After finalizing the upcoming training plans in the dance studio, Yasui Makoto, Kitasan Black, and Vodka gathered their belongings and headed out, intending to have dinner at the academy cafeteria.
Just as they stepped outside, a figure suddenly dashed over from beside the door.
"Hello, hello~! Are you Yasui-san? I have a package here for you to sign!"
The figure belonged to an Uma Musu with shoulder-length brown hair tied into a single ponytail on her left side. Her lively face was dotted with faint freckles, and her bright green eyes sparkled with cheerfulness as she handed over a large package, roughly a ter square. As she did so, her gaze drifted curiously to Vodka and Kitasan Black.
"Huh? Vodka? Weren't you in Europe? And this child... Isn't she the one who used to follow Teio and McQueen around all the ti? Kita...Kita sothing?"
"Hello, Fujin-senpai! I'm Kitasan Black. It's our first ti formally eting, please take care of !" Kitasan introduced herself stiffly, standing straight as a board.
Vodka tilted her head inquisitively. "Fujin-senpai, you're still delivering packages? Oh, right—I haven't explained yet. I just got back from overseas and decided to stay at the academy for a while."
"Oh, I see…" The Uma Musu known as Fujin nodded knowingly. "Well, it's more of a habit at this point."
"I always took part-ti jobs to pay for tuition and living expenses back when I was still a student here. Sure, I've earned a bit from races since then, but it feels weird to be idle."
"Besides, my two younger sisters have debuted now. Though they didn't make it into Central Tracen Academy, they're doing quite well at regional academies. Studying costs a lot of money, and who knows—they might still get a chance to transfer here. That'd cost even more."
"So as their big sister, of course, I have to look out for them."
Yasui, Kitasan, and Vodka exchanged discreet looks of admiration mixed with amusent.
A bit of prize money, she says? We're talking about the Japanese Derby prize here…
Fujin's full na was Ines Fujin, and like Vodka herself, she'd won the prestigious Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Although she retired imdiately after that race, the victory alone had earned her a whopping 110 million yen.
The terms of prize distribution for Yasui Makoto and Kitasan Black were straightforward—they simply split it evenly, fifty-fifty. But other Uma Musu typically had more complex arrangents. Most Trainers ca from families or organizations that offered extensive training resources, which ant the Uma Musu themselves often received smaller cuts.
Ines Fujin fell into the latter category. Though her percentage share was lower than Kitasan's, the massive total prize ant that even her smaller cut was still enormous.
Even accounting for personal expenses plus her sisters' tuition and living costs, she had more than enough to spare.
Yet, ever since Yasui had arrived in Tokyo, he'd noticed sothing curious about these top-level Uma Musu. Despite being wealthy young won with considerable savings, none of them enjoyed being idle. All of them took on work connected in so way to their passions—often related to running.
Ines Fujin, delivering parcels; Oguri Cap and Bamboo mory, delivering takeout and patrolling the neighborhood—these jobs inevitably involved running. Daiwa Scarlet, Vodka, and Doctor Agnes Tachyon were similar—their research was directly related to speed or the physiology of Uma Musu.
And as for Tokai Teio and jiro McQueen, their roles as Student Council President and Vice-President put them in daily contact with younger students, often advising on running techniques.
For all of them, running truly seed to be an inseparable part of their nature and identity.
As Yasui Makoto pondered this with quiet admiration, he accepted the parcel and delivery form from Ines Fujin. After quickly inspecting it, he signed his na.
"Thank you for your hard work, Fujin-san."
Nodding politely, he turned to Kitasan and Vodka.
"Since my order's arrived, I won't be joining you two for dinner tonight. I need to head back and test it out so we can hopefully use it in tomorrow's training session."
"Eh? We can't eat dinner with you tonight, Trainer? That's disappointing..." Kitasan murmured, looking downcast. But then curiosity overtook her. "From what you said, Trainer, did you order… training equipnt?"
"Equipnt?" Vodka echoed, stepping closer. "What kind of equipnt?"
She recalled Daiwa Scarlet ntioning how Yasui Makoto differed greatly from most Japanese Trainers. While others largely relied on tradition, seniority, or textbooks, Yasui combined traditional training with cutting-edge overseas research to tailor programs specifically for Kitasan Black.
This innovative approach intrigued Vodka imnsely, especially given her familiarity with more conventional thods. She was eager to see what new idea he'd co up with this ti.
"A drone. For filming purposes."
Without suspense, Yasui tapped the parcel, explaining with a smile:
"Before coming to Tokyo, I did so research. Currently, drones are mostly used in agriculture—for watering crops, fertilizing fields, and such."
"But so people have started attaching high-speed caras to drones for filming purposes."
"You Uma Musu run extrely fast, so conventional thods often struggle to capture ideal footage. Usually, filming during races requires multiple caras set up along the course."
"But obviously, I can't install multiple fixed caras around the school track. Theoretically, drones could offer both multiple cara angles and follow along at high speed, producing even better footage."
"Of course, I'll need ti to test it out, since no one's used drones for training purposes yet. I'll head back first—if everything goes smoothly, you'll see what I an tomorrow."
With that, Yasui Makoto tucked the package under one arm, waved goodbye with his free hand, and walked toward the academy gate.
As they watched him leave, Vodka's interest deepened noticeably.
"Drones, huh? Interesting. I learned a bit about them back in Europe, but I never expected Yasui-kun would think of using one for training."
"Vodka-senpai, are these drones really that impressive?" Kitasan asked eagerly. "I've never heard of anything like this before."
"Neither have I, honestly. I've never heard anyone else even suggest this approach," Vodka admitted thoughtfully. "Those machines really can carry high-speed caras and fly faster than we can run."
"Yasui-kun is right. In theory, using a drone to film training sessions might reveal things we've never noticed before. Even if it's no better than the current multi-angle filming, it still ans Kita-chan will get even better training."
"Kita-chan, Yasui-kun is truly impressive. If he pulls this off successfully, he'll likely beco the first Trainer in Japan ever to think of this thod."
Kitasan nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling. "Yes! Trainer is really amazing!"
At that mont, Ines Fujin, who had been listening curiously all this ti, finally spoke up.
"Um... So, from what I gather, that young man just now… he's your Trainer, Kita-chan?"
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