At the time, Shinji had taken Doremi's concern as needless worrying. He had never expected it to turn into a grim prophecy.
The rain had poured down for days on end. Though it had finally stopped, the gloomy sky and the dense clouds that refused to disperse made it easy to predict that more heavy rain was still to come. By race day, even if the going did not become truly bottomless, it would at least be on par with a European turf course.
And with that leaden weather came an equally heavy mood among Japanese racing fans.
No one had expected weather like this to appear in Japan in November, just as no one had expected the foreign lineup for the Japan Cup to be this outrageously stacked. The course that had once favored Japanese horse girls had, after days of unrelenting rain, turned into something even some European tracks could not match. Under conditions like these, how were horse girls who had never adapted to such ground supposed to defeat those foreign powerhouses on terrain they were least suited to?
The online discourse had grown steadily more pessimistic. Even after it was announced that Narita Brian would also run in the Japan Cup, the atmosphere had not improved at all. A horse girl who had not won a G1 in ages, another who had never once raced on ground this deep in her entire career—how could the fans possibly entrust their hopes to them?
As for Air Groove, El Condor Pasa, and the others, they inspired even less confidence.
The internet was filled with nothing but doom and gloom, and Shinji figured the student council would probably be getting headaches over it for quite a while.
Seated at his desk, with Bugu Fumie beside him happily binging a drama, Shinji idly watched a variety show about horse girls. Because of the rain, the training grounds had become nearly unusable, and Fumie had not arranged a single training plan for several days in a row.
It was obvious that this unexpected stretch of leisure had put her in an excellent mood. Shinji, on the other hand, was merely bored enough to turn to television for entertainment.
After the Autumn Tenno Sho, countless variety programs had begun covering the race, whether through professional commentary or comedic reenactments. For Shinji, it was at least one way to kill time.
As he listened to the commentators on the program unanimously praise Offside Trap as unquestionably G1-level, he let out a huge yawn.
In truth, Offside Trap's performance in the Autumn Tenno Sho needed no such empty validation. Under that absurd pace, with that vast gap between front and back, she had still managed to reel in a runaway leader with her closing burst. No horse girl who was not absolutely top-class could ever have pulled that off. Shinji felt that even if many fans—especially the more partisan ones—still held prejudice against her, none of them could honestly doubt that she belonged at the G1 level.
It was only after that thought crossed his mind that he belatedly noticed Fumie had stopped watching her drama.
She was staring past him, eyes wide with surprise.
Hm?
Not knowing what had appeared behind him, Shinji turned sharply—
—and what came into view was a face of gentle, elegant beauty.
How exactly was he supposed to describe that face? Shinji decided his vocabulary was nowhere near equal to the task and resigned himself to rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"What brings you here, Miss Hayakawa?"
"What do you mean, what brings me here? Am I not allowed to come?"
Tazuna Hayakawa lightly tapped his forehead in reproach. Ever since Shinji had entered the academy, she had often treated him this way. He was not particularly bothered by it, but being fussed over like this under Bugu Fumie's watchful gaze still made him a little uncomfortable.
Perhaps she had sensed exactly what he was thinking, because Tazuna did not press the matter. Instead, she pulled over a chair and sat down beside him. Her eyes moved from Shinji's face to the computer screen, and after apparently finding the program mildly interesting, she resumed the playback herself without asking.
Listening to the critics on the video, Tazuna even shook her head solemnly.
"They're still being too conservative. It feels like everyone's still too afraid to praise your horse girl's strength properly."
It was obvious she had said that on purpose. Shinji arched a brow and closed the video, earning immediate dissatisfaction from Tazuna.
"Why'd you shut it off?"
"Why don't you just tell me what you came here to see me for?" Shinji had already guessed she wanted something and did not bother circling around it. "When did you get back, anyway? You didn't even let us know."
"A few days ago. After I got back, I had to deal with a lot of administrative work, met with a number of people, discussed some internal decisions for the academy…"
As she spoke, Tazuna suddenly shot Shinji a glare.
He spread his hands, baffled.
"And some matters concerning a certain someone."
"So that's why you came to find me?" Shinji seemed to understand now, and he took an exaggeratedly deep breath to show his attitude. "So you're here to haul me in for questioning."
"It's. A. Discussion."
