"So? How'd it go, Trainer?"
Gold Ship strode up to Fujiwara Chiya, looking absurdly pleased with herself.
"How did what go?"
"You and Shirayuki, duh. Don't tell me you're still pretending."
Fujiwara Chiya coughed violently.
"M-Me and Shirayuki? What about us?"
"Wait. Don't tell me you didn't do it?"
Gold Ship's eyes widened in theatrical shock.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Fujiwara Chiya's back.
Had she noticed?
No. This could not get out.
If Hayakawa Tazuna and the others found out he and Shirayuki had crossed that line, all of Tracen would lose its mind. At the very least, he couldn't let anyone know before Shirayuki's race. Otherwise, he had a strong feeling those frenzied uma musume would tear him limb from limb, leaving him in absolutely no condition to continue training Shirayuki.
Fujiwara Chiya knew this relationship could not stay hidden forever.
But at minimum, it had to wait until Shirayuki's race was over. Once the dust had settled, he would honestly explain his feelings to everyone.
Just imagining that scene made his stomach cramp.
How long would it take for them to accept it?
For now, Fujiwara Chiya planned to quietly maintain his relationship with Shirayuki and wait for the final race.
And yet, Gold Ship had somehow seen through him!
Fujiwara Chiya wiped away his cold sweat without letting it show, then forced himself to stay calm.
"Do what?"
"Counsel Shirayuki, obviously. Why do you think I helped Trainer make an excuse in the first place? It was so you could counsel Shirayuki, help her regain interest in girls, and kick-start her harem life!"
Gold Ship slammed a fist against the desk.
"Tracen can't live without Shirayuki! Just like Paris can't live without baguettes, and the West can't live without Jerusalem!"
Half of Fujiwara Chiya's sweat instantly stopped falling.
So Gold Ship wasn't talking about what he thought she was talking about.
"And then?"
"Hm?"
"Instead of counseling Shirayuki, Trainer went and added her to his own harem, didn't he?"
Fujiwara Chiya's heart skipped a beat.
Nani?
So he had been found out after all?
"Man, and here I was thinking the two of you would carve up all of Tracen between yourselves. Who knew that while you were dividing everyone else, one of you would end up getting divided right into the other person's camp? I wonder whether Shirayuki fell for Trainer first, or Trainer fell for Shirayuki first. Or maybe you both fell for each other at the exact same time?"
Gold Ship plopped down on the sofa and crossed her legs.
"Shirayuki looked seriously motherly when she came back that day. One glance, and I could tell she'd had herself a very unforgettable night."
"Gold Ship, you…"
"Uyaya? Don't tell me Trainer wants to say I'm wrong?"
Gold Ship flashed him a sly grin.
"Trainer, you're seriously underestimating me. If you want to fool the eyes of Gold Ship-sama, you'll need another ten years of training!"
With that, Gold Ship put her hands on her hips and burst into loud laughter.
This girl had known from the start?
Just how much did she know about him and Shirayuki?
Fujiwara Chiya could not read Gold Ship at all.
No, more accurately, ever since the day he first met Gold Ship, he had been dancing in the palm of her hand.
"I, Gold Ship-sama, know everything!"
Then, as if flipping a switch, Gold Ship pinched her chin.
"But if that's the case, Trainer's in big trouble. The second Grass Wonder and the others find out Shirayuki ran off with Trainer, they're definitely coming after you with naginata in hand. At that point, Trainer's life will be in serious danger."
Surely it wouldn't go that far, right?
Yes, Shirayuki was close enough with Grass Wonder and the others that they could practically share the same skirt, but there was no need to chop him to death over this.
Besides, Shirayuki was literally him.
"So that means this matter has to stay secret."
Obviously.
Just then, Fujiwara Chiya noticed the strange smile curling on Gold Ship's face.
Hey.
Wait a second.
What are you planning?
"Heh-heh, Trainer. Your weakness has finally fallen into the hands of Gold Ship-sama!"
It's over!!
The moment he heard those words, Fujiwara Chiya knew disaster had arrived.
This girl had probably been aiming for this from the very beginning!
And he had stepped, one foot after another, right into the trap Gold Ship had set for him.
"Neither Trainer nor Shirayuki wants anyone to find out, right? If people learn you two got together, those harem factions are guaranteed to explode. In other words, right now, I, Gold Ship-sama, am the one holding both of your lifelines. Your lives and deaths are in my hands!"
Gold Ship let out a laugh that was ninety percent supervillain.
"Gold Ship. Are you trying to threaten your teacher?"
"That sounds awful, Trainer. This is called an equivalent exchange. I keep your secret. You give me benefits."
"Guh…"
How had he never noticed before?
Gold Ship was this sinister and cunning?
Unfortunately, Fujiwara Chiya's weakness was currently in her hands.
"What kind of benefits do you want?"
"For starters, give me a shoulder massage."
Gold Ship sat on the sofa and beckoned Fujiwara Chiya over.
The man began kneading her shoulders.
Not as soft as Shirayuki.
But springy.
"Oh… not bad, Trainer. Your technique is pretty good. Looks like you've studied plenty on how to please women, guhyaaaaaa!!"
Gold Ship shrieked.
"I just realized something. If I erase you in this room, then nobody will ever know, right?"
"…Trainer, let's talk this out like civilized people. I'm your uma musume. You can't use violence on me."
"Now you're my uma musume? What were you a second ago?"
"A second ago, I was Gold Ship-sama. Right now, I'm little Gold Ship…"
Wow.
So she had modes.
Fujiwara Chiya could feel that Gold Ship's shoulders were actually rather stiff, so he kept massaging them properly.
"Now, I'll state my second demand."
"Hah?"
"Don't get impatient. No matter how you look at it, I did contribute to Trainer getting to go out, right? If we'd left it up to you, who knows how many years it would've taken? The year of the monkey and the month of the horse, probably."
That was, admittedly, true.
Without Gold Ship, Fujiwara Chiya probably would have had to wait until Europe before he could be with Shirayuki.
"What else do you want?"
He would just consider it a thank-you gift for Gold Ship.
"I want the key to Trainer's room."
"What the heck??"
My room key?
Could it be Director Akikawa's…
No, wait. The Director didn't have a key.
Which meant she was talking about the key to his trainer dorm room?
What was Gold Ship planning?
She had asked for it once before, but Fujiwara Chiya had refused.
"Trainer's room is empty anyway, right? And isn't it a waste to leave that game console sitting there unused? So I'll go over and play when I've got time. Trainer doesn't have any time to play these days anyway. If you leave it alone forever, it might even break."
Gold Ship grinned.
"I promise I won't mess up your room. How about it?"
Looking into those pink eyes of hers, Fujiwara Chiya hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
"Fine. I'll let you go in and play. But if I find out you stayed up playing until some stupid hour and didn't go back, I'm taking the key away."
"Sure, sure."
Gold Ship accepted the key from Fujiwara Chiya, then tucked it into her pocket like it was treasure.
She leaned back on the sofa, letting Fujiwara Chiya knead her shoulders while humming happily to herself.
Looking at Gold Ship, who almost seemed to have returned to that quiet girl from back then, Fujiwara Chiya narrowed his eyes.
Sure enough.
He had absolutely no idea what Gold Ship was thinking.
"Oh, right. Trainer, remember to prepare yourself for long-term blackmail. Don't go thinking Gold Ship-sama will let you off that easily."
Maybe erasing this girl really was the right call.