By a little after 7 PM, Brand New Shine had just returned from Monbetsu Tracen Academy, mission accomplished.
"Go have dinner first," Zhou Tai'an said after taking the messenger bag from her.
"What about you, Trainer?" Brand New Shine glanced at his stomach, guessing he hadn't eaten yet.
"I'll skip it for now," Zhou Tai'an waved his hand. "I have to go to the training track with Oguri Cap later. Since she can't eat now, I'll just wait with her."
"Then I won't eat either! I'll go to the training track with you and Oguri," Brand New Shine quickly stated her intention.
"You don't need to, Brand New Shine," Zhou Tai'an shook his head. "You went to Monbetsu Tracen Academy this afternoon to scout their training grounds. That was hard work. You should be resting now. You don't have to be like us. Go have dinner, and then go to the hot spring."
"Okay, I understand," Brand New Shine replied obediently, though she had no intention of going to the hot spring by herself. She had to go with her teammate.
…
After arranging Brand New Shine's schedule, Zhou Tai'an changed into a cooler outfit and headed to the training track in a pair of flip-flops.
At this time, Oguri Cap was doing her warm-up exercises under the lights by the side of the track.
"You can come here for your morning run too, Oguri Cap," he said to her. "You don't have to run out to the park like you did this morning."
"But in the morning, those other Horse Girls are all training here. I feel like I don't fit in with them," Oguri Cap stopped her movements and turned to explain.
"There's no 'not fitting in'," Zhou Tai'an patted her shoulder. "You're all Horse Girls. The only difference is the academy you attend. Is one more noble than the other?"
He pouted. "When you do your morning run tomorrow, just come here, Oguri Cap. We've all paid the same amount. There's no reason you can't use this training track."
"I understand," Oguri Cap said, turning back to continue her warm-up, promising in a low voice.
After she finished, Zhou Tai'an glanced at his watch. The minute hand was pointing exactly at "10."
"7:50," he said to himself, then looked up at Oguri Cap. "Get on the track. Get ready to start. When I give the signal, I want you to run one lap—that is, 400 meters—with a race attitude."
"Okay," Oguri Cap waved, signaling that she understood, and then walked onto the track.
The reason he had specifically arranged for her to run a lap with a race attitude at this time was because the Hokkaido Yushun Championship had a special start time: 7:55 PM, Tokyo time.
Although many local Graded Races were held at night, this was Oguri Cap's first time challenging a night race. Therefore, he wanted to get her accustomed to it over these two months, so she could quickly enter a race state at this time.
The local Hokkaido Horse Girls didn't need this step. Any local horse with the capital to enter the Hokkaido Yushun would have run a main race at night before.
"This can be considered one of Oguri Cap's weaknesses," the young man thought.
…
As Oguri Cap stepped onto the training track, Tojo Hana and Silent Suzuka were quietly observing the pair from Kasamatsu from just outside the track.
Zhou Tai'an's instructions had all reached their ears.
"A 400-meter practice with a race attitude at this time?" Tojo Hana couldn't figure it out, and her confusion showed on her face.
Silent Suzuka was also puzzled. She muttered to herself, "Is it really necessary to schedule normal training at this hour?"
They were both very confused.
Oguri Cap was too, but in the two months since she joined the team, Zhou Tai'an had already proven his ability to her. Therefore, she had no thought of questioning him.
The moment the minute hand pointed exactly to "11," Zhou Tai'an gave Oguri Cap the signal to start.
Hearing the sound, Oguri Cap instinctively shot off from her starting point.
"So fast!" Tojo Hana's eyes widened. "That starting reaction is top-tier even at Central!"
"Is she an 'escape' Horse Girl, like me?" Silent Suzuka frowned. "Her forward consciousness after the break is very clear, and she accelerates very quickly."
She put herself in the situation on the track, thought for a moment, and then shrank back.
"I wouldn't be able to take the lead from her," Silent Suzuka admitted, though very reluctantly, that she couldn't think of a way to deal with the gray-coated Horse Girl on the track right now.
Tojo Hana's expression became grave. "This is not just a display of raw talent."
Although Oguri Cap's instinctive start was beautiful, the way she later displayed a consciousness for getting a good position and the technique she used to accelerate from zero, things that local Horse Girls generally didn't have, were all, in Tojo Hana's opinion, thanks to the trainer who had self-deprecatingly called himself "worse than a pig" that morning.
"If that's 'worse than a pig,' then what are we Central trainers? Pig feed?" Her face was bitter. "If even an intern from the West Coast Tracen Academy is this skilled, it's no wonder Rudolf failed so miserably on her expedition."
"I knew it," Tojo Hana bit her lip. "Expeditions are not something Japanese Horse Girls can attempt right now."
…
Zhou Tai'an was unaware that a person and a Horse Girl were spying on his training with Oguri Cap.
He was completely focused on Oguri Cap's gait during the 400-meter run, and was very satisfied.
He had noticed before the training that the soil of the Onsen Ryokan Yukara's training track was very similar to that of Monbetsu Racecourse—it was basically the same.
"Since Oguri Cap can adapt to the sand and soil here, I don't think the race at the end of August will be a problem," he thought, a smile playing on his lips.
Under the lights, Silent Suzuka noticed the smile on his face and was captivated.
Tojo Hana also noticed his smile. She said to herself, "If I had trained a local Horse Girl to this level, I would also have such a confident smile."
It was interesting. Although she had discovered Oguri Cap's talent, Tojo Hana had no thought of trying to poach her.
She, of course, knew the reason—
Because in her opinion, in this pair, the one who played the leading role was the young trainer.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (350 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (130 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (140 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (380 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (160 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (180 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (90 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (130 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (155 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (150 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (150 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (130 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (70 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it