What kind of Domain will be inherited by running alongside "Swimsuit Maruzensky" is currently an unanswerable question. After all, Domain inheritance is merely a hypothesis derived from speculation, and the upcoming training and races are meant to verify this very matter.
The most pressing task, however, was to communicate properly with Oguri Cap to understand what was making her hesitate to enter the water.
After all, swimming in the sea is vastly different from swimming in an indoor pool.
For some people, the boundless ocean can bring a sense of freedom and unrestraint that the indoors lack. They can also enjoy unique scenery like sunrises, sunsets, and the hustle and bustle of the shore while swimming or relaxing.
However, some people may feel a sense of fear the first time they enter the sea, and the reason is also the vastness of the ocean.
It's not hard to understand feeling emotions like insignificance or loneliness when facing the endless sea, and it's logical for this to trigger a subtle sense of fear.
Specifically for Oguri Cap, emotions like fear or loneliness have always been absent, or only present in a tiny, instinctive way. For her, the ocean causing hesitation is more likely due to unfamiliarity with the sea.
The other factor is the impact of her not being naturally skilled at swimming.
Kitahara had long been mindful of this situation and worried whether Oguri Cap's behavior was caused by some psychological barrier.
Fear of water can be a normal phenomenon, or it can be caused by underlying anxieties due to psychological factors, such as excessive mental stress or having experienced a stressful event similar to Tamao Cross. This could lead to an aversion to water or swimming.
However, in Kitahara's memory, Oguri Cap had never had such an experience, in any world.
He had also deliberately discussed this with Miyamura Kyoko and conducted a simple consultation and test, which confirmed only a slight psychological barrier.
Oguri Cap's slight aversion to swimming stemmed purely from being unfamiliar with swimming since childhood.
Although born in the Nagoya region, which isn't very far from the coast, she had serious problems with her legs when she was young. Standing was difficult, let alone getting into the water to swim.
This made her quite flustered when she first encountered swimming. The first time she tried to get into the water at the pool, she sank to the bottom instantly, giving Kaguya Kirara quite a scare.
Although she gradually mastered swimming techniques through subsequent training and could complete various swimming exercises with the aid of a kickboard.
The initial public embarrassment in swimming, however, might be something that a naturally earnest person like Oguri Cap would be very reluctant to talk about or re-experience.
Therefore, it wasn't unimaginable that she would show hesitation now, when asked to complete swimming training relying solely on her own body, without the aid of a kickboard.
Initially speechless at Oguri Cap's dawdling warm-up and delayed entry into the water, Kitahara gradually relaxed after pondering the situation.
Not only did he relax, but after a moment of contemplation, he felt that, as her trainer, it was time to encourage his Horse Girl in this situation.
Just as he was about to walk over, a voice conveying encouragement suddenly came from the side.
"If you want to say something to Oguri Cap, just go say it directly."
Looking over in surprise at the voice, Kitahara saw Maruzensky, her expression mixed with encouragement and emotion, continue, "Do you remember? What I mentioned to you and Yuzuhara at the Takamatsunomiya Kinen."
What she mentioned at the Takamatsunomiya Kinen?
Kitahara paused, then quickly realized what Maruzensky was referring to.
"You are an excellent trainer, that's true. I think whether in Japan or looking at the entire world, Kitahara, your training level, mindset, methods, and so on, can be considered top-notch."
"Especially your mindset or vision. I've talked to many friends; your foresight is extremely visionary, even on a global scale."
After nodding in praise, Maruzensky added:
"But sometimes, you are too rational, Kitahara."
"As I said, Horse Girls like us are quite emotional."
"It's not that we don't know we need to be serious in training, or that we don't want to win in races."
"The difficulties that arise, and our weaknesses, we might not understand them in theory as well as a trainer like you, but we are aware of them and want to overcome them."
"But perhaps merely knowing this isn't enough."
"Put this way, we are a bit greedy."
Maruzensky suddenly smiled.
"Take me, for example. I have always been a very confident, perhaps even arrogant, person."
"Due to the URA Association's restrictions on 'Entry Horse Girls,' I couldn't participate in most Classic races besides the Arima Kinen and a few others during the Classic line."
"But even if I could participate, even when public opinion widely claimed it was the 'TTG' generation, I was confident I wouldn't lose against those three."
The "TTG" Maruzensky referred to was a "combination" of Horse Girls similar to Biwa Hayahide, Winning Ticket, and Narita Taishin.
