Just as Zhou Tai'an was wondering, the appearance of the Horse Girl dashing over from the distance became clearer in his eyes.
Gray-coated, wearing the Kasamatsu Tracen Academy tracksuit. Although she was shorter than Zhou Tai'an, she was definitely on the tall side for a Horse Girl. She looked travel-worn and quite disheveled.
But he wasn't disappointed by her appearance. On the contrary, Zhou Tai'an's eyes lit up. "Amazing! Although her form looks full of problems, the spring in her step after every bound is just so comfortable to watch!"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The aura of talent is practically radiating off her."
As her footsteps grew clearer, Zhou Tai's opened his eyes, flashed a brilliant smile, and took the initiative to greet the gray-coated Horse Girl who was about to reach him: "Good morn—Oof!"
"Good morning!" the Horse Girl replied to his greeting, then collided with Zhou Tai'an's right arm, and without even pausing, rushed into the academy.
Knocked to the ground, Zhou Tai'an sucked in a sharp breath. "Hiss—Ow, ow, ow..."
But the next second, before he could even register the pain, he was stunned by a new window that appeared in his vision—
"Basic Stat Viewer?" Zhou Tai'an glanced at the name at the top of the window, frowned, and then scanned down—
"Name: Not Displayed. Height: 167cm. Bust... Measurements: B82-W57-H82."
But as he continued reading, the remaining items in the window—such as Track Aptitude, Distance Aptitude, Strategy Aptitude, Skills, etc.—were all marked with asterisks.
He was a bit disappointed. "Geez, this really is a basic stat viewer. Only the most basic stuff."
But this also confirmed that the voice he heard when he woke up this morning was not a hallucination.
He pushed himself up from the ground with one hand and dusted himself off. "Even though a lot of information isn't shown, just from her running gait just now, I feel like she must be the Horse Girl I've been waiting for!"
Zhou Tai'an admitted he was intrigued. "I wonder if she's the Fujimasa March that Kitahara-san mentioned. If she is, I'll have no choice but to join the battle to recruit her."
With this thought, he stopped lingering at the school gate and hurried towards his office. "First, let's confirm her identity."
Although Kasamatsu Tracen Academy's facilities were terrible, the student roster was meticulously kept. With the sharp dynamic vision he inherited from his mother, Zhou Tai'an had captured the gray-coated Horse Girl's appearance. Now he just needed to compare it against the new student roster.
Soon, Zhou Tai'an found the answer he was looking for on the roster.
"Her name is Oguri Cap?" he thought, sighing in relief. "If it's not Fujimasa March, this is much easier. My colleagues' attention is probably all focused on her right now."
Zhou Tai'an clenched his fist. "While everyone is distracted, tomorrow... no, I'll go find Oguri Cap in her classroom right now. I have to get her on my team! My dream of getting an offer from Central Tracen Academy depends on her!"
Once he had a plan, he acted. He closed the roster, stood up, and left the office. Because he had been slacking off for the past six months, his colleagues merely glanced at him before returning to their own work. No one was curious about why Zhou Tai'an was leaving the office during work hours.
…
When Zhou Tai'an arrived at Oguri Cap's classroom door full of anticipation, he was not surprised to find the teacher at the podium saying something.
"Just a basic orientation." He read the teacher's lips and understood. "I'll just wait here until it's over."
Zhou Tai'an stood across from the door, leaning against the wall, his mind wandering—
"The vast majority of local series races are on dirt. The only place that schedules turf races is Morioka. First, let's assume Oguri Cap has dirt aptitude. If her dirt aptitude isn't high enough, then we'll have to find a way to try Morioka's turf races."
"So, if Oguri Cap joins my team, how should I plan her races?" Zhou Tai'an mused. "First, we need to go to the hospital to check her 'full-fledged' (honkaku-ka) status. Then, we'll go to Nagoya to challenge the ability test and see what her current level is."
"No, we can't go to Nagoya." He immediately dismissed his own idea. "If Oguri Cap's talent is as outstanding as her stats I saw, the local trainers in Nagoya will definitely try to poach her. I might not be able to keep her."
For Zhou Tai'an, Oguri Cap was his first attempt to leave Kasamatsu for Central. He didn't want to fall at the first hurdle.
