"Welcome to Paris!"
As soon as they got off the plane, Satake Mei jumped in front of the group and introduced the city to everyone.
However, everyone had their heads drooping, their spirits drained, looking as though their bodies had been hollowed out. Even Gold Ship, who was usually full of energy, had her head hanging down, half-asleep and barely awake.
A flight of more than ten hours had worn everyone down completely. The deathly still environment inside the cabin had been so boring that they almost wanted to dig through the floor with their toes.
Rice Shower was in slightly better condition. She had been leaning against Fujiwara Chiya's arm and sleeping the whole time. Whenever she woke up, she would look at the man's face, smile, let him pat her for a while, and then continue sleeping. She had completely turned into a little bundle of cuteness.
Fujiwara Chiya, on the other hand, had suffered quite badly. Even after taking three airsickness pills, he still felt nauseous, and Shirayuki's side had been dragged into the discomfort too.
Of course, that was not the most fatal part.
For Shirayuki, the most fatal part was this.
The food on the plane was terrible!
She would probably only choose to fill her stomach with that kind of food if she were on the verge of starving to death. Even as a big eater, she could not keep eating under the double debuff of nausea and bad taste. After one bowl, she could not swallow anymore. In fact, after finishing it, she even felt a sense of liberation.
This journey had been absolute torture for Chiya.
When he stepped off the plane, he felt as though he had finally been released from prison after reform.
As the project planner, Satake Mei probably travelled between the two countries often and was already used to the turbulence, so she did not show much fatigue.
"Ahaha… this trip was a little too long for you all, wasn't it? I was like this the first time I came too."
Satake Mei scratched her head and smiled awkwardly.
"Paris… we made it… we finally made it! Woohoo!"
After hearing Satake Mei's words, Gold Ship's eyes gradually regained their light.
"Perfume, fashion, romance, art! Paris, your emperor has returned!"
Going from completely drained to fully revived took Gold Ship only three seconds.
Influenced by Gold Ship, Rice Shower, Matikane Fukukitaru, and Meisho Doto also began looking around the unfamiliar big city with great interest.
Classical buildings. Cafés with elegant signboards. Tourists dressed in unusual clothes.
Rice Shower saw two uma musume with platinum-blonde hair and silver eyes. They were so beautiful that it was almost suffocating.
"Paris… is amazing."
"Keep your phones and wallets safe. There are plenty of thieves around here."
Fujiwara Chiya reminded them.
Before coming to Paris, he had looked up plenty of travel information. He had also brought a notebook for communicating with foreigners and learned a few simple French phrases.
Behind this dazzling and beautiful city, there were also many thieves and pickpockets.
So the first priority when arriving in an unfamiliar city was to protect oneself. One had to remain cautious around anyone.
Fujiwara Chiya gathered everyone together and told them not to wander off. Getting lost here would be a serious problem.
"I'll take you around first and get something to eat. After that, we'll head to Tracen. How does that sound?"
"Good!"
Gold Ship called out.
On the way, Satake Mei introduced the race to them.
"The main race we'll be participating in is a prep race for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the Prix Niel, held at Longchamp Racecourse. The distance is also 2,400 metres. This is a world-class Group 2 race, with uma musume from many countries participating. The difficulty can't be underestimated."
Fujiwara Chiya quietly recorded this.
The Prix Niel would be held in the first half of September. There were still more than two months of training time. The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe would be held on October 6, with another month between the two races.
The distance and course conditions of both races were the same. In other words, the training model did not need to change. The only things that needed adjustment were strategy and training intensity.
But before considering those problems, Fujiwara Chiya wanted to see the racetrack first.
He wanted to adapt to the turf here as early as possible.
He had long heard that European turf was thick and heavy, making it difficult for uma musume to run. He wanted to know just how difficult it was.
After all, Shirayuki had never run on such ground before, and he had no idea how well she could adapt.
And also—
Fujiwara Chiya listened as people passed by speaking a language he completely did not understand. For some reason, tension rose in his heart.
The language barrier, the feeling of being away from home, the unknown course, and the nervousness, all of these would affect them.
When the time came to step onto the racetrack, hearing the announcer's unfamiliar commentary and the spectators' support for local uma musume would place invisible pressure on the participants.
An overseas expedition tested not only an uma musume's strength, but also her mentality.
How to adjust one's condition in a completely unfamiliar environment, and how to adapt to that environment, these were all problems Fujiwara Chiya had to solve within two months.
