"How does it look, Dober? This new plan."
"It's very good."
Mejiro Dober looked at the training schedule in her hands.
"Will you be all right, Trainer? Won't this make things too troublesome for you?"
"It's fine. I have my assistant helping me, and Shirayuki too. With the three of us, looking after everyone is more than manageable."
"I see."
Mejiro Dober's eyes flickered. She sat down beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"Is there anything Trainer wants? As long as it's something I can do."
"Arranging training for uma musume is my responsibility as a trainer. How could I ask for payment?"
"Then let me ask it another way. Is there anything Chiya wants?"
Mejiro Dober called Fujiwara Chiya by his name.
"Cough, cough. Dober, really…"
"I'm not the kind of person who only accepts kindness without giving anything back. At least let me do something for you."
Mejiro Dober leaned close to Fujiwara Chiya, her fair face showing a stubborn expression.
"Sweets… Could you make me some sweets? I've been a little short on sugar lately."
"Of course. Shirayuki probably wants some too, right?"
"Mm."
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Mejiro Dober's lips.
She was worried.
As Chiya's partner and his uma musume, she had not fulfilled the role of a partner at all. She could not help share his pressure, nor could she stay by his side whenever he needed her.
Aside from being lovey-dovey with Trainer, what part of her actually resembled a partner?
Trainer was always busy, while she could only go to Shirayuki at night and ask for hugs. But doing that made her seem like a little child.
She wanted Trainer to rely on her. She wanted to help him from beside him, not just drag him outside when she could no longer bear her own loneliness.
But she did not understand his work.
All she could do was watch Shirayuki move busily around Fujiwara Chiya. Once, she had even seen Shirayuki sitting on Fujiwara Chiya's lap, curled up in his arms, rubbing her head against his chest.
When Mejiro Dober approached, Shirayuki had already jumped up and continued working, as if that had only been a brief moment of relaxation.
Those occasional, fleeting moments of closeness between them made Mejiro Dober more and more uneasy.
If, before Europe, there had still been some distance between Shirayuki and Trainer, then after returning from Europe, the two of them had become completely attached.
Mejiro Dober did not know what had happened during that trip, but she knew one thing.
Shirayuki and Chiya had gone on a date.
Putting it that way sounded somewhat absurd. Dating yourself should have no fun in it at all. It should be like playing house with a doll, one person acting out two roles. They could even do nothing at all and simply sit there for an entire day.
Mejiro Dober refused to acknowledge that as a proper date.
And yet, the intimate atmosphere between them had still sounded an alarm in her heart.
Even putting aside Trainer's self-fascination, Shirayuki was still a cute and beautiful girl. There was no reason Trainer would feel any resistance toward himself. If something happened between the two of them, it would not require any build-up at all.
They could even skip the stage of developing feelings.
From beginning to end, Shirayuki's affection for Chiya had always been full.
If that was the case, Mejiro Dober felt that there was no need for her to exist at all.
Anything she could give, Shirayuki could give too.
And even things she could not give, Shirayuki could still give.
For example, becoming someone Trainer could rely on.
Shirayuki was fully capable of staying beside him and sharing half of his pressure. Mejiro Dober, on the other hand, could only sit there foolishly. When Trainer was tired, Shirayuki could rub his shoulders and pat his back. When Shirayuki was tired, Trainer could do the same for her.
The two of them understood each other completely.
And on top of that, the more perfect Trainer became, the less room Mejiro Dober had to step in.
If things continued like this, Mejiro Dober was afraid that even her remaining value would disappear. Trainer would form a complete circle all by himself, while she could only stand outside and watch.
Mejiro Dober absolutely would not allow that.
She would split the two of them apart and force herself into the middle.
You two can form your own little world, but I have to be sandwiched between you!
Mejiro Dober would not allow Trainer and Shirayuki to stay together like that.
Even if she had to be a little forceful, Mejiro Dober would make Trainer rely on her.
"I'll bring them over after I make them. Oh, right, Mother gave me some green tea. Would Trainer like to try it? It was brought over by a guest from Kagoshima."
"Really? Thank you, Dober."
"If Trainer wants anything, just tell me. Whether it's sweets or something else."
Mejiro Dober took Fujiwara Chiya's hand and pressed her thumb against his palm.
"I am Trainer's uma musume. I am also Trainer's Mejiro Dober. So please, rely on me a little more."
"Mm, all right."
Fujiwara Chiya nodded out of habit and stroked Mejiro Dober's head. His fingers naturally brushed against her ears a couple of times, and Mejiro Dober lowered her head with a flushed face.
N-no!
This isn't the kind of relying I meant!
I'm not trying to make Trainer lovey-dovey with me!
Coughing a few times, Mejiro Dober picked up the training plan he had revised.
"I'll go first, Trainer. See you later."
Her ears flicked with lingering dissatisfaction as Mejiro Dober said goodbye to Fujiwara Chiya.
After she left, Fujiwara Chiya called Rice Shower over.
"Onii-sama, did you call for me?"
Rice Shower happily sat on Fujiwara Chiya's lap and leaned into his arms.
Her black tail brushed against the man's chest.
"Rice, I made some changes to your plan. Take a look and tell me what you think."
"Onii-sama's training plans are always the best."
"No, Rice. I want to hear your opinion."
Yesterday, after discussing things with Nishizaki Ryu, Fujiwara Chiya had decided to subtract from the training, using each uma musume's own strengths and running habits as the main axis.
That was why he was calling his uma musume over one by one and asking for their thoughts. Nishizaki Ryu also arranged training through this method.
"How has training been recently? Are you used to it?"
"Yes, Onii-sama. It's wonderful!"
"Nothing feels off? If there's a problem, you need to say it early. Otherwise, it might get worse."
"Onii-sama… actually, recently, after training, Rice's calves have been very tired. But Rice soaks in the bath every day to relax, so it should be fine."
"Your calves?"
Fujiwara Chiya touched his chin.
Was the training load too heavy?
No, that was probably not it.
It should be an issue with strength training. Rice was strong in endurance, so there should not be any mistakes there.
As expected, timely communication was important.
Rice Shower's obedient personality made it easy for problems to appear. If Fujiwara Chiya gave her an absurd order like running fifty laps around the training ground, she would probably try her hardest to complete it.
He would have to revise this later.
"Hm-hm-hmm~"
Sitting on Fujiwara Chiya's lap, Rice Shower swung her little feet and hummed happily.
"Rice, when you have time, do you want to go out with Shirayuki?"
"Shirayuki?"
Rice Shower's ears twitched.
"Why Shirayuki?"
"You don't want to?"
"No… Rice is just a little curious. All right. Rice will go out with Shirayuki."
Rice Shower smiled, though a faint trace of doubt showed in her eyes.