After noticing Hokubu Genkoma acting strangely, the three people in the office exchanged puzzled looks.
But soon, Yasui Makoto's eyes shifted.
"McQueen President, could you raise the drone a little higher... Yes, that's good."
The view on the screen widened considerably. All three could now see that the black-haired girl hiding in the grass was watching the training field.
Besides students strolling around, some Uma Musume were training during their break.
"I see..." Yasui Makoto murmured, then chuckled. "Looks like she's pretty concerned about her next race..."
He figured he'd guessed right.
His own Uma Musume looked as though she was secretly watching something.
And looking in the same direction, he spotted some of the Uma Musume training on the field who would be her rivals in the Spring Stakes.
Yasui Makoto had already looked into those rivals, but according to the plan, it wasn't time to discuss them with Hokubu Genkoma yet.
He hadn't expected the black-haired girl to suddenly take an interest and start investigating on her own.
As he wondered whether he should remind his Uma Musume, his gaze shifted slightly and settled on a figure on the field.
"Xiao Bei's next race... the Spring Stakes? So that's it."
Tokai Teio caught on, looking amused.
"Her enthusiasm is worth praising, but this sneaky approach..."
Mejiro McQueen suddenly laughed.
"Isn't this just like you back then, Teio? Before that Arima Kinen of yours..."
"Stop! Stop right there!"
Tokai Teio crossed her arms and blocked Mejiro McQueen with the speed she'd shown in the Arima Kinen. Her tone was a little frantic.
"Weren't we supposed to leave that stuff alone?! Keep it up, and I'll reveal your recent weight—mmph!"
"Ahaha, what a nice day it is... By the way, Trainer Yasui, you didn't hear anything, did you?"
Flustered, Mejiro McQueen hastily changed the subject and glanced guiltily at Yasui Makoto. He blinked.
"What's wrong, Trainer Yasui?"
Yasui Makoto hadn't really been paying attention to the two Uma Musume taking jabs at each other.
He'd kept his eyes on an Uma Musume on the screen.
At Mejiro McQueen's question, he didn't hide anything. He shook his head and pointed at the screen.
"Nothing. I'm just interested in this Uma Musume."
At that, not only Mejiro McQueen but Tokai Teio grew curious too.
The two Uma Musume unconsciously moved closer to the tablet and soon exclaimed in unison:
"Mejiro Thunder?"
Then Tokai Teio asked curiously:
"Trainer Yasui, do you know her? If I remember right, you haven't had much contact with her since coming to the academy?"
"I haven't."
Yasui Makoto shook his head, then smiled.
"An Uma Musume from a prestigious family like her doesn't need to seek anyone out. Trainers are lining up to offer themselves to her every day.
"I'm neither famous nor experienced. If I approached her, she might not even give me the time of day.
"Besides, when I first came to Tokyo, I heard she'd already signed with another trainer quite a while ago. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to approach her now.
"I'm interested in her because she's strong.
"Especially her Final Speed. It's probably among the best of her generation."
Tokai Teio nodded.
"That's true. I've also paid attention to this student's Final Speed.
"33.7, 33.7, 34.1, 33.7.
"If I remember correctly, those were her final three-furlong times in her first four races.
"That kind of Final Speed would already put her near the top of her generation, and what's even more impressive is how consistent she is.
"If she can keep performing like that in future races, she'll undoubtedly become an Uma Musume the whole world watches.
"But..."
She thought for a moment.
"Xiao Bei's next race is the Spring Stakes, and Mejiro Thunder has no races in March. Trainer Yasui, you shouldn't have anything to worry about, right?"
Yasui Makoto nodded and smiled.
"I don't even know if you could call this worrying.
"She's entered the Triple Crown, so she'll be one of Xiao Bei's rivals in the Satsuki Sho in April.
"Unfortunately, one of the types Xiao Bei struggles with is precisely those with strong Final Speed, so naturally I'm keeping an eye on her.
"Of course, she isn't the only one. I've looked into all the rivals Xiao Bei might face."
Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen both understood, then exchanged looks of admiration and relief.
"You really are something, Trainer Yasui. Most people wouldn't think so far ahead. Xiao Bei must be very easy to train."
After praising him, Tokai Teio looked at her friend, then ventured:
"Since you've already figured out Xiao Bei's weakness, you must have a plan to deal with it, right?"
Looking unconsciously toward the black-haired girl on the screen, Yasui Makoto considered his answer.
"I wouldn't say I'm a hundred percent sure, but I've been thinking about this for a long time.
"You two Presidents have known Xiao Bei for a long time, and you're both exceptionally talented, experienced seniors. You can probably tell she's a late bloomer, right?"
Tokai Teio nodded.
"Yeah. I've asked quite a few doctors, and they all said Xiao Bei's muscle mass and density are far above average.
"Combined with her large frame, that means she's much healthier and stronger than most others.
"But in exchange, she needs more time to develop before she can control her body and strength with ease and use all kinds of running techniques during a race.
"And..."
She hesitated.
"Trainers noticed this a long time ago, but there haven't been many suitable solutions.
"The only theoretical approach that might work is Trainer Shimizu's specialty, the 'Three Hill Repeats' training method.
"I considered Trainer Shimizu before, and I spoke with him briefly.
"But I've always worried that his training method would be too harsh for Xiao Bei, so I changed my mind after discovering Trainer Yasui."
Hearing that, Yasui Makoto kept his expression neutral, though he grumbled inwardly.
He'd looked into the "Three Hill Repeats" training method and agreed with Tokai Teio's assessment: it was too harsh.
No, it was more accurate to call it a hellish training method.
It involved running three 1,000-meter laps, each with a 32-meter elevation change.
A single floor was about three meters high, so 32 meters was like climbing ten floors. Running 3,000 meters on such a steep slope was insanely difficult.
More importantly, this wasn't a one-off training session. They had to do it every time, without exception.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that anything short of an iron body would probably be unable to withstand it.
So even though his analysis suggested that his own black-haired girl was physically capable of handling that hellish training, Yasui Makoto had never considered using anything like it.
Let alone since he had a more advanced and effective method.
"I've been working on Xiao Bei's strength from the very first day I started training her, but this sort of thing takes time to show results."
Avoiding any comment on another trainer's methods, Yasui Makoto said calmly:
"On top of that, she's already been practicing the basic Front-runner tactic with Yamato Akagi.
"With help from Vodka, the training to prepare her for opponents with strong Final Speed should be enough for now, in my view.
"After all, when it comes to Final Speed alone, this one clocked an astonishing 33 seconds in the final three furlongs of the Japanese Derby—a truly explosive-level performance."
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