Seeing Oguri Cap again, it was already three days later, early in the morning.
The day at Oguri Cap's house, since White Ruby had expressed agreement for Cap to join the team, Kitahara didn't linger. After the initial visit and having dinner, he exchanged contact information and left.
Back at his own home, Kitahara suppressed the urge to contact Oguri Cap and her mother again. He focused on his plan after traveling to this world: preparing for the Central Tersen Academy entrance exams.
He knew very well that an outstanding horse girl like Oguri Cap wouldn't remain in the local area forever; moving to the Central was only a matter of time.
However, he was currently just a local trainer. If Cap went to the Central, and he wasn't qualified enough to follow, they would be separated, which was unacceptable to him.
Moreover, most well-known horse girls in this world came from the Central or transferred there from local areas. To become a competent trainer, entering Central Tersen Academy was essential.
So, for over a month since arriving in this world, besides planning his development path and searching for clues related to Oguri Cap, Kitahara devoted the rest of his time entirely to preparing for Central Tersen Academy.
Central Tersen had many rules, even strict ones. Admission required passing two rigorous assessments.
The first was a written exam, testing professional knowledge, and the second was a physical fitness test, assessing health and endurance.
Although trainers didn't need to compete like horse girls, some training required physical ability—long-distance endurance runs, climbing, cross-country, and other field exercises.
The overall Central assessment was extremely selective: the first test alone eliminated 70% of candidates, and the second also about 70%, leaving a pass rate of less than 9%.
This test was similar to jockey qualifications in the other world. Before crossing over, Kitahara had some exposure to this kind of assessment. Originally, he lacked ambition and rarely studied seriously. In other words, passing Central Tersen Academy was very challenging.
Because of this, during preparation, Kitahara ignored everything else, focusing solely on practicing questions, memorizing knowledge, and physical training—just like when he had prepared for exams back home.
The only thing that could pull him from this state was matters related to Oguri Cap.
According to White Ruby on the phone, Cap ran along the riverside garden outside Kasamatsu Racecourse every morning. If he arrived early, he could meet her there.
That morning, just after five, Kitahara woke up early, holding a book titled Fundamentals of Professional Knowledge for Central Tersen, and stood by the riverside garden's embankment, looking around and thinking to himself.
The night before, while practicing questions, he had received White Ruby's call. She said, "Although Oguri Cap doesn't yet understand what Tersen or a trainer is, she knows she can run. She happily agreed to join your team, Kitahara. So, please take care of Cap in the future."
She also mentioned Cap's morning running spot, which is why Kitahara came early with the reference book to wait.
"Still waiting a while… but where is she?" Kitahara muttered in confusion, looking around.
Just then, he suddenly heard the sound of a rushing wind approaching and the thundering tremor of the ground.
With his prior experience as a racehorse and as a trainer, Kitahara knew that this was a sound only a horse girl could make.
Horse girls shared many similarities with racehorses.
In the other world, on the racetrack, full-speed gallops of horses with metal-shod hooves strike the ground like drums. Though a race only had about twenty horses, the rhythmic pounding could create the illusion of thousands of horses charging, a sound even a stadium filled with tens of thousands of spectators couldn't fully drown out.
Horse girls were similar. Though appearing delicate and human-like, under the blessing of the three goddesses, their fragile bodies contained incredible power beyond human comprehension.
Every step they took could generate astonishing force, with an impact as overwhelming as a drumbeat—something no human could replicate.
Similarly, the wind-whistling sound of a horse girl running was unmistakable.
Hearing it here, Kitahara became instantly excited and looked toward the source.
He only saw a silver-gray line in the distance, far off by the elevated bridge at the end of the river. It looked no wider than a finger.
In the blink of an eye, the thin line shot toward him like lightning, growing to human size while carrying a fierce wind.
The gust blew up debris, grass, dust, and stones from the embankment. Kitahara instinctively raised his arm to shield his face and stepped aside.
Just as he did, the wind stopped, and after a moment, he heard an emotionless, cold voice:
"Good morning, Trainer Kitahara. Have you eaten breakfast?"
Having already guessed it was Cap, hearing the familiar voice confirmed it. Kitahara couldn't help but feel a bit amused.
Truly Oguri Cap—always thinking about food.
Smiling, Kitahara lowered his arm, now astonished.
His prior experience as a trainer allowed him to estimate Oguri Cap's running speed. Although he had been lazy in this world and not preparing for Central, his professional knowledge was adequate. From his estimation, Oguri Cap had covered the last "three furlongs" in roughly 50 seconds.
While not matching top-tier horse girls, this was just a casual run. On the track, she could perform much better.
This gave Kitahara renewed confidence and a growing eagerness to discuss future races with her.
Before he could speak, a "glug-glug" humming sound arose from the riverside clearing.
Along with it, Oguri Cap's otherwise emotionless face flushed slightly.
"…Sorry, Trainer Kitahara. Although my mother told me to talk to you more, if possible, I'd like to go home and eat first."