Tosho Boy, Ten Point, and Green Grass—three top Horse Girls from the same generation as Maruzensky. They claimed champions in a series of Classic races from that era, including the Classic Triple Crown, Tenno Sho, Arima Kinen, and Takarazuka Kinen, showcasing an unshakable dominance together.
"TTG" is the acronym of the first syllables of their names.
Maruzensky wasn't exaggerating. Even though she didn't have the opportunity to compete against the "TTG" at the time, this grand matchup was something all fans eagerly anticipated.
Especially in the Arima Kinen after her retirement, many fans wondered what the result would have been if Maruzensky had been in that race.
"But no matter how confident or arrogant I was, if I were truly facing those three opponents, I would still want my trainer to tell me that he believes I can win."
The smile on Maruzensky's face deepened, and a sense of emotion gradually surfaced.
"This has nothing to do with ability, and nothing to do with anything else."
"It's simply that if the trainer says it, we would all be very happy."
"So, I think Oguri Cap probably hopes you can tell her that too."
"That you trust her."
After hearing these words, which were both encouraging and reflective, Kitahara remained silent for a moment. Then, without saying anything to Maruzensky, he simply nodded at her gratefully and walked toward his Horse Girl.
He felt Maruzensky was right. Perhaps Oguri Cap was indeed hesitant because of her past swimming experiences.
But regardless of the reason, her current hesitation seemed to be the time when she needed his direct encouragement and trust.
However, as he walked over, the light shush of his footsteps on the sand seemed to have been anticipated. Oguri Cap, who was continuously moving her arms and legs, suddenly turned her head.
"Kitahara, I think I was overthinking things."
Staring straight at her trainer, Oguri Cap rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, then changed the topic. "Thinking about it carefully, if I want to compete with Creek and the others in the future, I must work twice as hard."
"...Compete with Creek and the others?" Caught completely off guard by Oguri Cap's reaction, Kitahara was somewhat surprised.
"Hmm, that should be obvious, shouldn't it?"
Uncharacteristically, this usually simple-minded Horse Girl displayed a thoughtful expression. "Actually, I thought about it back in Kasamatsu."
"At that time, Kitahara and I were still at Kasamatsu Academy, but coming to Central was only a matter of time."
"Although Kitahara didn't tell me then, he must have discussed it with Maruzen-senpai and the others."
"So, I thought then, if we came to race in Central later, it would be natural to encounter strong opponents like Creek and the others on the track, right?"
She slowly raised her hand, clenched her fist, and her lips slowly tensed. "After that, it was Tamamo first."
"She is very fast. If I were to race against her, I don't think I have a guaranteed win."
"Not only back then, but now too."
"I haven't had a chance to formally compete with her yet. Her line is different from my Classic line."
"But I can feel it in our daily training—she is very strong."
"Then there's Creek. Even before coming to Central, I noticed she had great strength. With you, Kitahara, her leg injury should heal quickly, and she will be even stronger then."
"And that's the reality; she is getting stronger and stronger now."
"Although I've won against her, in subsequent races, especially the 3000m Kikuka Sho, I don't think... I can easily win."
"Ardan is the same, and Inari is the same. Everyone is continuously getting stronger."
"So, to beat them again in a race, I can't just rely on the strength that is already my advantage."
"I must become stronger."
"And I must try my best to overcome my weaknesses, whether it's swimming, stamina, or anything else."
Although it wasn't the first time he noticed, Kitahara was still slightly surprised by Oguri Cap's sharp intuition.
Oguri Cap's ability is clearly much stronger than most Horse Girls, and she isn't the type particularly good at theoretical knowledge. Kitahara wasn't in a hurry to analyze the pros and cons of her physical condition with her.
According to the current plan, she would slowly improve in that area through the special training of explaining concepts to her juniors.
But Oguri Cap felt it herself: her greatest talent is her strength. Even compared to same-level Horse Girls like Creek and the others, her strength is still at a monster-among-monsters level.
In race after race in the other world, even without the power of the Domain she has mastered in this world, Oguri Cap could still win relying on her terrifying strength—in the Pegasus Stakes, Mainichi Hai, Mainichi Okan, Arima Kinen...
She would repeatedly sweep to the outside or far outside in the final stage of the course, then rely on her monstrous power to instantly overtake all opponents ahead, claiming victory with overwhelming dominance.
