"Shirayuki, when are you coming over?"
Inside the VR racecourse, Treve sat beside Shirayuki and asked with a pout.
"Probably around June."
"That's still five months away! So long…"
Treve turned over and flopped onto Shirayuki's lap, making her dissatisfaction very clear.
In the virtual world, an uma musume's physical abilities carried over, but their unique traits could not be fully recreated. For example, Shirayuki's scent.
Back then, Treve had been hopelessly addicted to it. Even tasting her had carried a faint sweetness. But now, Treve couldn't smell that fragrance on Shirayuki at all.
This was awful.
If she couldn't sniff Shirayuki, she was going to die!
The photos Shirayuki sent every day didn't satisfy her in the slightest. Treve wanted the real thing!
"One of my races got scheduled for June. I can't really help it." Shirayuki gently stroked her head.
As an older horse, Shirayuki's schedule was actually rather relaxed. There weren't many races she absolutely had to enter. The Spring Tenno Sho, which would originally have been the most challenging one, was out of the question because of Shirayuki's distance suitability. Even if she ran herself to death, there was no way she could last three thousand two hundred meters.
So the only two races Shirayuki needed to run were the Osaka Hai in March and the Takarazuka Kinen in June.
Both were GⅠ races. With Shirayuki's current strength, anything below GⅠ offered almost no difficulty. Only GⅠ races could truly sharpen her.
In truth, going to Europe as early as possible would help Shirayuki more. The racecourses there were more challenging, and she could learn far more experience. However, first, France would not unilaterally provide ten straight months of support and care. Second, there were races in Japan she had to run.
The Takarazuka Kinen, just like the Arima Kinen, was an all-star race where participation was decided by fan votes.
Originally, this race mainly featured uma musume from the Kansai region, but after Shirayuki's victory in the Japan Cup and her astonishing performance in the Arima Kinen, she had become a national-level uma musume. At that point, Kanto and Kansai no longer mattered. No matter which side voted, she would be at the top of the rankings.
That meant she had to run at Hanshin Racecourse.
So even though Shirayuki wanted to go to Europe and improve herself, she still wanted to look after the fans who supported her. She wanted to stay in Japan and answer their expectations.
"I feel like Shirayuki is definitely going to become a wonderful wife someday."
Lying on Shirayuki's lap, Treve smiled.
"Eh? You think so?"
"Of course. Girls who are this considerate of other people are rare."
Treve had already begun imagining the blissful life of eating Shirayuki's breakfast every morning.
Shirayuki scratched her cheek.
A wife, huh…
She thought of the wedding photo she had taken with Chiya. Shirayuki had stuck it inside her wardrobe and hidden it behind a poster. Whenever no one was around, she would secretly take a few peeks at it.
Remembering how she had looked back then, Shirayuki's heart began to pound.
She wanted to wear a wedding dress again.
"My trainer's calling me, Shirayuki. I'll head back first."
As if she had heard something, Treve's ears twitched, and she sat up.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot this."
Treve leaned closer and closed her eyes.
Looking at those fluttering eyelashes, Shirayuki glanced left and right. After confirming that no one was paying attention, she cupped Treve's cheeks and planted a kiss on her lips.
Treve immediately beamed.
Even if she couldn't enjoy Shirayuki's taste, being able to enjoy Shirayuki's sweet kiss still made Treve very happy. In her next race, she would once again bring out two hundred percent of her spirit and crush her opponents to pieces.
After Treve logged off, Shirayuki trained alone for a while longer.
Around her, a group of world-class uma musume all stared at her with wary eyes. Everyone knew that Japan's "Empress" would return to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October to take revenge on Treve. And every one of them was also an opponent the Empress would have to face.
Some uma musume quietly stood nearby, analyzing Shirayuki's running style while she trained.
Shirayuki, meanwhile, kept changing her posture, tossing smoke bombs at them one after another.
Disguising herself had already become instinct.
A race often began the very moment a goal was chosen.
After she finished training and came out of VR, someone from the student council came looking for her.
"Shirayuki-senpai, President Rudolf is asking for you."
"Okay. I'll head over now."
When Shirayuki arrived at the student council room, Rudolf rose from her desk, brewed her a cup of tea, and sat across from her.
"The exchange student approvals have come through. Next week, Paris Tracen's first group of exchange students will be coming to our academy."
"That fast?"
"Yes. Thanks to a certain someone's very active performance, all Tracen-related affairs have been raised to the highest priority. Our efficiency is at least twice what it used to be."
The corners of Rudolf's mouth rose, unable to hide her smile.
"Our students will go to Paris Tracen and learn their training methods. I believe the impact will be quite significant. But… it will be a good impact. It will make them stronger."
"Mm, I think so too. This will be the moment Japan Tracen's fate begins to change."
At that, Rudolf straightened her posture. She placed her teacup to the side and lowered her head to Shirayuki.
"This is all thanks to you, Shirayuki. On behalf of every uma musume, I thank you."
"President Rudolf! Please don't do that. I'm your right-hand girl, aren't I?"
"Sorry. I know. But if I didn't say it properly, my heart wouldn't be at ease."
Rudolf smiled. Her expression looked lighter than it had in a long time.
"Please don't scare me like that, President. How could I possibly accept such a grand gesture from you?"
Shirayuki's heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
She had just made the first undefeated Triple Crown winner in Japanese history bow her head to her. That was way too much pressure. She was going to get crushed under the praise before she even knew what hit her.
"President Rudolf, you didn't call me here just to thank me, did you? Because if that's all, I'm running away."
"Haha, my apologies. That was simply something I wanted to do. I did call you here for official business," President Rudolf said. "Shirayuki, you spent quite a long time at Paris Tracen, didn't you? How did you get along with the students there?"
"Pretty well. Everyone was nice."
"How is your French?"
"French?"
Shirayuki felt like she was beginning to understand why Rudolf had called her here.
"Barely passable. If the other person talks and gestures at the same time, I should be able to understand."
"Then may I entrust those students to you? There are very few teachers at Tracen who speak French, and Central is short-handed as well. So we need a student who understands French to help them."
"Sure. Once they arrive, leave them to me."
"Thank you, Shirayuki. To be honest, I originally intended to teach myself French, but it seems I overestimated my ability to study."
Rudolf revealed a slightly embarrassed expression.
"President, I'm right here beside you. You don't need to handle everything by yourself."
"…You're right."
Looking at Shirayuki's smile, Rudolf froze for a moment.
Then, suddenly, she noticed the blue necklace around Shirayuki's neck.
"Shirayuki, that is?"
"Ah… I bought this necklace for myself. What do you think, President? Is it pretty?"
"It's very beautiful. It suits you perfectly."
"Hehe~"
Shirayuki smiled. Her slender fingers gently brushed over the necklace. Her sky-blue eyes shimmered faintly, and a blissful expression softened her face.
"Then I'll be going now, President Rudolf. Call me again if you need anything."
"Mm. Sorry for taking up your time."
After Shirayuki left, Rudolf took a sip of her tea.
What a good girl.
Originally, Rudolf had felt a little regretful that Teio was not worthy of Shirayuki.
But now, looking at it again, it seemed there wasn't a single child in Tracen who could match her.
There were more people who liked Shirayuki than Rudolf could count on both hands. But as for someone who could make Shirayuki fall for them, there was no clear candidate in Tracen.
Now, Shirayuki had become a flower on a high peak, too far above everyone else to reach.
Just who would that child end up falling in love with?
Symboli Rudolf was incredibly curious.