Shirayuki moved way too fast.
She had not even been in Paris for a month, and she was already greeting people by pressing cheeks.
And this was not just anyone. It was Treve, a famous uma musume known throughout Europe.
As expected of Tracen's renowned little Empress. She really had a talent for getting close to others.
Watching Shirayuki and Treve interact, Gold Ship rubbed her chin.
Sometimes, you had to be flexible. If you could not beat the other side's uma musume, you dealt with the other side's trainer. If you could not pass them on the track, then you passed them off the track.
If Shirayuki could pull Treve into her arms, wouldn't the race be as good as settled?
Wait.
Could that be Shirayuki's plan?
Was that why she had been getting close to Treve?
Thinking of this, Gold Ship's eyes widened.
She had thought Shirayuki was just an innocent sweet girl. Even if she possessed the dignity of an Empress, that did not change her nature. But what if Shirayuki had been pretending all along? What if she had disguised herself as pure and innocent in order to strike hard outside the racecourse, date those uma musume, and make them shy?
Once those uma musume became completely devoted to her, she would defeat them in a race and seize both their hearts and bodies.
Too terrifying!
Gold Ship covered her mouth.
What kind of devilish woman could come up with a strategy like that?
Not only the uma musume, even the trainer had been captured by Shirayuki. The reason she kept going to Chiya's dorm must have been to take him into her collection too.
So the one building the harem was not Chiya.
It was Shirayuki…
Gold Ship's thoughts spun wildly.
She had still been wondering who was conquering whom between those two, but it turned out there was no need to compare.
Shirayuki had already gone on a rampage.
In that case, Gold Ship would firmly stand on Shirayuki's side.
After Shirayuki and Treve finished pressing cheeks, Gold Ship seized the opportunity and approached Treve.
"Yo, little foreigner. Got a minute? I'll show you something good."
"?"
Treve tilted her head.
Her understanding of Japanese was still incomplete. She could only pick out a few words from Gold Ship's speech.
It seemed the other girl wanted to show her something.
"Gold Ship, what are you trying to do?"
Seeing Gold Ship move closer to Treve, Shirayuki immediately felt that she was about to cause trouble again. Chiya was not here, so Shirayuki was basically the second-in-command of the team. Her words carried even more weight than Mei's.
"I'm just saying a few words to her."
"Hah? Can she even understand you?"
"She doesn't need to understand. Treve and I are going to communicate on a spiritual level."
Spiritual?
You don't even have a heart.
"Anyway, I've got business with her. You all watch the show first."
With that, Gold Ship dragged Treve to the side.
Shirayuki narrowed her eyes.
Gold Ship's most annoying feature was that mouth of hers. If she did not speak, she was a proper silver-haired beauty. Shirayuki had even prayed to the gods before that she would one day be unable to understand anything Gold Ship said. That way, she could preserve a beautiful fantasy of Gold Ship.
In any case, Treve could not understand her words either. No matter how much Gold Ship messed around, she probably would not cause too much trouble.
So Shirayuki let her be and shifted her attention to the racecourse.
A group of uma musume were performing a dance. They wore colourful outfits and danced in the distinctive Parisian style while running swiftly forward. It was a dance only uma musume could perform. They looked like a flowing rainbow, a sight that could not be understood through descriptions alone.
The grand spectacle left Shirayuki dazzled.
Rice Shower and the others leaned against the window, their expressions full of excitement.
Locals might have already gotten used to it, but for foreign visitors like them, this was an unforgettable visual feast.
On the other side, Gold Ship brought Treve to a corner.
"I'll keep this short, since you can't understand me anyway. Since you like Shirayuki so much, I'll give you a secret strategy guide."
Gold Ship pulled several photos from her pocket.
There were photos of Shirayuki changing clothes, eating, sleeping, wearing a dance outfit, and all kinds of other styles from all kinds of angles. The most striking one was a dance photo of Shirayuki in her racing outfit, looking both handsome and beautiful.
Treve could not understand what Gold Ship was saying, but the moment she saw those photos that looked good enough to use as wallpapers, her eyes went straight to them.
Her gaze stopped on the dance photo.
"Listen up, little foreign uma musume. Shirayuki is famous at our school. People who want to dance with her have to line up. Now that she's here and doesn't have many people around her, this is your big chance. And don't be fooled by how pure she looks. Basically, she'll fall over with one push. Super easy to win over. These photos are yours as a deposit. Once you two get together, you can take as many as you want."
Gold Ship gave her a thumbs-up.
"Do your best and become Shirayuki's number one harem member."
Under Treve's confused gaze, Gold Ship ran away.
Treve looked down at the photos in her hands.
So beautiful.
They were completely worth collecting.
And that formal outfit…
Treve's eyes flickered.
Could Shirayuki also do ballroom dancing?
She could too!
If there was a chance, she wanted to dance with Shirayuki.
As she kept flipping through the photos, Treve saw Shirayuki's close friends in them.
They were hugging and kissing Shirayuki, and Shirayuki did not look annoyed at all. If anything, she looked very happy.
Seeing those people interact so intimately with Shirayuki, Treve felt an unfamiliar emotion rise in her chest.
"Gold Ship, what did you say to Treve?"
"I talked about major life decisions."
There was no point expecting a serious answer from Gold Ship.
Shirayuki turned to Treve, who had returned behind Gold Ship.
"Are you okay?"
Treve shook her head.
"Nothing happened."
She showed the same cheerful smile as usual.
That made Shirayuki even more curious about what Gold Ship had done this time.
But she had no time to think about that now.
The dance performance ended, and next came the uma musume exhibition races. Of course, they were called exhibition races, but the participants had no intention of holding back.
Chiya entered the racecourse.
At the same time, the announcer's voice rang out.
"Next, please welcome our special guest, Trainer Fujiwara Chiya from Japan! As a trainer, he has trained himself day after day so that one day, he can personally defeat uma musume!"
Satake Mei translated the announcer's words.
Shirayuki frowned.
Who wrote this dramatic introduction for me?
What kind of trainer trains himself for the sake of personally defeating uma musume?
Still, she had to admit the announcer's words successfully stirred up the crowd. Soon, the attention of the entire venue gathered on Chiya.
"Onii-sama! Do your best!"
Rice Shower once again transformed into his little fangirl, waving her cheering clappers with all her might.
Treve also looked excited. This was her first time seeing a trainer personally step onto the racecourse.
Soon, the participants entered the gates.
Under the curious gazes of the uma musume around him, Chiya took his starting stance.
Calm down.
This is not my first race.
So what if I'm entering with my male body?
This is all for the appearance fee…
No.
This is all for Shirayuki!
He would use his own body to test the strength of European uma musume.