"Urk—!"
Offside Trap's retching made Narita Brian feel a pang of sympathy. She wanted to step forward and help support her, but seeing that Terazumi Shinji's expression had not changed in the slightest, she did not dare move.
A single training session had already drastically changed her impression of him. Narita Brian had to admit that, unpleasant as his personality was, this man still had quite a few strengths.
At the very least, his professional ability was rock solid—and that was exactly what Offside Trap needed most right now.
"It's 10:40 now. Take the fish oil around 2:30 this afternoon. Stop the post-training ice bath for the next two days. You need to allow more inflammation to form after training. Don't forget the 11:00 jog and stretching. As soon as you finish, eat two bananas, then go back and take in more fast carbs. I'll send you the amount."
Terazumi Shinji laid out the plan for Offside Trap in a clear, orderly manner. Narita Brian listened with complete concentration, almost wanting him to explain the reasoning behind every step.
"At 12:30, get some sleep. After taking the fish oil, do your massage. Tonight, you can add an extra half-serving of collagen compared to usual. That should match your tendon condition just right."
Only after finishing did Shinji crouch down. Looking at Offside Trap, who was still kneeling on the ground and dry-heaving, he rubbed her back.
The dampness his hand touched was proof of her effort. Shinji pressed his lips together, then added, "Your stomach might feel awful at noon, but you still have to force yourself to eat more. As for supplements, you need an extra serving of glucosamine and glutamine."
"Okay—urk—"
Perhaps because she had imagined the cafeteria food at lunchtime, Offside Trap started dry-heaving again. A string of liquid—whether saliva or something else—trailed down, and Shinji's eyes darkened slightly as he stood up.
[Negative Energy +10]
"I'm heading back first. You probably don't need help, right?"
Knowing full well that Offside Trap had noticed that fleeting flash of distaste in his eyes, Shinji spoke as though it did not matter and turned his gaze toward Narita Brian.
The horse girl still had the expression of someone trying hard to memorize everything.
"Since Narita Brian is here anyway, she can help you. Consider it tuition for secretly stealing from my lessons."
"Stealing from you?"
Narita Brian cried out in surprise, displeasure rising at once. She wanted to argue, but Terazumi Shinji gave her no chance at all and simply walked straight out of the training ground.
Only then did Narita Brian turn her attention fully to Offside Trap's condition.
The horse girl's face was somewhat pale, and pity welled up in Narita Brian's eyes. Back then, she had been so absorbed in her own dream of pursuing ultimate speed that only after being destroyed by injury herself had she come to understand that, compared to her own tragedy, the misfortunes suffered by some of her peers had been even worse.
"I'll help you up first..."
Seeing that Offside Trap seemed to be done throwing up, Narita Brian spoke softly. But Offside Trap shook her head and refused.
Stubbornly, she dragged herself upright using the railing. Her trembling legs made it obvious that she had already exhausted all her strength. In this cruel training session, the horse girl had unquestionably been the one squeezed completely dry.
"Are you okay?"
Thinking back to her treadmill workout in the gym with Tōjō Hana yesterday, Narita Brian knew she herself had sweated plenty. But compared to what Offside Trap had just gone through, it felt as though she had only been warming up.
"Mm~"
The faint sound she made was probably because she feared triggering another round of retching. Offside Trap nodded to show that she was fine, then slowly spread her stance.
Post-training stretching was extremely important, and she did not dare be careless about it.
Watching Offside Trap finish everything she needed to do after training, then helping her all the way to the cafeteria, Narita Brian felt that this single morning had shaken her far more than she had expected.
It seemed Offside Trap herself still did not know about Terazumi Shinji's past. But after learning that he and Offside Trap had officially formed a trainer-horse girl partnership, Narita Brian had already gone and looked into his background.
A trainer who had struggled so hard just to raise even a G3 horse girl—Narita Brian simply could not reconcile that record with the man she had just seen commanding the field today.
As she watched Offside Trap force rice into her mouth despite her pale complexion, Narita Brian suddenly leaned closer.
"Xiao Yue, what kind of person is Mr. Terazumi Shinji, really?"
"Cough, cough—"
The sudden question caught Offside Trap off guard and nearly made her choke. She gulped down several mouthfuls of water before finally catching her breath.
"Trainer? I guess... he's someone who's incredibly focused on training and racing. It feels like there's nothing in his life that isn't connected to those two things."
Narita Brian nodded deeply. That was exactly how she saw it too. Judging from his performance that morning, she felt that even Trainer Kuronuma—who was already famous for harsh training—would still be at least a full tier below Terazumi Shinji in sheer severity.
"If he keeps being like this... it'll be hard for him to recruit horse girls in the future."
Thinking of how Kuronuma's "terrible reputation" had made many horse girls unwilling to become his runners, Narita Brian said this almost reflexively.
"Hm? Why'd you suddenly think of that..."
Offside Trap froze for a moment, the little ahoge on her head bobbing twice, then waved it off indifferently.
