Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The meal with Nase Fumino had somehow been ruined by his colleagues, who had rushed over to celebrate for him. In the end, dinner ended under Fumino's resentful gaze.
Today, Fujiwara Chiya brought his team to the airport.
Gold Ship, Rice Shower, Meisho Doto, Matikane Fukukitaru, and Shirayuki.
Because they would be away for too long, Agnes Tachyon refused to come with them. Even Fujiwara Chiya's emotional appeal was useless.
"The racetracks over there are too heavy. The burden on my body would be too great. I don't mind going over there to play with you for three months, but when I come back, I can't guarantee what my training results will look like."
There was nothing Fujiwara Chiya could do, so he had to leave her behind.
Agnes Tachyon had been honest with him before. Her legs were very fragile. If she underwent high-intensity training for a long period, problems could easily appear. European turf was likely to accumulate fatigue, so if she went, they would have to completely revise her training plan.
Spending that much effort and energy just to examine the soil and turf over there would not be worth it, either for her or for Fujiwara Chiya.
If possible, Agnes Tachyon even wanted to keep Fujiwara Chiya behind too. That way, she could test the speed of information transfer between his two bodies.
Unfortunately, she could not keep him.
"If there's a problem, remember to call me. Don't worry about the time difference. Understood, Guinea Pig-kun?"
And so, Fujiwara Chiya's Europe team was left with only five members.
"I can fly—!"
Pressed against the airport glass, Gold Ship looked at the planes taking off and landing.
"Trainer, did you buy parachutes?"
"No…"
"Then if the plane crashes, aren't we finished!? What kind of preparation is that, Trainer!?"
"Normally, no one buys a parachute when boarding a plane. Accidents don't happen that easily."
"The more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen! If the plane really crashes, there's an eighty or ninety percent chance we'll fall into the sea. While there's still time, let's hurry and prepare an inflatable boat, plus enough rations for half a month! Then we can survive in the wilderness!"
"You came here expecting the plane to crash, didn't you!? Don't say such unlucky things. Fukukitaru, this flight should be fine, right?"
"Rest assured, Trainer. Today is great fortune!"
"Trainer… every time I take the bus, either the tire bursts or the engine breaks down…"
Meisho Doto timidly raised her hand.
Everyone present fell silent at the same time.
"See, Trainer? I told you! Hurry up and prepare parachutes! There's still time!"
"No, I believe in Fukukitaru! Gold Ship, you need to believe in science!"
"Fukukitaru isn't science at all!"
"Wuu, it's all my fault~"
Meisho Doto looked like she was about to cry.
"Doto-san, it's okay. Rice is also a child with very bad luck, but after Rice fell in love with Onii-sama, Rice's luck became better."
"Fall in love with Trainer? If I fall in love with Trainer too, can I fix my airheaded personality?"
"In that case, let me divine your compatibility with Trainer. Let me see… it is bad fortune!"
Matikane Fukukitaru looked into her crystal ball.
"I don't even have the right to like him…"
"Calm down, Doto. Trainer is a stallion who takes everyone regardless of compatibility! As long as you're an uma musume, there's no escaping his wicked claws!"
Gold Ship patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"Uma musume… as long as I'm an uma musume, it's okay? Then I should be fine too, right, Trainer?"
Fujiwara Chiya covered his face.
The people around them were all looking at him strangely.
He had thought this would be a peaceful trip.
Apparently, he had been too naïve.
As long as Gold Ship was around, peace was impossible.
"Your side is pretty lively. I could hear you from far away."
Satake Mei walked over, wearing her yellow jacket and brown shorts. A large backpack was still slung over her shoulders.
"From now on, I'll be serving as your guide. Nice to work with you, my tomo!"
She raised a thumb.
"Oh, nice to work with you, my aibo."
Gold Ship raised a thumb back.
"She wasn't talking to you…"
"Come on, Trainer. From now on, we're companions stranded in a foreign land. If we don't support each other, we won't survive. We proletarians must unite and resist foreign enemies together."
"You…"
"Hahaha!"
Satake Mei laughed loudly.
"Chiya, your uma musume are great, aren't they? Gold Ship is right. Once you're overseas, the most reliable people will be each other. But not everyone outside is bad. At least the academy I'm taking you to is a very good one."
"Where are we going?"
"Paris Tracen Academy in France. It's also the academy I graduated from."
"Tracen? But Mei isn't an uma musume, right?"
"They have branch schools over there. The one I attended was an academy for ordinary people."
"I see."
It seemed that foreign education systems were different from Japan's.
"I contacted my former advisor and asked him to arrange good dorms for you. Chiya will stay on my side. The students have their own uma musume dormitory."
"Hah… hm?"
The uma musume's ears all stood up.
"I'm staying in the same room as you!?"
Fujiwara Chiya exclaimed.
"Living together with Onii-sama!? That's too enviab—no, that's far too inappropriate! Rice strongly disagrees!"
"Y-Yes. How can our trainer live together with an unfamiliar woman?"
Meisho Doto also became unusually agitated.
"Don't tell me boys and girls can live together over there?"
Gold Ship's eyes sparkled.
"They can't."
"Then why… masaka…"
Gold Ship narrowed her eyes.
"Trainer, are you a woman!?"
"Like hell I am!"
"Ah, it seems you misunderstood. When I said you'll stay on my side, I meant next door, not in the same room. You can think of the staff dormitory at Paris Tracen Academy as an apartment building. Everyone lives on different floors and in different rooms. If Chiya and I become neighbours, it'll be more convenient to come and go."
"You got my hopes up for nothing."
Gold Ship instantly lost interest.
At that moment, the airport announcement rang out. Fujiwara Chiya stood up after hearing it.
"It's time to go."
"Let's go! To Europe!"
…
"Trainer and the others should have left by now, right?"
On the training grounds, Mejiro Dober looked up at the sky.
"Do you regret not going?"
Darley asked.
"A little. But if I gave up my race just to stay with Trainer-san, I'd regret that even more. After all…"
Mejiro Dober's eyes softened.
"I am an uma musume."
Hearing this, Darley gently patted her head.
"Good girl. While Trainer is away, I'll take good care of you."
"Yes. Thank you, Assistant Trainer Darley."
Mejiro Dober looked once more toward the far end of the sky, worry showing in her eyes.
During this period, she would not be able to stay beside Trainer-san.
He and Shirayuki…
They wouldn't end up doing something, right?