The final L'Arc selection race ended with Agnes Tachyon's victory.
When Fujiwara Chiya saw her cross the finish line, he stood frozen for a long while.
He had done it…
He had successfully defeated the other side with that tactic.
By repeatedly using Shirayuki's movements to feed the opponent false information, all the tactical training they had shown on the surface had been fake. The real purpose had been to create the perfect acceleration condition for Agnes Tachyon.
Fujiwara Chiya had never considered himself the type of person who could calmly command everything from behind the scenes. His plans always had some kind of flaw. Because of that, he had always been cautious, considering every possibility and replaying the situation over and over again until he had squeezed every last drop from his own thoughts.
This time, he had successfully executed a perfect combination.
The process had gone so smoothly that it almost felt unbelievable.
Only when he saw the representatives stand up and applaud for him did Fujiwara Chiya finally feel a trace of reality.
"Congratulations, Chiya."
Nase Fumino walked to his side.
Fujiwara Chiya's eyes trembled slightly.
"I'm not dreaming, right? I really did obtain the qualification to race in Europe, right?"
"Of course. I even specifically analyzed your tactics and created a running method meant to counter you. I didn't expect that you had been deceiving me the entire time. When did it start? From the very first training session? Were all of those fake tactics? You never tested the real one even once?"
"Mm. I once heard from a friend who likes slacking off that a race begins the moment your opponent is decided."
"That friend of yours sounds like someone with a story."
"She's just someone who likes slacking off. Occasionally she says something that sounds reasonable, but nine times out of ten, she's just bluffing."
Fujiwara Chiya looked back toward the racetrack again.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing that his expression seemed a little strange, Nase Fumino spoke.
"…I prepared for this race for a long time. But when the race was won… it somehow didn't feel that different from usual. I thought I'd be happier."
Even Fujiwara Chiya himself found this change unbelievable.
The moment Agnes Tachyon crossed the finish line, Fujiwara Chiya's tense heart finally relaxed.
Then he began thinking about the races ahead.
He had clearly defeated Nase Fumino, who was known as a genius.
He had clearly astonished everyone.
Yet he did not sink into the joy of victory.
Hearing Fujiwara Chiya's words, Nase Fumino brushed her bangs aside.
"I can probably understand."
She said,
"The year before last, before you came here, I had a similar thought. The joy of seeing my uma musume win became smaller and smaller, until eventually it became something ordinary."
"Do you know why?"
Nase Fumino looked at him.
"Why…"
"For an uma musume, a race has a finish line. But for a trainer, a race has no finish line. The end of one race is the beginning of another."
When you no longer lingered on the feeling of victory and instead turned toward the next race, it meant you had already become a truly strong trainer.
"Congratulations, Chiya. The current you can already be recognized by Central as a senior trainer."
When Nase Fumino had experienced this feeling, she had become a senior trainer.
And now, it was Chiya's turn.
"Senior trainer…"
Hearing the title he had once admired, Fujiwara Chiya's lips curved upward.
"That doesn't feel bad. Later, I'm taking my team out to celebrate. Do you want to come too, Fumino?"
"As your opponent, it wouldn't be convenient for me to join."
"Then can I bring Teio and the others?"
"If they want to go."
…
"That was too much, Trainer!"
Tokai Teio, who was drinking juice, shook Fujiwara Chiya's shoulders from behind.
"What I wanted was a proper, head-on race with Shirayuki! You actually used tricks!"
She acted like a child, hitting Fujiwara Chiya's back while sulking. Beside them, Rice Shower puffed out her cheeks.
What right does a little Teio like you have to cling to my Onii-sama too!?
She picked up her juice and ran to Fujiwara Chiya's side, intentionally or unintentionally squeezing Tokai Teio away as she happily said,
"It was all thanks to Onii-sama that we could win. This race's victory belongs to Onii-sama!"
"I actually got tricked by the same kind of plan twice! So frustrating!"
El Condor Pasa hit the table and gulped down her juice.
She had always thought the focus of this race was entirely on Shirayuki. In the end, she had been completely played. Her position had been firmly blocked, and she had no way to break out.
This was the most frustrating race she had ever run.
Even more frustrating than the one against Shirayuki!
Originally, she had wanted to wash away her previous humiliation in this race. Instead, she only felt even more irritated.
"Trainer, how could you turn your own uma musume into blockers? That's way too unfair!"
She complained loudly to Fujiwara Chiya, not acting like she was speaking to a trainer at all.
For once, even Grass Wonder agreed with El Condor Pasa.
She had wanted to race Shirayuki seriously, but Chiya Trainer had directly thrown Shirayuki away as bait. As a result, she had not been able to play any meaningful role in this race.
It could be said that Fujiwara Chiya's move of discarding his ace had directly thrown the opposing uma musume into confusion, leaving them unsure of how to run.
From a tactical perspective, it had undoubtedly been correct.
But from the uma musume's perspective, that move left several of them deeply dissatisfied.
Tokai Teio kept wearing a sulking little horse face. El Condor Pasa kept grumbling nonstop. Even Grass Wonder's smile felt a little cold.
In order to appease these friends, Fujiwara Chiya had no choice but to order another table of dishes to satisfy their stomachs.
In truth, Fujiwara Chiya also liked fair and straightforward battles.
But sometimes, when it was time to be underhanded, he had to be underhanded.
People always complained about sneaky players. Only after becoming one himself did he understand how much fun it was.
Seeing them fall for the trap had made Fujiwara Chiya extremely happy.
Winning the race might not make him overjoyed, but when he thought about how he had deceived so many people at once, he suspected he would wake up laughing even in his dreams.
"Next time. Next time, I'll race you all openly and fairly. No schemes. How does that sound?"
"Good! Trainer, you said it yourself!"
Tokai Teio's tail perked up.
"When would the next race be?"
"Probably a long time from now."
Everyone began discussing it.
"No matter how long it takes, as long as we remain on the racetrack, there will be a day when we meet again."
Like the head of a household, Fujiwara Chiya said this while sitting in the centre of the table.
Sitting across from Fujiwara Chiya, Gold Ship made a frame with her fingers. Meisho Doto, who was beside her, could not help asking,
"What are you doing, Gold Ship?"
"I'm thinking about how many more Trainer needs before he's satisfied."
"How many more?"
"That's right. Every single person here has a pretty deep relationship with Trainer. I'm guessing that in some future generation at Tracen, half the uma musume will have the surname Fujiwara."
Saying this, Gold Ship could not help laughing loudly.
"In the end, Trainer still obediently listened to this great Gold Ship-sama, didn't he? I told Trainer long ago. This great Gold Ship-sama doesn't tell lies."