The rain was falling harder and harder. Mud splashed all over the white over-the-knee socks, and even the short skirt had lost its original color beneath the curtain of rain.
Nishizaki Ryu looked worried. He glanced at Terazumi Shinji beside him, clearly wanting to speak, yet hesitating.
The day after the Takarazuka Kinen, and yet she was being put through training this intense. Even for a veteran trainer at Tracen Academy like Nishizaki Ryu, this was the first time he had ever seen something like it.
"You're not going to make her stop?"
His voice was nearly swallowed by the downpour. As expected, Nishizaki received no response. He could not tell whether Shinji truly had not heard him or was simply ignoring him, but he knew how stubborn his friend could be.
Just like the way Shinji's clothes were already completely soaked through—he could have chosen to stand beneath the same umbrella as Nishizaki.
"I really don't understand. Why are you so set on her?"
This time, Nishizaki was determined to make him talk. He raised his voice and shouted the question, fixing Shinji with a firm stare. At last, Shinji gave a helpless sigh, shifted his gaze, and met Nishizaki's eyes.
"I'm simply trusting my own judgment."
Terazumi Shinji had a very pleasant voice. That was what Tōjō Hana had once said—much to Nishizaki's annoyance. But he had no mood to dwell on that now.
He still remembered the beginning of the year. In order to pull Shinji out of the slump he had fallen into, Nishizaki had once asked him, in the largest training ground at Tracen Academy, which of all the horse girls before them would become the brightest star of that year.
It was not merely a question, but a subtle wager. Before Shinji could give his answer, Nishizaki had already given his own.
Silence Suzuka. That was Nishizaki's answer. He did not shy away from naming his own horse girl, because he understood Suzuka's potential better than anyone. Hers was a talent beyond anything the others on that field could rival, even if Silence Suzuka had accomplished nothing on the Classic route, even if she still lacked any major title win that could truly speak for itself.
Using Silence Suzuka as the benchmark, Nishizaki had assumed Shinji would choose some already famous older horse girl like Air Groove. That would have been the safest choice. At worst, he could have picked one of those about to enter the Classic route. That way, Shinji and Suzuka would not even be running on the same path, and Shinji could at least avoid outright defeat.
But the name Shinji gave was Offside Trap.
It was so unfamiliar that Nishizaki stared blankly for a long while, unable even to picture what she looked like. It was only after seeing Tōjō Hana's surprise and hearing her explanation that he learned the most basic details.
She was from the same generation as Narita Brian. She had suffered tendonitis three separate times. She was a horse girl who could barely even win graded races.
To Nishizaki, she was someone with absolutely no future.
"Suzuka is already a G1 horse girl now. She's won graded races back to back. And yet she's still struggling in the mire of trying to dominate at that level. As for her, forget placing in the Takarazuka Kinen—she couldn't even crack the top half of the field."
Nishizaki's voice carried a trace of anger. He felt Shinji was squandering his own talent. This young man, who had graduated as the second-best of his class among his peers, now looked as miserable as his rain-drenched figure—utterly drained of any drive in life.
"She listens to your coaching, sure. But she doesn't even want to become your horse girl."
The words came out sharp, driven by Nishizaki's irritation, and the moment he said them he regretted it.
He bit down on his lollipop, but stubbornly refused to avert his eyes. Maybe it was because Shinji's expression did not change in the slightest that Nishizaki felt as though his words had landed nowhere, which only made him angrier.
"Ever since Silence Suzuka transferred from me to Spica, I stopped acknowledging her."
Nishizaki's furious expression froze. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "A horse girl isn't some pet dog who can only wag her tail at one person. They need to choose their own future. They have to take responsibility for themselves."
"Responsibility?"
At last, Shinji's expression shifted. He looked at Nishizaki with a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile, making Nishizaki's face darken.
Fortunately, Shinji had no intention of dwelling on that subject any further. From a certain point of view, a trainer without even a single G1 to his name really had no place telling a G1 horse girl what she should or should not do.
"She recovered from her injury in April. She already showed clear improvement in the Takarazuka Kinen."
He was speaking in Offside Trap's defense. Nishizaki said nothing.
There were plenty of horse girls who improved. But strength was strength, and weakness was weakness.
The rain still poured. Nishizaki exhaled hard. By now, he had finally realized the difference between himself and the young man standing next to him. The rain had long since stolen away all warmth, and Nishizaki was already shivering from the cold. Yet Shinji, driven by the fire burning within him, stood there unconcerned, watching the horse girl on the track as her steps gradually slowed.
Offside Trap was walking toward the two trainers. Nishizaki finally let out a small breath of relief. If she did not come over soon, then out of sheer awkwardness at leaving first, he felt he would end up freezing to death right here.
What he failed to notice was that Shinji, whose face had remained calm all this time, had begun to frown slightly.
"I don't recall telling you to stop."
Only when Offside Trap had reached them did Shinji finally speak, making her pause in place.
She lifted her tired eyes. Heat rose from her body, turning into visible white vapor in the cold rain.
"I've already... run a lot of laps."
She had counted until the numbers blurred together. Her calves trembled violently. Offside Trap felt she had already reached her limit.
"But it's not enough."
Offside Trap glared bitterly at the man in front of her. If he had said even one gentle thing to her over the past two months, she would have agreed to become his horse girl ages ago.
A trainer who didn't understand a girl's heart didn't deserve to have a horse girl at all, she grumbled inwardly.
"Her tendonitis only just healed," Nishizaki cut in.
"But when you were saying just now that she was nowhere near as good as Silence Suzuka, I didn't see you showing her any sympathy then."
Nishizaki choked on the rebuttal, his face flushing red. He shot an awkward glance at Offside Trap. Seeing that she was looking at him too, he hurriedly turned his gaze away.
Offside Trap believed what Shinji said. But compared to that rising star, she really was nowhere close.
She stood quietly behind Shinji, like a prisoner awaiting judgment, seizing every second she could to steady her breathing. Two months of training had already taught her exactly how strict Terazumi Shinji was.
The scolding she had expected never came.
Instead, the rain above her head stopped first.
Offside Trap froze for a moment, then saw Nishizaki staring in disbelief at the umbrella now held over her head. He pointed at Shinji, then at himself, utterly speechless.
"Consider it compensation for talking badly about someone behind her back."
Without the slightest trace of embarrassment, Shinji pressed the umbrella handle into Offside Trap's hand.
"We're done for today. Tomorrow morning, five o'clock."
Offside Trap's eyes lit up. Her dazed thoughts instantly snapped back into focus. Just as she was about to react, the man before her had already given a casual wave and started walking away from the training grounds.
"Mr. Shinji."
Her clear voice rang through the heavy rain. Shinji stopped in his tracks.
"May I become your horse girl?"
Her gaze burned with expectation. The corner of Shinji's lips lifted, but as usual, he only raised a hand and gave her an "OK" gesture.
Nishizaki's muttered complaints behind him, and Offside Trap's expression, no longer mattered.
Shinji stared ahead at the layers upon layers of images unfolding before him like electronic screens. The sheer volume of information popping up made his eyes spin, but he had waited and worked for nearly a year for this very moment. He had more than enough patience now.
From choosing the right horse girl to slowly building a deeper bond with her, all of that effort had finally paid off. The voice in his ear announcing System officially activated sounded so beautiful that for a moment, Shinji nearly felt the urge to burst into laughter.
[Congratulations, Host, for completing the Horse Girl Contract mission.]
[Emotion Shop unlocked.]
[Beginner Gift Pack distributed.]
[Host Status Panel opened.]
[Horse Girl Status Panel opened.]
[…]
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
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 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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