At the training ground, Fujiwara Shirayuki was preparing for her first graded race.
Chiya's situation had certainly been unexpected, but it had not affected her side. It might sound a little harsh to say this, but Shirayuki had already become a kind of spiritual pure land. All she needed to do each day was play with her friends and race seriously.
She did not need to think about complicated workplace relationships. She did not need to think about the problems between Uma Musume and trainers. Most importantly, she would not encounter terrifying romantic battlefields.
Being a man could never be as happy as being an Uma Musume.
After running one lap, Fujiwara Shirayuki wiped away her sweat. Someone beside her handed over a bottle of water.
"Here you go, Shirayuki-san."
"Thank you."
It was Rice Shower.
Seeing Rice Shower's happy smile, Shirayuki froze slightly. She felt as though she rarely saw Rice Shower show her this kind of expression. Every time she tried to talk to Rice Shower, the other girl usually looked guarded.
Perhaps it was because Rice Shower was not good at interacting with others. It was reasonable for her to have that kind of expression. Even so, Shirayuki still hoped that Rice Shower could treat her the same way she treated Chiya.
Judging from today, had her wish come true? Could it be because of the gift she gave yesterday? Rice Shower's attitude toward her seemed to have improved.
Just as Shirayuki was quietly observing her, she saw Rice Shower's pale little leg suddenly tremble.
"Is your body okay now?"
"Huh?"
"Ah..."
Only then did Fujiwara Shirayuki realize what she had said.
Terrible. She had been so shaken by Rice Shower's matter that she lost her composure and asked something she was not supposed to know!
Rice Shower blinked. A few seconds later, she finally understood what Shirayuki meant, and her face immediately turned bright red.
"Did Onii-sama... tell Shirayuki-san?"
"No! He didn't tell me anything. I meant that Rice Shower ran so hard yesterday, so has your body recovered?"
"O-Oh, that's what you meant. My body is already fine. By tomorrow, I should be able to train normally."
"That's good."
Fujiwara Shirayuki let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, Rice Shower was a simple child and could be fooled easily.
Still, to be honest, Rice Shower's attitude toward her really had become much better than before. Could it be that after Rice Shower's relationship with Chiya changed, her affection toward Shirayuki also rose along with it?
After drinking the water, Fujiwara Shirayuki handed the bottle back. Rice Shower cheered her on.
"Shirayuki-san, as long as you train seriously, you will definitely win. Fight on~"
"Fight on?"
"Mm. Rice says this when cheering herself on. Shirayuki-san should say it too. Fight on~"
Rice Shower raised her little fist.
"Fight on!"
"Very good, Shirayuki-san."
As if encouraging a child, Rice Shower clapped her hands.
"Then Rice won't disturb your training."
After seeing her off, Rice Shower hurried away. Once she was farther off, Rice Shower looked at the water bottle in her hand.
From now on, Shirayuki would be her younger sister.
Because of her previous wariness, Rice Shower's relationship with Shirayuki had been very ordinary. But now things were different. Shirayuki had already become family to her. Rice Shower wanted to get a little closer to her and build a better relationship. Not to mention, Shirayuki had given her such a beautiful rose. Perhaps in Shirayuki's heart, Rice Shower was already a very good friend.
Thinking about it that way made Rice Shower feel guilty instead. After all, Shirayuki had wanted to become friends with her a long time ago, while Rice Shower only began accepting Shirayuki after her relationship with Onii-sama became certain.
Rice... is still immature.
Fortunately, there was still room to fix things. Her attitude toward Shirayuki had simply not been that enthusiastic before. She had never said anything bad because of Shirayuki's identity. From now on, she would get along with her properly and try to raise Shirayuki's affection as soon as possible!
After training ended, Fujiwara Chiya told everyone else to go back first and left Shirayuki behind alone. Since her graded race was coming soon, he wanted Shirayuki to train independently for a while and check whether there were any problems with her running.
At present, Fujiwara Chiya had discovered one weakness in Shirayuki that was not especially fatal. On counterclockwise tracks, Shirayuki would unconsciously drift outward while turning.
This was not necessarily a big issue. For Shirayuki, her acceleration could actually be displayed better from the outside. However, during the early and middle stages of a race, staying on the inside track saved more stamina.
This created a problem. If Shirayuki could not move to the outside during a turn and instead became trapped inside, then her habit of drifting outward would become an obstacle. In order not to collide with others, she would have to lower her speed, and that would cause her to miss her acceleration timing.
Of course, the probability of this happening was quite small. First, why would someone spend more stamina running parallel with her on the outside during the early or middle stage? And there were also plenty of chances to move outside before then.
But Fujiwara Chiya preferred to be cautious. He wanted to avoid these hidden risks. Who knew if bad luck might truly erupt one day and create exactly that kind of situation?
Just as Fujiwara Chiya was observing and having Shirayuki practise turning, a gentle voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Trainer Chiya, you still haven't finished work?"
That voice, which usually made him feel at ease, instantly made every hair on Fujiwara Chiya's body stand up. He was so nervous that he started speaking incoherently.
"Tazuna, why are you at my there here!?"
"What are you saying, Chiya? Why are you panicking so much?"
Hayakawa Tazuna smiled.
"I'm not panicking. I'm completely normal."
Fujiwara Chiya forced himself to calm down. His soul had nearly been scared out of his body. If Tazuna found out what he had done, it would not end with simply being kissed until he fainted.
His small human body was not even worth a hair in front of an Uma Musume. People often said arms could not twist thighs, but even the thighs of two adult humans might not be able to twist an Uma Musume's arm.
"Really?"
Hayakawa Tazuna narrowed her eyes. From her understanding of Chiya, if he made this kind of expression, he definitely had something guilty in his heart.
"Chiya, you couldn't have secretly done something bad behind my back, could you?"
Although Chiya had still not given an answer to her confession, Hayakawa Tazuna no longer cared. Trainer Zenzai had already said that the agreement from that time was still valid. Chiya was hers, and she could do whatever she wanted.
If Chiya was not obedient, she would use extraordinary measures.
Fujiwara Chiya swallowed.
Hayakawa Tazuna was clearly smiling, but Fujiwara Chiya felt as though he was not far from death.
"I... I'm training Shirayuki. There's a small problem with her running, and I'm trying to find a solution. Then you came, Tazuna."
Fujiwara Chiya forced himself to stay calm and made up a reasonably convincing lie.
Hayakawa Tazuna carefully looked at Chiya's face for a while, then smiled brightly.
"I see. Sorry, did I interrupt you?"
"No..."
"Come to think of it, Shirayuki is about to enter a graded race too, right? What is she still lacking?"
"I'm improving her cornering technique."
"Would you mind letting me watch?"
"You can understand it?"
"Mm. Actually, I know quite a lot about racing."
Hearing the words "know quite a lot about racing," Fujiwara Chiya narrowed his eyes.
"Could it be, Tazuna... you're an Uma Musume?"
"You found out."
"No wonder. An ordinary Uma Musume would never have that much strength."
When Fujiwara Chiya had been pushed down by her, it had felt as though he had been clamped by iron. He could not move at all.
"Then help me take a look."
"Of course. By the way, if you don't mind, why don't we race once directly? For me, racing makes it easier to discover the other person's weaknesses."
The moment she finished speaking, Fujiwara Chiya felt an overwhelming, ruler-like pressure from Hayakawa Tazuna.