I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

I only called for the two of them, why did you come over too?

"What's wrong, Trainer-san?" The East Sea Emperor noticed his gaze and gave him a bright smile.

"...No, it's okay."

Looking at that smiling face, Shinji Kitahara swallowed his sarcastic remarks, cleared his throat, took out his notebook, and then his expression gradually became serious.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. We've been training for four days now. I'm going to test your abilities and then adjust the training plan—starting with Special Week for you."

"......Eh?!"

Chapter 24: The True Value of Shinji Kitahara

Although he usually goes to great lengths to slack off and do nothing, when it comes to being serious, Shinji Kitahara never hesitates.

The others were startled when they saw Kitahara Shinji suddenly stand up straight.

Even the Eclipse couldn't help but glance at him a few more times, and the Emperor of the East Sea had a strange expression, looking at him with a hint of surprise and disbelief.

However, despite the two taking on these roles, Special Week and Oguri Hat quickly accepted the arrangement.

After all, they had received training from Shinji Kitahara a long time ago. Although they hadn't heard of his messy deeds, they knew about his abilities as a trainer, so they quickly got into the swing of things.

The first test week involved a simple middle-distance run, followed by tests of reaction time and strength. Finally, she performed a set of exercises taught to her by Shinji Kitahara, demonstrating her flexibility and overall condition.

However, this is only the most basic test. After completing these, we should move to another training ground to conduct some other tests.

But after she finished testing these things, Shinji Kitahara looked at the data in his notebook, but instead of suggesting moving on to another location to continue testing, he frowned.

"Special Week."

"Here!" Kitahara Shinji's serious tone gave Special Week a bad feeling.

The next second, her premonition became a reality.

"You, did you not follow the training plan I gave you before?"

He raised his head and looked calmly at Special Zhou.

The latter paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head: "No, no, I've always strictly followed the rules—"

"I'm not talking about the plans on the training field."

Shinji Kitahara frowned and looked at her legs.

"Did you secretly have an extra meal in the dorm?"

Just like athletes, racehorse girls need to maintain a proper diet off the track in addition to necessary training on the track.

Therefore, in addition to setting training plans for them, Shinji Kitahara also made certain requirements for their diet, and it is obvious that Special Week did not comply with this.

"I... I only ate a little bit..."

Zhou's voice grew softer and softer, and his head slowly lowered.

The Emperor of the East Sea blinked, a bunch of question marks popping into his head, and tugged at Kitahara Shinji's sleeve.

"Trainer, how did you figure that out?"

Let alone the Emperor of the East Sea, even the eclipse on one side couldn't figure out how Kitahara Shinji could see that.

All three of them, including Oguri Hat, looked at him with suspicion.

"It's very simple."

Shinji Kitahara capped his pen and poked Special Zhou's thigh, waist, and several spots on his arm with the pen tip.

"If you had followed my plan exactly, these areas should be a little thinner and firmer now, but instead they've become rounder than before... You've gained weight too, haven't you?"

Hearing him say that, the others couldn't help but look over as well, but no matter how they looked, they couldn't see any change in her.

In fact, Zhou only practiced according to that plan for a few days, and the intensity wasn't that great, so it's normal that there weren't any changes.

If Zhou hadn't admitted it himself, the Emperor of the East Sea would probably have thought Kitahara Shinji was talking nonsense.

Because she had never heard of any trainer who could see so much just by looking at them.

Even legendary trainers need to physically touch the horses to roughly estimate their condition, and further refinement requires more testing and data collection.

But up until now, Shinji Kitahara has not even touched the food, let alone looked at it much, yet he has already concluded that he was secretly eating during Special Week. It's hard for her not to suspect that this person is just guessing—because it violates the most basic common sense.

Zhou blushed, nodded slightly, and then spoke softly.

"Um, Mr. Shinji, I won't do it again..."

"No need for later."

"Eh?!"

Zhou looked up in surprise, his expression somewhat flustered.

"Um, Mr. Shinji, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry..."

"I am not angry."

Shinji Kitahara shook his head, interrupting her.

"Don't get me wrong, what I mean is that I'm going to change your training plan. If you can't help eating at night, I can help you change to a flexible plan so that you can burn off the extra nutrients, and the training effect will be better—of course, provided that you can strictly follow it."

Shinji Kitahara tapped Special Week on the head with his pen cap and sighed.

"Also, next time this happens, tell me in advance. If you feel there's a problem with the training plan or it's not suitable, you can communicate with me directly. Training plans are made based on your actual situation, so don't hide anything from me."

"......Yes."

Zhou nodded somewhat ashamedly.

But before Shinji Kitahara could finish speaking, he glanced down at the strings of numbers and patterns in his notebook and continued.

"Also, your current running style—I mean your current running method, not your race strategy—is also problematic. It's barely usable. Today is Friday, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will design three new running styles for you before next Monday: one for training, one for relaxation, and one for the race. They might be a bit difficult to learn, so you should be mentally prepared in advance."

"...yes."

Hearing this, Tetsujo's face showed a hint of worry. He nodded slowly, unaware that there was something amiss in Kitahara Shinji's words.

But the Emperor of the East Sea was stunned.

Special Zhou and Oguri Hat are both from the countryside and haven't debuted yet, so they can't understand what's wrong with Kitahara Shinji's words, but she's different.

Even setting aside the bizarre incident of somehow seeing through Zhou's overeating, the design of the new running method is also abnormal.

Because she planned to win three championships on her own, Donghai Diwang had taught herself a lot about training, so she was well aware of the difficulty of designing a new running method.

For a female horse, running is innate. Unless she is an exceptionally stupid person, she will definitely be able to find a running style that suits her after years of running.