Tazuna's voice came out soft and drawn-out, and even the way she emphasized the words was adorable enough to smother the irritation that had briefly flared in him.
Thinking it over carefully, Shinji realized that ever since he entered the academy, Tazuna had always treated him well. When he and Yamashou Drum had been at their lowest, she had even given them quite a bit of discreet help behind the scenes.
She was one of the very few people in this academy who had sincerely been kind to him. Unless he saw proof to the contrary, he had no reason to assume she had come to denounce him from the student council's side.
"So what is it you want to discuss?"
Now genuinely curious what sort of "discussion" could arise at a time like this, Shinji leaned forward slightly.
Surely it could not be that she was here to tell him not to let Offside Trap run in the Japan Cup…
The thought amused him.
"The Japan Cup…"
Tazuna paused before continuing.
"How about making your horse girl the face of the promotion after all? We need a horse girl like her to give people hope."
"To give people hope?" Shinji understood immediately what she meant, and that was precisely why he found it strange. "If we're talking about hope, wouldn't Narita Brian, Air Groove, the Mejiro team, or any Derby winner do that better than Offside Trap?"
"But among them, only Offside Trap has defeated Silence Suzuka at the height of her powers. And she's still rising. She's still in her prime."
As she said that, Tazuna walked over to the office window. Rain still streaked down its surface, and outside, the academy paths were littered with puddles.
"With rain like this, horse girls who have already proven themselves on heavy going can't give the public hope."
Her tone was subdued. She was only half-turned toward him, yet even from that angle Shinji could see the worry in the secretary's eyes.
He tilted his head slightly and exchanged a glance with Fumie.
Fumie froze for a moment, hesitated, and then nodded.
It was not an instruction for him to agree. It was simply her way of telling him that Tazuna was making sense.
As things stood, the horse girl best suited to carry that hope really was Offside Trap—the one who had already proven her distance suitability in the Kyoto Daishoten and her strength in the Autumn Tenno Sho.
Shinji fell silent.
He was not a particularly responsible person. Nor was he especially broad-minded, altruistic, or kind.
He knew very well who would stand in his corner and who would never once consider his feelings or future.
That was why he did not care in the slightest what the fans or the supporters of other horse girls thought.
But he did care what Tazuna thought. And he did care what Offside Trap thought.
At least from his perspective, he, his horse girl, and this senior who had taken such good care of him were now at odds over what should be done before the Japan Cup.
"If we make Offside Trap the centerpiece of the promotion, would JURA and the student council even agree to it?"
Without spending too long agonizing, Shinji quickly identified the core issue. This was not the sort of thing Tazuna could simply will into existence on her own.
Promotion required more than the approval of the board. It needed JURA's backing and the cooperation of the student council as well. Only if the race organizers created a genuinely stirring promotional campaign, and only if the student council—as the body representing the academy's horse girls—voiced its support, could the public confidence drowned by the rain possibly be rekindled.
And given how stubborn Rudolf Symboli was, Shinji found it hard to imagine her gritting her teeth and agreeing to a plan like this.
"JURA has already agreed."
And as for the student council…
"Brian and Air Groove both supported it."
The words startled Shinji enough that he sat bolt upright in his chair.
"Air Groove supported it?"
Brian's support was not surprising, but that the one horse girl in the student council who had always been most openly at odds with him would support a decision like this—it left him with the strangest urge to laugh.
"Yes. Because she also believes that if any horse girl can defeat the European powerhouses, it's none other than Offside Trap."
"Hah…"
A strange little laugh escaped him, making Tazuna rub her cheek helplessly. Still, she had not come here to mediate old grudges, so she merely looked at Shinji with open expectation.
Shinji could see the sincerity in her.
This secretary had come back to a mess the moment she returned to Japan—JURA raising the prize money without consultation, the student council mishandling the Autumn Tenno Sho scandal so badly—and Shinji could also see the trace of fatigue beneath her composed exterior.
"I have to ask Offside Trap first."
Holding Tazuna's gaze, Shinji met her eyes directly. The secretary did not look away. Only after nearly ten seconds of silent eye contact did she let out a sigh.
"All right. Have it your way."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 95
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 89
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 61
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 65
Uma Musume: From Beginner 61
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 37
Uma Musume: I Want All 35
I Can Copy Unique Skills 36
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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