After leaving the student council president's office, Tang Han stopped pushing Urara along and simply walked beside her at an easy pace.
"Trainer-san, why did you refuse the president's request?" Urara asked in confusion. "I thought it sounded pretty good~"
"Urara, remember this well," Tang Han said. "Not every horse girl has what it takes to join our ninja clan."
"But if it's a horse girl the president recommended, she must be really amazing, right?"
"Well... that may be true..."
Did Tokai Teio lack ability? Of course not.
Then why was Tang Han unwilling to bring her into the team?
Those who knew, knew.
"One Urara is enough for me," he said. "Until you win first place, I'm not taking on any other horse girl."
"But if that horse girl doesn't have a trainer, won't she be sad...?"
Tang Han shook his head.
"Urara, I'm going to teach you your first lesson in becoming a ninja."
"Lesson One: Before thinking about others, think about yourself first."
"It's good to care about other people, but you can't ignore your own feelings. Help only has meaning when both sides can truly be satisfied with it."
Urara swayed her head dizzily.
"Mmm... Urara doesn't get it..."
Tang Han instinctively reached out, wanting to pat her on the head, but stopped himself halfway.
"It's fine if you don't understand yet. Just be yourself. As for whether we add new members, I'll make that judgment myself, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Mhm! I'll listen to Trainer-san!"
Walking and chatting like that, the two of them eventually returned to the training grounds.
After the selection race, if a horse girl successfully found a trainer, the academy would automatically approve one day off for the pair so they could get to know each other and build up their bond.
All the other trainers had taken their newly assigned horse girls off to have fun somewhere.
Tang Han was different.
He gave up rest and moved straight into training.
First, Urara was highly motivated. Tang Han had asked her opinion, and she herself wanted to run.
Second, Tang Han did not have much time. If he wanted Urara to place first, they had to seize every possible moment.
"Our first training session together begins now!" Tang Han shouted.
"Yay~" Urara threw both hands into the air, bouncing excitedly on the grass.
"Trainer-san, how many laps are we doing next? Just say the word, and Urara will absolutely finish them!"
"No. What we're training right now isn't running."
"Huh? Then what are we training?"
"Long jump!"
Tang Han pointed toward a sandpit off to the side.
"Long jump?" Urara tilted her head. "But what does long jump have to do with running fast?"
"It has a lot to do with it," Tang Han said firmly.
When he had watched Urara run in the selection race, he had already spotted countless issues with her. Her running form was wrong, her stamina was poor, her reactions were slow, and her tactics were off.
In simple terms, all her stats were at F, with even E still feeling slightly out of reach.
Different attributes required different training methods to improve, but there was no way Tang Han could turn Urara into an all-rounder within a single week. He had to choose one area and focus on it first.
So he chose speed.
And one of the best ways to improve speed was long jump.
Tang Han had noticed that Urara's use of leg strength was extremely poor. When she ran, her muscles were stiff, and she made almost no use of the springiness in her legs. It was like she was trying to walk on two bamboo poles—slow, awkward, and terribly wasteful of energy.
According to From Beginner Trainer to Basement Material, practicing long jump could help a horse girl better identify the correct points to apply force in her legs, increase her explosiveness, and thereby improve her speed.
So yes—training long jump first was absolutely the right decision.
"Okay! I trust you, Trainer-san!"
Tang Han did not even need to explain further. Urara immediately believed in his plan and happily ran over to the sandpit to practice her jumps.
"Urara's jumping now~"
She leaped with all her might—
—and because her form was wrong, she landed squarely on her butt in the sand, coating herself from behind in dust.
"Hehe~" Urara turned back to look at Tang Han with an embarrassed grin.
"Ahem..."
Standing at the side, Tang Han first calmed down the emotional damage caused by how cute that had been, then began correcting Urara's long-jump form.
"The proper movement is like this..."
"Okaaay~"
Under Tang Han's half-professional instruction, Urara tried again.
"Heave-ho~"
This time, with correct form, she did not make a mistake.
She landed with an impressively good jump.
"Ooooooh!!!!" Urara's whole face lit up.
"Trainer-san, did you see that? I jumped farther than last time!"
"Well done. Keep at it. You can jump even farther."
"Mhm! Urara will work hard!"
Encouraged, Urara's spirits soared, and she went right back to practicing.
"Trainer-san, look, look! I improved again!"
"You're amazing."
"Uuugh... I messed up..."
"Don't be discouraged. Do better next time."
"Okay... Trainer-san, look, look!"
"Incredible."
Under Tang Han's encouragement-focused training style, Urara stayed happy the entire time and kept improving jump after jump.
As always, pleasant hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Before they realized it, the two of them had already trained all morning.
"Phew Long jump is really so much fun"
Urara was now drenched in sweat, with sand clinging all over her. She was filthy from head to toe.
But she did not care in the slightest.
The smile on her dirty little face only looked brighter because of it.
"So happy~"
What Urara loved most was being able to see her own progress with her own eyes, and with someone by her side constantly encouraging her, this was the first time she had ever felt training could be so light and enjoyable.
"Good work."
Tang Han handed her a towel and some drinking water.
Do not ask where he got them from.
Let's just say he came prepared.
"Arigatou~"
Urara accepted the towel and water, but her post-training brain seemed a little fuzzy, so she poured the drinking water over her own head and stuffed the towel into her mouth.
"I'll handle it..." Tang Han quickly took the towel back and started wiping her down himself.
"Hehe~" Urara gave him an adorable little smile.
"..."
Tang Han's expression remained calm on the surface, but inside he was shaking.
Too cute. Medic! Save me!
Like an old father, Tang Han carefully wiped the sweat from Urara's head and fed her some water, then gave her her next set of instructions.
"That's it for the morning session. Go back, wash up, eat lunch, and take a nap. We'll continue training this afternoon."
"Okaaay~" Urara nodded obediently.
"Trainer-san needs to rest properly too~"
"I will."
"Then I'm going back to bathe first. See you this afternoon~"
"See you this afternoon."
Tang Han watched Urara's retreating figure and began planning his next move.
Rest?
No. He still had no time for that.
He sat down right where he was, pulled out From Beginner Trainer to Basement Material, and continued studying.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 132)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter95)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter165)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 95
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 155
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 62
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 62
Uma Musume: I Want All 65
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 41
Supernatural Multiverse 45
My Harem Is Indescribable 35
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 46
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 26
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 36
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