With a violent smack, Air Groove slammed the report in her hand onto the table.
Narita Brian had never seen Air Groove like this before. The horse girl's usually refined face was flushed bright red with anger, her eyes blazing with vicious intensity, and even Brian instinctively looked away from that gaze.
At the head of the table, Symboli Rudolf, the Student Council president who embodied its dignity, was also struggling to keep her emotions under control. From the heavy rhythm of her breathing alone, it was clear that the leader who normally treated every horse girl with care and kindness was now standing right on the edge of fury.
"Narita Brian, look at what Offside Trap's trainer said!"
Air Groove finally snapped. She had been waiting for Symboli Rudolf to speak, but the president, who usually guided every discussion, had been uncharacteristically silent today, and Air Groove could no longer suppress the fire raging in her chest.
To insult the Three Goddesses was to insult the Student Council itself.
Unlike Europe and America, where training systems were already mature and complete, and the Three Goddesses were therefore honored more as figures of reverence and remembrance, Japan's horse girls had taken a different path. With its training systems and trainers still clearly lagging behind world standards, the answer the Student Council had given Japan's horse girls—the path it had laid out for them—was reliance on the blessings of the Three Goddesses.
That was the importance the Three Goddesses held for both the Student Council and for Japanese horse girls as a whole. And now Terazumi Shinji had dared to say such outrageous things in public. For Air Groove, who regarded the Student Council with the utmost seriousness, her opinion of him had shifted from disdain to outright hatred.
"Offside Trap has never received the blessing of the Three Goddesses."
Narita Brian answered quietly. Though she herself had once received their blessing, she had been estranged from G1 victory for far too long after her Classic year.
It was not as though she had never doubted the supposed absoluteness of the Three Goddesses' power. As Sakura Laurel had said, even without their blessing, she had still stood atop a G1 podium through her own effort and perseverance. It was only because all her former glory seemed bound up with their favor—because that spring, she had received overwhelming power from the Three Goddesses and had so easily swept through her Classic year—that she had never fully settled that doubt in her heart.
"Because even you were never truly top-tier. In Japan, you just got by on talent."
Shinji's cutting words echoed once more in her mind. After witnessing Offside Trap's victory, Brian found herself entertaining that doubt again.
If she had received proper training from the very beginning, then even after the blessing of the Three Goddesses faded, might she still have become a Triple Crown horse girl? Might she have won even more?
The blessing of the Three Goddesses should never have been the foundation of who she was.
It should only have been assistance.
Narita Brian could not sort through the tangle of thoughts before she realized Air Groove had already stormed to a stop in front of her.
"So you agree with what Terazumi Shinji said?"
"No. I only…" She could never give voice to the feelings in her heart, so Brian simply lowered her head. "I only mean that Offside Trap is innocent."
"There is no such thing as innocent here. She and her trainer are on the same side. Brian, I've said it before—you need to put more effort into learning how to handle these matters. You cannot go on like this forever."
Air Groove's words filled Narita Brian with a deep, immediate irritation. This was far from the first time she had heard them.
Symboli Rudolf had always placed high hopes in her. Air Groove, too, wanted her to shoulder more responsibility and help handle affairs.
But neither of them understood.
She still wanted to win one more G1.
She did not want to spend the rest of her career saddled with the label of "the mare who never won another G1 after her Classic year," only to fade unceremoniously into the Dream Trophy League.
Even Tōjō Hana did not understand. Compared to the rigorous, effective training being given to the two newcomers who had joined the team in the latter half of last year, Brian's own training could not even be called thorough.
All of them had already written the verdict on her Flare Series career.
"I understand…"
But she did not resist.
Narita Brian suddenly wanted to laugh bitterly at herself. That man had dared to declare war on Silence Suzuka in front of all those cameras, openly needling the Student Council, JURA, and the media for the direction they had pushed public opinion. And yet she herself lacked even the courage to voice her own thoughts.
"Every time it's 'I understand,' and not once have you ever truly taken it seriously—"
Air Groove had clearly been driven to the edge by Shinji. The vice president who was normally kind to the horse girls had now started venting her anger on Narita Brian.
