Of course, Kenji had to handle Suzuka’s reaction too, so he immediately used an excuse he’d already prepared.
“Sorry!
I got a bit too engrossed and didn’t realize how close I was… Let me help you wipe it off?”
Kenji planned to play it off as an “accident” for the first time, fully embracing his rogue-ish vibe.
But it was unavoidable, saying something perverted like “Let me taste your foot!” would make even gentle Suzuka reject him outright, maybe even run off to report him for harassment.
He didn’t want to get fired on day two at Tracen for being a weirdo with a foot fetish, that’d be hilarious in the worst way.
As for how he’d check her updated stats later… well, that could wait.
Once they grew closer, maybe Suzuka would give him permission?
“N-No!
I’ve got it!”
“Also… your skirt is flipped up.”
“No way?!
Ugh…!!”
Suzuka finally realized she’d been exposed, frantically grabbing her skirt to pull it down.
She was so embarrassed she lost words entirely; steam practically shot out between her horse ears like a literal Steam engine.
Thanks to Kenji’s distraction, the foot-licking incident slipped past unnoticed.
Kenji didn’t give her time to overthink.
He stood up, grabbed a marker from his desk, walked to the whiteboard, tapped it twice with the cap to get her attention, and said:
“Based on my observations just now, I’ve already got a good grasp of your stats.
Let’s start with your adaptability first.
Listen carefully, Suzuka.”
“Huh?
Ah!
Yes!”
Suzuka forgot to be shy; Kenji’s serious demeanor made her realize this was official Trainer guidance, she had to pay attention!
She sat upright with her hands on her thighs (still without socks) and stared at the board.
Kenji wasn’t lying.
He wrote down what he’d just seen:
Grass: A | Dirt: G Short Distance: D | Mile: A | Medium Distance: A | Long Distance: E
“In terms of track adaptability, you’re excellent on grass and nearly useless on dirt.
For distance, you specialize in mile and medium races.
You can manage short distances if pushed, but it’s not your forte, and long distance is a hard no.”
Tracks were divided into Grass and Dirt races; Grass was far more common, and all the most famous major stakes events were run on grass.
Short Distance referred to under 1400 meters, Mile was 1401–1800m, Medium Distance was 1801–2400m, and Long Distance was over 2401m.
This was racing common knowledge, Kenji had learned it at Trainer School too.
Suzuka stared at the letter grades, completely stunned.
Her mouth hung open slightly.
Wait… He wasn’t messing with her?
He really assessed her stats just by looking at her feet?!
In her shocked gaze, Kenji continued writing the most important part, the five core stats.
This was the data that made him thrilled inside.
“Next are your five stats… Ah!
As expected, your Speed is outstanding, S rank!”
Great!
Fast means strong!
Strong means fast!
In the Uma Musume world, speed rules all!
“Your Stamina and Intelligence are decent, C range.
Power’s a bit lacking at D… but that’s still pretty good!”
Don’t underestimate an Uma Musume’s strength, a D-rank kick could easily crush three Kenjis.
“And your Guts?
That’s a pleasant surprise!
A rank!
Looks like you’re a racer with serious willpower, Suzuka!
Excellent!”
“U-Um… th-thank you for the praise…”
Speed S | Stamina C | Power D | Guts A | Intelligence C
Most were straightforward.
Worth noting was Guts, essentially willpower or mental fortitude.
It was a key metric for judging whether someone could become a top-tier racer.
Some racers had great stats but choked under pressure due to nerves; only those with big hearts claimed victory.
Of course, Kenji was so excited because… these stats could eventually become his own.
He wondered if inheritance allowed choice.
If it did, he’d definitely pick Speed.
What would 1/10th of S-rank Speed do to him?
F?
E?
Either way, it’d surpass human limits!
That alone gave him room to deal with horse-faced aunties.
But if other stats lagged, that super-speed wouldn’t last long anyway.
So balanced growth was ideal… but this time, Speed was a must.
Meanwhile, Suzuka stared at her own stats for the first time, finally getting an intuitive grasp of her “strength.”
She realized she wasn’t slow; her weaknesses were Power and Stamina.
No wonder she always exhausted herself in later stages… Of course long-distance races exposed her flaws, how could she win those?
Combining adaptability and stats, Suzuka felt like she’d gained a “Trainer’s perspective,” sparking a joyful sense of discovering a new world.
As for Intelligence… maybe it was fine?
She got high marks in school subjects… but Trainer-san probably meant tactical understanding, positioning, pacing, conserving energy.
She knew she lacked there too.
Legendary racers could strike from the perfect spot at the perfect time, that was the “Winning Equation.” Past Suzuka just ran blindly, knowing what to do but not why.
Her desired “scenery” felt shrouded in fog… But now, she saw a clear path forward, a direction that led closer to her own magnificent “scenery!” And clearing the fog was this new Trainer!
No, he was already her Trainer!
Even her previous Trainer hadn’t fully grasped her stats.
Yet he just licked… um, closely observed her feet and knew so much… Amazing!
Suzuka didn’t doubt his professionalism at all.
To most racers, Trainers felt “all-knowing.” Without them, training would be like a headless fly flailing around.
Trainers were signposts guiding their path.
Plus, she’d heard some elite Trainers had secret methods, like fellow rookie Aoi Kiryuin, who used the Kiryuin family’s “Trainer White Book” to guide her racer, Happy Mikko.
So Trainer-san’s “taste-the-foot-to-know-stats” method was probably his own unique technique too.
As admiration faded, a strange feeling crept up: she felt completely seen through by him.
She instinctively pressed her hands between her thighs and hunched her shoulders shyly.
Even though she was wearing her uniform… just shoes and socks off…
Why did it feel like he’d stripped her bare?!