What Super Creek mentioned was actually something Kitahara had noticed as well.
However, perhaps because he already had a fixed impression in his mind that Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower were both the type of horse girls who didn't particularly like initiating contact with others, he hadn't paid much attention to it.
Thinking about it now, those two horse girls were still quite young — not yet at the age he remembered them being — so he couldn't judge their personalities based on memories.
Especially since he had recently decided to talk more with the horse girls about things outside of races and training, if he also chatted more with these two newcomers, perhaps he could help them become more cheerful.
"Thanks for the reminder, Creek."
After thinking for a moment, Kitahara nodded and smiled.
"You're right. Helping the two of them integrate better into training and into your daily lives is indeed something I, as a trainer, should be doing."
After that, he started walking toward the corner of the dining table, thinking about how to invite them.
Originally, he thought that with personalities like Mihono Bourbon's and Rice Shower's — who rarely talked or interacted with others — inviting them out might be a bit difficult.
In just a few steps to approach them, he had already come up with several different ways to invite them.
But what he didn't expect was that the moment he mentioned going out, he immediately got affirmative replies.
"Target confirmed. Proceeding to the Transportation Bureau to investigate the racecourse road conditions. Master Kitahara, please lead the way."
"Eh? G-going to the Transportation Bureau…? O-okay, Rice Shower will be careful and won't cause any trouble…"
The invitation went far more smoothly than expected. This surprised Kitahara and also made him realize once again that communication with horse girls didn't have to be limited to training and races alone.
Especially since both the timeline of this world and the various races were already diverging more and more from his memories.
It was easy to imagine that although the horse girls' general goals, dreams, and abilities might not change much, many details would definitely differ from those of the parallel world he remembered.
For example, Mihono Bourbon and Rice Shower's preferred running styles and strength were quite different from what he remembered, and even their personalities and mannerisms had subtle differences.
So as a trainer, it was necessary to put more thought into these aspects — even to the point of getting to know them all over again.
The team training camp was located at a seaside area on the outskirts of the city, while Nagoya's Transportation Bureau was inside the city. The distance between them was quite far.
To make the investigation easier, Kitahara decided to borrow a car from the resort estate and take the two horse girls into the city.
However, what they didn't notice was that about ten seconds after their car left the estate and entered the road, another car that also seemed to be heading into the city slowly followed them.
Inside the following car was a conversation with a rather strange tone.
"I say, Rudolf… you really know this Trainer Kitahara well, don't you? How did you know he definitely wouldn't stay by the seaside today and would go into the city?"
The one speaking was Katsuragi Ace, who had just met Kitahara and the others yesterday.
She was sitting in the back seat, pinning down the horse girl next to her in a clear restraining posture while looking curiously toward the driver's seat.
The one being pinned down was Maruzensky. Even before getting into the car, her eyes had lit up, and she had almost instantly rushed toward the driver's seat.
But everyone present had experienced her high-speed driving before — or rather, had suffered from it.
Whether it was Katsuragi Ace, CB, or Mejiro Ramonu, they all reacted with astonishing coordination, moving with speed comparable to a race.
Relying on their numbers and greater strength, they dragged Maruzensky back just before she could touch the driver's door and shoved her into the back seat.
Then Katsuragi Ace and CB sat on either side of her, while Mejiro Ramonu very cooperatively took the front passenger seat — the second closest position to the steering wheel.
The one in the driver's seat was the person Katsuragi Ace was questioning: Symboli Rudolf.
"Kitahara is someone who can never sit still, and someone who has a level of passion — even obsession — for horse girls that ordinary people can hardly imagine."
Holding the steering wheel steadily and staring at the car more than a hundred meters ahead, Rudolf explained without even glancing at the rear-view mirror.
"From what I know, aside from training and races, he seems to have no other hobbies."
"Even during breaks between races, he spends his time watching race recordings, reading horse-girl magazines, or interacting with especially talented horse girls."
