"Darley, did you see it? The way I rewarded Shirayuki yesterday?"
When he arrived at the office, Fujiwara Chiya spoke proudly to Darley.
Darley was lazily lying across the desk.
"No. I didn't go yesterday either. How was I supposed to see it?"
"Hah? Then forget it. Gold Ship definitely saw it."
"She was with McQueen the whole time. I saw them together at lunch."
"What? So none of you secretly followed us yesterday? Then what was the point of me going on a date with Shirayuki?"
"Obviously, it was to reward Shirayuki. Or does Trainer prefer having someone watch from the side when he goes on a date?"
Darley curved her lips, revealing a teasing smile.
"Of course, if Trainer does not mind, I can act as the third wheel and record your beautiful memories."
"No, that won't be necessary…"
"By the way, how far did Trainer and Shirayuki get? Have you reached the stage of making little foals yet?"
"No! Why are you always so fixated on that?"
"Nothing makes me happier than the birth of a powerful little foal. I have always looked forward to a powerful uma musume appearing and leading the trends of the world. No, not just one. Many of them. The meaning of my existence is to protect uma musume, so they can flourish and prosper even more."
"Wow, how admirable of you… If you think that way, why don't you have a child yourself? Your age should be about the same as mine anyway, right?"
After he said that, Darley's gaze turned toward him.
Those breathtaking emerald-green eyes made Fujiwara Chiya's breathing nearly stop.
Just as Fujiwara Chiya thought she might get angry because of his joke, Darley suddenly spoke.
"In my case, that is also possible. In the past, there was no suitable candidate, nor was there any need. But now Trainer has uma musume blood, and I am also interested in Trainer, so the conditions do fit."
She looked at him seriously.
"But would you be willing? Would you abandon your own uma musume, choose me, an outsider, and live together with me?"
Darley continued watching him.
"One day, I will leave this place. Trainer, are you willing to abandon your current life and come with me?"
That simple sentence made cold sweat break out across Fujiwara Chiya's body.
He did not know how serious Darley was, but his instincts told him that once he nodded, his connection with his current life would be completely severed.
"No, no, no. Let's forget that. I was just saying it casually. Don't take it seriously."
"Exactly."
As if changing faces, Darley lifted the corners of her mouth and smiled.
"Trainer only needs to consider your own uma musume. They are your most precious treasures. I am only an assistant trainer. How could I compare with them? Haha."
Fujiwara Chiya drank some tea to calm himself down.
His heart was still pounding nonstop.
The last time he had been this nervous was during the final multiple-choice question of the Central exam.
Looking at Darley, who had gone back to lying on the table and looked no different from an ordinary girl, Fujiwara Chiya took a deep breath. He turned his attention back to checking the recent race materials for Tokai Teio and the others.
The next race would be against Teio, Grass Wonder, and the others.
He could not be careless.
Their strength was much greater than the opponents in the Triple Tiara races.
Knock, knock, knock.
After some time, there was a knock at the door.
Fujiwara Chiya, who had been concentrating, raised his head. At some point, Darley's seat had become empty. She had left without making any sound.
"Come in."
The door handle turned, and Mejiro Dober walked into the room.
"Excuse me, Trainer-san."
"Dober. Come sit."
"Trainer-san, you don't need to move. I'll come over."
Mejiro Dober closed the door properly and walked beside Fujiwara Chiya. She placed a lunchbox on the desk, then pulled over Darley's chair.
"I made a lunchbox for Trainer-san."
"Thank you, Dober. Perfect timing, I haven't eaten yet."
"Trainer-san, let me feed you."
Mejiro Dober's eyes were determined. She opened the lunchbox, picked up food with her chopsticks, and brought it to Fujiwara Chiya.
"I don't know whether Trainer-san's tastes are the same as Shirayuki's, so I made it according to what Shirayuki likes. If Trainer-san thinks it doesn't taste good, please make sure to tell me."
"Mm… It's good!"
Mejiro Dober breathed a sigh of relief, and her stiff expression softened.
"It's even better than last time. But why did you suddenly think of making me a lunchbox?"
"Is it strange? I often make lunchboxes for Shirayuki. Giving one to Shirayuki is the same as giving one to Trainer-san, isn't it?"
"Well, that's true…"
She fed him one bite at a time, and Fujiwara Chiya ate one bite at a time.
He did not know what he looked like while eating. He had never carefully observed Shirayuki's side either, but Fujiwara Chiya knew he definitely was not as cute as Shirayuki.
Even so, Mejiro Dober stared directly at him and even used a handkerchief to wipe the sauce from the corner of his mouth.
"Dober, do you need something from me?"
After living with her for so long, Fujiwara Chiya could still understand Mejiro Dober's thoughts to some extent. She had deliberately hidden this from Shirayuki and come to his side, so she definitely had something to say.
"Trainer-san…"
Mejiro Dober paused. Then she made up her mind and asked Fujiwara Chiya,
"What kind of image do I have in Trainer-san's heart?"
"Image?"
Fujiwara Chiya did not know why she asked that.
After thinking for a while, he answered honestly,
"Strong, hardworking, gentle, sometimes a little temperamental, but very cute…"
Fujiwara Chiya said every word he could think of that described Mejiro Dober.
She lowered her head, her face turning red.
Hearing praise from someone she liked felt completely different from being praised by anyone else.
"I understand. I understand now. Then what exactly am I to Trainer-san?"
"My uma musume."
Fujiwara Chiya answered without hesitation.
"Only your uma musume?"
His face was reflected in her beautiful purple eyes.
The man pondered for a while and suddenly understood what she wanted to ask. He coughed a few times.
"And also… the person I'm dating."
That relationship had always been maintained on Shirayuki's side. But after Fujiwara Chiya revealed the truth about his and Shirayuki's identities, it had naturally shifted over to his side too.
"That's right, Trainer-san."
Mejiro Dober held his hand and kept moving closer.
Pressed by her frightening momentum, Fujiwara Chiya kept leaning back until he was pressed against the chair.
"I know Trainer-san's difficulties. I know Trainer-san has paid a lot to protect this secret. But now, we have already told each other everything. What does Trainer-san plan to do?"
Mejiro Dober stood up and sat on Fujiwara Chiya's lap. Her delicate face drew closer and closer, close enough that Fujiwara Chiya could smell the sweet warmth of her breath.
"Does Trainer-san still plan to treat me the same as before? To treat me only as an uma musume? We're not in that kind of simple relationship anymore, are we?"
"I… can't refute that…"
"Trainer-san, whether it was you or Shirayuki, both of you already agreed to date me. So the things Shirayuki's side did with me, Trainer-san's side needs to properly face them too."
"Face them? What exactly…"
"I remember the first time Shirayuki and I truly opened up to each other was when we stayed together and talked without hiding anything."
Mejiro Dober wrapped her arms around the man's neck and whispered beside his ear.
"So, Trainer-san, let's start from there. Not as only trainer and uma musume, but as two people who are honest with each other."