The news that Terizumi Shinji and Offside Trap had arrived in England did not cause much of a stir.
The news that Terizumi Shinji and Offside Trap were staying together, however, spread like wildfire.
Shinji genuinely felt like the racing fans over here had lost their minds. When Japanese fans went off the deep end, they could produce something like the infamous silence after the Tenno Sho (Autumn), when no one celebrated. But the European fans? Two days before the Eclipse Stakes, they were obsessing over some completely irrelevant gossip.
And besides, in Dubai and at the Coronation Cup, had they not stayed together too? What was there to talk about?
Setting his phone aside with a helpless expression, Shinji slowly got up, only to see Offside Trap still sleeping soundly. She had behaved herself surprisingly well last night. He had honestly expected her to be the type who kicked the blanket off in her sleep.
He casually pulled the curtains open. Sunlight flooded the room, and the horse girl on the bed abruptly opened her eyes, shooting him a resentful look.
[Negative Emotion +70]
"Still sleeping?" Shinji's voice carried a hint of sternness as he pointed outside. "See that? The sun's already shining on your butt."
"Didn't you just wake up too?"
Offside Trap was silent for a moment before asking gloomily.
"Nope. I even scrolled on my phone for a while. So no, I did not just wake up."
Shinji's answer was enough to make Offside Trap laugh in exasperation. She shot upright, then with a little burst of force, brushed right past him and climbed onto his bed instead. Shinji instinctively propped himself up, only to have Offside Trap shove him back down.
Her bare, smooth thighs gleamed under the morning sun, almost dazzlingly bright. The loose white shirt on her upper body made Shinji's gaze slip downward for a moment, only to feel like he had been scorched.
Steadying himself, he forced his voice to remain calm.
"What are you doing?"
"It's all your fault! We woke up at basically the same time, and you still blamed me."
"If I hadn't woken you, we would not have woken up at the same time."
"Well, I don't care!"
With a little snort, Offside Trap shifted back and sat right down on Shinji's stomach. Her tail swayed behind her, and Shinji very carefully avoided looking anywhere near it.
"So right now, I'm the one who's up, and you're the one still lazing in bed."
"If you don't get up, how am I supposed to get up?"
"Hehe~"
Sticking her tongue out, Offside Trap finally stood and hopped off the bed, letting Shinji breathe a little easier.
She padded off toward the bathroom, leaving only her retreating back in view. Watching her go, Shinji's gaze dimmed slightly before he turned toward the window again.
The weather outside was beautiful, the kind that should make anyone feel refreshed. Yet for some reason, Shinji could feel a strange restlessness stirring inside him, urging him toward things he really should not be thinking about.
He slowly rose to his feet. He kind of wanted a cold shower, but the little tune Offside Trap was humming inside the bathroom made him give up on that idea.
So instead he changed clothes slowly, partly to wait until she came out. Still a little dazed, he found himself looking at her bed. Even without touching it, he could almost feel the lingering warmth there.
Probably the same warmth as from their contact just now.
That thought made Shinji close his eyes, feeling his mind growing even more chaotic.
Overthinking won't help, he told himself.
Then he walked over to the bathroom.
Offside Trap was brushing her teeth, foam gathered at the corners of her mouth. In the mirror, Shinji could see the constantly changing expressions on her face. Sometimes her eyes widened, sometimes her brows knitted together. She seemed to be amusing herself by making faces.
"Bored?"
Noticing his stare, Offside Trap's expression brightened. There was something different about his gaze this time, and it made her eyes curve faintly. All her deliberate little moves seemed to have finally achieved something.
She could not help feeling that she had at last found a trick or two to shake this man, who had always seemed like a block of wood, into some kind of awareness.
Once they had both finished washing up and tidied themselves a bit, the two of them headed out of the hotel.
All along the way, Shinji could feel people looking at them. Some had probably recognized them, but although no one came up to them, he could hear the whispers clearly enough.
Offside Trap could not understand a word, of course, but she still sensed something was off. People had recognized her plenty of times before, and their gazes had certainly changed when they did—but never like this, tinged with teasing or congratulation.
There was no way to interpret those looks as normal.
Having not checked her phone yet, Offside Trap had no idea that the gossip had already spread everywhere. She tilted her head up to look at Shinji.
"Trainer, what's going on?"
"What do you mean, what's going on?"
"Why does it feel like everyone's looking at us so weirdly?"
It wasn't that she felt any malice from those looks—far from it. But being stared at like this nonstop was making even her uneasy.
"Well... apparently someone got some very convenient photos of us last night."
At Shinji's explanation, Offside Trap froze for a second, then slowly realized what he meant.
The horse girl who had been bold enough this morning to sit right on Shinji's stomach instantly turned red and buried her face in his chest.
Thinking about it now, they had done this back in Dubai and during the Coronation Cup too. But from the way Shinji said it, this time it seemed to have been reported and spread everywhere.
[Negative Emotion +100]
Seeing her face go scarlet, Shinji could not help laughing a little.
That only made her more aggrieved, and she lightly smacked his chest a few times.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm not even allowed to laugh a little?"
Shinji's expression looked downright smug, which only made Offside Trap glare at him more resentfully. She wriggled against him with a bit of force, shoving him right into the wall.
"You trying to make it so I can't eat breakfast?"
Shinji's teasing only earned him a furious look.
"I don't want you to eat!"
Her petulant reply made some of the other hotel guests heading toward the dining area glance over, and a few of them even spoke directly to Shinji. He just nodded politely in acknowledgment.
"So, are we still going for breakfast today?"
"We should..."
Pressing a hand to her already grumbling stomach, Offside Trap looked up at Shinji's face. His expression was as calm as ever, and that stirred another strange little feeling inside her.
Maybe she wanted to see at least something on that face—some sign that would prove what lay in his heart.
Thinking that, Offside Trap suddenly found the courage to face all those gazes.
After all, her own heart had long since been given away.
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
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin