Saint Halo had always trained seriously, so her improvement had always been obvious.
And yet, she had never once felt that she had finally grown strong enough to handle the intensity of the training Shinji assigned her with ease.
Which meant that the training Shinji set for her always remained just beyond her current level, a perfect demonstration of her trainer's skill. After his trip overseas, that feeling had only become even more pronounced.
Her trainer was improving too.
Whenever that thought crossed her mind, Saint Halo felt happy. To grow stronger together with her trainer—no matter how she looked at it, it felt like something wonderfully romantic.
Breathing hard, she forced her ragged breaths back into rhythm, dragging her legs—already aching badly—forward step by step.
Nearby, Narita Brian, who was undergoing the intense regimen Shinji had arranged specifically for her, finally failed to hold it in and vomited, the sound carrying across the training grounds.
Bukoku Fumie could not help feeling a little distressed.
During the period she had been overseeing Narita Brian's training, she had already realized just how severe the decline in Brian's ability was. For a racehorse girl, that was unquestionably a devastating blow. Even so, Narita Brian had stubbornly kept all those emotions buried deep inside herself.
Every training session, she gave everything she had—one hundred percent, sometimes one hundred and twenty.
Bukoku Fumie deeply admired that attitude in the face of such decline. Only a horse girl like that, perhaps, could truly defeat time itself and return to a G1 podium.
Shinji, however, showed no sign of softening just because Bukoku Fumie felt sympathy. He simply raised his voice, causing Saint Halo, training farther away, to straighten her posture at once.
"Saint Halo! Your leg—don't try to widen your stride like that! I told you to relax and give yourself more room to stretch out, but if you get too loose, you're risking an injury!"
Hearing that, Saint Halo immediately corrected her running form.
She absolutely did not want to get injured. An injury could deal a crushing blow to both her racing career and all the plans she had going forward.
"That's right. Give yourself more support—but don't let your upper body sway around!"
Shinji's stern shout echoed across the grounds. Only after confirming that Saint Halo had adjusted properly did he walk over to Narita Brian.
Brian was bracing herself with one hand against the ground. The fist of her other hand was packed with sand, and her teeth were clenched so hard that her cheeks were trembling. She had given everything she had, only to discover halfway through that her body could no longer support training that once would have seemed effortless to her.
Her eyes were slightly red. Then, suddenly, Shinji heard the low growl that escaped her throat.
"Damn it… damn it… damn it!"
The girl who had never once lost her composure finally cracked for a moment. But because Shinji was right beside her, she quickly forced herself back under control.
Even so, trainer and trainee alike fell into a brief silence.
"Do you regret it?"
At Shinji's quiet question, Narita Brian slowly turned her face toward him, her lips still smeared slightly, her complexion pale.
"Regret it…"
She stared straight into Shinji's eyes.
"I don't regret it. I just hate that I can't be like my old self anymore. If I were just a few years younger, maybe everything would have been different."
[Negative emotion +100]
Narita Brian shut her eyes in pain.
At that moment, Saint Halo happened to finish the set she was working on. She had not heard Brian's murmur, but she had seen how miserable Brian looked.
If an outsider had happened to pass by, they might have grasped, in the most direct way possible, what the changing of generations really meant.
Narita Brian, who still longed to win just one more G1 in the Twinkle Series, was struggling to push herself back up from the ground, while Saint Halo, who had already harvested victory after victory this spring, ran past her in full vigor.
As time passed, all the unwillingness in a heart could eventually only be worn down into compromise. That was the source of the bitterness now filling Narita Brian's chest.
Brian finally rose to her feet.
The concern and curiosity in Saint Halo's gaze did not bring her any comfort. Instead, it only made Brian feel the gap created by time even more acutely. There was something cruelly ironic about that. So when Saint Halo's eyes fell on her face, Brian gave her junior no response at all. She simply turned her head away.
Shinji looked back toward Saint Halo. Her eyes were bright and full of life, unlike Brian's, which had grown deeper and harder to read. At times, even Shinji could not completely grasp the emotions hidden in them.
"Why did you stop?"
His tone was calm. Saint Halo blinked.
"But you said between each set—"
"I can tell you've still got energy left, so from this point on, finish the last two sets back-to-back."
A faint smile appeared on Shinji's face.
To Saint Halo, however, it looked like a devil's grin.
She felt a chill run through her whole body. For one terrible moment, it genuinely seemed as though her trainer were showing her a streak of malice.
She sniffled, not daring to protest. Lowering her head, she obediently threw herself into the next set of training.
"Brian, can you keep going?"
Only then did Shinji turn back to Narita Brian.
Brian knew perfectly well whom his earlier action had been meant for, so after nodding, she pointed toward Saint Halo first.
"It looked like Halo really should've rested just now. Won't making her do two sets in a row be too much?"
"It won't. Worry about yourself first."
Shinji folded his arms over his chest.
"Halo's in great condition, and she's improving fast. A training load like this won't even take her many more days before I can start increasing the difficulty and volume again. I know what I'm doing."
[Negative emotion +70]
Hearing that, Narita Brian fell silent again.
Shinji's praise for Saint Halo landed directly on the sore spot of the talent and physical ability Brian no longer possessed. A fierce sense of urgency seized her chest, making it hard to breathe.
"If you can still keep going, then finish the last two sets."
Shinji had, of course, heard the system notification. But he ignored it completely. His expression was serious as he looked at Brian.
No matter what, these last two sets were something Narita Brian had to complete.
Back then, as soon as Offside Trap reached the point where she truly could not continue, Shinji would end the day's training there. But for Narita Brian, that approach was not enough.
If she wanted to defeat time, she first had to defeat herself.
She had to conquer the body that had already been worn down, to squeeze out every last drop from her limits.
The required daily training volume had to be met. If she truly could not continue in the moment, then she could rest briefly—but once her body responded again, she would start over.
Shinji's gaze darkened.
And Narita Brian, after meeting those eyes, did not argue.
Sometimes, she knew even better than Shinji just how uncertain her future was.
She merely drew in a deep breath—and instantly, the urge to vomit surged back up.
Narita Brian forced it down with difficulty, then nodded to Shinji.
"I can start again."
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 165)
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 (Chapter220)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
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 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
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 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
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
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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