The time rewind also reversed the purchase of the items Luo Cheng had made. Luo Cheng repurchased a set of items and handed them to Tachyon, hoping she could investigate something, though Luo Cheng suspected the food items would be no different from ordinary food.
The reason was simple: the alarm clock was a "reset" tool in Luo Cheng's hands, but just a regular alarm clock in Tokai Teio's hands.
Just as an NPC wouldn't be able to use a player's items, the system clearly distinguished between the two. Taking the items, Agnes Tachyon returned to the lab, leaving only Cafe and Teio, who looked at each other.
If Seiun Sky was outwardly quiet but secretly full of mischief, Cafe was genuinely consistent: when she drank coffee, she was simply drinking coffee, not plotting how to send Teio away.
"What were you doing just now, Trainer?"
"Nothing."
"Why won't you tell your great Teio-sama! Is there something you have to hide from me?" Tokai Teio glanced at Cafe, who was sitting on the sofa, quietly savoring her cup of coffee.
Yep, confirmed. Her compatibility with Cafe is absolutely zero!
"I'm going to get mad, Trainer!" Tokai Teio rounded the table and plopped down on Luo Cheng's lap, continually swatting the man's body with her tail, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. "If you don't tell me, your great Teio-sama won't leave!"
Luo Cheng stroked Tokai Teio's cute little head and held her close.
Among the horse girls Luo Cheng had contracted, only Sky and Teio were still oblivious. They knew nothing of his experiences, his troubles, or his abnormalities, treating him just like any normal trainer. Luo Cheng, therefore, wasn't going to tell her these things. Teio was perfect just as she was. Looking at her bright smile, Luo Cheng felt his heart healed.
"Trainer... let's go out for a walk." Tokai Teio glanced at Cafe on the sofa, then stretched her neck and whispered into Luo Cheng's ear.
"Alright."
The Mejiro family birthday party was two days away. Luo Cheng had some free time until then. The world reset was a true reset; even the things he bought were reverted, with one exception—the alarm clock.
When Luo Cheng went to the store, he noticed one of the alarm clocks that should have been on the counter was missing. He asked the clerk where it went, and the clerk said they only received that total batch.
Evidently, one alarm clock had been consumed, and permanently so.
He asked when they would restock, and the clerk showed a troubled expression, saying they weren't sure, and couldn't give a specific reason why.
Luo Cheng bought all seven remaining alarm clocks, giving him seven chances to reset the day.
Since he couldn't determine the restock time, Luo Cheng had to be frugal with his uses. Unless Teio lost a race by the slightest margin, or something irreversible happened that day, Luo Cheng needed to save those seven chances.
Hand in hand with Teio, Luo Cheng stood up. He greeted Cafe on the sofa: "I'm going out for a walk with Teio, Cafe."
The girl in black looked up, her beautiful golden pupils watching Luo Cheng eerily.
"Is that alright?"
Cafe nodded slightly, then beckoned Luo Cheng closer and said softly, "Tonight, Trainer, you must give yourself to me."
"Okay."
Cafe smiled.
"Have a safe trip."
After saying goodbye to Cafe, Luo Cheng headed outside.
"What did you secretly tell Cafe now, Trainer?"
"Nothing."
"Grr..." Tokai Teio pouted. "You're still not telling me! Why won't Trainer tell me anything! Am I, your great Teio-sama, expendable to you!"
"I would say it's quite the opposite."
"Huh?"
"Sometimes I want to forget everything, just be your trainer, challenge races with only you, conquer the world, and become the greatest... I used to dream like that."
"Then why doesn't Trainer keep dreaming?"
"Because the dream ended."
Tokai Teio grasped Luo Cheng's hand, smiling brightly. "Trainer, you can't rely on dreams. But some things can definitely come true, like becoming the greatest person with me."
"I'll try my best."
"Not 'try my best,' but 'must!'"
The two arrived at a nearby shopping street, and Tokai Teio's eyes lit up at a newly opened store.
"That looks fun, Trainer! Let's go check it out!" Tokai Teio pulled Luo Cheng inside. The man looked up at the sign above—it was a cosmetics store.
He didn't have a good impression of cosmetics. Not long ago, he had been punished by Mejiro Dober's "dark magic." Though Luo Cheng later regained his masculine feeling with Agnes Tachyon, he certainly didn't want to be made up in that way again.
Fortunately, Tokai Teio didn't have that in mind; she just wanted to buy herself a foundation and a lip balm.
"Do you need these, Teio?"
Luo Cheng thought Teio was adorable even without makeup. Her energetic brown ponytail added a unique charm, complemented by her crescent-shaped white bangs and her clean, clear sky-blue eyes, like refined amber.
The average beauty of girls in this world was already high, but Teio was still in the top tier. Luo Cheng remembered that during his first month at Tracen, he wanted to take every horse girl he saw home; they were all beautiful and unique.
But later, Luo Cheng got a little jaded. Living among this group of beautiful girls every day raised his aesthetic standards significantly. Just like Azur Lane players' evaluation of 'milk volume' was consistently exaggerated, Luo Cheng's appetite had also become quite discerning.
Yet, despite this, Luo Cheng still found Teio both cute and beautiful. No matter how demanding his taste became, he would still adore her. Of course, besides being cute, holding Teio was simply too comfortable.
"Trainer, can you do makeup?"
"A little bit..."
"Then do mine." Tokai Teio handed the foundation and lipstick to Luo Cheng. The man looked at Teio's face, dabbed the lightest color, gently swept it across Tokai Teio's cheeks a few times, and then applied the pink lipstick.
The sales clerk next to them watched the interaction, their eyes slowly widening.
"How incredibly..."
Incredible. Luo Cheng's thought perfectly matched the clerk's.
Tokai Teio's face shimmered with a delicate glow, and her beautiful lips were crystal clear like jewels. Despite the simple touch of makeup, Tokai Teio was several times more charming and adorable than before.
Luo Cheng couldn't help but look at the foundation in his hand. Could this thing increase charm? Luo Cheng had seen items that increased charm before, but he thought they had little effect.
Now it seemed they might just have a subtle, noticeable effect.
"Trainer..." Tokai Teio opened her cherry-pink lips. "Have I become the way Trainer likes?"
"Yes, definitely."
"Hehe~" She smiled. "I'll take this set of cosmetics."