"Then today, we're going to the hot spring. To better prepare for the upcoming races, everyone should relax as much as they like."
"Hot spring..."
"Oh!"
They looked fairly excited, but none of them made much noise. The reason was the two people standing beside Chiya: Hayakawa Tazuna and Akikawa Yayoi. Two representatives of Tracen were actually present.
Gold Ship pulled Fujiwara Chiya aside.
"What's going on, Trainer? Why is the director here too?"
"Even if you ask me..."
Yesterday, Akikawa Yayoi had said, "In order to supervise whether you slack off and refuse to rest, I'm going too," and so she had followed along.
"What does 'slack off and refuse to rest' mean?"
"It's a very profound piece of grammar. I also spent a long time trying to understand it back then, before eventually giving up on thinking."
"Heh."
Gold Ship showed a scornful smile, which made Chiya slightly annoyed.
"I was thinking that while we were at the hot spring, I could secretly steal Miss Hayakawa's panties and stuff them into Trainer's blanket. Looks like that won't work now."
"What are you trying to do?"
"No choice, then. I'll steal Director Akikawa's instead."
"Gold Ship, I'm warning you. If you want to die, don't drag me down with you."
"Relax, Trainer. I know what I'm doing."
With that, Gold Ship let go and walked over to Akikawa Yayoi. With a serious and righteous expression, she said,
"Director, may I steal your panties while you're bathing in the hot spring?"
It's over!
Fujiwara Chiya slapped his face. Gold Ship was definitely done for this time. She had started courting death without even choosing her target. Chiya could only be responsible for collecting her body afterward.
"...Huh?"
"It's like this, Director."
Gold Ship bent down and quietly spoke beside Akikawa Yayoi's ear.
"Actually, our trainer has secretly admired you for a long time. He admires you so much that he wants to steal your panties. Just now, he even asked me to check what colour your underwear is when you change clothes. And the true purpose of this hot spring trip is actually you, Director... Director?"
Just as Gold Ship waited for the other party to explode, she suddenly saw Akikawa Yayoi's face turn bright red. That helpless, flustered expression made Gold Ship's eyebrows twitch.
Seriously...?
"Chiya... has already reached that point? To think he would have those thoughts about me. But as that child's most... most important person, I absolutely cannot do that kind of thing! E-Even if he really has those thoughts, he must first develop the ability to stand on his own."
Akikawa Yayoi's voice trembled, and even her words became unsteady.
Not far away, Hayakawa Tazuna looked over. Seeing Akikawa Yayoi's flushed face and Gold Ship's shocked expression, she could not understand what the two of them were doing.
"Oh dear, I think I remembered wrong. Trainer said to steal Miss Hayakawa's. This is bad, this is bad. Now I've been found out. Director Akikawa, just pretend this never happened. Goodbye!"
With that, Gold Ship dashed back.
"Trainer."
"Gold Ship, how are you still alive?"
"Just now, the black-and-white duo told me that you are living in fortune without knowing it. The future you will definitely die by being torn apart by five Uma Musume."
"Don't put your death method on my head. If you keep messing with the director, she'll suspend you and put you in confinement."
"She won't."
"Hm?"
"I've already grasped the director's greatest secret. In other words, I can now walk sideways through Tracen. From now on, the training ground will be renamed Little Golshi Plaza, and Tracen will be renamed Gold Ship Academy."
Fujiwara Chiya would never understand Gold Ship's thought process, nor was there any need to understand it. In short, after explaining things to everyone, they set off for the hot spring inn. After handing the limited hot spring voucher to the landlady, she led everyone to their respective rooms. The students were divided into rooms of four and three. Hayakawa Tazuna and Akikawa Yayoi were together, while Chiya had a room to himself.
That was how it should have been.
Until Tazuna carried her bedding and ran into his room.
"Let's sleep together, Chiya."
This is a hot spring inn, not a hotel. Please understand the setting. The walls are thin!
With a sliding sound, Akikawa Yayoi opened the door and walked in.
"Improper relationships between men and women are forbidden! I'll sleep here tonight!"
No, no, no. This is way too strange. Hayakawa Tazuna is one thing, but Director, wouldn't it be very inconvenient for you to sleep in the same room as me?
"What kind of storm have I not seen at Tracen? What inconvenience could there be? When Tracen was on the verge of collapse, I was the one who pulled it back with my own hands!"
As she spoke, Akikawa Yayoi proudly flicked her fan twice.
Despite Akikawa Yayoi's loli-like appearance, she truly had skill and vision. When Tracen was almost unable to continue operating, she relied on various eye-catching activities and held several spectacular races, forcibly raising the academy's popularity.
After that, it was like a snowball rolling downhill. Tracen's reputation grew larger and larger. It was expanded several times along the way, and its facilities became more and more complete. More and more people applied to enroll. When Symboli Rudolf began racing, Tracen entered its most glorious period. Oguri Cap then sparked a second wave of enthusiasm.
And after that came their generation, the new students born after that golden age. Akikawa Yayoi had invested considerable attention in them.
So calling Akikawa Yayoi a witness to and founder of Uma Musume's glory was not an exaggeration.
"Since there's no problem, I'll stay here tonight."
Akikawa Yayoi spread out her bedding.
Rice Shower, who had been secretly watching the room from the doorway, turned away.
She had originally planned to sneak into Onii-sama's room tonight. But with Director Akikawa here, there was no chance.
It was a little regrettable. But since the director was in the same room as Onii-sama, she did not need to worry about Hayakawa Tazuna doing anything reckless.
To be honest, recently, Rice Shower had felt that Hayakawa Tazuna's attitude toward Chiya was somewhat abnormal. That overly familiar manner, those charming eyes, and the faintly tempting aura she gave off all made Rice Shower feel that Hayakawa Tazuna had already done something improper with her Onii-sama.
But Rice Shower had no evidence. She could only imagine it.
So she decided that from now on, she would supervise the other party. If Hayakawa Tazuna really had done that...
Rice Shower would use her own body to fill Onii-sama's world completely, leaving not even the smallest gap.
"Oh, oh... Shirayuki has grown quite a bit."
In the changing room, Gold Ship looked at Shirayuki's well-developed figure and could not help praising her.
"With that kind of body, you could completely charm your cousin into your arms."
"Don't say strange things, Gold Ship. Shirayuki has no such intention!"
Mejiro Dober was the first to object.
"Don't get worked up. I'm just joking. Or what, Dober? Don't you want Shirayuki to become our trainer's wife?"
"What trainer's wife? She is my most important... my most important... younger sister."
Gold Ship raised her brows.
What exactly was going on with this trainer-sister pair?
Gold Ship suspected that the two of them had drugged the people around them with some kind of charm potion, making everyone fall for them. As Tracen's top star, how could she allow someone else to steal her spotlight?
Gold Ship patted Shirayuki on the shoulder, then pointed at herself. With a dignified and righteous expression, she declared,
"I'll help you siblings build a harem."