"Who is that girl?"
"She's so fast!"
"Is she a new student?"
Voices like that came from the stands.
Students, trainers, everyone's eyes naturally fell on that golden figure.
Beneath the sunlight, her body seemed to shine. Combined with her bold, powerful running form, she gave off a domineering aura, almost like that of an emperor.
From the beginning of the race, she led all the way. The gap between her and second place only grew larger and larger. When she entered the turn, she clung tightly to the inside. Seeing the uma musume behind her draw closer, she increased her speed once more, and in the end, crossed the finish line with a three-length lead.
When she stopped, the entire venue was filled with astonishment.
"This student!"
The trainers ran over one after another.
In this new student evaluation, someone had produced such an astonishing result. There was no need to continue observing. They needed to sign a contract with her immediately.
However, that golden-haired uma musume's attention was not on those trainers at all.
"Move aside for me!"
Pressed back by her powerful aura, the surrounding trainers scattered. Her blue-purple eyes swept past the crowd, and soon, Orfevre locked onto her target.
She strode up to Fujiwara Chiya and asked, "Well?"
"A piece of unpolished jade."
"What does that mean?"
"Excellent quality. Raw, pure, and full of future potential."
"Oh? So you do not deny my strength, yet you refuse to honestly acknowledge it either. Instead, you say something slippery. As expected of the Empress's trainer, I suppose… Hm?"
Orfevre noticed the petite figure standing beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"Older Sister?"
"Orfevre, that race just now was very good. You fully displayed your powerful ability."
"And yet, it still failed to enter the eyes of a certain trainer."
Orfevre folded her arms.
"There is no denying that your ability is indeed top class among the new students," Fujiwara Chiya added.
"Among the new students, hm… It seems Trainer refuses, no matter what, to acknowledge me as the existence who reigns at the summit of all uma musume."
"It's all right, Orfevre. One day, Trainer Chiya will see you standing at the top of the world. Am I wrong?"
Dream Journey gave Fujiwara Chiya a gentle smile.
And yet, that seemingly friendly smile made Fujiwara Chiya's heart skip half a beat.
"I'll look forward to it…"
"That time will not be far away, Trainer Chiya."
Orfevre turned and left the racecourse.
"Trainer, what do you think of that child Orfevre?"
Dream Journey asked beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"She's excellent. With her talent, as long as she's trained properly, she will absolutely achieve good results on the racecourse. But the problem is, I don't think that child will obey discipline."
"That's right. Orfevre will not listen to anyone. She is that kind of proud child, yet also one who makes people feel proud of her."
"…You sisters really do have a good relationship."
Although they had only exchanged a few words, no matter how Fujiwara Chiya thought about it, Dream Journey's attitude toward Orfevre felt somewhat strange.
"Mm, of course. I value Orfevre very much."
Dream Journey looked in the direction Orfevre had left.
"To become Orfevre's trainer, one must first gain her recognition, and also possess a certain level of ability. A trainer like that is not easy to find at Tracen. Especially now, when that child Orfevre seems very determined to make you personally acknowledge her strength. She has no attention to spare for any other trainer."
Dream Journey looked toward Fujiwara Chiya.
"Trainer, Orfevre will come to find you again. When that time comes, I will have to trouble you."
"It's fine."
"Then please excuse me."
With that, Dream Journey bowed to Fujiwara Chiya and left in the same direction as Orfevre.
Only after Dream Journey left did Fujiwara Chiya breathe out in relief.
For some reason, standing beside Dream Journey gave him a strange sense of tension. He kept feeling that there was meaning hidden beneath her words, and her thoughts were far too deep for a child of her age.
Shaking his head, Fujiwara Chiya threw those strange thoughts aside.
For now, he needed to think about what she had said, choosing three uma musume for next year's Arc.
Aside from Shirayuki, who else was there?
Doto, Tachyon, Gold Ship…
Would they be willing to run?
Rice Shower, Dober, Fukukitaru…
Those seemed difficult too.
If it were Rice Shower, she would definitely go if he told her to. But Fujiwara Chiya did not think Rice Shower's build would allow her to break out from among those tall, powerful European uma musume. Shirayuki could clash head-on, and even among uma musume, she was on the taller side. But Rice Shower's size was what it was. No matter how hard that little bean sprout charged, there was no way she could out-collide an uma musume two heads taller than her.
Dober might work, but the heavy turf over there was a problem. After all this time, Fujiwara Chiya had discovered that changing Mejiro Dober's habitual movements was very difficult. Her running form had already taken shape, and her body's flexibility was somewhat lacking compared with Shirayuki's, so her adaptability was lower. It would probably be very difficult for her to adjust to the racecourse over there.
Fujiwara Chiya fell into hesitation.
If he had to choose runners to send to Europe, he really could not decide right away.
If everyone was unwilling to go, Fujiwara Chiya could only search among these new students. There should be someone among them who was willing to challenge the European racecourse and also possessed great talent.
Orfevre suddenly appeared in Fujiwara Chiya's mind.
"To become Orfevre's trainer, one must first gain her recognition, and also possess ability."
He touched his senior trainer badge.
That should be the final option, only if he had no other choice.
That night, Fujiwara Chiya went to Agnes Tachyon's laboratory and, according to her request, provided some bodily fluids.
"As expected, your hormone levels are above normal."
"Can you figure out the reason?"
"The only explanation is that you have completely become an uma musume."
"I… have completely become an uma musume?"
Fujiwara Chiya instinctively reached downward.
Good.
His little brother was still there.
"I am talking about biological-level changes, not genetic ones. It will not cause anything to disappear after the fact. Of course, if you are worried, I can record its size for you every day and observe whether your changes affect physiological function."
"No, no. There's really no need for that."
Seeing her take out a ruler, Fujiwara Chiya quickly waved his hands.
"Why would I become an uma musume? What I mean is, why do I now have the same physical ability as an uma musume?"
"Current medicine cannot explain why uma musume possess strength beyond common sense, so I cannot give you an answer either. However, something you said before gave me an idea. Perhaps it is because of genes. You unlocked the uma musume genes within your body. Like a trait that would normally only appear in a female body, but due to some reason, it appeared in you, a man."
Agnes Tachyon sat on the sofa and crossed her legs.
"In the past, your traits were only half-visible, half-hidden. After Europe, those traits have fully manifested. That is the explanation I can imagine. Did you do something over there in Europe, my guinea pig-kun?"
"Training. On myself."
"Then that may be the reason. Through your own effort, you completely became an uma musume."
"Should I be happy about this…?"
"Of course. You are the first male uma musume in history. Even if you face some powerful opponents now, you will not lose. Tomorrow, I'll test you and see just how strong you are."
"Even if I'm strong, so what? I can't enter races."
"Perhaps not. If you don't, then your only use would be helping uma musume have children and creating powerful descendants with them. Maybe one day, a branch of uma musume named after 'Fujiwara' will appear, just like the Mejiro family."
"Please just test my strength instead…"