After the teacher in the classroom finished his long-winded speech, he pushed open the door and left.
Catching the sound of the door opening, Zhou Tai'an snapped back to reality.
"Time to go say hi to Oguri Cap." He shook his head, rubbed his cheeks, straightened his sideburns, and then stepped into the classroom.
As Zhou Tai'an walked in, he immediately spotted Oguri Cap, who looked as if she had just woken from a nap.
"She fell asleep in class? That teacher's lecture must have been really sleep-inducing," he chuckled inwardly.
Now that he had found his target, Zhou Tai's didn't hesitate and walked straight over.
For the Horse Girls in the classroom, a trainer was not a rare sight. After all, once they enrolled, as long as they were qualified to stand on the racetrack, they would eventually get their own trainer.
But Zhou Tai'an still caught their attention.
"So handsome..." Northan Ace thought to herself. "If only all the trainers at Kasamatsu were this high-level."
Meanwhile, Brand New Shine, sitting next to Oguri Cap, watched this young, handsome trainer walk step-by-step towards her, her heart pounding. "Could it be? He's taken a liking to me and wants to invite me to his team? But how can a trainer see our talent as Horse Girls just by looking?"
But fate was not on her side. Zhou Tai'an didn't stop in front of Brand New Shine; he stopped at Oguri Cap's desk.
"Oguri Cap, right?" he initiated. "Good afternoon."
"?" Oguri Cap looked up, regarding the young man before her with confusion.
"My name is Zhou Tai'an, and I'm currently a trainer at this Tracen Academy—"
Before Zhou Tai'an could finish his introduction, Oguri Cap's stomach let out a loud "Guuuu—"
"I'm going to the cafeteria," Oguri Cap interrupted his self-introduction, standing up to leave.
Zhou Tai'an was not about to let his attempt fail.
"I can't let Oguri Cap just walk away!" His mind raced, thinking of how to stop the gray-coated Horse Girl he had set his sights on. "What if another trainer invites her to their team on the way? That would be disastrous!"
Zhou Tai'an had lazed around in Kasamatsu for six months, and he had finally seen a glimmer of hope for getting into Central. "As long as I can get Oguri Cap on my team quickly, I'm willing to pay any price!"
So he turned, stared at Oguri Cap's retreating back, and shouted, "If you're willing to hear me out, Oguri Cap, how about I treat you to lunch?"
"Hm?" Hearing Zhou Tai'an's offer, Oguri Cap stopped walking. She turned back wordlessly and blinked.
Although Oguri Cap didn't speak, Zhou Tai'an could read the words "For real?" in her eyes.
"I'm a trainer working here; I wouldn't lie." He puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Oguri Cap. I'll treat you to lunch at a family restaurant outside of school."
"The school cafeteria is fine." This was the first time Oguri Cap had spoken to Zhou Tai'an. "Going out is a hassle."
"Miss Oguri Cap is a new student, so you probably don't know," he said, raising an eyebrow. "The cafeteria at Tracen Academy is free. And here at Kasamatsu, it's a buffet."
"So if I'm treating you, it definitely can't be at the school cafeteria," Zhou Tai'an explained.
"Then let's talk at the cafeteria," Oguri Cap said. Her eyes lit up at the word "buffet," and she quickened her pace.
Hearing her reply, Zhou Tai'an breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed her.
When Zhou Tai'an walked into the cafeteria, Oguri Cap had already piled up a half-man-high stack of fried potato croquettes and a huge bowl full of rice, and had picked a table to start eating.
"Holy cow!" His pupils shrank. "That appetite... she eats as much as five Horse Girls!"
Zhou Tai'an didn't go over to talk to Oguri Cap right away. Instead, he checked his wallet. "Let's see if I brought my Visa card. If not, I'll have to go back and get it. Otherwise, I might have to rely on my good looks to get a tab for dinner."
After confirming his Visa card was safely in his wallet, he let out a long sigh of relief. Only then did he get his own food and sit down next to Oguri Cap.
Oguri Cap glanced at the young man beside her, then returned her focus to devouring her food.
Watching the Horse Girl annihilate the potato croquettes like a whirlwind, Zhou Tai'an's mouth twitched. He said, "It's okay to eat a little slower. Kasamatsu may be in the countryside, but we've never had a problem with the food supply."
