and the degree of change, and reforming the world step by step?"
"Shanish too. I thought it was strange before. I don't think there's anything wrong with her desire to change things, but the method she wants to adopt is also a bit too extreme."
"Why do all the changes you imagine go from one extreme to another? Why can't you combine the two extremes and find a less extreme, more suitable path?"
There was no answer.
Faced with Kitahara's question, the Three Goddesses fell silent.
They could not exactly say They had never tried the kind of plan Kitahara described. It would be more accurate to say They had never even thought of it.
The reason was very simple.
Just as elderly people become slower at accepting new things, over the long years, the Three Goddesses' thinking had also gradually formed an inertia of its own.
It was not that They hated new things, or wanted to preserve Their own rule or anything like that. Rather, from the moment They were born, They had always lived in this kind of environment.
Even an ordinary person, after staying in one place and following the same set of rules and values for several decades, would not immediately support someone who wanted to change everything. Forget taking the initiative to change; his first reaction would definitely be to defend the existing rules.
And by now, the Three Goddesses had followed this set of rules for far more than several decades. They had followed it for dozens, even hundreds, of several-decades. Their thinking was not merely rigid. It was practically fossilized.
Not to mention, Their essence was that of beings who fed on emotion. Their capacity for rational thought was not that strong to begin with, so it was hardly strange that They would form binary thinking.
And apart from habit and the nature of Their existence, there was another factor that encouraged the birth of binary thinking.
This world was simply too comfortable.
It had been mentioned long ago that because of the Three Goddesses' maintenance, this world's social environment was better than the world of Kitahara's previous life by more than one level.
No war, no famine, little pressure in daily life, high moral standards, and when people had nothing to do, they could even watch Umamusume races to relax...
It sounded wonderful, and in fact, it was wonderful. There was only one small detail worth noting.
That was, once humans had time on their hands, they liked to overthink.
And when they overthought too much, they easily backed themselves into dead ends.
Then they fed those dead-end emotions to the Three Goddesses...
One could only say it was fortunate that the overwhelming majority of people in this world were still normal. Otherwise, one day, the Three Goddesses might very well suddenly say something like, "Earth is a planet with eight billion people."
"So, how are you planning to moderate it?"
This question came from Eclipse herself.
"A concrete plan definitely isn't something we can come up with in a day or two. But what I'm thinking is, can the Three Goddesses maintain the current guidance for now, then start making changes in the finer details?"
Kitahara paused.
"For example, temporarily loosen the restrictions on racing Umamusume a little, give them more room to act on their own, and as for the various forms of guidance toward humans, shift toward letting them try things for themselves..."
"Fine."
Eclipse nodded.
"Then who will do these things?"
"Not me, anyway."
Kitahara answered at once.
What a joke. He still had some self-awareness about his own level. Being a Trainer might be fine, but something that concerned the future of the entire world was not something he could handle. Moving his mouth a little was already his limit.
Faced with Kitahara's refusal, Eclipse showed no particular reaction.
Years of time spent together had long since allowed her to predict Kitahara's answer, and even more than that.
For example...
"Good. As it happens, I have a good candidate here."
"Who?"
"Her."
Eclipse reached out and pointed to Teio, who had just woken up on the bed and was still rubbing her eyes, her face full of confusion.
The corner of Kitahara's eye twitched several times.
"Eclipse, this isn't the time for jokes..."
"I'm not joking."
Eclipse's expression was calm.
"If you find it troublesome, I'll handle the second half of this matter myself."
Kitahara blinked.
"Then what about the first half?"
"You've already finished the first half."
Kitahara froze. Then he suddenly realized something.
The accumulation of reputation, the countermeasures against the Black Market, the transformation of the Black Forest, and all sorts of scattered incidents...
Add in the information he heard yesterday, Eclipse's sudden appearance, and her current response...
The plan had begun long ago. He simply had not known because he was inside it.
"Was everything part of your plan, Eclipse?"
Kitahara looked at Eclipse in front of him, his expression complicated.
She had long since anticipated the choice he would make after learning everything, then secretly planned it all, turning everything into the current natural progression.
Eclipse did not answer. She only looked at him quietly.
Kitahara looked back at Eclipse too, feeling that this black rice ball in front of him was incomparably unfamiliar. In his heart, certain emotions he could not suppress began to rise.
So she was this smart all along? Then what had all his efforts over the years even been?
If he had known earlier, he would have given up thinking sooner and clung tightly to Eclipse's thigh. How much trouble could he have saved?
Kitahara was regretting it now.
Regretting it deeply.
As for whether he would blame Eclipse because of her arrangements?
For the two of them, that question did not even need to be asked.
"So what are you planning to do?"
Although Eclipse had said the second half did not need him and that she could handle it herself, given their relationship, that was not much different from Kitahara still being responsible for it.
"Teio is still a girl, and she doesn't have experience in that area either..."
"She can grow up. Experience can be cultivated."
Eclipse turned her head and looked at Teio, who was still bewildered.
"And in fact, she has long since possessed the relevant abilities. She merely lacked certain conditions."
"But now, those conditions have been met."
"She will personally pull down the curtain on the racing Umamusume era."
"And at the same time, she will raise the prologue of a new era."
---
T/N: WOAH TEIO IS JESUS?
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