Oguri Cap was breathing lightly. I stared blankly at the records written in my notebook, at a loss for words.
There were plenty of average stats for Uma Musume after their growth phase if you just searched the internet. As for race Uma Musume, the URA provided its own data. Those were the only kinds of materials I could access.
There were surely average records for top-class and elite Uma Musume from prestigious families like the Kiryuin family of Trainers, or from distinguished Uma Musume bloodlines, but there was no way I could look at anything that high-end.
An experienced Trainer with years under their belt might be able to judge the physical ability and reaction speed of an elite Uma Musume through experience or indirect observation, but that had nothing to do with a rookie Trainer with no family name to speak of.
“Is it lacking? If we work at it, we can reduce it a little more.”
“Just a little... let me think. No, you can go back and rest for today.”
“If I won’t be a bother to the Trainer, I’d like to stay here.”
When training was over for the day, I’d heard they usually headed back to the dorms happily or went to find their friends, but Oguri stood beside me with a blank expression. After moving to a place where she could sit, I looked over the records again.
If there’s no reference material, then I can calculate it arithmetically. Treat the data provided by the URA as the top N percent, divide the average Uma Musume data by the standard normal distribution, and calculate from there. I didn’t know exactly where the URA data sat, but even so, what Oguri had shown me was...
“Is there a problem, Trainer? I kept it from straining my body too much, but is it still not enough?”
“No, that’s not it... This is... incredible. Yeah, that’s the only way I can put it.”
I couldn’t believe it from rough mental math alone, so I punched it into a calculator. It displayed a decimal place even smaller than I’d expected. This wasn’t a result a Uma Musume who had just finished her debut race should be able to produce.
It was the record of a mature, fully developed, top-tier Uma Musume approaching the very best of her generation. At least, that was how I judged it. Who could look at this and say she was a Uma Musume who had only just finished her debut race? If I took this to a professor, they’d probably tear it up and call it absurd data. Yet that data was in my hands—no, in the hands of the Uma Musume standing before me.
“My body still isn’t complete. I can do better.”
When I kept staring at her, Oguri blushed and answered while looking down at the floor, as if making an excuse. Tachyon’s self-analyzed data came to mind. So did Oguri’s confidence in Fine Motion’s ability, and Tachyon’s words.
Then, seriously...
I thought of the competitions they had mentioned. G1 grade. Among the Uma Musume at Tracen, only a handful could seize victory in those brutal races that trampled countless losers underfoot and climbed to the top.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I remembered the [Classic Triple Crown] Tachyon had spoken of so casually. I remembered the [Triple Tiara] Fine Motion had mentioned.
“Trainer... did I do well?”
“Yeah. Too well. So well it’s incredible. Amazing. That’s all I can say.”
Looking at Oguri’s records, I had no idea where to even begin. If something is lacking, you fill it in. If something is insufficient, you build it up. But what if it’s already complete? What if she’s already moving toward completion on her own? What was I supposed to do then?
“Then... pat my head.”
“Your head...?”
Oguri nodded. I carefully brought my hand to her gray hair. Oguri shifted slightly and lifted her head toward my hand. Soft, fluffy. I was startled and pulled my hand back a little, but Oguri took my hand and moved it back to her head herself.
“...Good job. Really. That’s an amazing record.”
“It’s warm. It feels nice.”
Oguri held my wrist and moved on her own, rubbing her head against my hand as if she were being praised. I gently gathered the gray strands that slipped between my fingers. It felt incredibly calming.
“What does Oguri want to do?”
“I want to bring victory to the Trainer. Without making mistakes, without getting hurt, like that.”
Oguri looked at me with a face free of doubt or thought. No, it wasn’t that she had no thoughts. It was that I didn’t know Oguri well enough. I tried to read her expression, her thoughts. But I couldn’t do it.
“What I’m asking is what Oguri wants to do, what you want.”
“I want to train with the Trainer.”
She answered briefly. I tried to find what kind of story she was putting into those words, what she wanted to say, but I couldn’t understand.
“If we’re talking about races I want to enter... I’d like to run something called the Hopeful. I’ve never run it before. Same with Satsuki.”
“Hmm, so that’s Oguri-kun’s record. It’s enough to inspire awe, beyond mere shock. Hahaha!”
Startled by the sudden voice, I quickly stepped back several paces.
“If you make such a frightened little rabbit face, I’ll be sad, Mortarion-kun.”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d make some noise when you come in, Tachyon.”
Tachyon was wearing only a lab coat over her tracksuit, smiling with her usual easygoing expression. Her usual expression? This was only the third time I’d seen her. I forced away the strange prickling feeling.
“I expected as much, but you’ve poured your time into building muscle for personal training and injury prevention rather than racing. I’d almost like to face you properly in three years!”
“Tachyon, looking at other people’s data is...”
“We’re not other people, Mortarion-kun. Aren’t we, Oguri-kun?”
Oguri looked at Tachyon without saying a word, then turned away and gave a small nod. Satisfied by that, Tachyon burst into pleased laughter.
“Where did Fine Motion go?”