This is the Monster of Ash Gray.
The ability for a second-stage acceleration, brought about by such terrifying power, and the unbelievable "third-stage acceleration" ability after her power increased further, is possessed only by Oguri Cap and a handful of other Horse Girls across all generations.
In the original work, Tamamo Cross, Super Creek, and co-generational powerhouses like Yaeno Muteki, Mejiro Ardan, and Bamboo Memory all expressed that trying to compete with Oguri Cap in the final stretch of the course was an impossible task.
And among Horse Girls like Creek, the only one who could purely compete with Oguri Cap in terms of strength was, as she herself mentioned, Inari One.
And the facts support this: in the Mainichi Okan on October 8, 1989, after unleashing her full power, Oguri Cap only managed to lead Inari One by a margin of a few centimeters, winning by the skin of her teeth.
"You're right. Your overall ability is indeed top-tier, but what's even more top-tier is your strength. This is certainly your advantage."
Nodding and acknowledging Oguri Cap's statement, Kitahara mused for a moment.
"So, you have this idea now because you feel the pressure from Creek and the others?"
Oguri Cap nodded again.
"It must be obvious, right? I will be racing against them more and more on the track."
"I feel very happy spending time with them; we are very good friends."
"But even if we are friends, I will still give my absolute best on the track, and I think they will do the same. So if I don't try hard, I will be letting them down."
"Not only that..." She clenched her fist again and looked seriously at Kitahara.
"Kitahara's dream is to become an amazing trainer, right?"
Focusing intently on Oguri Cap's thoughts, Kitahara was slightly taken aback when she suddenly mentioned him. "Ah... yes, that's right."
"Why did you suddenly bring that up?" He asked, puzzled.
"I'm not very smart. I need Kitahara to explain a lot of knowledge many times before I understand."
"Even how to become an amazing Horse Girl, as my mom said, I only knew after asking Kitahara that I need to win many races, and all those races are arranged by Kitahara."
Oguri Cap's smile grew steady and grateful, her eyes shining as she looked at Kitahara. "I want to do something for Kitahara, but I couldn't think of what to do, so I asked Kirara."
"She said, if I want to become an amazing Horse Girl, I just need to follow what Kitahara says and participate in races. I think so too."
"And to help Kitahara become an amazing trainer, I need to keep winning those races."
"I want everyone to know that the reason I am so amazing is because of you, Kitahara."
"So, I won't lose to any opponent, whether they are other rivals or my friends."
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Kitahara, her eyes and expression sparkling like diamonds.
"...Thank you, Oguri Cap."
Kitahara was silent for a long time, then whispered a simple thank you.
It wasn't that he had nothing to say; on the contrary, he had a lot he wanted to say.
He originally intended to tell her that he trusted his Horse Girl, and now he had even more he wanted to express.
His gratitude that Oguri Cap thought of him this way, his gratitude for her not being good at expressing herself but doing so much, his gratitude that she could tell him everything so openly...
But he felt that, having been encouraged by Oguri Cap before, he was essentially just like this pure-hearted Horse Girl—not very good at verbalizing his feelings. He was better at expressing everything through actions.
So, after condensing all his emotions into a simple thank you, he chuckled softly, raised his arm, and held a closed fist up to Oguri Cap.
Seeing this, Oguri Cap thought Kitahara wanted to high-five, and she instinctively raised her hand too.
However, Kitahara bypassed her hand, curved his finger, and gently flicked her forehead.
"Ow."
The flick didn't hurt much, but Oguri Cap instinctively squinted one eye and gave a light cry.
"Since you said you would listen to me, then adjust your state and finish your swimming training quickly."
"Look, Creek, Ardan, and Tamamo have already swum far away. They might have reached the first destination already."
Chuckling, Kitahara's hand, which had flicked Oguri Cap's forehead, smoothed her hair tenderly. "Your strength is your most prominent advantage, that's correct."
"But that also means that taking it one step further is much harder than improving other abilities."
"So you really have to work even harder."
As he said this, Kitahara suddenly realized that he still hadn't achieved the goal he came for: telling Oguri Cap how much he trusted her.
With the conversation having turned this way, he was momentarily unsure how to express his feelings.
But he quickly thought of a form of encouragement that might be better suited for Oguri Cap.
"How about this? For today's training, I'll make a separate deal with you."
"If you perform the best in today's training, I'll secretly take you out to eat something delicious, just you."