Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally Chapter 234: Uma Musume: Slacking Professionally [234]

A boundless sea of white blossoms stretched from his feet toward the distant horizon, bathed gently in warm sunlight. Waves rippled softly across its surface, stirred by a fragrant breeze.

Yet even amid this idyllic scenery, Kitahara felt no joy—only growing unease.

Who the hell would be in the mood to admire scenery right now?!

Just monts ago, he'd been wandering alone through campus in the dead of night, heading toward Chairwoman Akikawa's office to discuss work. Sohow, he'd gotten lost in a forest he'd never seen, his phone refused to turn on, and now, after rely turning his head, the world had completely changed. Even a horror movie wouldn't pull a twist this sudden.

The only saving grace was that the mysterious being before him didn't seem hostile. Strange as everything appeared, at least the place looked pleasant enough, with no imdiate threats in sight.

And as for what had happened earlier…

He touched his lips lightly, the lingering sweetness still palpable. Kitahara shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it—who knew what went through the mind of an obviously abnormal existence?

"So, um… may I ask who you are?"

After so thought, Kitahara cautiously began with the simplest question.

But…

"I don't have a na."

The pure-white Umamusu repeated her earlier words calmly.

"As for this place, it's my Domain. You could think of it as a purely spiritual realm, completely undetectable by 'her' or 'them.'"

Before Kitahara could interject, she continued smoothly, addressing his unspoken questions.

"I've wanted to speak privately with you for a very long ti. Unfortunately, due to certain obstacles, I was unable to reach you—until recently, when I finally managed to create this 'Domain' and bring you here."

"We've t before; you probably still rember. I wanted to tell you sothing back then, but 'she' was always too close. I was worried speaking aloud might attract 'her' attention…"

"But we're safe here. This purely spiritual Domain is beyond her reach, and it's the only place where I can safely talk to you."

Kitahara considered this quietly, his expression gradually turning complicated. After a mont, he cautiously ventured a guess:

"Um, when you say 'her'… you're talking about Eclipse, aren't you?"

"Yes, exactly."

The white Umamusu admitted this without hesitation, then spoke seriously.

"I can't fully explain why, but she's extrely dangerous—not just to , but also to others, and even to the very existence of this world."

"Except for one person."

"…Huh?"

Kitahara froze, unable to process her aning.

Eclipse? Dangerous? Really?

"Could there possibly be so misunderstanding between you two?"

Kitahara hesitated briefly before continuing:

"I an, sure, she has a strange temper and can get rough sotis, but her heart's in the right place. If you two have conflicts, I could diate for you—maybe we could all sit down and clear things up…"

He recalled Eclipse had previously instructed him to imdiately contact her if this white Umamusu ever appeared again.

Considering what the girl before him had just said, Kitahara figured these two definitely knew each other—and likely had so sort of conflict.

Yet, even though Eclipse had emphasized how dangerous this mysterious figure was, Kitahara had interacted with her several tis now and saw nothing suggesting she was so monstrous villain.

If possible, Kitahara genuinely wished the two could sit down and resolve their differences peacefully.

But despite Kitahara's goodwill, the white Umamusu showed little interest in discussing this topic further.

"The situation between us is complicated—far beyond sothing we could solve with just a conversation."

She glanced around, seemingly uncomfortable standing there indefinitely. With a graceful motion, she snapped her fingers softly.

Click.

A table and two chairs appeared from thin air, complete with steaming cups of tea. The white Umamusu sat down naturally, motioning gently for Kitahara to take the seat opposite her.

"Although I'd like nothing more than to chat with you at length and help clear up your confusion, there are so things I can't tell you. Those things would offer you no benefit, and could even bring harm."

"Besides, this Domain is still new and not entirely stable yet. So, for now, I'll just discuss the most important topics. I hope you won't mind."

The white Umamusu rose and poured Kitahara a cup of tea, her apology earnest and heartfelt. Seeing her sincere—even humble—attitude, Kitahara couldn't really object further, and simply nodded.

"Alright, please go ahead."

Seeing his nod, she visibly relaxed. After a brief pause, she gazed intently at Kitahara and spoke softly:

"Before we begin properly, I'd like to ask you a few questions first. Kitahara-san, how do you feel about the current state of the world you live in?"

Kitahara wasn't entirely sure what she ant by the question, but saw no reason to lie.