During the few days of vacation before leaving, Shirayuki had found Symboli Sirius, one of Tracen's pioneers in overseas expeditions, and gained some experience from her.
Her answer had been very direct.
There was no method other than working hard to adapt.
Back then, Symboli Sirius had been unable to blend into the racing environment, causing her to suffer repeated setbacks on overseas tracks before eventually returning to Japan with regret.
When she talked about that time, Symboli Sirius's expression was not good. A trace of unwillingness appeared in those crimson eyes.
Even so, she still gave Shirayuki one key piece of advice.
"Keep your steps light. The turf over there will pin your feet firmly to the ground. If your steps are too heavy, you won't be able to run at all."
This was the experience Symboli Sirius had summarized after two consecutive failures. She told Shirayuki this, and before they parted, she held Shirayuki's hand.
"I'll leave the mission of reaching the summit to you, our Lady Empress."
She spoke so ambiguously that Shirayuki almost thought she had some special feelings for her.
"Onii-sama…"
Rice Shower tugged Fujiwara Chiya's hand.
"What's wrong?"
"Doto-san is gone."
Hearing this, Fujiwara Chiya stopped in his tracks.
He turned back and looked. Meisho Doto, who had clearly been behind them just now, had disappeared at some point.
Because Shirayuki had been watching Gold Ship, who was running around everywhere, she had not noticed Doto's side either. By the time she looked back, Doto had already vanished.
My God!
This was exactly what he had been afraid of, and it had actually happened!
Fujiwara Chiya hurriedly said,
"She shouldn't have gone far. I'll go look for her! Everyone meet under the Eiffel Tower!"
Shirayuki also ran out.
On the other side, Meisho Doto shrank her shoulders and looked anxiously at the passing crowd.
Just now, her shoelace had suddenly come undone, so Meisho Doto had squatted down to tie it. But when she moved her foot, she accidentally stepped on the other shoelace and turned it into a dead knot.
By the time she finished tying one shoe and struggled to untie the other, Fujiwara Chiya and the others had already disappeared.
"Maybe they went this way… or maybe this way…"
Meisho Doto stood at the crossroads, her eyes spinning in circles.
She had completely lost her sense of direction.
Just as she did not know what to do, an uma musume walked over and cheerfully waved to her.
The other girl wore a white sailor hat on her left ear. Beneath the hat was a beautiful red ribbon. Her orange short hair was tied into two little twin tails behind her, and her sky-blue eyes looked at Meisho Doto.
Then the uma musume said something in a clear voice, in French.
Eh? Eh?
Is this person talking to me?
What should I do? I don't understand!
Meisho Doto's eyes spun in circles, and her hands waved helplessly up and down.
Right. Trainer taught her what to do at a time like this!
When facing a stranger and not knowing what the other person wanted, she had to say:
"I am very strong!"
Hearing this, the cute uma musume blinked, then burst out laughing.
Eh??
What happened?
Was there something wrong with what I said?
What is she doing?
What exactly does she want?
She couldn't be thinking I look too weak and wants to silence me, right!?
Meisho Doto hugged her head, the ahoge on top of her head twitching.
For the first time, she realized that foreign countries were actually so frightening.
Here, she was completely helpless.
"Doto!"
Fujiwara Chiya ran over.
After returning along the original route and failing to find her, he and Shirayuki had split up. Then Fujiwara Chiya found her at the next street corner.
Fujiwara Chiya hurried over.
At the same time, he also saw the orange-haired girl standing in front of Doto.
The moment he saw that face, Fujiwara Chiya drew in a sharp breath.
Treve!?
That person was none other than Fujiwara Chiya's greatest rival in this Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the uma musume known as the genius of France, Treve.
Why was she here?
"T-Trainer!"
Seeing Fujiwara Chiya, Meisho Doto looked as if she had seen a family member and threw herself into his arms.
In the past, she had often gotten lost and was frequently sent back by the police. But if she got lost here, she could not even communicate.
"I messed up again, Trainer!"
Fujiwara Chiya patted her head.
"I should have held your hand."
Beside them, Treve looked at their interaction as if she had finally relaxed.
She waved at Fujiwara Chiya, then turned to leave.
"Um!"
Fujiwara Chiya called out to her.
"Thank you."
Fujiwara Chiya used one of the few French phrases he had learned from his conversation book.
He did not know what had happened between Treve and Meisho Doto, but judging by the situation, she had probably wanted to help her.
