[When talking about Gold Ship, we must mention another little horse: Tosen Jordan.]
[The real-life horse version of Gold Ship absolutely hated Tosen Jordan.]
[When he first arrived at the Ritto Stables, Tosen Jordan, as the "boss" of the farm, tried to intimidate him. Gold Ship was so pissed he kicked Jordan right then and there.]
[Staff members had to pull them apart, otherwise those two horses would have fought to the death on the spot.]
[After that, whenever Gold Ship saw Tosen Jordan, he wanted to go over and land a kick. He's like that with horses he dislikes— and people, too. He has a powerful aura and has sent people to the hospital more than a few times. His "Golden Spirit" is really obvious.]
[However, in Tracen, Gold Ship and Tosen Jordan have a good relationship. Gold Ship is the smarter one and often pranks the colorful idiot. Tosen Jordan is pretty much a lost cause now, currently in a state of being both academically and physically disabled.]
Reading this, a group of people at Tracen were at a loss for words. Nakayama Festa was dying of laughter.
Clutching her stomach, she thought this was too funny— she really wanted to see a video of that fight. Moreover, if she had been the staff member, she definitely wouldn't have pulled them apart. She'd want to see them brawl!
"Heh, 'academically and physically disabled'? This diary isn't even worth reading."
Tosen Jordan's face was beet red. She wasn't an idiot! Her math scores had improved since last time— she even got a 33!
Even though Gold City tutored her every day, she was finally starting to get it. Why call her an idiot? She wasn't an idiot!
However, she didn't expect Gold Ship's real-life counterpart to be so over-the-top! Her own real-life counterpart only provoked her a little, and Gold Ship just flat-out kicked her?
'What a hateful person!'
Speaking of which, Tosen Jordan's real-life counterpart was actually very strong at the stables with an incredibly high status. Even Orfevre didn't dare mess with him back then. But Gold Ship was different, he'd just charge in and start a fight— kick, kick, kick.
Festa was still laughing over this diary entry— she truly had no heart. She wanted to see it, but she didn't realize that the stable staff at Ritto that day were likely in despair watching the "Great Horse War."
The stable girl probably held the lead ropes, crying out helplessly: "Stop fighting! Gold Ship! Tosen Jordan! Please stop fighting! If you want to fight, do it in the stalls!"
"You can hurt one of us if you fight out here!!!"
At this moment, Tosen Jordan huffed and said, "That girl... I can't believe she dared to kick me! I already sent her a LINE message telling her to treat me to dinner as compensation, or I'll never speak to her again."
"Oh?" Nakayama Festa asked. "What did she say?"
"Let me check." Tosen Jordan took out her phone, then stood there dumbfounded.
"Holy crap... she deleted me from her friends list!"
This made Tosen Jordan stomp her feet in rage. She was livid! The friendship had capsized instantly.
Back at Tracen Academy: Mejiro McQueen was also exasperated. "I thought Gold Ship was already peerless, but her real-life counterpart is even more of a monster. Luckily, I'm not the one being targeted."
Vodka was also dying of laughter. "I'm enjoying the show. It feels like Gold Ship-senpai's real-life counterpart has a real temper. I wonder how she handles losing a race."
Gold Ship herself declared, "She must be super strong, so I doubt she has to deal with that! Just you wait and see, Hahaha!"
Daiwa Scarlet analyzed the text: "But I noticed a pattern. Trainer Mizuki mentioned that Gold Ship, Stay Gold, Orfevre, and the others all share a 'Golden Spirit' passed down through the lineage. What does that mean? They can't all be the same bloodline, can they? Maybe they're from the same ranch?"
Gold Ship said, "I don't know, but I'm different from them. I'm very serious and proper."
McQueen snorted. "You've certainly redefined the word 'proper.' Speaking of bloodlines, your racing pedigree is excellent, but your temperament must be a mutation. I wonder where that bloodline originated..."
As her grandfather, McQueen didn't yet realize that Gold Ship's bloodline included a part of her own. It's likely for the best that she doesn't know.
