"I've lost!"
Inside the classroom, El Condor Pasa clung to Grass Wonder and wailed dramatically, while Grass Wonder wore a troubled expression.
"I wanted to take Shirayuki's first, but instead she took mine. I ended up being the passive one. I can't accept this!"
Grass Wonder's expression cracked a little.
"The only reason you lost is because you got carried away, El. You really didn't take Shirayuki seriously enough, did you? Didn't your trainer teach you to approach a race properly? It seems you need to reflect on your mistakes."
"How cruel! I only came to Grass for comfort. Why are you treating me like this!?"
"You brought it on yourself."
Watching the two of them bicker back and forth, Special Week excitedly ran over to Shirayuki and grabbed her hand.
"Congratulations on winning, Shirayuki."
"Thank you."
"I knew it. The only true rival for Shirayuki is me. Someone like El who came charging out of nowhere was never worthy of beating you. It must have been the power of our bond that defeated her!"
"Ah… yeah. That's right. Just thinking of Special Week fills me with strength. How could I lose to anyone else before racing you?"
"Shirayuki! You really are my best friend!"
The moment she heard that, Special Week threw herself at Shirayuki and hugged her tightly, rubbing all over Shirayuki's chest. Beside them, Grass Wonder walked over with a smile.
"Oh my, is that so? I'm looking forward to racing Shirayuki too. I hope that one day we can meet on the track as well."
"I-I am too. I've wanted to race Grass for a long time."
"Really? Hehe, then it seems you and I feel the same way. My feelings for Shirayuki certainly won't lose to Special Week's." Grass Wonder's eyes flickered as she looked at Special Week pressed tightly against Shirayuki.
"Grass…"
"El, you're getting a bit annoying now." With just that one light remark, Grass Wonder instantly shut down the loudly complaining El Condor Pasa. In the end, El told Shirayuki that someday she would absolutely take her victory back, and that was that.
That debut race had done a great deal to raise Shirayuki's profile. It placed her squarely in the sight of the audience, and the name Snow Dancer was beginning to circulate among people.
It seemed that using the ring name had really produced results. But at the same time, it made Fujiwara Shirayuki realize just how difficult it truly was to win a race. If she had failed to notice El Condor Pasa's tactic that day, if she had failed to cut off El's route, then El might very well have overtaken her in the end.
And El had only been one of many opponents.
Special Week, Grass Wonder, Tokai Teio, Mejiro McQueen, TM Opera O. Every single one of them was at least as dangerous as El Condor Pasa.
As she absentmindedly patted Special Week's head, Fujiwara Shirayuki thought about how she could possibly beat all of them. What kind of monstrous physique did undefeated Uma Musume possess? What kind of enviable talent did they have?
At this point, hoping for heaven-sent talent seemed pointless. She would just have to become the hardworking type.
"Special Week, you've been glued to her for way too long. Can't you see Shirayuki looks troubled?" Grass Wonder said with a smiling face that did not look particularly friendly, pulling Special Week away from Shirayuki in one smooth motion.
"Troubled? Shirayuki isn't troubled at all. She said she really likes my face and that it feels especially soft!"
"If we're talking softness, then I certainly don't lose to you there, Special Week."
"No way. Let me feel… ah, it's true…"
"So really, I'm the one with more right to cling to her."
"What are you talking about? I'm Shirayuki's best friend."
"What a coincidence. So am I."
"This is the battle between rivals, White Wolf!" TM Opera O laughed grandly as she joined them. "It seems everyone's quite invested in racing you. For the record, I'm no exception."
The classroom was noisy beyond belief, but in the office the silence was so complete that the only thing that could be heard was a man's breathing.
Fujiwara Chiya looked over the training schedule for his Uma Musume.
With Gold Ship's and Shirayuki's races finished, the rest would have to wait until next week. The next racers would be Rice Shower and Mejiro Dober.
It could not be helped. There were simply too many Uma Musume, so in order to avoid having teammates clash directly, he had no choice but to stretch out the race schedule this way. On the bright side, that gave Fujiwara Chiya plenty of time to investigate just how strong Rice Shower's and Mejiro Dober's opponents really were.
Based on what he currently knew, there did not seem to be any particularly notable Uma Musume among their competitors. Their results were all fairly average, with no especially brilliant records to their names. The threat level did not seem particularly high.
Still, to fulfill his duty properly, Fujiwara Chiya intended to investigate them a little more before race day.
That afternoon, taking advantage of the training schedules being staggered between teams, Fujiwara Chiya stood up. He planned to go observe a few other trainers' groups. As he passed through the corridor, he suddenly heard a sharp, high-pitched voice.
"Yada!"
