Chapter 312: Only One Year Left—I’ll Become a Legendary Uma Musume! 2 [256]

Into Mejiro Ramonu’s room?!

For a split second, Gotham Song imagined all kinds of terrible possibilities—but only for a split second.

After being back at Mejiro Manor for so long, she’d already grown very, very used to this sort of everyday intimacy. The only reason she’d reacted at all was because Mejiro Ramonu had made the suggestion so suddenly.

Still, going to her sister’s room didn’t sound bad at all.

Besides, Ramonu-neesan had said it herself: whatever her sister said, went. And if that was the case, then all the more reason to obediently do as she was told, right?

With that thought, Gotham Song felt no urge to resist. She simply nodded lightly, clasped her sister’s hand tightly in her own, and walked into the room with her.

But once they were inside, what was the first thing to do?

If they were going to rest, then naturally, they should wash up first.

The rooms at Mejiro Manor were all impressively spacious, and that showed in every detail. Even the bathtub in the bathroom was big enough to fit two people without any trouble.

How did Gotham Song know that?

Because the moment she’d been carried back to the room, Mejiro Ramonu had promptly put her straight into the tub, that’s how!?

Gah, Ramonu-neesan, you set me up!

Still, nothing strange happened after that. For all Gotham Song’s surprise, all Mejiro Ramonu did was hold her while washing her hair, then scrub her back and the like.

As though she were being considerate of her little sister’s feelings, Ramonu neither asked Gotham Song to wash her in return nor touched any of the places Gotham Song could reach by herself.

That made Gotham Song breathe a sigh of relief.

When it came to things like this, her sister was unexpectedly gentle.

Really, she’d always been that way. Or rather, ever since Gotham Song had still been Ruka, Mejiro Ramonu had always been this gentle.

She was just firm about certain things.

Gotham Song didn’t dislike that. It was true that being disciplined could make people resentful, but—Mejiro Ramonu would never act that way for no reason. You could feel that whenever she took a hard line, it was for something that was ultimately good for you too. It wasn’t like the kind of parent some people ran into in her previous world—the sort who couldn’t be bothered to understand what you wanted and just did everything under the banner of "it’s for your own good."

Mejiro Ramonu had an excellent sense of proportion. Most of the time, she gave you free rein. She only stepped in to make the decision for you when it truly mattered.

"Something like this... if it were the old me, I really never would’ve been able to imagine it."

"If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d get the chance to be with you like this, I probably would’ve stared at them and thought they were insane."

As she spoke, Mejiro Ramonu leaned back against the far side of the tub and looked at Gotham Song in complete openness, her gaze fixed on the faint flush on her little sister’s cheeks.

"Is that so? But no matter what, you’d still be taken for crazy, wouldn’t you?"

After all, she’d been a beautiful girl for years now. Gotham Song wasn’t especially shy about this sort of thing anymore—besides, wasn’t Ramonu-neesan pretty amazing in every sense too?

She forced herself to meet that gaze calmly, without showing the slightest bit of timidity.

Gotham Song’s answer clearly went beyond what Mejiro Ramonu had expected. Evidently, she hadn’t realized why her sister would say something like that, and only tilted her head slightly in puzzlement.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Because if you think about it, it’s obvious, isn’t it? If someone who looked exactly like you suddenly popped out and told you that one day you’d bathe with your little sister..."

"Wouldn’t your first reaction be to think they were nuts?!"

The world of Umamusume was supposed to be scientific... was it? Really?

Well, aside from the Umamusume themselves and the Three Goddesses, it was probably still scientific.

That was what Gotham Song chose to believe, anyway. After all, a freak like Agnes Tachyon existed.

Mejiro Ramonu blinked, clearly not having thought of it that way. Gotham Song’s words sank in, and after a brief pause, understanding dawned on her.

"Haha, that’s true. If someone really jumped out in front of me on the street and started telling me something that sounded bizarre at the time..."