Gold Ship laughed loudly. "Watch, watch! It's definitely going to get exciting. This is my real-life counterpart, after all!"
The diary continued:
[People say Gold Ship pranks the "idiot," but what exactly has she done to Tosen Jordan? Too many things to count.]
[According to incomplete statistics: First, when Tosen Jordan was sleeping peacefully in class, Gold Ship suddenly raised Jordan's hand to answer a question, resulting in Jordan having to stand in the back for half an hour as punishment. Even afterward, Tosen Jordan was confused, never knowing why she was called on. It was Gold Ship.]
[When Tosen Jordan was eating Taiyaki, Gold Ship tricked her into believing that Taiyaki was made from real sea bream. It made Jordan feel so guilty that she still thinks she's eating real fish. It's actually just flour, but she's been tricked into feeling bad every time she eats one. That was also Gold Ship.]
[Tosen Jordan's phone went missing. Actually, Gold Ship gave it to Eishin Flash and told Flash she must protect the phone and not give it to anyone. Jordan ended up chasing Eishin Flash through five streets to get it back. Again, Gold Ship.]
[The most terrifying time was when Gold Ship suddenly "McQueen-ified" and became extremely elegant. It scared the life out of Tosen Jordan and Nakayama Festa, they thought she'd hit her head. In reality, Gold Ship was just performing to make them worry about her mental state.]
[Again, and again, and again, Gold Ship.]
[Every time I see her do something like this, I can't help but give her a thumbs up.]
[This girl has almost broken Tosen Jordan. Now, Jordan won't believe anything at first. When she sees Gold Ship now, she just says: "Go trick McQueen, don't try to trick me again, I've gotten smarter."]
[Good grief, Tosen Jordan could practically start an anti-fraud seminar now.]
Seeing this, a whole group of people went numb.
In France:
Treve was stunned.
"Oh heavens. There are so many things to complain about that I don't even know where to start. This Gold Ship is terrifying."
Looking at any single entry, nothing Gold Ship did was reasonable, especially the bit about Jordan sleeping in class.
Raising someone else's hand like that? That's the work of a demon. And that's just the "incomplete statistics."
If she wrote everything down, how much more would there be? Is there no limit to her antics?
Montjeu nodded. "Earlier, Trainer Mizuki said the Gold lineage seemed abnormal. I thought we shouldn't judge by appearances. Thinking about it now... we should definitely paint them all with one brush."
Dancing Brave laughed. "Hahaha! I think it sounds fun. Sometimes life is boring, and you need someone like that to fill it with joy. If Gold Ship were here, it would probably be quite interesting."
Montjeu: "If Gold Ship heard that, she'd probably be thrilled. Who knows what she'd do."
Treve: "I'm a little scared."
Gold Ship's reputation was spreading globally. Before, people only saw snippets in the diary and knew she was mischievous, but they didn't realize she was this bad.
She was now officially labeled "Goldshi the Prankster."
In Ireland:
Solemia was also at a loss. As the Uma who would one day compete with Orfevre at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she was now completely floored by Gold Ship's actions. She felt a wave of pity for Tosen Jordan.
However, she shook her head on one point: Believing Taiyaki was real fish was something she hadn't expected. This Tosen Jordan really was a bit of an airhead.
Back at Tracen Academy:
"That girl! It was her all along! Just let me catch her, she's going to get what's coming to her!" Tosen Jordan was furious, her face flushed red. For such a heinous criminal, she wanted the death penalty carried out repeatedly.
Of course, she was exaggerating, but it showed the depth of her anger.
Nakayama Festa was bent over laughing. Looking at the list, it could be summarized in one sentence: "It was all Gold Ship."
However, Festa also saw herself mentioned.
She said, "Come to think of it, that day Gold Ship suddenly acted proper really did give me a fright. Seeing her like that felt... wrong."
Tosen Jordan nodded. "Who knows what screw came loose in her head."
You have to understand how horrifying the situation was: When Tosen Jordan greeted her, Gold Ship suddenly gave a graceful bow and said in McQueen's soft tone, "Oh, it's Nakayama Festa-san and Tosen Jordan-san. Good day to you both."