Just those two syllables instantly set off alarms in Fujiwara Chiya's head. Based on his long experience dealing with problem children, anyone who made that kind of sound had to be a brat.
"I said I'm not going, yada yada yada!"
Listening to that maddening voice, Fujiwara Chiya braced himself and prepared to walk right past the two of them while pretending he had seen absolutely nothing.
I'm just a cloud of air…
That was what he told himself as he floated past. But just as he was about to slip away, he caught sight of an unmistakably large round hat and a long chestnut ponytail.
You've got to be kidding me.
Fujiwara Chiya froze on the spot.
The brat was none other than the student Air Groove had mentioned, the one who constantly clashed with her instructor: Sweep Tosho.
The instructor kept trying, one sentence after another, to persuade her to come train. Sweep Tosho stood there with her arms folded and a sour look on her face.
"Yada!"
"I already told you, I'm not going. Stop ordering me around and leave me alone!"
After throwing out that final complaint, Sweep Tosho stomped off in a huff, leaving her instructor standing there sighing heavily. When she noticed Fujiwara Chiya nearby, she gave a bitter smile.
"Sorry you had to see that, Trainer Chiya."
"It's alright… does that child really hate training that much?"
"Yes. If she goes once out of every three sessions, that's already good. And even when she does come, how long she stays depends entirely on her mood."
Fujiwara Chiya showed an expression of complete understanding.
Gold Ship was similar, though Gold Ship was not openly rebellious. She simply did whatever she wanted.
Sweep Tosho had a much clearer oppositional streak. She actively disliked being told what to do, which made her rather different from Gold Ship.
"Looking after children like these is really hard work."
"Ahaha… that's true. But we can't just leave them alone." The instructor wore a deeply troubled expression. "Sweep Tosho really is incredibly talented, but she's so stubborn and never listens to anyone. Sorry, I've been talking too much, Trainer Chiya. It doesn't look like Sweep Tosho is going to train today. I'll try talking to her again whenever she's willing to listen."
Worn out in both body and mind, the instructor turned and left. Just looking at her, Fujiwara Chiya could feel a crushing pressure.
Though the pressure I'm under is even stronger.
Turning his head, Fujiwara Chiya looked in the direction Sweep Tosho had gone. After thinking for a moment, he quietly followed after her.
In the backyard behind the school building, Fujiwara Chiya watched Sweep Tosho standing in front of a fence. She was holding a wand and muttering something under her breath. A few seconds later, a breeze stirred and lifted the fallen leaves into the air.
What is she doing?
A question mark practically rose over Fujiwara Chiya's head. It looked as if she was trying to cast magic, yet absolutely nothing was happening.
"Boring, so boring… training is boring, racing is boring…"
As she swung her wand, Sweep Tosho kicked at a branch on the ground and complained unhappily.
That way of talking really was exactly like a child. Come to think of it, all these problem-child Uma Musume seemed incredibly childish in both personality and behavior.
And that inevitably brought Rice Shower to mind.
She was also a child, but her soft, gentle personality made Fujiwara Chiya utterly fond of her. If he had to choose, a little girl like that, the kind you could easily dote on, was definitely more lovable.
Fujiwara Chiya made that judgment to himself.
He continued observing her quietly. Having skipped training, Sweep Tosho wandered around aimlessly. Before long, she entered the back garden and disappeared behind the hedges. Fujiwara Chiya got up and followed, but the instant he stepped around the bushes, a small face with a frown popped up right in front of him.
"Wah!" Fujiwara Chiya jumped.
"Hey! You've been sneaking after me this whole time, haven't you!" Sweep Tosho planted her hands on her hips and pointed straight at his face. "Don't tell me you're some kind of creepy pervert who likes spying on little girls and is plotting something weird!"
"I'm not!"
"Oh, please. You're just a mere human, and you think you can lay hands on a Uma Musume? I'll show you what happens when you try!"
Fujiwara Chiya had never expected this little brat to notice him so early and deliberately lure him to a deserted corner to "capture" him.
He had been played.
Realizing he was in trouble, Fujiwara Chiya saw her raising a hand like she was about to rough him up. In a panic, he snatched a small round ball from his pocket and crushed it.
Bang.
A cloud of white smoke burst out and blocked Sweep Tosho's vision. Taking advantage of the moment, Fujiwara Chiya quickly put some distance between them.
Good thing he had been carrying Agnes Tachyon's little gadgets on him.
Ever since he started practicing magician tricks, Fujiwara Chiya had developed the habit of keeping those things on hand for emergencies. The one he had just used was a smoke bomb Tachyon had made. Why she had made it, he had no idea. Maybe she had simply been bored.
