After that day, Offside Trap became much more relaxed around Terazumi Shinji. Even when training left her utterly exhausted, she would occasionally crack a joke.
Shinji did not mind the change. A horse girl and her trainer were meant to be close. He remained wary of the possibility of disloyalty from a horse girl under his care, but so long as Offside Trap showed no such signs, he had no objection to the gradual deepening of their relationship.
And so, amid that kind of companionship, time quietly carried them to the eve of the Kyoto Daishoten…
"So tomorrow's the race already…"
Sakura Super O looked at Offside Trap, who was carefully wiping down her racing shoes, and let the comment slip out as if by chance.
"Mm-hm."
There was a trace of nervousness and excitement in Offside Trap's voice, enough to make Sakura Super O's lips curve into a smile as well.
"Then you'd better get to sleep early tonight."
"I'm scared I won't be able to fall asleep at all," Offside Trap admitted. Then she slapped the race entry sheet she always carried around onto the table. "Look, look—there are so many strong horse girls in it."
"So what? Not a single one of them can beat our Xiao Yue."
Sakura Super O's encouragement lit Offside Trap's eyes with bright delight.
Shinji, for all that he had reduced her training load today, had not offered her a single word of encouragement, leaving her both hopeful and disappointed.
"How'd your final workout before the race go?"
"It was pretty good, I guess. Mostly, Trainer said I didn't need to go all out, so I didn't push that hard."
"Is that so?"
Sakura Super O had never seen Offside Trap train. If she wanted to understand how strong her roommate really was, the best way would naturally be through her pre-race workout times.
But since Offside Trap herself had already said she had not gone all out, there was nothing for Sakura Super O to do but look forward to the race itself.
"We'll all be there tomorrow."
"All of you?"
"Yeah—"
Sakura Super O had just started to explain when there came a knock at the door.
She hurried down from the bed, opened it, and found Narita Brian's stern, cold face on the other side.
Perhaps because she had spent so much time at Symboli Rudolf's side, Narita Brian had, in her own way, begun to take on a little of Rudolf's imposing presence.
"Brian?"
Offside Trap was genuinely surprised. Their generation got along well, and Narita Brian had even helped with her training before—but showing up to see her the night before the race was something she had never expected.
"Good luck tomorrow."
Narita Brian sat down naturally in the chair nearest the door. On the vanity beside her, there were not many bottles of makeup, but there were plenty of supplements lined up.
All of them were things Terazumi Shinji had specifically required Offside Trap to take. The level of detail in those instructions was so meticulous that even Narita Brian felt a little envious.
"I'm definitely going to give it everything I have."
Offside Trap nodded firmly. No one wanted her to win this race more than she did.
The honors her generation-mates had already achieved were still things she had never touched. The repeated assaults of injury had exhausted her both body and soul.
Now that she had finally started anew, she would never let this hard-won opportunity slip through her fingers.
Narita Brian looked at the determined little face before her, laughed lightly, then held out a bandage.
It looked exactly like the one on Narita Brian's own nose, and Offside Trap blinked in surprise.
"I don't know if it's just psychological," Brian said, glancing at it in her palm, "but when I wear this, it feels like it helps me focus better."
"It's really just an ordinary bandage," she continued, "but maybe… maybe I wanted to pass on a little luck from our generation. Assuming there's any of that left at all."
Offside Trap accepted it gently, but for a moment she said nothing.
Whether there was still any luck left in this ill-starred generation—none of the three horse girls in the room felt especially optimistic about that.
For a generation so full of talent, it had ended up with shockingly few G1 winners.
"Thank you."
Offside Trap forced a smile back onto her face, carefully wrapped the bandage in paper, and set it near her bedside. Her racing shoes were already polished until they gleamed, but she continued wiping them anyway.
Her fingers brushed especially tenderly over the horseshoes, their color obviously glossy and rich. She touched them with great care, cherishing them as the gift her trainer had given her.
"Brian, when you won the Asahi Hai, how did you feel?"
"Me?"
Narita Brian lifted her head and thought back.
Back then, she had been in the full bloom of youthful confidence. She had entered the Asahi Hai as the overwhelming favorite, then answered every expectation of her fans with a crushing victory.
She had definitely been happy.
And yet now, looking back, she could not summon up that feeling again no matter how she tried.
With a wry smile, she shook her head, her expression turning a little awkward.
"I guess… I've forgotten. But I must have been happy, right?"
"Really…"
Deep in Offside Trap's eyes was unmistakable envy.
If she could win a G1 race, she would probably be happy enough to go mad.
No—even a graded race would be enough. She would be overjoyed beyond words.
She had paid an immeasurable price, poured in endless effort. All she wanted was to see that effort acknowledged, just once.
Her gaze drifted to the bright moon outside the window.
