Terazumi Shinji walked quietly to Offside Trap's side.
Even when faced with the man's brutal training, this horse girl would usually grit her teeth and endure it—but now, she was already crying so hard she could barely breathe.
How long could a horse girl really last in the Twinkle Series?
How much of her career could she afford to waste on a stage where she was not among the elite?
Offside Trap had watched her peers one after another either fade away from the Twinkle Series and return to ordinary lives because of declining form or ability, or, after one final stubborn struggle, enter the Dream Cup League burdened with regret.
This was a generation that could never quite get what it wanted.
Offside Trap had long since prepared herself to leave quietly and dimly behind. Yet in the few months after meeting one man, that resolve had gradually begun to crack apart.
Hope had started to flicker.
And with every quicker, brighter pulse, it slowly bloomed back into its true color.
The applause ringing in her ears was not especially loud—Offside Trap knew that perfectly well.
But even so, she could no longer hold back and burst into loud, ragged sobs.
This was the first time she had ever heard applause for her own graded-race victory.
Before this, she had heard applause for so many other horse girls.
Never for herself.
Her vision blurred beyond recovery. She scrubbed at her eyes desperately, but no matter how hard she wiped, she could not clear them.
She had planned to celebrate with her trainer after winning, but in the state she was in now—so disheveled, so embarrassing—she felt too ashamed to hug him.
And then that man walked over to her side and slowly crouched down.
"Crying?"
"I-I'm not… hic… not!"
"Aren't you crying pretty hard? You're hiccuping already."
"Then why… did you even ask!"
She did not know where all the grievance swelling in her chest had come from, but Offside Trap suddenly threw her arms wide and hugged Terazumi Shinji.
The grass underfoot was not slippery, but she still failed to keep her balance. Her body swayed—and the next moment she had shoved Shinji down beneath her.
Burying her face in his chest, Offside Trap no longer cared that her tears were soaking through the front of his shirt.
She only wanted to cry her heart out.
"Hey—ow, ow—move up a little, let me straighten my leg—it's pinned!"
At Shinji's complaint, Offside Trap lifted her upper body slightly. Once she felt him adjust himself into a more comfortable position, she lowered her head again.
Her long hair spilled across him like a waterfall, making even Narita Brian and Sakura Laurel—who had also rushed over—swallow back whatever they had been about to say.
Seiun Sky and Mejiro Bright, who had come over as well, stood there as second- and third-place finishers who had meant to offer congratulations to the winner—only to find the winner crying so hard she no longer looked remotely human.
The two of them exchanged a glance, both equally lost.
"You two should head back first."
It was Narita Brian who finally put her role as student council vice president to proper use, quickly waving her hand and trying to usher Seiun Sky and Mejiro Bright away.
"Wait…"
It was Shinji who spoke up, his breathing still a little uneven from being pinned under Offside Trap.
He gently pushed at the horse girl on top of him until the girl, crying so hard her face was a mess, lifted her head.
"Be good. Go shake hands with them first."
There was no rule requiring it, and some horse girls truly disliked taking the outstretched hand of a victor while still reeling from defeat.
But since second and third place had come over to congratulate her, Offside Trap ought to respond in kind.
"Mmm…"
The soft little sound that came from her was not one Shinji ever heard in daily life. Slowly, the horse girl pushed herself upright and extended a hand toward Seiun Sky.
"Congratulations… If you won, then try to look a little happier, okay?"
The frustration that had been in Seiun Sky's eyes gave way to amusement.
She could feel the absolute determination to win in the horse girl before her—the sort of competitiveness Seiun Sky herself did not possess.
And seeing the way Offside Trap stood there, overwhelmed by both joy and sorrow after victory, Seiun Sky could tell that the other girl must have put in an unimaginable amount of effort behind the scenes.
Thinking of it that way, even though she had lost, it did not feel like such an unjust defeat.
A horse girl famous for intelligence and tactics, and yet before the race she had not even bothered to gather proper information on her opponent.
No matter what excuses there were, part of the truth was simply that she had not taken Offside Trap seriously before the race began.
So being upset by an upset could only mean she had overlooked too much in her race strategy.
Mejiro Bright offered comfort as well.
Only moments ago, she had been imagining Offside Trap as the type who would greet the crowd wildly and jubilantly after her victory. Instead, she had watched the winner break down in tears right in front of her.
In the end, the noble young lady of a prestigious family had failed to predict what a horse girl who had stumbled and fought her way here would look like after finally winning.
