That morning, Fujiwara Chiya brought Gold Ship and the others to the airport.
While they waited, Orfevre sidled up beside Shirayuki and leaned close to her ear.
"Trainer seems awfully happy. Who exactly are we picking up?"
"Mei. Mei Satake."
"Oh? That sounds like a woman's name."
"Yeah. She was our team leader last year. She just finished up some work in Japan a few days ago and came over."
"Team leader…"
Orfevre's brows pinched together.
"So she was always around Trainer?"
"Pretty much."
Shirayuki looked toward the plane slowly descending in the distance. After all this time, Mei was finally here.
While she had been away, Chiya had been the one dealing with all those French executives. And sure, Fujiwara Chiya had gotten used to talking with important people by now, but the way they casually switched from English to French mid-conversation still made his heart try to leap out of his throat every single time.
This kind of thing was better left to a professional.
Fujiwara Chiya had no desire to keep wrestling with those people. When neither side shared a language properly, everyone ended up looking ridiculous.
Before long, the plane landed.
A girl in a yellow baseball cap and leather jacket stepped out. Same familiar outfit. Same familiar sporty hot pants. Same yellow travel bag slung over her back.
Swinging her pale legs with every step, Mei Satake spotted Fujiwara Chiya waiting by the exit.
"Yo! Chiya!"
She dashed over with a huge grin.
"Long time no see, Mei."
"You little punk, you got even more handsome after just a few months, huh?"
"Did I?"
"Obviously! So? Found yourself a girlfriend yet?"
"I guess… I did."
"No way. Who?"
"That's a secret for now."
"Still playing coy, huh? Look at you, getting all slippery."
Mei hooked an arm around Fujiwara Chiya's neck and thumped his shoulder twice.
Not far away, Orfevre's brows drew tight.
"That woman… is she not standing a little too close to Trainer?"
Her chest was practically brushing against Trainer's face. Granted, compared to Orfevre's own proud curves, that modest little swell was hardly worth mentioning. Still, that overly familiar attitude annoyed her to no end.
"Mei's always like that," Shirayuki said, looking relieved.
That tomboyish personality of hers made it easy for Chiya to get along with her. At this point, he basically treated Mei like one of the guys.
"Always like that? She was like that last year too?"
"They weren't that close at first. But after meeting so often, they gradually loosened up around each other."
"M-meeting so often?"
Orfevre clenched her fists.
"Why did I not know Trainer was meeting other women so frequently?"
"They're coworkers. Isn't it normal for them to meet often?"
"…I suppose you have a point."
Orfevre took a deep breath.
In her mind, Trainer had already been classified as her man. Seeing some woman she had never met suddenly getting handsy with him was bound to rattle her a little.
But since the two of them were coworkers, surely they would not be too intimate…
Right?
"Chiya, what happened to those muscles of yours?" Mei asked, feeling his shoulder.
"That is a very tragic story, and I would appreciate it if you didn't ask."
Fujiwara Chiya cleared his throat.
"I prepared a welcome meal for you. Let's go eat after this."
"Oh? How thoughtful of you, my dear little brother."
"Little brother?"
"When you left Tracen, you called Yayoi 'Onee-san,' didn't you? She wouldn't stop talking about it. Ahaha, so you finally found out. Actually, Yayoi and I are cousins too. Since you're her little brother, then naturally, you're my little brother as well."
"You already knew about me and Yayoi-nee?"
"Of course. Honestly, I wanted to tell you ages ago, but Yayoi kept stopping me. She went through a lot of trouble for your sake, you know."
Fujiwara Chiya scratched his head.
"Don't tell me you want me to call you Mei-nee too."
"Nah, no need. Just call me Mei. I'm only saying you can act spoiled around me like a big kid, if you want. In terms of seniority, I am older than you, after all."
"I'll pass."
"Huh? Weird. I thought every boy liked acting spoiled with petite girls. Was Director Akikawa lying to me?"
"What kind of nonsense do you two talk about when you chat…?"
Mei laughed, then linked her arm around Fujiwara Chiya's.
"Come on. Take me to that restaurant you mentioned."
Not far away, Orfevre's fists cracked.
Pop, pop.
"Shirayuki. Are you certain that woman called Mei and Trainer are only coworkers?"
The way those two interacted was absurdly intimate. Orfevre was starting to feel like she was being cuckolded right in front of her own eyes.
"Yeah. They're coworkers."
"Would coworkers do that?"
Orfevre pointed at Mei and Chiya walking arm in arm.
"If they're close… then yes, I guess."
Besides, Mei had just called herself Chiya's cousin. Hooking arms or grabbing his shoulder was nothing strange.
No good.
The Empress could no longer be trusted.
She did not care about Trainer at all!
The only one here who cared about Trainer's chastity…
Was me.
Orfevre's gaze sharpened.
"Looks like a rival has appeared, Orfevre," Gold Ship said, sidling up beside her. "I noticed it last year too. Miss Mei keeps using her team leader position to secretly invite Trainer out. She absolutely has some special feelings for him."
"Gold Ship. You understand?"
"Of course. Nobody escapes the all-seeing eyes of the great Gold Ship."
Orfevre felt deeply moved.
At last, she had found someone who understood her.
"Last year, Trainer was busy with the race, so Miss Mei barely had any chances. She never managed to make her move. But I'm guessing this year? She's definitely going all in."
"So she truly came for Trainer?"
"Obviously. Trainer is Tracen's hottest commodity. Just the fact that he's the designated trainer for overseas expeditions proves his worth. How many designated trainers does Tracen even have?"
"Hmph. Only someone of that caliber is worthy of the magnificent me."
Orfevre looked rather pleased.
As if praising Trainer meant praising her too.
"So you can't let an outsider snatch him away, Orfevre. Opportunities vanish in the blink of an eye. Right now, Trainer is still our trainer. But who knows? One day, he might become someone else's trainer."
At those words, Orfevre's heart skipped a beat.
Absolutely not.
Fujiwara Chiya had to remain her trainer forever.
Until both their lives reached their end, he would still have to be her trainer.
"I… will not allow Trainer to leave."
"Then you need to be more aggressive. Trainer can't handle pushy uma musume. Knock him down. Pin him to the ground. He likes going with the flow."
"…Is that true?"
"Truer than true."
Gold Ship's eyes were painfully sincere.
Orfevre fell into thought.
A moment later, she nodded.
Then that settled it.
Orfevre's expression turned firm.
Gold Ship covered her mouth, turned away, and her shoulders began to shake.
How melancholy…
Why was the great Gold Ship such a genius?