By the time the three of them ran into the inn, the rain had soaked them to the bone.
Grass Wonder should have been cursing her rotten luck.
Instead, she was in the best mood of her life.
Her gaze slid toward Shirayuki's drenched jacket. The fabric clung to her, revealing a faint glimpse of pale skin beneath, and Grass Wonder couldn't help swallowing.
I want to bury my face in her.
No.
Hold it in.
Now wasn't the time.
They had come all this way through the rain, so of course they would have to take a bath later. And since the inn didn't have spare clothes for them, that meant their coats and underwear would all be hung up to dry.
On top of that, none of them had brought much money. After scraping together every last coin, they had only managed to book a double room.
In other words, poor, pitiful Grass Wonder would simply have no choice but to share a bed with Shirayuki.
And by then, Shirayuki would be like a dessert with the wrapping peeled away.
Grass Wonder could taste her however she wanted.
Better yet, Happy Meek would be sleeping right beside them. The thought of secretly enjoying Shirayuki while Meek lay unaware only made Grass Wonder's excitement climb higher.
"Meek, you should take a bath first," Shirayuki said, wiping her rain-damp body. "Sleeping like this might make you sick."
"Mm. Okay."
Meek took off her coat, then glanced at Grass Wonder, who sat on the sofa with her cheeks slightly flushed. Her pink eyes flickered for a moment before she turned and went into the bathroom.
The moment Meek was gone, Grass Wonder sidled up to Shirayuki.
"Yuki-chan, let me help you get changed."
She didn't wait for an answer. Her hands were already on Shirayuki's hem.
When dealing with Shirayuki, you absolutely could not wait for her to invite you.
Shirayuki was a very independent girl. If she could do something herself, she would never ask anyone for help. Which meant anyone hoping to get a little closer to her rarely found an opening.
Grass Wonder could use the excuse of "we're friends" to cuddle up to her, sure, but that always got interrupted. Special Week would show up. Or El Condor Pasa. Or Seiun Sky.
"Friend" was just too weak of an excuse.
If she and Shirayuki called each other "darling," everyone around them would have to step aside.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that.
For one, Shirayuki had never clearly shown romantic interest in anyone. And even if she had, they still couldn't say it out loud. Shirayuki's current position was too sensitive. If that kind of relationship got exposed, it would cause an absolute storm.
Of course, that didn't stop Grass Wonder from playing games with Shirayuki when no one was watching.
So what if Shirayuki was the untouchable Empress?
At the end of the day, she was still a soft, slender girl.
No matter how much Shirayuki changed, she was still that sweet, squishy Shirayuki.
And just as Grass Wonder had expected, once she pushed a little, Shirayuki obediently gave in.
Grass Wonder hugged Shirayuki's clothes and sniffed the collar.
A tempting fragrance lingered there.
This was Shirayuki's outer wrapping.
Even that smelled delicious.
Now, for the inner layer.
"Grass, we can't take everything off right now. Meek will still be in there for a while," Shirayuki said, hugging her chest as Grass Wonder tried to continue.
"Yuki-chan, wearing wet clothes will make you catch a cold."
Grass Wonder smiled sweetly, then undid the clasp beneath Shirayuki's shirt.
The sight before her made her heart thump hard.
So pretty…
Under the soft lamplight, Shirayuki's skin looked like fine silk, delicate and faintly glowing. Every curve was graceful. Her slender neck. The smooth line of her shoulders. The gentle rise and fall of her breath.
Even Grass Wonder, who thought she was fairly confident in her own looks, felt a strange sense of defeat when she looked at Shirayuki.
Shirayuki had a charm that worked on everyone, boys and girls alike.
"It's cold, Grass."
Grass Wonder said wearing wet clothes would make her catch a cold, but wasn't taking them off even colder?
At least bring me a blanket!
Shirayuki hugged her shoulders.
"It's all right, Yuki-chan. I'll warm you up."
With that, Grass Wonder took off her own coat and hugged Shirayuki from behind.
So soft.
So smooth.
So warm.
Shirayuki's back was so silky it felt like you could slide down it. Back then, Grass Wonder's favorite thing had been touching Shirayuki's back. It was almost as refreshing as cold flowing noodles in summer.
"Still cold, Yuki-chan?"
"Well… not really."
But wasn't this position a little strange?
It was way too intimate.
Come to think of it, Grass Wonder had hugged her like this before. Back then, Shirayuki's head had been filled with all sorts of dangerous thoughts. But now, somehow, all Shirayuki could think was that Grass Wonder's chest wasn't as big as hers.
Her figure had surpassed Grass Wonder's!
