"Narita Brian! Narita Brian!"
"Brian, look over here!"
"Mine, mine—I want an autograph too!"
Narita Brian looked at the fans cheering wildly in front of her, and at last, the chill that always lingered on her face began to soften.
The faint smile that curved at her lips was enough to send her fans into an even greater frenzy.
For this proud, aloof racehorse girl, even the slightest smile in response to their support was already the greatest gift she could give them.
On the stage of the Arima Kinen, she had crushed the older generation without the slightest strain, displaying the absolute dominance of a queen of her era.
Not only had she repaid her fans' hopes, she had also shown them something greater.
Hope.
Hope of reaching the summit of Japan.
Hope that with just two more G1 victories, she could draw level with that record—and with three, surpass it.
Every fan there was waiting breathlessly for that future.
They watched as she paraded around the track, strolling before the stands as though reviewing an army.
They shouted themselves hoarse.
More than a hundred thousand spectators—in that moment, every last one of them had become Narita Brian's fan.
Even Hishi Amazon, hailed as the "Heroine," had been completely eclipsed.
People hardly seemed to care that she had run in the race too.
Wherever Narita Brian stood, all eyes were drawn to her.
As she gradually approached the front of the stands, Brian raised a hand ever so slightly.
The crowd instantly surged like waves.
The host made no effort to restore order. If anything, he was watching the scene with relish.
Everyone had already begun to see her as Japan's future.
Even Symboli Rudolf, watching from the stands, was no exception.
At some point, the student council president had begun to feel the pressure of this junior threatening her place—but more than that pressure, she felt relief.
Relief for Japan's future.
"I need her in the student council."
Rudolf said it plainly.
Beside her, Hayakawa Tazuna pressed her lips together.
She could make it happen, yes.
But she did not think this was the right time.
"If the student council had two Triple Crown horse girls at once," Rudolf continued, "then I think we'd be able to serve as an even stronger guiding force."
Rudolf's pride and ambition were laid bare.
Tazuna did not refuse her.
This new president had only been in charge for a short while. She needed support, and she needed confidence.
Down below, the victor stood draped in the Arima Kinen sash.
The wind stirred it gently, making it sway in a beautiful arc.
Narita Brian lowered her eyes to the embroidered words on it.
Arima Kinen.
She had seen that sash countless times in the race footage of past champions she had studied over and over again.
And now, it was resting on her own shoulders.
So she accepted the microphone handed to her.
The clicking of cameras rang out one after another as she slowly opened her mouth.
"Next year, I'll claim my sixth G1. And my seventh."
"And thank you all so much for cheering for me—but don't use up all your strength just yet."
"Because next year, I'll be standing here again."
A promise spoken only in her heart:
I'll become the best in Japan, and then I'll take my dreams—and yours—with me to the world stage.
The tears in her fans' eyes, and the unshakable conviction in her voice, came together to form one of the most perfect scenes ever seen after an Arima Kinen.
Even now, it remained one of the race's most famous moments.
Shinji listened quietly as the girl beside him sank into those memories.
He did not interrupt.
He could hear the longing and pain buried in her words.
There was not much he could do for her here.
So all he could do was stay by Narita Brian's side.
In matters like this, there was no miracle he could hand her. She had to cross that threshold in her own heart herself.
Ever since joining him at the end of last year, Narita Brian's state of mind had shifted again and again.
Of course Shinji understood.
Even when her condition had been at its worst before, even when her training had lacked real guidance, even when she had been carrying the burden of the student council's work, her strength had still been her own.
No matter what else happened, it had not changed.
But after she began training under Shinji, that drop in her ability had become clear, immediate, undeniable.
And that was when fear finally took root.
She could not quickly regain her strength.
So she had to live, every moment, with the fear that came from weakness.
Especially because she had once been Japan's very best.
"Back then… even in the popularity rankings of all the past horse girls, I was second only to President Rudolf. People believed in me. They supported me without reservation."
Narita Brian spoke in a low voice, full of bitterness.
"But now, they've forgotten me completely."
"If there were another popularity ranking, President Rudolf and Senior CB would probably still have countless fans who remember them fondly. And then there are the stars of the newer generations. There's no place left there for me."
She was talking about Offside Trap. About Saint Halo.
About the glaring gap between herself and the teammates standing beside her.
And only now did Narita Brian fully understand why she had grown so fearful, so inferiour.
She no longer had the strength she could once rely on.
Now she could only rely on the man before her.
She needed some kind of affirmation.
Even if it was only the subjective recognition of her fans, it would at least help hold together a heart that was beginning to splinter apart.
She suddenly found the thought absurd.
The man in front of her already cared so much for her.
She had seen it all clearly: his frustration over her inability to improve faster, the way he wracked his brains for solutions, the anxious edge that had begun to follow him because of her.
"No."
The sudden interruption made Narita Brian look up.
Tears still trembled at the corners of her eyes, lending her a fragile beauty that left Shinji momentarily stunned.
Like this, she was even more striking than when she wore that cold, untouchable expression.
"Your fans are still watching you. They still love you."
Shinji's voice was calm.
"Like I told you during training that day—I wasn't lying."
Narita Brian wanted to doubt him.
But his expression was too serious, his voice too sincere.
It was obvious he meant every word.
"Don't only look at what's directly in front of you. Most people will always flock to the brightest names of the era, but that doesn't mean you've been forgotten."
"Your fans are still waiting for you in silence."
"Waiting for you to fulfill the promise you made."
"Just like how that one sentence of yours made them wait five whole years…"
Narita Brian slowly closed her eyes.
The warmth at her side… the way he held her quietly…
She could feel that Shinji was not rejecting her at all.
If anything, though subtle, his arm and chest were offering her a little more support.
"Trainer…"
"Yeah?"
"Are we still training tomorrow?"
Shinji nodded.
Narita Brian did not seem surprised.
"Then let me stay like this a little longer…"
"…Of course."
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 180)
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 (Chapter260)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter135)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (This matter is completely finished.)
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 240
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
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 260
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 135
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 100
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 55
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 55
From Trilobites to Titans 55
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 66
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
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