“Hm? She should have contacted you yesterday. I rushed here at once because I was in a hurry, but given her status, moving around requires all sorts of preparations. You’ll be seeing her again soon enough!”
I remembered the call Fine Motion had made around last evening. I’d thought it was just a few casual words of greeting, and never imagined she was going back to Ireland.
“Then I suppose it’s my turn to do the measuring this time.”
“Right now we’re talking about Oguri’s training...”
“It’s fine. Trainer. You may measure Tachyon’s data.”
Oguri said that readily. I looked at her as if to confirm she really meant it. She gave a light nod.
“You saw yesterday’s data with your own eyes, didn’t you, Mortarion-kun?”
“Want me to recite it here?”
“Ahaha, I trust you. I trust you more than anyone.”
Tachyon said that and began warming up lightly.
“Compared to Oguri-kun’s overwhelming physical specs, it’s a little disappointing, but once I’m in a race, I’m confident too. A race isn’t won by physical specs alone, after all.”
I agreed with that completely, but I focused on Tachyon’s stretching. Watching her stretch mainly around the ankles, I felt a strange unease. Nothing looked wrong on the surface, but an inexplicable anxiety crawled up my spine and seemed to tighten around my throat.
“Ah, don’t worry. My legs aren’t as weak as they used to be.”
I had never heard anything in Tachyon’s profile about injuries or fractures. Had she hurt herself when she was younger? She lifted the hem of her tracksuit slightly and extended one leg toward me, as if to show me she was fine.
“...Excuse me.”
“By all means.”
I touched Tachyon’s leg. The muscle density was high. Even by palpation, the bones seemed fine. I’d need a more precise examination to know for sure, but at least to me, there didn’t seem to be any problem.
“What do you think is wrong?”
“I think your legs are beautiful.”
“Ngh...!”
Tachyon hurriedly pulled her foot back and lowered the hem of her tracksuit.
“Ahem, you really do strike from the most unexpected places!”
After a small cough, Tachyon flicked her tail side to side and immediately stood up from her spot.
“Trainer, how are my legs?”
Before I knew it, Oguri had come over, pulled up the legs of her tracksuit pants, and held them out to me.
“They’re absolutely perfect. Beautiful legs.”
“Mm...!”
Oguri smiled in satisfaction and pulled both hems of her tracksuit up to her knees.
After the race-related measurements were done, I couldn’t help but wonder.
“With Tachyon’s ability, it feels like she could have debuted in a race last year... why did you put it off?”
“I needed time to fix my incomplete legs.”
“Then what about this year?”
“I was planning to run this year, but... thanks to the first-come, first-served result, I ended up being late, so what can I do?”
I stared blankly at Tachyon’s records. Should I call this luck, or a curse? The information packed with overwhelming skill to the point my hands trembled began overlapping with the data she had handed me yesterday.
“Well, I do want to support you, Mortarion-kun, so let’s spend this year thinking about how to turn Oguri-kun into even more of a monster. Hahahahaha!”
“Still, calling a girl a monster...”
“She’s a Uma Musume who’ll one day be called the Gray Monster, after all. Don’t you like that nickname yourself?”
“I think it’s cool.”
Oguri nodded as if she liked it too.
“Then we’ll need to think up a training menu too, and since we’ve already talked through the future plans, could you give me about three days? Sorry, but I hadn’t expected to stay at Tracen, so I’ve been staying in temporary lodgings.”
I spoke honestly. As a rookie Trainer, because I was almost half convinced I wouldn’t be able to find a 담당 Uma Musume due to my own lack of ability, I had been staying in temporary housing. I briefly explained the future training plan, the matter of finding a place to live, and the various documents and tasks I needed to handle, then asked for their understanding.
“As for Oguri-kun’s training, let’s work it out together while talking. I’ll have time from the afternoon, so come to my laboratory with my lunch box.”
“I’m also thinking your eyes and data analysis are better than mine based on the materials you gave me, but first Oguri’s opinion...”
“I’m fine. I can’t trust Tachyon, but... I can trust her.”
What did that even mean, that she couldn’t be trusted but could be trusted?
“You mean you can trust her, right?”
Oguri thought about it deeply for a moment, then nodded. Tachyon let out a small laugh, sounding very pleased about something. Since I’d be relying on Tachyon, I could at least make her a lunch box.
I had thought I’d be doing repeat measurements or re-measurements until late afternoon, but perhaps because the results were so high-level, even after collecting data from the two of them, there was still plenty of time left before dinner.
“Then that’s it for today. I’ll quickly find a place to live and do my best to get Oguri’s training settled. Sorry.”
“I’ll go house-hunting with you too.”
Oguri grabbed my sleeve. Tachyon let out a small laugh.
“Unfortunately, this is a time when we can’t go out.”
“But...”
“Oguri-kun. It’s rude to be unreasonable, so why don’t you come with me and chat instead? I made a few puddings last night, so I’ll treat you.”
Oguri, following Tachyon while holding her hand, kept looking back at me several times, blinking like a calf. Tachyon gave a truly splendid smile and winked with one eye, as if to say she should trust her.
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