The Prix Vermeille came to an end, and Trêve crushed the field to claim victory.
They were not even on the same level.
Anyone who understood racing even a little could see it. During the final sprint, Trêve had still been holding something back. Even an international GⅠ race had failed to make her go all out. Her strength and the other runners' were simply not in the same dimension.
She was even stronger than expected.
If Trêve constantly praised Shirayuki, then Fujiwara Chiya's praise for Trêve went even further. Whether it was her judgment, her technique, or her speed, Trêve had reached a nearly perfect level. Even after watching so many races in Japan, Fujiwara Chiya had never seen an uma musume as powerful as her.
An unrivalled powerhouse.
That was Fujiwara Chiya's evaluation of her.
An uma musume with talent had met a trainer who also possessed talent. The two supported each other, and in the end, they had achieved a result worthy of pride.
"Four starts, four victories! The winner of this race is—Trêve!"
Thunderous cheers rang through the racecourse.
After slowly making a lap around the track, Trêve stopped in front of the spectator stands. She looked up toward the café on the fourth floor, raised her fist high, and pointed at the white-haired girl standing in front of the glass. A confident smile appeared on her face.
So she's treating me as her rival now.
Looking at Trêve's finger, Shirayuki thought to herself.
Then here came the problem.
How was she supposed to come up with a running strategy to deal with Trêve over the next month?
Psychological warfare? Blocking her position? Or maybe…
Shirayuki shook her head. If she wanted to defeat Trêve, tactics on that level clearly would not be enough. After all, Trêve's trainer was that Nase Hideto. Anything she could think of, he could probably think of too.
She would have to do something unexpected.
She had to catch them completely off guard.
That was not something she could figure out in such a short time.
Of course, tactics could wait until later. Right now, Shirayuki had something more important to do.
"Trêve! That was a beautiful run!"
That was Shirayuki's congratulation as her friend.
Perhaps Trêve had heard Shirayuki's call. The hand pointing toward Shirayuki changed into a V-sign. In her light, cheerful smile, the faint white of a girl's teeth showed.
I should make something tasty for Trêve later.
"You brat."
Just as Fujiwara Chiya was offering his own blessings to Trêve, a man's voice came from beside him.
He turned his eyes toward it and saw that eye-catching grey suit, along with the weathered face of a middle-aged man.
"Enemy attack!" Gold Ship shouted, immediately taking a battle stance and hiding behind Fujiwara Chiya.
Hearing Gold Ship's voice, everyone else also noticed who had arrived. In an instant, all the uma musume gathered around Fujiwara Chiya. Rice Shower spread both arms and stood in front of him, puffing out her little cheeks as she looked timidly, yet resolutely, at Nase Hideto.
"Oh… It seems your opinion of me isn't very good."
Nase Hideto glanced calmly at the group of uma musume, who were clearly wary of him, then turned to Fujiwara Chiya.
"They're just overprotective."
Fujiwara Chiya stroked Rice Shower's head, telling them not to be nervous. On the racecourse, Nase Hideto was indeed a terrifying opponent. Off the racecourse, however, he was just a middle-aged uncle in his forties or fifties. At most, he had seniority over Chiya.
"Congratulations on your uma musume's victory, Trainer Nase. Is there something you need from me?"
"I've already prepared a victory celebration for Trêve. If you don't mind, would you like to come along?"
"Trêve's victory celebration? I'm the rival trainer. Wouldn't it be a little inappropriate for me to go?"
"You say that, but you've been getting rather close to Trêve. Don't think I don't know. You're always taking her outside with Shirayuki."
"Hiss—"
Fujiwara Chiya sucked in a cold breath.
How did he find out I was having an affair with his uma musume?
Fujiwara Chiya suddenly felt like he had been caught cheating.
Nase Hideto hadn't come here to call him out, had he?
"It seems you've misunderstood something. Helping you was Trêve's own wish, and I have no right to stop her. A trainer cannot forcibly interfere with an uma musume's life."
In other words, he was not going to get involved.
"I came to find you because I wanted to have a drink together at tonight's celebration. Drinking alone is rather boring. What do you say?"
Looking into those deep eyes, Fujiwara Chiya thought for a moment.
Since the other party had deliberately let him off, refusing to go would be a little too disrespectful to Nase Hideto. No matter what, he was Nase Fumino's father, and he was also a friend of Chiya's old man. The two of them only stood on different sides. It was not as if they were enemies who had to fight to the death.
He still had to show him some respect.
Thinking that, Fujiwara Chiya nodded.
