Shinji Terumi woke up exactly when he always did.
His daytime naps never lasted very long; they were only meant to help him recover a bit of energy. The room was unexpectedly dark, and for a moment, he froze in confusion. He did not think he could possibly have slept that long—long enough for it to already be dark outside.
He hurried to sit up, only to feel a heavy weight pressing against him, which made him let out a helpless laugh.
Honestly… his desire to stay in bed must have been pretty strong if the blanket alone felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Fine, then. He would indulge himself just this once and lie there a little longer.
With that thought, his mind wandered to Offside Trap's upcoming Coronation Cup. Since there was still a bit of time left, he might as well raise the girl's capabilities a little more.
"System, pull up Little Trap's current panel for me."
[Trainee Horse Girl: Offside Trap]
Condition: ExcellentPopularity: 3,795,043
System Blessing (1 random activation remaining):(Rainbow) Mother of All Under Heaven(For every Dominion Lord rune, all stat caps increase by 10%; you may choose one non-Dominion Lord synergy and add +2 to its count.)
PT Points (usable only for buying skills): 101Attribute Points: 94
Five Stats:Speed 1652+58 (1940)Stamina 1289+61 (1852)Power 1467+28 (2030)Guts 1591+36 (2264)Wisdom 821+11 (2026)
Running Style Aptitude:Front Runner E / Pace Chaser S / Betweener B / Closer D
Distance Aptitude: 1600m–2400mTrack Aptitude: Turf A / Dirt D
Skills:Unyielding Wings That Long for the Deep Sky (Unique) Lv.4Full Power (Gold)Level One Counterclockwise (Green)Lightning Step (Yellow) [Mid-distance]Straightaway Adept (Yellow)Unshaken in Crisis (Blue)Race Planner (Gold/Blue) {Pace Chaser}Single-Minded Focus (Gold)Fan Favorite Dancer (Gold)
Field: Unawakened
Runes:(Dominion Lord)(Earthwarden) Otherworldly Flowing ShadowSpeed +10, Stamina +2, Inspiration +17
(Personal Driver)(Dominion Lord) Variable Gear SupercarSpeed +9, Guts +8, Willpower +6
(Battle Maniac)(Dominion Lord) Duel MasterSpeed +4, Power +1, Guts +10
(Dominion Lord)(Abyssal Bard) Mockery of PreservationGuts +10, Stamina +9, Willpower +7
(Dominion Lord)(Earthwarden) Deep Sea ReverieSpeed +8, Guts +8, Wisdom +4
Noble Crest Rune EmblemSpeed +7, Power +7, Wisdom +7
Dominion Lord (5):The horse girl's five core stats gain a lower-bound lock and can no longer decrease in reality; any stat gains acquired in reality by any means receive a 30% bonus; all five stat caps increase by 50%; during races, all stat-boosting effects gain an additional 5% effectiveness.
Noble (1):All stats +5%; able to adapt to any race pace and bring out the vast majority of her full ability. (Not activated)
Earthwarden (2+2):Each Earthwarden rune, and every point in another synergy, grants +5% track aptitude correction and +5 Power, +5 Stamina, +5 Guts.
Battle Maniac (1)Personal Driver (1)
Special Status: None
Equipped Items:Spring-Loaded Horseshoes (Horse girl's Power and Speed +20)Lighttone Hollow Ring (Horse girl's Guts or Stamina +50) (currently Stamina)
More suited to Power and Guts training.
Looking over the increasingly luxurious panel, Shinji saw that aside from Intelligence—which he had never paid much attention to—Offside Trap's other four stats had all risen tremendously. This was the overwhelming strength of a fully activated Dominion Lord synergy. It also made him look forward even more to what Saint King Halo would be capable of once her Noble synergy was fully assembled.
"Allocate all the attribute points first. Cap Speed at 1700, then dump the rest into Guts."
As Shinji spoke, he watched the numbers on Offside Trap's panel jump again. Back during the Japan Cup, Dolce, Countryside Lover, and Good Dream had all still outclassed Offside Trap in raw stats. If not for the power of runes and rune synergies reducing the track's impact to almost nothing, whether she could have held on to first place down the stretch would have been a genuine question.
But now, with Offside Trap's current stats, Shinji dared say that at the Coronation Cup, she and Dolby—at least in raw numerical terms—would be opponents on the same level. In fact, Offside Trap's stats might even be higher.
Thinking of the powerful effects of the runes, Shinji remained completely confident in her, even considering the skills and strength boosts Dolby might have accumulated through the Triple Goddess's blessings.
As he thought that, Shinji abruptly realized he felt strangely warm. He vaguely remembered Offside Trap saying something about turning on the air conditioner, so why did it suddenly feel like he was about to start sweating?
He raised a hand and immediately decided to throw off the blanket—only for his palm to land on a body that was noticeably warm.
His movement froze.
Only now did he notice the faint fragrance around him.
The soft, pliant sensation beneath his hand was like some kind of stimulant. His face grew hot, and with their skin touching, Shinji felt his fingers instinctively want to curl around something.
But he restrained himself.
He carefully lifted a corner of the blanket—and saw the sleeping horse girl leaning against his shoulder.
Slowly, he drew his arm free. Her hair spilled across the bedding in a beautiful scene, but Shinji did not dare look too closely. Her clothes were a little too light, and her sleeping posture had shifted the fabric just enough to expose a great swath of snowy skin beneath.
At last, he freed himself completely and swung his legs off the bed.
[Master, are you even human?]
The System's mocking voice rang in his head, but Shinji had no energy to respond. His eyes fell on the girl's delicate sleeping face. She looked as though she were having a lovely dream; even her brows seemed gently curved upward, and Shinji had to sniff lightly.
The faint scent still lingering at his neck made him suddenly understand exactly where those overdramatic lines in soap operas—"You smell like another woman"—had come from.
Even taking a deep breath felt somehow improper.
A little embarrassed, Shinji could not help wondering why Offside Trap had suddenly crawled into his bed. The room was enormous—how had she managed to mistake his bedroom for hers? That also explained the lingering ache in his shoulder. Most likely, her head had been resting there for quite a while.
He turned and hurried out into the living room, his steps quick and almost disorderly. All the excuses he had just made for himself, all the emotions that had rushed through him—deep down, he probably knew why he felt so flustered. He had been in such a hurry that he had not even pulled the blanket back over her properly, let alone closed the bedroom door.
So he failed to notice that the "sleeping" horse girl opened her eyes the moment he left.
Her gaze was a tangle of shyness and disappointment. The emotions were so tangled even she herself could not sort out exactly what kind of scene she had been hoping for.
She stared toward the still-open bedroom door and slowly lifted a hand, lightly touching her own thigh. That thigh—the one that had been half-pressed against Shinji just moments ago. The moment she thought of it, the flush on her face deepened until it looked ready to drip blood.
"So you do have desires after all…"
She muttered something utterly shameless while blushing furiously. The moment the words left her mouth, she buried her face in the pillow.
"Seriously… am I really that lacking in charm, you awful trainer…"
[Negative Emotion +60]
Join here to read ahead.
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Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
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I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
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Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
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Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
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I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
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Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
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No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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