Mejiro Dober was panicking.
When she woke up in the morning, Shirayuki was gone.
There was only a note left on the table.
[I'm going to a hot spring inn. I won't be back for the next few days. Chiya is with me, so don't worry.]
The moment she read that, Mejiro Dober's already dangling heart dropped dead on the spot.
While she was asleep, Shirayuki had run away with their trainer.
What kind of joke was this?!
Last night, everyone had been happily celebrating her victory, and then the very next day she pulled something like this?!
Were you even celebrating the same thing as the rest of us?!
Damn it. I should've noticed sooner!
On the night of the celebration party, everyone had been congratulating Shirayuki. Only Fujiwara Chiya sat off to the side, silent, simply watching Shirayuki without saying a word.
At the time, Mejiro Dober had thought that even if the trainer had nothing to say to her, he should at least put on a little performance in front of everyone. Say something about how happy he was for Shirayuki's victory. Offer a proper toast. Make it look like he meant it.
Now that she thought about it, there was a very real chance the trainer had simply been staring at Shirayuki in a daze.
Beautiful. Strong. Responsible. Good at housework.
As an uma musume, and even as a woman, Shirayuki had no flaws at all. Especially on the track, where she had shown overwhelming strength and crushed the entire field. She had gained a massive number of fans, and Mejiro Dober herself had been so happy she nearly jumped up and shouted, "Did you see that?! That's my Shirayuki!"
Even other girls were hopelessly charmed by Shirayuki. What chance did a hot-blooded trainer have?
Even if Shirayuki was the trainer, Mejiro Dober fully believed she had enough charm to make herself fall for herself.
What am I supposed to do now?!
Mejiro Dober was falling apart.
She felt like this note might as well have been a breakup letter. She hadn't even had time to show Shirayuki off properly, and Shirayuki had already dumped her in the dorm and left her behind.
The fact that the trainer had gone out with Shirayuki on purpose without inviting her said enough.
The trainer only wanted to be with Shirayuki.
It hurt.
Mejiro Dober wanted to cry.
The trainer had finally become famous. The family head had even sent a congratulatory message. Mejiro Dober had planned to use this chance to tell her mother about her relationship with the trainer, then bring the trainer to the Mejiro household. After that, the three of them could live happily together.
In her dreams, Mejiro Dober had even thought up names for their children.
Then she opened her eyes, and her home was gone!
"This is just… just too much…!"
Mejiro Dober could not accept it.
The trainer had abandoned so many uma musume and run away with Shirayuki.
She looked at the clock on the wall. After she had discovered the note and gone through an entire hour of mental warfare, it was now ten in the morning.
There was still time.
Even if the trainer really was planning to do something with Shirayuki, the two of them definitely wouldn't choose broad daylight.
The note said hot spring inn, which meant there was a high chance they had booked a reservation in advance.
There were still eight hours until sunset.
Mejiro Dober had to find the trainer before then.
The trainer was hers.
Shirayuki was hers too.
Mejiro Dober would absolutely not allow those two to go solo when the situation had been looking so good!
At the same time, in Akikawa Yayoi's room, Hayakawa Tazuna was absolutely furious.
"You're saying Chiya and Shirayuki went out to have fun? And you told them they could come back whenever they wanted!?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Akikawa Yayoi shrank her neck in. She had no idea why Tazuna was so angry. "I know Chiya's personality. At most, he'll play around for a week. There's another race next month, so there's no way he'll delay things for too long."
"That's not the problem!"
Tazuna slapped the table.
Akikawa Yayoi jumped in fright. She clutched her hat and carefully looked at Tazuna.
"Yayoi, you idiot. Giving them even two days off is already extremely dangerous. You have to understand, the current Shirayuki is… a heartthrob! And she's still riding the high from winning her race!"
"I know. So what?"
Being excited after a win was normal.
And no matter how much of a heartthrob Shirayuki was, she was still Chiya's uma musume.
On top of that, it wasn't like this was Shirayuki's first time running off to Chiya's room.
So what if the two of them went out together?
Tazuna opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"Where did they go? Didn't you say you gave them a hot spring voucher?"
"Mm. I'm not sure which one it was."
"Hah? You did that on purpose, didn't you, Yayoi!"
"I gave Chiya so many hot spring vouchers! How could I possibly remember every single one?! I just grabbed one at random and handed it to him!"
"You… If something happens, it's all your fault!"
"What could happen? Chiya is a grown man. Are you worried he'll get lost?"
"I can't get through to you. I'm calling Chiya."
"Chiya's phone is with me."
Akikawa Yayoi glanced at the phone on the table.
"…Why?"
"It kept ringing nonstop. Call after call after call. It's turned off now. Otherwise, it wouldn't stop making noise."
"Hey, Yayoi… If you took Chiya's phone, how am I supposed to contact him? You absolutely did this on purpose, didn't you?!"
Tazuna, looking like a wrathful guardian statue, pinched Akikawa Yayoi by the ear. The pain made Yayoi yelp.
"You definitely kept some other way to contact him, didn't you?"
"N-No, I didn't…"
Akikawa Yayoi looked away.
"Give it to me, Yayoi. Before I get angry."
"Eek! I don't have anything! Nothing at all!"
Akikawa Yayoi hugged her head and crouched on the sofa, refusing to talk no matter what.
Chiya, go enjoy your life.
This big sister can only help you this much!
"Achoo!"
Fujiwara Chiya rubbed his nose.
"Weird. I feel like someone just called my name…"
"Your cotton candy, sir."
"Right. Thank you."
After paying, Fujiwara Chiya handed the cotton candy to Shirayuki.
The two of them were currently on their way to the hot spring inn. It was a little far, out in the suburbs of Tokyo. Just far enough to escape the noise of the city.
Fujiwara Chiya wasn't in a hurry either.
He planned to walk there slowly with Shirayuki.
It felt like it had been a long time since he had been this relaxed.
When they went to the amusement park, Fujiwara Chiya had still been a little goal-oriented. He had wanted to experience every ride and squeeze every yen's worth out of the ticket price.
But today, he was here purely to unwind.
They could play however they wanted.
Eat whatever they wanted.
Stuff like nutritional balance could be thrown to the back of the line for now.
Shirayuki was ready to indulge.
Chiya had finally gotten money. That meant she could finally eat something good.
I'm basically a little rich lady now, right?
No more desperately searching for buffet restaurants that haven't blacklisted me yet, then sneaking in and stuffing myself silly.
Having money really is the best!
Shirayuki rubbed her stomach, her face glowing with happiness.
Delicious food.
Pretty clothes.
And also…
Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye.
She stopped without thinking.
"A wedding dress…"
"Photography."
Shirayuki and Chiya spoke at the same time.
Looking at the pure white wedding dress displayed behind the glass window, Shirayuki couldn't help walking over.
"Hello. Are you interested in taking wedding photos?" the clerk at the entrance asked.
Shirayuki swallowed.
Her heart was pounding wildly.
"Yes. I want to take them."