By the time Kaito returned to Tracen Academy, it was already late at night.
He and Rice Shower had taken the Shinkansen back to Tokyo from Niigata, then parted ways at the academy’s gates, agreeing to meet on the training grounds tomorrow.
After watching Rice Shower trip and fall before finally leaving, Kaito returned to the staff office in the academic building.
He still had to draft a future plan for her.
“Working overtime without feeling any resentment at all…
is this what they call passion?” Kaito chuckled to himself.
In his past life, he certainly wouldn’t have been this energized about working overtime.
He slid open the door to the staff room and found the lights still on.
Hana, who had been buried in her research, looked up at the sound and gave Kaito a somewhat surprised look.
“Good evening, Hana-senpai.
You’re still here?” “Ah, I still have a few training programs for my Uma Musume to finish up.” Hana replied while typing on her computer.
She was dedicated to every Uma Musume under her care, frequently working late into the night.
She truly lived up to her reputation as Hana-senpai.
Kaito felt a surge of admiration, then heard her ask.
“But you just got back, Kaito.
Aren’t you going to rest at this hour?” “Same reason as you, senpai.” Kaito smiled and returned to his seat.
Hana suddenly realized the implication of his words.
“You recruited an Uma Musume?” “Yes.” “Seriously?!” Hana was astonished.
Considering his start date, Kaito was a bona fide rookie.
Recruiting an Uma Musume this early was truly impressive!
“Who did you recruit?
Old Town Street or Violet Street, perhaps?” “No, it’s Rice Shower.” “Rice Shower, who placed tenth?” Hana pictured the petite Uma Musume in her mind.
She didn’t have any standout speed, and she wasn’t very composed during the race either.
If it was a girl like that, she would indeed be easier to recruit.
Hana’s sense of relief immediately faded quite a bit.
She worried that Kaito had only chosen Rice Shower to become a full-fledged Trainer and start collecting a paycheck as soon as possible, and that deep down, he was just like the others who had promised to recruit her but eventually gave up on the girl.
Thus, she couldn’t help but warn him.
“Kaito, since you chose that girl, you need to take responsibility for her to the very end.
Do you understand what I’m saying?” “Huh?” Kaito replied in confusion.
What did she mean by taking responsibility to the very end?
Did she see him as the kind of guy who would make a commitment and then just walk away?
But Hana didn’t explain further.
Seeing Kaito respond so promptly, she felt slightly more at ease, though she still sighed inwardly.
A rookie Trainer and an Uma Musume with no results…
it was really hard to be optimistic about…
…
Shortly after, having finished her work, Hana reminded Kaito not to forget to turn off the lights when he left, and then headed out of the staff room first.
In the silent, empty academy, only the light above Kaito’s head remained.
He looked up at the updated panel in front of him.
[Host has successfully recruited an Uma Musume.
System functions officially unlocked.] [Current Assignment: Rice Shower] [Status: Insecure, Timid, Resilient] [Skill Progress: Straight Accel (31/100)] [Reminder: This system can only assist the Trainer in checking the Uma Musume’s status.
It cannot provide direct boosts.
All progress requires the joint effort of the Trainer and the assigned Uma Musume.] “Phew.” Kaito let out a breath, feeling somewhat more relaxed.
Although the changes in the timeline had made the Uma Musume’s future uncertain, and the system only had auxiliary functions, it still allowed him to grasp some direction.
For instance, Rice Shower currently had progress in Straight Accel, needing 69 more points out of 100 to master the skill.
He could design some training to enhance her Straight Accel.
Moreover, based on his observations, Rice Shower in this world still had a lot of potential.
That vaguely formed Stride running style even without training, along with her abundant stamina, would allow Rice Shower to perform just as well in medium-to-long distances as she did on Earth.
Not to mention, she even called him onii-san!
“Now, it’s time to make the plan.” Kaito pulled out a stack of blank paper, pressing the tip of his pen against it as he thought.
Drafting a plan for an Uma Musume inevitably involved the race route, preferred running style, and daily training regimen.
The so-called race route meant selecting appropriate races based on the Uma Musume’s track surface and distance aptitudes, and then carrying them out one by one in the future.
The races in the Twinkle Series were broadly divided into the mainstream Turf and the less prominent Dirt.
Based on importance, they were set from high to low as G1, G2, G3, Listed (OP), and Class (Pre-OP).
The first three, due to their higher tiers, were called Graded Races.
In addition, there were restrictions on the races Uma Musume of different age groups could participate in, divided into Debut Class, Classic Class, and Senior Class.
Right now, Rice Shower needed to accumulate enough wins or popularity in the Debut Class races to challenge higher-tier events.
“Let’s go with the Heather Stakes.” After much thought, Kaito chose this Turf race, held on the weekend after next, which was the first half of December, as Rice Shower’s next target.
With a distance of 2000m and held at Hanshin, it was considered the most suitable race for Rice Shower among the Class races.
After that came deciding on the running style.
Although an Uma Musume’s running style would be adjusted according to the race and the opponent lineup, they would ultimately have a style they were more proficient in.
Judging from Rice Shower’s performance of not having high speed but possessing great stamina, Runner was a choice worth trying.
Having Rice Shower seize the lead at the very beginning of the race, using her stamina to maintain the distance from the Uma Musume behind her, and thereby winning the race—Kaito established this strategy.
“Now for the training regimen.” According to Tracen Academy’s classification, Uma Musume training was divided into five major categories: Speed, Stamina, Power, Guts, and Wisdom.
Each type of training would also concurrently train one or two other attributes, and focusing on one type of training for a period of time often yielded better results.
After some comparison, Kaito first ruled out Stamina training, because Rice Shower’s stamina was quite excellent among her peers and didn’t need strengthening for the time being.
He then also ruled out Guts and Wisdom training.
Guts training wouldn’t help much for Rice Shower, who was currently racing in shorter distances, and Wisdom training was a long-term process that couldn’t be changed in the short term.
Ultimately, Kaito chose Speed training, which would complement Rice Shower’s initial acceleration to seize the leading position, and also perfectly exercise Straight Accel.
As for the training methods.
In this world, Trainers had set up various speed training methods for Uma Musume, such as sparring, long-distance runs, treadmills, and leg weights…
But most of them were essentially the same in nature, relying on grueling training to accumulate volume.
Not only was the efficiency low, but it also easily caused physical strain on the Uma Musume.
Even though the bodies of Uma Musume were stronger than those of ordinary humans or horses, this really couldn’t be considered a reasonable training method.
But this world didn’t have that.
He did!
Thinking of this, Kaito immediately put pen to paper.
He was going to use the training knowledge from his past life to give this world a little shock of efficiency!