"Treve, you've been spending a lot of time with that person lately, haven't you? That white-haired uma musume."
During the break between classes, Treve's classmates gathered around her.
"You mean the girl from Japan, right? She's so cute!"
"I even talked to her once, though I couldn't understand a single thing she said."
"What about you, Treve? Can the two of you actually talk? You seem to visit her room a lot."
Hearing her classmates' questions, Treve deliberately kept them in suspense.
"Does that count as talking… or maybe, hehe…"
"What do we do? Treve suddenly looks smug."
"It's only because your rooms are close. If I lived next to her, I'd definitely go over every day too. I want to learn about things overseas as well."
Two classmates pinched Treve's cheeks from both sides. Her soft cheeks changed shape under their fingers, and only after they had kneaded her face until it turned pink did they finally let go.
"So, what did you talk about? We don't even know her name."
"Yuki," Treve answered. "Her name is Shirayuki."
"That's such a pretty name. Snow, and that white hair too. So lovely~"
"So what is she like?" the classmates asked with great interest.
"I heard she ate half the cafeteria empty."
"Eh? Seriously?"
"No way. It's probably another rumour that started after the new students arrived. People love spreading things like that. So boring."
Unfortunately, that was not a rumour, Treve silently thought.
"I don't know her that well either. But if I had to describe her, she's probably a very mysterious girl."
"Mysterious? Be more specific."
"Mm… her scent?"
"Her scent?"
"Ah, no. I mean the feeling of sitting beside her. The atmosphere."
Hearing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
For a moment, they had thought that the uma musume named Yuki had only been here for a few days and had already developed some incredible relationship with Treve.
Paris Tracen Academy ranked among the top academies in the world, and Treve was one of its brightest talents. With two consecutive Group 1 victories, she stood at the summit of the academy and had become one of the most dazzling stars of her generation.
Not only was she strong, Treve also had an excellent personality at school. She was sunny, cheerful, and always willing to help others. She had more than a dozen close friends.
Yet Treve, who was popular throughout the entire academy, had spent the past few days staying in her dorm instead of going out. She had even turned down her classmates' invitations to eat at the cafeteria, choosing instead to spend time with those foreign uma musume.
Naturally, everyone became extremely curious.
Who exactly had caught Treve's attention so much?
In the end, Treve still did not explain clearly.
"Well then, I'm going first."
"Going to find that person again?"
"No, I'm going to see my mentor."
…
In the dorm room, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya sat at the computer desk and played Shirayuki's training footage. Then he took out the training footage from Japan and compared the two, overlapping the images.
Soon, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya found the problem.
Every time Shirayuki lifted her foot, she habitually straightened the top of her foot. This gave her stronger acceleration power. But here, with the soil being thicker, that movement not only failed to produce much effect, it also wasted more stamina.
It seemed that not only her movements, but even her ordinary habits needed to change.
After recording the information in his notebook, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Recently, his sleep quality had dropped sharply.
There was almost an eight-hour time difference between Japan and France. In other words, when it was still deep night in Japan, it was already daytime here. Because of that, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya had been extremely sleepy during the day and unable to sleep at night these past few days. It was making him suffer.
Of course, it did not matter much how he himself felt.
The main issue was Shirayuki. If that side could not sleep, she would have no energy to train properly.
Aside from the time difference, there was also Treve.
For some reason, Treve had taken a liking to Shirayuki and often visited her dorm room. Even though the two of them could not communicate without a translation app, Treve still seemed to enjoy it.
That was fine too.
As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy. Understanding Treve would make it easier to formulate tactics against her.
The race against Trainer Nase Fumino had already made Trainer Fujiwara Chiya realize something. A suitable tactic could indeed allow an uma musume to display tremendous strength. This was not limited only to team races.
After deciding to keep building a relationship with Treve, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya stood up and changed into a tracksuit.
Right now, he had to endure the daytime without sleeping and wait until night to sleep. If he did not adjust his time difference, every day would pass in a daze.
And the best way to keep himself awake was training!
After changing clothes, he came to the training grounds. Looking at the students training in the distance, he stretched his body.
Agnes Tachyon had said that his body was becoming more and more like an uma musume's, and that his physical ability was frighteningly strong. Trainer Fujiwara Chiya himself did not feel much about that, nor did he particularly care.
So what if he became stronger?
He still could not replace Shirayuki.
For Trainer Fujiwara Chiya, the only advantage of increased stamina was that he would not be so easily worn down by the uma musume around him.
Worn down…
Thinking of this, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya inexplicably remembered Darley, and the "stallion" she kept talking about.
He shook his head and threw that thought aside.
Agnes Tachyon had said that Darley was strange. But after observing her, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya found that aside from working, sleeping, and wandering around, she did not do anything else. She did not like playing games and had no hobbies. Whenever she had time, she would simply watch the uma musume nearby.
Or watch him.
This strange behaviour, in turn, showed that she had not actually done anything.
So whether the problem was really Darley still needed further discussion, in Trainer Fujiwara Chiya's opinion.
Of course, while he was in Paris, thinking about those things was meaningless.
After finishing his warm-up, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya bent down.
Then—
Bang!
A sharp sound exploded from the ground.
His body shot forward at incredible speed.
The training plan Trainer Nase Fumino had arranged for him could only be described as perfect. It combined strength and flexibility, ensuring physical growth while preventing excessive fatigue.
Trainer Nase Fumino had said that his ability had also reached the level of a senior trainer. But Trainer Fujiwara Chiya felt that in terms of training rationality alone, there was still a considerable gap between him and a true senior trainer.
After finishing one lap, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya let out a long breath.
His body was faintly sweating.
This distance did not even count as a warm-up for him anymore.
Next was the main point.
Trainer Fujiwara Chiya planned to test the revised training plan he had just adjusted in the dorm on himself first.
From now on, he would act as Shirayuki's substitute, using his own body to test different running forms.
When Trainer Fujiwara Chiya finished his fifth lap and stopped for a mid-session rest, a burst of intense applause came from beside him.
Turning back, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya realized that, before he knew it, the training grounds had become packed with people. Everyone was watching him run.
Standing at the front was an uma musume with orange-brown long hair. She wore a blue hooded hair ornament and looked rather mature.
She reached out to Trainer Fujiwara Chiya and spoke in very standard English.
"Hello, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya. My name is Montjeu. Your mother, Northern Dancer, was my senior at the academy."