The people in charge of Europe would be arriving at Central next weekend. Fujiwara Chiya was wondering whether he should buy a suitable outfit. It could not look too formal when they met, but it also could not be too casual. It had to show refinement while also expressing his attitude.
In other words, dressing well was a skill.
And he had absolutely no skill.
Other than the few uniforms issued by Central and Tracen, all he had were a few shirts and trousers he had bought casually. Fujiwara Chiya still remembered the first trainer conference he had attended. His colleagues, who were usually lazy and casual, had all dressed like elites.
Only he had shown up looking the same as usual.
At the time, half the light had died from Akikawa Yayoi's eyes when she saw him.
Sorry. I embarrassed my older sister.
But this time, I won't!
Returning to the office, Fujiwara Chiya opened the door and saw a brown-haired girl sitting on the sofa.
Mejiro Dober.
Their eyes met, and she showed a nervous expression.
It was the kind of expression she had only shown when she and Fujiwara Chiya were still half-familiar strangers.
Could Dober not accept it?
The matter between him and Shirayuki…
Fujiwara Chiya thought this secretly, but on the surface, he greeted Mejiro Dober the same way as usual.
"Trainer-san."
Mejiro Dober stood up. After taking several deep breaths, she confirmed,
"Shirayuki didn't lie to me, right?"
"She didn't. All of it is true."
Fujiwara Chiya had deliberately given Dober time to be alone and think. When he came back, he found that Mejiro Dober had disappeared.
Now, after receiving a definite answer once again, Mejiro Dober made up her mind.
She walked up to Fujiwara Chiya.
"I confessed to Shirayuki before. At that time, Shirayuki was Trainer-san too, right?"
"At that time… yes."
Although back then, he and Shirayuki had been in a subtle state of being half-separated but not fully separated, the two of them had not completely split.
"In that case, the promise Shirayuki made to me back then still counts, right?"
"Promise?"
"Mm. The promise to date me. That was also Trainer-san's promise."
After saying that, Mejiro Dober stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
Unlike the kiss from last time, this time she chose to look directly into Fujiwara Chiya's eyes.
She did not avoid him.
A few minutes later, their lips separated.
Mejiro Dober licked the saliva from the corner of her mouth.
"Trainer-san's movements… are exactly the same as Shirayuki's…"
Whether it was rhythm or pressure, everything was exactly the same as the girl in her memories.
The only difference was probably that Trainer-san was male.
But Mejiro Dober did not mind.
As long as it was Trainer-san, whether male or female, none of that mattered anymore.
Fujiwara Chiya's eyes went blank.
He had not expected Mejiro Dober's resolve to be even stronger than he had imagined. She had already prepared herself to accept him completely.
"But if that's the case, there's a problem. From now on, should I go to Shirayuki, or should I go to Trainer-san? Maybe the three of us should just be together."
Mejiro Dober leaned against Fujiwara Chiya and said something almost identical to what Hayakawa Tazuna had once said.
Gold Ship was always saying that he was building a harem, but Fujiwara Chiya felt that he was the one being collected instead. Every person who knew his identity seemed to insist on bringing both him and Shirayuki whenever they went out, as if they could not feel at ease if either side was missing.
"Dober… let's talk about this later. I still have some work to do."
Fujiwara Chiya coughed a few times and stiffly cut off the conversation.
He felt the topic was about to head in a dangerous direction again.
"Work… Right. Trainer-san once said that Shirayuki was only passing on your words for you, but actually it was always Trainer-san speaking directly, wasn't it? No wonder I thought Shirayuki was so amazing, able to directly replace Trainer-san and train me. So Trainer-san was deceiving us all along…"
"Sorry."
"No, I'm not blaming Trainer-san. I just finally understand how much Trainer-san has done for me."
Mejiro Dober smiled.
She took Fujiwara Chiya's hand.
"I used to always go on dates with Shirayuki. Now, I want to go on a date with Trainer-san once. Is that okay?"
"…I'll try to make time."
"Okay. Then I won't disturb Trainer-san's work."
After saying that, Mejiro Dober nodded to him and left the office.
Her warmth still lingered in his palm.
Fujiwara Chiya was filled with emotion. It seemed Mejiro Dober's affection for Shirayuki had transferred to him completely unchanged.
No, perhaps it had even grown stronger.
Originally, he had wanted to tell Dober to go to Shirayuki, but as he spoke, the four words Gold Ship always said, "share the blessings equally," mysteriously appeared in his mind.
And then, as if possessed, he agreed.
Don't tell me I've been influenced by Gold Ship too?
After spending so much time with Gold Ship, have I finally gone insane as well…?
"A date, huh. When exactly are you planning to go, Trainer Chiya?"
"Uwah! Darley!?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Fujiwara Chiya shrank back.
"When did you come in?"
Darley was standing behind him.
"I was here the whole time."
"How is that possible? There was clearly no one in the office just now!"
"I really was here the whole time. It's just that Trainer's attention was completely on Mejiro Dober, so you ignored me."
You're telling me I ignored an entire living person?
Am I blind?
"Love makes people blind. Not to mention, you personally agreed to date Mejiro Dober."
"…How much did you hear?"
"I respect Trainer's privacy very much, so when you two were kissing, I covered my ears and turned around. I only heard you two talking about going on a date."
Fujiwara Chiya stared seriously into her eyes, wanting to confirm whether she was lying.
In the end, those emerald-green eyes that seemed able to see through the soul made him dizzy.
Fine.
He would believe her this once.
"Don't tell anyone."
"Don't worry. My mouth is very tight. So, Trainer, when are you two planning to go on your date?"
"That has nothing to do with you, right?"
"Of course it does. I'm your assistant trainer. Trainer's matters are my matters. Besides, a date means you're not far from having children. I want to see Trainer's little foal."
"Hey, I really will hit you. What do you mean a date means we're not far from having children? How many steps did you skip?"
Fujiwara Chiya felt that this person was becoming more and more outrageous.
She did not treat him like a superior at all.
"Now, now. If Trainer doesn't like it, I won't say it. But when it comes to childbirth, uma musume and uma musume can't do it. Trainer still has to do it himself, so Trainer shouldn't expect…"
"Shut up! I'm giving you the day off. Don't come to my office again today!"
Fujiwara Chiya pushed her out and slammed the door shut.
That Darley really was fearless.
He was certain she had not been unable to find work because of her ability. It was because she could not control her mouth!
Standing outside the door, Darley looked at the tightly shut office door and could not help laughing.
At first, she had only thought that, by some unintended accident, she had created a human with uma musume blood. She had come to investigate.
But his experiences were far more interesting than she had imagined.
It seemed the days ahead would not be boring.
Darley left the corridor.
Her body began to change.
Her snow-white skin gradually deepened into a brown complexion, and her clothing flickered several times before transforming into a fiery red off-shoulder outfit.
And yet, even such a fantastical scene did not draw anyone's attention.
The students passing by seemed unable to see her at all, hurrying past right beside her.