"Chiba-san, President Rudolf said you're really strong?" Kitasan Black asked as they walked.
"Eh, I'm decent. I wouldn't call myself that strong, but I don't think I'm weak either."
Fujiwara Chiya figured he probably had about ninety percent of Shirayuki's peak strength right now, and he was still slowly improving. Maybe because the whole "uma man" thing had bugged out, he didn't seem to have a fixed prime period. Normally, once an uma musume entered her prime, she would experience a stretch of explosive growth, but Chiya's growth curve had always been a steady, gradual climb. No dramatic spike. No obvious transformation.
Maybe he would just keep growing like this forever.
Though if that happened, it would definitely cause problems.
He had broken the growth laws of an entire species.
At some point, the Three Goddesses would probably come down and patch this bug themselves. But that was a problem for later.
"This is the first time I've ever heard President Rudolf praise someone like that," Kitasan Black said, her eyes sparkling. She stared at Fujiwara Chiya with a burning gaze. "The Empress created an unforgettable miracle. The Tyrant won the Triple Crown with overwhelming, undeniable strength. And I want to achieve something amazing like them too. That's why I came to Tracen Academy.
"So if you're going to race too, Chiba-san, then that makes us rivals!"
Kitasan Black clenched her fists.
Remembering that Symboli Rudolf wanted him to push these kids forward, Fujiwara Chiya said, "Yeah. In that case, I'll be counting on you, Kitasan Black-san."
"Right!"
They arrived at Nase Fumino's office. Kitasan Black opened the door and said, "Trainer, President Rudolf asked me to bring her here to join our team."
Nase Fumino looked up.
The second she saw Fujiwara Chiya, her eyes went wide.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Then she rubbed her face a few times.
Finally, she turned to Kitasan Black and said, "Step outside for a moment. I need to talk to her."
"Yes, ma'am."
Once Kitasan Black left, Nase Fumino crooked a finger at him.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Chiba. I'm a new transfer student at Tracen."
Fujiwara Chiya spoke in Shirayuki's tone.
Using falsetto, he could cover up his original voice, making it impossible for people to tell he was a man. The result was a soft, androgynous voice.
Now that he thought about it, he really was pretty good at pretending to be an uma musume!
Fumino hadn't noticed, right?
"Come here," Nase Fumino said.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Fujiwara Chiya's face. He obediently walked over, and Nase Fumino inspected his face up close. Very close. Then she reached out and tried to remove his headphones.
"Trainer Nase, what are you doing?"
"Take those things off."
"These are my most precious treasure! How can you just touch them like that?"
"Cut the crap. What are you hiding under there? Don't tell me it's human ears, Chiya!"
"N-No, no, no, my name is Chiba. You've got the wrong person."
"You're still acting? Don't make me lift your skirt!"
"How scandalous!"
After a frantic storm of chaos, Fujiwara Chiya ended up sitting meekly in a chair.
Nase Fumino stood over him with her arms crossed, glaring down like a judge about to hand out a death sentence.
"So? What kind of game are you playing this time? Dressing up like this, do you want to become a woman now? Was Shirayuki not enough for you? You finally decided you wanted to be a woman on both sides?"
"No, no, this is... I have reasons deeper than the sea and taller than the sky..."
"Hm?"
Nase Fumino narrowed her eyes.
She was a frail woman by every physical metric, but right now, her gaze was sharp enough to kill an uma musume on the spot.
After Fujiwara Chiya told Nase Fumino about himself and Shirayuki, her brain had basically crashed. When he later told her that he and Shirayuki were getting married, she looked like she was trapped in some bizarre dream.
Throughout the entire wedding, Nase Fumino had been in a daze. She didn't know where she was, what she was doing, or what reality even meant anymore. It was only long after she returned that her mind finally caught up.
Ah.
So Chiya married himself.
What kind of joke was that?!
Nase Fumino nearly broke down.
Her beloved childhood friend was gone!
And the worst part was, even after getting married, this man was still living with a whole pile of girls!
What was the difference between this marriage and not being married at all?!
Now, just seeing Fujiwara Chiya made her blood pressure spike.
She stepped on Fujiwara Chiya's foot and said coldly, "Am I allowed to assume you've abandoned being a man from the root up?"
"No. My heart is still full of macho pride."
"Your macho pride is sneaking off to get lovey-dovey with Shirayuki when no one's watching?"
"How did you know?"
"So you really are doing it!"
Nase Fumino pressed down harder.
"Ow, ow, ow! Hasn't that been over for half a year already? Why are you still angry?"
"I can stay angry for the rest of my life. Why Shirayuki? Why wasn't it..."
"You?"
Nase Fumino turned her head away.
"I thought about it too," Fujiwara Chiya said quietly. "Why Shirayuki? Why not someone else? But... maybe feelings just aren't something you can control. Before I realized it, I'd already fallen in love with Shirayuki."
Nase Fumino clicked her tongue.
"How's life over there?" she asked.
"Pretty good."
"How nice. Meanwhile, I've been drinking my sorrows away every day. Even my annoying old man came back just to tell me to drink less."
"That's not good, Fumino."
"Does the guy having fun on the side have any right to lecture me?"
"Sorry..."
Nase Fumino looked at Fujiwara Chiya's face, then huffed.
"But sometimes, I think maybe marrying yourself wasn't such a bad choice after all."
"Hm?"
"The reason those uma musume are still gathered around you is because they don't acknowledge it as a proper marriage. To them, the contract between you and Shirayuki doesn't bind them at all. You're still theirs. And if they're allowed to think that, then so am I."
"What?"
Nase Fumino sat on Fujiwara Chiya's lap and lightly swung one leg. She was so light that he could barely feel her weight. Her slender fingers cupped his face, and she said, "That means, in my eyes, you're still single from head to toe. If I want to come see you, I'll come see you."
Fujiwara Chiya scratched his cheek. "Whether I'm single or not, you can come see me whenever you want."
"I've figured you out, Chiya. You're just a bastard who leaves feelings everywhere he goes."
"I... honestly can't argue with that..."
Seeing him lower his head, Nase Fumino smiled.
"This isn't bad either. The way you are now, you can't choose anyone other than yourself anymore. No one can truly have you, except you. So just stay like this. At least this way, I can be a little more casual with you."
"Yes. I'll keep it that way."
"You stupid man."
Nase Fumino hugged him tightly.
A long while passed before they finally separated. Nase Fumino cleared her throat and patted her flushed cheeks. Once the rosy color faded, she said, "Kitasan, come in."
The black-haired uma musume entered the room.
"Starting today, Chiba is officially a member of our team. From now on, she'll be leading the team. Your position as captain will also be temporarily handed over to her."
Kitasan Black's eyes went wide.
She looked at her trainer.
Then she looked at the tall, black short-haired uma musume.
Slowly, she opened her mouth.
"Huh?"