On the stage, several hundred new students stood with their chests out and heads held high.
They looked at the white figure above them, who was giving a firm and powerful speech.
Fujiwara Chiya stood not far away, watching the new students.
"Guess who I am~"
Suddenly, someone covered his eyes from behind.
"Your cat claws are showing."
"Uyaa? Cat claws hurt people, but Sei-chan doesn't. Sei-chan's hands are for comforting people."
Seiun Sky giggled and let go, then walked to Fujiwara Chiya's side.
"Shirayuki's side wasn't affected at all. I thought if I covered Trainer's face, Shirayuki would panic."
"Are you Gold Ship?"
"I'm joking. I just wanted to see Trainer looking flustered."
Seiun Sky placed both hands behind her head, glancing at Fujiwara Chiya's face from time to time.
"I thought I might be able to comfort Trainer a little…"
"What?"
"You know, that thing where a man is feeling down, and then a girl comes over to comfort him, takes advantage of the opening, and captures his heart. Trainer plays the wounded man, and Sei-chan plays the girl who takes advantage of his weakness. But… it looks like Trainer has already come out of his sadness. Did Sei-chan arrive too late?"
"No. I just healed the wound myself."
As long as Shirayuki was still there, he could stand up any number of times.
Fujiwara Chiya was extremely glad that the one he had brought was Shirayuki. If it had been another uma musume, whether Rice Shower or Meisho Doto, they would absolutely have been struck hard by the failure.
Fujiwara Chiya did not think Rice Shower or Doto currently had the strength to challenge the Arc. The difference in intensity was far too great. Shirayuki had only developed a body capable of clashing head-on with European uma musume without falling behind after hellish training. If it were Rice Shower, she would probably fall apart after being hit twice.
As for Doto…
If she used her chest weapons well, maybe she could win a collision. Fujiwara Chiya had experienced the power of that kind of thing from other uma musume before. It could directly knock him off balance.
But Fujiwara Chiya could not possibly teach Doto how to use her chest to gain an advantage, right?
In the end, it had to be Shirayuki.
No one else would do.
"Healed it yourself… Don't tell me Trainer used Shirayuki to heal the wound?"
"Something like that."
The corners of Seiun Sky's eyes twitched.
"How confusing, Trainer. How did you manage to talk things through with yourself? Is this roleplay? So the one playing the girl who takes advantage of his weakness wasn't Sei-chan, but another version of Trainer? Isn't that way too strange?"
"It wasn't really talking. I just felt that as long as she was there, it was enough. A sense of peace, I guess you could call it. Being beside Shirayuki gives me peace."
Hearing those words, Seiun Sky's heart skipped a beat.
She did not care what relationship the other girls had with Fujiwara Chiya.
After all, she could steal.
The other party could not watch Chiya twenty-four hours a day. Even with only the time needed to eat lunch, Seiun Sky could still succeed.
But Shirayuki was different.
If Shirayuki had taken on the role of filling the wound in Trainer's heart, then Seiun Sky could not even steal him anymore.
Shirayuki monitored Chiya twenty-four hours a day in real time, and from first-person perspective at that. There was not a single blind spot.
She had thought she could keep sneaking bites forever.
But in the end, the one standing in her way was Trainer himself?
"Oh, come on, Trainer. Why are you looking for comfort from yourself? Is it hugs? If it's hugs, Sei-chan can do that too. My embrace is very comfortable, you know. Lap pillows are fine too. Of course, other things are also okay. Sei-chan is a professional at all of them."
"Thanks, Sky."
Fujiwara Chiya stroked her head.
After coming back this time, Fujiwara Chiya had already decided to place all his focus on Shirayuki. Whether it was a sense of peace or anything else, one regret was enough.
Before the next Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Fujiwara Chiya had to take good care of himself.
"Trainer…"
Seiun Sky felt the greatest crisis she had ever faced.
…
After the entrance ceremony ended, the students followed their instructors for training.
After receiving the senior trainer badge issued by Central, Fujiwara Chiya's confidence immediately rose. He was now a trainer on the same level as Nishizaki Ryuu and Kuronuma, one rank higher than Katsumura Youta.
As for salary, it had increased by roughly one third compared with before.
He could take Shirayuki out to eat more good food.
Of course, to him, salary was only secondary.
Being a senior trainer meant that outstanding uma musume would pay more attention to him. They did not choose trainers blindly. Before the new student selection began, they would first learn the rules of racing and all kinds of information about trainers, including the trainer ranking system from rookie to senior.
Many talented uma musume did not want to sign with rookie trainers.
After all, lack of experience meant a higher chance of making mistakes and causing training errors. By the time the trainer gained experience, the uma musume would not be able to redo her races.
So any uma musume with decent strength usually did not want to become an experience pack for a rookie trainer.
Rookie trainers paired with lower-strength uma musume.
Senior trainers paired with high-strength uma musume.
Strong joining with strong.
That was the norm in new student selection.
Fujiwara Chiya observed the training of those uma musume and recorded their times.
By now, Fujiwara Chiya could arrange training plans for Shirayuki and the others with ease. On top of that, with Darley's help, his work had become much lighter, and he could recruit several more uma musume.
They did not need to debut immediately either.
They could train for a while first.
In any case, his body could handle it, and he would never dislike having more of his own uma musume.
"Oho, Chiya. You're here to pick people too?"
Katsumura Youta walked over to Fujiwara Chiya with a cheeky grin.
"Is that the attitude you should use when speaking to a senior trainer?"
"You bastard. Will you die if you don't show off?"
Katsumura Youta jabbed the man's waist, then sucked in a sharp breath.
Too soft.
This guy's body really was like a girl's!
Every time Katsumura touched him, he felt as if he had accidentally touched a girl's body. It was seriously bad for his heart.
"Any promising kids?" Fujiwara Chiya asked.
"I'm still observing. The strong kids all have fierce personalities, so I can't manage them. The weaker ones tend to have better personalities. As for me, I still think easier-to-manage kids are better, even if they're a little weaker. As for you, Chiya, just obediently go find your problem children."
"This year, there is absolutely no way I'm picking problem children. If I do, I'm a dog!"
"If you don't take the problem children, no one will."
"Then you take them."
Katsumura Youta patted his shoulder and still wanted to say something, but Fujiwara Chiya turned and left.
He had already decided.
He would absolutely find normal uma musume.
At the school building, an instructor, panting for breath, finally found the student who had skipped class.
It was not the first time either.
Skipping training nonstop only a few days after school started was truly something else.
"Orfevre, come back to training with me."
"Oh?"
The golden-haired uma musume narrowed her eyes.
"I shall praise you for chasing after me. However, if you insist on interfering with my search for the Empress, then I shall not be polite with you."
"Orfevre-san, stop making trouble. The new student evaluation is about to begin. If you keep this up…"
"Noisy. Move aside for me!"
She snorted, then raised her hand and pushed toward the instructor blocking her way.
Perhaps she did not know how to control her strength. Wind gathered around her fingers. But just before that solid palm could land on the instructor—
Smack!
A hand grabbed her wrist.
Orfevre looked toward the man beside her.
"…The Empress's Scepter?"