The next day, as dawn broke, the morning bell rang and Tracen Academy gradually came to life.
“Good morning, Suzuka-san!” “Good morning, Tei-chan.” “McQueen, wait up!” “It is rude to shout like that, Teio-san…” The laughter of the Uma Musume filled every corner of the campus.
Some were eating in the cafeteria, some were rushing to finish last night’s homework, and others had already arrived early at the lush green training track to begin their daily warm-up routines.
Kaito yawned as he stepped onto the training grounds.
There, the petite Rice Shower was nervously looking around.
Spotting Kaito, she quickly ran over.
“G-good morning, onii-san, I mean, Trainer-san.” Rice Shower clutched her bags in both hands and bowed respectfully to Kaito.
Today, Rice Shower was wearing a red and white long-sleeved tracksuit, and she gave off a faint lavender scent, likely from her shampoo.
Furthermore, it seemed that because they were on campus, she was intentionally trying to correct how she addressed Kaito.
“Good morning, Rice Shower-san.” Kaito did not mind, but then he noticed the bag in her hands and asked curiously.
“Rice Shower-san, what is in this bag?” “Ah, t-these are things Rice Shower brought just in case…” As she spoke, Rice Shower unzipped the bag and introduced each item one by one.
“This stack of bandages is to prevent scrapes, because Rice Shower always trips and falls on flat ground for no reason.” “These are spare shoelaces, because Rice Shower’s shoelaces always mysteriously snap.” “And these two umbrellas are because anyone who stays with Rice Shower will always run into rainy days…” As she spoke, Rice Shower grew a bit embarrassed and hung her head even lower.
“I am sorry, onii-san, I mean, Trainer.
Rice Shower is an unlucky, bad girl.
Staying by my side will probably bring you bad luck too…” Seeing Rice Shower looking so dejected, Kaito gave a wry smile and shook his head.
This girl was perfect in every way, except she was too insecure and overly sensitive, always blaming herself for the unfortunate things that happened around her.
So he took a step forward to comfort her.
“Rice Shower-san, these are all just coincidences…” Before he could finish his sentence, Kaito suddenly tripped and fell on the flat ground.
“Wahh, onii-san, I mean, Trainer-san!” Rice Shower panicked immediately.
Crying out, she frantically rummaged for the bandages, but the more anxious she got, the harder it was to find them.
She looked like she was about to cry.
“I am sorry, I am sorry!
It is all because Rice Shower is a useless girl!” “Cough, it is fine!” Kaito suddenly pushed himself off the ground, dusted himself off, and pointed to his unharmed knee.
“See, it was just a fall.
I am not hurt at all.” “Rice Shower-san should not blame herself for everything.
You have to believe that these things are no big deal.” Although he said that, that fall actually hurt quite a bit.
Kaito naturally kept that to himself, though.
With his reassurance, Rice Shower gradually calmed down and nodded guiltily.
“Rice Shower understands.
I am sorry, onii-san, I mean, Trainer-san.” “If Rice Shower-san likes, you can just call me onii-san.” “O-okay!
Onii-san…
hehe.” After handling the sudden incident, it was time for the official training session.
The two sat in the spectator seats by the track to talk.
As this was the first guided training session, Kaito laid out the entire plan he had made for Rice Shower, including his intention to enter her in the Heather Stakes and adopt a Runner strategy.
Of course, he also asked for Rice Shower’s opinion on these matters, and she agreed right away.
Rather, it was the first time she felt that someone had prepared such a detailed plan for her, which made her genuinely happy.
“Next is the training plan.” “Before we officially start training, I want Rice Shower-san to promise me one thing.” “Y-yes!” Seeing Kaito’s serious expression, Rice Shower sat up straight.
“What is it?” “I want Rice Shower-san to manage her health properly.
Do not push your body too hard, whether in training or in a race.
If you notice anything abnormal, tell me immediately.
If it happens during a race, stop running right away.
Understand?” “Okay?” Rice Shower tilted her head in confusion.
She did not know why Kaito was suddenly being so serious about health management.
After all, her training volume had always been heavy, and she had never had any problems before.
But since her onii-san said so, Rice Shower still agreed earnestly.
Seeing this, Kaito breathed a slight sigh of relief.
This matter had been weighing heavily on his mind, because the Rice Shower from Earth had been forced to undergo euthanasia due to a sudden fracture during a race.
A hidden danger of this magnitude likely left traces in her daily training.
Therefore, he had to ensure Rice Shower’s physical health and arrange for regular comprehensive physical examinations in the future.
Fortunately, although Tracen Academy had many things worth complaining about, it had invested heavily in medical technology, so he did not need to worry too much about that.
“Alright, since that is settled, let us start training.” “Yes!” Kaito and Rice Shower stood up and walked to the side of the turf track.
To meet the training needs of the hundreds of Uma Musume at Tracen, the entire training facility was no smaller than a standard racetrack.
It was divided into various areas, including uphill and downhill slopes, left and right curves, dirt, and turf.
Kaito found a relatively straight section of the track.
He first had Rice Shower warm up, and then conducted two 200-meter full-speed sprint tests according to his usual methods.
Two hundred meters is the most commonly used distance unit in races, also known as one furlong, making sprints at this distance the most valuable for reference.
The final results showed that the times for the two sprints were 12.6 seconds and 12.4 seconds.
For reference, the Uma Musume of the same generation under Hana could break into the 12-second range, and only at that speed would they be competitive enough to win.
Seeing these results, Rice Shower’s ears drooped.
She had been stuck at this time for a long time and knew she could not compare to the Uma Musume of her generation at all, which inevitably made her feel a bit inferior.
But Kaito just patted her head and cheered her on.
“That is exactly why we need to train, Rice Shower-san.” “Yeah!” “Starting now, let us practice interval training runs first.” “Okay!
…Um, what is an interval training run?” Faced with a term she had never heard before, Rice Shower asked in confusion.
Kaito smiled slightly.
This was a horse racing training method that only existed on Earth, so he explained it in a way Rice Shower could understand.
“Interval training runs involve sprinting for a certain distance, then jogging for a certain distance, and repeating this for several sets.
This can activate the cardiopulmonary capacity of the runner, and it is especially helpful for growth at Rice Shower’s current stage.” “I see.
Rice Shower will try her best.” Rice Shower nodded firmly, then stepped onto the track under Kaito’s guidance.
“First, sprint for 600 meters, then jog for 600 meters, and repeat this for three sets.
I will calculate the distance for Rice Shower-san, so just focus on running.” “Got it!” Rice Shower nodded hard, cheering herself on, and then stepped out with all her might!
And so, three hours later, Rice Shower ran until she threw up.