"For this kind of thing, you can always count on me."
Shinji had no idea how many times Narita Brian had already said that to him this week. In any case, whenever he contacted her on his phone lately, that was more or less the response he got every time.
Then again, all of their conversations this week had revolved around Maruzensky, so a reply like that was hardly strange. Shinji curled his lip slightly and gave Narita Brian an affirming look.
That made her mood brighten even further.
At the moment, she was standing shoulder to shoulder with Terazumi Shinji at the edge of the training ground, watching the three horse girls inside the field warming up.
That was right—although Shinji had told Twin Turbo she could take the day off, somehow she had found out that Offside Trap was not resting at all today. Instead, she had a very strong horse girl serving as her training partner.
That instantly ignited Twin Turbo's competitive spirit. At the very least, she wanted to see just what kind of horse girl had made Shinji cast her aside without a second thought.
"You horse girls really do have fast information networks..."
Seeing Twin Turbo puffing out her cheeks, clearly upset yet secretly stewing because she knew full well that Maruzensky was someone she simply could not compare herself to, Shinji said helplessly.
"Of course. We talk a lot normally, and Twin Turbo's a lively one, so naturally she hears more than most."
The smile on Narita Brian's face deepened.
Before, she had never understood why Symboli Rudolf liked paying so much attention to the growth of her juniors. But now, standing from this angle and observing things from a perspective outside of racing itself, Narita Brian had begun to understand that it really did contain its own kind of amusement.
Shinji pressed his lips together.
He felt that something about Narita Brian had changed, though he could not quite put his finger on what. In the end, he simply turned his attention back to the horse girls, who had already finished warming up.
Out on the track, Maruzensky looked at Offside Trap in surprise. The latter already seemed to be practically giving off steam. After a moment's hesitation, Maruzensky finally asked,
"Don't you need a little rest first?"
It was difficult to imagine calling that amount of work merely a warm-up. Maruzensky had already realized that today was going to be a troublesome one.
Offside Trap shook her head and stepped up beside Terazumi Shinji.
Her hair fluttered in the breeze, drifting toward him. Shinji frowned faintly, and just as she finished settling into position, he suddenly said,
"Your hair's a bit frizzy. Make sure you tidy it up before the race."
?
The calm focus Offside Trap had built up nearly cracked on the spot. It took several deep breaths before she managed to suppress it again.
[Negative Energy +5]
...Did I say something wrong? Why is she mad again?
[…]
The system had no interest in answering.
Maruzensky and Twin Turbo each took their own positions as well. Shinji had already explained the training plan to them before the warm-up began.
Originally, he had wanted Twin Turbo and Maruzensky to rotate separately, so each would have enough rest time. Unfortunately, Twin Turbo had stubbornly refused, and Shinji had no choice but to let the willful horse girl participate in the full set.
Beep—!
The whistle blew.
Offside Trap's eyes sharpened, and she kicked off instantly. Explosive force shot through her body, launching her like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The opening fifty to one hundred meters of a race generally consumed almost no stamina at all. And because Offside Trap specialized in the pace-chasing style, making proper use of that trait to apply pressure up front during the early phase was clearly a strong tactical choice.
A flicker of admiration passed through Maruzensky's eyes.
She had initially assumed that the girl she'd come to help train was merely at a graded-race level. But now, it seemed this trainer truly had something to him. Offside Trap's improvement was enormous.
At the edge of the field, Shinji nodded as well.
His expression did not change even under Narita Brian's astonished gaze. He calmly wrote down notes in his notebook about Offside Trap's improvement in the opening phase.
The effect of the Territory Lord bond, strengthened by the presence of three Territory Lord runes, had caused Offside Trap's attributes to rise significantly again over this period of time. At the beginning, it had been uncertain whether she could even stably compete at the graded-race level. Now, it felt as though she truly had a chance to challenge the front pack of a G1.
