The next morning, Fujiwara Chiya sat up in a daze.
A dull pain throbbed through his head.
Last night, Nase Hideto had forced so much alcohol on him that he had completely lost consciousness. Even Shirayuki had been affected through Chiya's body, spending the whole night in her dorm room in a half-conscious haze.
As the unpleasant smell of alcohol filled the room, Fujiwara Chiya felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
In the past, he had passed out drunk at the dining table more than once.
Last night, was it Trêve who brought me back?
His consciousness had been a complete blur. He could barely tell who was who. After ruling out Nase Hideto, Trêve was probably the only one who would have been willing to send him back.
I absolutely can't drink that much again.
Fujiwara Chiya made that resolution for what was probably the countless time.
Just as he opened the window to air out the room, Rice Shower cheerfully pushed open the door and walked in.
"Good morning, Onii-sama~ Ugh…"
The moment she smelled the air in the room, Rice Shower pinched her little nose.
"Onii-sama, did you drink again?"
"Just a little."
Rice Shower's ears drooped.
Today, Onii-sama's scent was not very nice.
It had impurities mixed in.
She would have to make do for now.
"I'm going to take a shower."
The moment she heard the words "take a shower," Rice Shower's ears immediately perked up.
"Rice Shower will help Onii-sama wash his back!"
"No need. I can do it myself."
"Okay."
Rice Shower nodded obediently.
Then, after Fujiwara Chiya entered the bathroom, Rice Shower took off her clothes and followed him inside with the soft patter of bare feet.
"Rice Shower!? Didn't I say I'd wash by myself?"
"Mhm, Rice Shower knows. But Rice Shower is dirty too. Onii-sama, can you help Rice Shower get clean?"
…
Fujiwara Chiya discovered that the internet theory about them getting bigger the more they were rubbed might actually be true.
For example, Rice Shower.
Compared with two months ago, her body had grown quite a bit. What had once only begun to take shape now had a more noticeable softness and presence. When she leaned against him, the difference was impossible to ignore.
Not only the feeling, even her scent…
Fujiwara Chiya shook his head again and again.
He knocked his own head, forcibly trying to forget the embarrassing things that had happened in the bathroom. Under Rice Shower's powerful offensive, he had once again fallen.
He had clearly told himself to show restraint.
Rice Shower was almost addicted by this point. Every day, she had to replenish herself with his scent at least once, or she would lose all energy.
Fujiwara Chiya needed to correct this bad habit of hers and teach her to be more independent.
Otherwise, what would this little girl do when he was not around?
I am a very rational person.
I absolutely won't make the same mistake twice.
Next time Rice Shower does this, I'll definitely give her a stern warning!
Fujiwara Chiya made the exact same kind of resolution as when he swore off drinking.
"Trainer Chiya, what did you do last night?"
When he arrived at the countryside training ground, Byerley frowned as she looked at him.
"Last night…"
Fujiwara Chiya's heart skipped a beat.
Very quickly, however, he remembered that what happened with Rice Shower had been this morning. His confidence immediately returned.
"Last night, I went out for a gathering with another trainer."
"You…" Byerley narrowed her eyes. "You drank, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Byerley's gaze immediately darkened.
"Don't you know alcohol can affect your quality?"
Quality?
That was quite the unique way to put it.
What am I, some kind of high-quality man?
"You're damaging your own body. This will affect you and your descendants. Hurry up and quit this bad habit."
Byerley scolded Fujiwara Chiya like an old mother.
That line sounded so familiar.
Fujiwara Chiya saw the shadow of the Director in her.
Back then, she had said something similar.
At first, Fujiwara Chiya had thought the Director was meddling too much. Later, he understood that it had been his older sister's advice.
Though the Director herself had also been secretly drinking…
Then what about you, Byerley?
What exactly are you to me?
You can't be one of my relatives too, can you?
Fujiwara Chiya did not believe that someone connected to him could cross half the world and meet him by coincidence. That could no longer be described as chance. It was deliberate arrangement.
"Did you hear me, Trainer?" Byerley stood in front of him.
Even though she was half a head shorter than Fujiwara Chiya, she somehow gave the man the feeling that he needed to look up at her.
"…Yes."
"Then let's begin today's training."
"Wait. Before that, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Did you watch Trêve's race?"
Byerley nodded.
"Of course. She is a very talented child. Her life is destined to be anything but ordinary, and she will pass her proud talent on to the next generation, helping all uma musume welcome glory once more."
As she said that, Byerley gave Fujiwara Chiya a meaningful look.
However, the man's thoughts were not on making uma musume glorious again at all.
What Fujiwara Chiya wanted to ask was what conditions were still needed to defeat Trêve.
He wanted to know the answer from the mouth of Byerley, this powerful figure. In Fujiwara Chiya's mind, Byerley was like a hidden master sweeping the temple grounds. Even if the entire world did not know such a person existed, when it came to true strength, even Trêve was not her match.
Of that, Fujiwara Chiya was certain.
"The conditions to defeat Trêve?"
Byerley fell into thought for a moment.
"If you want to defeat her, it will be somewhat difficult."
"Not me. I'm not the one racing."
"Shirayuki?"
"Yeah."
Byerley fell silent once more.
"Trêve is currently at the peak of her full bloom. Every day, she is still growing. If you want to beat her in a race, then you cannot aim for the Trêve of now. You must aim for the Trêve after she has grown even further."
"After she grows…"
Fujiwara Chiya pinched his chin.
"So I still have to increase the training load?"
"No, that won't work. Her body won't be able to take it."
"Again and again, they approach their limit. Again and again, they surpass it. From beginning to end, uma musume have always been beings who survive by throwing themselves onto the brink of death. The hoofprints of the first uma musume to run still remain upon the earth. If one wishes to become a legend, then first, one must possess the courage to become one."
"But…"
Fujiwara Chiya was afraid.
Training like that might break Shirayuki.
His experience as a trainer told him that he must not train her that way. Yet Byerley, an absolute powerhouse among uma musume, was telling him to make her run with everything she had.
Fujiwara Chiya no longer knew whether he should trust his own judgment or listen to her words.
After hesitating several times, Fujiwara Chiya finally made up his mind.
"Then we'll do it your way."
Hearing that, Byerley smiled, a hint of admiration appearing in her eyes.
"In that case, can I bring Shirayuki here?"
"Bring her here?"
"I think you should have more experience with this kind of high-pressure training method than I do. You'd be able to judge Shirayuki's condition in time. I'm afraid I won't be able to control the intensity properly by myself."
"This…"
Byerley hesitated.
With her identity, she could not interfere too much with an uma musume. Otherwise, it might create unpredictable effects on the future.
"Please. You don't need to do anything else. Just help me watch Shirayuki."
Faced with the man's request, Byerley rubbed her forehead.
If she watched from the side, then if something happened to Shirayuki, would that not become her responsibility too?
That made things very difficult for her.
But she was also the one who had told Shirayuki to run like that. Washing her hands of it now would not be right either.
Byerley thought it over again and again, and finally nodded.
"All right. I will only watch from the side. I will not act as her training partner."
"That's fine."
Byerley sighed helplessly.
She had seen people pray to the Three Goddesses for protection.
She had never seen someone force the Three Goddesses to protect them.
Trainer Chiya, this time, I am making an unprecedented exception for you.
Before the race, I will protect Shirayuki's safety.