McQueen never thought that there would be a day where she would actively seek out Gold Ship for help, but now, for the sake of her insatiable desire to become stronger, she took this difficult and seemingly absurd step.
"Speaking of which, Gold Ship's dorm seems different from everyone else's? Everyone else has double rooms, but her place looks quite big."
McQueen stood at the entrance of Gold Ship's dorm—which she was certain of, because the nameplate on the door clearly listed only a single name, "Gold Ship." Just as McQueen was about to knock on the door, she suddenly thought of something, took a slight step back, and muttered to herself:
"Wait, considering it's Gold Ship... she'll probably try to scare me when she opens the door, like wearing some weird costume or something..."
Under McQueen's vivid imagination, she quickly envisioned Gold Ship emerging in a Godzilla suit or a large carrot costume. She immediately took a deep breath, composed herself, and knocked on the door.
"Gold Ship? Are you there? It's McQueen."
"What is it... I'm coming..."
Gold Ship's lazy voice came from inside the dorm. By now, McQueen was ready; no matter what Gold Ship was going to do, she wouldn't fall for it. She would absolutely not dishonor the Mejiro Family!
"Click." As the door slowly opened, McQueen's mouth was left agape as she comprehended what was before her—Gold Ship's hair was completely let down, unencumbered by the unusual headwear she usually wore, as well as being draped in a red silk-like bathrobe.
She was beautiful; nay, that would be an understatement, she was truly and utterly gorgeous. As McQueen was still computing what she was seeing, Gold Ship stretched a bit with a tired expression and said to McQueen:
"I just finished showering. Is there something you need?" Gold Ship asked as she used a towel to dry her still-damp hair. Now that she had taken off the ridiculous headwear that severely hindered her beauty, and her snowish-gray hair fell down, combined with the fact she wasn't doing a goofy expression, she truly looked like a model.
Even McQueen was shocked by Gold Ship's appearance. She... wasn't prepared for this at all. McQueen already knew that Gold Ship was good-looking, but she was simply too good at using her annoying and chaotic personality to mask her physical advantages, causing people to overlook her beauty—after all, even her clothing choices tended to the weirder side, as if she was purposefully hiding her attractive side.
But now, Gold Ship's natural state was fully bare for her to witness. How could McQueen not be shocked? In fact, she even wondered if Gold Ship was actually a long-lost member of the Mejiro Family due to some striking similarities.
However, McQueen quickly snapped back to reality as she noticed an even bigger elephant in the room and immediately stepped forward to cover Gold Ship's chest with her loose bathrobe, scolding her:
"Honestly, what if someone saw you! Half your breast is showing..." (T/N: Girl is cosplaying Takaba)
"I'm a nudist, you know. Sleeping in clothes is so uncomfortable... And I can't help my boobs not being covered; I'm simply 'built' different!"
Although she said that, Gold Ship still obediently covered her chest. Then, still groggy, she quietly asked, "So, McQueen, why are you looking for me so late? You're not here to play 'foot-stacking blocks' with me, are you?"
"What kind of nonsense is that...? I'm here to talk to you about Trainer." McQueen pushed Gold Ship into her dorm and closed the door behind her to ensure they wouldn't be disturbed.
After entering Gold Ship's dorm, McQueen immediately felt something was off... This dorm... no, rather than being a dorm, was more like a luxurious hotel. It had a large bed big enough for three people to roll around on, a private toilet, a bathroom, a large dining table, and even an entire kitchen. The room wasn't so luxurious as to be astonishing; McQueen's room at the Mejiro Family's estate was much better. But this was supposed to be a dorm. Why and how did Gold Ship get such a nice dorm?
"Gold Ship, what's going on with your dorm?"
"I don't know either. The Chairwoman specially approved it. I heard Opera also got offered something like this, but she refused it..." Gold Ship didn't know where to begin explaining such a thing. She then sat cross-legged on her soft bed and asked, "So, McQueen, are you here to talk about the old man? Is something wrong with him?"
"Yes, I have something I want to ask for your help with... even if I think it's a bit childish."
