Offside Trap finally understood how Sansho Drum must have felt back when she used to sneer at her.
Standing at the starting line of the training track, she only had to glance sideways at Saint King Halo—who was wearing a face full of grim determination—and a dark urge would rise uncontrollably in her chest. She wanted to blow right past her, leave her behind in utter despair, watch her collapse onto the turf in frustration and break down in tears.
Her gaze shifted to Hayakawa Tazuna, who was standing beside Teruizumi Shinji.
The beloved secretary should have been drowning in work, and Offside Trap genuinely could not understand why someone that important had been appearing in her field of vision so often lately.
Shouldn't she have been busy with academy business?
She let out a heavy breath. The force of it startled Saint King Halo, and something complicated flickered through the other girl's eyes.
Was that disdain? Offside Trap could not quite tell. But she did know the two of them probably did not get along, so she ground her heel hard into the dirt underfoot.
The whistle blew.
At the sound signaling the start, Saint King Halo reacted instantly and launched herself forward. She knew full well that the horse girl testing her was this year's Japan Cup winner, while she herself was merely a "promising genius" who, in her Classic year, had struggled even to win a single G1 against her peers.
Then came the explosive sound of a powerful footfall.
It was like hearing the gates burst open.
Saint King Halo froze for an instant, then saw that the horse girl who had started a fraction behind her had already surged diagonally ahead after a single step.
Her face changed immediately.
She could hardly believe a horse girl could reach that kind of speed from the very start. If it had been her, she would have needed at least another fifty meters to get there—and doing so would have wrecked her rhythm.
So this is what the winner of the Japan Cup looks like...
No matter how inelegant she found the other girl's conduct, Saint King Halo had never once doubted her strength.
In the distance, Shinji and Tazuna stood side by side, watching the two horse girls race toward the far stretch. The one in front had already thrown the girl behind her back by several lengths, and the sight instantly reminded Shinji of the days when he had asked Maruzensky to special-train Offside Trap.
Back then, Offside Trap had looked exactly like this—only barely managing to hang on behind Maruzensky.
And now Saint King Halo was struggling even to hold the position behind Offside Trap. It was already becoming difficult to maintain.
"This child's actually fairly capable," Tazuna said. "Her tactical mistake in the Derby hit her hard, but her foundation isn't bad. She comes from a distinguished family."
"A distinguished family?"
"Yes. I don't know if you've heard of the Halo family. That American powerhouse."
Shinji, of course, knew of the Halo family. What he had never imagined was why the daughter of such a household would abandon the elite developmental environment of an American racing dynasty and come all the way to Japan instead.
"Her mother is the designer responsible for your race outfits," Tazuna explained. "She's a truly first-rate designer. That's why we commissioned her to create the designs, and then had them produced elsewhere."
As she spoke, she seemed to think of something amusing and smiled even more brightly, drawing Shinji's attention.
"Her mother was also a first-rate horse girl. She won seven G1 races in her time. So there's the blood of a talented racing dynasty flowing in her veins. If she were trained by you, she'd probably become a very fine horse girl indeed."
Shinji gave no answer.
With the system at his disposal, what mattered more to him was temperament.
And to be honest, Saint King Halo's first impression on him had not been a good one. Excessive pride often made training difficult.
His eyes returned to the two girls now running back toward them, and suddenly he frowned at Saint King Halo.
Her stride had clearly weakened. Shame was written all over her face, but Shinji could already see through it—she was deliberately slowing down.
"What is she doing?"
Tazuna watched Saint King Halo's behavior and seemed surprised as well. Then, as though realizing something, a trace of helplessness crossed her face.
"This child's competitive spirit... has a problem," she said gently, but seriously. "Once the race develops in a way that doesn't favor her—once she can no longer see any hope of victory—she starts to lose heart."
"Then she fails."
Shinji had already lost interest.
When he'd first heard she had the blood of a famous house, he had briefly thought it might not be bad to recruit another younger horse girl if she could endure his training. After all, from the look of things, her raw ability did not seem particularly poor.
But someone who gave up of her own accord was the one thing Shinji could never tolerate.
He waited in silence until Saint King Halo crossed the finish line, breathing hard. Bent over with her hands on her knees, she still lifted her head hopefully to look at Shinji.
