Chapter 28
Over the next few days, every morning and evening, Kitasan Black did over an hour of paired training with Daiwa Scarlet.
Through these sessions, while Yasui Makoto was delighted by Kitasan Black's progress, he was also secretly amazed by Daiwa Scarlet's talent and strength.
Generally speaking, a horse girl's golden career period lasts about three years. After that, their overall performance gradually declines.
However, this doesn't apply to a small number of top-tier athletes.
Not only do they decline much more slowly, but even after their peak, they can maintain a relatively stable level.
Daiwa Scarlet was exactly that kind of horse girl.
The data made it very clear, she handled every training session with ease, and she surpassed Kitasan Black in every aspect: basic speed, power, technique, race awareness, and more.
Having such an outstanding senior as a training partner, even Yasui Makoto felt he was gaining a lot, not to mention Kitasan Black's rapid improvement. It made him wish Daiwa Scarlet could continue as her permanent training partner.
But that was obviously impossible.
Daiwa Scarlet had returned to the academy for work and research; he couldn't keep imposing on her like this.
This morning, after training ended, Daiwa Scarlet also announced that this would be her last paired session for the time being. The next one would probably be in two or three weeks.
"Haah— That was really nice."
After taking a big gulp of her energy drink and wiping the sweat from her forehead, Daiwa Scarlet sighed with satisfaction.
"Coming back was such a good decision. I get to train with Kitasan and also relive the feeling of being a student again."
Kitasan Black, who was also drinking an energy drink and wiping her sweat, looked a little disappointed.
"It's a shame Daiwa-senpai will be so busy after this. I wanted to run with you more… Ouch!"
Daiwa Scarlet flicked her forehead lightly and laughed.
"Why do you sound like we'll never see each other again, Kitasan?
"Don't forget, I'm going to be the new manager of the Ritto Dormitory. We'll be seeing each other almost every day.
"Just don't come back too late and get caught by me, or I'll lock the weird horse girl outside."
When she said "weird horse girl," she seemed to recall something funny and giggled.
Covering her flicked forehead, Kitasan Black asked curiously:
"Daiwa-senpai, what are you laughing about…? I definitely won't come back late!"
"I'm not laughing at you."
Daiwa Scarlet wiped her nose with her index finger and said with a nostalgic smile, "It's about your Special Week-senpai."
"Special Week-senpai?"
Kitasan Black became even more curious. "What about Special Week-senpai?"
"When Special Week-senpai first came to Tokyo, she went to Tokyo Racecourse first, right?"
Daiwa Scarlet smiled as she recounted:
"That was the time she saw Suzuka-senpai's race and decided she wanted to be on the same team as her.
"After watching the race and then the Winner's Stage, she only remembered at the very end that it was the academy's registration day.
"So she panicked and ran all the way back from the racecourse to the academy.
"Oh right, she even got off at the wrong station when she arrived and ran to the racecourse too."
"All the way…" Kitasan Black said in amazement. "As expected of Special Week-senpai, she's so amazing!"
"Well, 'all the way' is just an exaggeration, but she really did run quite fast and even overtook a lot of cars, scaring quite a few drivers."
Daiwa Scarlet shrugged with a laugh.
"Anyway, even though Special Week-senpai rushed as fast as she could, she still ended up late and almost got locked outside by Fuji-senpai as a 'weird horse girl.'"
"S-So that's what happened? Hahaha…" Kitasan Black laughed awkwardly and quickly promised, "Don't worry, Daiwa-senpai! I definitely won't trouble you by making you open the door for me at night!"
"Good. Since you said that, don't blame me if I lock you out when you're late."
After joking around, Daiwa Scarlet turned her gaze toward Yasui Makoto.
Yasui Makoto had been organizing and analyzing data on his tablet the whole time, but he hadn't ignored their conversation.
He found it quite interesting, especially the "Special Week-senpai" they mentioned.
She was also a top-tier horse girl who had won one of the Classic Triple Crown races, the Japanese Derby and was the second horse girl in history to achieve consecutive victories in both the Tenno Sho (Spring) and Tenno Sho (Autumn). She even held the title "Japan's Greatest General."
From what he remembered of the URA promotional videos for Special Week, she seemed like quite an imposing and cool horse girl.
He hadn't expected to hear such a silly, clumsy side of her from her friend.
Noticing Daiwa Scarlet's gaze and thinking she was reminding him, Yasui Makoto nodded and said
"I'll also keep an eye on the training times and remind Kitasan to return to the dormitory on time."
"I have no doubt about that, but…"
Daiwa Scarlet smiled casually and asked with curiosity, "Actually, I wanted to ask — what kind of training do you have planned for this afternoon, Trainer Yasui?"
She was genuinely curious.
After training together these past few days, she had become more and more aware of just how extraordinary Yasui Makoto was.
In the past, she had rarely seen this kind of aura even from trainers who were 28 years old, let alone an 18-year-old.
Most rookie trainers were overly cautious, terrified of making any mistakes.
Older trainers were similar at most they wouldn't show panic in front of their horse girls, but the moment they turned around they would rush to ask their seniors for help.
Yasui Makoto was different. Despite his extremely young appearance, his training style was remarkably mature and seasoned.
It wasn't that he made no mistakes he did make some common rookie errors in the details.
But he would quickly notice those mistakes, didn't mind admitting them to Kitasan, and would find solutions in a very short time.
Then there was his actual training methodology.
In Daiwa Scarlet's experience, most trainers liked to follow the teachings of their seniors, stick strictly to textbook methods, or rely purely on accumulated experience.
Yasui Makoto was different. He didn't care about the "proper" method.
As long as he confirmed it was effective for Kitasan Black, he would use it and adjust it promptly. He never stuck rigidly to conventions.
So with this unconventional training style, what kind of training would he arrange for Kitasan besides paired runs…?
"This afternoon will be the same as yesterday, but on Friday evenings I usually don't schedule training so she can rest properly."
After explaining to Daiwa Scarlet, Yasui Makoto smiled at Kitasan Black.
"Also, she told me yesterday that she's going to karaoke with her friends tonight and wants to head over a bit earlier. I already agreed."
"Yeah! Trainer, are you coming too?" Hearing the evening plans, Kitasan Black instantly became excited.
"I'll pass."
Shaking his head, Yasui Makoto took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
"I learned basic music theory while preparing for exams, and I've written a few songs in my free time. You can try singing this when you're at karaoke.
"If it feels good, I'll find a way to record it later and upload it to your fan account."
"Fan account?" Kitasan Black was stunned. She took the paper, opened it, and looked surprised. "Eh? Trainer, you can even write sheet music?"
"I took music as an elective for the trainer exam. I only learned a little."
Yasui Makoto nodded and smiled.
"You're the expert in this area. If anything feels off, just tell me honestly."
"What expert… hehe…"
Kitasan Black laughed shyly and nodded.
"Then I'll try humming it first."
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