After strolling around campus a bit more and chatting casually, Maruzensky left with the inspection team.
Kitahara found this legendary Uma Musume refreshingly dashing—straightforward, cheerful, pretty, and gentle. Born to a distinguished British family and impeccably brought up, she was hard not to like.
Of course, it would've been nicer if she hadn't made a point of emphasizing one last thing before saying goodbye—"going for a drive."
"It's rare to meet someone I click with this well, Kitahara. When you get to Tokyo, I'll take you out for a spin in the car."
Maruzensky said this in high spirits, and even switched to the more familiar "Kitahara" instead of the polite "sir" or "Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara, however, politely declined in his heart.
Maruzensky's "go for a drive" definitely meant street racing.
Her Hall of Fame title is "Dream Supercar," and her ride is a bright red supercar she inherited from her father.
When she floors it, the car is more than twice as fast as her own sprinting speed in a race.
To her, that's simply "the normal speed a sports car should have."
Which… suggests she has a very unusual understanding of the word "normal."
In any case, for the sake of his physical and mental well-being, Kitahara didn't dare accept. He only murmured something noncommittal like "we'll see when the time comes," while privately considering asking Uncle Koku or Kyoko for a medical certificate stating "riding in red sports cars causes discomfort."
The two busiest items on his plate—business planning and hosting the inspection team—were now done. Beyond that, there were still time-consuming chores like organizing data, analyzing races, and collecting domestic and international intel. But he'd been doing those all along, so they didn't feel burdensome.
Focused work makes time fly. Once Oguri and the others finished their rest period, they returned to orderly training.
Oguri Cap's regimen remained the same: weighted work and parachute-resisted sprints.
With this kind of training, the key isn't "volume" but "quality." Simply piling on reps or a bigger canopy does nothing; every bump in intensity has to be followed by adaptation.
So the workload increase this round was modest: the weight rose from 40 kg to 45 kg; still two parachutes, but each with a slightly larger radius.
Super Creek did not do weighted or sprint training. Kitahara planned to reinforce her specialty:
Endurance.
Kasamatsu Swimming Pool, that day.
"Since we've decided to aim for the Triple Crown route, we need to start preparing from the very beginning—even before debut."
Facing Super Creek and Miyamura Kyoko, Kitahara spoke gravely: "Satsuki Sho is 2000 meters, the Japan Derby 2400, the Kikuka Sho 3000. Any one of those imposes hard requirements on stamina."
"To have a shot at winning, you first have to be sure you can run the full trip. So from here on, Creek, we're focusing your training on endurance."
"Kyoko will take point on this. Kasamatsu doesn't have truly specialized facilities for swim training, and the equipment's not comprehensive, so you'll need to get creative about collecting data."
"I'll train seriously."
"Leave it to me, Kitahara-nii. I've got her," Kyoko added.
After Creek and Kyoko agreed, Kitahara went on:
"Compared to Oguri and the others, your weaknesses are obvious—and so are your strengths."
"Your shortcoming is strength. Oguri, Tamamo Cross, and Inari One are all stronger than you. It'll be hard to beat them in head-to-head burst power—at least for now."
Super Creek pressed her lips together, quietly clenched her fists, and after a moment nodded firmly.
"I understand."
Kitahara nodded back.
"According to the data Kyoko provided, you have 3–7 percentage points fewer mitochondria per unit cell volume than Oguri and the others. That means your body's energy conversion capacity is a bit lower. Even if you try to go explosive, you're short on available energy."
"That's fine—we can adjust with diet and nutrition, and a 3–7-point gap isn't that hard to close."
"The main issue is that Oguri and the others each have advantages you can't match in the short term."
He analyzed them one by one.
"Oguri's digestive system is excellent, and she eats a lot. She's got more energy reserves."
"Her heart is also very strong. A low heart rate lets her tolerate more violent sprints and wring out every last bit of energy."
"Tamamo Cross has exceptional balance, which lets her execute more complex maneuvers mid-race."
"You watched the Naruo Kinen replay I gave you, right? You should remember: early on, she suddenly seized the lead and then slid back to stalking position, disrupting everyone else's rhythm. In the stretch, she kept accelerating while threading past rivals in succession. That's what great balance enables."
Super Creek's expression turned solemn.
"Exactly. In our training race, Tama did the same thing. Right at the end she surged, slipped around the three of us, and took first."
…Well, that had more to do with her "domain," but—
You still need fundamentals to leverage a domain. Otherwise multiplying zero by a hundred is still zero…
After a brief thought, Kitahara nodded.
"Mm. The training race too."
Finally, he talked about Inari One.
"Inari's situation is even clearer. She's small, but she weighs far more than Tamamo Cross—almost as much as you and Oguri. That's because she has a very high proportion of muscle and very low body fat; muscle is one of the heaviest tissues in the body."
"Kyoko's take is that it's linked to her being naturally fidgety and hyperactive."
Creek's eyes brightened, and she smiled.
"That's true—little Inari is very active."
"Not to mention, she has a weird habit."
"When she eats, sometimes she'll take a few bites, drink a little water, then run off to the side to… um… to pound on the tatami."
"Strange, right…"
She gave a wry smile; she obviously found it puzzling.
Kitahara, though, could guess. He figured it was the Three Goddesses' idea of a joke.
Inari One's real-horse counterpart had that exact quirk—eat a few bites, drink a little, then scamper off to rub against the tatami. No one knows why; she just did.
"In short, those are what make Oguri and the others unique—their edges. You won't match them in these categories anytime soon."
Kitahara's tone grew earnest. "But you have a unique advantage of your own: outstanding endurance derived from a powerful respiratory system."
Creek nodded hard.
"Mm. I know. I'll work on endurance until it becomes my unbreakable long suit."
Kitahara smiled.
"Not just a long suit—your secret weapon."
"Secret weapon?"
Creek blinked.
This time, Kitahara allowed himself a tiny bit of suspense.
"Imagine this: in a race—especially at 2000 or 2500 meters, distances a little shorter than the 3000 of the Kikuka Sho—you force the pace by grabbing the lead and making others spend early, turning the contest into a de facto 3000-meter race. What happens then?"
"Or, you train your endurance to the level of 4000 meters or more, and in the 3000-meter Kikuka Sho you quietly dictate the tempo, coaxing your opponents into burning their stamina ahead of schedule. What do you think the result would be?"
Watching Creek's eyes widen as the idea sank in, Kitahara smiled.
"All right, this endurance swim block is our first trial run. While you're getting used to this training, mull over that secret weapon."
"Next time you line up with Oguri and the others, let's give them a real shock."
(End of Chapter)