...
Lucian remained completely unaware of everything happening on campus.
After reorganizing the training room in the morning and finalizing the training plan, he hadn't expected time to pass so quickly.
Leaning back in his chair, Lucian lazily yawned.
Looking around the spacious lounge, he felt it was a bit too empty—lacking some floral decorations.
Well, he might as well leave the design choices to the girls themselves.
"I wonder how they'll feel when they receive the gifts."
His thoughts drifted away.
Truthfully, until today, he hadn't been able to promise those benefits.
The reason was simple—he didn't have enough money.
But after officially becoming a full-fledged Trainer, he finally gained his parents' approval—his frozen bank account was unfrozen.
In this world, Lucian's parents were both businesspeople and naturally hoped he would follow the same path.
But Lucian knew his parents weren't supporting him solely because he had become a full Trainer.
Another reason was likely that they had noticed the business opportunities brought by the rising popularity of horse girls in their country.
Still, no matter what, it was ultimately a good thing.
"In our country, there must be quite a few reincarnated horse girls too, right?"
Lucian stared at the wall clock, lost in thought.
...
After lunch, Lucian simply stayed in the training room.
Before long, Haru Urara, Special Week, and Silence Suzuka arrived at the training room entrance.
"Now that everyone's here, let's start training."
"Trainer, shouldn't we do roll call?" Haru Urara raised her hand high, always full of energy.
"With just three people, it's kinda..."
Meeting Urara's sparkling, expectant eyes, Lucian swallowed his words.
How could he let his own team members feel neglected? He'd spoil them!
"Haru Urara."
"Here!"
...
"Special Week."
"Present, Trainer!"
...
"Silence Suzuka."
"Here."
...
"Good. Let's begin our team's first training session."
Lucian led the three to the training field.
Warm-up exercises before training were essential, so he first had them do a four-kilometer jog, followed by dynamic stretching.
"Take a five-minute break."
Glancing at their condition, even Urara—the least fit among them—was barely out of breath.
He couldn't help but marvel at the natural running talent of horse girls, though there were still differences among them.
Still, he'd gradually increase the intensity later.
"Time's up. Let's continue training."
Today's training was relatively light, focusing only on basic aerobic running.
But by the afternoon, all three were drenched in sweat.
The evening breeze felt chilly against their skin. Worried that lingering sweat might lead to catching a chill, Lucian had them change in the training room.
After they changed, he held a small meeting with Special Week.
"Spe-chan, you once said your dream was to become the number one horse girl in Japan, right?"
Special Week wasn't sure why he was asking. "Yes, that's right."
"Do you know the best shortcut to achieving that dream? You don't, do you?" Lucian smiled.
"I... don't really know," Special Week admitted sheepishly.
"Conquering the Classic Triple Crown."
"The Classic Triple Crown?" She had heard about it in class but couldn't quite recall the details.
"Mm. The Satsuki Sho, the Japanese Derby, and the Kikuka Sho. Each horse girl gets only one chance to compete in these races in her lifetime—all of them are G1-level events."
Special Week's expression grew serious as she silently committed Lucian's words to memory.
Noticing her reaction, Lucian lightened the mood. "But you don't need to stress too much. Focus on taking the first step. If possible, I'll schedule your debut race for next week."
"Right, those races are still far off, so I shouldn't—... Huh?! Trainer, what did you say? Debut race?!" At first, she nodded along, but then her eyes widened in shock.
"Lucian-sensei, isn't this too rushed?" Silence Suzuka also found it inappropriate.
Only Urara was excited. "A debut race?! Me too, me too!"
"It's not rushed. With Spe-chan's ability, she's definitely ready for a debut race."
Lucian knew the outcome, but he couldn't say it outright.
Still, if Special Week wanted to postpone, he'd respect her wishes.
"Spe-chan, if you feel unprepared, we can delay it."
Special Week straightened up, clenching her fists. "Trainer, let's schedule it for next week. I'm confident."
"Good. You're being especially special today." Lucian gave a thumbs-up.
Everyone sweatdropped.
"Spe-chan..." Silence Suzuka was still worried—after all, Special Week had transferred less than a week ago.
"Suzuka, you believe in me too, right?"
"Trainer! And Urara! Urara wants to do a debut race too!" Ignored, Haru Urara grabbed Lucian's hand and shook it vigorously.
Silence Suzuka's gaze sharpened, locked onto their connected hands.
It felt glaring—like looking directly at the scorching summer sun at two in the afternoon.
But what did it matter?
Urara was just being her usual lively, mischievous self... There was no way Lucian would develop any unusual feelings for her.
Silence Suzuka tried to convince herself.
Yet her eyes grew increasingly resentful as she looked at Lucian.
"Alright, alright, hold on, hold on." Lucian finally managed to calm Urara down and pull his hand back.
"So I'm doing my debut race with Spe-chan?"
"Uh, no. You still need more training."
In Lucian's eyes, if there were ten lotuses in a pond, Special Week would pick one, and Urara would pick the other nine.
"Then when can I do mine?!"
Lucian really didn't want to discourage her. And that hand—which he'd never dared to raise around Silence Suzuka—now naturally settled on Urara's head.
Haru Urara froze but didn't resist, just staring blankly at Lucian.
"I know you're eager, but don't rush." Since things had come to this, Lucian gently patted her head.
The "kill" in "head-pat kill" wasn't without reason.
The once-noisy Urara instantly quieted down, lowering her eyes to the floor, her hands fidgeting nervously.
Trainer Lucian is patting my head... It feels so nice...
Lucian might overlook Urara's actual age because of her petite appearance, but Urara's emotions were undeniably real.
"Anyway, your training volume isn't enough yet. When the time comes and you're strong enough, I'll take you to your debut race. Sound good?"
Lucian took the chance to withdraw his hand.
Seeing Urara wasn't upset, he finally relaxed.
"Okay."
But to Silence Suzuka, this scene was anything but heartwarming.