Shinji Teruizumi looked at the girl standing before him. It was the same familiar face he had seen countless times before, yet at this moment it gave him a strangely unfamiliar feeling. He could not quite put it into words, but it felt as though that sharp, gnawing hunger from earlier had eased a little.
?
He very much wanted to ask what kind of effect that was, but his reason was still intact, so what came out instead was:
"What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?!"
Her tone was full of disbelief. Offside Trap stared at him with wide eyes, then pointed a trembling finger at King Halo.
"Then… had you already set aside tonight for her?"
"What do you mean, set aside?" Shinji rubbed his stomach as his hunger crept back. "We're going to eat. None of us has had dinner yet. Want to come?"
Offside Trap raked a hand through her hair. Every answer he gave seemed to push her closer to collapse.
It felt like evasion, and at the same time like complete indifference.
King Halo, who had been pointed at the whole time, was already annoyed. But now that she understood the question, she lifted her chin with a trace of pride.
"I couldn't get in touch with Trainer, so I waited here all afternoon and most of the evening. I didn't leave, and I didn't eat."
Shinji was completely lost. He did not understand what exactly King Halo thought she was explaining. In fact, he found it rather baffling that such a foolish thing had somehow become a point of pride for her.
Did Offside Trap's question even have anything to do with that?
Still, what surprised him more was that Offside Trap really did seem to be calming down. The way she looked at King Halo was anything but friendly, but for one brief moment, Shinji had the distinct feeling that she was thinking things through.
Offside Trap slowly lowered her hand. She understood what King Halo meant now. Shinji had told her yesterday that he planned to sleep the whole day through, while King Halo, not knowing that, had simply stood here waiting for him.
If she were the one made to stand here doing nothing but waiting for him to wake up, she knew perfectly well she would not have had that kind of patience.
She drew in a deep breath. The wariness in her heart only deepened. This junior who had supposedly joined the team just to pursue becoming first-rate clearly wanted far more than that.
Would any normal horse girl wait for her trainer like this without having other thoughts in mind?
What Offside Trap did not know was that King Halo, having effectively parted ways with her mother yesterday, had nowhere else to go today. This was the one place she had to be.
Otherwise, it would mean she had lied to her mother and betrayed her own idea of what it meant to be first-rate.
Shinji, meanwhile, understood nothing of the little schemes going on in the girls' heads. He merely yawned and looked at them both.
"Even though I still have no idea what's going on, can I go eat now?"
Grinding her teeth, Offside Trap wanted nothing more than to drag him straight back to his dorm room, but in the end she merely nodded.
"Can you take me with you?"
"You haven't eaten dinner either? Judging by how you look, if you did eat, you should probably go rest early instead. Don't end up sleep-deprived."
Shinji was genuinely surprised. There were all kinds of good food stalls around campus tonight. Aside from someone like King Halo, whose behavior could not really be judged by normal standards, any ordinary horse girl should have spent the evening happily sampling all sorts of food.
"I—!"
I don't look sleep-deprived at all. I just want to be with you!
[Negative Emotion +70]
"I already ate, but I wanted to watch with you…"
As she said that, Offside Trap glanced toward King Halo. The younger girl was making no effort to hide her intentions at all. Even without a word, Offside Trap could feel that determination radiating from her.
Annoyance rose again inside her. But now that all the misunderstandings had been cleared up—and now that she had realized she had wrongly accused Narita Brian and hurt her friend—Offside Trap continued:
"I want to watch the fireworks with you."
"Fireworks?"
He asked it almost reflexively. Every year, a fireworks display was held at this time, and King Halo had mentioned it earlier too. Shinji himself had little interest in it, but seeing the expectation in Offside Trap's eyes, and remembering her victory in the Arima Kinen, he decided to follow her wishes. Making her happy for once sounded nice.
"Then let's go. Halo wanted to see them too, so I'll go with you both."
The moment he agreed, delight broke across the faces of both girls—Offside Trap, who had just been grinding her teeth in frustration, and King Halo, who had waited for him half the day. One of the reasons they had come here tonight was precisely to watch the New Year fireworks with him.
Now that they had achieved that goal so easily, even Offside Trap, who had already eaten dinner, suddenly felt a little hungry.
After all, enjoying beautiful scenery was always easier on a full stomach.
Seeing the exact same expression on King Halo's face, Offside Trap pressed her lips together, took out her phone, and sent Narita Brian a message.
An apology was necessary. She had misunderstood her, and as a friend, she had hurt Brian. And now that the whole team was going, there was no way they could leave Narita Brian out.
Thinking that, her fingers hovered uncertainly over the screen. She could not figure out how to phrase it, and the dilemma left her quietly troubled.
Shinji knew nothing of this. With a broad wave of his hand, he had already started walking toward the academy gates.
If he had gone a whole day without eating, then they were absolutely getting something good. He might be willing to let his own tongue suffer, but as a trainer, he could not let his team members' taste buds be neglected.
"Ask Brian what's going on. I called her earlier and she didn't pick up. If she hasn't eaten, tell her to come join us. If she has, then we'll meet up at the fireworks."
Naturally, Shinji had no intention of leaving Narita Brian out. Hearing that only made Offside Trap feel more guilty.
Her trainer still did not know that it was that one missed phone call that had set off the little clash between herself and Brian.
She had been the one in the wrong.
Her face flushed red. In the night, it was hard to make out, and even under the streetlights, unless you looked closely, you would only catch her evasive expression.
Of course, Shinji was not looking closely at all.
The drowsiness that had clung to him finally vanished in the cool night wind. What had started as mere obligation—accompanying them to the fireworks—now actually seemed to carry a hint of anticipation.
Once upon a time, he had watched fireworks before. Back then, he had been full of longing, only to later realize that the wishes he had entrusted to those bright bursts had not come true. They had exploded in the night sky and dissolved into bubbles swallowed by the dark current of life.
But now…
He glanced at the two girls beside him, both wearing expressions full of anticipation. He had no idea what they were thinking, but he suspected they were thoughts of something beautiful.
He no longer hoped for the wishes he made beneath fireworks to become reality.
But perhaps, for these lovely girls… they still could.
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 139)
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 (Chapter171)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter100)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter184)
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 168
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 156
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 105
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 185
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 160
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 150
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 76
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 97
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 116
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 75
Uma Musume: I Want All 93
I Can Copy Unique Skills 79
Summoning an Evil God, but the 55
Supernatural Multiverse 75
My Harem Is Indescribable 68
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 70
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 69
Still playing traditional Honk 49
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 53
What Should I Do After Switchi 42
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 50
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 38
Transmigrated as Sukuna 35
Checking In in Demon Slayer 40
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 55
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