"And that's how it is. We'll be going to a new training ground."
Fujiwara Chiya announced it to everyone.
"Trainer, you can totally walk around Tracen like you own the place now. You ask for a huge chunk of land and they just give it to you!" Gold Ship let out a whistle. "As expected of the person the Director has her eye on."
"Hah. Well, I am a trainer with a proper name and reputation now."
"That's not what I mean by having her eye on you. If you make one phone call, the Director would probably come to your room and sleep beside you."
""Eh??""
Everyone looked at Fujiwara Chiya.
"Gold Ship, stop spouting nonsense!"
"I'm not spouting nonsense. Try calling her if you don't believe me. Just say, 'Yayoi-nee, I miss you. Can you come to my room tonight?' See if she comes or not."
This little brat just says whatever comes to mind!
Today, Fujiwara Chiya was not here to argue with her. After making Gold Ship shut her mouth, he continued.
"We'll be training there before the Satsuki Sho and Oka Sho. We'll also be sleeping there at night, so you can think of this training period as a training camp."
"Trainer-san, why are we suddenly going all the way there to train?" Meisho Doto asked timidly.
"Because… that place is suitable for training the mind."
"Hahaha, training the mind! Trainer, are you planning to reach enlightenment?"
"Gold Ship, will you die if you keep your mouth shut?"
"I can't, Trainer. My mouth is my true body. Without my mouth, I wouldn't be Gold Ship anymore."
"That's true. Without your mouth, you'd be a quiet beauty. That would make you a completely different creature from Gold Ship. What a shame… What a terrible shame."
"I only said that casually, but somehow Trainer's attitude is really making me mad…"
"In any case, pack your things first, then we'll head to the training grounds. There are daily necessities over there, so you only need to bring your other essentials. Also, that place is at the top of a mountain. The dormitory we'll be staying in is usually an inn open during holidays, so absolutely do not bring things like water guns."
Fujiwara Chiya looked directly at Gold Ship.
"What?"
"Nothing. Everyone, go and come back quickly."
While they were packing, Mejiro Dober started chatting with Shirayuki.
"This is my first time hearing that Tracen has training grounds built on a mountain."
"Mine too…"
Chiya had only asked tentatively. After all, there was already a huge plot of land outside Tracen that almost nobody knew about, so he thought there might be something else as well. But who would have thought the Director would simply wave her fan and hand him a place he had never even heard of, telling him to use it however he liked?
Just how much land does Tracen actually own?
Shirayuki could not even imagine it. She had thought the academy itself was everything, only to realize it was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"I heard from the Director that some trainers go there to use special methods for training. Before us, there were already other trainers who had gone there."
"What do you mean by special methods?"
"I'm not sure. The Director didn't explain in detail. But I do know there's a large dojo over there."
"Hah…"
Mejiro Dober nodded, then packed all of her change of clothes into her suitcase.
"By the way, once we get there, are we still sharing the same dorm rooms?"
"There aren't many people over there, so each person gets their own room."
"I want to sleep together with Shirayuki."
"This…"
I chose that place because I wanted to be free from worldly distractions, and now you're trying to drag me right back into worldly desire.
Seeing Shirayuki hesitate, Mejiro Dober smiled. She pulled Shirayuki into her arms and stroked her head.
"I'm kidding. If two people stayed together, it'd stand out too much, right? It'd also be hard for Trainer-san to explain, so let's sleep separately."
Shirayuki let out a breath of relief.
She wanted to do what Cafe had told her and reexamine herself. She also wanted to follow what that black ghost had said, to learn how to become a hunter, to show no mercy to her opponents.
The racetrack was a battlefield.
And the place closest to a battlefield was none other than a dojo.
Once everyone had finished preparing, they gathered together. Fujiwara Chiya looked at them.
There was far more luggage than he had expected. It would not fit in the official car. He would need something bigger.
"Just call the Director. If you bring it up, she'll definitely lend it to you," Gold Ship said leisurely.
"That vehicle is only supposed to be used during special events."
"You won't know unless you try."
Fujiwara Chiya made the call. A short while later, he lowered his phone.
"What did the Director say?"
"She said… use it however I like."
"I knew it."
Gold Ship showed an expression that said everything had gone exactly as expected.
This is way too strange.
Could Director Akikawa actually be one of my relatives or something?
This was no longer ordinary preferential treatment. It felt like he had been granted the right to use all of Tracen.
Maybe it's because I'm a seed trainer for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
After all, to Tracen, and even to Central as a whole, the Arc was one of the biggest events there was.
"We're getting on, Trainer," someone called.
"Yeah. I'll find a driver first."
"You can't drive?"
"My license doesn't let me drive a bus."
After calling in someone who had apparently changed jobs into a driver, the group headed for the training grounds at the mountaintop.
The place was an hour's drive from Tracen. The training ground itself was a little smaller than Tracen's, with one lap being around sixteen hundred meters. Because of the terrain, parts of the track had an elevation difference of up to four meters. When an uma musume ran up it, there would be a strong sense of load on the body. Still, it was an excellent place to practice climbing slopes.
After getting off the bus, everyone looked at the authentic Japanese-style inn before them and could not help but exclaim in admiration.
"What the heck, this place is way too fancy! If we had a place this nice, why didn't they bring it out sooner?" Gold Ship said loudly and carelessly.
"Onii-sama, can we really stay here?" Rice Shower asked, tugging at Fujiwara Chiya's hand.
"Welcome, honored guests of Tracen Academy, who have come from afar."
An elderly woman in a kimono came forward and bowed her head to Fujiwara Chiya.
"We have received Director Akikawa's request and will be taking care of everyone during your stay here. I am Hinata, the person in charge of Chisouba. I will be responsible for your management and guidance. Please treat me kindly."
""Please take care of us!""
"Then, please follow me. I will show everyone to your rooms."
"Hinata-san."
Fujiwara Chiya handed his luggage to Shirayuki.
"I'd like to take a look at the nearby dojo. Which way should I go?"
"Fujiwara Chiya-sama, this way, please."
A young woman dressed in a kimono stepped forward and called out to Fujiwara Chiya.
Leaving Shirayuki to help everyone get familiar with the surroundings would be enough. He wanted to inspect the training area in advance.
Following the kimono-clad young woman, Fujiwara Chiya arrived at a large dojo. It was very quiet inside, with almost no one around.
He knocked on the door, then slid it open and stepped inside.
Immediately after that, he saw an elderly man with white hair and a full beard kneeling in the center of the hall. He wore a deep blue dojo uniform, and a bamboo sword lay before him.
Pinned to his chest was the badge of a senior trainer.
Seeing Fujiwara Chiya enter, the old man spoke.
"Young man, would you like a bowl of hot tea?"