The noisy, stressful weekend quickly passed, bringing Kitahara Sota back to his regular workday routine.
He woke up, washed up, dressed in his newly purchased clothes, carefully verified he was no longer glowing, then picked up the documents beside his computer and left the dorm.
Breakfast, training grounds—everything returned to normal.
Tokai Teio had already started her independent training. Even knowing now that Kitahara was far more capable than she'd initially thought, she still insisted on doing things her way, determined to earn victory through her own efforts.
Eclipse stood quietly at the edge as usual, showing zero intent to join in the training. By now, even the other trainers and Uma Musume had grown used to this scene, many of them mistakenly believing that Eclipse was the main trainer, with Kitahara merely assisting her.
Special Week, Oguri Cap, and Grass Wonder were warming up on the field. Spotting him, they trotted over from a distance.
Agnes Tachyon arrived even later than Kitahara, stepping onto the field just one minute before the scheduled meeting time. Without her signature lab coat, she drew no attention at all, leisurely strolling toward them.
With everyone gathered, training began.
The first victim was Special Week. Barely had she stepped forward when Kitahara pressed a thick, seven-page training plan into her hands. After flipping through it quickly, her face nearly turned green.
Isn't this workload a bit too much?!
The base training intensity alone had more than doubled from her previous plan. Worse, the "flexible" section designed specifically for her habit of late-night snacking was brutally merciless. Every extra bite of carrot she ate would essentially translate directly into an equivalent amount of sweat.
Grass Wonder, who was quietly observing, furrowed her brows at the sight of this schedule.
This training volume nearly matched those of Uma Musume in their second year of full-scale training, yet Special Week had barely started her own path, not even debuting yet.
Excessive training wasn't always beneficial. Too little would yield minimal improvement, but too much could seriously damage her body, potentially even hindering her developmental progress.
But before Grass Wonder could voice her concerns, Kitahara had already handed Special Week another document.
"These are your new running styles. Stick to the old training regimen until you've fully mastered them. Otherwise, this intensity will ruin you."
Special Week visibly relaxed.
Only to immediately tense up again as Kitahara continued, "I'm giving you two weeks to adjust. If you haven't mastered the new styles by then, the second plan will take effect. So, don't even think about slacking off."
Kitahara then turned to Oguri Cap, handing her two similar sets of documents: one training plan and another outlining new running styles.
"Your new styles build upon your existing ones, so they'll be easier to pick up. You should get the hang of them in about three days… no, let's say a week. Once you do, we'll start your second training plan."
Unlike Special Week, Oguri Cap simply glanced at her equally demanding training plan and nodded calmly without further comment.
Surprisingly, after distributing their plans, Kitahara didn't retreat to his usual hands-off position. Instead, he personally took to the field, instructing Special Week and Oguri Cap directly on their new running styles.
Though he'd done his best to make the written explanations clear, they'd still inevitably struggle—particularly Special Week. Additionally, hands-on training would let him leverage certain special methods he'd learned previously.
While it would be tougher in the short term, it would significantly speed up their learning curve, albeit requiring his personal attention.
"No, that's completely wrong. Your posture is off, and the force is misdirected."
"Breathe evenly! Keep the rhythm, don't gulp air!"
"You're neglecting the left-side muscles entirely, and the right side is overloaded. Continue like that, and you'll develop a twisted gait."
"Foot landing angle, arm swing range, tail balance control, center of gravity during turns…"
"You literally got every single detail wrong."
At Kitahara's blunt critique, Special Week nearly burst into tears.
It wasn't that Kitahara's tone was particularly harsh. It was simply that Special Week believed she'd already followed his instructions perfectly, yet he'd still found fault with practically everything. Every step felt awkward and painful.
Meanwhile, Oguri Cap, after Kitahara's initial explanation, had quickly demonstrated a decent approximation of the new running style. Although Kitahara found a few minor errors, she corrected them immediately, visibly improving with every lap.
Special Week didn't doubt Kitahara's methods.
She'd experienced first-hand his incredible skill in the past, cementing absolute trust in him. Not once had she ever questioned his expertise.
But now, she seriously doubted her own capabilities.
"Grass-chan… am I actually really dumb?" Special Week asked miserably.
Grass Wonder responded with her usual gentle smile. "Yes, you are."
Special Week promptly burst into tears, and Grass Wonder immediately hugged her comfortingly.
Having just finished a round of her own training, Tokai Teio approached with a reassuring grin, patting Special Week on the shoulder.
"No need to worry, Spe-chan! This is totally normal. Completely new running styles are notoriously difficult. I once heard from Rudolf-kaichou that some Uma Musume even isolated themselves in the woods for half a year to master new techniques."
"…Really?"
Tokai Teio confidently puffed out her flat chest. "Absolutely! The invincible Teio-sama would never lie!"
Special Week lifted her head from Grass Wonder's embrace, still looking pitiably unsure.
"But Oguri-chan already…"
"I've already trained something similar before," Oguri Cap explained, stepping forward with an oddly sympathetic expression. "This is just an adjustment for me. Starting from scratch, like you're doing, is much harder."
She then paused, expression turning serious. "Special Week, there's something else you should know. The hardest part of this training isn't even mastering the running style. At first, I struggled too, not much better than you, but by the end of the first week, I'd basically gotten the hang of it. However…"
Seeing Oguri Cap's serious expression, Special Week blinked nervously. "However… what?"
Oguri Cap didn't respond immediately, instead turning toward Grass Wonder.
"Grass-san, could you please let go of her for a moment?"
Grass Wonder didn't understand, but complied nonetheless.
Stepping back several paces, Oguri Cap beckoned, "Alright, Special Week, come over here."
Everyone else watched curiously. Special Week herself was equally baffled but obediently stepped forward—
Thud.
Barely two steps forward, without any obvious obstacle, Special Week abruptly stumbled and fell forward, landing squarely in Oguri Cap's prepared arms.
Bewildered, Special Week lifted her head to meet Oguri Cap's pitying gaze.
"Oguri-chan… this is…"
"Listen closely, Special Week."
Oguri Cap interrupted firmly, her expression filled with sympathy.
"For the next entire week, you need to mentally prepare yourself to be practically incapable of normal daily life."
"…Eh?"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field.
While Special Week reeled from Oguri Cap's ominous warning, Kitahara had just finished evaluating Agnes Tachyon's initial assessment results.
His brow furrowed deeply as he studied his notebook.
Having finished her test, Tachyon jogged over cheerfully. Missing Kitahara's expression behind his notebook, she greeted him confidently.
"So? Impressive, isn't it? My abilities may not be at the absolute top in Tracen, but they're definitely high-level—"
"Tachyon."
Kitahara interrupted her calmly, finally raising his gaze to meet hers, a complex expression on his face.
Noticing his look, Tachyon immediately had an uneasy premonition. "…What's wrong?"
Kitahara hesitated briefly before opting for a slightly gentler phrasing.
"Have you ever considered a career in acting? With your level of skill, you could easily win Best Actress awards."
Agnes Tachyon: "…?"