After leaving the virtual world, Dream Weaver didn't immediately have Sugar Lights check the hardware.
Instead, she put on a mask of perfect composure and headed straight for her real-world training session.
It wasn't until she re-entered the simulation the following day that she noticed the shift.
The loading speeds and interface were worlds apart from before; as she scrolled through the sprawling list of competitors, Dream realized that yesterday's encounter had been her first and final meeting with that projection of the future.
She had expected as much.
After all, "special" only truly carries weight when it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal.
As the only hidden mission she'd ever triggered, it wasn't hard to imagine that the door to that hyper-realistic world would slide shut once the task was complete.
Prepared for the quiet departure, Dream didn't dwell on it. She simply stuck to the plan and focused on her rehabilitation training.
Thanks to the efforts of Sugar Lights and Agnes Tachyon, her physical recovery was progressing faster than she'd dared to hope.
The time she gained back allowed her to do something that hadn't originally been on her schedule.
On December 24th—Christmas Eve, and exactly one week before the opening of this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe—Dream Weaver arrived in Paris with her team.
Stepping out of the Paris international airport, Hishi Miracle shivered as a gust of cold wind hit her full force.
She instinctively buried her face in her scarf, but as a first-timer abroad, the sheer thrill of travel quickly overpowered the bite of the December chill.
"The Paris sky!"
Once she caught her breath, Miracle pointed up at the somewhat overcast sky and shouted to the group behind her. Beside her, Liberty Island pulled out her phone and snapped a photo.
"The Paris cars!"
The moment the words left Miracle's mouth, Liberty Island aimed her camera and took a shot of the private car that had been pre-booked to pick them up.
"The Paris English! Wait, Paris is in France, right? Why is everything in English?"
Before Miracle could even finish her sentence, Liberty Island had already captured a photo of the nearby signage.
"Take a wild guess why they call it an 'International' airport," Dream said, giving Miracle a playful flick on the head. She pointed to the text just below the English script. "French is right there underneath it."
Miracle rubbed her head and stuck out her tongue. She quickly waved Liberty Island over, then pulled Dream, Agnes Tachyon, and Sugar Lights toward the lens.
"And finally, the Paris version of us!"
Seeing her in such high spirits, everyone gave a smile and a peace sign for the camera.
The driver, who had been waiting patiently by the car, saw that they had finished their photo op and approached them with a polite smile.
"Miss Dream Weaver, shall I help you load your luggage into the car now?"
Hearing this blonde, blue-eyed, quintessentially French driver speak fluent Japanese sent Miracle's eyes wide with shock.
"No need, we can manage," Dream declined with a smile. As Uma Musume, the weight of a few suitcases was nothing to them.
She patted Miracle on the shoulder to snap her out of her daze. Then, gripping her own bag in one hand and helping the less mobile Sugar Lights with her suitcase in the other, Dream headed toward the vehicle.
Following Dream's lead, Miracle didn't dare slack off. She grabbed her things and jogged to the car door, managing to pull it open just before Dream arrived.
Meeting Dream's gaze, Miracle gave a goofy grin and shouted with mock-seriousness, "Reporting for duty!"
Dream shook her head and chuckled but didn't refuse the gesture. She stowed the luggage in the already open trunk and was the first to hop inside.
The others followed suit. The international airport was about twenty-five kilometers from the heart of Paris, but the group had already decided to stay at a hotel near Longchamp Racecourse, the venue for the Arc.
After a thirty-kilometer drive that took about half an hour, the car dropped them off at the Astotel Regent's Garden Hotel.
The hotel manager, who had been expecting them, signaled for the porters to take their bags and guided Dream's group to their pre-selected rooms.
Watching a porter bow and depart after dropping off the bags, Miracle muttered curiously to herself, "Is it just me, or is the service on this trip incredibly high-end? This is way more intense than when I went to Kyoto for the Kikuka-sho."
Back then, they hadn't received any special treatment—no one to carry bags, and certainly no private cars. They had just hailed a random taxi outside the station.
"Probably because Master is a VIP," Liberty Island replied, scrolling through the photos she'd just taken.
She wasn't acting as hyper as Miracle, but as it was also her first time out of the country, she was just as obsessed with documenting everything.
"I've been here so many times that the transport company and the hotel are just used to me," Dream said nonchalantly.
The day after she announced her comeback to the world, her phone had been flooded with international texts from Paris.
This hotel and the car service had reached out with a familiar tone, asking if she wanted the "usual arrangements."
Likely because the "Dream Weaver" in the simulation's history had challenged the Arc de Triomphe so many times, the local service industry had grown accustomed to this annual visitor. They had a refined, clockwork routine just for her.
Focusing entirely on her training, Dream hadn't felt like fussing over logistics, so she'd simply agreed. That was the reason for the red-carpet treatment they'd received since landing.
On second thought, however, there was something slightly dark about it. Only someone cursed by the "Arc Curse" would visit Paris frequently enough to earn VIP status.
While the jokes about this world's version of Dream and her Arc curse were numerous, Liberty Island and Hishi Miracle clearly didn't think now was the time for humor.
They stole a glance at each other, both seeing a flicker of unease in the other's eyes.
Before either could figure out how to respond without mentioning the curse, Dream stepped toward the door and looked back at them.
"Alright, you girls get some rest at the hotel. I'm going to head over to Longchamp to get a feel for the track."
"If you need a training partner, Miracle and I can—"
Liberty Island, who had been acting as her primary pacer all month, spoke up quickly. Beside her, Miracle nodded vigorously in agreement.
"No need. Training starts tomorrow. You've been on a plane for over ten hours; go sleep," Dream said with a light laugh, waving them off. She could see the worry written clearly on their faces.
"Relax. I'm just going to look at the environment today. I'll be back soon."
With Dream putting her foot down, there wasn't much they could say.
They could only stand there, wide-eyed, watching her silhouette disappear down the hall.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.