Compared to when he had gone to Tokyo, more people returned to Kasamatsu: Super Creek and Kyoko Miyamura.
Super Creek had already been designated as Kitahara's "preparatory Uma Musume," so it was natural for her to return to Kasamatsu.
Kyoko Miyamura, being Super Creek's current attending physician and also tasked with accompanying Kitahara to complete graduate research, gathering data and practical experience, naturally came along as well.
After they arrived in Kasamatsu, Kitahara arranged their accommodation. Now the best trainer at the academy, he had access to resources far beyond what he had before, and easily found a comfortable double dorm room.
"Although Creek's injury has stabilized in Tokyo, she still needs some time to rest."
Standing at the dorm entrance without going inside, Kitahara instructed, "It'll be more convenient if you two stay together. Kyoko can give Creek massages regularly, and if Creek feels unwell, she can directly tell you."
"Oguri Cap and Belno Light's dorm is the fourth room from the end of this hallway. If you want to visit them, just go down this way," he added, gesturing down the corridor.
"I'll be staying in the trainer dorm across the hall, first room on the first floor. It's easy to find. If anything happens, come to me, or call me," he said, pointing out the window to indicate the dorm.
"Okay, I understand. I'll try not to trouble you, Kitahara-san! My self-care is… fine!" Kyoko raised her hand to promise.
Kitahara thought: if she hadn't paused there, I might have believed it. Now I see she probably has good medical talent, but other aspects—like daily life…
Considering Kyoko was still working toward her doctorate, Kitahara subtly smirked, knowing she wasn't yet fully mature in daily life or interpersonal skills.
With Super Creek being a caring Uma Musume, the two would complement each other nicely.
[Poor Kyoko playing goo-goo babies with Super Creek lol]
Feeling the arrangements were fine, Kitahara was about to leave when Creek suddenly raised her hand.
"Um… Kitahara-san, when can I start training?"
She hesitated, then quickly added, "I don't mean running now, I mean… I want to…"
Creek faltered, unable to find the right words. Kitahara smiled and interpreted for her:"You mean you want a clear deadline, so you have a sense of security, right?"
Creek froze, then brightened instantly.
"Yes! That's it!"
She nodded vigorously, full of anticipation. "So, Kitahara-san…"
"I know exactly how long it will take for you to fully recover, and so does Kyoko. But we aren't going to tell you."
Kitahara pointed to Kyoko, his expression serious. "You probably asked her already, right? She didn't tell you, which is why you came to ask me, correct?"
"…Yes."
Creek glanced cautiously at Kyoko, bit her lower lip, and nodded slightly.
"But… why? You know the result, yet you don't tell me…" she asked, puzzled.
With Kyoko's medical expertise and Tesou's clearance, estimating Koharu's recovery time was easy. The number was nearly certain: seven days—one week until she could resume normal training.
Kitahara had his reasons for not telling her.
"Formal training has actually already begun. You'll understand my style as we go."
Kitahara explained, "For standard training, I plan everything with precise data and adjust according to your condition. This is the same as many trainers; nothing special to discuss."
"Beyond that, I value your mental training."
"Mental training?" Creek was surprised.
"Concealing your injury before was a sign of lacking mental strength," Kitahara said bluntly. "If it were Oguri Cap, she would never do that."
"She knows that as an Uma Musume, her job is to give everything to win. Whether it bothers others or not, she deals with it afterward—once the race is won."
"This mindset didn't appear instantly. I started training her in this from her debut race."
"In her debut, I deliberately didn't let her take the front-most position, even if she could have. Do you know why?"
The sudden question left Creek momentarily at a loss, but she quickly realized that, as Kitahara said, training had already begun.
…So this is Kitahara-san's style? …Such a strange feeling…
After pondering, she took a deep breath to compose herself.
"Please guide me, Kitahara-san."
Good. No matter the girl's personality, their persistence in running was the same.
"Oguri Cap's competitive spirit is particularly strong—stronger than most Uma Musume."
Kitahara demonstrated a small tremor. "You'll notice: in every race, she can't control her fighting spirit—it instinctively makes her tremble like this."
"She needs to turn that fighting spirit into calmness. This is the mental training she faces."
"From the debut, she practiced chasing, being chased, and ensuring her strong fighting spirit didn't cloud her judgment during races. This is something she must master."
Creek's eyes widened in sudden understanding.
"So, Kitahara-san wants me to… learn patience."
Exactly. As expected of her exceptional talent. Other horse girls might not have grasped this so quickly.
"Yes, patience."
Kitahara nodded. "The long-term effect of illness on your psyche is something you might not notice yourself."
With a background in business studies and psychology electives, along with management experience, Kitahara believed that solid mental training is essential for success—both individually and for a team.
"You'll anticipate results more than other Uma Musume, in both training and races, but results aren't instant."
"Training is long—sometimes so long you can't see the end."
"Races seem short, but if you get impatient for results, your performance will falter."
Moreover, your specialty is long-distance races.
Silently noting Creek's look of comprehension, Kitahara smiled with satisfaction.
"So, by not telling you the recovery date, you get to experience this waiting and…"
"…anticipate your own transformation. You can do it, Creek."
After giving his preparatory Uma Musume some impromptu mental guidance, Kitahara hurried to the training grounds.
There, Oguri Cap waited for him to give guidance.
Preparing for the Shiwasu Special Cup at Kasamatsu on December 6.
Dirt track, clockwise, 1600 meters.
A mile race.