After speaking, she even smiled and waved. That sudden classiness almost broke Tosen Jordan's spirit.
"Gold Ship, don't do that again, it's scary..."
In America:
Flightline was also baffled.
"Close call, close call. I almost spat water all over my Trainer's face. This girl— whether as an athlete or the real horse— is terrifyingly impressive. If I had to go through that, I'd probably have shut myself away, or at least gone completely mad."
Flightline knew herself well, she was the type to get caught up in the moment— otherwise, she wouldn't have been so excited after her debut win that she crashed into a railing. But she was actually looking forward to meeting Gold Ship, the girl seemed interesting.
One could only say that the current Gold Ship had shocked the entire world's racing community. The Gold family certainly lived up to its name.
However, they didn't know that this was only the beginning. Mizuki's diary continued:
[Gold Ship's real-life track record is also quite remarkable. He debuted in 2011 and retired after his fourth Arima Kinen in 2015.]
[When Gold Ship was first born, everyone thought he was a quiet and obedient little foal. But that was just because his bloodline hadn't awakened yet. Soon, as his debut approached, the "Gold Bloodline" awakened, leaving the entire staff at Naosuke Sugai's stable in shambles.]
[Generally speaking, Gold Ship was far too violent. He threw his trainers multiple times, causing dislocated shoulders. One staff member responsible for Gold Ship was under so much stress that he suffered from anxiety-related hair loss and turned into "Saitama-lite"— he went bald, but didn't get stronger.]
[He debuted on July 9, 2011, in an 1800m Newcomers' race, his debut year wasn't particularly outstanding yet.]
[But in 2012, Gold Ship ushered in his glorious years and was directly dubbed the "Unsinkable Ship." That year, he had 5 wins out of 6 starts, including 3 G1 titles, he only placed fifth in the Japanese Derby.]
[In the 2012 Arima Kinen, Gold Ship contributed a legendary performance— a terrifying charge that overtook 15 rivals. He wasn't known for explosive bursts, but he were extremely fast and had incredible stamina, that is what forged this masterpiece of a race.]
[Some even say that with Gold Ship's attributes, he would be strongest as a Front Runner or Pace Chaser. However, he usually ran according to his own whims and often struggled with the starting gate, making it impossible to grab a forward position.]
[The good news: his leading potential is strong. The bad news: he can't actually lead.]
At that moment, at Tracen Academy:
"Oh my gosh... 3 G1s in a year, plus overtaking 15 rivals in the Arima Kinen?! This girl Gold Ship is strong enough to be cheating!"
Twin Turbo saw this and was completely flabbergasted. Was Gold Ship really that fierce? This wasn't just an "Unsinkable Ship" anymore, it was an interstellar battleship taking off!
"Truly. It feels like Gold Ship's story is just one bizarre twist after another. She really is too much— the four of us combined have been running so long, and we don't have a single G1 title between us,"
Nice Nature complained, but at least she had managed to snag some bronze medals and such.
Twin Turbo and Ikuno Dictus sighed helplessly, though they felt a bit salty, they couldn't find an excuse to refute it.
Matikane Tannhauser just stood there, getting more surprised the more she read, her eyes filled with that signature clear-eyed stupidity.
It was a good thing she wasn't in Spica, or Gold Ship would be pranking the poor idiot every single day.
Within Spica:
Gold Ship laughed boisterously. "Hahaha! 3 G1s? What a shame, it should have been four! But it doesn't matter. Whether it's the real horse or me, it's all the same— I'll definitely take 7 G1s, maybe even 8 or 9! It's all possible!"
"And one of them involved overtaking 15 other racers? I really am amazing! But which races did I win? I lost the Derby? Tokyo Racecourse... well, I really do hate that place."
Gold Ship's track record at Tokyo Racecourse wasn't great. He had only won the G3 Kyodo News Hai there, placing 5th in the Derby and a disastrous 15th in the Japan Cup.
