Right at this moment—
While Fuka Shirayuki is training, elsewhere in Tracen Academy…
At the center of the "stage" stands [Queen of Flowers · Lady], and—
"Jifeng."
The girl has long, deep-blue hair. What's most striking—what you'd remember at a glance—are her eyes: irises that fade from violet into blue. Even the bangs on her forehead carry a pure-white, diamond-shaped mark.
[Highlands of Snow, Unbending Peak · Jifeng.]
No matter how unwilling she is to admit it…
Jifeng and Lady come from the same Uma Musume family—just different branches split from the same line.
A tight red thread binds them together. The two who grew up side by side have never been able to stand each other, each wanting to be "queen" more than the other.
To defeat Jifeng / to defeat Lady—defeating the other is their shared wish.
But they still haven't had the chance to truly face off. They've only just completed their debut races in quick succession. Their "fate" is meant to play out on a legendary G1 stage; their story will be passed down forever, and the victor will be praised for generations.
The teacher on the platform has already left with the lesson plan.
Sitting in the back row, Jifeng turns her gaze toward the window, watching the bright, sunlit scenery—yet her ears are tuned to her classmates, who are gossiping about something that sounds almost like an urban legend…
A legend.
A certain Uma Musume—
Her running is smoother than the Emperor's, her brilliance more dazzling than the Overlord's—this is the kind of Uma Musume who, in her debut race, defeated Tokai Teio and swept through everything around her under the name Cinderella.
But Jifeng doesn't know anything about her…
Lately, she's been busy planning her next races—next year's Fillies' Triple Crown…
Thinking of it, Jifeng sighs. Clear worry shows in her eyes.
Maybe I should ask my little sisters later—what's the deal with that girl? Is there any chance she could beat me… and stop me from taking the Fillies' Triple Crown?
Then suddenly, Jifeng turns her head and looks toward Lady.
She heard this girl witnessed Tokai Teio's defeat with her own eyes…
"Tch."
A faintly disdainful sound slips between Jifeng's teeth, but she still walks over to Lady—because she absolutely cannot allow Lady to have more intelligence than she does!
Even if it's childish… she cannot lose to Lady. That has long since become the goal of Jifeng's entire life.
"Hey."
Jifeng calls Lady by name. "Do you know, a few days ago, Tokai Tei—"
Lady doesn't let her finish.
With a fingertip idly stroking her chin, she smiles and asks, "…Do you like me?"
Jifeng freezes. "…I—"
"Contact info." Lady hands over another business card. "Mine."
Jifeng: "I don't want that. I'm asking—"
Lady: "What, you want my phone number too? So greedy!?"
"I don't like you!" Jifeng's face twists.
Lady gives a cold laugh. So you like playing hard to get?
"Impossible! I'm this strong! How could anyone not like me!?"
Jifeng presses a hand to her forehead, helpless…
This girl is seriously a narcissist, isn't she?
Face fierce, Jifeng warns, "If you keep talking like this, I'm putting your number and your contact info on my blacklist… understood?"
Lady crosses her legs with elegant ease—rounded, long legs intertwined. Even sitting with her legs crossed in a not-very-ladylike posture, she still can't erase that aura of nobility.
Lady says, "You say that like you ever take me off your blacklist!"
Only then does Jifeng realize: Lady's number has been in her blacklist the whole time.
But honestly… what else could she do?
If you met someone like this, wouldn't you block them too?
Jifeng decides to stop wasting time and asks straight out, "Do you know Fuka Shirayuki?"
[Fuka Shirayuki.]
[The Cinderella legend who defeated Tokai Teio!!!]
Jifeng's mind replays her classmates' praise from just moments ago.
"Of course." Lady nods lightly. "She's definitely a formidable enemy."
Jifeng can't help feeling curious. "That high an оцен— I mean, that high an evaluation?"
"Mm…"
Lady becomes unusually serious as she replies, "Tokai Teio's simulated debut match was against me. Even though I'd already completed my own debut, I still couldn't guarantee I'd beat Teio every time…"
Jifeng blurts out, "So you're saying… even you might lose to Fuka Shirayuki!?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible—!" Lady yelps like a cat whose tail's been stepped on.
What a joke! Bastard!
Me losing to Fuka Shirayuki?
That kind of thing…
How could it happen!?
Lady will not allow such a thing to occur!
As she thinks, Lady suddenly remembers those melancholy eyes of Fuka Shirayuki—eyes forever tinted with a lonely, pale-blue gloom.
But…
She looks so much like the person in my memories…
Is it really her?
Lady doesn't know the answer.
Every time she thinks about that question, her chest hurts for no reason at all.