That running style may not be very precise, but it is at least the result of their natural selection over many years, and it is certainly suitable for them to a large extent.

To change this running style, one needs not only a vast amount of knowledge, but also a deep understanding and knowledge of the female horse's physical condition. This is something that even veteran trainers rarely achieve, let alone a novice trainer.

Moreover, it's not just the difficulty that's the problem; time is also an issue.

Leaving aside the time it takes to accumulate knowledge, understanding Ma Niang's physical condition also takes time.

When most trainers first take on their assigned roles, they can only watch the trainees train on the sidelines, providing a general plan. It is only after a week that the plan can be refined and adjusted based on the collected data.

This refinement and adjustment is not the end, but only the beginning.

For most of the time thereafter, trainers are required to continuously refine and adjust the existing plan based on changes in the trainee's physical condition, and in the process, constantly collect and update data to deepen their understanding of the trainee's various circumstances.

Then, once this understanding and awareness reaches a certain level, trainers can begin to try other operations, such as basic ones like race planning and more advanced ones like changing running styles.

The race schedule is manageable. Once we have a general understanding of the horse's situation, including her strengths and weaknesses, we can make corresponding arrangements so that she can compete in her area of ​​expertise.

To achieve this, you generally need to train for one or two months to get a general idea of ​​the situation before you can start planning.

But changing the running style is different; to change the running style, you need to have an extremely deep understanding of the horse girl in charge.

Physical fitness, muscle distribution, running preferences, reaction details, instinctive tendencies, and even lifestyle habits...

To change a running style that has survived through natural selection over many years, one must first understand the individual's physical condition better than the individual themselves before making any changes.

This is something most trainers cannot do, and those who can usually only begin preparing for it after at least a year of working together.

Moreover, after preparation, a significant amount of time is needed for calculations and testing before a relatively reasonable improvement plan can be proposed.

Even with improvements, the benefits to trainees vary depending on their skill level. Improvements made by trainees with poor skills may even have a negative effect, not to mention redesigning the entire system.

Of course, there is also the formulaic 'best running method,' which is to simply copy the classic running method of horse girls from the textbook, and this is also the choice of the vast majority of trainers.

On the one hand, it is relatively safe and less likely to cause accidents; on the other hand, it saves time and effort, so you can use the saved time to train other aspects.

What's even more outrageous is that Shinji Kitahara just mentioned 'three sets' of running methods, and even categorized them.

The Emperor of the East Sea felt he had reason to suspect that the mentally unstable trainer was having a fit of madness.

Therefore, in order to ensure that her teammates are not harmed by his madness, she felt it necessary to question Kitahara Shinji's decision—it was just too outrageous no matter how you looked at it.

"Trainer Sang, when you say improve running techniques, are you referring to those in the textbooks?" the East Sea Emperor couldn't help but ask.

"Of course not, and it's not an improvement, it's a redesign."

Shinji Kitahara looked at her, his expression puzzled.

"You must have read the trainer's book, right? You should understand the difference between them."

That's why I think you're crazy—I've seen it before!

The Emperor of the East Sea twitched his lips, but still offered a tactful reminder.

"But this might not be enough time..."

"Are you doubting my ability?"

Shinji Kitahara directly pointed out her meaning, without showing the slightest embarrassment.

“That’s true. In the past, many people have doubted me like you have. After all, I don’t really look like the kind of trainer who is very reliable. But it’s okay, here’s an example.”

Under the puzzled gaze of the Emperor of the East Sea, Shinji Kitahara turned his attention to Oguri Hat.

"Oguri Hat, you should still be practicing 'that' thing from before, right?"

Little Chestnut Hat quickly understood what he meant and nodded.

"Want to try running around here?"

"If you've been practicing, then go for a run. If not, then it's not necessary. If you're not used to it, it can still be a bit dangerous."

"It's okay, I've been practicing all along, I just rarely use it."

As they talked, Little Chestnut Hat stepped onto the track under the questioning gaze of the East Sea Emperor, and then struck a slightly strange starting pose.

It's considered strange because, compared to other starting positions, its body position is excessively low, even exceeding the minimum standard for starting body position given in textbooks.

Then, the next second, the Emperor of the East Sea understood why she was sitting so low.

boom--

A muffled explosion rang out, and Oguri Hat's figure shot out like an arrow.

What's even more incredible is the way she ran next; her body was so low that it almost made people wonder if she was flying at low altitude.

Her speed was much higher than what she usually showed in training, while her footprints were shallower, meaning that while she increased her speed, she actually burned less calories than when she ran normally.

The Emperor of the East Sea blinked, and after looking at it carefully for a while, a look of surprise gradually appeared on his face.

"This is......"

“The racing technique I designed for her was fast, but it was quite damaging to her body and bones. It’s okay to use it occasionally, but you can’t train it too often. It’s normal that you didn’t know that.”

Shinji Kitahara looked at it for a while, then lowered his head and began to write and draw in his notebook, sighing as he wrote.

"But that was a few years ago. Looking back now, I was too young. There was a lot of room for improvement in that running style, and she has also matured. To adapt to the newer standards, a lot of adjustments need to be made. Ugh, just thinking about it is such a hassle..."

Upon hearing his words, the Emperor of the East Sea remained silent for a long time before speaking softly.

"How long did it take you to design this running routine for her?"

"Do you mean the pure design time, or the time including testing her various data?"

"Includes everything."

"Let me think about it..."

Shinji Kitahara pondered for a moment, resting his chin on his hand, before giving his answer.

"Because I also had to help her take care of her health at the time, I spent most of my time resting and doing rehabilitation, but I still managed to finish it within three days."