"Trainer's really capable. If they don't want to be his horse girl, that's their loss."
Seeing the little pride still showing on Offside Trap's face, Narita Brian curled her lips. This friend of hers had already been trained until she barely resembled a living person, and yet in her heart she still admired him quite a bit.
"I think you've recovered enough now, so I'll head back first. I still have work this afternoon."
She did not say what was really on her mind. Or perhaps, deep down, she felt Offside Trap was not wrong.
Narita Brian stood up and swept her gaze across the cafeteria, where quite a few people were secretly watching.
Vice president of the student council. The famed Triple Crown horse girl. Being stared at like that was only natural.
"You should go. Honestly, having you sitting next to me is kind of stressful."
With her cheeks puffed out by mouthfuls of rice, Offside Trap was already feeling a bit overfull. But in order to hit her target intake, she was still trying her best.
Narita Brian was amused by the sight and laughed softly. That immediately set off a fresh wave of whispers nearby—comments like "Vice President's smile is killing me!" started spreading at once.
She ignored them completely and walked out of the cafeteria without looking back.
Unlike the way she was around her friends, this was what the Triple Crown horse girl was like in daily life—
aloof and proud.
…
By the time Narita Brian stepped into the student council office, Symboli Rudolf and Air Groove were still discussing the Kyoto Daishoten entries.
Though it was only a G2 race with a relatively small field, the lineup was dazzling: a newly crowned Satsuki Sho winner from the younger generation, seasoned G1 veteran horse girls, and more. Among racing fans, it had already stirred up considerable buzz.
"Seiun Sky may be exceptionally talented, but compared to the depth of the Mejiro family, there's still no way she wins."
Narita Brian felt that Rudolf was, in some ways, a bit too old-fashioned.
Clearly she was not that much older than the rest of them, and yet compared to people like Mr. C.B. and Sirius Symboli, she somehow gave off the feeling of belonging to an older generation entirely.
No one doubted the strength of the Mejiro legacy. But any horse girl capable of standing atop a G1 podium was no ordinary runner either. Race results were never something absolute.
Thinking that, Narita Brian's gaze drifted toward the photograph of Symboli Rudolf hanging on the office wall. Beneath it was the title the fans had given her when she officially announced her retirement from the Twinkle Series stage:
The Emperor.
Horse girls were not absolute.
But the Emperor was absolute.
Maybe that was why the student council had acquired such absolute authority after her era. And maybe that was also why, when predicting race results, she so often sounded overly absolute herself.
"Maybe. But I actually think highly of that kid."
Air Groove rarely softened her expression, but now there was unmistakable warmth in her eyes. The makeup at the corners of those otherwise chilly eyes lent them a faint charm that made them strangely alluring, yet hard to meet directly.
Symboli Rudolf did not argue.
Seiun Sky's outstanding performance in the Satsuki Sho had already proven her strength. To stubbornly insist that she could not possibly win an older-horse-girl G2 race like this would itself have been unreasonable.
"You're back?"
Her gaze turned toward Narita Brian, who had just entered, and a flicker of curiosity appeared in Symboli Rudolf's eyes. This other vice president, who usually spoke so little—what opinion would she offer?
"Brian, we were just discussing our predictions for the Kyoto Daishoten. What do you think?"
Perhaps worried that Narita Brian might not even know the field yet, Symboli Rudolf pushed the entry list in front of her.
Narita Brian lowered her eyes to it.
At once, she saw Offside Trap's name.
Without even a second's hesitation, her finger landed on it.
Having witnessed Offside Trap's training with her own eyes, Narita Brian felt that if training like that still was not enough to win a graded race, then Offside Trap's career might truly be fated never to claim one.
The two horse girls beside her looked surprised, but Narita Brian had expected that. Pressing her lips together, she said, "I watched Offside Trap train today. She trains extremely hard."
Most horse girls trained extremely hard.
On this turf, anyone who could even step onto it was already gifted. Effort was merely the entry ticket.
Symboli Rudolf did not take the remark too seriously.
What she failed to consider, however, was that for someone who trained under Tōjō Hana and still chose to describe another horse girl as hardworking, that in itself should have carried weight. Beneath the weight of her own reputation, Rudolf had forgotten that Tōjō Hana's training was also among the harshest in Japan.
Not to mention that she herself had seen the training video of Offside Trap, which had already circulated widely through the academy.
"Now that you're back, we should discuss the publicity plans for the Mainichi Okan..."
The topic shifted rather abruptly, leaving Narita Brian unable to quite settle back into the conversation.
Still, such matters had never really required her as a main contributor. Most of the time, she was simply there to approve or object.
Her gaze drifted toward the window.
As she listened to them talk about how to promote Silence Suzuka and build momentum around her, her thoughts gradually wandered—without her even noticing—back above that remote, secluded training ground.
And the voices in her ears slowly changed as well, from these discussions of committee decisions, into those sharp, relentless calls guiding a horse girl through training.
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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