Seeing Jifeng ask so directly, Lady's eyes roll—her scheming little brain whirs, generating a "great idea"!
Finally, she raises one finger.
"Ah!"
"Aren't you always trying to beat me?"
"Since you don't know, let me tell you: actually, Fuka Shirayuki is my defeated underling…"
Lady shamelessly begins forging history and fabricating facts. Then she says, "Jifeng—"
Jifeng makes a puzzled noise. "…Huh?"
"If you want to beat me, then make beating Fuka Shirayuki your goal."
Lady smiles coldly.
"Fuka Shirayuki is my defeated underling. If you can't even beat her—do you really have the right to be my enemy?"
Jifeng answers with an equally cold laugh. "Heh."
The biggest disease of the Year 11 generation is…
Everyone's average strength is too high, so everyone's arrogant.
But without question, it's a dazzling generation. Even compared with the Heisei Three Titans of the bubble era, the scattered Triple Crown of the B.N.W. period, or the Golden Generation that crossed 1999—
This generation is the strongest generation!
Jifeng only thinks—
Beating Fuka Shirayuki?
Wouldn't that be easy!?
She only beat Tokai Teio thanks to information gaps and luck. Her road and her glory end here!
Perfect…
I was still debating which race to enter next, anyway.
In that case…
Let's make sniping Fuka Shirayuki the objective!
Right now, Jifeng is fired up!
She stands proudly, looking down at Lady, and says, "If I defeat Fuka Shirayuki…"
"Then…"
"Lady, from now on, do not call yourself [Queen] ever again. That name belongs to me! The iris flower shall crown me!"
I swear by the blazing bloom of this world,
I swear by the name of the Muse…
I—Highlands of Snow, Unbending Peak · Jifeng—
Will never lose to anyone again!!!!!!!!!!
…
…
Right at this moment—
Elsewhere.
Let the scene return once more to the training track.
Lady and Jifeng have no idea that the Fuka Shirayuki they dream of is currently inside Tracen Academy.
The girl sits alone on a training bench…
And at last, she realizes with bleak despair that this "body" is a bit different from what she imagined.
Let's not even talk about physical attributes for now.
Ever since Fuka Shirayuki started training, she discovered another severe problem…
Sometimes, her mood drops so low it feels like she can't even muster energy. Heavy. Sinking.
This is the biggest problem!
Because of her mental state, Fuka Shirayuki can't perform at one hundred percent of her true strength!
And with "the sads" weighing on her, she doesn't even have the spirit to train!
She's only just finished one lap…
And all she can feel is endless exhaustion, emptiness.
Forget the [10KM] training required by Fen Jue to raise adaptability.
At this rate, Fuka Shirayuki doesn't even qualify to be an Uma Musume!
"…I really want to be human."
Like right now—sitting on the bench, hugging her knees… curled up like a tiny rodent hugging its tail.
She suddenly misses her other mental state—
That state where she believed she could do anything, practically a god!
Fuka Shirayuki can already tell this body clearly has mental issues.
And she isn't surprised.
From the original owner's memories, the fact that she didn't completely break already counts as strong stress tolerance…
But.
Right now, Fuka Shirayuki is lost. Bored to death, she twirls the ends of her hair around her fingertips.
No motivation…
How am I supposed to train like this?
Do I just keep forcing it and cooking up garbage "plots" to cope?
When the whole internet dogpiles me, hell—just publish my depression diagnosis!
Japanese people have never seen that, right?
I'll be a pioneer—a god in a lab coat!
Honestly… "depression" has benefits.
First: it prints money.
That's true, but let's not get into it yet.
Later, when Fuka Shirayuki races…
If she wins, people will say, "So what if you beat her—she's just a depression-top."
If she loses, they'll say, "You got spun like a top by a depression-top. Are you even human? Stop pretending to be human!"
"You got completely gapped by a dumb 'depressed' sakura-girl Uma Musume!"
Just hearing it would make your blood boil.
But…
What Fuka Shirayuki doesn't know is that, strictly speaking in psychological terms, this is closer to bipolar, not "depression."
Thinking that, the girl shows a faint smile.
The last sunlight on the horizon spills down, edging the land in soft gold… and the sharp angles around Fuka Shirayuki's shoulders seem to warm, as though softened by the glow.
Her smile looks a little foolish.
At that very moment—
"Hello… classmate."
A voice suddenly sounds beside her.
Fuka Shirayuki flinches. It's a Uma Musume with long deep-blue hair and a white diamond mark on her forehead.
Never seen her before, she thinks.
"Is this training track only for you…? Can I use it with you?"
Jifeng asks patiently.
