The morning light had yet to appear.
Wrapped in a down jacket, Teruizumi Shinji stood alone on the training grounds. He had gone to bed a little too late the night before, and the lack of sleep left him somewhat sluggish now.
But when it came to his girls' training, Shinji had always demanded that he arrive before any of them. So by four in the morning, the man was already out on the field, standing in the freezing predawn wind.
As the time crept closer to four-thirty, Saintly Halo was the first to appear.
He had heard before that she was extremely strict about punctuality. If someone arranged to meet her at a certain time, she might show up a whole hour early. Yet under the harsh schedule Shinji had now set for her, she had only arrived ten minutes in advance.
The wind lifted her bangs. She had clearly put effort into her appearance. It was simple, but from her neat face and perfectly arranged hair, it was obvious she had taken care. Shinji nodded at the sight and immediately decided that next time, he would make her training time even earlier and see where her limits really lay.
After all, a girl who dreamed of becoming first-rate and surpassing her mother ought to be incapable of refusing one-on-one guidance from her trainer.
With that thought in mind, Saintly Halo came to a stop in front of him.
Her bright eyes were filled with surprise and admiration. The instant she stepped onto the training grounds, the image of the man standing there straight-backed and waiting had been burned into her mind. All it did was make her feel even luckier that she had truly found a trainer who was both capable and deeply responsible.
The second to arrive was Overrun Trap.
Having learned her lesson from prior punishments, she showed up with only five minutes to spare. From the look of things, last night's "team bonding" had produced absolutely no effect whatsoever. Judging by Saintly Halo's empty stomach, Overrun Trap had clearly failed to mention that the cafeteria opened precisely at four-thirty in the morning. Neither of the newcomers could possibly have made breakfast.
Noticing the crumbs of dried meat floss at the corner of Overrun Trap's mouth, Shinji guessed she had stuffed down a bun on her own and shrugged.
Of the three partner horse girls, hers was by far the hardest training plan. As long as she had eaten breakfast, that was enough.
After all, the Warlord bond effect meant that for Overrun Trap, all that really mattered was the numerical rise of her stats. She did not need to worry about many of the side details others did.
The numbers would speak for her.
Saintly Halo noticed the crumbs too, and anger instantly flared in her eyes. If she had not already seen that Overrun Trap truly paid no attention to anything except training before and after sessions, she might have suspected the girl had deliberately left the evidence there just to provoke her.
Because she really would get angry over something like that.
[Negative Emotion +50]
[Negative Emotion +20]
Just from them meeting, the energy was already coming in. Shinji felt this trainer life was simply too blissful; he nearly wanted to wave a flag and shout for more.
Seeing Overrun Trap's openly smug expression, he found her undisguised emotions rather adorable.
"There's still a bit of meat floss at the corner of your mouth."
"Is there?"
Overrun Trap immediately stuck out her tongue and tried to lick it away. The soft little tongue brushed lightly over the spot. She wore such an innocent face, yet the gesture somehow carried a touch of charm, enough to leave Narita Brian—who had just arrived—completely stunned.
Saintly Halo was equally shocked, her lips parting slightly. It was the kind of thing she would never be able to do.
What a scheming little thing.
[Negative Emotion +20]
Where did you even learn that, Little Over?
The two newest partner horse girls each had their own thoughts, but Overrun Trap only looked at Shinji with expectant eyes. Sakura Chiyono O had taught her the trick at the last minute that morning. She had no idea whether it would work, but since her roommate had read so many books, she was willing to trust her.
"It's still a little—"
"I brought tissues, Little Over."
"…?"
Overrun Trap watched as Brian suddenly stepped in front of her and handed over a tissue, placing herself squarely between her and Shinji. The vice-president's face looked perfectly innocent as she offered it, politely telling her to wipe her mouth. Overrun Trap stared blankly.
[Negative Emotion +40]
"Thanks!"
Her tone carried something almost mournful. Brian wondered if she had imagined it. Then she turned back toward Shinji, only to find the man staring at her with unsettling excitement. Startled, she instinctively crossed her arms over herself.
"Wh… what is it, Shinji?"
"Nothing."
The grin on his face widened, and Brian felt a bad premonition crawl up her spine.
"You're late."
Looking at the time—just past four-thirty-one—Brian thought the man might be a little too exacting. But remembering that he was currently her only hope, she still nodded.
"If you're late, there's punishment."
"Understood."
She answered boldly. Brian had never feared training. In her prime, her training load had been immense, and she had endured it all.
With her willpower alone—
…
"I… I can't…"
"Don't talk!"
