"Trainer, men seem to have this strange desire to conquer, don't they?"
That day, Seiun Sky casually brought it up while she and Fujiwara Chiya were out grocery shopping.
"Apparently, having a girl serve them gives men a kind of emotional satisfaction beyond the physical."
"Huh? Does it?"
"Of course. Not long ago, you helped Tachyon renovate her room, right? Back then, Tachyon installed a television on the wall."
"What about it?"
"That television was actually connected to a certain camera. It pointed into the room next door. When I visited Tachyon, I accidentally saw it."
"S-Saw what?"
Fujiwara Chiya swallowed.
The moment he heard the word "camera," unpleasant memories surged up in his mind. Tachyon had once secretly installed one of those things on Shirayuki, and it had ended up recording things that absolutely should not have been recorded.
"I saw Shirayuki," Seiun Sky said with a teasing smile. "She was kneeling on the floor, doing something very devoted for Trainer."
"…"
"That's a man's desire to conquer, right? Wanting the girl you like to satisfy you. When Trainer and I had our first time, you didn't hold back at all either. The next day, poor Se-chan couldn't even get out of bed. Scary, scary. Trainer has completely conquered uma musume now. You're getting way too strong."
Fujiwara Chiya could not say a word.
He covered his face and wanted nothing more than to rip out every secret camera Tachyon had installed.
Sneaking into his room at night was one thing. Everyone had done that before.
But watching during the day too?!
"So, Trainer likes Shirayuki so much because she gives you a strong sense of emotional satisfaction? But from Shirayuki's side, wouldn't there also be a feeling of being conquered? Is that okay? Wouldn't the two cancel each other out and turn into just playing around?"
"No. That's not it at all!"
Fujiwara Chiya was so embarrassed he wanted to bury himself in a crack in the pavement.
"I don't mind, Trainer. There's nothing wrong with a boy having a strong desire to conquer. If anything, Se-chan has always been the passive type. If Trainer gets just a little assertive, I'll be completely helpless."
"No, since when are you passive? You're absurdly proactive!"
At this point, whenever Fujiwara Chiya opened his eyes in the morning, there was a fifty percent chance Seiun Sky would be in his bed.
Because of that, Seiun Sky had been scolded by everyone more than once. And yet she always wore that "what are you going to do about it?" expression and continued her nightly raids as usual.
Granted, when she raided him at night, she did not do anything else.
She simply hugged Fujiwara Chiya and slept.
That was why Orfevre and the others had tolerated it again and again. If Seiun Sky did more than sleep, if she actually made Fujiwara Chiya hers for the night, everyone would explode.
"Trainer really doesn't understand at all. Se-chan is the type who falls over if pushed. Why don't you try it sometime? Come raid Se-chan's room next time. I'll definitely be so scared I won't make a sound."
"Seriously?"
"Trainer? And Sky? What are you two doing here?"
Orfevre's voice reached their ears.
Turning around, Fujiwara Chiya saw Orfevre standing with Dream Journey. They had apparently just finished shopping too.
"We came out to buy some things."
"What are you doing, Orfevre?" Chiya and Seiun Sky asked at the same time.
"I was accompanying my elder sister on a walk," Orfevre said, glancing at Dream Journey.
Dream Journey gave a small nod.
"Then let's go back together."
On the way, Dream Journey moved beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"Trainer Chiya, there is something I want to say to you."
"What is it?"
The two of them walked a little farther away from the others.
"There is one thing I must make clear. Orfevre is my dearest younger sister. I respect her choice. Now that she sees you as the most important person to her, I have no objection. However, Trainer Chiya, you understand your own situation. You chose to marry Shirayuki, not Orfevre."
Dream Journey pushed up her glasses.
"If one day in the future you grow tired of Orfevre, then how should two people who maintain their bond purely through affection handle such a matter? I hope you can answer me."
"Mm… you're right. No matter how close two people are, arguments are unavoidable. I can't promise that every decision I make in the future will always align with Orfevre's wishes."
