Watching Fujiwara Chiya suddenly double over, Mei tilted her head, confusion written all over her face.
"Chiya? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"
"No, I just… suddenly got a cramp in my foot."
The man gave a dry little laugh, forcing himself to endure the strange, overwhelming sensation dragging at every nerve in his body.
"Oh, good." Satake Mei let out a relieved sigh, settled back onto the sofa, and started munching on a few snacks.
To be honest, she was quite fond of this charming young man. Unfortunately, given the relationship between her and Chiya, there was basically no chance of that ever becoming anything. Still, coming by every day to help her honorary little brother relax a little? That much was perfectly fine.
She glanced at Chiya, who was curled up awkwardly in his chair, his eyes drifting downward every now and then like he was fighting for his life.
Out of habit, Satake Mei asked, "How's training going? No problems?"
"It's fine. We're making progress."
There was a strange mix of enjoyment and tension on his face.
Mei stared at him, question marks practically popping out over her head.
"What about Orfevre? Didn't you say she was the one you were most worried about? Because she never listens?"
"What? I never… ah!"
He suddenly let out a sharp cry halfway through his sentence, startling Satake Mei badly.
"Chiya!?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. The pen tip just poked my hand by accident."
He forced out a smile, then hurriedly continued, "When I said Orfevre was a little willful, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that she has strong opinions. She knows what she wants. A lot of the training plans were developed by the two of us together.
"And the reason I'm worried about her is because she's been pushing herself too hard lately. I'm afraid she'll hurt herself. You know how motivated she is. Personally, I really like that hardworking attitude of hers."
"I-Is that so?"
Satake Mei, who had almost stood up, sat back down again.
Chiya let out a long breath.
A certain sharp pressure vanished, replaced once more by warmth. If anything, it felt even stronger than before.
Too strong…
He was going to be drained dry!
Fujiwara Chiya felt an attack no less tyrannical than Orfevre's running form.
So her "Tyrant" side could show up in this kind of thing too?! This was too… too brutal!
Looking at Mei on the sofa, Chiya desperately held himself back from making any suspicious movements.
In the past, he always wished Satake Mei would stay longer. Whenever she got up to leave, he would try to make her stay.
Today, however, he wished she would leave as soon as possible.
This was bad.
Really bad.
For once, Satake Mei seemed to have plenty of free time, and yet he had absolutely no way to properly entertain her.
"Oh, right, Chiya. About the trainers who arrived this afternoon, I heard quite a few of them came because of you."
"…"
"Chiya?"
"Ah? What?"
Seeing him with his head lowered, both hands clenched, looking like a man trapped in some enormous inner struggle, Satake Mei could not help asking, "Are you really not in trouble?"
"No, no. I was just thinking about what to do with future training. What were you saying? Something about those trainers?"
"I said they were all inspired by you. Those European training methods you wrote about caught a lot of attention. They wanted to come here and study too."
"Is that so? That's great. In that case, the uma musume will be able to get faster… more… intense…"
"Intense?"
"No. I mean stronger."
The corners of Fujiwara Chiya's mouth twitched.
Things on his side were getting more and more intense.
How strange. Orfevre had never done anything like this before, had she? Why was she so good at it? Was this also talent? Just like her feet, terrifyingly soft and terrifyingly nimble. One careless moment, and he would be done for.
Just as Chiya felt things were about to go completely off the rails, Shirayuki came staggering over from outside.
"M-Mei… outside… someone's calling for you."
Leaning against the wall, Shirayuki's forehead was covered in cold sweat, her breathing uneven.
"Who?"
"I don't know. Someone wearing a tie. He said you should come to the entrance."
"Okay. I'll head out first then, Chiya. Let's talk next time."
Mei waved goodbye.
Chiya forced out a stiff smile and saw her off.
Shirayuki closed the door, then stood outside like a guardian statue, making absolutely sure no one else came in.
Ten more minutes passed.
Only then did Orfevre stand up.
She covered her mouth, throat bobbing slightly before finally letting out a long breath.
Fujiwara Chiya looked at her, his expression unbearably awkward.
"Orfevre, um…"
Looking at his face, Orfevre clicked her tongue.
She pinched Fujiwara Chiya's chin, then leaned in and kissed him.
After a breathless kiss, the two finally separated.
"Look at that stupid face of yours."
Orfevre grinned.
"Now you know too, idiot."
The man's eyes went wide.
For a long moment, he could not say a single word.
"You shouldn't be stressed anymore, right? Even if you are, hold it in. I'll come back when I'm in a good mood next time."
With that, Orfevre turned and left the room.
The moment she opened the door, she saw Shirayuki standing outside.
After a brief flash of panic, Orfevre asked, "Why are you here, Shirayuki?"
"Huh? I'm… wiping the wall. Someone got this part dirty."
Shirayuki pulled out a handkerchief and started rubbing at some grime on the wall.
"What about you, Orfevre? Did you just get here? Were you talking to Trainer about the training plan?"
"Mm. I just discussed some training matters."
"I-I see."
Shirayuki reached out and plucked a stray hair from the corner of Orfevre's mouth.
"Something was stuck there… Well, I'll be going first, Orfevre. I have something to handle."
After saying that, Shirayuki practically oiled the soles of her shoes and fled.
Orfevre frowned as she watched her go.
Shirayuki probably did not notice anything, right?
Orfevre did not want Shirayuki finding out about this kind of thing too. The dignity she had worked so hard to maintain would vanish in front of her completely.
Something this embarrassing should be done less often in the future.
Today, she had really gone all in.
Still, seeing Trainer flustered was not bad at all.
That face of his, clearly enjoying himself while also terrified of being discovered, was something she could savor for a long, long time.
In front of others, she was the proud Tyrant of the Turf.
But in front of Trainer, she was Orfevre, constantly showing him her most disgraceful sides.
By the same token, Trainer was an outstanding trainer in front of everyone else.
But in front of her, he was just a pathetic little weakling who fell apart the moment she teased him.
The two of them both knew the other's hidden side.
Orfevre wanted to see more of it.
She wanted to see that composed, calculating Trainer of hers squirm. She wanted to know the side of him no one else could see.
What should she play with Trainer next time?
Orfevre had already begun to like this feeling.
She was looking forward to the future.
Once Trainer completely became hers, she could play however she liked.
That said, this sort of thing really was exhausting.
For lunch, she should eat something easy to chew.
Rubbing her half-full stomach, Orfevre smacked her lips twice, then decided to go rinse her mouth before starting today's training.