"Name?"
Facing the tall, dappled-gray Uma Musume wearing sunglasses and a mask, Dream Weaver's lip twitched. She glanced at the pen and paper in the other's hand, then at the discarded burlap sack nearby. The whole scene felt weirdly familiar.
"You dragged me here and still need to ask my name?"
Dream Weaver, sitting tied to a chair, spoke with pure exasperation.
Hearing this, a brown-haired, short-haired Uma Musume also sporting a mask and sunglasses nudged her companion worriedly.
"She kinda has a point, y'know."
Dream Weaver shifted her gaze to another, smaller Uma Musume who looked oddly familiar, and sighed helplessly.
"Just because I called you out on your stubbornness this morning…"
"Wow, petty much, Dokai Deiou?"
The petite Uma Musume immediately hopped up, her voice uniquely crisp and indignant.
"How many times do I have to say it?! It's Tokai Teio!"
As her voice rang out, everyone's eyes snapped toward Tokai Teio.
A twin-tailed Uma Musume in the crowd ripped off her disguise, revealing intense red eyes.
"I told you this method would never fool anyone!"
"You weren't saying that earlier," a short-haired Uma Musume beside her also removed her disguise and shrugged, throwing some shade.
"You—!"
"Am I wrong?!"
Watching this crew of criminals suddenly start bickering amongst themselves for no apparent reason, Dream Weaver stared with dead-fish eyes at the still-disguised dappled-gray Uma Musume in front of her.
"So why'd you bring me here? Don't tell me you're trying to strong-arm me into joining your team."
She'd already taken in her surroundings. The walls were plastered with training schedules and race dates—clearly, this was some trainer's team. Remembering how King Halo and the others had also tried to recruit her before, Dream Weaver felt she'd figured it out: this was just another group stunned by her performance in the races, trying to recruit her!
Sure enough, when Dream Weaver said this, the other Uma Musume all looked like she'd hit the nail on the head.
But for some reason, only the dappled-gray Uma Musume in front of her stayed silent. After her earlier question, she'd just been staring at Dream Weaver. Even through the sunglasses, Dream Weaver could feel the intensity of that gaze.
Dream Weaver looked her over again. She was a tall Uma Musume with long white hair. Dream Weaver was pretty sure she didn't know her, so based on her apparent role as the ringleader, she guessed:
"Are you the trainer here?"
It wasn't unusual for retired Uma Musume to become trainers. Their experience on the track gave them a unique edge.
The dappled-gray Uma Musume still didn't respond, just kept staring blankly at Dream Weaver's face, as if trying to memorize every inch of her skin.
She'd had a strange dream last night. Even for someone as eccentric as her, it was a particularly weird one.
In the dream, she'd gone back to her childhood. After some race, she'd ended up staying in some countryside town she'd never heard of before. She'd had a blast those ten months there and made a lot of friends.
But just when she thought it was turning into a nice dream, it took a sharp nosedive. The Uma Musume she cherished most in the dream collapsed in the rain during the Japanese Derby.
Lost and helpless, she'd chosen to return to the Gold Family. Unconsciously, she started emulating that Uma Musume's running style in her own races. Influenced by the outside world and public opinion, she began to feel that this Uma Musume might share some special, unbreakable bond with her sister—one she could never be part of.
Maybe out of jealousy, maybe out of stubbornness, she set foot again and again on the very racetracks where her sister had earned her glory. She wanted to use the running style of that cherished Uma Musume to claim that honor for herself.
To prove—
Prove what? Gold Ship herself wasn't even sure. Before she could sort out her feelings, her eyes snapped open. Instead of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she was staring at her dorm room ceiling.
Just as she was writing it off as a bizarre dream, during training today, she'd suddenly heard that name from her dream from a teammate.
Dream Weaver.
Learning that she didn't have a trainer yet and was being watched by a bunch of people, Gold Ship had rallied her teammates and, just like in the old days, brought Dream Weaver back to their training room.
Her teammates all thought Gold Ship wanted to recruit her into the team.
But only Gold Ship herself knew—she hadn't really been thinking at all.
She just wanted to see her. And when she placed Dream Weaver in the chair, she'd unconsciously reenacted a scene from her dream, picking up the pen and paper and asking that question.
Now, with dream and reality overlapping, Gold Ship still didn't know what her heart was truly seeking.
So she could only stare blankly through her sunglasses at Dream Weaver, who seemed to have stepped right out of her dream.
"?"
Dream Weaver looked at her quizzically. Getting no response, she simply turned her attention to the group of Uma Musume behind her who seemed more approachable.
The brown-haired Uma Musume who'd complained about Gold Ship earlier stepped forward, her tone soft.
"She's not actually the trainer, though."
She was about to continue, but then realized that none of them had even introduced themselves yet. Flustered, she quickly pointed to herself.
"My name is Special Week."
"That's Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka over there," she said, pointing to the two still roughhousing, "and I guess Tokai Teio needs no introduction."
Finally, she pointed at Gold Ship.
"She's our teammate too. Her name is—"
Before Special Week could finish, the already locked iron door behind Dream Weaver was suddenly kicked inward with tremendous force, crashing to the floor.
An all-too-familiar, prideful voice, now filled with unmistakable fury, roared from behind Dream Weaver.
"Gold Ship! Why did you kidnap her?!"
Right after, another familiar voice chimed in from behind.
"A true king cannot stand idly by and watch her rival be taken in such a manner!"
Hearing those voices, Dream Weaver's mind went into a whirl. She recognized them as Orfevre and T.M. Opera O. But why were they together? And why were they here?
And the thing that confused Dream Weaver the most: Gold Ship was here?!
Dream Weaver scanned the room frantically, but couldn't find the chestnut-haired Uma Musume she remembered anywhere.
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T/N: MY GOAT T.M. OPERA O IS BACK
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 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.