Offside Trap clenched her teeth.
Not just because the crushing pressure of training demanded it if she wanted to hold on, but because if she didn't bite down hard enough, she was afraid she might actually jump up and punch Terazumi Shinji in the face.
Yesterday, this man had sworn to her with complete confidence that he wouldn't forget her request.
And then, last night, he suddenly sent her a message saying he'd forgotten.
That alone would have been bad enough. Offside Trap could have let it go, considering Shinji treated her fairly well—
He doesn't treat me well at all!
The moment that thought crossed her mind, her expression twisted even further.
…Fine, she'd count it as "not too badly," just this once.
On that basis, she could have chosen not to pursue the matter.
But then this lowly man had actually gone and increased her training volume again.
Offside Trap had only just managed to adapt to the already ridiculous workload, and Shinji was like a cockroach that caught the scent of something good—immediately showing up to give her an even bigger "surprise."
And where exactly did he dig up this little brat from?!
[Negative Energy +70]
[Woohoo, Shinji! A big one just landed!]
Terazumi Shinji looked on with satisfaction at the scene before him.
Twin Turbo sat atop the huge pile of tires, shouting encouragement at the top of her lungs. Meanwhile, Offside Trap dragged the load with a ferocious expression, the fury leaking out through the corner of her eyes enough to give even Shinji goosebumps.
She should be fine, right…?
[Didn't she already take the little blue pill?]
That's not what I meant!
The system's matter-of-fact tone made Shinji laugh in disbelief. He almost wanted to demand how a system like this had ever had the nerve to accuse him of being heartless.
Who exactly was the one with no heart here?
After taking a few seconds to calm himself, Shinji turned his attention to the level track ahead.
When horse girls trained together and helped each other, they often gained quite a few additional improvements.
Of course, Shinji knew perfectly well that this no longer applied to him—or more accurately, to the horse girls under his system.
So the only reason he had invited Twin Turbo here was so that, after regular training was done, she could help Offside Trap learn how to better catch extreme front-runners.
In the races ahead, whether it was Seiun Sky or Silence Suzuka, Offside Trap would be facing two of the strongest runaway leaders currently in the Twinkle Series. Training specifically for how to reel in that kind of runner was absolutely necessary.
"Hah… hah…"
She poured every last bit of resentment in her heart into the enormous tire. Under the combined force of Offside Trap's monstrous strength and the sheer weight of the load, even the harness straps began to let out faint protesting squeals.
Eyes red, Offside Trap dragged the even taller stack of tires all the way to the edge of the training ground. Twin Turbo immediately hopped down, her twin tails swishing wildly from side to side.
Her long blue hair gleamed like the sea under the sunlight, and her overflowing energy made Shinji think back to the cheerful expression on Minamisaka's face earlier that day when he had gone to "borrow" a horse girl.
She looks like the kind of kid with way too much energy to spare.
[Isn't that exactly what you wanted? If it were some lazy horse girl who liked slacking off, she wouldn't be much help in training Offside Trap.]
Still conversing with the system in his head, Shinji walked over to the starting point he had marked out beforehand. Twin Turbo was already jogging toward him from not far away, while Offside Trap, by contrast, was taking her sweet time.
"Mr. Trainer-Whose-Name-I-Forgot," Twin Turbo called brightly, "what are we training today?"
Offside Trap used the walk over as a chance to ease her fatigue and recover some lost stamina, which naturally gave Twin Turbo ample opportunity to chatter.
"My trainer said you've got lots of secret moves, so you've got to show them to me!"
The little horse girl tilted her head up so proudly that her already tiny frame looked even shorter, making it impossible for Shinji not to glance her up and down and make a mental comparison.
She's way too short.
[Maybe answer her first.]
"Mm-hmm."
The perfunctory response might have made Narita Brian visibly bristle, but Twin Turbo was a different story. She simply circled around Shinji eagerly, as though trying to see whether he had some hidden treasure tucked away on him.
I looked up her information yesterday. She's not troublesome at all. No matter how casually I respond, she'll just fill in the rest of the conversation in her own head.
[Can you at least make her stop spinning? I'm getting dizzy.]
Without reacting outwardly, Shinji simply stood there in silence until Offside Trap finally reached them.