Gold Ship's true home was Hanshin Racecourse. He won there repeatedly, with a career record of 5 wins and 1 second place out of 7 starts, including back-to-back Takarazuka Kinen victories.
Of course, the only time he placed 15th there was the most "entertaining" one— the 2015 Takarazuka Kinen. He almost achieved the feat of three consecutive Takarazuka Kinen wins... if only he hadn't done those two little hops.
"But Gold Ship-san, shouldn't you consider practicing your gate starts? It says right here that your leading style is very strong," Vodka pointed out.
"Heh, is there anything Golshi isn't strong at? Even if I'm a bit slow out of the gate, nothing can go wrong. Right, McQueen?" Gold Ship threw her hands up, striking a classic Uma Musume meme pose with absolute confidence.
"Don't speak too soon, or the boomerang might come back to hit you," Mejiro McQueen warned.
Gold Ship remained incredibly confident, unaware that a massive disaster was looming. Her face would eventually be red from the embarrassment of those two legendary hops.
[After 2012 ended, 2013 began. Gold Ship ran six races this year. The most exciting were the Hanshin Daishoten and the Takarazuka Kinen. Although he only won those two, they were still a G1 and a G2.]
[However, speaking of the Hanshin Daishoten... last year, someone made it into a comedy show. I'll tell the story of that "talent" slowly when the time comes, haha.]
Tracen Academy:
Orfevre muttered silently, "Comedy show? Is it even more hilarious than Gold Ship's stories? Who on earth ran that?"
Orfevre suddenly remembered that she might have run that race in her future. But if she ran it, with her strength, wouldn't she just blatantly take the trophy?
She was curious to see who this "talent" was.
The diary continued:
[In 2014, Gold Ship challenged the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. He was mainly racing abroad. At the time, Gold Ship's team had already popped the champagne early, claiming his condition was better than ever before.]
[However, they didn't realize that Gold Ship might have just been happy to be in a new environment— he was there for a vacation. Racing didn't exist to him, he finished 14th in the Arc.]
[Still, Gold Ship was very strong in 2014, achieving back-to-back Takarazuka Kinen titles, bringing his total to 5 G1s.]
[And in 2015, after his third challenge at the Tenno Sho Spring, he finally won the title, achieving the feat of 6 G1s.]
[At this point, Gold Ship's team set their sights on the Takarazuka Kinen, aiming for his 7th G1 and an unprecedented three-peat in the Takarazuka Kinen!]
[But they didn't know that the moment they made that decision, the gears of fate had begun to turn.]
[Gold Ship's world-stunning Takarazuka Kinen performance was about to be born.]
[June 2015. When Gold Ship was confirmed for the Takarazuka Kinen, the combination of the Hanshin Racecourse + consecutive win buff led gamblers to go all-in on him.]
[To the point where the value of betting tickets on Gold Ship hit 12,100,000,000 yen.]
[On race day, the gamblers transformed into "10-year Gold Ship fans," cheering him on with everything they had.]
[However, when Gold Ship entered Gate 15, Toho Jackal in Gate 14 next to him was not only restless but let out a roar, threatening and provoking Gold Ship.]
[Gold Ship, considering himself the King of Hanshin, would not tolerate being provoked. He wanted to rush over and beat Jackal up, but with the gate protecting them, he could only perform a "high-leg lift" warning.]
[And just as he performed his second warning lift, the unexpected happened: the gates opened. Gold Ship performed the "Century's Latest Gate Start" that shocked the world. By the time his hooves hit the ground and he cleared the gate, he was already about 10 horse-lengths behind the pack.]
[The gamblers who bought Gold Ship tickets fell into instant despair.]
[The race just started?]
[It's already over!]
At this moment, countless people were stunned.
At Tracen, in Spica:
"Hahaha! That is exactly the kind of move Gold Ship would pull!" Vodka, who had started out reading seriously, was now paralyzed with laughter. Those two high-leg lifts were just too much.
Gold Ship, how much of a thug can you be? Trying to let the opponent know who the real boss is?
