Early the next morning, Fujiwara Chiya was roughly shaken awake.
The other person pulled off his blanket and shouted loudly, "Time to get up, Trainer Chiya! During this period, I will be in charge of your training guidance. The morning sets the tone for the whole day, so we'll be correcting the… laziness… you picked up at Tracen…"
Yaeno Muteki's voice grew quieter and quieter.
She stared at Fujiwara Chiya's bare body, and her face turned bright red with a boom.
"Eek! Why are you… why aren't you wearing clothes?!"
She covered her face, turned around, and crouched down on the floor.
Fujiwara Chiya was still half-asleep. He blinked.
"Yaeno Muteki? Why are you in my room?"
"Shihandai told me to wake you up. Trainer-san, please put on your clothes first…"
Yaeno Muteki's face had already gone completely red. Fujiwara Chiya was only wearing a single pair of underwear. Under the sunlight streaming in through the window, Yaeno Muteki had seen a shadow.
For someone who had never even touched a boy's hand, she had suddenly witnessed something far too incredible first thing in the morning.
Yaeno Muteki's eyes spun in circles. Her head was so hot it seemed like steam might start rising from it, and she crouched there, not daring to move a muscle.
Fujiwara Chiya hurriedly put on his clothes. Yesterday, he and Shirayuki had trained on the track until the middle of the night before finally returning to sleep. That black figure had pointed at the ground, said only one word, "Tomorrow," and then disappeared into the night.
Fujiwara Chiya had spent the whole night being hit by the cold wind. When he came back, he had not even had the strength to change into sleepwear. He had simply taken off his outer clothes and curled up under the blanket.
"A-Are you done?" Yaeno Muteki asked timidly.
"I'm done."
Fujiwara Chiya coughed a few times. His expression was just as awkward. Who could have expected this martial arts girl he had only met yesterday would be the one to wake him up?
The two of them were silent for a while. In the end, Yaeno Muteki was the first to speak.
"I'm sorry. Usually, this is how we wake the dojo students. I did it out of habit."
"It's fine…"
"Shihandai said that while you are here, I will be training you. Of course, you may refuse if you wish. If you do, I will not disturb you again."
"What can you teach me?"
"An unyielding will. Trainer-san only needs to learn that much. The rest will be part of the uma musume's curriculum."
"You're a teacher here?"
"Normally, Shihandai is responsible for that. However, I am also still training myself. As they say, training others is also part of self-cultivation. That is why I have taken on Shihandai's responsibilities."
Yaeno Muteki's complexion gradually calmed.
"I understand your doubts, Trainer Chiya. I have been training beside Shihandai since I was young. It has already been seven years. I am fully capable of serving as someone else's teacher."
"I see…"
"Then let us go eat first. I will wake the others."
After saying that, Yaeno Muteki walked out of the room with her head held high and her chest out. Her footsteps grew farther and farther away.
A few seconds later, they suddenly stopped.
Fujiwara Chiya poked his head out and saw Yaeno Muteki crouching in the corridor, covering her face.
Aren't I the one who lost out here?
Fujiwara Chiya yawned. In any case, he was thick-skinned. He would forget about this as soon as he turned around.
Time to eat.
Just as Fujiwara Chiya passed the room next door, there was a sliding sound as the door opened. A middle-aged man around fifty years old stepped out from inside.
The moment he saw that person, Fujiwara Chiya felt as though all the blood in his body was about to freeze.
"Uwah?"
The other party also saw Chiya. Then he revealed a meaningful smile.
That person was none other than Nase Fumino's father, and at the same time, Fujiwara Chiya's greatest rival.
Nase Hideto.
He was actually here too.
…
"Well, well. What an interesting coincidence, Chiya-kun."
The other man took a sip of white liquor, ate a piece of sushi, and spoke to Fujiwara Chiya.
"Yes, quite the coincidence."
Fujiwara Chiya laughed dryly.
No wonder he had not seen him around Tracen. So he had come to this training ground instead. Most likely, his uma musume had come with him as well.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, that pink figure walked into the dining hall. After ordering breakfast, she quietly began eating alone.
Since he could come here, it meant this man also knew how to train the Domain.
No, what am I thinking?
He was a senior trainer. Of course he was extremely familiar with such things. If anything, Fujiwara Chiya's appearance here was what had surprised him.
"When I first came here, I had absolutely no idea why Tracen would build a dojo. But when I came here the second time, I understood. This place is a training ground for trainers and uma musume together."
As he spoke, he poured another cup of liquor and placed it in front of Fujiwara Chiya.
"A trainer's spirit affects an uma musume's spirit. If the trainer's spirit is not firm enough before a race, the uma musume will be affected by it. You can think of the trainer as the general, and the uma musume as the soldiers. If the general's thoughts are wrong, the soldiers under him will fall into disorder. Arranging tactics and raising morale, if he cannot do these two things, then he is a failed general. A failed trainer."
Fujiwara Chiya remained silent.
"I first came here when I was twenty-four. At the time, Tracen sent me to inspect the grounds. I came here a second time when I was twenty-eight, and that time, I came on my own. When I was thirty-five, I became a senior trainer, then began traveling around various places."
Nase Hideto looked at him.
"What about you, Chiya? Did you find your way here yourself, or was it by coincidence?"
Fujiwara Chiya drained the cup of throat-burning white liquor in one gulp.
"Coincidence."
"What did you come here for?"
"Just as you said. To train my own will."
Gold Ship, Yaeno Muteki, and the others, who had just walked in from outside, saw Chiya and were about to come over to greet him. Shirayuki stopped them. When they saw Nase Hideto beside him, they frowned slightly, then sat not far away and quietly listened.
"You're quite lucky."
"Am I? I don't think so. I feel like my luck is terrible. Trouble comes one after another. But I do know quite a few people, so even when my luck is bad, I can still find a way to deal with it."
"Knowing a lot of people, huh. In that regard, you're quite like your old man. But whatever the case, you've already reached this stage. In that case, let's have a little match."
"A match? What kind of match?"
"A trainer should possess the same spirit as an uma musume. Tenacious and unyielding. If you fall somewhere, you get back up from that same place. I want to see whether you can do that too."
"You want to spar with me?"
"I won't bully you, Chiya-kun. I can give you one hand."
Hearing that from the side, Yaeno Muteki was just about to stand up, but Gold Ship pushed her back down.
"What are you doing? You planning to stick your nose into Trainer's business too?"
"But Trainer Chiya is…"
"Our Trainer is a trainer too, isn't he?"
Gold Ship snorted.
"He's the one who looked down on people first. Don't think being a senior trainer makes you so amazing. Our Trainer is way stronger than him."
Inside the dojo, with a loud thud, Fujiwara Chiya pinned Nase Hideto to the ground.
No matter how much the other man struck him, he refused to let go.
This damn brat. He looks weak and delicate, but he's as strong as an ox!
In the end, after being pressed down so hard he could barely breathe, Nase Hideto tapped out and admitted defeat.
"I suddenly realized something," Gold Ship said.
"What?"
"If an uma musume can't outrun her opponent, can't we just take out the other side's trainer directly and solve the problem?"