"When you act like this, it really puts us losers in an awkward position, you know~"
Patting Offside Trap on the shoulder, Mejiro Bright smiled with warmth and encouragement.
"You really are strong."
To win by such a commanding margin after a disastrous start—there was no question now that Offside Trap had displayed the quality of an unquestionable G1-level horse girl in this Kyoto Daishoten.
Given how strong the field had been, the race had revealed an enormous amount. Mejiro Bright already wanted nothing more than to watch the replay and break the whole thing down.
Even if Mejiro Takamine scolded her for half the day afterward, she would accept it.
"Thank you~"
The breathy reply slipped out before Offside Trap could suppress it.
Leaning against the now-standing Shinji, her cheeks flushed bright red.
She had finally realized just how mortifying her behavior a moment ago had been.
Sneaking a glance at the broad wet patch of tears on Shinji's chest, then another look at the side of his face, Offside Trap suddenly found she did not want to leave his arms at all.
She had already embarrassed herself this thoroughly.
At this point, whatever she did next hardly mattered.
So, thinking that, she simply looped her arms around Shinji's arm as well—just like she had done that night before.
"What is it?"
Shinji looked at her eyes in confusion.
At that moment, her eyes were beautiful beyond words. The starlight in them carried a girl's shyness, but also a jumping, dancing sort of joy, like a sprite in motion, and before Shinji knew it, he found himself staring even deeper into them.
"Nothing~"
Even Offside Trap could not quite understand her own mood.
When Shinji had asked, "What is it?", she had felt a little unhappy.
But when his gaze softened and lost focus because of her, that unhappiness turned straight into delight.
Her arms around his grew tighter.
She did not know how to describe the feeling—only that she wanted even more contact with that arm, even though she was already hugging it as tightly as she could.
She did not understand why she felt this way.
But she could feel how fiercely her emotions were burning.
That fierce warmth mixed with the joy of finally fulfilling her long-cherished wish of winning a graded race, and because of it, the pain of all her old wounds seemed to lighten considerably.
[Negative emotion +100]
"Xiao Yue, you were amazing!"
At last, it was time for the congratulatory barrage from friends.
Sakura Laurel had been holding herself back for ages, waiting for exactly this chance to say those words.
Her excitement was written all over her flushed little face.
As someone who had won G1 races herself, Sakura Laurel could understand even better than ordinary fans or horse girls just how much this race was worth.
Her earlier hope that her friend might one day fight for a G1 had already gone much farther—now even the possibility of the Autumn Tenno Sho seemed to be coming into focus.
"If you keep this up, the Autumn Tenno Sho will be no problem at all! You can absolutely win!"
Sakura Super O was being completely overwhelmed by her same-stable senior and cut off every time she tried to speak.
Helpless, she turned to Narita Brian—only to realize even Maruzensky at Brian's side had been squeezed out so thoroughly that she could not get a word in either.
Oddly enough, that made Sakura Super O's mood settle a little.
A tiny thought began to rise in her heart again, one of those old dreams she had thought long extinguished. After Offside Trap's resounding victory, it seemed to be stirring back to life.
Her gaze shifted from Maruzensky to Terazumi Shinji.
The man was currently looking down at Offside Trap's face, his eyes filled entirely with his horse girl. The sight unexpectedly made Sakura Super O feel a little envious.
'Hm?'
Suddenly sensing a faint chill, Sakura Super O lowered her gaze—and met Offside Trap's openly wary stare.
Even Sakura Laurel calling out "Xiao Yue, are you listening to me?" several times failed to break that look.
Sakura Super O hurriedly raised both hands in surrender, and with that motion, the faint notion that had just begun to bloom inside her went out as quickly as it had come.
Unlike outsiders who did not know how this pairing had come together, Sakura Super O had watched and listened from beginning to end as Terazumi Shinji gradually won Offside Trap over.
The moment that man had chosen Offside Trap, while showing absolutely no interest in her whatsoever, any chance of forming that kind of bond with him had already vanished.
She had lost her fighting spirit too early.
That was certainly tied to her injuries—but perhaps what the man had seen in Xiao Yue, and valued, was precisely that will to never give up and never yield.
The little spark of envy was pressed back down.
Once Sakura Laurel finished speaking, Sakura Super O did not wait for Narita Brian and Maruzensky to take their turns. As Offside Trap's roommate, she snatched the initiative first.
"Tonight, let's all go eat something amazing together! We absolutely have to celebrate Xiao Yue properly—I've watched her struggle through this whole road with my own eyes. It's really been so hard for her…"
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
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
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