"What took you so long to open the door, Trainer? You looked like a man hiding a mistress at home."
Gold Ship stood proudly in front of Fujiwara Chiya.
"What do you want, coming over this early in the morning…"
"Aren't you going to invite Gold Ship-sama in?"
Chiya stepped aside and let her enter. Gold Ship walked in as if she were returning to her own home, dropped herself onto the sofa, and began looking around with great interest.
"The trainer dorm is way better than our student dorm. I've decided, Trainer. From now on, I'll live here."
"No. Go back."
"What? Gold Ship-sama is offering to sleep beside you for free, and you're still not happy? Unless…"
Gold Ship narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Someone is already sleeping beside you."
This girl…
A blind cat really had found a dead mouse. Somehow, she had guessed right.
"Let me inspect the place!"
With that, Gold Ship rushed straight toward the bedroom. Chiya had no time to stop her, so he could only make Shirayuki hide in the wardrobe first. She was still wearing sleepwear. If Gold Ship saw the two of them like this, who knew what that big mouth would say.
At the exact moment Gold Ship opened the bedroom door, Shirayuki closed the wardrobe.
Chiya also walked over.
"Gold Ship, don't run around in someone else's room."
"What's wrong, Trainer? If you're rejecting Gold Ship-sama, that basically means you already have someone outside."
"Even if I didn't, I wouldn't choose you…"
"Hah?"
The moment she heard that, Gold Ship became unhappy.
You could insult her trainer. You could insult her classmates.
But you absolutely could not insult her!
"What exactly is wrong with me?"
"Brother Gold Ship, can we not discuss this?"
From beginning to end, Chiya had never placed Gold Ship in the category of the opposite sex. She did not even really count as the same sex. If he had to classify Gold Ship, he felt labels like "abstract," "alien species," or "non-human" suited her better.
"Oh, so that's how it is, Trainer! You take advantage of me, then pretend to be noble afterward. Just you wait. I'll definitely expose your true nature as a dirty old pervert!"
"I didn't. That was an accident."
"Don't give me that. I saw it. After I ran away, you were still savouring the lingering feeling on your fingers."
"Pfft! Your imagination is way too strong. What lingering feeling could there possibly be?"
"There wasn't?"
Gold Ship took off her hat.
Then Chiya saw a silver-haired beauty standing in front of him.
"Am I really that unbearable in Trainer's heart?"
Looking into those large pink eyes, Chiya's heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth.
"You're… fine, I guess."
"Then when I leaned against you, wasn't Trainer's child very energetic?"
Gold Ship suddenly leaned close to him and whispered into his ear.
"No…"
"Really? Do you want to confirm it again?"
The silver-haired beauty kept moving closer to Chiya.
No.
This person is not Gold Ship!
Chiya began to panic.
Where did you hide my brother?
"Admit it, Trainer. You lost to Gold Ship's charm. Otherwise, I'll have to personally prove it using your body."
"That was just a completely natural reaction. It had nothing to do with my thoughts."
"So you admit it, right? Even if you had no thoughts, you still admit it, right?"
"…Yes."
"Good. Recording acquired!"
The silver-haired beauty put her hat back on, pulled out her phone, and in one second transformed back into the usual Gold Ship.
She burst into loud laughter.
"I knew it, Trainer! You're the kind of pervert who says one thing while your body does another! You kept saying there was nothing, but after a little teasing, you couldn't hold up at all. Of course, I don't blame you, Trainer. Gold Ship's charm is just that powerful."
As she spoke, she flicked her silver hair.
Who are you?
Where did you hide the beautiful girl from earlier?
For some reason, Chiya suddenly felt as though he had been dumped.
Gold Ship seemed very satisfied that Chiya had admitted his reaction. She listened to the recording while Chiya's eyelid twitched. He barely resisted the urge to snatch her phone away.
"So why did you come here this early? Don't tell me it was just to trick me into admitting what happened yesterday."
Gold Ship blinked and thought for a while.
"Right. What was I here for again? Trainer said so many words of praise for little Gold Ship that I got all floaty and forgot."
Please, unknown creature before me, give back the silver-haired beauty from earlier…
"Ah, right. Mona Lisa said she's taking us to the Louvre."
"Who?"
"Mei said she's taking us to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa."
Gold Ship really had no consistency when she spoke.
"Today?"
"Of course. Mei sent you a message last night, didn't she? You didn't see it?"
Last night, Shirayuki had gotten drunk, and Chiya had spent the whole time dealing with her. He had not had time to check his phone at all.
Since Satake Mei had invited them, they might as well go.
Chiya also reflected a little on what Gold Ship had said. He had promised them all kinds of outings, but in the end, they had spent all their time at Tracen. He could not focus only on taking care of Shirayuki and ignore what the others wanted.
"I'll go once I'm ready. Does everyone know?"
"They know. Oh, right. There's still one person who hasn't been told."
"Who?"
"Shirayuki," Gold Ship said. "I haven't been able to contact her since last night. I even went to knock on her dorm room door, but no one was there."
"…"
"Did Shirayuki secretly sneak out to play in the middle of the night? But I didn't see her at the training ground either."
You are seriously ill!
Just to tell her about the outing, you waited outside Shirayuki's dorm until midnight?
Chiya had nothing to say.
"Where do you think she went, Trainer?"
Gold Ship asked casually.
Cold sweat began forming on Chiya's forehead.
"Maybe she went to a friend's room. Shirayuki made a friend here too. The girl called Treve."
"So Shirayuki stayed in Treve's room?"
"Probably not."
"But I waited until midnight last night and didn't see Shirayuki come back."
You are absolutely insane!
"I suspect Shirayuki secretly got close to someone here, and close enough to stay out all night too, Trainer."
Gold Ship's judgement was almost on the same level as Agnes Tachyon's.
Chiya felt as if nothing could be hidden from her. She was clearly an alien weirdo, so why did it feel like she knew everything?
Gold Ship, you aren't pretending to be stupid this whole time, are you?
"We both need to be careful, Trainer. If Shirayuki seduces someone and brings them back, that's fine. But if someone else seduces her away, we're finished. Tracen can't afford to lose its Empress right now."
Gold Ship waved to Chiya and left the room.
After she was gone, Shirayuki stepped out of the wardrobe, covered in sweat. She had been suffocating inside and had not dared make a sound, afraid Gold Ship would notice.
They needed to hurry and get ready. They still had to go out soon.
While the two of them were tidying the room, Gold Ship, outside the door, pressed her ear to the floor.
She heard two sets of footsteps.
I knew it…
If Shirayuki wasn't in her room, she definitely came here!
What's going on, Trainer? Did Shirayuki suit your tastes too well, so you started shifting targets?
And between the two of you, who's actually conquering who?