Comfortable.
Her recent training plan had been absurdly comfortable.
Everything flowed together like running water, smooth from start to finish. It was like her trainer had completely grasped the state of her body. The moment Orfevre began to feel her stamina dip, he switched the drill. The instant her body eased up a little, he changed it again.
And so, Orfevre kept training and training, yet never felt any overwhelming fatigue.
The different drills seemed to complement one another. They built on each other, layer by layer, until by the time training ended, what Orfevre felt was not exhaustion.
It was exhilaration.
She had not enjoyed training this much in a long time. Every cell in her body was screaming with excitement.
Orfevre usually disliked praising others. In her eyes, they were beneath her, so there was no need to praise them.
But as for her trainer...
Orfevre walked up to him.
"Yo, Trainer."
"Orfevre, good work today. Take a warm bath tonight and get to bed early," Fujiwara Chiya reminded her out of habit.
"I know. Regarding today's training, I wish to say..."
"There were too many changes, right? Sorry. Since I needed to keep track of your condition in real time, I reduced what was written on the training schedule. But if you include the instructions I gave verbally, the overall training volume hasn't changed, so you don't need to worry."
Orfevre stared at Fujiwara Chiya's face, then turned her head away.
"Are you done? If you are, then I am going to speak."
"Yeah."
"What I wanted to say is that the recent training has been effective. As a trainer, you suit my tastes rather well."
"Hm?"
Fujiwara Chiya dug at his ear.
What?
What did Orfevre just say?
She said he suited her tastes. That was what she said, right?
Fujiwara Chiya's face filled with the sort of shock one might wear after seeing the sun rise in the west.
"Why are you staring at me like a startled rabbit, Trainer?"
"No... I just didn't know you could praise people."
"What is wrong with bestowing praise upon someone excellent? You, of all people, should understand that, should you not?" Orfevre said, sounding displeased.
"I'm just a little surprised. Um... thanks."
Orfevre snorted, then continued, "But this is only natural. Only an excellent trainer is worthy of an excellent me. Surpassing others by a wide margin is your duty. Do not get carried away simply because I praised you."
"Haah..."
Her wording was awkward as ever, but Orfevre had basically acknowledged that he was far stronger than other trainers by a wide margin.
That counted as praise too, right?
"Once my race is over, I shall permit you to accompany me outside again."
Last time, the two of them had wandered around a nearby park and, while they were at it, visited an uma musume club to race against a group of amateurs. Orfevre's overwhelming strength had terrified everyone so badly that no one else dared to step forward. In the end, she dragged Fujiwara Chiya onto the track and had one thoroughly satisfying race with him.
One length.
She had already drawn very close to her trainer.
She believed that soon, she would possess enough strength to surpass Fujiwara Chiya.
Their date that day...
No. It could not be called a date.
For Orfevre, it was simply a retainer accompanying his sovereign on an outing.
In any case, whatever it was called, Orfevre had enjoyed that weekend very much. She planned to use her next race as a pretext to invite Chiya out again.
"Go out? Well..." Fujiwara Chiya hesitated for a moment before speaking. "That day won't work."
"I have not even said which day yet. What do you mean, Trainer? Are you planning to refuse my invitation?"
"I want to go too, but after your race ends, I have to go to Hanshin."
"Hanshin?" Orfevre narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"For steep-slope special training. Hanshin Racecourse is different from other tracks. There's a steep slope before the finish line, and everyone hasn't practiced that much, so I want to take Gold Ship and the others there for training. It should take about half a month."
"...In other words, Trainer, you are planning to abandon me and leave?"
"Darley will handle training here. I'll call every day to check on the situation, so you don't need to worry about training."
"That is not what I am talking about!" Orfevre cut him off. "You are my trainer. Since that is the case, wherever you go, I should be there too. No, wherever I am, you should be there! What is this nonsense about leaving me behind?"
Orfevre's tone turned stern.
"I do not permit you to leave."
Fujiwara Chiya scratched his head.
Two months ago, Orfevre had barely given him the time of day.
Two months later, she was telling him he was not allowed to leave.
Could it be that I have a special attack bonus against problem children?
Even if Orfevre said that, Fujiwara Chiya had no intention of staying. He had something more important to do.
However, he did not plan to reject her by force either.
He walked over to Orfevre and patted her head.
"You... insolent fool!"
Orfevre flinched in surprise. She was about to raise her hand and knock him away, but forced herself to lower it again. Then she glared at him, looking extremely unhappy.
"How about this? Whatever you want to do, I'll do it with you before I leave."
"What I wish to do only has meaning after victory. Before the race, it has no meaning whatsoever."
"After victory, huh... I don't think there's anyone right now who can beat you. Even before the race, I'd dare to stake my reputation on it. You'll definitely win."
"Where does that confidence come from?"
"Because you're Orfevre. That's where my confidence comes from."
The moment she heard those words, Orfevre's lips lifted in a proud arc.
"Hmph. Well said."
Orfevre turned around.
"Come. Consider this your reward for my future victory. Accompany me for a stroll."
Fujiwara Chiya followed behind her.
It seemed Orfevre was no longer objecting.
Actually, it was not just Orfevre. When Mejiro Dober and the others heard that Shirayuki was going out with him, they all ran over to ask what was going on. Only after Fujiwara Chiya told them that Rice Shower and Gold Ship were going too did they finally relax.
Getting everyone's unanimous approval was seriously not easy.
Fujiwara Chiya had discovered that, as a trainer, he no longer held the decision-making power. If these uma musume refused to let him do something, then Fujiwara Chiya simply could not do it.
He was shaking. Furious. Cold.
When had trainers become so humble?
Fujiwara Chiya wanted these uma musume to properly recognize the hierarchy between superior and subordinate. But they called him by name, directly assumed the posture of girlfriends, and completely turned the tables on him.
In that case, Fujiwara Chiya really had no way to fight back.
Trainer?
That was just boyfriend with a job title slapped on top.
After finally placating Orfevre, the day of the race arrived.
The GIII eighteen-hundred-metre Kisaragi Sho.
The race began.
Orfevre immediately rushed to the lead, taking the front-running position in one breath. Then, during the middle stage of the race, she began to accelerate.
In just thirty seconds, she covered three furlongs.
And even after that, Orfevre's speed showed no sign of slowing.
With an advantage of seven lengths over second place, Orfevre turned herself into a Front Runner at the very front of the field. In the end, she won by an enormous margin of five lengths.
Under Fujiwara Chiya's guidance, another dazzling new star had appeared on the track.
And since they were already in Kyoto, after Fujiwara Chiya and the others finished holding the victory celebration, they headed toward nearby Osaka.