Fujiwara Chiya wandered around the place where he used to train, but he didn't find any sign of Byerley. Looked like that leather-jacket-wearing uma musume really had gone off to travel the world.
Chiya had wanted to see her one more time. At least enough to thank her. Without her, there was no way he would have ended up with a body this tough.
Still, it was weird. She had always refused to train uma musume, yet she never held back when it came to putting him through hell. Chiya still remembered asking Bailey to give Shirayuki some guidance, only for her to say, "Training uma musume is a trainer's responsibility. I'm not a trainer, so I can't interfere with that child's training."
Her interest in him had obviously been much stronger than her interest in Shirayuki.
Well, fair enough.
He was the world's first racehorse man, after all.
"Oh? So this is where the Empress trained."
Orfevre looked down at the muddy ground, then crouched and poked it a few times with her finger.
Soft. Slippery. One glance was enough to tell it would be a nightmare to run on.
"I shall train here as well," Orfevre declared. "If the Empress could endure soil this atrocious, then so can I. I will not fall behind her."
It was the second day after arriving in Paris, and Chiya had yet to test Orfevre's adaptability to the local track. But since she had asked for it herself, he nodded and agreed.
The day before the Japanese Derby, there had been a light rain. The turf had turned into a muddy mess, bad enough to count as heavy going. Even then, Orfevre had still pulled far ahead and won the race. That alone showed her adaptability to bad tracks was decent.
If that was the case, the European track conditions probably would not be too much of a problem either.
And it wasn't just Orfevre. Chiya also wanted to train here during this period. First, because he had already gotten used to overcoming difficult conditions together with Shirayuki. Training side by side with her had become almost natural. Second, because of their Zone.
In Shirayuki's final race in Japan, Chiya had decided to test something on a whim and activated his Zone at the same time as hers. His body had turned weightless, like air, vague and untouchable, while Shirayuki had obtained the complete form of her Zone. On the final corner, Shirayuki had pulled ahead without mercy, ultimately winning by a massive margin.
That was Shirayuki's first overwhelming-margin victory. It was also her true strength after her body had reached its peak and her Zone had reached perfection.
Now, Shirayuki's growth was slowing more and more. Her body had already hit its limit. This upcoming race would be Shirayuki's final peak. Once an uma musume reached the late stage of her full bloom, her growth would stop, and after that came the decline. At that point, they would move on to the Dream Trophy League and run friendly races against other uma musume in the same stage.
Chiya did not want to leave himself with regrets.
That was why he had to seize this final chance with both hands.
Having learned from his previous failures, Chiya planned to thoroughly investigate their opponents before the race.
And the first person he needed to investigate was—
"What is it, Trainer? Why are you staring at me like that?"
No.
Not her.
Aside from the color of Orfevre's underwear, Chiya already understood Orfevre inside and out.
"Well, well, if it isn't Trainer and Orfevre! Hellooo!"
"It's you! Gold Ship!"
Chiya pointed at Gold Ship, who came pedaling over on a bicycle like she owned the streets of Paris.
"How did you find me?"
"I smelled Trainer's scent."
Chiya started patting down his pockets.
"Orfevre, check my back. Is there anything stuck to me?"
"Let me see… There is a tiny card behind your collar. What is this?"
"Gold Ship!"
That maniac had put another tracker on him. Again. How many of these things had she bought? They weren't cheap, were they?
"Don't crush it, Trainer! That one's real!"
"So the one I crushed last time was fake, huh?!"
Chiya crushed it to pieces too.
"NOOO! My entire month's allowance!"
"You spend your allowance on this stuff?"
Orfevre looked at Gold Ship's bicycle.
"Where did you get that?"
"Paris Tracen's faculty bicycle. Nobody was using it, so I borrowed it."
"Don't go messing with other people's stuff," Chiya warned.
"What? It doesn't say students can't use it. It just says 'faculty bicycle.' If there are no forbidden actions listed, I consider everything permitted." Gold Ship planted her hands on her hips, puffing up with pride.
"I feel as though you would run faster than a bicycle," Orfevre said, stroking her chin.
"Well, obviously. Not gonna lie, this little thing can't handle my power at all. I've kicked the chain off three times already. Compared to a bike, Trainer is way easier to step on."
"Oh?" Orfevre's interest sharpened. "Explain."
"You didn't know? Our Trainer is famous for being into feet. The more you step on him, the more excited he gets. You've probably had him make excuses to massage your feet, right? That was actually his foot fetish acting up. He urgently needed a pair of divine feet to comfort his poor little heart."
Orfevre thought back for a moment.
Now that Gold Ship mentioned it, something like that had happened. Trainer had said he was helping her relax, then massaged her thighs.
So Trainer was into feet?
And I never noticed…
Then, when I do that with Trainer in the future… should I use my feet too?
"Gold Ship, quit spouting nonsense!" Chiya was about to explode. The second Gold Ship saw an opening, she slapped weird labels on him without hesitation. Did he like pretty feet? A little, maybe. But only Shirayuki's! Whenever he massaged any uma musume, it was purely for work! His heart was as bright and innocent as the midday sun!
"We were clearly talking about the bicycle, and you somehow forced the topic onto me. Gold Ship, what exactly are you scheming?!"
"Because Trainer is a bicycle."
"What did you just say?"
"Bicycles can be stepped on. Trainer can also be stepped on. Bicycles can be ridden. Trainer can also be ridden. Therefore, bicycle equals Trainer. Where's the mistake?"
"I—&*?%!"
Chiya's brain short-circuited. He felt like Gold Ship was going to anger him to death.
That's right.
The first person Chiya needed to investigate was Gold Ship.
As her trainer, he somehow had no idea what Gold Ship's true strength actually was. Was there anything more ridiculous than that?
Chiya knew Gold Ship was strong. But exactly how strong? That part might as well have been censored with a big mosaic. He couldn't see it at all.
Wait.
Could it be—
Gold Ship had known this day would come all along. That was why she had hidden her true power from the moment they met, continuing to conceal it until now, all so she could unleash something massive at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe!
What kind of nonsense was that?
Even Chiya himself didn't believe it.
Keep pretending, Gold Ship.
I'll definitely see through you before the race.
As her trainer, and at the same time, Gold Ship's opponent, Chiya raised his guard.
"Trainer…"
Gold Ship quietly sidled up beside Chiya.
"Did you see Orfevre?"
"What about her?"
Chiya glanced over at Orfevre, who was staring at his feet in a daze.
"You think you can enjoy her foot technique before the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe? I heard uma musume who are freakishly talented at running are freakishly talented in that area too."
Chiya took a deep breath.
Then he patted Gold Ship on the shoulder.
"Gold Ship. To make sure you can successfully win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, your training load for the next week is doubled."