Sweep Tosho coughed a couple of times, her eyes stinging from the smoke. Once it cleared, she looked at Fujiwara Chiya, who had retreated farther away.
"What was that just now?"
"A type of magic that blocks people's sight."
"Magic?"
The instant she heard that word, Sweep Tosho's ears shot up. "You said magic just now, didn't you? Don't tell me you're one of us too!"
"Ah, yes." Having prepared in advance, Fujiwara Chiya smoothly followed her line of thought. "Back then, a brown-haired Uma Musume dragged me off to an incredibly terrifying place, and when I woke up after that, I discovered I could use these abilities."
"So that's how it is!" Sweep Tosho's eyes widened. She did not doubt his story for even a second.
Forgetting all about the fact that he had just been following her, Sweep Tosho hurriedly asked, "What kind of things can you do? Grandma once said that everyone has different magic, and as long as you have eyes that know how to notice it, you can see what makes them special. What about you? What's your magic?"
"Me?"
Fujiwara Chiya thought for a moment.
He did not have many props on him, so what he could show was limited. He would just have to perform the few tricks he was most confident in.
He casually shook his hand, and a wand suddenly appeared in his palm.
Sweep Tosho's eyes lit up.
"Now then, miss, please watch closely."
Fujiwara Chiya tapped the wooden fence beside him.
Pop.
When the smoke dispersed, a white flower had appeared, stuck neatly into the fence.
"Ooh…"
Sweep Tosho let out an excited sound and crouched down beside the flower. A gentle fragrance drifted from it.
"Amazing, amazing!"
Stars were practically shining in her eyes.
While Sweep Tosho's attention was fixed on the flower, Fujiwara Chiya hurriedly reloaded the wand. The mechanism was simple. Once fired, it expanded and burst, allowing the hidden flower inside to spring out.
Of course, the flower itself was fake.
"Do you have more, Great Magician!?"
"Of course."
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his hands together, then held a flower in his palm. When he opened his hand again, the flower had turned bright gold.
Sweep Tosho was so excited she could barely contain herself. This was the first time she had ever seen magic on someone else.
Real magic.
By the time Fujiwara Chiya had nearly exhausted the gadgets on him, the look in Sweep Tosho's eyes had completely changed.
There was worship in them, but also longing.
And beneath that, expectation.
Fujiwara Chiya felt a very pleasant sense of satisfaction, the sort you got when people admired your performance at a party. Especially when the one looking at you was a little girl who had no idea how to hide her emotions.
"How do you do that!? Can you teach me!?"
Grabbing Fujiwara Chiya's hand, Sweep Tosho begged impatiently.
Looking at her starry-eyed expression, Fujiwara Chiya knew he had achieved exactly what he wanted.
"You want to learn?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
"But magic is something that, used well, can benefit humanity, and used badly, can bring disaster. We… ah, over at the Magical Society, before we teach anyone magic, we need to understand that person's background and life first. Only after we know them thoroughly can we decide."
"The Magical Society! What's that? That sounds incredible! So you need to understand my background first? Then hurry up and start understanding me!"
"No rush." Fujiwara Chiya waved a hand lightly. "Let's start with the most basic thing. What's your name?"
"Sweep Tosho." As if she had become a completely different person, she answered with perfect obedience.
"Sweep Tosho… alright, I'll remember that. My name is Fujiwara Chiya. I'm the trainer of Team Pollux."
"Trainer? Not magician?"
"Magician isn't my profession. It's my secret identity."
"You have abilities this special, yet you're willing to be just a trainer? How boring!"
"It seems you still don't understand the true meaning of magic."
"What meaning?"
"That's something you'll have to realize for yourself."
Fujiwara Chiya had not actually come up with it yet.
"When you understand the true meaning of magic, I'll teach you."
"What the heck…" Sweep Tosho puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, but there was nothing she could do about him.
Fortunately, Fujiwara Chiya had prepared thoroughly, so he managed to keep this little brat firmly in hand. Otherwise, he did not even want to imagine how that earlier misunderstanding could have spiraled out of control.
"For now, I'll be observing you. If your conduct passes the test, then I'll teach you."
"Conduct? What counts as passing?"
"Easy. Be obedient. Don't skip class. Don't skip training."
"I don't want to!"
"Then there's nothing I can do. I really thought you had talent for magic too…"
"Wait!" As Fujiwara Chiya turned to leave, Sweep Tosho quickly reached out. "Fine… I'll be a good girl. But in return, you have to teach me magic!"
"Of course. If you really can do it."
The next day, Air Groove came to find Fujiwara Shirayuki and said just one sentence.
"Welcome to the student council."