Chiya might not be able to train alongside his uma musume anymore.
He did not know whether to call it a reward or a curse, but his body had developed the same trait as Shirayuki's.
Beside him, Rice Shower kept edging closer, her nose twitching softly.
"It smells so good, Onii-sama. Is this the smell of food?"
"What do you think it smells like?"
"Rice doesn't know, but…"
Her nose touched Chiya's chest.
"It smells so good, Onii-sama. Can Rice eat it?"
What exactly do you want to eat?
You're not planning to eat me, are you?
Chiya coughed a few times and patted Rice Shower on the head.
"I'll go back, take a shower, and let the scent fade a little. You train with Gold Ship and the others for now. I'll watch from the side."
But Rice Shower was no longer listening to what Chiya was saying.
She held his hand, her damp lips lightly catching his finger and guiding it toward her mouth. Her slightly parted teeth left just enough space for it to pass through. As if she had been holding back for far too long, her little tongue slipped out through that gap and gently traced over Chiya's fingertip.
It was as if she were tasting the flavour on it.
Rice Shower licked very seriously, almost entranced. Acting on instinct, she opened her mouth and lightly bit down. But perhaps because of her instinctive desire to protect Chiya, she did not bite hard. Her teeth only left faint marks on his skin.
"Rice!"
Looking at the silver thread she left on his finger, Chiya hurriedly called out to her.
Rice Shower's state was becoming more and more dangerous.
Back at Tracen, Shirayuki would usually stay alone after training. Occasionally, Grass Wonder and Tokai Teio would approach her and engage in intense physical contact, but even then, nothing truly happened on Shirayuki's side.
But Chiya was different.
Being licked like this made his heart feel itchy too. Looking at Rice Shower's flushed little face, all sorts of messy thoughts began appearing in his mind.
Before he lost to desire, Chiya had to stop Rice Shower's increasingly dangerous attempts to lean against him and lick him.
He pulled his hand away.
Rice Shower immediately looked like a small animal that had been abandoned. The rosy affection in her eyes gradually dimmed.
"Onii-sama?"
"Once you're done resting, go train. I'll head back to the observation deck first."
"…Yes."
Rice Shower answered reluctantly.
She obediently followed Chiya's order. Even though the scent on him smelled so delicious that she wanted to lick him clean from top to bottom, the trust in Onii-sama rooted deep in her bones still forced her desire down.
After nodding to Chiya, Rice Shower trotted away.
Chiya looked at his sticky hand. It faintly carried the scent of milk and candy. Under the sunlight, the saliva dried quickly, but the smell remained on his skin.
Should I spray on some perfume from now on to cover it?
Rice Shower had turned out like this, and Shirayuki had not been much better. If he ran into Gold Ship and the others in this state, things would probably become even more troublesome.
But he did not want to give up such an effective training method because of a body issue.
Chiya calculated it. When he trained together with Shirayuki, the effect increased by a full twenty percent. And it was not just Shirayuki. Everyone in the team became more motivated, and the overall improvement was around ten percent.
For uma musume, that was already enough to open a clear gap between teams.
Other trainers could forget about improving everyone at once. Just maintaining their current condition was already difficult. Keeping uma musume emotionally fired up every day was not easy.
Speaking of which, Rice Shower did not seem especially affected by Shirayuki.
Chiya and Shirayuki had the same trait, but Rice Shower had never approached Shirayuki when she was sweating or doing anything else.
Could the effect of this scent differ depending on the person?
When Rice Shower licked him, he could still bring her back to her senses. Shirayuki, on the other hand, had short-circuited completely. She had not even known what she was doing.
Could it be that this thing was especially attractive to me, but not as strong for outsiders?
If that was the case, then he did not need to completely stop his activities. He just had to keep some distance from the others.
As for Shirayuki, who was affected the most, Chiya had a solution.
He just needed to build up her tolerance.
Hormones were ultimately just a sensation. If she was exposed to them for long enough, she would become numb to them. It was like smelling the same scent all the time. Eventually, the nose would get used to it and stop noticing.
If he stimulated Shirayuki frequently, she would gradually develop resistance.
Chiya felt terrifyingly clever.
He thought his intelligence might already rival Agnes Tachyon's.
"Done training?"
Satake Mei was sitting in the restaurant on the observation deck. She looked up as Chiya approached.
"I came to slack off a little. It's too hot outside."
"It's almost July, after all."
Mei smiled and handed him an iced drink.
Chiya wiped away his sweat and sat down beside her. Mei's expression remained completely normal.
Just like with Shirayuki, his scent did not trigger any reaction in ordinary humans.
It was a special attack that only worked on uma musume.
Why?
Chiya suspected that this constitution had been created by the Three Goddesses. Otherwise, why had Agnes Tachyon been unable to determine its cause no matter how much she studied it? Shirayuki's side was one thing, but now even his male body was beginning to change.
If science could not explain it, then perhaps theology was the only answer.
What exactly did the Three Goddesses give him this constitution for?
As he drank the cold beverage, his body quickly cooled down. At the same time, Shirayuki's training on the track also came to an end.
"Chiya," Mei asked, "what do you think of Treve?"
"Treve…"
Chiya narrowed his eyes and looked at the lively figure running alongside Shirayuki.
"I think she's a good girl. Beautiful, cute, patient, helpful, bright, and cheerful. It's hard to see any flaws in her."
"That's not what I meant…"
Mei held her head.
"Then what did you mean?"
"I meant, as an uma musume, what do you think of Treve? Why did you start evaluating her like a girl? Don't tell me you've fallen for her…"
"No! I was just answering the question properly!"
Mei looked completely unconvinced.
This was the trainer who brought uma musume into an underwear store. Even if he seduced Treve, she would not find it strange.
That said, if Chiya really could bring Treve back to Tracen, it would be a tremendous achievement for all of Central. Treve was a world-class uma musume. Giving Chiya an annual honorary trainer award afterward would not be unreasonable at all.
Mei was very supportive of his potential wall-digging behaviour.
She looked forward to the day Chiya could steal Treve back to Japan.
"Do you think Shirayuki can beat Treve?"
"Heh."
Chiya laughed once.
"Not a chance right now. I haven't even figured out the bottom of her strength yet."