Truly, Gold Ship's entire life is one big entertainment special.
McQueen also couldn't hold it back. "Honestly, Gold Ship, I told you so. You've been silenced now, haven't you? The boomerang came quite fast!"
Silence Suzuka offered some comfort. "It seems you need more gate training, Gold Ship-san."
Everyone in Spica was laughing, Gold Ship really knew how to handle plot twists and entertainment value. Only Gold Ship herself felt the pain.
She thought she was building up to something cool, but she ended up bombing instead. She was mentally falling apart.
Especially those last two high-leg lifts— she had directly caused her fans to lose 12.1 billion yen.
'How many zeros was that?!'
However, Special Week felt a sense of familiarity seeing the name "Toho Jackal." In reality, that was Special Week's only G1 son on turf— the only "university student" in the Special Week household.
Gold Ship decided it was time to train. She was going to ask McQueen to help her. She needed to control her temper, and she really wanted those 7 G1s. Since her real-life counterpart failed, she couldn't afford to be a joke too.
McQueen was the gentle yet professional type who could help her control every step— though if Gold Ship acted a bit spoiled, McQueen might go a little easier on her.
Seeing Gold Ship intend to train was heartening, but McQueen knew it might just be a three-minute passion.
Sure enough, Gold Ship decided to go out for a walk first to clear her head, this was too depressing.
In France:
"12.1 billion yen...? How many Euros is that?! It has to be at least over 60 million, right?!"
Treve was amazed. This was a true entertainment master, taking away 12.1 billion yen in an instant. She could practically feel the despair herself, her face twisting into a pained expression.
'Pain... so much pain! The people who bought those tickets probably wished for a world where high-leg lifts didn't exist.'
"Hahaha! See? I told you she was a talent!" Dancing Brave also expressed her admiration.
Mizuki's diary continued:
[After that, Gold Ship was on the brink of retirement. He participated in the Arima Kinen at the end of the year. This time, he didn't slack off at all but competed with everything he had.]
[His last legs once brought him to second place, but he was burned out. He didn't have the acceleration of his youth and eventually sank into the surging pack, ending his career in 8th place.]
[The winner of that race was Gold Actor, second was Sounds of Earth, and third was Kitasan Black. The era had changed.]
[Duramente, Kitasan Black, Satono Diamond, and others were about to take the stage of history.]
[But the amazing thing was that during Gold Ship's retirement check-up, he was found to be perfectly healthy. While most racehorses have some injuries upon retirement, he was fine! People immediately speculated that Gold Ship might never have used his full strength in his races.]
[Good grief, Gold Ship is the one who truly figured life out.]
[But that's just speculation. Instead, it shows how smart Gold Ship was. Looking at his career, his achievements were brilliant. He was the second horse to be called the "Gray Monster" and the second gray horse to win the Arima Kinen.]
[Oh, by the way, the first one's name was Oguri Cap.]
At this moment, everyone was stunned.
In the Satono household:
Kitasan Black got very nervous. Her era— the era of her and Dia-chan— was coming? And she had participated in that Arima Kinen but only got third place?
She really wanted to get first, but would she have a chance? Who is Gold Actor and Sounds of Earth?
Actually, Kitasan Black had already met Sounds of Earth— the one who played the violin so seriously. As for Gold Actor, despite the "Gold" in the name, he wasn't part of the Gold lineage but was actually a grandson of Grass Wonder.
Kitasan Black was nervous, but seeing that Gold Ship retired without injuries amazed her. She felt her world-view taking a massive hit.
She thought her own physique was good, but Gold Ship was completely unscathed after such a wild career. Satono Diamond felt the same.
Dia-chan felt the world was vast and full of wonders, rubbing her chin and feeling she was still too inexperienced.
Elsewhere:
Oguri Cap was also stunned. In her current timeline, she hadn't run the Arima Kinen yet.
"I... really won?"
Oguri Cap smiled. She thought of her hometown.
She was an Uma Musume who came from the regional circuits to the central circuit, and the help from the people back home was indispensable.
"I wonder if my Arima Kinen was exciting..."