"I think it's pretty good overall. Sure, it has its problems—it's not perfect, but it's not awful either. Personally, I'm quite satisfied."

"And what about Umamusu? How do you feel about our kind?"

"Umamusu…? Well, also pretty good, I suppose."

Kitahara pondered briefly.

"You're all cute, with generally pleasant personalities. Sure, certain phases—especially around True Awakening—can cause headaches, but overall, Umamusu are great. I genuinely like your kind."

At his answer, the white Umamusu's ears twitched slightly, her tail swishing gently behind her. She continued softly:

"Then, what about humans? Especially in comparison to Umamusu?"

"Comparing humans to Umamusu, huh…"

Kitahara thought it over carefully.

"Although I'm human myself, objectively speaking, humans are inferior to Umamusu on average—in terms of physical capability, morality, and so other aspects. However, in intellectual pursuits and various specialized fields, probably due to sheer numbers, humans often display greater extres, both positively and negatively. I'd say each has its own strengths."

The white Umamusu nodded quietly, before moving to her final question.

"And how about the Three Goddesses?"

"Oh, you an those three idio—"

Kitahara's voice stopped abruptly.

Coming back to his senses, Kitahara blinked, coughed awkwardly, and glanced at the white Umamusu in front of him.

"Well… that's a bit hard for to say, considering I've never actually t them."

No way was he about to openly criticize the Three Goddesses. Making small talk about the state of the world and various species was one thing, but giving blunt opinions on deities known to genuinely exist felt like tempting fate.

He might grumble inwardly about those three slackers, but voicing it aloud? Too risky.

Besides, given this girl's peculiar presence, who's to say she wasn't one of the Three Goddesses in disguise?

"I'm not."

Perhaps sensing his skepticism through his obvious expression, the pure-white Umamusu quickly denied his unspoken suspicion. She seed unhappy with his sudden wariness, opening her mouth as if to explain, but paused—perhaps considering the complexity or lack of ti.

Ultimately, she didn't press further. Instead, eting Kitahara's eyes directly, she asked with sudden intensity:

"Then what if I told you that all these things you consider pleasant—everything you're satisfied with—are fake?"

Kitahara froze. "What do you an?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

She gestured toward the endless sea of white blossoms around them.

"Imagine this flower garden we're in right now. It doesn't exist naturally. It's carefully pruned and shaped by gardeners according to their tastes."

"Yes, it's beautiful and pleasing, but that beauty is artificial—ticulously crafted, but false. And fragile."

Raising a delicate hand, she conjured a tiny fla at her fingertip and flicked it gently into the blossoms.

In the blink of an eye, brilliant fire erupted, consuming the tranquil white blooms. They withered and crumbled swiftly to ashes beneath the raging flas.

Seconds or perhaps minutes passed. Maybe ti flowed faster here, or maybe the Umamusu herself accelerated it. Either way, when Kitahara next looked around, the pristine flower field had vanished, replaced by endless gray ash—a barren, lifeless wasteland.

"Now let's consider another possibility."

Again, she raised her hand. Ti accelerated once more.

Sun and moon streaked rapidly through the sky as green shoots erged from the ashes, growing swiftly in Kitahara's sight. But this ti, without the gardeners' ticulous care, wild growth sprouted freely among the surviving white flowers.

Vines, thorns, weeds, and shrubs quickly overwheld the fragile blossoms. Without guidance or pruning, the once-beautiful garden devolved into a savage wilderness, only a few white flowers remaining scattered amid rampant greenery.

Once this transformation concluded, the white Umamusu conjured another fla, casting it into the thick wilderness. But this ti, facing the fiercely overgrown jungle, the fla sputtered and quickly died, doing no damage.

Seeing fire ineffective, she followed with storms, droughts, floods, and other disasters. Yet despite each onslaught causing so harm, the wild forest survived, erging even stronger each ti.

"I know," she said softly, "this jungle isn't nearly as lovely as the carefully tended flower garden from before. But it's real, and resilient. It can endure threats without depending solely on the protection of gardeners."

Kitahara raised an eyebrow, realization dawning. "So, you're saying the world I'm satisfied with is also… pruned by gardeners?"

The white Umamusu nodded lightly, snapping her fingers to restore the original pristine flower garden.