The man's roar cut off everything else she wanted to say.
"You still have the strength to talk? Then get yourself up there again!"
Brian's face was bright red. But her arms, already limp and useless, refused to lift her above the bar again.
The miserable state of a Triple Crown winner was a spectacle Saintly Halo had never imagined she would witness. Dust coated Brian's face. Off to the side, Saintly Halo was carefully wiping grit from the corners of her own eyes to keep it from getting in. Brian, meanwhile, was straining with all she had.
"If you drop, I'm adding another five hundred today."
"H-how many?"
[Negative Emotion +10]
Brian suspected she had misheard. Her arms shook violently, and just hanging there already taxed her to the limit.
Shinji ignored the reaction. Having laid out his demand, he turned back to Saintly Halo. He should have taken her to the pool, since she disliked endurance training so much, but in the interests of breaking some of her spoiled habits, he had instead assigned her tire-dragging.
The huge tire that Overrun Trap had once hauled around countless times now had Saintly Halo drenched in sweat.
"What are you waiting for? The two minutes were up ages ago!"
[Negative Emotion +30]
Saintly Halo drew a deep breath and stood again. Overrun Trap ran past nearby once more. Saintly Halo no longer had the spare energy this morning to count how many laps she had already done.
All she knew was that the girl never seemed to stop. Every so often, she would flash past again.
"Keep dragging the tire around the field. The important thing isn't whether the tire moves or not. What matters is whether you're maintaining even force and activating your whole body."
As he spoke, Shinji pointed to his eyes.
"Don't imagine you can fool me. One glance is enough for me to tell whether you're really doing this properly."
Saintly Halo gritted her teeth and nodded. Earlier, there had been a moment when her footing slipped and she lost her base, forcing her to reset. Shinji had barked at her instantly.
The man's eyes were frighteningly sharp. Just from her posture and condition, he could tell whether she was applying force correctly. Whenever she grew impatient and resorted to brute strength, he would correct her within seconds.
The irritation in her chest deepened. Training that demanded she patiently sustain effort over a long period was precisely the kind that tortured her most. She had inherited her temperament from her mother; the impatience in her nature made this sort of drawn-out exercise especially painful.
But under Shinji's iron authority, all she could do was endure.
Watching Saintly Halo start again, Shinji slowly walked over and leaned against the railing. The huge tire blocked part of his line of sight, but the constant flickering increases in Saintly Halo's stamina and intelligence on her status panel let him monitor her condition at all times.
"Rein it in a little! You're using brute force again!"
"Yes!"
"Yes my ass. You keep saying yes and then making the exact same mistake. Where has everything I told you gone?"
"Didn't I tell you? Pay attention to detail. Detail. Detail. Right now you're far too rough. No wonder you lost to Seiun Sky and Special Week."
"…!"
[Negative Emotion +30]
Even though the tire had nearly stopped moving, Saintly Halo's stamina and intelligence were still climbing, and Shinji's lips curled up in satisfaction. Then he turned back to Brian.
Because of the lingering instability in her legs, he had increased the load on her upper body. At the very least, she could start there.
"Still not recovered? Can't even do one anymore?"
"…!"
"I'm talking to you."
"If you can still talk, then you can still do it. Come on. Seventeen left."
"…!"
[Negative Emotion +25]
Brian wanted to jump down, pounce on Shinji, and bite him. Every word out of his mouth was a trap. One careless response and she was finished.
"Ahhh!"
Knowing that if she hung there any longer, not only would her strength fail to recover, she would also waste more of it, Brian let out a hoarse shout and forced her already screaming arms to move.
Her body slowly rose.
Only then did Shinji nod in satisfaction.
Brian's training today looked far too soft. Shinji did not know exactly what she had been like at her peak, but he knew one thing for certain: if she wanted to climb back there, she absolutely could not remain like this.
He was deliberately provoking the fierceness still buried in her heart, trying to drag out the force and sharpness that once belonged to Narita Brian—
the things she should have had, but which had gradually been worn away by student council duties and life inside her old team.
Watching all three girls' stat panels rise, feeling each of their needed qualities being stimulated and improved under his training, Shinji's heart grew lighter and lighter, fuller and fuller.
At first, he had worried he would not be able to oversee all three of them at once. Judging from today, though, perhaps he really did have some talent for it after all.
His mood soared, and his voice only grew louder.
"Little Over, no slowing down! Keep it steady!"
"Don't think I can't see you just because you're farther away. Put your back into it!"
[Negative Emotion +5]
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 138)
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 (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
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 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
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 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
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