She had noticed that Terazumi Shinji often found himself looking up at the clear moon at night. She did not know what meaning it held for him, nor what thoughts filled his heart when he did it. She had simply started imitating him in secret.
Tomorrow's race… I have to win it.
For myself, and… for Trainer too.
…
At the same time, on Terazumi Shinji's side, he was also making the final preparations for tomorrow's Kyoto Daishoten.
[Stop staring already, Shinji. Just buy it and go to sleep.]
What, I'm not even allowed to look now?
Shinji scrolled through the skill shop, hesitantly pressing at his lips.
[What's there to hesitate over? You can only afford one skill.]
Which is exactly why I need to look carefully.
With a sigh, he tapped one of the skills in the list.
This one.
[Offside Trap has 113 PT. Whole Body, Whole Soul costs 340. After deducting the remainder from your shared PT pool, you'll have 133 left.]
Right. And while you're at it, put all of her attribute points and my shared attribute points into Speed.
[Offside Trap has 72 attribute points. Shared attribute points: 50. Total: 122.]
**[Horse Girl: Offside Trap
Condition: Good
Popularity: 7826
System Blessing: None
PT (for skill purchase only): 0
Attribute Points: 0
Five Stats:
Speed 936 +50 (970)
Stamina 681 +2 (926)
Power 824 +28 (1015)
Guts 856 +18 (1132)
Wisdom 532 +7 (993)
Running Style Aptitude: Front E / Pace B / Late B / End D
Distance Aptitude: 1800m–2400m
Track Aptitude: Turf A / Dirt D
Skills:
Unyielding Wings That Long for the Deep Sky (Unique) Lv. 3
[When the front group falls into a melee on the final straight and she has not yet entered the placing battle, her speed increases and she is more likely to secure a good route.]
Whole Body, Whole Soul (Gold)
[Speed increases at the crucial moment of the final spurt.]
Level 1 Counterclockwise (Green)
[Slightly better at counterclockwise tracks.]
Lightning Step (Yellow)
[When positioned in the rear during the middle stage of the race, she is slightly less likely to get boxed in.]
Straight Line Specialist (Yellow)
[Slightly increases speed on straight sections.]
Position Sense (Yellow)
[Slightly easier to secure a good route at the start of the race.]
Unruffled in Danger (Blue)
[When boxed in during the middle stage of the race, recovers a small amount of stamina.]
Domain: Unawakened
Runes:
(Territory Lord) (Groundkeeper) Otherworldly Flowing Shadow
[On good ground, for every 100 points in any attribute, all stats +1; on non-good ground, all stats +10%]
(Speed +10, Stamina +2, Inspiration +17)
(Personal Driver) (Territory Lord) Variable-Distance Supercar
[During races: within 800m, Power +5%; 800–1400m, Wisdom +5%; 1400–2000m, Speed +5%; 2000–2600m, Stamina +5%; above 2600m, Guts +5%]
(Speed +9, Guts +8, Willpower +6)
(Battle Maniac) (Territory Lord) Duel Master
[If she enters Duel State on the final straight, all stats +15%]
{Duel State: the participating runners pull more than two horse lengths clear of the pack behind, clearly holding the advantage, but with no one side obviously winning}
(Speed +4, Power +1, Guts +10)
Noble Rune Crest
(Speed +7, Power +7, Wisdom +7)
Territory Lord (3):
The horse girl's five core stats gain a locked lower limit and can no longer decline in real terms; any gains to her five stats from real-world sources receive an additional 30% increase
Noble (1):
All stats +5%; can adapt to races of any pace and bring out the vast majority of her strength (inactive)
Special Status: Tendonitis
Equipped Gear: Propulsion Horseshoes (Horse Girl Speed +20, Power +20)
Better suited to Power and Guts training.]**
With this overall ability… winning the Kyoto Daishoten should be no problem.
[You're overestimating the opposition. This isn't even a G1.]
It's just that this particular field really is strong, so it's hard not to worry.
Shinji turned his head toward the window.
The moon outside was bright and clear.
He did not know how many people were staring at that same moon tonight, too anxious to sleep, but he himself was undeniably one of them.
[Why don't you take a sleeping pill too?]
The system teased him, but Shinji did not respond.
Every scrap of Emotion Energy was something he intended to save wherever possible. He was not the one racing tomorrow, so even if he went to bed late, it would not matter much.
[You really are stingy. Anyway, Offside Trap's already taken hers. She's probably asleep by now.]
Good.
Shinji slowly closed his eyes. He still was not sleepy, but at least it eased his mind a little.
System.
[Hm?]
Tomorrow will be the day your ability gets tested.
[What does it have to do with me? Be clear about this! Isn't it your ability that's being tested?]
Inside the room, a silent argument began.
Outside the window, beneath the same quiet night sky, countless dreams—carrying their hopes for tomorrow—slipped gently into sleep.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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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)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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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
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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