"Air Groove!"
Symboli Rudolf's authoritative voice cracked like a whip.
Air Groove jolted back to her senses and looked at Brian.
In the eyes of the fans, she might have been the Empress. But compared to the Triple Crown-bearing Narita Brian, she was still some distance away.
Yet Brian's mind was no longer on any of that. For some reason, the drifting thoughts in her head had once again become the image of Terazumi Shinji.
She thought of how focused he was when guiding Offside Trap—a focus utterly unlike Tōjō Hana's. There were legends everywhere in that team, and Tōjō Hana's time and energy were limited. The long-established legends were simply left to remain legends, while turning the newer members into legends as well seemed, on the face of it, an entirely reasonable choice.
But Narita Brian had suddenly grown sick of it.
"Brian!"
"Hm?"
Rudolf's voice pulled her thoughts back. The president's face now showed a trace of weary helplessness.
"You should speak with Terazumi Shinji. Whether it's a statement or another interview, he needs to explain things again somehow. The impact has grown too large now."
As she spoke, Symboli Rudolf turned over the document in her hand and passed it to Brian.
"Take a look."
Brian shifted her gaze from Rudolf's face to the paper in her hands. She could understand the figures written there. They were data concerning the volume of public discussion.
"What do you see?"
There was no doubt this was a test.
Brian pretended to think for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
Seeing the disappointment flash across Rudolf's eyes, Narita Brian felt a sudden lightness settle over her shoulders. The crushing pressure that had weighed on her since this discussion began finally eased, if only a little.
"Silence Suzuka is about to head overseas. This race is meant to build momentum for her. Taiki did well—now we need to carry that forward…"
As she spoke, Rudolf turned her gaze toward Air Groove. With the red lining around Air Groove's eyes, Rudolf could not tell whether the redness she saw came from makeup or fury.
"Originally, the rematch between Air Groove and Silence Suzuka in the Autumn Tenno Sho was supposed to be the core of the narrative. El Condor Pasa's revenge after the Mainichi Okan was another excellent angle. Gold City's renewed challenge for a G1. Mejiro Bright's ambition to complete the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho double… All of these could have highlighted how important this Autumn Tenno Sho is. That was supposed to be a crucial part of building anticipation."
"But now, because of Offside Trap…"
Rudolf shook her head.
It was not that she looked down on Offside Trap, nor anything of the sort. She held concern and expectation for every horse girl in the academy.
But the plain truth was that Offside Trap's previous record simply was not dazzling. Her struggle against an unjust fate, while admirable, had not become something that truly moved the public. It was a good story—yet it lacked heat.
The public's attention should not have been centered on her.
And Silence Suzuka's rival should not have been Offside Trap.
"She may not lose."
"Can she even make the board?"
Narita Brian's rebuttal drew a furious retort from Air Groove. Her loss of composure likewise disappointed Symboli Rudolf.
"She can win. Victory and defeat are not for us to—"
Rudolf stroked the armrest of her chair, the smooth surface and its faint ridges beneath her hand lending her gaze a distant cast.
Perhaps she was remembering some scene from the past. Or perhaps some old acquaintance had come to mind. Whatever it was, her words halted for a brief moment.
"We only need to make sure the right things are done before the race."
When she said that, the sharpness in her eyes suddenly returned.
"Of course, all of this depends on Terazumi Shinji's cooperation. If he refuses to cooperate, then we will have to make him understand that the authority of the Student Council is not something to be challenged."
"Their fanbase is small to begin with. I still hope every horse girl can look into the stands and see supporters there for her…"
There was a coldness in Rudolf's voice that made Narita Brian look up in disbelief.
Behind the president, the light filtering through the two windows supported the vast Student Council office, and between those two windows, directly behind the mare seated at the head of the table, hung the official banner of the Central Tracen Academy Student Council.
Beside her, the vice president stood with her usual icy expression, staring at Narita Brian together with the portraits of the legends whose names and likenesses were enshrined in that room.
Distant.
Aloof.
High above them all.
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 (Chapter116)
"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 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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