"Is it here?"
"How would it not be here?"
"Are you sure? What if they're not staying here?"
"I never said they were definitely here!"
The two horse girls were arguing right outside the hotel. Passersby nearby found their conversation oddly entertaining. Two cute girls bickering was one thing, but the way they kept going in circles made it even funnier, and before long, quite a few people had stopped to watch.
Only then did the two of them realize something was wrong.
After quickly glancing around at the people nearby, they hurried off into the night toward a more secluded spot not far away.
"Can you actually do anything right? You were the one who swore you'd already gotten the info. You said your friend working around here told you they were staying at this hotel. And now you're telling me you're not sure?"
One of the horse girls was getting increasingly aggressive, while the other immediately shot back.
"Hey, don't put me on the spot like that. If something's gone wrong, maybe think about whether you did anything wrong too. Did you make any effort at all to gather information, or did you dump all of it on me?"
The other girl was, of course, indignant. She was the one who had gone through all the trouble of gathering information, and now that they were here, her partner was demanding absolute certainty from her.
Wasn't that just bullying the honest one?
"I seriously can't talk to you."
The first girl mulled it over, realized she really was the one in the wrong, and abruptly changed the subject, looking toward the hotel lobby.
"Then where exactly are they staying now? Are they at least on the same floor?"
"The same floor?"
The other girl's expression turned strange, her eyes filling with ridicule.
"They're already staying together, and you're still stuck on 'the same floor'? I'm telling you, all those stories floating around out there weren't fake. Those rumors are definitely real. The two of them have absolutely already— mmph!"
Her mouth was instantly covered.
The girl who had started things off now looked thoroughly unwilling to accept reality, but still spoke stubbornly.
"I don't believe it! My idol would never have already gone and— with that trainer…"
Seeing her partner unable to finish the sentence, the other girl rolled her eyes before continuing.
"Xiaoxing, honestly? Don't take it so hard. I actually think Terizumi Shinji is pretty great. A trainer who went from Japan onto the world stage, and even got praised by Monsieur Sillesul? He's definitely amazing."
"If you think he's so amazing, then you go. Don't drag Offside Trap-senpai into it."
"How do you know Offside Trap wouldn't want to? And sure, if he'd have me, I'd go in a heartbeat."
Hearing her companion so casually toss out such a scandalous line, Xiaoxing froze for a second, then puffed out her cheeks.
She was genuinely angry.
In her mind, a horse girl as powerful as Offside Trap ought to finish out this year's Twinkle Series, then move on to one of the absolute strongest teams in the Dream Cup League, where she could shine on that stage too.
Not stay with some trainer who had nothing, only to be buried in obscurity in the Dream Cup League without even getting the chance to run team events.
And yet, neither her friend nor Monsieur Sillesul, the trainer famous in British horse-girl circles, saw it that way. They all thought Terizumi Shinji was an excellent trainer. Sillesul had even sighed during his post-Coronation Cup interview that trainer and horse girl were a match made in heaven.
Seeing Xiaoxing still simmering, her companion stopped messing around and pointed toward the fourth floor of the hotel.
"They're on the fourth floor. In a bit, you—"
"I know already. I'll book a room first, and then we'll go see exactly what's going on."
The furious Offside Trap fan, determined to prove her idol's innocence, strode into the hotel at once. Her companion sighed before hurrying in after her.
They quickly booked a room, grabbed the keycard, and rushed toward the elevator. Xiaoxing was moving so fast she nearly left her companion behind.
There was a panicked gleam in her eyes, especially now that she had learned they were staying together.
Terizumi Shinji pulled off his shirt. From the bathroom came the steady sound of running water.
He shrugged, opened the hotel wardrobe, and found the bathrobes inside neatly arranged. That at least made him nod in satisfaction. He took one out, preparing to change, when the sound of the shower suddenly stopped.
"Koshi."
"Mm?"
The voice from inside was slightly muffled, tinged with a little confusion.
"Don't come out yet. I'm changing."
"Okay!"
There seemed to be something a little different hidden in Offside Trap's tone, but that was all she said.
Only then did Shinji pull down his trousers too. He moved neither especially fast nor especially slowly, draping the robe over himself. In the full-length mirror nearby, he calmly tied the belt around his waist.
Then he turned toward the bathroom. Even through the frosted glass, he could still make out the outline of the horse girl inside.
At once, that afternoon nap came back to mind, and he awkwardly looked away. Just as he was about to head back to his own room, there came a knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
It sounded urgent.
Shinji frowned and went to the peephole.
Through it, he saw two horse girls. One looked embarrassed and regretful, and seemed to be trying to persuade the other to leave. The other, however, looked furious and stubborn, as if she absolutely had to see something for herself.
Shinji frowned harder and asked in his head:
"Who are these?"
And you're asking me?
The system's reply made him roll his eyes.
Fine. No answers from there, then.
Still, the system's attitude at least proved one thing: the two horse girls outside weren't dangerous. Otherwise it would not be sounding so flippant.
He slowly opened the door and looked at the two horse girls, who both immediately turned toward him.
"Hello. Is there something you need?"
At his question, the hand of the one who had been knocking froze in midair. Instead of answering at once, she tilted her head and peered past him into the room behind.
"?"
Shinji felt like this horse girl had even worse manners than Royal Anthem. That was saying something.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Terizumi. She— she's a huge fan of Offside Trap-senpai. She really, really likes Offside Trap-senpai, so she wanted to…"
"How did you know she was staying here?"
Shinji's expression instantly went cold.
Whether they were polite to him or not did not matter much. The horse girl who had been trying to hold the other back even seemed to admire him a little.
That kind of thing would never have stirred much reaction in him.
But the fact that these two somehow knew exactly where they were staying was another matter entirely. That put him on guard at once.
"We…"
The horse girl faltered, shame and panic crossing her face, while the one who had still been craning her neck to look inside also seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and stiffened.
Two girls with no brains at all, Shinji thought.
He was just about to send them away.
"What's going on, Trainer?"
A girl with damp hair still wet from the bath, a towel draped over it, had already stepped out of the bathroom and walked to Shinji's side. The moment she noticed the two girls standing there, one of them with dead eyes and a look like all life had left her, the other red-faced with shame, head lowered and ears drooping, Offside Trap's expression changed instantly.
The girl seemed to realize something.
Her fist clenched at once.
[Negative emotion +100]
"Hey. What did she just assume?"
Join here to read ahead.
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
Honkai: The Fire Devil 30
Honkai Transformation Cards 35
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 45
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