They had barely been away from Europe for any length of time before returning once more.
Terizumi Shinji and Offside Trap exchanged a glance and, from each other's eyes, both caught the same faint amusement.
There was not really anything all that funny about it, of course. But somehow, just meeting each other's gaze was enough to give them a reason to smile.
Tōjō Hana, walking beside them, rolled her eyes the moment she saw that.
She felt like she had asked for this herself, ending up on the same flight as these two.
Following the principle of "out of sight, out of mind," she strode ahead before them.
"Hana-nee?"
Shinji called after her, mildly puzzled.
"I'm going on ahead!"
There was a transfer in the middle of the trip, and they would be parting ways there anyway. Tōjō Hana simply wanted to see El sooner.
Of course, that did not mean she was entirely innocent of wanting to stop looking at the two of them as quickly as possible.
After all, when she had gone back to Japan this time, she had actually looked forward to it a little—only for Nishizaki Ryū to complain to her at length because Grass Wonder's race tactics had focused on marking Special Week.
If Nishizaki Ryū had even half the sense Terizumi Shinji had when it came to dealing with women, Tōjō Hana felt certain she would be in a much better mood.
Just from the way Shinji handled Hayakawa Tazuna and Bunya Fumie, the gap between the two men was obvious.
If she had not grown up with Nishizaki Ryū, she felt like she would have already blown up at him in a full-on shouting match.
Watching the woman's retreating back, Shinji still did not understand why Tōjō Hana had left so abruptly, but he turned back toward Offside Trap anyway.
His horse girl was still waiting for his next instruction.
After a brief moment's thought, he decided they should head straight to Sandown Park Racecourse and inspect the track first.
The Takarazuka Kinen had been held on the very last weekend of June, and the Eclipse Stakes was already set for the first weekend of July.
The schedule was tight enough that there was very little time to spare.
By now, the condition of Sandown's turf would not differ much from what it would be on race day itself—unless the weather changed dramatically.
Offside Trap simply obeyed Shinji's judgment. With their bags slung over their shoulders, the two of them headed directly for Sandown Park.
This time, they had not made any special arrangements with Britain's Tracen Academy. Both of them had decided to stay at a hotel near Sandown, and use a professional training facility nearby for any work they needed.
"Trainer."
"Yeah?"
Shinji turned toward her, puzzled by the call.
"Do you have the data on the other runners for this race?"
Offside Trap's question drew a helpless sigh from him.
It was not that he had not prepared anything at all. The problem was simply that, with how busy things had been lately, all he had been able to do was analyze their past races.
And that kind of analysis could never be fully reliable from just one or two past performances. To make a truly precise forecast, he needed recent form and recent training footage.
"I do have some."
Offside Trap understood what he meant at once, and simply nodded.
For her, this meant that the Eclipse Stakes would have to be won the straightforward way—on pure strength.
But neither Shinji nor Offside Trap looked especially worried.
The overall level of competition this time was not that high. Even without especially detailed intel on her opponents, Offside Trap had full confidence that she could win.
There were countless hopes riding on her shoulders now.
It was not even a matter of how strongly she wanted to fulfill those hopes. More than that, the sheer weight of those expectations already proved the place she now held in the Twinkle Series.
They reached Sandown Park by car and wasted no time stepping out onto the course.
Compared to Epsom, the turf at Sandown felt firmer underfoot.
The moment Shinji noticed that, he turned to look back at Offside Trap.
Her expression had visibly relaxed as well.
Even though this was her first time here, she had already settled into the track with ease.
"Do you still feel familiar with Japanese tracks?"
The question came to him suddenly, and he asked it half in jest.
"There shouldn't be any problem. I've been overseas a lot this year, but I've still spent years racing on Japanese tracks. If anything, they're probably still the ones I'm most used to."
At that answer, Shinji smiled and nodded, then pointed toward the Eclipse Stakes starting point.
That was where she would break from the gate and begin her run.
"In this race, if there's no real front-runner, then just run at your own pace. And even if there is one, it won't matter."
He said it while reviewing the level of the field in his head, his finger shifting forward from the break point.
"There's not much to say about the backstretch. You understand that already. All you need to do there is secure a good position."
With a final straight nearly eight hundred meters long, Sandown offered a stage where any horse girl with a powerful finishing kick could fully unleash it.
Offside Trap was no exception.
So what mattered most, on the backstretch and through the third and fourth corners, was managing her position so that by the time she entered the stretch, she would already have daylight ahead of her and could launch cleanly.
The reason Shinji was not especially worried about her positioning was simple: Offside Trap naturally ran near the front.
As long as there was no overwhelmingly aggressive leader and the pace among the first flight did not bunch too tightly, it would be extremely difficult for her to get boxed in.
"There's no need to rush in the turns. Just apply pressure to the field behind you, and that'll be enough. Starting your run after the backstretch is more than early enough."
Offside Trap nodded.
Shinji looked toward the exit of the fourth corner leading into the finish. Standing at the finish line and looking back, the distance seemed absurdly far away.
For the horse girls, though, it was just a matter of a few dozen seconds. For a human like him, even running it would take several minutes.
His gaze dropped to Offside Trap's legs.
Her legs were strong, sleek, and pale where they were left bare. Meeting his gaze, she even straightened one out deliberately and lifted it slightly.
Shinji looked at her eyes in confusion.
There was a trace of pride there, but also a little shyness.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and flicked her lightly on the forehead.
His horse girl really was getting bolder and bolder these days.
"What was that for?"
Still not pleased, Offside Trap moved to his side and muttered under her breath.
"Nothing."
Shinji smiled, leaned close to her ear, and whispered,
"I just felt like flicking you."
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
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 (Chapter260)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter135)
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 240
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 280
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 260
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 135
My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
Still playing traditional Honk 91
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 95
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 90
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 100
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 85
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
MYGO Beauties 75
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 90
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 105
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 85
After Maxing Out Every Class 85
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 44
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 70
I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 60
No One Knows Pokémon Better 55
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 55
From Trilobites to Titans 55
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 66
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 70
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 50
Honkai: The Fire Devil 30
Honkai Transformation Cards 35
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 45
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