"Why did you give up halfway through?"
Before Shinji could speak, Tazuna asked the question first.
He glanced sideways at her face.
He understood her intention immediately. The secretary was clearly trying to help the girl. If it had been Shinji speaking directly, he would already have told her to leave.
"Because..."
Saint King Halo froze.
She had stopped instinctively because she could see no path to victory. The gap between her and Offside Trap was simply too obvious. Even if she pushed herself to her absolute limit, it had felt meaningless.
"Please give me one more chance."
She reacted at last and blurted it out to Shinji.
He said nothing.
After taking one look at Shinji's expression, Tazuna gently pushed Saint King Halo on the shoulder, then beckoned Offside Trap over.
And so the second test began, with Tazuna herself presiding over it.
This time, Saint King Halo did not give up. She held onto that one stubborn breath inside her chest and forced herself across the finish line with everything she had.
Once again she looked at them with pleading eyes. By now she had no room left to care about the faintly mocking look in Offside Trap's eyes—there was no one present who understood better than Offside Trap what Shinji was about to do.
"One more time."
Saint King Halo's expression changed slightly.
But perhaps she thought she'd finally glimpsed some sign of softening in him, because she gritted her teeth and walked back to the start line.
Tazuna's smile was gradually fading as well. Some unease had begun to show on her face, and Shinji noticed it.
"You seem to want her to pass."
"I just think she's very talented," Tazuna replied softly. "She'd suit you."
Shinji shook his head at once.
At last, a faint smile touched his lips. Pointing toward Saint King Halo, who was already running toward the far side of the track again, he answered in a low voice:
"First, her talent is only so-so. Second, I'm about to show you exactly why she doesn't suit me."
By the time Saint King Halo staggered across the finish line again, her lungs felt ready to burst.
Every breath came out burning. Her vision was beginning to blur.
She had been dragged along at Offside Trap's pace, forcing herself onward to prove her endurance.
Even so, she stubbornly lifted her chin with what pride she had left. Saint King Halo was still Saint King Halo. No matter how exhausted she was, she still tried to preserve her elegance and composure. Dirt smeared her delicate face, but her posture remained straight and dignified.
She was using the last of her strength just to maintain that much.
"One more time."
The man in front of her paid that utterly no mind. Wearing a smile like a devil's, he said it as simply as that.
Saint King Halo went rigid.
She watched Offside Trap stroll calmly back to the starting line, dust and dirt on her body and face, resting in the most efficient posture possible for recovering stamina.
There was nothing elegant about it. Nothing refined. Nothing remotely "first-rate." It was rough, plain, even crude.
"I..."
"You have at most one minute to prepare. Then do it again."
Saint King Halo stood there numbly through that one minute, then made her way back to the starting line. At the whistle, the horse girl beside her shot forward again.
Saint King Halo followed with wooden steps.
Every breath burned hotter. Every stride sent more pain shooting through her legs. Her eyes had begun to glaze with confusion as the figure ahead of her pulled farther and farther away.
She could not understand why that horse girl could still maintain such fierce fighting spirit after three consecutive test runs.
She understood even less why, after already giving her all twice over, she still could not earn recognition.
At last, after one misstep threw off the rhythm of her stride, Saint King Halo knew with absolute clarity that if she kept going like this, she might fall—fall straight into the muddy turf, soil her face, ruin her clothes.
That was something she could not accept.
And so she slowed down.
Swallowing hard to keep from drooling in her exhaustion, she lifted her eyes toward the finish line.
Miss Tazuna had turned her face away. The man in her line of sight was not even looking at her anymore; he seemed to be calmly telling the secretary something, as if everything had gone exactly as he had predicted.
She saw Offside Trap cross the finish line. The Japan Cup champion wore a triumphant smile, even a faint trace of smugness.
Saint King Halo could not take it anymore.
In that instant, all she wanted was to go home. That house which usually felt so cold to her suddenly seemed like it might be the only place that could warm the chill rapidly creeping into her heart.
And so, just as the tears were about to spill over, the girl turned away, buried her face in the school jacket she had taken off so no one would notice, and stumbled out of the training grounds.
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 132)
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 (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter95)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter165)
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 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 95
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 155
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 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 62
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 62
Uma Musume: I Want All 65
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
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