Fujiwara Chiya looked at her seriously.
"But I swear to the Three Goddesses. I will stay by Orfevre's side until we grow old. Until the day we die."
Dream Journey stared at Fujiwara Chiya for a long while.
At last, she nodded.
"Very well. I will remember what you said today, Trainer Chiya."
Then she added, "Our family has valued kin above all else for generations. Orfevre is my kin. You are Orfevre's kin. Therefore, you are also under our family's protection. If you encounter trouble you cannot resolve, you may contact me."
"Okay…"
Fujiwara Chiya looked at Dream Journey, who was standing there with an unmistakable "come to me if anything happens" aura.
Apparently, their family had quite an extraordinary background.
Agnes Tachyon's family. Mejiro Dober's family. Orfevre's family.
Looking at it that way, maybe his own status had become ridiculous too.
Fujiwara Chiya had no idea how outsiders viewed him. All he knew was that he was living together with this many uma musume, and not a single scandal had erupted. It was almost terrifyingly peaceful.
Maybe someone had already cleaned up all the trouble behind the scenes.
Fujiwara Chiya swallowed and decided not to think too deeply about the relationships involved.
He would simply live quietly and happily with his uma musume.
His most important task now was to give everyone a warm, joyful home.
"Conquest… Trainer's?"
"Of course."
"I have not even sought conquest from Trainer yet, and Trainer is already seeking it from me?"
"Nobody said it had to be you, Orfevre."
"Hah? If not me, then who else could…"
"What are you two talking about?"
Fujiwara Chiya returned to Orfevre and Seiun Sky.
"Nothing… Trainer, what were you talking about with my sister?"
"Just some unrelated things."
"I see."
Orfevre folded her arms.
"Come on, Trainer. We're here. Time to go back."
She waved to Dream Journey beside her.
"We're heading in first, sister."
"Goodbye, Orfevre."
Dream Journey watched the three of them enter the house before turning back toward the dormitory.
After dinner with everyone, Fujiwara Chiya returned to his room and began searching for the cameras Agnes Tachyon had secretly installed.
There were three of them in total, scattered around in bits and pieces.
Tomorrow, he was going to have a proper talk with Tachyon.
Why did she always like installing these things around him?
Was she trying to watch him and Shirayuki from her room like some kind of private broadcast?
Her tastes were way too weird!
Yawning, Fujiwara Chiya hugged Shirayuki. The two of them sat at the edge of the bed and kissed for a while before getting ready to sleep.
Not long after Fujiwara Chiya turned off the lights, the door suddenly opened.
A green figure slipped inside on tiptoe.
A weight settled on him.
Fujiwara Chiya opened his eyes.
"Sky… why are you here again?"
"I came to help satisfy Trainer's desire to conquer. To tell the truth, after seeing what Trainer and Shirayuki did, I kind of wanted to try it too."
Seiun Sky smiled brightly and leaned close to Fujiwara Chiya.
Before she could go any further, another person walked in.
"Why are you here, Sky?"
A pair of blue-purple eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
Orfevre quietly closed the door.
"I came to see Trainer. What about you?"
"I… I heard what you said and thought it made some sense. If I want to satisfy my own desire to conquer, then naturally Trainer must have his own desires as well. As Trainer's wife, I will occasionally satisfy his needs too."
Orfevre looked at Seiun Sky, who was already far too close to Fujiwara Chiya.
"What do you think you're doing? Tonight, Trainer is mine."
"First come, first served, Orfevre."
"No, no, no. I finally wanted to sleep peacefully tonight. Holding myself is enough."
Beside them, Shirayuki lifted her head and wrapped herself around Fujiwara Chiya.
"This started because of you, Trainer, so you have to take responsibility until the end," Seiun Sky said with a smile. "Then I'll leave Shirayuki up there, and I'll take care of little Trainer…"
"Enough. This has nothing to do with conquest anymore!"
That night, the one who was conquered was Fujiwara Chiya himself.