Narita Brian watched Offside Trap disappear into the underground passage before finally quickening her pace to catch up to Terazumi Shinji.
She should have been standing with the Rigil group, but this time, for once, she unexpectedly wanted to indulge herself. It was the first time in years she had done anything like this, and it made her realize that following her own heart could feel this satisfying.
"What was that?"
Narita Brian was naturally referring to the seed.
The Seed of Blessing, Shinji replied inwardly.
[Seed of Blessing: If used on a horse girl who has not yet reached the limit of system blessings before a race, it will make her more likely to awaken a system blessing during that race and after it.]
Seeing that Shinji did not answer her and merely continued forward in silence, Narita Brian clicked her tongue in annoyance.
The vast grandstands stretched alongside them, but her gaze remained fixed entirely on the trainer's back ahead of her, until—
"Shinji."
The man in front of her stopped abruptly. Curious, Narita Brian leaned out from behind him and met a gaze filled with disbelief. A delicate-looking girl stood there trembling, one hand covering her mouth as she stared at Narita Brian in shock.
"Is there something you need?" Narita Brian asked.
She could sense Shinji's foul mood. Unlike Offside Trap, who had not understood before, Narita Brian, as the vice president of the student council, knew some of the details regarding Shinji and Sanshōko, and thus understood the shift in Shinji's emotions now.
Still, perhaps because Tahara was present, Shinji's attitude was only a little distant, not so harsh as to put Tahara in an awkward position.
"No…"
The horse girl lowered her head slowly. Of course she had recognized the horse girl standing behind Shinji. No one failed to know Narita Brian. The former Triple Crown winner, once famous across the nation, was still an idol to many young horse girls today.
As she brushed past Sanshōko's shoulder, the girl finally could not hold back. Suddenly she grabbed Shinji by the wrist, and Narita Brian's brows immediately knit together. She truly did not understand Sanshōko's choice, nor did she understand what exactly this performance of hers was supposed to mean now.
She had made that choice herself. So why put on such a pitiful act?
Of course, the slight discomfort rising in Narita Brian's heart might have been the real reason she frowned so sharply. She simply ignored that possibility instinctively.
"I'll beat her."
The firmness in the girl's voice made Shinji burst out laughing. He genuinely had not expected Sanshōko to say something so absurdly arrogant.
It was not as though making up your mind right before a race would magically summon a miracle of your own. Miracles were miracles precisely because they did not casually descend upon some ordinary horse girl on some ordinary afternoon.
Without comment, Shinji pushed her hand away. The girl slowly let go, and Narita Brian, relieved, followed after him again.
"I'm sorry."
It was unclear whether Tahara was apologizing for what had happened just now or for what had happened in the past. But his quiet apology received no response from Shinji. Shinji had never been especially magnanimous. Calling him petty might be a bit much, but the word suited him far better than generous.
Without sparing Tahara even a glance, Shinji climbed up into the stands. Quite a few people there had already recognized him, and their eyes glittered with mockery.
Many of the people here were fans of Silence Suzuka, and the fans of other horse girls alike hardly held a good impression of the Shinji who had made such outrageous remarks during the interview.
Wild declarations were a privilege of the strong. Shinji's current record clearly did not support the things he had publicly said.
Shinji did not care. He simply walked quietly to the front row of the grandstands.
Then he lifted his gaze toward the elevated platform above the stands. He knew Rudolf Symboli was up there. The student council president would naturally not be standing among Rigil's group. Above being a member of Rigil, her primary identity was that of student council president.
That authority carried its own weight.
And Shinji truly wanted to see the expression Rudolf Symboli would make when that authority was shattered.
He had heard that Oguri Cap had once clashed unpleasantly with the student council when transferring from regional racing to the central league, but judging by the current relationship between Oguri Cap and Rudolf Symboli, that conflict must have been resolved in some way.
But the contradiction between us—I haven't forgotten it for even a moment.
Shinji withdrew his gaze. He could feel eyes from the high platform fixed upon him. He did not need to make any expression or gesture at all. Offside Trap's victory would speak more sharply than anything he himself could do.
His gaze turned toward the exit of the underground passage. Offside Trap would appear there before the crowd. What would await her then might be silence—or cheers meant for someone else.
Shinji lowered his eyelids halfway. He could not quite describe how he felt, only that it was not some uplifting emotion.
Beside him, Narita Brian, seeing his face darken, thought for a moment before speaking to comfort him. "It's okay. Sakura Bakushin and the others are here too—just up on the second level of the stands. You don't need to worry."
In truth, she also knew that the voices of only a few horse girls could never stir much of a wave in such an enormous venue.
She simply wanted to comfort this trainer, who did not seem all that happy. That was all.
…
Offside Trap walked through the underground passage and slowly reached its exit, where one horse girl was already standing bolt upright, ready to greet the upcoming entrance.
Silence Suzuka turned her head slightly to look at the horse girl who had arrived second only to herself.
Actually, the order in which they reached this point was rather interesting. It often represented the confidence of the horse girl and her team. Not every team was as rigorous as the Mejiros, insisting on squeezing every last second possible out of track observation time. Most teams let their horse girl come here to wait as soon as the necessary preparations were done, and the speed with which they arrived often reflected the level of confidence they carried.
Silence Suzuka, for example, had gotten here long before everyone else and had been waiting ever since.
"So it's you."
"Yeah."
Offside Trap answered softly. In the silent underground passage, no matter how carefully one spoke, every word echoed like a voice in the valley, lingering for a long time.
