"Tr-Trainer… where are we…"
There was a glimmer of anticipation in Offside Trap's eyes as she ran beside him and asked the question.
The man ahead of her was leading her farther and farther toward a deserted part of the city, and that made her imagination run wild over what this "very important matter" Shinji had mentioned could possibly be.
Had he prepared some reward for her victory? Or perhaps some news that would make her happy?
As she thought that, the gloom in her heart gradually began to fade.
When Shinji had kept staring at Silence Suzuka earlier, it had felt as though a massive stone were lodged in her chest, so heavy that she could barely breathe. Even after he had openly denied liking Silence Suzuka, all she had felt was a small measure of relief.
Part of her wanted Shinji to see the things people were saying online, to know about the criticism and malice aimed at her because of Silence Suzuka.
And yet she did not want him to worry over something so petty, nor did she want him to think she was being petty herself.
Or perhaps, more than anything, she did not want to find even the faintest trace of agreement on her trainer's face in that moment.
It's not a big deal. If they're using me as a stepping stone to prop Silence Suzuka up, doesn't that just prove I performed well?
Offside Trap lectured herself like that, forcing her thoughts away from those feelings and toward whatever Shinji was about to do next.
At last, he slowed to a stop.
In the corner of a park, Shinji dropped onto a bench without the slightest concern for whether it was clean.
Offside Trap tilted her head slightly. Even in the darkness, without the benefit of streetlamps, her wide, blinking eyes still seemed bright.
"Silence Suzuka…"
[Negative Emotion +100]
Shinji paused mid-sentence.
Then he saw the girl in front of him lower her head.
Under the moonlight, he could make out the faint trembling of her shoulders, even the trembling of her whole silhouette, as though she were struggling to hold something in. It made him feel a little helpless, and he almost wanted to reach out and guide her a few steps closer.
But she refused.
She stood rooted to the ground in stubborn silence, as though wordlessly expressing her displeasure.
"Silence Suzuka's leg isn't in good shape."
"Huh?"
The horse girl snapped her head up, and Shinji caught the redness at the corners of her eyes.
"You trust my judgment, don't you? Her legs are unstable."
She nodded.
Then, almost immediately, she realized how close they already were to the Autumn Tenno Sho. For a front-running horse girl, entering a race with unstable legs was far more dangerous than it would be for someone using a more conventional running style.
"Then…"
She had just begun to speak when Shinji raised a hand.
Palm upright, expression calm, he cut her off.
"Listen to me first."
His gaze shifted past her, toward the brightly lit area not too far away, where crowds of people still flowed through the night.
"Unless someone conducts a very thorough and very serious examination, it won't be found."
After all, it was not yet an extremely severe problem. There was a real chance she could force her way through a single race without it fully erupting.
It only seemed so dangerous because it had appeared in Silence Suzuka.
"Right now, I'm giving you two choices."
The gravity in Shinji's tone made Offside Trap straighten instinctively. A strange premonition rose in her chest—her trainer was about to say something that would leave her stunned.
"First, you can go tell Silence Suzuka yourself. If you do, your words might very well be overheard by people on her team. They may even spread farther."
Shinji's words made her face go pale. If rumors started circulating online about "Offside Trap cursing Silence Suzuka," she didn't dare imagine how Silence Suzuka's fans would attack her.
"There's another option. I can go tell Nishizaki Ryu—Silence Suzuka's trainer…"
Only then did the stiffness in Offside Trap's body ease a little.
But then Shinji added the next sentence.
"I'll speak to Nishizaki Ryu two days before the race. I'll make Silence Suzuka withdraw."
The air fell suddenly still.
It was as if even the distant crowd had heard the two of them and gone silent.
Offside Trap stared at Shinji's face.
His face itself was not unfamiliar to her, but those eyes she had begun to think of as gentle were now filled with an icy, solemn severity as he looked straight at her.
The moonlight suddenly felt cold.
The night air felt colder too.
"Of course, you can still choose the first option," he said. "But if you tell her two days before the race, then with Silence Suzuka's personality, for the sake of her dream of racing abroad—and for the sake of not disappointing her fans—there's a good chance she'll hide it from Nishizaki Ryu and go onto the track anyway."
For the briefest instant, Offside Trap thought she saw a smile touch Shinji's mouth.
Then he spoke in a light, easy tone that sent an icy chill straight through her bones.
"And then perhaps… we'll get to see something very interesting on the racetrack."
[Terazumi Shinji!]
The system's voice rang out in his mind, stern and severe.
Shinji ignored it.
He simply kept staring at Offside Trap until she finally lowered her gaze.
[Shinji, I think I need to remind you what you are. You are a trainer.]
And the definition of a trainer is someone who guides their assigned horse girl and brings her onto a higher, broader stage. Shinji's reply was just as firm. I know what you want to say. But nowhere in that definition does it say a trainer has to love all horse girls equally. As a trainer, I have no obligation to love every single one of them!
His words left the system silent for a moment.
Sensing that silence, Shinji's tone eased somewhat.
Of course, I never intended to let anything happen to Silence Suzuka. What I want is for Offside Trap to confront a challenge that does not come from Silence Suzuka alone. She needs to overcome her own heart. She needs to understand what she truly wants. No matter how strong her opponent is, no matter how loud the voices around her become, she has to keep walking the path she herself chooses.
She can't keep looking down on herself anymore. In this Autumn Tenno Sho, Silence Suzuka has to race, no matter what—and she has to finish the race. She has to finish behind Offside Trap, as a stepping stone beneath Offside Trap's feet.
I don't mind treating Offside Trap well. I don't mind her believing I'm a good trainer. My goal is not to become some villain she fears or even hates…
Shinji slowly rose to his feet, and Offside Trap instinctively looked up into his eyes.
Quite the opposite. I want her to become unable to leave me. She needs to reject the Three Goddesses. She needs to stand against the Student Council. She needs to understand that those racing fans know only how to fawn over whoever's in the spotlight. In the end, I'm the only one who won't leave. I'm the only one who matters most.
[Are you sure?]
There was a strange note in the system's voice now, something unreadable—almost amused.
I'm sure. That's the lesson Sansho Drum taught me, and now I need Silence Suzuka's fans to help teach it too. When a winner fails to receive the cheers a winner ought to receive, that suffocating feeling will make her understand everything in an instant.
[I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the consequences!]
Shinji did not quite understand what the system meant, but he knew he still had to push Offside Trap one step further—to add one more spark to the conflict still raging inside her.
"True strength never belongs to the people who were simply born stronger, quicker, or smarter than everyone else," he said quietly. "It belongs only to those willing to pay any price to achieve their goal. I'm looking forward to your choice, Offside Trap."
Then he gently drew her into his arms.
She did not resist. She only buried her face against his chest.
"You know me," he murmured. "I would never tell you something like, 'You don't need to win—as long as you give everything you have until you collapse, that's enough.'"
The small head in his arms moved in a faint nod, and the pair of horse ears drooped limply over his shoulder, as if reflecting her current state of mind.
"I understand…"
Her voice was soft, thick with suppressed fear and helplessness.
For the first time, Shinji felt a faint ache in his chest—but in the end, he did not let it show.
"Trainer…"
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
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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