"Let me introduce you all. This is our newest member, Fujiwara Shirayuki."
On the training field, Fujiwara Chiya introduced her to his three Uma Musume.
"Fujiwara…"
"Shirayuki?"
"Heh… something's definitely fishy here."
The girl wearing a boat-shaped hat stroked her chin, her expression unusually serious.
"Don't tell me… Fujiwara Shirayuki is actually the trainer's…"
"U-um… c-could it be… she's actually the trainer's…"
The timid girl with shoulder-length chestnut hair and a white streak in her bangs spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
These two were part of Fujiwara Chiya's current team.
The first one, Gold Ship.
Calling their encounter unusual wouldn't even begin to cover it. It was outright fraud.
On his very first day at Tracen Academy, unfamiliar with the campus, Fujiwara Chiya got lost in the enormous school grounds. By chance, he came across a gray-haired girl sitting inside a flower bed.
At the time, she wasn't wearing that strange hat. Her hair flowed freely, soft strands swaying gently in the wind. The slight tilt of her pale neck and the elegant line extending down to her collarbone made her resemble a gray swan.
When she noticed Fujiwara Chiya, she raised her brows slightly and spoke softly.
"Did you get lost in the academy, too?"
"Yes."
"What a coincidence… me too." She gazed up at the sky, her pink eyes filled with melancholy. "Even though I'm right here… no one ever seems to notice me…"
Her lips parted slightly as she looked back at him.
"You're the first one who's spoken to me."
Fujiwara Chiya was at a loss for words. It was the first time he had ever seen a girl so mysterious and captivating. After a moment, he finally spoke.
"I'm a new trainer who just arrived at Tracen today. Are you a student here?"
"A new trainer?" Her gaze flickered slightly. "Yes, I am. But soon… I won't be anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because no trainer has ever noticed someone like me… someone who's lost. So even if I disappeared one day, it probably wouldn't matter to this academy."
Watching her smile, half relieved and half regretful, something stirred in Fujiwara Chiya.
"If you don't mind… would you let me be your trainer?"
"I might be new, but I'll do everything I can to train you and bring you back into the spotlight."
"Really? You'd actually do that for me?"
"Of course."
"Then go ahead and sign this form. That'll make it official."
"Alright."
Without a second thought, Fujiwara Chiya signed the training contract she handed him.
At that moment, he thought his luck had finally kicked in, that on his very first day at Tracen, he had somehow gained such a rare and valuable Uma Musume.
Then the gray-haired girl lowered her head.
And in the next instant—
"Yosha! Contract complete! From today on, you're my master! Nice to meet you, Trainer-san! Thank you very much!"
The entire atmosphere flipped.
The girl who had just seemed like a mysterious beauty suddenly broke into an exaggerated grin that didn't match her earlier demeanor at all. She folded up the contract, stuffed it into her pocket, rattled off a string of nonsense, and then dashed off in a flash.
Fujiwara Chiya stood there, completely stunned.
That same night, he received confirmation that Gold Ship had officially become his Uma Musume.
Only later did he learn the truth. Because of her unpredictable personality, no trainer had been willing to sign with her.
She had been sitting there in the flower bed on purpose.
Fishing.
Waiting for an inexperienced rookie like him to take the bait.
On his very first day, Fujiwara Chiya realized just how ruthless Tracen really was. His ambitions, his expectations, everything had been completely shattered by Gold Ship.
The second one, Meisho Doto.
Their encounter was just as bizarre.
After being tricked by Gold Ship, Fujiwara Chiya became more cautious. He stopped signing contracts so easily. This time, he wanted to take control, observe first, and only present the prepared contract when the timing was right.
For convenience, he had already written his own name on the contract and kept it in his pocket.
That small, careless action became the root of everything.
That very day, as he walked out of the academic building, he collided head-on with Meisho Doto. The impact sent him flying backward as if he had bounced off something soft, and by the time he came to, he was already in the infirmary.
Sitting beside him, Meisho Doto kept apologizing over and over.
"I-I'm so sorry…! A-are you okay…? I didn't mean to…!"
Up to that point, nothing seemed too unusual. A clumsy Uma Musume running too fast and knocking someone over wasn't unheard of.
But then things took a turn.
After returning to his dorm, Fujiwara Chiya searched everywhere for his contract, but it was nowhere to be found. Just as he was starting to panic, a message arrived from the student council.
"Meisho Doto has successfully registered as a Uma Musume under Trainer Fujiwara Chiya."
At that moment, Fujiwara Chiya was completely dumbfounded.
Since when had Meisho Doto become his Uma Musume?
Only later did he piece together what had happened. When she knocked him over, the contract had fallen out of his pocket. In her panic, Meisho Doto picked it up and put it into her pocket, then promptly forgot about it.
That same day also happened to be the deadline for submitting feedback forms for Tracen activities.
So when Meisho Doto took something out of her pocket, she ended up pulling out Fujiwara Chiya's contract. Seeing the blank space for the Uma Musume's name, she wrote her own name on it without thinking.
When the class representative reviewed the forms, they assumed she had submitted the wrong document and kindly forwarded it to the student council.
And just like that, through a chain of absurd coincidences, she became Fujiwara Chiya's Uma Musume.
Even now, thinking about it left him speechless.
She kept apologizing and said she would explain everything to the student council and terminate the contract immediately.
"I-I'll fix this right away…! I'll explain everything and cancel it, I promise…!"
But Fujiwara Chiya considered the situation carefully. Since the process had already been completed, canceling the contract on the same day might leave a bad impression.
In the end, he decided to go along with it and let Meisho Doto remain on his team.
"If you don't mind… I-I'd actually be really happy to stay…"
That was her answer.
Later, Fujiwara Chiya realized that this Uma Musume was incredibly absent-minded. If training was scheduled for one in the afternoon, she would wake up at one in the morning. If told to wear training clothes, she would show up in slippers. She would trip on flat ground, miss steps on stairs, and even fall over while standing still.
The fact that she had made it this far in life safely was nothing short of a miracle.
And just like that, the second eccentric member of his team was born.
"That's right," Fujiwara Chiya said calmly. "She's my cousin."
"C-Cousin…"
The small girl finally spoke, her voice soft and hesitant.
"Onii-sama's… cousin…"