"?"
Shock showed plainly in Offside Trap's eyes.
The man standing before her had actually, unbelievably, given her extra time to rest.
If this were any normal day, he'd have wanted her to run over even from just those few steps away.
"T-Trainer…"
Sneaking a glance at Twin Turbo, Offside Trap leaned in close to Shinji's ear.
"Actually, you don't need to give me extra rest time just because there's an outsider here. I can still keep going."
[I'm going to cry. It never even crossed her mind that you might just be putting on a show in front of other people.]
Even Shinji himself gave Offside Trap a startled look.
He had let her throw up in front of Narita Brian, and yet she still thought he cared about preserving her image in front of outsiders.
"Um…"
A hint of anticipation appeared in Offside Trap's eyes, as if all that violent fury from earlier had been nothing but an illusion.
"It was only a warm-up. Why are you sweating this much?"
Her expression froze.
As she watched Shinji take a step back and rub his nose, the light in her face dimmed little by little.
[Negative Energy +30]
[One hundred! Shinji—we've hit one hundred today already!]
The system's celebration made Shinji realize that it hadn't been dizzy at all, which left him clicking his tongue in boredom.
Then his gaze shifted to Twin Turbo, who was still bouncing around in that strange little step of hers, visibly excited for whatever training was coming next.
Something about that made Shinji feel as though he had discovered a whole new continent, and the interest that had just settled down in him sparked right back to life.
He cleared his throat and clapped his hands.
"Twin Turbo—that's your name, right?"
"You got it right!"
Twin Turbo answered crisply, while a flash of displeasure crossed Offside Trap's eyes.
Perhaps even Offside Trap herself didn't fully understand why seeing Twin Turbo look at Shinji so easily and so cheerfully suddenly left her in a foul mood.
"I've watched your videos," Shinji said with a straight face. "I think you're promising. I'm very close with your trainer, so I'm helping him out by giving you some special training."
He lied smoothly enough that Twin Turbo didn't suspect a thing. Gratitude instantly appeared on her face, and she bounced right up in front of him.
"Thank you! I'll work hard!"
"Good."
Shinji patted Twin Turbo on the shoulder. It was a simple gesture, yet it made Offside Trap's gaze darken slightly, her expression turning just a bit unnatural.
"Since you've already warmed up, we'll start with one 2000-meter run. Then, after a break, one 2400-meter run." As Shinji spoke, the confident expression on Twin Turbo's face began to stiffen. "That counts as one set. Today we'll see how many sets we can do. You'll just run away out front, and Offside Trap will chase from behind. We'll simulate full race rhythm. Just go all out…"
"Wait, wait, wait—how much?!"
Twin Turbo threw both hands up and waved them in protest.
She was convinced she had misheard. Since when did anyone's training consist of directly simulating actual races—and in multiple sets, no less?
Wouldn't that mean running several full races in a single morning?
Twin Turbo firmly believed that this mysterious, impressive-looking trainer could not possibly be using a method this primitive and stupid to make her stronger.
Shinji just smiled, then gave Offside Trap a look.
Offside Trap frowned, then, as though resigning herself to fate, let the expression smooth away again.
[Negative Energy +5]
"What, scared already?" she said coldly.
Something in that tone made Shinji think of Air Groove. He glanced at Offside Trap in surprise. As far as he could remember, this was the first time he had ever heard her speak to another horse girl like that.
"Scared?" Twin Turbo walked right into the trap. "Who says I'm scared?!"
"If you can't handle it, you can just admit defeat. You saw my warm-up earlier—I didn't complain. So if you're backing down already, what else could that be besides fear?"
At first, Offside Trap had been annoyed at Shinji for making her play the villain.
But as she continued following her instincts and pressing harder, she found herself starting to enjoy it just a little.
Offside Trap, you can't be like this!
She warned herself inwardly.
And yet the satisfaction felt so real that she found herself unable to stop.
"Twin Turbo would never surrender!"
With a dramatic flick of her gorgeous twin tails, the horse girl thrust a finger straight at Offside Trap, her voice brimming with fighting spirit and just a trace of provocation.
"I'm definitely going to get away, so don't let me leave you too far behind!"
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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