"Thank you."
Unlike the fans and racegoers outside, many of whom had already grown openly hostile toward Offside Trap, Silence Suzuka offered her thanks sincerely. After Offside Trap had warned her that day, she had immediately gone for an examination.
There had indeed been a slight problem in her leg, and the doctor had even praised her caution, complimenting her for, as a frontrunner who ran the great escape style, being conscious enough to take proper care of her body.
She loved running more than anything. In turn, the injuries that might hinder that running were something she was willing to prevent early if possible. Because of that, she had finally begun to truly notice this horse girl she had previously paid no mind to.
That Kyoto Daishoten, where Offside Trap had caught and overtaken Seiun Sky despite a poor start, had made Suzuka realize that this horse girl might genuinely possess the strength to threaten her.
"Even so, I'm going to give this race everything I have," Silence Suzuka said, a seriousness flashing in her eyes. "I'll be careful of you."
That seriousness was entirely different from her earlier attitude, when she had not put Offside Trap in her eyes at all. This was probably what people meant by "doing good and getting nothing for it." She had endured public criticism and the hatred of fans, only to ensure that her strongest opponent came in more fully prepared and had finally begun taking her strength seriously.
But at that moment, Offside Trap did not care. She simply nodded quietly.
A trace of apology appeared on Silence Suzuka's face, but after hesitating, she still said nothing. Thinking back now, Spica's behavior that day had indeed been somewhat excessive. It was just that Suzuka was not good at expressing such feelings, so in the end she stayed silent.
"Trainer looked terrifying today. I didn't even dare say anything."
"I'm going to challenge any horse girl running ahead of me to a duel!"
El Condor Pasa's voice and then Hishi Amazon's rang out one after another in the underground corridor. Offside Trap looked over to see Rigil's three horse girls approaching together.
Her gaze lingered longest on Air Groove. She disliked the way that girl looked at Shinji.
He was her trainer. Seeing Air Groove look at him with those eyes only made Offside Trap want to throw several lengths between them on the track and show her that without the strength to back it up, she had no right to look at her trainer with such disrespect.
Perhaps sensing the hostility in Offside Trap's eyes, Air Groove, whose gaze had just softened at El Condor Pasa's liveliness, suddenly hardened her expression again.
Horse girls who dared challenge the authority of the student council were nothing new to Air Groove.
But the undisputed queen of the regionals, later elevated to godhood at central level as well, was hardly someone a girl like the one before her could compare herself to.
Her gaze shifted to Silence Suzuka. The ever-quiet, ever-gentle horse girl made Air Groove wary, yet also filled her with pride. Japan had once again produced a horse girl capable of challenging the world.
Someone had to carry on the unfinished ambitions of the president. Until the newcomer in their own team was fully grown, Silence Suzuka was the obvious choice.
Unlike some people, who were trying to use their own horse girl to shake that inheritance.
Thinking bitterly, Air Groove brushed past Offside Trap together with the two younger members. El Condor Pasa had looked as though she wanted to greet Offside Trap, but one tug from Air Groove had kept the words trapped in her throat, leaving her only to glance in confusion at the senior who kept pulling her along.
"Senpai, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Oh."
Sensing the low pressure around Air Groove, El Condor Pasa immediately shut up.
More horse girls entered from the far end of the tunnel. Mejiro Bright came with Mejiro Ryan. Gold City came alone. Silent Hunter, who wanted to challenge Silence Suzuka's great escape, was there too. So was Nice Nature, egged on by Twin Turbo into coming to beat Offside Trap.
The highly popular Goyo Lawyer and Sunrise Flag entered as well. And among this group of horse girls, Offside Trap saw the girl who had once hurt her trainer.
[Negative Emotion +50]
Shinji, hearing the system prompt suddenly ring in his mind while seated in the stands, paused for a second. Then he gathered himself and shook his head with a faint smile.
He looked toward the giant screen, where the camera was focused on the exit of the underground tunnel. The track officials were already directing the girls inside to move out, and at the head of them all was Silence Suzuka.
The roar of the crowd erupted instantly—proof of support for the number one favorite in this race. Shinji folded his arms across his chest.
Because of the sheer number of strong contenders, Offside Trap had not even made it into the top ten in popularity for this race.
From the murmurs of people and horse girls around him, Shinji could hear their surprise. The Kyoto Daishoten had been enough to earn Offside Trap the evaluation of a horse girl who unquestionably possessed G1-level ability. Yet, for various reasons, her Kyoto Daishoten victory had somehow almost been twisted into the idea that she had merely picked up the pieces in a chaotic brawl among G1 girls who were not in top form—or that she had simply been lucky enough to hit the perfect track and race shape for her.
If that counted as "picking up scraps," then there would hardly be any race victories in the world that did not. When Shinji had first heard such talk, he had genuinely thought it sounded like some prank line fabricated for a comedy program. But in the end he could only sigh. Sometimes reality was far more absurd than fiction.
His eyes found the faint outline of Offside Trap behind Silence Suzuka. Shinji pressed his lips together and slowly exhaled the stale breath in his chest.
Come on, then. Let everyone see whether everything we said was empty talk or not.
Today's field, in order of popularity:
Silence Suzuka
Mejiro Bright
Air Groove
Goyo Lawyer
Gold City
Hishi Amazon
El Condor Pasa
Mejiro Ryan
Nice Nature
Sunrise Flag
Offside Trap
Advance Suzuka
Silent Hunter
Sanshōko
Takemasa Bōu
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
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin