"Miss Fuka Shirayuki."
A staff member came up to the girl, face earnest, and called her by name.
Sitting backstage, Fuka Shirayuki tilted her head up slightly, proud as a swan. "Yeah?"
"You want my autograph, is that it?"
The staffer fell silent. "…"
After a long while, she forced out an answer. "Yes."
"But there's something more important right now. Did you know? The Winner's Stage is in thirty minutes… we need to prepare in advance, so we came to ask which song you want to perform."
Hearing that, Fuka Shirayuki froze.
She stroked her chin, thinking.
Then she waved a hand casually. "Tell you later."
No other reason—
for the life of her, she couldn't remember what song she'd "copied" in that novel.
So she shooed the staff away, pulled out her phone, and started flipping through chapters at lightning speed.
She couldn't allow even the tiniest detail that might expose her secret identity!!
Fuka Shirayuki didn't even want to imagine it—
if the day she blew her cover ever came, what kind of looks Tokai Teio, Symboli Rudolf, and that green demon would give her…!
Maybe they'd treat her like Shang Yang and subject her to some "airtightness experiments," or something!?
Gah!
No! Not that!
But even after she scrolled to the very end—
she still didn't see the Winner's Stage song she'd supposedly copied.
She…
did she… not write the Winner's Stage part at all?
What!?
A bad feeling hit her hard.
She locked the door, took a deep breath, stood in place… and tried out the "sing-and-dance ability" in her body.
To be honest—
four words summed it up:
"Despair Dance Steps."
Imagine this: you've just watched an Uma Musume race. A dark horse wins first place out of nowhere. You're excited to see her Winner's Stage performance—
and then she suddenly starts doing a truly awful dance.
So awful she emergency-cuts the performance mid-way—
because even Fuka Shirayuki herself can't accept it…
If her hair turned into wide glass noodles, she could probably isekai into the world of Marvelous Dance Steps with zero sense of dissonance.
The girl stared at the floor,
deep in thought.
If she started copying something now… would there still be time?
"Definitely not," the system suddenly popped out to roast her. "Can you finish writing the plot in thirty minutes? Even if you could… you don't have any popularity points or 'history-rewrite' power right now to make what you wrote become real!"
Fuka Shirayuki raised her head expressionlessly.
She stared at the pale-blue panel floating in midair and asked with a gentle smile:
"System."
"You wouldn't want your host to be unable to perform the Winner's Stage, would you?"
System: "..."
What the hell are you even saying!?
Right after that, Fuka Shirayuki sat down and started typing into a document.
This was what being a dedicated webnovel author meant!
Even with a Winner's Stage performance about to happen, she still had to squeeze in time and write one more chapter!
Webnovel authors are just that dedicated!!!
…
…
[Winner's Stage song selection: "Linkin Park — Heavy Is The Crown"][]
"...Sniff."
Tokai Teio finally managed to calm down a little.
She cried and cried… until she felt like she didn't even have the strength left to cry. She was exhausted—so exhausted.
She was sitting backstage now, with the Lady beside her, saying comforting things, hoping Teio would get over it sooner:
"A debut race doesn't prove anything! My first debut race, I lost too!"
"Debut race distances are usually short, plus unexpected situations…"
"Sometimes you just wipe out—but that doesn't mean your ability is the problem."
Tokai Teio pressed her lips together and didn't respond.
She only felt that her dream of an undefeated Triple Crown was already gone—
and she looked completely drained.
And right around then—
Ding-dong-chicken.
Her phone chimed with a notification…
Tokai Teio clenched her fist so hard her nails nearly pierced flesh. She felt that unwillingness, felt the pain—she didn't even dare to look at the screen!
She was afraid that if she opened it, it would be a message from Symboli Rudolf…
That she…
had disappointed the president again.
"See? See?" the Lady noticed Teio's emotions.
The Queen of Flowers wanted to prove to Teio—prove that Symboli Rudolf absolutely wouldn't scold her for this!
So she snatched the phone from Teio's hand and turned on the screen herself.
No unlock—she didn't know Teio's password, but that didn't matter. She could still read the notification.
Surprisingly, it wasn't a message from the Emperor.
It was a subscription alert from an app.
"Your bookmarked novel has updated!"
The Lady read the notification out loud, word for word.
Tokai Teio sprang up. "What!?"
She didn't even have time to be sad anymore—when she heard that, she suddenly realized:
Her ending—her fall from first—had played out exactly like that novel described—!
Who the hell was that author?
What were they writing now!?
All other emotions vanished.
Tokai Teio only wanted to know: what prophecy was that author going to make next!?
Would they write her future?
No, no, no—
How could anyone in this world predict the future?
Excited and nervous, Tokai Teio unlocked the phone and tapped into the newest chapter.
[Chapter 13: Heavy Is the Crown.]
"..."
Tokai Teio went silent again.
She stood there blankly for a long time, then squeezed out a sound from her throat:
"…Huh?"
What…
does that mean?
Tokai Teio didn't understand.
But she felt like she could guess the rough idea…
A lightning bolt of "inspiration" struck her mind—Tokai Teio instantly "understood" everything!