Staring at this unfamiliar new student… she wonders, Where did you come from?
But it isn't strange.
It's the end of the year—everyone with ambition carries a fire in their chest, rushing toward the arena.
Using Tracen Academy as a springboard, locking onto next year's championships—there's no better road.
So during this season, many new faces appear… it's one of Tracen's rare recruitment periods.
Fuka Shirayuki doesn't want to talk. She's about to shake her head and refuse Jifeng's approach.
But Jifeng suddenly asks again, "Um… if you're a new student, can I ask one more thing? Please! Have you seen the Uma Musume called [Fuka Shirayuki]?"
Fuka Shirayuki thinks: I have white hair, green eyes, and I'm 155cm tall.
Oh my god.
She is Fuka Shirayuki!!!
Confusion spills into her eyes—she doesn't know who Jifeng is, and she has no idea why she's looking for her.
So, because she wants to watch the show, Fuka Shirayuki answers like this:
"…"
After a brief silence, she says haltingly, "I don't know her. But… this training track… sure, we can use it together."
She struggles to piece her words together.
Jifeng exhales in relief. "Thank you!"
"Other classes are in lessons right now, so I can only come to this one! I'm Jifeng! Nice to meet you!"
Jifeng…?
A name she's never heard.
Fuka Shirayuki thinks.
After careful consideration, she asks, "Then… Miss Jifeng, what do you want with Fuka Shirayuki?"
"I'm going to snipe Fuka Shirayuki!" Jifeng answers proudly. "I'm going to spin Fuka Shirayuki like a top!!!"
"…?"
Unease rises in Fuka Shirayuki's eyes again.
She wants to take back what she thought earlier—never heard that name? Cross it out.
This isn't "some unknown girl."
This is some random roadside dog who dares to challenge a god—who dares to think she can spin a god's top!!!
Fuka Shirayuki really wants to know where this girl's courage comes from.
Did Liang Jingru give it to her?
Jifeng still hasn't noticed that Fuka Shirayuki's expression has gone wrong. She keeps talking to herself:
"Lady said… she beat Fuka Shirayuki. She said she's not that strong."
"And if even Lady can beat her… then I absolutely can't lose to Fuka Shirayuki! I'll win, and then I'll challenge Lady fair and square! Yep—so I'm going to snipe Fuka Shirayuki."
That's how she explains why she wants to "spin" her.
And Fuka Shirayuki thinks…
You little—
When did Lady ever beat me?
In elementary school, when she rewrote history with her mouth? Does that count!?
This girl…
How can she be even better than Fuka Shirayuki at rewriting history—at forging facts!?
Fuka Shirayuki grinds her teeth in hatred.
But she still wants to hear more of the nonsense Lady fabricated, straight from Jifeng's mouth… so one day she can settle accounts directly.
When she goes up to the Yunlan Sect, she'll settle it properly!
She even thinks—
I really should punish you, Lady. Drag you into a basement and "upgrade" you.
"Mmm…"
"That's enough for now," Jifeng says. "If you have a target you want to beat, then… train hard!"
With that—
She warms up and stares out at the training field!
And she thinks—
Starting today, I'll keep a close eye on Fuka Shirayuki's schedule…!
The moment she registers for a race, I'll register too—sniping her the same way!
If Lady can "spin" that top…
Then I…
I should be able to spin it too, right?
Jifeng thinks.
Then she shakes her head hard, throwing away any uncertainty!
She will win—she believes it with absolute certainty!
At the same time…
She keeps sneaking glances at this new classmate.
She still doesn't know this girl's name…?
Jifeng is also a little scared—
Scared that this girl might actually be the legendary Fuka Shirayuki.
But…
As she keeps talking, she notices the girl gives no emotional feedback—no anger. Instead, she keeps wearing that expression like she's "about to cry," probably because training wrecked her mentality… So cute!
There even seems to be tear marks near the corners of her eyes!
Like a puppy!
Ultra, ultra "cold-face cute"!
Even if she really is Fuka Shirayuki, seeing that reaction only gives Jifeng more confidence that she can "spin the top"!
"Jifeng…"
Fuka Shirayuki suddenly calls her name softly, sweetly.
Jifeng turns around. "What is it?"
"I've seen Fuka Shirayuki. I watched that debut race."
Fuka Shirayuki speaks as if to herself.
"I don't know if you can win… but I support you spinning Fuka Shirayuki like a top."
"That's verbal support."
"And I also want to give you…"
"Support through action."
As she speaks—
Fuka Shirayuki suddenly takes off the boots called [King of Kings, Boots among Boots].
The exquisitely made long boots fall onto the ground, radiating incomparable color and presence!
