Watching Offside Trap stubbornly keep her face turned away from him, Teruizumi Shinji let out a helpless sigh and took the initiative to walk over to her.
The moment she noticed him approaching, the girl did not dodge him. Instead, every time he stepped around to face her directly, she simply turned in another direction.
"What exactly happened today?" Shinji asked. "If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know?"
"Then you can guess."
"?"
Shinji took a deep breath, feeling the irritation he had only just managed to suppress starting to rise again because of her.
Forcing his expression to remain as gentle as possible, he said, "I'm not going to guess. What matters is that you keep your mood stable. I've already entered you in the Arima Kinen."
"Oh."
Offside Trap sniffed.
Her trainer was always like this. His heart and mind were always fixed on training and racing. Even with how obvious she was being, he still did not say a single soothing word to her, only talking about keeping her condition steady and making plans for upcoming races.
Not far from Offside Trap, Saint Halo was also looking at her with unconcealed envy.
During the morning training session, before Offside Trap had arrived, she had already experienced firsthand just how brutal Teruizumi Shinji's methods were. The relentless pressure, the unbroken pace—if not for the last thread of determination holding her up, she would already have collapsed onto the ground.
It's fine, Saint Halo. She's Mr. Shinji's first trainee, after all. It's only natural he'd be more patient with her.
With difficulty, Saint Halo dragged her gaze away.
And besides… hadn't she already gotten used to this kind of difference in treatment a long time ago?
[Negative Emotion +50]
[Negative Emotion +60]
The notifications from two different horse girls made Shinji rub at his temples.
His head hurt.
Still, no matter how he looked at it, his emotional energy reserves were rising at an obvious rate. Glancing at the amount that had accumulated, Shinji made up his mind to兑换 Perfect Recovery later. It would finally solve one of the worries that had long weighed on him when it came to Offside Trap.
He took Offside Trap by the arm and led her over to Saint Halo. Though the girl was unwilling, she did not throw a tantrum or refuse to follow.
"You should get to know each other first," he said. "From now on, you'll be teammates."
The two horse girls reacted in completely different ways.
Offside Trap's eyes flickered as she gave Saint Halo a deeply unwilling nod.
Saint Halo, on the other hand, greeted her properly—but what filled her mind was the look Offside Trap had given her during that very first mock race.
That look that had made no effort to hide how badly she had wanted Saint Halo to fail the test.
Saint Halo quietly clenched her fist.
Seeing the way the two of them were clearly failing to see eye to eye, Shinji's expression gradually turned serious. In the future, they would likely race together in the Dream Trophy League. For their relationship to already be this bad was hardly a promising beginning.
Maybe this would just take time.
[Who knows?]
The system's gloating voice made Shinji roll his eyes. He had no interest in paying attention to it when it was behaving like this.
"This morning's training ends here," he told Saint Halo. "Later, I'll send you everything you need to pay attention to outside training—your diet adjustments, the rest of your maintenance schedule, and so on."
It was exactly the same treatment Offside Trap had once received.
Offside Trap shot Saint Halo a long look. The flickering fire in her eyes made Saint Halo's own face darken.
Shinji, meanwhile, failed entirely to notice the silent confrontation taking place between the two girls. He looked at Saint Halo and continued in an even tone.
"As for your race schedule, I saw that you had already registered for the Arima Kinen. I checked the popularity rankings, and your ranking was high enough to get you in. But I canceled it for you."
Saint Halo's eyes flew wide open.
The exhaustion in her body vanished in an instant, replaced by shock. She stared at Teruizumi Shinji, waiting for an explanation.
But none came.
Unlike her mother, who would always bark impatiently at her after making decisions on her behalf, the man in front of her simply looked at her calmly. Only after she slowly lowered her head in obedience did he finally continue, still keeping his gaze on her.
"Next year is your stage. At your current rate of adjustment, there's no point at all in you running in this year's Arima Kinen."
Saint Halo accepted his judgment.
She understood herself. After everything she had been through recently, there really was no way she could immediately return to competitive form. A great deal of the training Shinji had already introduced her to was utterly new to her—things she never could have encountered when she had been struggling on her own.
Shinji then turned to Offside Trap. The girl already knew about her plan to challenge the Autumn Triple Crown, so she looked at him curiously, wondering what else he meant to say to her.
"As for Little Yue, for next year's overseas campaign, I've set your first stop in Dubai. The Dubai Sheema Classic will be your opening race of the season."
Offside Trap nodded, only half understanding.
Not that much time had passed between her rise and the present. Though she had begun to adapt domestically to the change in her status, before her gaze had fully turned toward the world beyond Japan, her knowledge of those international races was still very limited.
But Shinji was not worried.
There was a reason he had chosen Dubai as her first overseas target. He wanted her to adapt gradually to different kinds of turf. Japanese tracks, after all, were rather extreme in their own way, and he felt that throwing her straight into a totally different environment all at once would not be a very good decision.
Thinking that, he called up the system and bought Perfect Recovery for Offside Trap.
Then, after spending a little emotional energy on a big bag of system-produced candy beans, he handed one to her.
"Eat it."
Hearing that it was medicine with a major effect on her legs, Saint Halo tilted her head slightly, as if recalling some unpleasant rumors she had once heard about certain secret treatments in America. Her expression grew faintly strange.
Offside Trap, however, did not hesitate in the slightest. She swallowed the sweet little pill immediately.
She really did not understand why the better the medicine other horse girls used, the more disgusting it tended to taste—whereas everything that came from her trainer was weirdly delicious.
At once, a lightness spread through her legs.
The slight sluggishness and stiffness that had been there before suddenly seemed to ease, and as the seconds passed, that sensation only became stronger and stronger.
Offside Trap's eyes shone with delight.
To be honest, she had not even been paying that much attention at first. Common sense said medicine could not possibly act this quickly. Yet once again, the things her trainer gave her worked with immediate effect.
Saint Halo seemed to notice the change as well. Offside Trap's expression had clearly turned comfortable, and the restless urge in her legs to move was enough to show that the feeling must be intensely pleasant.
That only made Saint Halo even more curious. Most Japanese trainers could already be called exceptional if they were capable in training alone—so why did Teruizumi Shinji seem so outstanding in every possible aspect of being a trainer?
[Speed +40, Power +20, Grit +30, Stamina +60, Wisdom +60, Wisdom Cap +40]
When the effects of Perfect Recovery ended, the system notification gave Shinji an unexpected delight. The moment every injury and hidden problem in Offside Trap's body had been completely healed, the places where she had once been constrained were all released at once.
"How does it feel?"
"So good!"
Then it had worked.
Shinji smiled and patted Offside Trap on the head.
The girl who had been sulking just moments ago now rubbed contentedly against his palm, her eyes shining with joy. That sight made the corner of Shinji's mouth lift.
Saint Halo wanted that too.
But she said nothing.
Watching the two of them together in such easy harmony, she silently strengthened her resolve.
She would work even harder. Focus even more. Earn Mr. Shinji's approval.
Taking a deep breath, Saint Halo fixed her eyes firmly on the man who had not spared her even the slightest bit of that warmth or praise.
She would make him turn that approving, gentle gaze toward her too.
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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