Following Satake Mei, Chiya and the others visited several famous sights in Paris. Outside the Louvre stood statues of the Three Goddesses, while inside were three of the most famous national treasures: the Mona Lisa, Venus, and the Winged Victory.
Mona Lisa's long uma musume ears filled the empty space in the portrait, making the viewer's imagination wander. Venus's tail curved around to cover her chest. The statue of the Winged Victory had been damaged, leaving only the body, wings, and tail behind.
As they toured the museum, Chiya inexplicably thought of the stone statues on Easter Island. Those too were uma musume. The murals on the Egyptian pyramids also contained figures of uma musume.
Although uma musume did not make up a large portion of humanity, they occupied the most important parts of history.
In human history, uma musume were symbols of peace. No matter what kind of war broke out, uma musume, who were several times stronger than humans, would never participate. To them, the only way to resolve conflict was through racing. The victor ruled, the loser yielded. For uma musume, running was their battle.
Of course, there had been people in history who tried to force uma musume into war, but those people had somehow changed their minds and signed treaties forbidding uma musume from participating in human conflicts.
So the more active uma musume were, the more peaceful the world was.
And now, the fact that the entire world regarded uma musume racing as the greatest sport meant that he was living in a rare age of prosperity.
Looking at famous paintings such as The Uma Musume Wedding, The Great Uma Musume, and Madame Uma Musume, Chiya felt a wave of emotion. In the end, he stopped in front of a painting called The Three Goddesses.
It depicted the three divine beings who created uma musume: Darley Arabian, Godolphin Arabian, and Byerley Turk. They were beautiful goddesses with red, blue, and brown hair, wearing white dresses as they sat together.
No one knew who had painted it, but every statue of the Three Goddesses in the world had been based on this image. Because of its age, the colours had already faded somewhat. Chiya stood close to the painting and studied it carefully.
That red figure, those green eyes…
For a moment, Chiya was reminded of the person who had brought a turning point to his fate.
But somehow, something felt off.
"Not quite alike."
A voice sounded beside Chiya.
It belonged to a brown-haired uma musume wearing a brown side cap, a yellow jacket, and black leather trousers. There was a long scar over her left eye.
"Sorry. Your expression seemed to be saying that."
She spoke in Japanese.
"Mm, you're right."
"Why? Do you think the three of them don't resemble the Three Goddesses? Don't tell me you've actually seen them before."
"No… I don't think I have. But I feel like the people in the painting are a little different from the Three Goddesses I imagine. Goddess Darley, for example, should be younger and more beautiful. And Goddess Godolphin… I feel like she should be more energetic than she looks here."
Hearing this, the uma musume suddenly laughed.
"No one in history has seen the real Three Goddesses. People could only create them based on their imagination, through legends passed down by word of mouth, and through the fleeting figures that appeared in certain miracles."
"So this painting was imagined too?"
Chiya felt that the Three Goddesses in the painting were already very close to the image he had in mind.
"That's right. It was imagined too."
The uma musume looked at the painting with nostalgia in her eyes.
"The artist behind this painting was the first person in history to establish the uma musume system. The leader known as the First Horse. Alpha."
Chiya felt as if he had heard that name somewhere before.
Right, from Darley.
But—
"I remember the artist of this painting was one of the world's unsolved mysteries. Has that been solved?"
The uma musume suddenly paused.
She adjusted her hat.
"No… but judging from current research, it was very likely her."
"Research?"
"Mm. I specialize in uma musume studies."
"I see…"
Darley was also from the field of uma musume studies. Were people in that major no longer researching training and had moved on to history instead?
"Judging from the badge on you, you're a trainer from Japan, right? What brought you to Paris?"
The uma musume began chatting with him.
"To compete."
"Challenging the European circuit? That's rare."
"There will always be someone who wants to take that step."
"Where are your uma musume?"
Chiya gestured with his chin. The others were following Satake Mei and had not noticed this side.
"Which child are you placing the most hope in?"
"Shirayuki. The white-haired girl."
"Do you think she can conquer these ancient European tracks?"
"No. It isn't that I think she can. It's that she has to. If she wants to become a truly great uma musume, she has to cross this threshold. I'm stubborn. Once I make a decision, I stop thinking about unnecessary things and just push forward. Both Shirayuki and I are like that."
The uma musume nodded after hearing this.
"Only powerful uma musume can open the future, and only powerful trainers can bring out powerful uma musume. I hope your efforts are rewarded."
"Thank you."
Although she was a complete stranger he had never met before, speaking with her gave Chiya a strange sense of familiarity, just like when he spoke with Darley.
"May I ask your name?"
"…Byerley. Just call me Byerley. I'm travelling from place to place, and today I happened to come to the Louvre."
"My name is Fujiwara Chiya. If you have time, please come visit Japan someday."
The uma musume named Byerley extended her hand and handed Chiya a ring.
It was a silver ring engraved with a bird's feather.
"Consider it a gift for our future meeting. Until fate brings us together again, Trainer."
Without waiting for Chiya's reply, she waved and disappeared into the crowd.
Looking at the ring, Chiya slipped it onto his hand.
Strangely enough, it did not fit his index or middle finger. Only his ring finger fit perfectly.
It was as if it had been made specifically for him.
Who gave a ring to someone they had only just met?
Chiya shook his head, took it off, and put it in his pocket. He was a grown man. Wearing a ring on that finger would definitely cause misunderstandings.
"How was he?"
A blue figure appeared beside the uma musume who had called herself Byerley.
"Not bad."
"Then shall we make him our lamb?"
"Mm."
"In that case, I'll go tell Darley. She's been waiting for your answer. Oh, right, Darley told me to say that the boy is someone she set her eyes on first. If anyone wants to do anything with him, they need her permission."
"By 'do anything,' you mean…"
"Ahaha~ What else? Creating stronger descendants, of course. Isn't that what lambs are for?"