"All right. I'll go."
"I'll contact you later."
After saying that, Nase Hideto left.
"Trainer, this is a Banquet at Hongmen. Once you go, there's no coming back alive," Gold Ship advised from behind him.
Hah. A Banquet at Hongmen.
Gold Ship was getting all literary.
"Gold Ship, do you know who invited whom at the Banquet at Hongmen?"
"Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang."
"And what happened to Xiang Yu in the end?"
"He died."
"And Liu Bang?"
Gold Ship fell silent.
"Trainer, don't tell me you're planning to…"
"I'm going to see what Nase Hideto actually wants from me."
The preliminary battle was over. Next came their race. For Nase Hideto to seek him out at this timing, there had to be a reason.
That evening, Fujiwara Chiya arrived at the agreed location. Nase Hideto, Trêve, and several unfamiliar uma musume were already waiting for him.
When Trêve saw Fujiwara Chiya, she happily waved.
"Trainer! Good evening."
"Good evening, Trêve."
"Everyone's here. Let's go."
On the way, the uma musume chatted noisily without pause. Trêve also spoke with Fujiwara Chiya every now and then. As for Nase Hideto, he stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the uma musume, like an outsider.
"That child Trêve. I've trained her for two years, but I've never once seen her study Japanese. It was only after you all came that she started touching Japanese and learning about Tracen Academy in Japan."
"Is that so…"
Fujiwara Chiya answered casually.
"You seem to get along with uma musume very easily."
"So-so, I suppose. I have more common topics with them."
The main reason was Shirayuki.
She was a student at Tracen. Through her, Fujiwara Chiya had more or less learned what those adolescent girls liked. He could also talk about topics everyone was interested in. In the past, he had not had that ability at all. He had absolutely no idea what uma musume were thinking.
Shirayuki's appearance had broken down the barrier between him and the uma musume, allowing Fujiwara Chiya to blend in with them far more easily.
"Normally, no matter how much an uma musume trusts her trainer, their positions still become a wall in communication."
Nase Hideto took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Fujiwara Chiya. Seeing the man shake his head, he put it away again.
"In my memory, there are only a handful of trainers who can get along so harmoniously with uma musume."
Nase Hideto looked at Fujiwara Chiya, his gaze seeming to recall something.
"Chiya, do you have any interest in staying in Paris?"
At last, Nase Hideto brought up the true purpose behind calling Fujiwara Chiya here.
Fujiwara Chiya did not rush to refuse. Instead, he wanted to ask the reason.
"This place suits you better."
Nase Hideto said, "After spending this much time in Paris, I'm sure you've seen it too. Aside from daily training, uma musume and trainers basically don't stay together. Compared to Japan, the relationship between the two sides is much stiffer. Part of it is cultural influence, but there's a more important reason. Trainers here don't really understand uma musume."
"Don't really understand?"
"Yes. Maybe it's the generation gap. Aside from training, uma musume and trainers basically have nothing to talk about. Trainers like you, who joke with uma musume, gather them together, and play games with them, are extremely rare. It can be said that your relationship with uma musume is unusually close."
How could it not be unusual?
There was kissing and hugging.
And he was often squeezed dry.
What they saw was already the attitude those uma musume showed after restraining themselves. If he really allowed those girls to do whatever they wanted to him, then this story probably could not be broadcast anymore. It would be classified as eighteen-plus on the spot.
"My situation is a bit special. But why bring up the relationship between trainers and uma musume?"
"I've been in Europe for more than ten years. Aside from a few individual uma musume, the average quality of new uma musume is actually very close to Japan's. They aren't overwhelmingly stronger. The reason uma musume from Japan find it difficult to achieve results here is mainly due to differences in the track and training. There's no denying that the training techniques here are more advanced than ours. That alone can create a considerable gap between them and Japanese uma musume."
"But there is one form of training that European racing is beginning to abandon."
Nase Hideto said, "Here, more and more emphasis is being placed on the individual ability of the uma musume, while the relationship between trainer and uma musume is gradually being neglected. You've heard of 'one mind, one body,' haven't you? The European racing world no longer cares much about trainer and uma musume becoming one mind and one body."
There was something like that?
"Becoming one mind and one body can indeed bring an extraordinary improvement to an uma musume. It's just that very few people can achieve it. There are only a handful in Japan. Here in Paris, there's even less need to mention it."
Uma musume and trainers were simply teachers and students.
Even getting too close was unacceptable, let alone the fact that becoming one mind and one body required wholehearted mutual trust. It was the highest spiritual realm, where two people became one.
