A little over an hour later.
"Aw, don't rush me, McQueen. I said I'd let you have it after half an hour, and I definitely won't go back on my word."
"But you said that half an hour ago, Teio... Sigh, never mind. You're just like a little kid."
Mejiro McQueen smiled and shook her head, amused by her friend clutching the drone's controller and refusing to let go. She glanced at it enviously, then rested her chin in her hand and looked at the tablet on the desk.
A data cable was plugged into the tablet, its other end connected to the controller in Tokai Teio's hands.
The controller was about the size of a brick.
An antenna rose from the top. The front half had joysticks, various buttons, and indicator lights.
Most of the back half was taken up by a screen.
On it were European-style buildings with blue-tiled roofs and red-brick walls, paved avenues, tree-lined paths, bright classrooms, and lush green training grounds...
It was an aerial view of Central Treisen Academy.
The tablet displayed the same image. As Tokai Teio moved the joysticks and pressed the buttons, the scenes on both screens flew past at incredible speed.
"That's amazing. I can't believe such a small machine can fly so fast."
After watching the screen in amazement for a while, Mejiro McQueen looked at Anjing Zhen.
"If I'm not mistaken... the drone's going about 60 kilometers per hour right now?"
Before Anjing Zhen could answer, Tokai Teio spoke without looking back, like a child showing off a beloved toy.
"That's right, McQueen. I've set it to 60.
"Trainer Yasui said its top speed could reach 72 kilometers per hour, but even a G1's Last Spurt can't hit that speed, and neither can a training run. Sixty is plenty.
"Hehe, you'll see for yourself when you get a turn."
Mejiro McQueen smiled helplessly. After knowing her friend for so many years, she could tell she was showing off.
But she soon focused on the drone, studying the image on the tablet with interest.
After seeing Anjing Zhen demonstrate it earlier, she'd immediately understood what the drone could do.
High-quality footage was important for both training and races.
Reviewing footage like this could help trainers and horse girls spot all kinds of problems and learn from them, allowing them to improve their plans going forward.
There were three main ways to film at present: cameras positioned around the racetrack, various security cameras, and filming by following the runners or from a fixed position.
Each method had its advantages and disadvantages.
The track cameras produced excellent footage, but apart from what was released on various programs, the recordings were usually kept by the Association and the Academy. Accessing them required an application and all sorts of paperwork.
Security cameras covered a wider area, but getting access to their recordings was even more difficult, and the image quality was poor.
Trainers mostly filmed on their own, but they couldn't keep up with the speed of horse girls unless another horse girl helped them.
If they filmed alone, they could only set up a stationary camera, which meant the footage would be limited to a single angle.
Having a horse girl run along while holding a camera was no better. At high speeds, the camera shook violently, so the footage wasn't ideal.
Drones, however, combined all the advantages of the existing methods while avoiding their drawbacks.
In particular, as Anjing Zhen had explained, once the flight path was set, three drones could be used to film continuously. The resulting footage would undoubtedly be far better than anything they'd had before.
At the thought, Mejiro McQueen couldn't help looking at Anjing Zhen expectantly.
"Trainer Yasui, since you'd already thought of this, you must have filmed Kitasan Black during training these past few days. Could I take a look?"
Tokai Teio glanced over as well.
As a horse girl with top-tier talent and plenty of experience, she could see the same potential her friend did.
So although she was still reluctant to part with the controller, she hadn't forgotten her responsibilities as President.
"Right. You only told me about it last night, but you must have filmed something during this morning's training, Trainer Yasui?"
Earlier, while Tokai Teio had been playing with the drone, Anjing Zhen hadn't said anything to spoil the fun.
He'd wanted the two Presidents to experience the advantages of this filming method for themselves. That would make the conversation that followed go more smoothly.
Now that they'd both brought up the main topic, he had no reason to hide anything. He shook his head.
"Not yet. There are still a few problems with the drone. That's what I wanted to discuss with you two."
"Problems?"
They asked in unison. After thinking for a moment, Tokai Teio handed the controller to McQueen.
"McQueen, bring the drone back. I'll talk to Trainer Yasui first."
"...So now you remember me, huh?"
Mejiro McQueen complained with a laugh, but didn't refuse.
After taking the controller, she followed Anjing Zhen's earlier instructions.
The most obvious problem was the noise.
Pointing at the image on the tablet, Anjing Zhen explained:
"You can't hear it through this because there's a noise-canceling device built into the drone.
"But you both heard it take off. Honestly, it's pretty loud.
"When it's close by, you can hear that buzzing sound the whole time.
"Your hearing is sensitive, so if we don't solve this problem, it'll affect your training to some extent.
"There are also some software issues.
"Strictly speaking, this machine is still a prototype. I only managed to get it because of a strange coincidence.
"Actually, I didn't exactly buy it. The inventor wanted me to conduct field tests, so they provided it to me.
"So the camera controls, image processing, collision avoidance... In short, a lot of the software still needs work.
"And then there's the issue of privacy."
Anjing Zhen made no attempt to avoid the subject.
Tokai Teio paused, then quickly understood.
"That's true. With a machine like this, it'd be easy to film just about anything.
"Everyone at the Academy is a girl, including the teachers and trainers. It'd be easy to cause a misunderstanding if we weren't careful.
"Let me think..."
Anjing Zhen didn't interrupt.
He already had a few preliminary solutions in mind, but he remembered Tokai Teio as being very capable. She might come up with something better, so there was no need to rush. He decided to wait and see.
Before Tokai Teio could speak again, Mejiro McQueen sounded puzzled.
"Huh? Isn't that Kitasan Black? What's she doing?"
Anjing Zhen and Tokai Teio both turned their attention to the screens.
Like Mejiro McQueen, they soon saw a black-haired girl right in the center of both screens.
It was break time, and plenty of students were chatting in the hallways. Others had gone out to the field to wander around or play games with their friends.
The black-haired girl on the screen wasn't chatting in the hallway or relaxing outside.
Instead, she was crouching suspiciously in the bushes beside the field, holding a leafy branch in each hand.
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