Chapter 44: The First Trainer to Think of This Method

Chapter 44: The First Trainer to Think of This Method

After arranging the follow-up training in the dance hall, Makoto left the building with Kitasan Black and Vodka, their belongings packed up and ready. The three of them were heading to the school cafeteria for a meal.

Just as they stepped outside, a figure suddenly darted out from beside the door.

"Hello, hello~ Are you Yasui-san? There's a package here that needs your signature. Please sign for it!"

The figure was a Umamusume with medium-length brown hair, tied into a single ponytail on the left side of her head. Light freckles dotted her cheeks, and her lively green eyes shone with spirit and charm.

She held a large package, roughly a meter square, in both hands. As she handed it over, her gaze shifted and landed on Vodka and Kitasan Black.

"Huh? Vodka? Weren’t you in Europe? And this kid… wasn't she always tagging along behind Teio and McQueen? Her name was Kita... Kita something?"

"Hi! Nice to meet you, Fujin-san! I’m Kitasan Black. It’s a pleasure to meet you!"

Kitasan Black stood up straight and introduced herself. Vodka, meanwhile, looked on with curiosity.

"Fujin-senpai, you’re still doing deliveries...? Oh, right—forgot to mention—I just got back to Japan and plan to stay at the academy for a while."

"I see..." Ines Fujin nodded knowingly, then smiled.

"Well, it’s just become a habit, I guess. Back when I was in the academy, I always did part-time jobs to pay for tuition and living expenses. Even though I’ve won some prize money from races now, I still can’t sit around doing nothing.”

"Besides, both my little sisters have debuted. Although they didn’t get into Tracen, they're doing pretty well in the regional circuits.”

"Schooling is expensive, you know. And if they ever do get the chance to transfer to Tracen, the costs will go up even more.”

"So as their big sister, of course I have to think ahead and support them."

Hearing this, the three—Makoto, Kitasan, and Vodka—were quietly impressed… but also felt a bit weird.

You’re calling that “some prize money”? That was the Japanese Derby champion’s prize…

Her full name was Ines Fujin, and just like Vodka, she had won the Japanese Derby.

Granted, she retired after that race, but just that one victory alone had earned her 110 million yen in prize money.

The contract she had signed was a bit different from the one between Makoto and Kitasan. For them, the prize money was split cleanly—50/50. But most Umamusume had much more complex arrangements.

That’s because many Umamusume trainers came from specific teams or family lineages. Those organizations could provide better training resources, and in return, they would take a larger cut of the prize money.

Ines Fujin was one of them. Her percentage cut was much lower than Kitasan Black’s.

Still, with a total prize that large, even a smaller share was no small sum.

Let alone covering her own living costs—just factoring in her sisters’ living and schooling expenses, it would be more than enough.

And yet, over the past few months since arriving in Tokyo, Makoto had met quite a few top-tier Umamusume.

What was interesting was that despite being wealthy—practically rich, beautiful young women—none of them seemed to like sitting idle.

Moreover, the jobs they took were almost always connected to their hobbies and often involved running in some way.

Like Ines Fujin here. Or Oguri Cap and Bamboo Memory, whom he’d met earlier.

Courier, food delivery, patrol—these jobs all involved a lot of running.

Daiwa Scarlet, Vodka, and Agnes Tachyon were similar; their areas of research also revolved around Umamusume or speed in general.

Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen even more so.

As the student council president and vice president, they interacted with their juniors daily and were occasionally seen giving guidance to students.

It seemed that running was truly an inseparable instinct and passion for them.

While thinking this, Makoto accepted the package and delivery slip from Ines Fujin, signed it after checking everything.

“Thanks for your hard work, Fujin-san.”

With a nod, he turned to Kitasan Black and Vodka.

“Since the items I ordered have arrived, I won’t be joining you two for dinner tonight. I need to go back and get this set up—hopefully we can use it in tomorrow’s training.”

“Huh? Trainer, we can’t eat dinner together with you? That’s a shame…”

Kitasan Black pouted with disappointment, but quickly grew curious.

“Sounds like you ordered... training equipment?”

“Equipment?”

Vodka also stepped in closer. “What kind of equipment?”

At the same time, she started speculating internally.

She had heard from Scarlet that Makoto was very different from most Japanese trainers.

Other trainers usually relied on experience or followed advice from seniors and peers, or simply stuck to the textbooks.

Makoto was different.

In addition to traditional methods, he liked to read overseas materials and integrate them into Kitasan Black’s training program.

This approach was undoubtedly novel—and since Vodka was more familiar with the old ways, she was genuinely curious to see what new idea he had come up with this time.

“Drones. For filming.”

Not one to keep them guessing, Makoto patted the package and explained with a smile:

“Before coming to Tokyo, I did some research. These tools are mostly used in agriculture right now—for example, spraying water or fertilizer by drone.”

“But some people have tried mounting high-speed cameras onto drones for aerial filming.”

“You girls run extremely fast, and it’s hard to get ideal training footage with regular methods. In races, the standard is to use multi-angle camera setups.”

“But I obviously can’t request to set up a whole camera rig on the practice field.”

“In theory, drone filming doesn’t just meet the needs of multiple angles—it can follow alongside you, which might produce even better results.”

“Of course, I’ll need some time to test it. No one’s used this approach for training before.”

“So I’ll head back for now. If things go well, you’ll see for yourselves tomorrow.”

With that, package under one arm, Makoto waved with the other and walked off toward the academy gate.

Watching his retreating figure, Vodka’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“Drones... now that’s interesting. I read a bit about them while in Europe, but I didn’t expect Yasui-kun to think of using them for training.”

“Vodka-senpai, is that tool really that amazing?” Kitasan Black asked curiously. “I’ve never heard of it before.”

“You’re not the only one—I haven’t heard of anyone using this method either.”

Vodka replied with admiration, “Those machines can definitely carry high-speed cameras, and they fly faster than we can run.”

“So Yasui-kun is right. In theory, using drones to record training might help spot things that would’ve gone unnoticed before.”

“Even if it just ends up being on par with multi-angle filming, it still means you’ll have a much better training tool.”

“Kita-chan, your trainer sure is impressive.”

“If this idea works, he might be the first trainer in Japan to ever think of using this method.”

Kitasan Black nodded enthusiastically, her face glowing with excitement.

“Yeah! Trainer really is amazing!”

At that moment, the previously silent and visibly curious Ines Fujin finally spoke up.

“Umm… from what you’re saying, that young man just now… is he your trainer, Kita-chan?”

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