With just one glance—
Jifeng understands why so many demon cultivators in novels kill for treasure!
She blurts in shock, "What is that!?"
"…Ah." Fuka Shirayuki answers coolly. "Maybe it's something a god gave me?"
She thinks—
The system can count as a god of this world, right? The logic checks out.
—[A Blessed Gift of the Three Goddesses!!!]
Jifeng instantly realizes: this is the legendary blessed gift!!!
But only "race outfits" have that kind of thing, don't they!?
Could it be…
This classmate in front of her is actually a super powerhouse who can compete in G1!?
Jifeng freezes on the spot.
She looks at the curves wrapped in gentle white stockings—like thin ice that hasn't fully melted on a lake in early spring…
Her gaze drifts upward, to the girl curled up on the bench, hugging her knees, speaking seriously:
"I have a grudge against Fuka Shirayuki."
"I support you defeating her, so I want to lend you this for a while."
Who would wear boots someone else wore?
What if they smell like sweat?
Jifeng could never say that out loud…
These boots are pitch-black, immaculate—practically brand new. And they even carry a faint, lingering scent of a girl.
"Gulp."
Jifeng swallows shamelessly.
She only thinks—
If I put on these boots, maybe my training speed will increase?
The Three Goddesses' blessing…
It's that magical!!!!!
An angel!
Jifeng thinks this classmate is basically an angel!!!
There's no way she can refuse. "Can I… really?"
"You can~" Fuka Shirayuki's gentle voice sounds like a demon from hell.
Jifeng asks again, "Won't they get dirty?"
"Good girl~"
Fuka Shirayuki stands on the bench, rises onto tiptoes, and gently pats Jifeng's head. "Try them."
So gentle. So petite. Like an older sister…
Wah…
As the eldest sister with two younger sisters, Jifeng suddenly feels the warmth of motherhood again!
She feels like she's about to fall in love with this unknown Uma Musume!
Jifeng can't hold back anymore!
She puts on [King of Kings, Boots among Boots] and immediately wants to test whether they're truly useful!
And Fuka Shirayuki calls out for her:
"Ready—!"
"GO!"
The instant the word falls—
Jifeng launches from the starting line like an arrow loosed from a bow!!!
She can really feel it…
As if wearing these boots on the training ground—just starting training—really increases her speed!
And…
She can even sense herself becoming closer to the turf beneath her…
As if her strength will grow permanently! Is this how terrifyingly powerful a blessing is!?
—Fuka Shirayuki sits in place, wearing a smile with no emotion at all.
She isn't doing this to make her future match with Jifeng more "grand."
Though, sure, that's part of it.
But—
Right now, Fuka Shirayuki just wants to test something.
From the moment she got [King of Kings, Boots among Boots], she noticed a bug.
She wants to see if it works.
The system said: Put on the boots, train, and your adaptability increases.
But it didn't say who has to wear them, did it?
System: "…"
System: "???"
What the hell!
How is she getting loophole'd again!? Why are all these hosts so smart!?
Do you know how much I look like a clown!?
Do you know there's a ghost in this house!?
But there's no helping it!
The system complains with its mouth and obeys with its body.
The notification sounds ring out one after another:
[Training detected.]
[Speed +1]
[Speed +1]
[Middle-distance adaptability proficiency: 1KM/10KM.]
[Middle-distance adaptability proficiency: 2KM/10KM.]
[You will soon break through the adaptability cap. Please keep it up.]
Fuka Shirayuki murmurs, "…Looks like it works."
Classic middleman behavior—pocketing the price difference.
In the distance, Jifeng is so excited she can barely contain herself!
With a divine artifact like this supporting her—
Forget Fuka Shirayuki—Lady is getting kicked to death in one stomp!!!
Kicking you two to death is as easy as kicking a stray dog by the roadside, isn't it!?
All of this can be credited to Jifeng coming to this training track at 5 p.m. on the 23rd.
The sunlight descends in glorious splendor onto Jifeng's face—while an angel appears on the track, about to kiss her—
Don't blame your sisters for not warning you: Angels auto-spawn in the training track!
So this is what an "encounter" feels like?
It's insanely good!!!
Jifeng can't help shouting. She cups her hands around her mouth and screams with all her strength:
"Classmate!!!"
"You're an angel! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!"
…
The expression hanging on Fuka Shirayuki's face is still that emotionless, fake smile.
Poor Jifeng…
When should I put a red clown nose on you?
Getting scammed and still helping count the money?
It'll be when—
You decide to snipe my race, and we meet backstage.
A top that spins by itself…
Pretty rare.
Fuka Shirayuki thinks.
-------
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