[Five Stats: Speed 669 +50 (970), Stamina 622 +2 (926), Power 753 +28 (1015), Guts 802 +18 (1132), Wisdom 501 +7 (993)]
Keeping his eyes on the changing situation on the track, Shinji observed the runners ahead.
The one leading was Twin Turbo, a truly reckless runaway frontrunner. She had completely abandoned even her own pacing, running with nothing but raw effort.
Maruzensky, by contrast, controlled the rhythm of her escape at exactly the pace most comfortable for herself, leaving enough energy for the later stages as well.
That's much closer to the way Silence Suzuka runs away.
Seiun Sky specialized in manipulating tempo and race flow. Silence Suzuka, on the other hand, simply ran away according to her own rhythm.
The three horse girls quickly passed through the first and second turns. Offside Trap worked hard to keep the gap between herself and Maruzensky within six or seven lengths.
In truth, this was not the rhythm most comfortable for her. But Terazumi Shinji had specifically instructed her to hold it there.
It was the kind of tactic that brought hardship without obvious reward, yet Offside Trap chose to trust him.
When Shinji gave her tactical instructions like this, there was always an almost overwhelming confidence in his voice. Offside Trap simply assumed he still had some trick in reserve that she didn't yet know about.
More sweat began to gather on her forehead.
Up ahead, Twin Turbo was already beginning to decelerate. Over this recent stretch of time, she too had improved considerably—but compared to Maruzensky, it was still nowhere near enough.
The clash between the rhythms of two runaway leaders had worked entirely in Maruzensky's favor. Her oppressive presence had already forced Twin Turbo's stamina dry by the third and fourth turns. Her big wavy hair streamed through the air, and in her field of vision the final straight had already opened wide and empty before her.
Tat-tat-tat...
The footsteps behind her were just as powerful.
Maruzensky knew that was Offside Trap beginning her charge.
For a runaway horse girl, it was generally difficult to have an especially strong finishing kick.
But Maruzensky was no ordinary runaway horse girl.
Wind seemed to gather beneath her feet as her speed rose again. Offside Trap gritted her teeth and could do no more than barely maintain the gap between them.
The finish line drew ever closer, but Offside Trap could not see any hope of victory.
Maruzensky stood before her like a mountain.
That crushing pressure pouring off her made Offside Trap feel almost suffocated during her final surge.
Part of that was likely because she had spent the entire run outside her own preferred rhythm and pace.
But Offside Trap understood even more clearly that there was still a very real gap in pure strength between them.
The horse girl before her was, without question, a first-rate existence even among all G1 horse girls.
Breathing heavily, Offside Trap did not lose heart.
She still had time to improve.
She had never even won a graded race yet. And now, even Maruzensky could no longer simply shake her off completely. That was not enough to satisfy her, of course—but at least it gave her a much clearer sense of where her current strength stood.
She straightened up, only to find Maruzensky had already stopped in front of her.
The famously glamorous horse girl wore a small encouraging smile, and when she looked into Offside Trap's eyes, there was such warmth there that Offside Trap froze for a moment.
"Your next race is the Kyoto Daishoten?"
"Yeah."
Offside Trap's voice had gone a little hoarse. Just then, Twin Turbo finally staggered across the finish line and collapsed painfully to the ground.
Lately, no matter how hard she tried, she had been unable to hold Offside Trap off from overtaking her. And now, seeing Offside Trap run herself hoarse like this, even the lively little horse girl fell into a momentary silence.
"There's no problem. Believe in yourself."
Maruzensky spoke while calming her own breathing.
There were still several more sets of training to come, and under this kind of intensity, even Maruzensky wasn't sure how many truly effective simulations she would still be able to provide for this junior.
But this hardworking junior was worth her giving her all.
Everyone liked watching a story about someone fighting back against fate.
Maruzensky was no exception.
At the side of the field, Terazumi Shinji finished writing up the training summary for this lap.
[Starting tomorrow, are you changing the focus of the training subjects?]
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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