Watching Offside Trap still running across the field, King Halo found it harder and harder to keep her rhythm as she chased from behind. After one unsteady stumble, she was suddenly sent flying sideways. The girl clearly could not accept what had just happened; she slammed her fist against the ground in frustration, but that still could not stop the horse girl ahead of her from widening the gap at terrifying speed.
And this was only Offside Trap's first lap after a "light" warm-up.
Before that, she had already completed two full 2500-meter training runs.
Dongjou Hana silently lowered her binoculars. From a certain angle, she too wanted to smash her fist against the railing in front of her, just as King Halo had done. But with her trainees standing beside her, she forcibly restrained the impulse.
She did not want to burden them with too much pressure. No matter what, she had to remain composed, so that her horse girls would not lose their nerve.
Turning back, Dongjou Hana's gaze fell first on Air Groove.
For Air Groove, this final performance in the Shining Series was of immense significance. Even if her ability and aptitude seemed somewhat strained for this race, Dongjou Hana had still put together several targeted training plans for her recently, hoping to help her show something on the Arima Kinen stage.
But seeing the yearning in Air Groove's eyes as she watched the field, Dongjou Hana knew that her trainee had probably already lost the spirit to defeat Offside Trap.
She had accepted that she simply could not possess Offside Trap's kind of strength. That was why she wore that look.
After steadying herself, Dongjou Hana turned her eyes toward Grass Wonder.
This was a trainee who had finally, at long last, fully recovered from injury. Nearly a year of talent had been wasted, and even Dongjou Hana found that deeply regrettable. Now, however, Grass Wonder could finally throw herself fully into a race again.
Unlike her close friend El Condor Pasa, Dongjou Hana knew very well that this girl had a delicate heart. All the noise after the Mainichi Okan had affected her to some extent.
Grass Wonder was the kind of horse girl who would doubt herself—but Dongjou Hana also knew that once she did, she would only work even harder to prove herself.
"How does it feel?"
She asked softly.
Grass Wonder looked at her in surprise. She knew her own trainer well, and Dongjou Hana's faintly unusual tone did not escape her.
"She really is just as strong as ever!"
It was El Condor Pasa who answered first.
Of the horse girls who had come with Dongjou Hana today, aside from Air Groove and Grass Wonder, who were both set to compete, only El Condor Pasa had tagged along—as inseparable from Grass Wonder as ever. Though she had failed to show her strongest side in the Japan Cup, she had adjusted quickly. She was convinced that on a course that suited her, she could still fight Offside Trap head-on.
After all, lately, she had improved a great deal.
Dongjou Hana ignored El Condor Pasa's remark, mostly because it contained nothing of any substance. Instead, she focused intently on Grass Wonder's eyes, trying to read something from them.
But Grass Wonder hid it well.
Those clear eyes—so calm and gentle, as always—held only a quiet softness, like drifting clouds.
"She's very strong," Grass Wonder said in a crisp, steady voice, "but no matter what, I'll still try to beat her."
Dongjou Hana's gaze softened.
In this trainee of hers, she saw that same unwavering refusal to bow. Grass Wonder had not recoiled simply because Offside Trap had displayed overwhelming strength. She had always been the kind of horse girl who advanced against the odds.
Dongjou Hana looked back toward the field.
This time, however, she no longer watched Offside Trap's training.
No matter how many times she observed the way Teruizumi Shinji coached her, she simply could not make heads or tails of it. That endless repetition of running was scarcely any different from brutal, inhuman training. Sometimes Dongjou Hana genuinely wanted to ask him what exactly he had learned in the past, for him to coach his trainee in such a primitive way.
Narita Brian was sitting beside Shinji, not participating in this round of training.
Dongjou Hana had no idea what kind of training plan Shinji intended to design for her, but from what she could see now, Narita Brian seemed to need some rest first.
"Before… was there anything wrong with Brian?" Dongjou Hana asked uncertainly. "An injury, maybe?"
A pang of shame rose in her heart. Narita Brian's body seemed to be carrying some problem, and yet she, as her trainer, had not even noticed.
"Her leg issue never fully healed," Air Groove answered clearly. "It should still be the same old problem—leg instability."
Dongjou Hana said nothing.
For a moment, she did not even dare look toward Narita Brian, even though the horse girl could not see her and would never know she was being watched.
She turned her face aside instead, only to spot Mejiro Takamine on the opposite side of the stands. This time, two of the Mejiro family's current main Shining Series runners were competing in the Arima Kinen, so their purpose here was obvious enough. Just like Dongjou Hana, they had come to gather data.
But judging by the headache plainly written across Mejiro Takamine's face, Dongjou Hana suspected the other woman had discovered the same thing she had:
Offside Trap was monstrously difficult to deal with.
Her overall ability was too outrageous.
Whether it was stamina or burst power, base pace or how long she could sustain a finishing drive, everything about her gave the impression of being flawless. Dongjou Hana found her maddeningly hard to approach.
She wanted to devise some tactical setup, to see whether Offside Trap could be boxed in.
But Offside Trap's positioning sense and raw power meant that Grass Wonder alone—perhaps even Grass Wonder and Air Groove together—would not be enough to trap her.
