As the prep race drew closer, Gold Ship and Orfevre's training efficiency climbed higher and higher.
It was honestly a little unexpected.
The things Fujiwara Chiya taught them, Gold Ship could grasp almost instantly. When she repeated the drills, she picked them up fast, and she even had enough judgment to apply the principles in new ways on her own.
Orfevre was a little slower on the uptake. More often than not, she needed a long stretch of training before she could suppress the impulse roaring in her chest and calmly observe the situation.
In terms of tactical understanding, Gold Ship was a fair bit ahead of Orfevre. When it came to mental flexibility, Gold Ship really was ridiculously sharp.
That said, Orfevre could make up for some of her shortcomings with her overwhelming raw ability and instincts.
Overall, both of them were doing pretty well.
At this rate, the prep race probably would not be a problem.
What remained was Shirayuki's training.
Fujiwara Chiya had already gathered and recorded information on all of Shirayuki's most important opponents. Each of them had different strengths and preferred running styles, but there was one thing he could say for sure.
They had already started tailoring their training around Treve and Shirayuki.
Treve would most likely run as a Pace Chaser. As for Shirayuki, because her gate draw had been bad last year, she had run as an End Closer. They had probably noticed that too, investigated her races in Japan, and temporarily classified her as either a Pace Chaser or a Late Surger.
In truth, given Shirayuki's current condition, whether she ran as a Pace Chaser or a Late Surger did not make much difference.
The deciding factor would not be her running style.
It would be whether Fujiwara Chiya's idea could actually be realized.
In other words, what was being tested was his judgment as a trainer.
"Onii-samaaa~"
Rice Shower's voice came through the phone.
Today, Rice Shower had called Fujiwara Chiya unusually early. Normally, he was the one who called first, so having Rice Shower call him during training was rare.
Wasn't it class time in Japan right now?
"There's a fan event today, so we got the day off. Rice just finished helping out and is resting now, so Rice wanted to call Onii-sama."
"I see. What were you busy with?"
"A tea room. Serving guests. Rice originally wanted to do a maid café, but we changed it later."
"Is that so…"
"Onii-sama, do you want to see? Rice in a maid outfit."
"I… kind of do."
"Hehe. Rice already changed into it. Rice secretly put it on in the changing room. Rice just sent Onii-sama a photo, so look, okay?"
Fujiwara Chiya opened the message.
There really was a photo. It had been taken from a slightly high angle above Rice Shower, showing half of her face and a soft flurry of white lace and frills.
"Mm… it looks good."
Fujiwara Chiya swallowed.
For some reason, the phrase strawberry cream pudding popped into his head.
Pretty enough to look at.
Sweet enough to eat.
"Onii-sama, when you come back, Rice will personally serve you. Since Onii-sama hasn't been here for a while, Rice feels like she's grown a little again. When the time comes, Onii-sama can let Rice spoil you lots and lots, okay?"
Fujiwara Chiya coughed a few times.
"Rice's break is almost over, so Rice has to go change. Onii-sama, can you give Rice a kiss? Rice misses Onii-sama."
Fujiwara Chiya kissed the phone.
On the other end, Rice Shower let out a blissful little sound.
"Tonight, Rice feels like she can use Onii-sama's… N-No, nothing. Rice is going now. Onii-sama, let's talk again next time."
With that, the call ended.
It seemed Rice Shower and the others were doing just fine at Tracen.
Fujiwara Chiya had handed all the work over to Darley. Every few days, he asked about the condition of his uma musume, and every time, Darley replied with a smiley face and told him those little ones were ready at any moment.
She never answered properly at all.
Because of that, Fujiwara Chiya had to ask Tazuna about the situation every time.
At the moment, Fujiwara Chiya's team was being handled by Hayakawa Tazuna and Darley. Before he left, he had been a little worried that Hayakawa Tazuna and Rice Shower would not get along, since the relationship between those two had always been tense.
But at some point, Tazuna seemed to have stopped caring so much about Rice Shower and the others.
Their relationship had gone back to that of a secretary and uma musume.
That was a good thing.
Fujiwara Chiya had two worries.
First was whether that group could accept his relationship with Shirayuki.
Second was the relationship between the uma musume themselves. If they spent every day treating each other like enemies, Fujiwara Chiya would have his hands full.
Now that things had eased up, he could relax a little.
With Tazuna no longer being an issue, the only one left was Orfevre.
Fujiwara Chiya was worried she might explode after returning and seeing that group cling to him.
And not just them.
Even when Shirayuki came over, Orfevre already looked like she was about to explode. Her possessiveness was gradually starting to show.
These days, Orfevre came to the office when it was time to eat.
She came to the office when she was bored.
After training, after taking a shower, she still came to the office.
She had basically turned the office into her personal palace. If she had even a little free time, she would show up.
Was this really going to be okay?
He had a feeling that once they returned to Tracen, Orfevre was going to have a small outburst. Her personality was the fiercest of all the uma musume, even more intense than Hayakawa Tazuna, who never bothered hiding herself.
Getting her to accept things would not be easy.
But those were things to worry about later.
For now, he had to focus on the race.
After training ended, Fujiwara Chiya gave Gold Ship and Orfevre some revised advice, then told them to head back.
But today, Orfevre did not leave.
Instead, she spoke.
"Trainer."
"Hm? What is it, Orfevre?"
Fujiwara Chiya looked at her pretty pink lips.
"You lecherous worm. Are you stressed again? Do you need me to help you?"
"No! I was waiting for you to talk!"
"If not, then fine."
Orfevre crossed her arms.
"Recently, I noticed something. You never seem to point out the Empress's flaws. What is that about?"
Every time training ended, Fujiwara Chiya only told the two of them what they were lacking.
But when it came to Shirayuki, he only gave her a brief look.
"Are you saying the Empress runs so perfectly that there's nothing to criticize?"
"No, how do I put this…"
In Shirayuki's case, Fujiwara Chiya could tell where the problems were while watching her run, so he corrected them directly on the spot. There was no need to explain afterward.
But in Orfevre's eyes, that made it look as if Shirayuki's running was flawless.
In reality, Shirayuki still had plenty of issues. Fujiwara Chiya had been constantly optimizing and adjusting her running style, and there were subtle changes almost every training session.
It was just that outsiders could not see them at all.
"Shirayuki's situation is a little special. Her running style can't be explained in a few words, so I usually talk to her about it separately."
"Is that so? Good."
Orfevre snorted.
"You had better not neglect the Empress's training. Even if she is the Empress, she still needs enough training to maintain her strength. If you keep focusing on me and cause Shirayuki's ability to decline, I will not forgive you."
"Right. I won't delay anyone's training. Even if I have to work overtime, I'll make the plans."
"As long as you know."
Orfevre's gaze drifted away.
"Of course, I will not only give you pressure. If you are tired, I can help you relax a little too… How about it?"
She turned her face aside, but her eyes flicked toward Fujiwara Chiya without quite meaning to.
"I haven't been feeling much pressure lately."
Orfevre clicked her tongue.
"If you do not want it, then forget it. Useless man. Wasting my kindness for nothing."
With that, Orfevre turned around and stormed off in a huff.
Watching her back, Fujiwara Chiya silently wondered to himself.
Should I have said I was stressed?