Offside Trap stopped in front of the security checkpoint. The seven horse girls standing before her all wore faintly reluctant expressions.
They had come to Japan intending to win a race and take home the prize money. None of them had expected that the greatest thing they would gain on this trip would be meeting a horse girl who, they could already foresee, would carry Japanese runners onto the very top stage of the world.
Sejiaji's eyes were a little red.
Perhaps because she and Teruizumi Shinji had gotten off to a rough start, she had ended up talking the most with Offside Trap afterward. Out of everyone in the group, she had become the closest to her.
With her arms spread wide, Sejiaji demanded a hug from Offside Trap.
That gesture alone made Offside Trap's own eyes sting. She had never imagined that after her rise to prominence, the first people she would truly be able to call friends would come from overseas.
Thinking that, she took a necklace out of her arms.
Sejiaji blinked in confusion. Offside Trap had already given them gifts before she left. Why was she giving her something else now?
"This is from my trainer," Offside Trap said, holding it out. "He asked me to pass it on to you."
The translator spoke in its usual flat tone, but Sejiaji could still sense Offside Trap's feelings behind the words.
She knew this horse girl was the jealous type, a little possessive in her own way. And yet here she was, gently and warmly handing over a necklace gifted by her trainer.
"I know your body has been under a lot of strain," Offside Trap said seriously. "My trainer said this necklace can ease that problem by a great deal. He has a lot of very strange, very miraculous items, and he's never lied to me. You have to wear it, all right?"
Sejiaji nodded just as seriously. As if to reassure Offside Trap, she immediately put the necklace around her neck.
"It looks great on you," Famous Painter praised from the side.
That made Sejiaji beam, and she bounced happily before grabbing Offside Trap's hand.
"When you come to Europe, you have to visit us!" she said. Then, as though remembering something, she put on a fierce expression. "And if any Japanese horse girls sign up for races over there, we'll avenge you for everything. Every last one of them—none of them will beat us!"
As if to prove her resolve, the necklace at her throat caught the sunlight for a moment and shone brilliantly.
Sejiaji looked down in surprise.
Then, all at once, she felt her body lighten.
The enormous burden caused by the blessings that had been weighing on her for so long seemed, in that instant, to ease dramatically.
In truth, the compact little horse girl had already begun to feel her condition declining rapidly after the Japan Cup. She had been planning to seek out top trainers or doctors, or perhaps ask some of the more accomplished senior horse girls whether there was a way to solve it.
She had never expected the answer to arrive before she had even left Japan.
"Please thank Teruizumi Shinji for me as well."
She said it with utmost sincerity.
Seeing that the necklace had already taken effect, Offside Trap gave a soft laugh and nodded.
But in the end, time did not leave them much more room to talk.
Their gazes lingered on one another, unwilling to part, until Offside Trap finally watched the group disappear from sight.
The warmth still lingering in her hand made her feel a quiet sweetness inside.
That morning, when Teruizumi Shinji had handed her the necklace, she had already understood.
The man had only given away something that should have been extremely precious because Sejiaji was her friend.
That friend who had once stood up for her was gone now.
But the trainer who had always cared for her was still here.
And so Offside Trap hurried back to Central Tracen Academy, humming as she skipped along.
Since she had gone to see her friends off and was bound to be late, she and her trainer had long since agreed that today would be nothing more than some light activity.
One of those little bits of sweetness scattered throughout the life the two of them shared.
The two of them...
"?"
[Negative Emotion +50]
Offside Trap's gaze darkened.
It was as if she could see that trainer from when they had first formed their partnership again—severe, stern, merciless.
Only this time, he was not directing that cruelty at her.
"Saint Halo, what exactly are you doing right now? Why did you suddenly throw your head back?"
Teruizumi Shinji's eyes were filled with ferocity. Saint Halo's already reddened eyes immediately grew even wetter, but she still lowered her head and bit down, enduring it.
"I'm telling you, if you throw your head back even one more time, you're going to roll on the ground ten times right here."
"Did you hear me?"
Because of the sand constantly flying into her face, the horse girl did not answer at once.
"I asked you if you heard me!"
"I he— blegh—"
[Negative Emotion +50]
She got a mouthful of sand.
Saint Halo's form collapsed instantly. The moment her posture broke, she was flung straight off the treadmill.
She rolled several times across the sandy ground, then pushed herself up in a miserable state—but even then, she immediately scrambled back to Shinji's side.
Shutting off the blower, Teruizumi Shinji casually tossed the sack of sand onto the ground and turned to look at Offside Trap.
"You're back?"
"Mm."
Offside Trap caught it at once: her trainer had noticed her return long ago. He had simply been too focused on Saint Halo's training to spare any attention.
That thought made things worse.
[Negative Emotion +75]
So that was it.
Her trainer, who had always seemed so attentive to her, had known she was back—and still had not turned around.
Was this what it felt like?
Was this how Saint Halo had been looking at him the whole time?
"Anyway, just loosen up on your own today. We'll resume formal training tomorrow."
"Mm-hm!"
[Negative Emotion +100]
Offside Trap's answer came out with far too much force, her emotions laid bare.
But Teruizumi Shinji had no time to notice. His attention had already fallen back on Saint Halo, and he pointed for her to get back onto the treadmill.
"So, next set."
"What number set is this now?"
"Don't worry about what number it is!"
He turned the treadmill back on without hesitation.
Saint Halo, who had only just stepped onto it, was instantly yanked forward and stumbled. She glared resentfully at Offside Trap.
[Negative Emotion +30]
Only then did Teruizumi Shinji realize belatedly that the question had come from behind him.
He turned and looked.
Offside Trap's mood seemed to have improved quite a bit.
[Negative Emotion +20]
She knew him too well.
If Saint Halo had really been the one asking that question, Shinji definitely would have found some underhanded way to punish her for it.
"When I'm training her, don't talk!"
Shinji's face darkened slightly. He really had wronged Saint Halo for nothing.
"Fine."
[Negative Emotion +70]
Offside Trap turned away at once and stopped paying him any attention, walking off toward the opposite track from where Shinji stood.
That only made him more puzzled.
"Where are you going to do your warm-up?"
"..."
No answer came.
Teruizumi Shinji felt certain something must have happened at the airport today—something he didn't know about—to make his usually obedient trainee horse girl behave this strangely.
I'll ask her later.
For now, he had to focus on the training in front of him.
He looked back at Saint Halo, just about to speak—
[Hee hee!]
He nearly choked.
After steadying his breathing, he motioned for Saint Halo to stand back on the treadmill.
Her knee had probably hit the rear edge of the machine just now. There was a slight scrape on it. But with her pants rolled up above the knee, the girl was clearly intent on continuing.
Teruizumi Shinji nodded in satisfaction and switched the blower back on.
"Continue. You need to stay focused. In a bit, I'm going to start throwing sand, and whatever gesture I make, you have to follow it immediately. And this time, you control the treadmill speed yourself. The moment I say faster, you increase it at once. Your reaction speed has to be quick."
"Understood!"
The circular blower lifted Saint Halo's wavy hair into the air.
Suppressing every discomfort clawing at her, she fixed her full attention on Teruizumi Shinji.
She told herself that the training would probably end when that entire bag of sand had been used up.
The thought alone made a weary helplessness rise in her chest.
But she forcibly crushed it down.
She had chosen this path herself. She had already steeled her resolve.
So she had to succeed.
Her career was already enough of a failure as it was.
She could not accept failing any longer.
"Begin!"
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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