After waking up, Zhou Tai'an checked his Stat Viewer again.
It clearly stated that he had acquired a "Transferable Skill."
"As the name implies, I can teach this skill to Oguri Cap, right?" Zhou Tai'an sat on his bed, squinting and muttering as he read the skill's description—
[When executing a Forward strategy, reduces stamina consumption and increases acceleration.]
"A very useful skill," he commented. "But how do I teach it to Oguri Cap?"
He couldn't figure it out, and the Stat Viewer didn't tell him.
"Forget it," Zhou Tai'an turned on the light and looked at the clock on his bedroom wall. "Since I'm up so early, I might as well go for a morning run for the first time in a while."
So he quietly changed into his tracksuit and tiptoed out of the room.
…
As a rural town far from the city of Sapporo, the air in Hiratori was filled with the scent of dew before the sun had fully risen. Although it was summer, Zhou Tai'an, who had come out in shorts and a t-shirt, suddenly got goosebumps.
"A little exercise will warm me up," he muttered and started jogging.
He had scouted the surrounding roads during his walk last night, so he knew the route.
To avoid disturbing the Horse Girls in the inn, who were most likely still asleep, he chose to jog from the inn all the way to Monbetsu Racecourse, rest there for a while, and then return to the inn for breakfast.
Jogging southwest along the highway, enjoying the scenery of Hiratori, Zhou Tai'an was in a great mood.
"Although it's rural, just like Kasamatsu, the scenery here is so much better," he thought.
At a crossroads, Zhou Tai'an noticed a Horse Girl standing by the side of the road, waiting for the red light to change.
He didn't recognize her, but noticing she was wearing a Central Tracen Academy tracksuit, he guessed she was one of the Horse Girls under Tojo-san's charge, also staying at Hiratori Onsen Yukara.
"But long chestnut hair with green ear covers... a carrot?" a rather rude association popped into his mind.
Clearing his throat to divert his attention, Zhou Tai'an looked up at the traffic light, no longer paying attention to the Horse Girl standing diagonally in front of him.
As luck would have it, this "Carrot" and Zhou Tai'an had the exact same route.
The young man even considered changing his destination to avoid being misunderstood.
But "Carrot" didn't seem to mind, so in the end, Zhou Tai'an couldn't be bothered to change his destination either.
If there was no other reason, he still wanted to get to Monbetsu Racecourse early to see if there was anything noteworthy about the track.
To avoid any potential misunderstanding, he thought for a moment and decided to speed up and overtake "Carrot" in front of him, to prove he had no intention of following her.
A few seconds after increasing his pace, Zhou Tai'an came up to "Carrot's" left side. He looked straight ahead and sped up a little more, trying to instantly create distance between them.
But just as he was about to do so, "Carrot" let out a soft "Hmph" and also sped up, clearly not wanting him to overtake her.
"What the hell? Are you Central Horse Girls all this competitive?" Zhou Tai'an complained inwardly and switched from a jog to a run.
But "Carrot" also changed her posture, her strides becoming larger—clearly, she was treating this like a race.
Zhou Tai'an caught a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye, and a phantom pain shot through his legs. He hadn't forgotten the painful lesson of his youth and arrogance at the West Coast Tracen Academy, where he had raced a Horse Girl, lost the race, and broken his leg.
So he simply eased up, stopped jogging, and started walking by the side of the road.
"Why did you stop running?" To Zhou Tai'an's frustration, "Carrot" also stopped and turned to ask.
At that moment, the chestnut-haired Horse Girl, with her back to the rising sun, her hair was tousled by a gentle breeze. She quickly held her head with both hands to keep her neatly combed, shiny chestnut hair from being messed up by the wind's mischief.
This posture just made her look even more pitiful. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Zhou Tai'an had just been bullying her.
Zhou Tai'an had to admit he had been captivated for a moment—just a moment. As a Horse Girl's trainer, he had seen plenty. The Horse Girls, blessed by the Three Goddesses, were all beautiful. Both Oguri Cap and Brand New Shine would turn heads in a crowd.
But familiarity breeds contempt, right...
Zhou Tai'an's gaze wandered as he replied, "I'm an ordinary person. I just sped up so you wouldn't get the wrong idea."
The wind died down. "Carrot" lowered her hands and, while straightening her clothes, tilted her head. "An ordinary person? You're a trainer from Kasamatsu, not a truly ordinary person."
"So what if I'm a trainer," Zhou Tai'an shrugged, unfazed. "Trainers are ordinary people too."
"But an ordinary local trainer wouldn't bring a Horse Girl on an expedition to Hokkaido at this time," "Carrot" retorted. "Sachiko-neechan told me all about it."
Zhou Tai'an was taken aback. He remembered the innkeeper's words—"And I have a junior who studies at Central Tracen Academy."
"You're Sachiko-san's junior?" he realized.
"Yes," the chestnut-haired Horse Girl smiled, introducing herself softly with a bow. "My name is Silent Suzuka."
Zhou Tai'an sidestepped the bow, then gave a simple introduction himself. "I'm Zhou Tai'an, a trainer from Kasamatsu."
"Sachiko-neechan praised you a lot, Zhou-kun," Silent Suzuka continued to smile. "Thank you very much for giving her your business."
"It's just that Sachiko-san's inn happened to meet my requirements," Zhou Tai'an waved his hand. "It's nothing worth thanking me for."
"Then let's continue our jog," Silent Suzuka said, turning and starting to run. "But I'll still be in front, if you don't mind."
"It's fine," Zhou Tai'an also smiled. "To be able to admire the beautiful gait of a Horse Girl running from behind is quite satisfying for any trainer."
Due to the angle, he didn't notice a faint blush creep up Silent Suzuka's cheeks.
-------
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