Shinji Terumi no longer held the same status he once did. As Offside Trap's trainer, the weight of his words now carried real significance, enough that fans would remember them. So when the pre-race interview ended, quite a few reporters found themselves looking at him with unconcealed admiration.
To be able, with his current standing and background, to express such absolute confidence in his horse girl was something the overwhelming majority of trainers simply could not do.
As the reporters gradually began to disperse, Shinji turned to look at Saint Halo beside him. She was not looking at him, but for some reason, he was certain her attention was fixed on him all the same.
Of course, maybe he was just flattering himself.
"Is there anything you want to eat tonight?" he asked suddenly.
Saint Halo was briefly taken aback. Then she turned her gaze toward the sky outside the window. Through it, one could see the Hanshin track, and above it stretched a pure, cloudless blue.
"I don't know why," she said after a pause, "but all of a sudden, I really want pizza."
That answer caught Shinji off guard. It was so far outside the range of replies he had expected that it took him a few seconds to process it.
Only after mentally sorting through all the answers he had already been prepared for did he arrive at this completely different, yet strangely constructive, suggestion.
"Then let's go eat pizza."
Just because the answer had not been one of the possibilities he had prepared for did not mean he had any intention of rejecting it. If that was what his horse girl wanted for dinner, then he had every intention of giving it to her.
He told Saint Halo to go inform the other two teammates, while he himself slowly stepped out of the interview room and looked toward the track, where a few lingering figures still remained. With no races left to watch, the horse-racing fans were still reluctant to leave Hanshin Racecourse. They had likely witnessed too many races here, too many dreams fulfilled.
Some of those dreams may even have been their own.
But that was not something Shinji intended to concern himself with.
He stepped onto the turf, pressing his foot into it, feeling the reassuring firmness beneath him.
Behind him, Saint Halo had already left the interview room and come to his side. There seemed to be starlight in her eyes, and after one glance, Shinji deliberately looked away.
"Well, well, the interview's over, huh?"
The familiar voice made it so that Shinji did not even need to turn around to picture Nishizaki Ryu's infuriatingly smug face. He simply stretched out a hand behind him and gave a light shove.
He felt solid resistance, and Nishizaki obligingly staggered back several steps. Beside him, Special Week took it at face value and immediately looked at Shinji with visible disapproval.
"How can you do that?!"
Shinji first glanced at Special Week's face, which was full of protective indignation, then lowered his gaze to her stomach. He clearly remembered someone saying that her weight had been getting a bit out of control lately.
Was it Nishizaki himself who had said that?
Perhaps because he had forgotten already, Shinji stared at the slight bulge of her belly. Even though she had tried to tuck her shirt neatly into her skirt, the fact that she had gained weight was impossible to hide.
"It's nothing," Shinji said first, choosing to explain himself. "We were just messing around."
This pure and simple horse girl was exactly the sort he did not want to tease too much. She was the type to believe whatever she was told, and he had no desire to create even more trouble.
"You've put on quite a bit of weight, haven't you? You should slim down before the race."
The moment the question left his mouth, Special Week froze. Shinji watched the color spread across her face, slowly rising all the way to her neck.
She stammered for a long while without managing to say anything coherent. The truth was right there in front of them, leaving her no room to deny it.
"I... I haven't gained that much, have I...?"
In the end, that was all she could manage, a weak and utterly unconvincing protest. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Shinji any longer, and instead gazed at Nishizaki with wounded grievance, clearly hoping for comfort.
Unfortunately for her, no such comfort came. On the contrary, Nishizaki cheerfully drove the knife in deeper.
"Special Week, you really do need to lose weight. The race is coming up soon. Your weight has to be under control."
She looked at him in utter disbelief. She had stood up for him, and this was how he repaid her.
No wonder Gold Ship always treated Nishizaki that way. A guy with such an infuriating personality practically deserved to get bullied by her.
She gave a heavy snort and stormed off. Watching her retreating figure, Shinji cast Nishizaki a strange look.
He had thought he himself was already quite skilled at harvesting emotional energy. Now it seemed Nishizaki was a natural-born genius in that area.
What a waste of talent.
Truly, a terrible waste.
While Shinji was thinking that, he noticed Grass Wonder had already gone over to Special Week's side. The gentle expression on her face made him think of Silence Suzuka before he had left Japan. Suzuka, too, had always looked at Special Week with this same softness.
Though perhaps there was a difference. Silence Suzuka's feelings toward Special Week were more like those of an older sister, delicate and attentive, caring for a clumsy younger sibling. Grass Wonder, on the other hand, felt more like a close friend who nevertheless always wanted to edge just a little nearer.
Shinji could never quite make sense of that.
In the end, he simply decided they were all just very close.
He turned to Nishizaki.
"Is it really okay to tease her like that?"
"She'll be fine. That kid's got a good temper," Nishizaki replied. "If anything goes wrong in the team, she's always the one who smooths things over."
Then, suddenly, he smiled.
"This generation is unbelievably strong," he said. "It really might be the strongest generation in history."
Shinji did not refute him.
He turned his head toward Saint Halo. She was looking out at the track, and there was no way to tell what she was thinking.
"Maybe..." he said slowly.
"Maybe it really is."
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! (This matter is completely finished.)
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 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 75
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 100
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 60
The Uma Musume Who Became 60
I'm Definitely Not the King of 80
After Maxing Out Every Class 80
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 57
I, the Elden Sword Saint 50
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 43
No One Knows Pokémon Better 50
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 45
From Trilobites to Titans 45
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 55
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 60
An Anime Heroine Darkened 55
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