And spirit could awaken an uma musume's potential, making them unleash terrifying strength.
"I saw in you an ability most trainers do not possess."
Fujiwara Chiya could obtain an uma musume's wholehearted trust. His uma musume were clearly different from those of other trainers. The way they looked at Fujiwara Chiya was filled with fixation.
It had even reached a frightening degree.
If Fujiwara Chiya could earn the trust of the uma musume here, then combine that with Paris's training techniques, he would definitely be able to raise world-leading uma musume.
That was why Nase Hideto wanted to invite Fujiwara Chiya to Paris, to train this group of little foreign fillies.
"So the reason you want me to become a trainer here is because you want to raise the strongest uma musume?"
"Yes."
Fujiwara Chiya thought for a while, then asked, "Why?"
"As a trainer, isn't raising the strongest uma musume only natural?"
"What I mean is, do you simply want to see the strongest uma musume? Even if that person's trainer isn't you?"
Nase Hideto fell silent for a while.
"My dream is to witness, with my own eyes, a legend that no one can surpass. For that purpose, I came to Europe, learned their knowledge, and searched for children with talent. If I can personally raise the strongest uma musume, that would be best. If I can see someone else raise one, that would not be bad either."
Hearing those words, Fujiwara Chiya understood.
Nase Hideto was a pure trainer.
His goal was to create the strongest in the world. Things such as fame, wealth, and the like were not something he had ever considered.
"Japan's number one genius trainer." "The youngest senior trainer."
Perhaps to him, titles like those did not matter at all.
"You want to become a senior trainer, correct? In that case, developing your career overseas is much more suitable for you. Here, there is more advanced knowledge and higher-level races. It would allow you to reach senior level faster."
"That does sound true… but please forgive me for refusing."
Nase Hideto frowned.
"My goal is indeed to become a senior trainer. However—"
Fujiwara Chiya thought of the timid Rice Shower, the absent-minded Meisho Doto, the mischievous Gold Ship…
"Rather than becoming a senior trainer myself, I want to help them realise their dreams."
Through Shirayuki, he had fought against so many rivals and built relationships with so many people. She had joined the student council, learned from Yaeno Muteki, inherited Air Groove's will.
Over these two years, Fujiwara Chiya had come to understand something.
"Uma musume do indeed respect strength above all. But behind the pursuit of strength, there should be warmth too. Friends, classmates, seniors, juniors… all of these are indispensable parts of an uma musume's growth. A trainer cannot simply treat being the strongest as the goal. They also have to care for the heart of their uma musume. I'm sorry, Trainer Nase. I can't just abandon my uma musume and leave them be. I still have to help them realise their dreams and let them live happily at school."
Hearing those words, Nase Hideto's pupils narrowed slightly.
"You really are exactly the same… Even the reason for refusing is exactly the same."
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm just lamenting that you missed a wonderful opportunity."
Nase Hideto snorted lightly.
"Come on. Tonight, it's just the two of us trainers. We have to drink properly."
"Then I'll gladly accept."
…
"Ueegh—!"
Fujiwara Chiya leaned against a tree trunk and vomited violently.
That old bastard Nase Hideto!
He had actually forced alcohol down his throat with all his might!
And while making him drink, he kept talking about Nase Fumino. His tone sounded as if he wanted to tear Chiya apart.
Fujiwara Chiya had explained.
He and Nase Fumino had only kissed. They had not done anything else.
As a result, Nase Hideto flew into a rage from embarrassment and shoved the bottle directly into his mouth.
"Trainer, I told you not to drink so much."
Trêve patted Fujiwara Chiya's back and handed him water.
"I was… forced…"
Fujiwara Chiya's head was numb. Even his vision had doubled. He gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, then spat them back out. His entire body looked half-dead.
"I'll take you back."
Trêve supported the man by the shoulder.
It had clearly been her own celebration party, yet somehow, it had turned into a drinking contest between two trainers.
"No… no need. I'll have Shirayuki… come over…"
Back in the dorm, Shirayuki, who had been getting dressed, dazedly fell off the bed. Affected by Fujiwara Chiya, her head was also spinning.
"At a time like this, don't trouble Shirayuki. I'll take you back, Trainer. Tell her she doesn't need to come. Also, is it really okay for Shirayuki to see you like this?"
"It's fine. If I know… then Shirayuki knows… Sorry to trouble you, Trêve… Over there, she… doesn't need to come…"
Leaning against Trêve, Fujiwara Chiya mumbled a few unclear words, then fell asleep with a heavy snore.