Belno Light ultimately agreed to join Kitahara's team. With that, Kitahara's team now had two members, and their daily training became far more varied than before the semester began.
Naturally, new members needed to be tested. Belno Light's test results were so underwhelming that even naturally scatterbrained Oguri Cap could tell her running talent was nothing special.
"Time: 64.3 seconds!"
That morning, on the riverside park's jogging path, Kitahara, equipped with a stopwatch, a record board, and binoculars, shouted out the number.
It was Belno Light's time for running 800 meters.
"Hah… hah… only 64 seconds… sigh… I really am far behind Oguri Cap…"
Hands on her knees, gasping for breath, Belno Light's face was flushed and sweaty. Her tone was full of discouragement.
12.5 meters per second was already decent. Even if Belno Light was a bit slower, it was still cute. And comparing herself to that "monster" Oguri Cap was just unfair.
Suppressing a laugh and sighing quietly, Kitahara neither scolded nor comforted her. While jotting notes on the record board, he softly said:
"Belno Light, for the next period, you'll start with basic physical training.
"When it comes to running, speed, awareness, and technique are crucial, but the foundation is always stamina. No matter how fast you are, how sharp your awareness, or how excellent your technique, it's meaningless if you can't complete the run.
"So until I give you further instructions, follow Oguri Cap's daily schedule for now."
Oguri Cap now shared a dorm room with Belno Light.
Regarding this, there was something that had infuriated Kitahara.
During the mock race, when Oguri Cap had said she was in a "very comfortable room," it was actually just a storage room.
Even a local academy wouldn't mistreat a Uma Musume, so this arrangement wasn't a school decision. Kitahara's initial surprise led him to investigate, and he discovered that Oguri Cap's previous roommate had lied, saying her dorm wasn't ready and "forcing" Oguri Cap into the storage room.
Kitahara was certain the other Uma Musume had lied. He remembered that in the original story, Oguri Cap was naturally scatterbrained and expressionless when she first enrolled, often running dirty and being ostracized, earning the nickname "Dust Bunny"
Moreover, in the last mock race, Oguri Cap had fumbled with her shoelaces because a racehorse who resented her had sabotaged her.
For such things, Kitahara felt genuine anger and even wished he could report them to the academy and expel those racehorses.
But he quickly calmed himself.
In the original story, Oguri Cap, after being discriminated against and ostracized, quickly earned respect through her extraordinary abilities. Intervening unnecessarily might even harm her. Letting things unfold naturally seemed best.
Moreover, in the original story, Oguri Cap didn't even know she had been ostracized. Exposing it now could leave psychological scars.
It was better to preserve her fond memories of her hometown. Once she reached Central, she would transform from the "Cinderella of Kasamatsu" into a proud champion.
Considering Oguri Cap's mental health, Kitahara kept everything to himself and only formally requested that the school assign Oguri Cap and Belno Light to the same dorm.
The "schedule" Kitahara referred to was Oguri Cap's own arrangement.
According to it, Oguri Cap would rise at 4 a.m., find a place to stretch, jog 10 kilometers, then do high knees, in-place jumps, 5 laps of 1000 meters, and 10 sets of strength training—a roughly 2-hour routine.
She repeated this daily, except for meals and sleep.
Her love of running wasn't empty talk; she genuinely cherished the miracle of being able to run. Her daily life was essentially constant running.
Kitahara was amazed by this. When Oguri Cap moved Shining Brilliant into the dorm, the latter was similarly shocked. This was how she learned of Oguri Cap's "schedule."
"Hah… ha!"
After catching her breath, Belno Light responded weakly, then looked at the distant silver-gray figure streaking along the path with admiration:
"Wow… Oguri Cap has such stamina, she can just keep running like that… But with such extreme training, it makes sense she has that kind of stamina…"
Then her expression darkened. "I just don't know if I can keep up with that kind of training…"
Kitahara watched Oguri Cap running in the distance and realized more and more that racehorses running naturally was a genuinely pleasing sight.
It was like wind and clouds rising, sun setting and moon rising, stars moving across the sky, tides ebbing and flowing.
Racehorses running wholeheartedly created a scene of natural beauty, so exquisite that it was hard to look away.
But Kitahara didn't forget to respond to Shining Brilliant:
"Perhaps, for Oguri Cap, this isn't training—it's her life, her existence, her everything."
"Eh?" Belno Light froze.
After a pause, thinking it might help improve her relationship with Oguri Cap, Kitahara continued:
"You might not know, but Oguri Cap was born with a disability. As a child, her knees were stiff; she couldn't even stand."
"Ah! Really? How… how could that be? That's why she said she couldn't even run before—I thought she was just saying that to comfort me…" Her adorable face was full of shock.
"She was indeed comforting you," Kitahara said with a light laugh. "Back then, she couldn't even stand, let alone run."
"That's why standing up and running is a miracle for her. She treasures this miracle, so I think as long as she can run, she will keep running."
"That's why, from your perspective, Oguri Cap seems to be practicing every day, but in reality, that's her life."
"I understand! I understand what you mean, Mr. Kitahara!" After a moment of silence, Belno Light's expression suddenly became determined.
…Wait! I didn't even mean to say anything. What do you mean you understand?
Kitahara was confused, still trying to figure out what Belno Light meant, when the cute Uma Musume suddenly dashed forward with resolve.
"I'm going to run 10 kilometers too!"
Some time later…
"…Thank you, Oguri Cap. Where did you find her?"
Looking at Belno Light, who was panting heavily and a bit dazed, Kitahara rubbed his forehead and asked.
"Oh, down by the river. Belno Light is amazing—after running so hard earlier, she can still run 10 kilometers. I couldn't do that at all."
Kitahara was speechless. He quietly felt relieved that SBelno Light was too exhausted to hear Oguri Cap's praise; otherwise, she might be embarrassed.
Still, he knew Oguri Cap's straightforward personality: she simply stated the facts. If exhausted, she really couldn't run 10 kilometers.
"Perhaps Belno Light really has some hidden talent, but with this kind of endurance training…" Kitahara thought briefly, then glanced at Belno Light Brilliant, who now looked like a faint wisp of energy, and quickly changed his mind.
"Never mind, she's already gone over 10 kilometers. Better to take it slow…"
"After hearing about Oguri Cap's past, this kid probably got fired up. If she did this kind of extreme training all the time, it would ruin her health…"