"I'm coming back tomorrow too!"
Twin Turbo stormed off in a huff, her voice gradually fading into the wind, leaving only Terazumi Shinji and Offside Trap at his side.
"That's enough for you today as well."
"So you were actually still debating whether to keep training me just now?"
Offside Trap took a deep breath, but in the end she still could not stop herself from saying it.
Shinji nodded with complete seriousness.
"You improved quite a lot this morning, but when it comes to the feeling of making the actual catch, you were still lacking a little."
The effects brought by rune bonds were undeniably powerful. After only one morning of training, Offside Trap's stat gains had already risen by a considerable amount again.
Still need to find another sparring partner. Twin Turbo just isn't strong enough.
Making that judgment in silence, Shinji waved a hand and headed out of the training ground. He had decided to go ask Narita Brian. Perhaps she could give him a higher-quality answer.
Behind him, Offside Trap opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but when she saw that Shinji was still thinking, she gave up again and let out a helpless sigh.
Ever since she had started training under him, after all this time, the two of them had barely even eaten together.
Is the problem me?
Thinking back over everything, Offside Trap let out another long sigh.
Why is this so different from every other trainer and horse girl pair…?
…
By the time Shinji found Narita Brian, she had just finished lunch and was leisurely enjoying the after-meal break on campus with Biwa Hayahide.
Seeing the man stop not far away, Narita Brian was visibly surprised. She was just about to excuse herself from Hayahide's side when she caught the questioning look in her older sister's eyes.
Almost everyone knew that Narita Brian's trainer was Tōjō Hana, the top trainer in Japan. It was difficult for Biwa Hayahide not to let her imagination drift in other directions.
"When did you find one?"
Narita Brian blinked in confusion at first, then poked Biwa Hayahide in the waist in mild annoyance.
Her sister was not usually a gossip-loving horse girl at all. This was all Shinji's fault for acting far too naturally when he came looking for her. They were not even that familiar with each other.
"If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. Why are you getting shy?"
Biwa Hayahide wore her trademark intelligent smile, leaving Narita Brian speechless.
"He's just a trainer I only recently met."
A very concise introduction.
With that, Narita Brian left Biwa Hayahide's side and walked over to Shinji.
Though they had only just met, Narita Brian admitted that she was curious about him. That was not something she could say to Biwa Hayahide, and in front of her perceptive older sister, the safest policy was naturally to say less.
"What do you need me for?"
Narita Brian lifted her chin slightly. The pose reminded Shinji so strongly of Twin Turbo that the muscles in his cheeks twitched. By sheer willpower, he suppressed the urge to laugh and instead adopted a genuinely consultative tone.
"Offside Trap's initial phase of training is basically done. I'm planning to find some sparring partners for her."
That was extremely common in horse-girl training, so Narita Brian was not suspicious. The trainer in front of her still did not have a second horse girl under him, so if he wanted to arrange a sparring partner for Offside Trap, he could only ask for the help of other horse girls.
"What kind are you looking for?"
"A runner. Preferably an extreme front-runner."
Narita Brian's expression stiffened.
Even as vice president of the student council, her usual focus on running and her difficult-to-approach outward image meant that her personal network was nowhere near as broad as her position might suggest.
"It'd be best if she were already a G1 horse girl," Shinji added. "She needs to have medium-distance aptitude."
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Narita Brian's eyes.
Thinking it through carefully, the only medium-distance G1 horse girl around her who excelled at going all-out from the front and whom she could reasonably introduce was Maruzensky. But whether that horse girl's physical condition could actually withstand Shinji's kind of training was another matter entirely.
Unlike Twin Turbo, who had stumbled into a wolf's den without realizing it, Narita Brian knew very well how brutal Shinji's training could be.
She began walking forward almost unconsciously. Whenever Narita Brian sank deeply into serious thought, she tended to do that. Shinji did not know that, but he still quietly followed behind her.
The noon sun was harsh. Narita Brian seemed so absorbed in thinking that she kept going despite breaking into sweat. Shinji, meanwhile, was starting to feel tortured. If not for the way her brows remained tightly furrowed, he might well have suspected she was deliberately taking revenge on Offside Trap's behalf for the overly harsh training.
"Beep beep!"
The horn from ahead jolted Narita Brian awake. Following her gaze, Shinji looked toward the source of the sound.
A red, streamlined convertible.
A horse girl in sunglasses flicked back her long, wavy hair and looked at Narita Brian with a half-smile.
"What are you thinking about so seriously?" Maruzensky lightly tapped the car door. "You almost walked right into me."
Narita Brian stared at her in surprise, then delight bloomed in her eyes.
Really, this was someone arriving uninvited at the perfect time. Wasn't this exact horse girl, from the same team as herself, precisely the kind Shinji had asked for? How had she failed to think of her until now?
Clearing her throat, Narita Brian bent slightly forward and met Maruzensky's gaze, which made the older horse girl freeze for a second before hurriedly taking off her sunglasses.
"What is it?"
For a moment, Maruzensky thought there must be something wrong with her outfit for the day. She had just finished discussing it again yesterday with Mr. C.B.—surely the two of them could not both have gotten it wrong?
"Senior, do you happen to have time lately?"
"I'm free enough."
Maruzensky first glanced at the obviously younger trainer standing behind Narita Brian, then quickly pieced things together and leaned close to whisper in Brian's ear.
"Is he a friend of yours? Looking for a sparring partner for his horse girl?"
Narita Brian nodded.
In her mind, Offside Trap was her friend. By that logic, helping Offside Trap find a sparring partner and, for ease of explanation, granting Shinji the status of "friend" by association was not completely unreasonable.
Maruzensky was not actually all that eager to serve as a sparring partner. She was not like Oguri Cap or Hishi Amazon, the sort who loved throwing themselves into combat. If given the choice, she would far rather go shopping with Mr. C.B. or out for a drive with Sirius Symboli.
Then, almost imperceptibly, she glanced at Narita Brian's eyes.
Normally, Brian seemed interested only in running, but at that moment there was an unmistakable glimmer in her gaze. The meaning was obvious: expectation. She was waiting for Maruzensky's answer.
Maruzensky sighed inwardly.
She no longer remembered exactly when it was, but Symboli Rudolf had once said that Maruzensky was sometimes too softhearted toward her juniors. Thinking about it now, that was evidently true. She gave a small sigh and nodded.
"What's your name?"
Stepping past Narita Brian, Maruzensky asked Shinji directly.
"Terazumi Shinji."
Only then did Shinji move up beside Narita Brian and answer seriously.
"Next Wednesday or Thursday, send Brian your training time and location. I'll be there on time."
Since she had agreed, Maruzensky intended to do the job properly. That made Shinji nod inwardly. Narita Brian really was dependable. At the very least, the horse girl she had found for him looked like an excellent choice so far.
"Understood. Then I'll be counting on you."
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 115)
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 (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
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 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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