Her Arima Kinen was, in fact, one of the most perfect scripts ever written.
(T/N: Seriously, go check out Oguri Cap's last Arima Kinen. You can find it on Youtube.)
[That's it for this entry. Oh right, I need to go find Hokko Tarumae and help her edit some videos.]
[Next time, I'll talk about the "Hanshin comedy show"— another wild performance.]
Mizuki finished her writing. As she uploaded the entry, today's reward arrived.
[Diary uploaded successfully.]
[Reward obtained— Era Token.]
[Due to your transmigration, the eras of this world have become distorted. Using the Era Token allows Horse Girls from 3-5 distorted eras to compete in the 'Dream Trophy' during the night. The race results will also count as URA rewards.]
Mizuki's reward was an Era Token, which was very useful. Her diary required girls to run the URA, and once completed, she could get keys to unlock mysterious items.
The current era belonged to horses like Special Week, Seiun Sky, and Grass Wonder. But now, girls like Ten Point, Tosho Boy, and Green Grass could complete their races simultaneously in the Dream Trophy.
This way, she could get information much faster. It was an excellent item.
Afterward, Mizuki headed out to find Hokko Tarumae.
Elsewhere, Gold Ship had met up with Tosen Jordan and Nakayama Festa. Tosen Jordan was half-dead with rage because Gold Ship dared to delete her as a friend, but Gold Ship just laughed it off and added her back.
The three of them passed by Air Groove's office and saw Air Shakur being pulled inside again.
"What do you think Air Groove is saying to Air Shakur? She just transferred over, right?" Gold Ship's interest was piqued. She pressed her ear against the door and started eavesdropping.
"It's not good to eavesdrop on others," Nakayama Festa said.
Tosen Jordan looked utterly helpless.
"Then why are you still here?" Nakayama Festa asked.
Tosen Jordan was stunned. What did she mean, "Why was she still here?" Clearly, the two of them had dragged her over by force, and now they were turning the tables on her.
"Sounds like they were talking about breaking limits, and something about 7 centimeters... Come to think of it, Air Shakur always seems to have '7 centimeters' on the tip of her tongue, doesn't she?"
Gold Ship rambled on for a while before realizing the voices inside had stopped. "Uh... I can't hear anything anymore..."
Nakayama Festa leaned in closer. Right at that moment, Air Groove swung the door open.
"Gold Ship, Nakayama Festa, Tosen Jordan. What are you doing?" Air Groove asked, looking at the three of them acting like guilty thieves.
Behind Air Groove, Air Shakur watched the trio with an expression of utter disbelief. As such an intelligent Uma, she saw through their eavesdropping instantly.
"Ahahaha! I just happened to crouch down to wipe my shoes. They're dirty," Gold Ship said with a grin.
"Oh? I'll give you one more chance," Air Groove said coldly. There was no way she couldn't see through Gold Ship's antics.
"Sigh, you saw right through me. As expected of the Empress, Air Groove. In that case, Golshi has no choice but to tell the truth..."
"Actually... Tosen Jordan made us do it! It has nothing to do with me!"
Gold Ship went silent for a split second before immediately shifting the blame. The speed was fast, accurate, and ruthless.
"Huh? I mean... ahem, it really does seem that way," Nakayama Festa added, realizing Gold Ship had a true talent for passing the buck so decisively.
"You... you two bastards..." Tosen Jordan was catatonic. She was slow-witted to begin with and couldn't find the words to defend herself.
She was the most innocent one, yet she was being sold out the hardest.
Fortunately, Air Groove was perceptive. She caught Gold Ship and Nakayama Festa immediately. Tosen Jordan started to smirk, feeling a sense of vindication— until Air Groove suddenly remembered that Tosen Jordan had been skipping class repeatedly. She dragged all three of them inside to stand in the corner as punishment.
Afterwards, the Sweeping Gang would gain three new members!
Air Shakur was speechless. 'Do these girls even have brains?'
As for Tosen Jordan, she never expected to be screwed over by Gold Ship yet again.