Chapter 49
More than an hour later.
"Aw, come on McQueen, don't be in such a hurry. I said you could play with it for half an hour and I won't go back on my word."
"Except you said the exact same thing half an hour ago… Sigh, never mind. Such a child."
Mejiro McQueen gave her friend an amused look as she clutched the drone remote like it was a precious toy, then glanced enviously at the device before shaking her head with a smile. She pinched her chin and turned her attention to the tablet on the desk.
A data cable was plugged into the tablet, with the other end connected to the remote in Tokai Teio's hands.
The remote was about the size of a brick.
It had a signal antenna on top, with control sticks, various buttons, and indicator lights on the front half.
The back half was taken up by a screen.
On the screen were European-style blue-tiled red-brick buildings, paved paths, tree-lined walkways, bright and clean classrooms, and lush green training fields…
It was an overhead view of Tresen Academy.
The tablet showed the exact same image. As Tokai Teio flicked the control sticks and buttons back and forth, both screens raced across the scenery at incredible speed.
"It's really amazing. I never would have thought something that small could fly so fast."
After watching the footage in awe for a while, Mejiro McQueen turned to Yasui Makoto.
"If I'm not mistaken… the drone's speed right now should be around 60 kilometers per hour?"
Before Yasui Makoto could answer, Tokai Teio—without even turning her head—replied proudly, like a child showing off her favorite new toy:
"That's right, McQueen! I set it to exactly 60.
"Trainer Yasui said the maximum is 72 kilometers per hour, but even the final stretch of a G1 race doesn't reach that speed, and training definitely doesn't. 60 is more than enough.
"Hehe, you'll see for yourself when it's your turn."
Mejiro McQueen looked a little helpless. After knowing her friend for so many years, she could clearly hear the boasting in her voice.
Still, she quickly focused on the drone again and studied the tablet screen seriously.
The moment she had seen Yasui Makoto's demonstration earlier, she had instantly understood the true value of the drone.
High-quality footage was extremely important for both training and racing.
By reviewing such footage, both trainers and horse girls could spot many problems, learn a great deal, and optimize future plans.
There were currently three main ways to record video.
The first was multi-camera setups at the racecourse.
The second was various security cameras.
The third was handheld or fixed-point filming.
Each had its own strengths and weaknesses.
Multi-camera footage was excellent, but except for the clips shown on public broadcasts, racecourse recordings were usually stored by the association or the academy and required applications and complicated procedures to access.
Security camera footage covered more areas, but requesting it was even more troublesome and the quality was poor.
Handheld filming was the method most trainers used, but the problem was that no trainer could keep up with a horse girl's speed unless another horse girl helped. If filming alone, the only option was fixed-point shots, which resulted in very limited angles.
Even when a horse girl tried to film while running, the camera shook violently at high speeds, making the footage far from ideal.
However, drone filming combined all the advantages of the previous methods while avoiding every single drawback.
Especially if, as Yasui Makoto had mentioned, multiple drones could be set to follow preset routes and film continuously — the resulting footage would undoubtedly be far superior to anything used before.
Thinking of this, Mejiro McQueen looked at Yasui Makoto with clear anticipation.
"Trainer Yasui, since you already thought of this method, you must have filmed Kita-chan's training sessions these past few days. Could I take a look?"
Tokai Teio glanced over as well.
As fellow top-tier talented and experienced horse girls, anything her friend could think of, she could think of too.
So even though she was still reluctant to let go of the remote, she hadn't forgotten her duties as president.
"Yeah, even though you only told me about it last night, you should have filmed at least once this morning, right Trainer Yasui?"
While Tokai Teio had been playing with the drone, Yasui Makoto had stayed quiet on purpose.
He had wanted both presidents to experience the advantages of this filming method themselves so the upcoming discussion would go more smoothly.
Now that both of them had brought up the main topic, he saw no reason to hide anything and shook his head.
"Not yet. There are still a few issues with the drone, which is exactly why I came to discuss them with both of you."
"Issues?"
Both presidents spoke at the same time.
Tokai Teio thought for a moment, then handed the remote to Mejiro McQueen.
"McQueen, bring the drone back. Let me talk with Trainer Yasui first."
"…You only remember me when you need something, huh."
Mejiro McQueen complained with a small, amused smile but didn't refuse. She took the remote and began operating it exactly as Yasui Makoto had demonstrated earlier.
"The most obvious problem is the noise."
Pointing at the image on the tablet, Yasui Makoto explained:
"You can't hear it on here because the drone has a built-in noise cancellation system.
"But you both heard the sound it made during takeoff. Honestly, it's still pretty loud.
"When it gets too close, you can hear that constant buzzing the whole time.
"Your hearing is very sensitive, so if we don't solve this, it will affect training results to some degree.
"The other issue is the software.
"Strictly speaking, this machine is still a prototype. I was only able to get it because of a very lucky coincidence.
"Actually, it wasn't even a purchase. The inventor of this model wants me to conduct real-world testing, so they provided it to me.
"That means a lot of the programs still need tuning — camera movement, image processing, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and so on.
"And then there's the privacy issue."
Yasui Makoto brought this up without any hesitation.
Tokai Teio was momentarily stunned, but quickly understood.
"That's true. With a machine like this, it would be easy to film almost anything.
"The academy is full of girls, plus female teachers and female trainers. It would be very easy to cause misunderstandings if we're not careful.
"Let me think…"
Seeing this, Yasui Makoto didn't interrupt.
He already had some preliminary solutions in mind, but he remembered that Tokai Teio was very capable. She might come up with an even better idea, so he decided to wait and listen first.
Before Tokai Teio could speak again, Mejiro McQueen suddenly let out a puzzled sound.
"Huh? Isn't that Kita-chan? What is she doing in that get-up…?"
Both Yasui Makoto and Tokai Teio turned their attention to the screen at the same time.
Just like Mejiro McQueen, they saw a black-haired girl right in the center of both the remote screen and the tablet.
It was currently after class. Many students were chatting in the hallways or strolling around the grounds, playing games with friends to relax.
But the black-haired girl on screen was doing neither.
Instead, she was holding a leafy tree branch in each hand, sneaking around suspiciously while hiding in the bushes beside the training field.