Although they hadn't signed an agreement yet, Hokubu Genkoma had already changed the way she addressed him. The tall stack of folders and videotapes in her arms was the material she'd mentioned.
Yasui Makoto had asked Tokai Teio to provide it that afternoon.
Unlike other academies, Tracen Academy gave its Student Council President considerable authority. He could represent the academy and handle all kinds of affairs without going through the Board of Directors or the Chairman.
That included control over the Academy Archives, many of whose records were inaccessible to outsiders.
Yasui Makoto was still a rookie and didn't yet have the authority to consult them. With Tokai Teio's approval, though, there was no problem.
"Thanks for your hard work, Xiao Bei."
After opening the door, he turned and walked straight into the Living Room, casually pointing at the floor.
"Just put them anywhere. I'll get you some water."
"Oh, okay... You don't have to go to the trouble, Trainer. The President gave me lots of honey drinks, so I'm not thirsty."
"Then make yourself comfortable... Have you eaten?"
"Not yet..."
Hokubu Genkoma shook her head, then perked up.
"I also told the President that I'd be looking after you for the next few days. Just let me know if you need anything, Trainer!"
"I don't need anything in particular. Just make yourself at home."
Taking out his phone, Yasui Makoto asked, "Want me to order you something?"
"Do you always eat takeout, Trainer?"
Hokubu Genkoma paused, then found herself looking around the room.
There wasn't much in the entryway besides a few pairs of shoes. The Living Room, on the other hand, was full of books and videotapes about Uma Musume and Trainers, as well as handwritten notes and documents. There was even a laptop on the coffee table.
There was a lot of stuff, but aside from the many open books on the sofa, everything was neatly arranged. The place wasn't messy, and there was plenty of room to walk around.
If she had to point something out, the trash can was overflowing with crumpled sheets of paper and takeout containers printed with the words "Gray Stable."
"Cooking for myself is too much trouble, and there's a restaurant down the street from the academy that makes really good food and delivers fast. I got used to it."
Setting his phone on the sofa, Yasui Makoto sat down and casually began flipping through the materials Hokubu Genkoma had put down.
"If you don't like takeout, I guess I can't invite you to stay for dinner."
"Huh? No, it's fine."
Hokubu Genkoma waved her hands, then took out her phone.
"I'll order something, then. You mean the Gray Stable restaurant, right?
"That place is really popular at the academy. If people aren't eating in the cafeteria, they usually go there.
"Oh! A few upperclassmen run it, too. I wonder if you've met them, Trainer... Huh?"
She had just found the delivery app on her phone when she noticed Yasui Makoto open the laptop on the coffee table, then switch on the TV and video player. Curiosity got the better of her.
"Trainer, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to look at some races at Tokyo Racecourse and compare them with your data."
Picking out a videotape and putting it in the player, Yasui Makoto sat back down on the sofa and set a stack of documents beside the laptop. He explained casually:
"I don't have any footage of your training, so this will give me a basic idea of how things stand.
"The Archives keeps recordings from multiple camera angles. They're hard to find online or anywhere else, and the records of each race's participants are unique, too.
"Comparing all this should help me understand your situation better. But after we sign a contract, I'll definitely want to see you run in person."
As he spoke, Yasui Makoto noticed that Hokubu Genkoma's attention was almost entirely fixed on the race playing on the screen. He nodded to himself.
Running was an instinct and a longing for Uma Musume.
But even with the same instincts and longings, Uma Musume were different from one another.
For instance, many of the Uma Musume he'd met back home weren't especially passionate about racing. At least, they didn't get as focused as Hokubu Genkoma whenever a race came up.
That showed she already had a very strong competitive spirit.
The recording was showing pre-race interviews, which weren't especially important to watch. While approving of her enthusiasm, Yasui Makoto glanced at the phone in Hokubu Genkoma's hand, picked up his own from the sofa, and casually ordered two meals.
After that, he compared the footage against the various records and entered calculations into the laptop.
For a race, the most obvious data point was speed. The three most important kinds were starting speed, cruising speed, and Last Three Furlongs Speed.
Starting speed was the time between the gate opening and the Uma Musume reacting. In theory, the fastest possible reaction time was 0.1 seconds, while the average was 0.25 seconds.
The difference often determined who gained position during the Opening Phase and could affect the tactics used later.
Cruising speed lasted the longest and generally referred to the speed maintained between the Opening Phase contest and the Final Phase.
In most races, it ranged from 15 to 17 meters per second. The exact figure depended on factors such as the race distance, the participants' abilities, and the track conditions.
Last Three Furlongs Speed could also be called top speed. It was used to decide the race over the final 600 meters.
Depending on the race distance, tactics, and how things unfolded, that stretch could vary by as much as 200 meters in either direction, with the speed changing accordingly.
Compared with the speeds shown in the recordings, Hokubu Genkoma's figures in the Archives weren't particularly impressive. Both her peak and average speeds were considerably lower.
Yasui Makoto wasn't surprised. The former figures came from official races, while the latter were only from training—and training before her debut, at that.
What he was mainly interested in was the fluctuation, or the variance within each set of data.
The smaller the variance, the more stable the data. The larger it was, the less stable.
After calculating and checking his results more than a dozen times, the conclusion was clear: Hokubu Genkoma's training data currently had a high variance, meaning her speed wasn't stable.
This could certainly be explained by how well she controlled her strength, but that was far from the whole story.
Speed was only the outward result, and strength control was just one contributing factor. Other factors included oxygen uptake, body fat ratio, gait characteristics, and running habits. Every one of them affected performance in training and official races.
After trying a few more calculations and comparing different sets of data, Yasui Makoto quickly came up with a theory that went beyond her strength.
"Xiao Bei, have you ever specifically trained the Assault Step used in races?"
"Go! Go! Go! ...Huh?"
When Yasui Makoto asked, Hokubu Genkoma had been watching the race with great enthusiasm, shouting encouragement at the Uma Musume on screen as if she were right there in person.
"The Assault Step...? We learned about it in class, but..."
She scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "I didn't have a Trainer back then, and none of the older Uma Musume in my family taught me..."
Yasui Makoto fell into thought.
He'd already had a vague impression of this, and he'd just looked over the records. Hokubu Genkoma came from a large family, with other Uma Musume besides her.
None of them were especially outstanding, though, so it was hardly surprising that nobody had pointed out the issue.
"Trainer, if I haven't mastered the Assault Step, then my next race..."
A series of knocks at the door interrupted Hokubu Genkoma. At the same time, Yasui Makoto's phone rang.
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