The strange silence in the stands inevitably unsettled the horse girls.
It planted a faint unease in all of them.
Offside Trap, however, felt nothing in particular. She moved quietly through the underground passage toward the tunnel leading up to the track, her eyes lifting to the sky where the rain still came down in torrents.
Under the leaden heavens, droplets still clung to the ends of her hair, but she paid them no mind. One hand brushed lightly along the wall at her side.
She thought back to that afternoon.
Back then, somewhere in this very corridor, she had finally lost control of the grief in her heart and broken down sobbing.
And now she would walk this same path again, on her way to decide what shape her future would take.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
No matter what sort of rapport Europe's elite had managed to build before the race, here and now they were all enemies to one another. So when Doremi stepped up beside Offside Trap, the European standard-bearer came alone, with no one following behind her.
"I truly believe you'll be our only real opponent in this race."
The words were in a language Offside Trap could not understand, and she turned to Doremi in confusion.
The silver-haired horse girl was tall, and though her face was usually calm, for some reason there was a trace of pride about her now.
Offside Trap knew Doremi was not that kind of horse girl.
Which was exactly why she understood that beneath this outward arrogance lay a form of respect reserved for her alone.
Truthfully, Offside Trap herself did not know whether she liked the European rivals more, or the girls of Central Tracen Academy.
But ever since these European horse girls had come to Japan, every one of them had treated her with respect and caution.
They truly regarded her as an opponent of the same class as themselves. Some of them even seemed to rate her slightly above their own level.
"My trainer said you aren't good on extremely heavy going. That really is a pity."
Though she knew Doremi would not understand her either, Offside Trap answered anyway. Her eyes were bright with battle-lust.
Before the race, Shinji had told her that no matter how ruined the course became, she would still be able to run her own race, show her strength, and defeat her opponents.
Offside Trap trusted her trainer without reservation.
With that, the last of her anxiety disappeared.
More footsteps gathered behind them.
Sekaishuu, who had promised to settle things with Offside Trap in the Japan Cup, skipped forward several steps and came to a stop right in front of her. Her wide, sparkling eyes made no attempt to hide her determination to win.
Offside Trap knew full well that determination alone could never decide a race.
If determination had been enough, she would have fulfilled her desperate wish to win a graded race long ago.
She lightly pushed Sekaishuu aside as the girl edged too close, then turned her gaze toward Air Groove, who had arrived together with El Condor Pasa.
The vice president of the student council was drying El's hair. The younger girl seemed to be running a slight fever, her face flushed red. As for Air Groove, there was nothing left of the confidence and sharp pride she had worn before the Autumn Tenno Sho. The bloodshot eyes alone were enough to show how poor her condition was.
"Good luck..."
Air Groove spoke in a low voice the instant Offside Trap's eyes met hers.
Offside Trap merely inclined her head, offering not even a word in reply.
After the Autumn Tenno Sho, the vice president had remained proud and aloof, while the deeply shaken girl had been the one crushed by the aftermath.
Now their roles had reversed.
Air Groove had been worn down into something almost humble, while Offside Trap had gathered about herself an indescribable aura.
Air Groove knew that too.
So when all she received was a slight nod, she lowered her head, lonely and disappointed.
Perhaps somewhere deep down, she still felt anger when Offside Trap treated her like this.
But when she thought of what this race meant, she also had to admit something she hated:
she wanted Offside Trap to win more than anything.
Because she herself did not even have the courage to believe she could.
Offside Trap's gaze moved on.
The two Mejiro runners smiled at her with open friendliness, and Mejiro Bright, who had left a good impression on her before, even looked as though she wanted to strike up a conversation.
Half-lidding her eyes, Offside Trap walked past them first and stopped in front of Narita Brian.
In Brian's eyes there was still confusion.
Ever since that afternoon, she had begun losing sight of who the people around her truly were.
And now, she needed to set out again and find her own answer.
"How prepared are you?"
Offside Trap's voice was slightly hoarse. Under this oppressive weather, it carried an especially strong sense of pressure.
At Narita Brian's side, Special Week instinctively edged back two steps.
Offside Trap did not consider herself a particularly grudge-holding horse girl, but she remembered the one with the bright streak in her forelock.
Back then, when she had stood before Silence Suzuka, she had looked at Offside Trap with naked hostility and suspicion.
"Not very."
Narita Brian answered honestly.
She had gone a long time without formal pacing support in training, and the routines she followed under Toka Hana's management could hardly be called meticulous anymore.
That trainer's energy was now focused mainly on the newer generation of runners.
Narita Brian herself was like a small boat adrift upon a vast sea, left to drift wherever the currents took her.
Offside Trap fell silent.
She knew Narita Brian's situation well, yet she had no idea how she ought to comfort her.
Because they were of the same generation, she understood just how fierce Narita Brian's desire to win was, how completely devoted she remained to running.
And because Narita Brian was also her friend, she knew the girl still had not given up. She still wanted to win one more G1.
"This time, run with absolute focus. The opposition is strong. Japan's hopes are depending on you..."
"Mm."
Offside Trap acknowledged it without feeling.
What mattered more to her were her own dream and her own victory.
And the man's dream, too. His gaze.
She wanted him to see her cross the finish line first.
The thunderous cheers filling the course would not be because she was carrying out someone else's convictions, or fulfilling someone else's dream. Not because she wanted to vindicate herself, or prove something to the world.
They would be her gift to the person she loved most.
His old confusion and pain. His years of wandering and hardship.
She wanted to tell him that all of that was over now.
That a beautiful new future would come to them, step by step, on the road they walked together.
Turning away, Offside Trap met Doremi's eyes again.
Ever since entering the underground passage, Doremi's gaze had never once left her.
This silver-haired horse girl, one of the few in the world worthy of contending for the title of the strongest silver-maned runner alive, pressed all the momentum and bearing she had forged through repeated victories on the world stage straight toward Offside Trap.
But Offside Trap did not waver in the slightest.
She might not yet have forged the kind of presence that could shake people's hearts with sheer force alone.
But once she had lived through those silent grandstands, no one in this world except him could ever again make her feel suffocated or despairing.
A race official in a raincoat shouted something from outside.
The downpour shredded the sound into nothing.
Still, Offside Trap knew what he meant.
She stepped forward and walked out.
Doremi did not fight for the right to go out first. She simply watched in silence as the girl passed in front of her without ever looking back, darkened hair whipping behind her in the rain before vanishing from sight.
Sekaishuu hurried after her at once.
Doremi let out a quiet sigh.
The impatience of her juniors only deepened the sense of danger that had been haunting her ever since the heavy rain began before race day.
This race, which they had all but sealed shut, seemed now to contain a crack.
And even she, Doremi, had no way to mend it.
Come on, Offside Trap...
The memory of the course took shape in her mind again.
The feel of the path beneath their feet only moments ago was still vivid.
Let me see where your strength truly stands.
On the world stage... what level are you really at?
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 126)
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 (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
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 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
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 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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