In the afternoon, Fujihara Shirayuki showed up wearing the cat-ear headband, and everyone was completely shocked.
"What's going on with those ears? Did Shirayuki turn from an Uma Musume into a catgirl?"
With a whoosh, Gold Ship rushed over and began inspecting her from every angle.
Shirayuki's ears were already very soft, and once bent down they blended right into her hair. Paired with the high-quality, realistic-looking headband, it completely changed her appearance.
"This is perfect. Absolutely perfect!"
Gold Ship praised enthusiastically.
"Me too. I was really startled when I saw Shirayuki. I thought she had replaced her ears. Those things aren't removable, you know," Meisho Doto said, focusing on the practical side of things.
"By the way, Shirayuki, doesn't that start to hurt if you wear it too long?" Gold Ship pointed at her bent ears.
"If I wear it for more than an hour, it starts to hurt. Within an hour it's fine."
For example, from when she put it on in the locker room until now, her ears were already starting to protest.
She would take it off during training. There was no need to keep wearing it.
Turning around, Shirayuki noticed Rice Shower standing behind her, looking like she had something on her mind. The moment their eyes met, Rice Shower flinched.
Now that's natural cuteness, Shirayuki thought.
"Everyone, back to the training field."
At that moment, Fujihara Chiya walked over and addressed them.
"Yes!"
Naturally taking the headband from Shirayuki's hand, Chiya began the day's training.
"Start with a warm-up run. After that, we'll move to the indoor gym. Today's workload is heavy. Inverted sit-ups, step jumps, and static balance training. Fifteen sets each. Take it seriously."
"Not this again…" Gold Ship grimaced at the exhausting list.
Compared to these tiring and difficult drills, she preferred coming up with new training methods, something fun but still effective. She was still experimenting, but she was confident she would figure something out soon.
After assigning everything, Chiya walked over to the instructor's section on the other side. Most groups there had over ten members.
In the crowd, he spotted a brown-haired figure who stood out completely.
Mejiro Dober.
While the instructor explained race precautions, she was the only one listening attentively. Everyone else was more or less distracted. Some weren't paying attention at all, and others were quietly chatting.
The most serious one ended up looking out of place.
She really is alone…
Chiya noticed that the Uma Musume around Dober kept a subtle distance from her, almost as if they were deliberately leaving an empty space around her.
When the noise from nearby students got too loud, Dober glanced at them, hesitated, then raised her hand and asked the instructor to repeat what had just been said.
"What are you doing?"
"Whoa!"
The sudden voice startled Chiya. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he jumped back two steps.
A grinning face was suddenly right in front of him.
"Youta…"
"What are you doing here? Skipping training?"
Chiya glanced at him and returned his gaze to the instructor group. "I'm working."
"Oh? Got your eye on another Uma Musume?"
"Don't butt in."
"I can help you evaluate. I know most of the girls here."
Seeing the mischievous look on his face, Chiya frowned. After a few seconds, he pointed toward the group.
"Mejiro Dober. Do you know her?"
"Oh… that girl." Katsumura Youta looked like he remembered her well. "I've watched quite a few of her races and even talked to her a couple of times."
"What do you think of her?"
"Want the honest answer?"
"What else would I want? You planning to make something up?"
"…She's not very good."
Even after softening it as much as possible, it was still the lowest evaluation.
"Why?" Chiya asked.
"In two test runs, she's always placed eighth or ninth, basically at the back. Her best result was only fourth. For someone from the Mejiro family, she's far behind Mejiro McQueen, Mejiro Bright, and Mejiro Ramonu."
Especially Mejiro Ramonu, the first Triple Tiara winner in Japan. Her strength was unquestionable.
Compared to those from the same family, Mejiro Dober simply didn't measure up.
Even so, Youta had invited her to join his team.
"You invited her?"
"Yeah. She's from the Mejiro family, so I thought maybe her talent just hadn't been developed yet. I figured I'd give it a shot."
"And?"
"She rejected me."
Youta sighed.
"She said her ability wasn't good enough. But I don't think that was the real reason."
"What do you mean?"
"The way she looked at me… it was like she hated me. Like I'd done something terrible to her before."
Chiya understood immediately.
Her androphobia had kicked in.
"Anyway, if you're targeting her, I suggest you give up," Youta continued. "She's not strong, and she lacks motivation. She was given a chance, but didn't appreciate it. Saying her ability isn't enough is just an excuse. Look how long it's been, and she's still in the instructor group."
He patted Chiya on the shoulder.
"Don't make things harder for yourself. Wouldn't it be better to find a few easier trainees? If one of them gets upset and cancels your contract again, you'll waste years of your life."
"Reliable Uma Musume aren't that easy to find."
"If you can't find them, don't go after ones like this either. Are there still not enough weirdos in your team?"
Gold Ship, Meisho Doto, and Rice Shower. Any one of them would make most trainers avoid them, yet Chiya had taken them all in.
No one knew what he was thinking.
Just as Uma Musume didn't want to waste time on incompetent trainers, trainers also wanted capable runners.
So it was better to think long-term instead of stubbornly chasing after specific individuals.
Especially those who weren't highly regarded.
After finishing his earnest advice, Youta left.
Chiya remained, watching the training field.
No motivation…
He didn't agree with that.
She had the drive to win that any Uma Musume should have, but her personality prevented her from showing it.
A trainer's role was to teach, not to abandon or select. It was to help each Uma Musume find her path and bring out her strengths.
That was what a trainer should do.
After one more glance at Mejiro Dober standing alone in the crowd, Chiya turned and walked back to his team.