"For example, after the Satsuki Sho, even when Director Akikawa urged him to take a proper rest and even ordered him to take a vacation…"
"He went to Hokkaido claiming it was for sightseeing, yet came back with that child, Special Week."
"I checked her profile and watched some of her training. It can be said without exaggeration that she has the potential to lead an entire generation."
"It's not hard to imagine that his so-called sightseeing trip was, from the start, meant to find that child."
At this point, Rudolf pressed her lips together slightly, looking troubled and puzzled.
"Although it's strange how he does it — judging talent immediately without much direct contact — I've seen a similar ability in a few trainers. So perhaps Kitahara has that talent too."
"In short, someone like him — a trainer who is both extremely enthusiastic about horse girls and accustomed to planning things…"
"That relay race he mentioned casually might already have been carefully planned, and once confirmed, he would immediately put it into action."
"So thinking that way, he obviously wouldn't rest today. He would definitely go investigate and analyze the race venue."
Rudolf's reasoning sounded a bit like a detective's. Although full of speculation, the logic itself wasn't flawed.
More importantly, she and her companions waited — and indeed saw the expected result.
"So you brought us here to wait because you already predicted this? Geez, if that's the case, you should've said so earlier. I thought you were acting crazy."
Only Katsuragi Ace, who was both Rudolf's peer and very blunt by nature, would speak to her like that.
After complaining slightly, she joked again:
"But I still think this way of doing things is weird."
"The dignified Student Council President of Tracen Academy, leading a group of horse girls to secretly follow a trainer by car."
"If people know, they'll think you're just trying to understand him better."
"If they don't, they'll think you're some kind of twisted pervert."
"Katsuragi…!"
Naturally, Katsuragi Ace's words made Rudolf extremely embarrassed — and that was indeed one of the reasons she had come to Nagoya.
In the eyes of the academy, the Student Council, and especially Rudolf herself, Kitahara was an extremely special trainer.
If she had to describe him, he was like an "outlier" of this generation — anyone in the industry or among horse girls could immediately sense how different he was.
This didn't refer merely to his passion. Other trainers were equally fanatical.
What made him an "outlier" was the astonishing way he handled training and races.
Perhaps it was slightly dismissive of local trainers, but after long investigation and analysis, Rudolf truly believed that Kitahara was on an entirely different level — almost a different dimension — from other local trainers.
Even compared to his uncle, Musaka Ginjiro.
From rising rapidly in Kasamatsu to shining in Tokyo, and then continuing to display unbelievable talent in Tokyo itself.
Both he and his team — and the horse girls under him — consistently outperformed all others in Japan.
Not only was this unprecedented in this generation, it had never happened in the entire history of Japanese horse girls.
Looking worldwide, there were hardly any comparable examples.
And yet, his origin was merely Kasamatsu.
Although the gap between local and central trainers had been shrinking in recent years, thanks to efforts by Akikawa Yayoi and others, Kitahara had developed before that.
At that time, local Tracen education was backward, and outstanding horse girls were rare.
Under such conditions, local trainers usually had narrow perspectives, focused mainly on domestic races.
Frontline theory and global perspectives were practically unheard of.
Yet Kitahara had both solid skills and a world-class outlook — and even turned those ideas into practice through business methods.
She even consulted business elites, who all agreed: if Kitahara weren't a trainer, he would be one of their strongest competitors or most reliable partners.
Despite all this, Rudolf still felt she couldn't fully understand him.
Partly out of curiosity, but more importantly because she felt that if her dream were ever to be realized, only someone like Kitahara could help her achieve it.
She had a dream.
Even after retiring, she never abandoned it — only buried it deeper as work consumed her.
She had desperately wanted to compete overseas.
She wanted to truly stand at the top of the world.
Not only that, but she failed.
But that dream never died.
Now she hoped to pass it on.
That was why she was here.
"…Alright. Maybe this does look a bit like stalking."
"But if my plan works, it could change the entire Japanese horse-girl world."
"That's why I invited you all."
"So please cooperate this time, and don't mess things up."
"We'll talk after we see what Kitahara does today."
(End of Chapter)