What kind of weird girl-to-girl competitive instinct was that?
She had to fix this part of her personality.
Besides, her current size was already perfect. It fit Chiya's hands perfectly and could hold him perfectly too. What else was there to be dissatisfied about?
Thinking that, Shirayuki's heart calmed.
Behind her, Grass Wonder raised an eyebrow.
Strange.
Yuki-chan's reaction wasn't right.
In the past, whenever Grass Wonder pressed against her like this, Shirayuki would blush, her heart would race, and her burning gaze would look like it wanted to devour her whole.
But now Shirayuki was far too calm.
It really felt like the kind of closeness between ordinary friends.
That wasn't the kind of closeness Grass Wonder wanted!
Grass Wonder wanted licking, squeezing, touching. She wanted sparks. Passion. Heat.
Not this plain, peaceful friendship!
Yuki-chan, are you still not better?
Grass Wonder had thought Shirayuki spending every day with Meek meant her condition had improved. Maybe she had developed an interest in that little white uma musume.
But no.
Apparently, they really had just been going out together.
No good!
If Shirayuki couldn't recover on her own, then Grass Wonder would help her recover.
After Meek finished her bath and Shirayuki went in, Grass Wonder looked at Meek, who was sitting on the bed wrapped in a bath towel and combing her hair.
"I'll sleep with Yuki-chan tonight. That's fine, right?"
"Mm."
Meek nodded, her pink eyes fixed on Grass Wonder.
"A little while ago, Shirayuki-onee-san and I planted a lily in the garden. It was originally something I bought for Onee-san, but now, she doesn't need it anymore."
Grass Wonder tilted her head, puzzled.
She had no idea what Meek was talking about.
After finishing her hair, Meek slipped straight under the covers and went to sleep.
Once Grass Wonder finished bathing, she practically flew into Shirayuki's bed.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuki-chan."
Grass Wonder whispered gently beside Shirayuki's ear.
"Meek is already asleep. Yuki-chan, now it's just the two of us. So if you want to do anything to me, you can."
"Mm?"
"I know, Yuki-chan. You used to secretly look at my body. You even took photos of me. So cute. Honestly, Yuki-chan, you could have just told me. I would have let you take as many as you wanted. Any pose you wanted, I'd do it for you."
"!!"
Shirayuki's heart lurched.
She had been caught taking photos of Grass's sleeping face!
And it wasn't only Grass. Back then, Shirayuki had relied on her identity as an uma musume and secretly taken quite a few photos. Grass Wonder, Special Week, Silence Suzuka, even Rudolf.
Of course, after Shirayuki matured, she stopped doing that sort of thing.
"Grass, that was…"
Shirayuki had just started to explain when Grass Wonder pressed a finger to her lips.
"It's fine. I'm happy Yuki-chan took photos of me. I like being photographed by Yuki-chan too. Besides, we already exchanged pajama photos, didn't we? So something like this isn't a big deal."
"But does Yuki-chan only want to take pictures? Isn't there anything else you want to do? It's okay. As long as it's Yuki-chan, I don't mind what you do to me. After all, Yuki-chan is the most important person to me."
As she spoke, Grass Wonder gently kissed Shirayuki's neck.
That was no longer a hint.
That was a flashing neon sign.
Shirayuki paused for two seconds.
"Let's sleep, Grass. We still have school tomorrow."
She stroked Grass Wonder's ear as she said it.
If this had been before, Shirayuki would have lost control long ago.
But now, she was Chiya's girl.
She had no interest in other girls anymore. To Shirayuki, Grass Wonder was her friend, not someone she wanted to date.
Right now, Shirayuki's heart belonged only to herself.
Even if Chiya would not cut off his relationships with the other uma musume, that was a matter for his male body. Shirayuki only wanted to peacefully be his girl.
She liked Chiya's scent.
As for everyone else…
No, thank you.
Shirayuki rejected Grass Wonder's invitation.
Grass Wonder stared at her and blinked.
She had gone that far, and Shirayuki still didn't react.
Clearly, Shirayuki had completely lost interest in girls.
No.
No way!
Grass Wonder was about to cry.
She had already decided that if she ever married anyone, it would be Shirayuki. Didn't Shirayuki used to want her too?
Why didn't she want her anymore?!
Grass Wonder couldn't accept it.
If you won't make a move on me, then I'll make one on you!
Throwing caution to the wind, Grass Wonder hugged Shirayuki around the waist, her hands beginning to wander.
"Grass!?"
Shirayuki called out softly. A second later, Grass Wonder had trapped her legs.
I-It's no use, Grass.
Right now… I really don't feel that way about girls anymore!