"I am eating slowly," Oguri Cap replied indistinctly, still chewing. "What did you want to see me about?"
"I believe I introduced myself earlier?" Zhou Tai'an gave a helpless smile. "I'm a trainer at Kasamatsu Tracen Academy, and this time—"
"What's a trainer?" Oguri Cap stopped her chopsticks, mid-croquette, and tilted her head in confusion.
Brand New Shine, sitting not far away, heard Oguri Cap's common-sense question and quickly interjected, "A trainer is someone who supervises and guides us Horse Girls! We have to have a trainer to participate in races!"
"Nice!" With Brand New Shine's explanation, Zhou Tai'an was saved the trouble of explaining it again. He couldn't help but shoot Brand New Shine a grateful look.
"I see." Oguri Cap understood. "So you want to be my trainer?"
"That's right." Zhou Tai'an hadn't expected Oguri Cap to be so direct. He gave an immediate, affirmative response. "I believe you will become an excellent Horse Girl, so I hope you will join my team."
Upon receiving the invitation, Oguri Cap nodded without a second thought. "In that case—"
"Oguri Cap, don't agree so rashly!" Brand New Shine interjected again. "He's very handsome... but a pretty face isn't enough! As Horse Girls, we have to find a trainer who can properly supervise us and bring out our strengths. Why don't you and I visit a few more teams this afternoon, Oguri Cap? We can see what their trainers are like and compare them."
Brand New Shine had her reasons for this suggestion. On one hand, as a fellow Horse Girl who had also come from far away, she already unilaterally considered Oguri Cap a good friend and didn't want her to fall into a trap. On the other hand, she had a vague feeling that this young trainer sitting next to Oguri Cap seemed to have some unspoken motive.
"Since this young lady doesn't seem to trust me, let me introduce myself again." Zhou Tai'an glanced at Brand New Shine before meeting Oguri Cap's gaze again.
"My name is Zhou Tai'an. I studied the trainer specialization at the West Coast Tracen Academy in America. After graduating, I stayed on as an intern trainer for a team. Later, I resigned from the academy due to disagreements over training techniques and chose to come to Japan. However, because I'm relatively young, the URA Association hasn't issued me an offer from Central Tracen Academy yet. With the help of the student council president at Central, the 'Emperor,' I came to Kasamatsu to find a Horse Girl who can prove my abilities."
At this point, he stared intently at Oguri Cap, the burning passion in his eyes impossible to hide. "I am certain you are the Horse Girl worthy of my training, and only I can fully unlock your talent."
"My... talent?" Oguri Cap's expression, much to Zhou Tai'an's surprise, dimmed. "What talent do I have? My knees were very weak when I was little."
"Your childhood was your childhood. The fact that you were able to enroll here, Oguri Cap, already proves that your past injuries are nothing to worry about." Zhou Tai'an clenched his fist. "Trust me, I will make you the star Horse Girl of the Tokai region!"
Nearby, Brand New Shine's jaw had dropped halfway through Zhou Tai'an's self-introduction. "For real...? A trainer for a US Classic-winning Horse Girl is... at Kasamatsu?"
But Oguri Cap's emotions had been stirred by Zhou Tai'an. "Can I... really do it?"
"Absolutely. I swear on my honor." The young man raised his right hand. "I will absolutely make you the most dazzling Horse Girl in the local series!"
"Then I'll join," Oguri Cap said, no longer hesitating. "Please take care of me, Trainer-san."
"You can just call me 'Zhou-san' or 'Tai'an-san' from now on." Zhou Tai'an, having successfully recruited Oguri Cap, was in high spirits.
"In that case, Zhou-san, will you keep your promise and take me to a restaurant outside of school for dinner tonight?" Oguri Cap immediately requested.
Zhou Tai'an glanced at the pile of potato croquettes that Oguri Cap had already wiped clean. While his heart ached for his wallet, he replied with forced confidence, "Of course, no problem. We'll meet at the school gate after school!"
"Thank you, Trainer."
After dropping that line, Oguri Cap stood up and walked to the food counter. "Another serving!"
The cafeteria lady wordlessly shut the service window.
Zhou Tai'an offered a silent prayer for the family restaurant he planned to take Oguri Cap to.