The next day, following Oguri Cap, Zhou Tai'an and Brand New Shine set off to visit her home.
There was no public transportation from Onsen Ryokan Yukara to Hidaka District, where Oguri Cap's home was located, so he had borrowed a car from Sachiko-san.
This way, it would only take a little over an hour to get there.
"It's a good thing Trainer has a driver's license. Otherwise, we would have had to take a taxi," Brand New Shine said, quite relieved. "How much would that have cost?"
"It would have been at least six figures," he replied casually. "Prices aren't low these days."
"That would have been too expensive," Oguri Cap, sitting in the passenger seat, thought to herself.
As he drove, just as they were about to enter Hidaka District, he inadvertently glanced at the gray-coated Horse Girl beside him.
Her expression was visibly tense—a sign that she was nervous.
It was a feeling of apprehension upon returning home, something everyone experienced.
"If we had come after winning the Hokkaido Yushun Championship, she would probably be much more confident, right?" the young trainer thought. "But in that case—"
He glanced at his wallet, then turned his eyes back to the road, driving seriously.
…
When the three of them arrived at Oguri Cap's home, he was stunned. Even though he had known her family's financial situation was poor, he had never imagined it would be this bad.
"You wouldn't feel the least bit sorry if this was abandoned immediately, would you?" he assessed in his mind, complaining to himself.
He glanced at Oguri Cap and found that she was also stunned.
"I sent all my prize money home..." she muttered. "Why didn't Mom get it repaired at all?"
Why?
He didn't know the answer either.
But he knew he couldn't just stand there dumbfounded.
Clearing his throat, he took the wrapped gift box from his bag, held it in his hand, and was the first to step forward and knock on the door.
"Yes?" a voice, sounding a bit weak, came from inside.
"Hello, ma'am? This is Oguri Cap's home, right?" he replied in a clear voice. "I am Oguri Cap's trainer. I've taken the liberty of visiting today with her and another Horse Girl I'm in charge of."
"Huh? Is that the trainer-san Oguri mentioned?" The woman inside was surprised and quickly opened the door.
What greeted his eyes was a haggard face. Anyone could tell that the owner of this face had been doing heavy labor yesterday—no, had always been doing heavy labor.
"Hello, ma'am!" Following Japanese etiquette, he bowed deeply. "I am Oguri Cap's trainer, my name is Zhou Tai'an."
He then handed the gift he had prepared to her mother.
"Oguri, she—" After accepting the gift, her mother nervously tried to ask about her daughter, but was interrupted by Oguri Cap, who popped out from behind him.
"Mom!" she waved, rushing past him and into the woman's arms.
After Brand New Shine had introduced herself, Oguri Cap's mother also introduced herself as "Shiraishi," then invited them into the house.
As for the interior, he could only say that it was slightly better than the exterior. The most exquisite thing in the house right now was probably the gift box he had just handed to Mrs. Shiraishi.
"I'm sorry the house is so simple. I'm afraid it's a bit of a sight, Zhou-kun," Shiraishi said with an apologetic smile after serving them cold water.
"It's alright," he grinned, took the cup, and took a sip. "I grew up and studied in America, so I'm used to drinking cold water."
Shiraishi looked relieved. She knew the man before her was responsible for almost everything concerning her daughter at Kasamatsu and certainly didn't want him to have a bad impression.
…
The main topic of their conversation was, of course, Oguri Cap—from when she was just born, to the confirmation of her stiff legs, the many doctors they saw, and finally, on the advice of a trainer in Hokkaido, the daily massages that took years to alleviate the problem. She had attended a normal school, and was later advised by a teacher to apply to a Tracen Academy. And because Kasamatsu Academy had the lowest tuition, she had chosen to travel all the way from Hokkaido to study there.
"It's Oguri's good fortune to have met you, Zhou-kun. And for you to come all this way to visit, really—I'll be in your care from now on," Shiraishi stood up, about to bow to him.
He also stood up and sidestepped it. "You don't have to, Mrs. Shiraishi. To me, Oguri Cap is very important. I also need her results to get a foot in the door at Central."
"And on this trip to Hokkaido, Oguri Cap and I have something very important to do," he paused, took a ticket from his wallet, and handed it to her.
"This is..." Shiraishi took the ticket and found it was a pass for Monbetsu Racecourse, valid until the beginning of September.
"On August 30th of this year, Oguri Cap will challenge her first Graded Race at Monbetsu Racecourse," he explained to the puzzled woman. "With this pass, you can freely enter and exit the racecourse, Mrs. Shiraishi. I hope that you, who occupy the largest part of her life, can witness her first challenge in a Graded Race with your own eyes."
"Will it really not affect Oguri?" Shiraishi was a little nervous. Although she had an outstanding daughter, she had never had the chance to watch a race at a racecourse before.
"It won't," Oguri Cap spoke up.
A fire of fighting spirit burned in her eyes. "I will show Mom my very best."
"Then I will go," since it would not negatively affect her daughter, Shiraishi of course would not refuse.
Next, he found an excuse to step out alone, leaving the room for mother and daughter—Brand New Shine was also tactful.
"Trainer really has everything prepared," the chestnut-haired Horse Girl commented. "I'm starting to suspect he's even arranged a place for Auntie Shiraishi to live in Kasamatsu."
"Not that," he pouted. "I don't think Mrs. Shiraishi would be willing to move to Kasamatsu."
She had even used the money Oguri Cap had sent for house repairs. He felt there was something more to it.
Inside, Shiraishi handed Oguri Cap a hand-sewn wallet. "Here are the deposit slips for the two prize money payments you sent me."
"Mom... didn't I say that was for repairing the house?" Oguri Cap frowned, unwilling to take the wallet.
"I'm used to living here anyway. What's there to repair," she waved her hand. "Compared to that, you need this money more to take good care of yourself, Oguri."
"Mom...?" Oguri Cap tilted her head, completely confused.
"You have to seize the opportunities you must seize," Shiraishi patted her daughter's shoulder, her tone earnest.
-------
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