"I admit it's beautiful—I too adore a lovely garden. But even the most beautiful things must survive first before considering anything else."

"For thousands of years, ever since humans first encountered Umamusu, those gardeners have interfered with this world. They've carefully pruned and shaped it according to their own desires."

"Erasing wars, pushing back death, preventing disease outbreaks, regulating climates to eliminate famine…"

"Confidently altering the laws of reality, cutting away branches they deed unnecessary, calling themselves protective deities—absolutely convinced of their righteousness…"

"Perhaps their intentions were noble at first. But now, after generations under their protection, the world appears flawless on the surface—but the closer you look, the more clearly you see its fragility."

Kitahara remained silent for a long mont, eventually shaking his head slowly.

"…Honestly, I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying."

"Really? You don't?"

The pure-white Umamusu spoke gently, her pale pink eyes fixed firmly on him.

"With your insight, I believe you've already noticed sothing about the true nature of Umamusu."

"You've probably realized why the URA never releases conclusive research about the essence of Umamusu; why they constantly draw the world's attention to racing events; why they strictly control information, never letting malice spread even slightly…"

"Because if any part of this carefully maintained system fails, it could lead directly to the world's collapse."

Kitahara didn't respond.

Well, she wasn't wrong…

Though he hadn't fully grasped all the details due to certain constraints, Kitahara had already deduced the general nature of Umamusu: they were deeply affected by their environnt—particularly emotions.

More precisely, Umamusu, in so fundantal way, depended on the collective perception of their existence.

Not publishing research was ant to maintain Umamusu's own self-identity.

Sustaining and promoting racing events helped preserve global awareness and belief in the concept of Umamusu.

And strict control over information—especially negative incidents like Umamusu Hunting—ensured a positive environnt, preventing Umamusu from being tainted by malicious perceptions.

Through previous investigations, Kitahara had already realized this. He just hadn't openly discussed it.

But…

"Even if you say all this," Kitahara said with a helpless smile, "there's nothing I can do about it."

"You should probably talk to soone actually in charge. I'm just a normal trainer; knowing all this won't help anyone."

"Besides, I'm honestly not convinced it's such a bad thing. Yes, wild forests might be more resilient, but a well-tended garden is pleasant and beautiful, too…"

"I know," the white Umamusu unexpectedly agreed, nodding gently.

"I'm not forcing my viewpoint on you. I just wanted you to understand so truths about this world. You don't have to do anything."

"Truthfully, I don't entirely oppose the gardeners' approach either. If things had stayed as they were, I might have even supported or joined them…"

"But lately, certain events made realize the gardeners aren't as reliable as I thought. And beyond the greenhouse walls… perhaps it isn't a barren wasteland after all."

"But we're running out of ti. Let's continue this next ti we et. Right now, there's another matter you'll definitely care more about."

Sothing more important?

Kitahara raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's about the girl you care about most."

Observing Kitahara's imdiate reaction at the ntion of Eclipse, a subtle envy flickered in the Umamusu's eyes before she continued softly.

"She's hiding sothing from you."

"She hides plenty from ," Kitahara replied promptly.

"No, I don't an minor secrets," she clarified gently. "I an sothing vital about her very purpose—her existence."

Still seated opposite him, she t his gaze solemnly.

"You've surely noticed by now: from the very beginning, she's been acting with a purpose, yet never once told you what that purpose is or how she intends to fulfill it."

"For certain reasons, I can't tell you either. But what I can say is this—if soday she truly achieves her goal, fulfilling the mission she was born for…"

Pausing briefly, she stared intently into Kitahara's eyes, emphasizing each word carefully.

"The day she accomplishes it… will also be the day she leaves you."

Her words hung heavily in the air.

Then, accompanied by the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground, Kitahara jerked his head up, fixing a fierce gaze upon the pure-white Umamusu.

"What did you just say?"

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T/N: oooooooooooooh man idk who to trust, you might be like OBV TRUST ECLIPSE! but im like BRO GIRL HAS NO EMOTIONS SHE CANT FEEL ANYTHINGGGG SHES A BLACK HOLE!!!

SURE SHE MIGHT CARE FOR KITAHARA BUT SINCE SHE HAS NO EMOTIONS SHE HAS NO EMPATHY HER ACTIONS MIGHT CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD actually idk im dumb bye