Inside Tracen's cafeteria, Fujiwara Chiya stared at the tray in front of him with absolutely no appetite.
Shirayuki had already told their mother the entire secret without holding anything back. It was a little outside his expectations.
Originally, Chiya had not wanted to tell them at all. But just as he tried to come up with an excuse, a powerful sadness welled up from deep inside Shirayuki's heart. She did not want to face her mother as a stranger, and even less did she want to lie to the person who had given her limitless love and acceptance throughout her life.
That longing for love and care, rising from the deepest part of her mind, was something Fujiwara Chiya could not control. By the time he came back to himself, everything had already been said to their mother.
Still, as far as results went, it had turned out alright. Their mother had accepted Fujiwara Shirayuki. Even without a blood relationship, judging by the way she had acted, she had already accepted Shirayuki as her own child.
Things on their mother's side were settled for now.
Which meant it was time for his father.
Fujiwara Chiya looked at the rugged man in front of him, chewing chicken bones in the cafeteria without the slightest trace of dignity, and could not help rubbing his eyes.
Whoever wanted to explain things to him could do it themselves. Fujiwara Chiya was already reaching the limit of how much of this shameless display he could endure.
"If only they served beer here, Chiya. Then we could really have a proper drink."
How on earth did Mom ever fall for him? Fujiwara Chiya truly could not imagine it. His mother was such a gentle and beautiful person, yet she had chosen this rough, sloppy man to be her husband. The world really was full of incomprehensible things.
Right now, Fujiwara Chiya only wanted his father to hurry up and finish eating. If one of his coworkers happened to see them and he had to introduce this stubble-faced man with meat scraps stuck to the corner of his mouth as his father, he would never recover from the humiliation.
And of course, what he feared most came true.
Fujiwara Chiya noticed a figure approaching the two of them from the entrance.
She was wearing a blue short-sleeved top and trousers. Compared to her usual sharp formalwear, the outfit gave her a little more feminine charm.
It was Nase Fumino.
Walking over, she lowered her head toward Fujiwara Zenya in greeting.
"It's been a long time, Zenya-san."
Hearing her voice, the man put down the chicken leg. The moment he saw her, his eyes widened, and then he spoke in a somewhat uncertain tone.
"Fumino!?"
"Yes."
"So it really is you. You look exactly like your mother did when she was younger. For a second I thought she'd come here herself." The man laughed loudly and wiped his hands with a napkin. "Fumino's here too, huh? Does that mean you and Chiya are coworkers?"
"Yes. The two of us sometimes train together."
"What a coincidence. You two were together when you were kids, and now that you've grown up, you're still together. That's fate right there." The man rubbed his chin. "So, Fumino, any interest in marrying into the Fujiwara family? Don't worry, Maito and I definitely wouldn't treat you badly, and Eijin probably wouldn't have any objections either."
Fujiwara Chiya slapped a hand over his face.
Dad, what are you even doing? Why are you suddenly trying to arrange my marriage? This is Tracen, not some matchmaking agency. Besides, Fumino doesn't like these kinds of jokes. This is way too awkward for her.
Fujiwara Chiya glanced at Nase Fumino.
To his utter shock, her head was lowered and her whole face had gone bright red.
What!?
"I'll seriously consider it."
No way! Are you serious?
Fujiwara Chiya's eyes went wide.
Nase Fumino's gaze drifted away, and she did not dare look at him at all.
After greeting Fujiwara Zenya, she no longer interrupted the father and son and quietly turned to leave.
She had agreed.
Nase Fumino's heart was pounding. She had not even needed to say anything. Simply because of their childhood connection, Fujiwara Zenya had already approved of what might happen between them in the future.
A huge weight lifted from her instantly.
Parents were no longer an obstacle. If that was the case, then the road ahead was completely open.
She would teach Chiya more training knowledge, the two of them would continue building their lives together at Tracen, and once their Uma Musume began bringing in results and money, they could rent a place of their own outside. By then, Chiya would probably already be a senior trainer, so even if she took maternity leave, he should still be able to support their household.
In just a few short minutes, Nase Fumino had already planned out the next several decades of their future.
"Trainer!"
A slightly childish voice called out from nearby as a lively figure ran over.
"Trainer, did you see my race just now!? Two lengths! I beat the other side by a full two lengths! Wasn't I amazing?"
Tokai Teio stood there proudly with her hands on her hips.
"...The race?"
The moment she had seen Chiya and Zenya together, Nase Fumino had followed them without thinking.
So that had been Teio's race?
She had missed it.
"Trainer, you didn't watch?"
Tokai Teio's face darkened immediately.
Nase Fumino touched her hair awkwardly and let her eyes drift aside.
"Trainer! Why didn't you come watch my race!?"
Her ears and tail shot straight up as she exploded.
She had finally run such a beautiful victory, yet her trainer had not even watched.
Too much! Even if it was only a mock race, her trainer should have been paying attention to her, right? Leaving her aside and going off to enjoy herself elsewhere, what kind of trainer did that? And besides, was there really anything more important to her than Teio? No, right? Definitely not, right?
Looking at the puffed-up Tokai Teio, Nase Fumino lowered her head in apology.
"Sorry, Teio. Something came up. As compensation, I'll take you out this weekend."
"Really!? Trainer, you said that!"
"Yes, I said it."
Nase Fumino was in a very good mood right now, so she could afford to make somewhat extravagant promises. She had originally been thinking of inviting Chiya out again this weekend, but considering the way things stood now, perhaps there was no need to rush.
Nase Fumino patted Teio on the head and imagined what it might be like if she ever had a child of her own.
Tokai Teio's tail wagged happily.
What's this? Trainer really does care about me, after all.
As expected, the bond between an Uma Musume and her trainer was irreplaceable.
So Trainer belongs to me, Teio. Other men need to stop barging in!
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"Yes!"
"Then let's go, Teio. We'll count it as a celebration for your win today. You can eat whatever you want."
"Trainer, you're really generous today."
"I'm just in a good mood."
"Is it because I won that you're in a good mood?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Trainer, just admit it already. You've been completely charmed by me, the great Tokai Teio."
"Yes, yes. Totally charmed."
Humoring Teio as she went, Nase Fumino headed toward the school gates with her.
What she did not know was that just after she left the cafeteria, someone else came over to Fujiwara Chiya's table.
A small black figure.
She was holding a delicate gift box, which she placed carefully on the table.
"Rice?"
"Onii-sama."
Rice Shower took a deep breath, then turned toward the sharply featured man seated there and spoke with more courage than she had ever shown in her life.
"Otou-sama, this is a small token of Rice's feelings. I hope you will accept it."