With a loud clang, the gates opened, and eighteen figures burst out.
Fujiwara Chiya secured a middle position.
European uma musume races were fiercely contested. The moment they left the gates, their bodies collided violently. Even from a distance, the dull thuds of shoulder against shoulder could be heard.
Chiya, however, had an unusually smooth start.
The uma musume around him all seemed to keep a certain distance from him without needing to discuss it. None of them moved in to press against him.
Perhaps it was because this was the first time in their lives they had ever seen an "uma man," and they were curious to see what kind of ability Fujiwara Chiya had that made him dare race against uma musume.
Or perhaps, because Chiya was a man, deliberately bumping into him felt as if they were taking advantage of him.
After his clean start, cheers rose from the racecourse.
At the same time, the announcer shouted excitedly:
"Trainer Chiya has moved into eighth! It looks like he's running as a betweener! This is incredible. I never thought I would see a trainer racing alongside uma musume. I'm sure everyone here feels the same!"
Just as the announcer said, the crowd's emotions ran high. This unprecedented sight gave them a powerful sense of excitement.
Eighth place.
For an uma musume, it was an ordinary position.
But for a human, it was an unreachable height that one could spend a lifetime chasing and still never touch.
Was there anything more absurd than this?
A human's top speed was about ten metres per second, maybe twelve metres at the absolute limit. But uma musume could casually run at around twenty metres per second. If a human raced against them, they would be left behind from the first step.
Yet now, there was a human running among the pack.
He was keeping pace with uma musume.
People stood up and cheered for him.
Watching the excited spectators, Shirayuki wore a complicated expression.
It felt like Chiya running was more popular than her own races.
When she raced, only her fans supported her. But Chiya, racing away from home, had somehow received cheers from the entire venue.
Maybe he should just run in the Arc himself…
Even if he could not win, he would become the first man in history to enter the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Wasn't that more valuable than a championship?
After silently complaining about the crowd's mysterious enthusiasm, Shirayuki took on the role of trainer.
She observed the positions of the other uma musume, then adjusted Chiya's position to pressure their racing lines.
After their brief surprise, the uma musume quickly reacted.
This man was no ordinary person.
He was an experienced veteran.
The aura around him was no different from that of an uma musume.
He was an uma musume.
Even though he was clearly a man, the girls could feel the presence of one of their own from him.
Good.
The time for ladylike restraint was over.
Now it was time for battle.
Don't blame us for being ruthless. You were the one who chose to race, young trainer!
An uma musume beside him moved closer.
From the start, she had been trapped in a very uncomfortable position by Chiya. If she wanted to overtake him, the gap was too small. But if she stayed behind, he blocked her in a way that made it easy to miss the timing for acceleration.
Chiya had firmly taken the most suitable position, leaving her uncomfortable whether she moved forward or stayed back.
The best solution was to push him out of that spot.
Soon, she pressed close to Chiya.
Their shoulders collided.
Bang!
If he had been an ordinary human, that collision alone would probably have sent him to the hospital. But now, Chiya had an uma musume-like constitution. On top of that, he had been training according to Nase Fumino's plan, and his body had continued to grow stronger.
That impact barely hurt him at all.
Seeing that it had no effect, the uma musume launched another attack.
Chiya braced himself, and the two of them bumped together again.
Off the track, he was always close to uma musume.
On the track, he was still close to uma musume.
My whole life really is tied to uma musume now…
"Trainer Chiya is under fierce attack from his opponent! He holds on! He holds his position! As the world's first uma man, he is not losing ground against uma musume!"
After two collisions, the uma musume gradually eased off.
Her breathing was slightly unsteady. It was not because of exhaustion, but because she had never been this close to a man before. The strong embarrassment made her heartbeat lose its rhythm.
She liked strong boys.
Even as an uma musume, she longed to find a sense of security from a man.
And Fujiwara Chiya gave her that feeling.
Not only did he possess strength beyond ordinary humans, comparable to an uma musume, but he was also very good-looking.
She was starting to like him a little.
"He held it! Trainer Chiya held his position!"
The entire venue cheered.
Soon, the race entered the final corner.
Chiya once again witnessed the intensity of European racing. While turning, the uma musume on the outside pressed tightly against him, nearly knocking him off balance. Another uma musume coming up from behind brushed him with her tail, whether on purpose or not, making him flinch from the sting.
At the final sprint, the uma musume in front of him lost strength and slowed down, but Chiya could not squeeze through at all. The gaps between them were far too small.
In Japan, uma musume usually maintained some distance from one another. Here, it was as if the concept of distance did not exist. Several of them were pressed together, forming a solid wall with no opening.
In the end, Fujiwara Chiya crossed the finish line in ninth place.
He slowly came to a stop, breathing heavily, and looked at his name on the screen.
Half a length behind eighth place.
This was practically his worst result.
But the spectators were unbelievably excited.
A human had raced against uma musume and still finished in the middle of the pack. To them, that was a miracle on the level of the Three Goddesses descending.
The announcer barely introduced the winning uma musume, but when it came to Chiya, he spoke at length.
"This is a race worthy of being recorded in history! Let us give our applause to this brave trainer!"
Dragging his tired body along, Chiya sat down on the grass to rest.
A blonde, blue-eyed uma musume walked over and handed him a postcard. She was the girl who had collided with him earlier. She said a few words in French.
Chiya did not understand, so he politely nodded.
She left with a happy expression.
Not long after, the busty uma musume who had bumped into him on the corner also came over and handed Chiya a bottle of water. Her face was red as she said something while holding the bottle out.
Again, it was French.
Chiya did not understand.
After she left, two dark-skinned uma musume came over. They were tall, almost the same height as Chiya, and sat down beside him as if they were already familiar with him.
"Interested in grabbing a drink this weekend, Trainer?"
They spoke English. They were probably uma musume from America.
They had finished tenth, twelfth, and thirteenth, behind Chiya.
"Sorry, I already have plans this week."
"What a shame. By the way, where do you train? We should hang out sometime."
As they spoke, they deliberately leaned a little closer to Chiya, their expressions full of interest.
"Ahem… I'm here on business, so it's not very convenient."
"Don't be so stiff, Trainer. Even on a business trip, you can still go out and have fun."
"There's nothing wrong with relaxing once in a while."
"Exactly. We're not suspicious people or anything."
"That's right. We're students from the American Tracen, competing here."
They leaned closer and closer.
Just as Chiya was wondering how to deal with these uma musume who had suddenly started reverse-flirting with him, a hand grabbed his and pulled him out from among them.