"So that's what it was. I thought you young people were playing some strange kind of game!"
Akikawa Yayoi laughed several times, leaving Fujiwara Chiya's face full of embarrassment.
Now he really could no longer raise his head in front of Akikawa Yayoi. Every humiliating thing had been seen by her.
However, this also indirectly proved that Akikawa Yayoi had not brought him here for supervision at all. Otherwise, what she had seen just now would have been enough to give him a serious violation.
Maybe the Director simply wanted to live with me.
Thinking that, Fujiwara Chiya felt a warmth in his heart.
"Director, do you have any ideas?" Fujiwara Chiya asked. "I've already run out of options for Shirayuki. Right now, I can only ask you."
Seeing Fujiwara Chiya's pleading attitude, Akikawa Yayoi's heart trembled.
How long had it been…
Her little brother finally had something to ask of her!
Ever since he started working, Chiya had always busied himself silently. Occasionally, he would run into trouble, but he would either go to the Student Council or ask his seniors for advice. He simply refused to come to her.
Even though Akikawa Yayoi had hinted several times that she was very free, and that he could come to her if he had trouble, he had stubbornly never entered her office once.
That had made Akikawa Yayoi feel incredibly frustrated.
She could only find excuses to drag him over.
Now, Chiya was finally willing to rely on her. Akikawa Yayoi immediately felt the happiness of being depended on by her little brother.
She could not help picking up her fan and happily waving it a few times.
"Hmph hmph, of course! Leave this matter to me!"
The Director raised her nose proudly, sat on the sofa, and boastfully told Fujiwara Chiya about her great achievements of the past. When she expanded Tracen, she had made connections with quite a few capable people.
If Fujiwara Chiya had heard this before, he might have simply thought the Director was showing off.
But now, he understood.
The Director meant for him to rely on her. No matter how troublesome the matter was, she could solve it.
Fujiwara Chiya was very grateful that she felt that way, but he could not depend on connections for everything. Since he had chosen to become a trainer, he had to prioritize his own ability. Otherwise, wouldn't he become a useless person who just lay around at home eating free meals?
The clock in the living room chimed several times. It was already dinner time.
Fujiwara Chiya stood up.
"I'll cook, Director."
"You can cook?"
"Mm, I learned. How does sushi sound?"
"That works."
Akikawa Yayoi crossed her bare feet and knelt on the sofa, watching Fujiwara Chiya enter the kitchen. A deep sense of satisfaction filled her heart.
Maybe she should just have Chiya live with her from now on.
She was very satisfied with her current life. An older sister and younger brother supporting each other and living together was not unheard of.
Besides, she was the Director, and Chiya was a motivated trainer. Their lives would surely become better and better from here.
Just as Akikawa Yayoi was imagining the future, a green figure suddenly drilled into her mind and disrupted all her thoughts.
That's right.
That person definitely would not agree.
Even if force had to be used, she would never allow Chiya to be taken away by someone else.
Chiya…
An uma musume's possessiveness is very frightening. You need to handle it carefully.
Although I'm not really qualified to say that.
"Director, should I make the seasoning spicy?"
"Yes!"
Akikawa Yayoi answered.
Watching Chiya bustle about in the kitchen, Akikawa Yayoi lay on the sofa.
She might not be able to live alone with Chiya, but that did not mean she could not live together with him.
To prevent those people from doing anything harmful to Chiya, it was perfectly normal for her, as his older sister, to watch over him from the side, right?
The next day, Fujiwara Chiya was called to the Director's office.
Inside the room was a blonde woman. She wore a rather distinctive pair of white sunglasses, giving her the impression of a reverse-color Joker.
"Hello! You're the man troubled by constitution problems that the Director mentioned, right?"
"That's me. More accurately, it's my uma musume."
"My name is Anshinzawa Sasami. I am a Sasabari practitioner."
When he heard the words "Sasabari practitioner," Fujiwara Chiya raised an eyebrow.
It was a unique profession, one that specialized in treating uma musume. They inserted needles into certain unique points on an uma musume's body. Rumor had it that this could ease muscle tension, improve blood circulation, and expel harmful waste.
However, the points they needled had not been clearly confirmed by medicine, and there was a risk of failure.
In the past, Rudolf had once been needled by a legendary Sasabari practitioner, curing her muscle pain and allowing her to successfully participate in a race.
There were many successful examples like Rudolf's.
But there were just as many failures.
Some Sasabari practitioners pierced the wrong points, causing uma musume to become weak all over, making their training efficiency plummet. In serious cases, they could not even participate in races.
In short, it was a high-risk, high-reward action.
The best way to improve the success rate was to find an experienced Sasabari practitioner.
But no matter how he looked at the woman in front of him, she did not look experienced at all!
Leaving aside the red ultra-short skirt bodysuit and the white lab coat similar to Agnes Tachyon's, the mask on her head made her look extremely suspicious. In Fujiwara Chiya's impression, Sasabari practitioners were all wrinkled old people with sharp eyes. With one glance, they could tell where an uma musume's problem was.
This person was far too young!
"Director, could this be the person you mentioned?"
Akikawa Yayoi coughed awkwardly.
"I originally wanted to find her master, that legendary Sasabari practitioner, but…"
"Master has gone into closed-door training, so I, his sole final disciple, the super-genius next-generation Sasabari practitioner, will take his place!"
As she spoke, that person raised her hand and struck a pose.
She's way too different!
This person was completely different from the image Fujiwara Chiya had in mind!
She won't ruin my Shirayuki with one needle, will she!?
"Chiya, do you want to trust her and take the gamble, or…"
"Director, are you saying you don't trust my ability!? I am that person's final disciple! I know all of Master's lifetime teachings by heart! I even recite them in my sleep every night. Any uma musume who passes through my hands will become lively and energetic! I have never failed so far!"
"Seriously? Then how many people have you cured?" Fujiwara Chiya asked.
"Well… is that important? You only need to know that I have never failed!"
Fujiwara Chiya went from nervous to very nervous.
This person could not have just left the mountain, right?
"All right, hurry up and tell me who I'm needling! The effect differs depending on where I place the needle."
Too suspicious.
Fujiwara Chiya did not dare hand Shirayuki over to her.
But right now, the only thing that could change Shirayuki's constitution was indeed a Sasabari practitioner. Fujiwara Chiya felt like he was gambling.
If he won, he would gain everything.
If he lost, it would all be over.
After thinking it over again and again, Fujiwara Chiya nodded.
"All right. I'll let you do it. But the person you're needling won't be an uma musume."
"It'll be me."