For some reason, Gold Ship and Curren Chan hadn't interacted much. In fact, before Curren Chan became Trainer Ikezoe's in charge Uma Musume, Gold Ship had almost no contact with her.
If Curren Chan wasn't Trainer Ikezoe's in charge Uma Musume, Gold Ship wouldn't have even bothered to pay attention to Curren Chan's matters.
One was a male Racehorse, the other a Filly; one was only good at short distances, the other was almost good at everything except short distances; one was timid and fierce, the other was outwardly gentle but inwardly cunning; one considered herself unremarkable, while the other was an Uma Musume with 4 million fans even before her debut.
These two Horse Girls were almost polar opposites in every aspect. They had never interacted before, yet from the first day Gold Ship met Curren Chan, seeing her so shamelessly intimate with Trainer Ikezoe, a subtle, very unpleasant feeling stirred in her chest.
"Oh, really? But wasn't that what Gold Ship herself said?" However, Curren Chan showed no fear of Gold Ship, maintaining her smile as she said:
"Since Gold Ship lacks confidence in herself, why not just go and explain it clearly to the President? The President isn't an unreasonable person, is she? I'm sure if Gold Ship explains her shortcomings properly, the President will understand~"
"Oh, Karen-chan thought she was already the type who wasn't good at running, but I didn't expect Giant to be so lacking in confidence. Karen-chan can still run short distances, but Giant doesn't even have that much courage~"
"Hmph… you really dare to say that." However, Gold Ship couldn't tolerate such a subtle provocation. Her eyes turned icy as she said, "You're just an Uma Musume who can only run short distances."
"Giant, that's too harsh." Trainer Ikezoe's eyelids twitched slightly upon hearing this, and he uncharacteristically reprimanded Gold Ship, "And Karen-chan, you shouldn't say that about Giant. Giant is very strong."
"Hehe, Oni-chan is really confident, but Karen-chan feels your trust seems to have been misplaced." However, Curren Chan still maintained her smiling demeanor as she spoke to Trainer Ikezoe, but her eyes unconsciously glanced at Gold Ship:
"After all, an Uma Musume without confidence in herself will find it very hard to win. Karen-chan is still very confident in her short-distance abilities, but well…"
Curren Chan didn't continue, but everyone knew who she was referring to. At this moment, even the usually timid Gold Ship's face darkened, and she stared intently at Curren Chan, who was holding Trainer Ikezoe's arm.
This person—she's really annoyingly pretentious!
"—Trainer Ikezoe!"
"Yes!" Startled into standing at attention by Gold Ship's sudden outburst, Gold Ship saw that Trainer Ikezoe was still so reserved around her, which only fueled her anger. Her tone became stern once more as she said:
"Your debut race next week! You! Must come! I will prove to you, and to your annoying in charge Uma Musume, my true strength, Gold Ship's true strength!"
"And—Curren Chan! I can't pretend I didn't hear what you just said. Let's settle this the Uma Musume way!"
"Hehe, Gold Ship, are you planning to race against Karen-chan?" Curren Chan's tail twitched slightly upon hearing this, and she smiled subtly, "It's fine~ Although Karen-chan isn't that good at running, I'm still very confident in short distances."
"Then next time, at the Hakodate Racecourse in July, 1200 meters, turf, Karen-chan will be looking forward to a showdown with Gold Ship there~"
"Just you wait! I will definitely win!" Gold Ship also said to Curren Chan indignantly, her tone carrying a hint of uncontrollable anger.
At this moment, Trainer Ikezoe had a fleeting thought, "This is Gold Ship's true nature." However, this experience of her true nature was perhaps too stressful for Trainer Ikezoe.
Gold Ship left with a furious Presence. Trainer Ikezoe watched Gold Ship walk away until she was out of sight, then said to Curren Chan in a slightly reproachful tone, "Karen-chan, what you did just now was wrong. What you said was too much."
"Hehe, Oni-chan is really naive. Do you think that by continuing to encourage Gold Ship, she won't feel inferior anymore?"
However, Curren Chan smiled mysteriously upon hearing this, and meeting Trainer Ikezoe's somewhat confused gaze, she said playfully:
"Gold Ship's personality makes her very lacking in self-confidence, but someone with such good judgment as Oni-chan actually took a liking to her. So, obviously, she has great potential, right?"
"It's just like Karen-chan, she just hasn't discovered her own potential yet. Oni-chan, you can persuade me, but you might not be able to persuade Gold Ship using the same method."
"At times like this, how can you not provoke her a little?"
"So you intentionally provoked her?" At this moment, Trainer Ikezoe finally understood. This time, Curren Chan's reaction was different from King's. How could Curren Chan, usually such a polite and easygoing good child, suddenly say so many hurtful things?
Moreover, Trainer Ikezoe had uncharacteristically reprimanded Curren Chan at that time. If it were normally, Trainer Ikezoe wouldn't even need to speak; Curren Chan would know where to draw the line.
Sometimes, even Trainer Ikezoe's "emotionally challenged" remarks needed Curren Chan to smooth things over. How could Curren Chan's way of speaking need Trainer Ikezoe's guidance?
"Hehe, could it be that Oni-chan thinks Karen-chan can't tell? You actually really like Gold Ship, don't you?"
However, at this moment, Curren Chan smiled mysteriously at Trainer Ikezoe, saying, "You didn't get angry even after being kicked so many times by Gold Ship, and instead encouraged and believed in her. Karen-chan truly thought Oni-chan was super cool then."
"Could it be that Karen-chan still has to say things like 'Oni-chan only needs me' or 'I'm the only in charge Uma Musume Oni-chan needs'? Oni-chan wouldn't be happy, would he?"
"Hahahaha…"
Curren Chan's words made Trainer Ikezoe chuckle awkwardly, thinking to himself, "Are my thoughts really that obvious?" Doesn't that make him just like that kid Wada, unable to hide anything anymore?
However, Trainer Ikezoe's awkward chuckle was fully and completely observed by Curren Chan. A look of "just as I thought" flashed in Curren Chan's eyes, and she secretly felt fortunate for her decision.
Did Curren Chan truly want to share Trainer Ikezoe? Of course not. Curren Chan belonged to the type who "fell in love at first sight" with her chosen Trainer. This meant that she either wouldn't choose a Trainer, or she would always stick with one Trainer. An Uma Musume with such possessiveness, of course, wouldn't particularly like another Uma Musume taking a share.
But the important thing was that Curren Chan saw a certain special quality in Gold Ship towards Trainer Ikezoe. This special quality also existed in Curren Chan, but it manifested in different ways.
Therefore, Curren Chan chose to actively give up a position this time, because she knew that she probably couldn't stop Gold Ship from becoming her Oni-chan's in charge Uma Musume—since that was the case, what she could ensure was that her importance in Oni-chan's heart would always be the greatest.
By then, when this tsundere Gold Ship realized, it would probably be too late~
—Of course, Curren Chan still hoped that Gold Ship would truly just be her Oni-chan's comrade. However, Curren Chan worried that while Trainer Ikezoe might think that way, the other party might not… just like Doto and Trainer Wada.
"…What's wrong? Curren Chan? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hehe, nothing at all~"
In the end, Curren Chan still hid all her thoughts in her heart, clinging tightly to Trainer Ikezoe's arm, and said intimately as always:
"Oni-chan, let's go train. To deal with an angry Gold Ship, Karen-chan is under a lot of pressure."
"So, you have to teach Karen-chan well, otherwise, if Karen-chan loses, she'll be sad~"
And Oni-chan, you wouldn't make Karen-chan sad, right?
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