Treve raised her eyebrows slightly. Then the corners of her mouth curved upward.
She bowed lightly to the man, said something he could not understand, and left with light steps.
The language barrier really was troublesome.
"Let's go, Doto."
Fujiwara Chiya took her hand, and Meisho Doto timidly followed behind him.
"What's wrong?"
"Eh… nothing. I just mean… I caused trouble for Trainer again…"
She had made Trainer come all the way back to find her. Meisho Doto no longer knew how to apologize.
"What's wrong with that? Uma musume are meant to cause trouble for trainers. Only that way do I feel needed."
"Is that how Trainer thinks…"
"I suppose so. Actually, I'm pretty nervous here too. Seeing that you're still the same as you were at Tracen gives me a sense of relief. Stay close, Doto. Don't get too far from me."
Hearing this, Meisho Doto quickened her steps and stood beside Fujiwara Chiya.
"Then from now on… I'll be in Trainer's care?"
"Mm. Leave it to me."
When they arrived under the Eiffel Tower, Fujiwara Chiya found Satake Mei and the others waiting there.
Rice Shower and the others immediately came over to greet him.
As the emotional centre of the team, the moment Fujiwara Chiya left, everyone suddenly felt uneasy, as if they had been abandoned in this unfamiliar place. They were so frightened that they did not dare leave the foot of the tower at all, even though Satake Mei kept telling them to relax.
"Sorry for the wait, Mei."
Because of the delay with Meisho Doto, the group decided not to take any long detours and went directly to Paris Tracen Academy.
When Fujiwara Chiya saw the huge clock tower, he stopped in his tracks.
He had thought that Japan's Tracen was already large enough. But after seeing this academy, he felt that his view had been far too narrow.
Buildings the size of Japan's Tracen school building, there were three of them here!
The number of students was at least twice as many as Tracen.
"Are they all uma musume?"
"Some are ordinary students and don't participate in training. Because there are subsidies for uma musume here, most uma musume choose to attend Tracen Academy. Other schools have very few uma musume."
"I see."
Fujiwara Chiya breathed a sigh of relief.
If all these people participated in races, the level of competition would be unimaginably intense. Any uma musume who could stand out among them would definitely be terrifyingly strong.
"Chiya, I'll take you to the trainer dorm. They'll follow the supervising teacher. I asked a Japanese teacher to help. With her there, you don't need to worry about communication issues. If there's trouble, you can go to her too."
"You really thought this through."
"Of course."
Mei proudly puffed out her chest.
This part of her resembled the Director somewhat.
Normally, outside students like them would live in temporary dorms. But thanks to Satake Mei's efforts, as well as the attitude of the representatives who had come to Japan to watch the selection race, Rice Shower and the others were arranged into better student dormitories. All the daily necessities inside were fully prepared.
The supervising teacher in her forties told them that her room was just opposite, and they could come to her at any time if something happened.
After finding their lodgings, everyone's emotions finally settled down.
Unlike Japan, the dorms here had one room per person. The rooms were slightly smaller than the trainer dorms in Japan, but they came with a kitchen and a balcony.
After putting away her luggage, Shirayuki took out her shoes, horseshoes, and training clothes.
There was no time to waste.
She wanted to adapt to the local track as quickly as possible.
From the student dormitory, she could see the training grounds in the distance. Quite a few uma musume were training there.
Just as Shirayuki changed clothes and began attaching horseshoes to her shoes, there was a knock on the door.
Shirayuki tilted her head and opened it.
Originally, Shirayuki thought it would be Doto or Gold Ship.
But after opening the door, standing outside was an orange-haired girl.
Those clear sky-blue eyes looked at her.
"Bonjour~"
The girl greeted her.
Shirayuki's eyes widened at once.
The person who had come was none other than the uma musume they had met only a few hours ago.
Treve.
Why?
Only then did Shirayuki notice the blue uniform on the other girl.
It was the uniform of Paris Tracen Academy!
Treve was also a student here.
She pointed next door and said something Shirayuki could not understand at all, then looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Shirayuki remained silent for a while, then took out her phone and opened the translation app.
"Hello. My name is Treve. I'm the uma musume living next door to you."
Seeing Shirayuki's action, the girl understood too. She leaned toward the phone and repeated herself.
"My name is Fujiwara Shirayuki. I'm from Japan, and I'm participating in this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
After seeing the translation, Treve widened her eyes.
Then she curved her lips into an adorable smile.
"What a coincidence. So am I."