Th-This—
She got so worked up she started to fume!
Wasn't this hinting at her?
Hinting that Tokai Teio wasn't prepared—or rather…
not prepared to wear the crown!
That she wasn't worthy to inherit the Emperor's mantle, not worthy to dream of an undefeated Triple Crown!
She didn't even know how heavy the crown was!
This was a blatant hint!
This author was hinting that she was just a rookie Uma Musume who didn't know her place!
"…" Understanding it again, Tokai Teio bit her lower lip, the faint taste of blood spreading in her mouth.
Tears welled up again.
She only thought—no, I can't cry!
She had to bear this pressure!
If she cried again—
wouldn't that just "confirm" the author's prophecy, that she didn't understand the weight of the crown!?
Meanwhile, the Lady was happily flipping through the chapter, and saw the song predicted for today's Winner's Stage:
"Heavy Is The Crown?"
She rubbed her chin again, thinking:
Never heard this one…
But—
just as Tokai Teio was trying to force herself to hold it together—
she heard the Lady's "mockery," and Teio burst out crying again with a "Waaah!!!"
"Why are you mocking me like this—waaah! I already lost the race!!" Tokai Teio bawled.
"I don't get it! I don't understand!"
"One day! If I find out who you are, I'll go all-out and spice-blast you!"
Tokai Teio (after thinking deeply for 40 meters per second): "BLAST!!!"
Lady: "!?!?!?"
Fuka Shirayuki could never imagine that she'd casually copied a song…
and Tokai Teio would go completely feral over it.
Teio wasn't just listening casually—
she was doing reading comprehension!
The Lady was sweating bullets now.
If someone told the Lady one day that Tokai Teio would get kicked like roadside trash by some suddenly-appearing country bumpkin Uma Musume…
would she believe it?
Answer:
Absolutely not!
The Lady believed in Tokai Teio's strength!
But the problem was, it had already become a cold, hard fact.
The Lady still had no idea who Fuka Shirayuki was, so she could only comfort the sobbing Teio again.
Listening to Teio's muffled crying…
the Lady's feelings were complicated.
It was immoral, but she was also a little relieved—
relieved she hadn't run into Fuka Shirayuki.
Then came an intense curiosity.
The Queen of Flowers was dying to know: who exactly was this Fuka Shirayuki?
If strength was justice, then current-day Fuka Shirayuki was practically the truth of the world itself!
She was very curious whether she might meet this out-of-nowhere Uma Musume next year.
And if they did meet—
what kind of duel would they deliver?
And…
right at that moment.
The Lady suddenly lifted her head, like she'd sensed something.
She saw white hair glittering under the dazzling sunlight.
She saw an Uma Musume walking over, backlit.
"…"
For no reason, her heart felt like it was being clenched hard!
The Lady couldn't breathe, and even wanted to step back instinctively.
Her slender fingers—midway through patting Tokai Teio's back—froze in midair.
Confusion filled her mind.
What was going on?
She'd heard that some extremely strong Uma Musume, when their "heart," "body," and "skill" all reached the limit, could create a mysterious domain—entering a ZONE flow state.
At that time, just their peak aura alone could crush unqualified opponents.
Was this… that kind of domain pressure?
Then Teio's loss wasn't unfair!
The Lady thought.
—But actually, it wasn't.
Fuka Shirayuki didn't even know what a "domain" skill was yet.
What filled the Lady's heart was, in truth, a sense of guilt.
She had forgotten what she'd once done to Fuka Shirayuki—
but her body hadn't forgotten.
That high-and-mighty line-drawing, that sacred severing—
was something she did as a child, immature and not yet grown.
So the Lady didn't want to face Fuka Shirayuki.
Watching the girl approach, the Lady couldn't help stepping back and placing Tokai Teio in front of herself—protectively!
Teio: "…?"
"Are you here to mock me too?" Tokai Teio asked, looking at Fuka Shirayuki.
Teio's small face was red from crying… tear tracks still on it, fragile like something cracked.
Fuka Shirayuki looked at her with indifferent eyes, empty of emotion—cold as ice.
She didn't say much.
She only gave a light chuckle, then tried to pass Teio and walk toward the Winner's Stage behind them.
I'm just here to perform.
Sis,
your sense of self-importance is kinda strong, huh?
And at that moment…
the Lady suddenly felt a familiar feeling surge up.
Looking at Fuka Shirayuki's face, she found it unbearably familiar… She could no longer endure the torment.
Gathering her courage, she asked:
"Have we…"
"…met somewhere before?"
Fuka Shirayuki stopped.
She turned her head, looked straight into the Lady's eyes, and said seriously:
"Secretly crushing on me?"
"Upgrade to VIP. Last chance."
With that—
she turned and left again.
Lady: "???"
What is this girl even saying!?
But…
watching Fuka Shirayuki's back, the Lady's feelings were complicated.
She only thought about the simplest thing:
Maybe Fuka Shirayuki used to be a nobody, an unknown country girl—
but after defeating Tokai Teio…
from today onward,
who in the world won't know her name?
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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