Watching Hokubu Genkoma, tense yet eager and trying her best to get everything right, Yasui Makoto clearly felt how seriously she took her role as assistant trainer.
Especially her analysis just now. The angle she'd taken, the logic of her explanation, even the rhythm of her occasional pauses to think—all of it overlapped with Yasui Makoto's usual manner in much the way Alice Speed had teased.
He couldn't help recalling what she'd said earlier: "I just want to understand you better, Makoto, and... get a little closer to your world." His heartstrings seemed to have been gently plucked, sending faint but unmistakable ripples through him.
The feeling warmed his heart, though it came with a trace of complicated emotion he couldn't quite put into words.
But he quickly reined in that moment of distraction, pressing all his churning thoughts back down and shifting into pure trainer mode.
Now... wasn't the time to dwell on this.
With that thought, he nodded approvingly at Hokubu Genkoma and spoke in an even tone:
"You've got the overall direction exactly right, Xiao Bei."
Hokubu Genkoma's eyes lit up at the praise. Then, without pausing, he considered things for a moment, rose to his feet as he habitually did, and walked over to the whiteboard, ready to analyze things in greater depth.
Just as he came to a stop, Hokubu Genkoma had already read his intentions and handed him the erasable marker she'd been holding.
He took it as naturally as could be, without the slightest hesitation, and began writing and drawing on the whiteboard.
"But the details are what determine success or failure."
As he spoke, he wrote down a few terms on the board:
"In her early days racing on the dirt tracks at Kasamatsu, Oguri Cap's adaptability was phenomenal.
"But the data