Dongjou Hana swept her gaze around the training ground.
Though it was unquestionably one of the more remote grounds on campus, quite a few people had gathered around it, especially the horse girls scheduled to run in the Arima Kinen. With only a quick glance, she picked out Matikanefukukitaru, Stay Gold, and Yūyō Lawyer among them.
So they're all wary of Offside Trap too…
That sudden thought sparked something in her mind.
A shift in formation was never the movement of one horse girl alone—it was always the movement of the whole pack.
If one or two runners could be used to influence the overall positioning of the field behind them, and if one also took into account the tendencies of all the entrants, then perhaps it really would be possible to artificially create a pocket.
And at Nakayama, the homestretch was short.
If Offside Trap could truly be trapped inside one, there might actually be a chance.
At last, Dongjou Hana had found a possible breakthrough—though far from a guaranteed one.
She decided she needed to go back and study it carefully, to determine whether there was any real way to contain Offside Trap.
Out on the field, as the people and horse girls surrounding the ground gradually started to drift away, Shinji finally called a halt to Offside Trap's training.
The sweat on the girl's face said more than enough about her effort, while the constantly rising numbers on her panel proved that none of that effort had gone to waste.
Shinji was pleased.
In a world without visible progress bars, it was no small thing for a horse girl to keep enduring such absurd training for so long.
All the hardships of her past had truly become one of the most important teachers in her life.
"Halo!"
He did not hurry to comment on Offside Trap's situation. In truth, there was hardly any need. The properties of the Vassal Lord rune bond already made one thing clear:
When it came to training, there was no need to fuss over too many details.
Whatever raised her stats the most—that was the right answer.
And after all this time, Shinji and Offside Trap had already fully synchronized around that fact.
"Your breathing."
"There's no way around it—you have to pay attention to your breathing. Don't let your breathing pattern fall apart, or you'll never catch up to Little Over!"
Two bursts of negative emotion flared at the same time.
Faced with both girls exploding at once, Shinji could only say this was the sort of process that was painful… though perhaps not entirely painful, and maybe even somewhat enjoyable.
Using Little Over as the benchmark to pressure Halo—yes, he understood perfectly why King Halo would erupt with resentment over that.
But Little Over?
Did being used as the positive example make her happy?
Why do you need her to catch up to me? Why can't I just stay forever as your closest, strongest, only truly dependable trainee?
Offside Trap was already crying dramatically in her heart, though outwardly she only pouted and looked displeased.
Shinji took it as silent smugness.
"Your breathing drives your stride. Breathing and footsteps are synchronized. So why do you always instinctively focus on managing your steps? At your current stage, your understanding of cardio-respiratory coordination is far too poor. Of course we all know that increasing stride length and stride frequency can sharply boost your speed. But the most important thing is still your breathing."
"If you can determine your stride rhythm through your breathing, then you can constantly confirm your own state. Compared to splitting your attention just to manage your legs, breathing is much better at linking your whole body into one system."
Shinji's explanation was careful and detailed.
Offside Trap became even more unhappy listening to it.
It felt like something she cherished dearly was being slowly stolen right before her eyes. The things she had once been taught, her trainer was now patiently teaching to another horse girl, and she hated it.
Shinji and King Halo paid her no mind.
The former was teaching seriously.
The latter was listening just as seriously.
"How much reserve does your heart-lung function still have while you're sustaining pace? At what point should you begin holding something back? All of that can be learned through your breathing. Then you combine that with the actual state of the race and determine your next move accordingly."
"Every decision in a race has logic behind it. You don't act just because some feeling suddenly wells up inside you. In training, every detail must be done properly, precisely, and to a high standard. You cannot simply dump all your energy into the task and hope that works. Only then will you be able to do things correctly in a race as well."
King Halo nodded.
She knew Shinji was absolutely right.
There really were times when she acted on impulse—sometimes because she wanted victory, sometimes because she wanted to catch someone, sometimes for some other reason—and let her attention drift toward things it had no business focusing on.
For example, just now, wanting to hold the gap to Offside Trap, she had abruptly lengthened her stride and thrown her entire rhythm into chaos. That was why she had fallen.
"Training isn't something accomplished in a day. It's gradual. At your current level, no matter how exquisite your physical control or tactics might be, you still cannot beat Little Over. The gap between you means you simply cannot catch her."
"So during simulation training, you must focus on yourself. You need to improve your efficiency. Otherwise your progress will be slow, and you'll end up feeling like you're working very hard but getting nowhere."
King Halo took a deep breath.
Some of what Shinji said stung, but because his words were both serious and truthful, she forced herself to adjust her emotions at once.
The more she trained under him, the more certain she became that she absolutely could not let go of this man.
In Japan, there would not be another trainer as capable as him who would also invest himself in her this seriously.
"As for Little Over…"
Shinji glanced around the training ground. It had finally emptied out; the prying eyes were gone. He shrugged.
"Just relax. You're going to win. I've always believed in you."
As he said that, he met Offside Trap's bright, gleaming eyes, full of barely hidden joy.
"You see them?"
"They all came here to watch you."
"They're afraid—because of you…"
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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