McQueen closed her eyes. Even though she was reluctant to ask Gold Ship for help, her fervent desire to become stronger compelled her to continue:
"I need to find a way to make Trainer Imanami's attention focus on me again—don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to keep him to myself. I just hope that Trainer can pay attention to my training as usual. The Kikuka Sho is coming soon, and I hope that Trainer can focus more on my training progress, instead of on Teio.
"Gold Ship, you're the closest person to Trainer Imanami. Can you tell me what methods I can use to attract his attention and make him focus on my training again?"
"...Huh?"
However, even Gold Ship short-circuited when she first heard McQueen's words. But Gold Ship quickly understood what McQueen was thinking and how she got to that conclusion.
Was Gold Ship close to Imanami? Of course, she was. One could say Gold Ship was not only Imanami's Uma Musume, but also his assistant. And actually, Gold Ship was the one who organized many of Imanami's training schedules and data. Therefore, Gold Ship was well aware of McQueen's and Teio's training plans.
Gold Ship knew very well that Imanami was definitely not just focusing on Tokai Teio. In fact, McQueen's training plans had long been prepared already. It was just that before McQueen could undergo this training plan, Imanami hoped to fill in the many small gaps that were present in McQueen. Otherwise, such reckless training for short-term gains would only break McQueen's body. However, this instead made McQueen anxious, thinking she wasn't getting attention and thus falling behind in training...
'I- I can't... no, no, no, I must hold it in...' As Gold Ship thought of this, a mischievous smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she said to herself: "Hmmmm... welllllll..."
But McQueen's anxiety was indeed real. Thus, as a friend and as a team member, Gold Ship would, of course, help McQueen. On one hand, it would alleviate McQueen's anxiety and make her progress faster. On the other hand... wouldn't this be super duper fun? And as for how to help McQueen progress "faster," Gold Ship quickly found a way!
"Hehe, I didn't expect you, McQueen, to be so jealous. Did you feel lonely when the old man stopped paying attention to you for a bit?"
"Wh—GOLD SHIP, DON'T TALK NONSENSE! Trainer and I are Trainer and trainee respectively, Trainer and trainee!"
McQueen was slightly flushed, her cheeks blushing slightly as she denied Gold Ship's words. She knew how her request would sound, but she truly wasn't seeking out help for such a thing.
"You, if you're not willing to help, then forget it. Coming to you was truly a misjudgment on my part—"
"—Don't go! Don't go, McQueen, I never said I wouldn't help! When it comes to attracting the old man's attention, I'm the GOAT at it, you know!"
However, Gold Ship immediately grabbed McQueen, and with a playful grin, she said, "I promise I'll help you defeat Tokai Teio. A tiny little emperor is still far behind the great Golshi-sama!"
"...Really?" Upon hearing this, McQueen stopped trying to leave, looking at Gold Ship with a suspicious gaze, and then asked, "So, what's your plan?"
"Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Gold Ship smiled and actively walked towards the kitchen. McQueen heard a rummaging sound and curiously peeked in. Soon after, she saw Gold Ship pull out a small cart from who-knows-where, laden with many familiar sweets that McQueen recognized.
Melon parfait, cookies, red bean mochi soup... one by one, these foods, which were almost "forbidden" for McQueen, suddenly appeared before her. McQueen couldn't help but swallow her saliva. During this period, she had strictly followed Imanami's instructions and consumed almost no sweets. Now, seeing her beloved again... an impulse surged within McQueen.
Calmdowncalmdown, Mejiro McQueen. You, are, an, Uma, Musume, of, the, Mejiro, Family. Do not fall for the temptations of the devil. You must endure it—
"McQueen, this is the first thing you need to do today!" Gold Ship looked at McQueen's "Buddha" expression, then mischievously said: "Now, come with me and eat! Devour all these sweets!"
"Tomorrow, if the old man doesn't immediately notice you first, then I'm willing to become your sworn bruzza from now on!"
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Slow metabolism time.
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If you spot any errors, feel free to comment about it and I will fix it as soon as I can.