"My first reaction would probably be to wonder whether I was hallucinating."

Her little sister really did say things like that sometimes—things you wouldn’t notice unless you stopped and thought about them, or rather, things an Umamusume wouldn’t immediately wrap her head around.

In Mejiro Ramonu’s eyes, Gotham Song had always been contradictory. She possessed the overwhelming strength of an Umamusume, yet in little details, she so often carried herself in distinctly human ways.

Still, that was as far as the contradiction went.

Like she’d always thought, if it was her little sister...

Mejiro Ramonu didn’t mind.

Wasn’t that cute too? Her Gotham Song, the cutest little sister in the whole wide world, was just like that.

"But even if I might’ve been taken for crazy, I still would’ve told my past self that."

Even Mejiro Ramonu herself couldn’t have explained how much effort she’d poured into helping Song blend into Mejiro Manor. In the end, all that time spent together had yielded exactly the result she’d expected—but even that had been long ago.

And she’d only just gotten it before losing it again. That was why this hard-won return after loss felt unimaginably precious.

Gotham Song could more or less understand how Mejiro Ramonu felt—or rather, there was no need to guess. All she had to do was look, and she could clearly feel the burning emotion in her sister at this moment.

And of course she cared about that.

After all, Mejiro Manor was the warmest harbor she had now. It was her home.

"Back then, I really did give you a lot of trouble, didn’t I, nee-san? I get it. If you really want your past self to know..."

"Then let me tell her for you."

Gotham Song blinked at Mejiro Ramonu, then lightly swam closer, wrapping herself around her sister’s arm without the slightest hesitation and leaning in until their eyes met at close range.

"That way, your past self wouldn’t think you were crazy, right?"

Of course she wouldn’t...

Just like Song. She always showed this incredibly intense, utterly irresistible warmth in the strangest places.

With her free hand, Mejiro Ramonu caught Gotham Song’s cheek and gently tugged on it.

"And yet a certain troublesome little sister resisted me that much back then, and refused to open up...?"

"Ehehe... th-that, that was for a reason...!"

A reason, yes. There had been a reason.

And what was it?

Mejiro Ramonu didn’t need to think. She understood in an instant what it had been.

It was nothing more than...

"Because it was an incurable terminal illness, so you were afraid that if you said it out loud, we’d only worry?"

"Ah, mm... because at the beginning, we weren’t really close yet, right? So back then I thought that if we just stayed strangers like that, then even if I left, it wouldn’t cause that much of an emotional shock—or something like that, ehe~"

Since Mejiro Ramonu had guessed everything, Gotham Song could only scratch her head and honestly confess what she’d been thinking.

Back then, had she simply not been mature enough? Or had her physical condition left her no room to think that deeply about anything? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Probably both. In fact, looking at it now, even she thought that decision had been absurd.

Because the people around her were exactly the sort who would still care about you without hesitation even if you tried to distance yourself from them.

So yes, Gotham Song thought she was lucky.

Not because luck had given her a better, wealthier life. Not because she’d stumbled into the bizarre stroke of fortune that was transmigration.

It was because she had a group of people who cared about her—supporters, friends, and family who were dependable and who gave her strength.

It wasn’t that Mejiro Ramonu couldn’t understand those feelings. But precisely because she could, the force in her hand gradually increased, pulling the cheek she held more and more out of shape—

"Yes, of course I understand why Song-chan thought that way. But because I do understand, that’s exactly why it makes me a little sad... and a little angry, you know?"

"At the very least, if something like that ever happens again in the future, you are absolutely not allowed to do that."

Mejiro Ramonu’s voice was light—so light that it was softer than the sound of Gotham Song nodding furiously in response.

And seeing her little sister nodding like that, Mejiro Ramonu could only feel a mix of helplessness and amusement. Well, if her sister was reacting like this, what more was there to say?

Thinking that, Mejiro Ramonu suddenly felt that the scene in front of her wasn’t bad at all. Her little sister might have a rebellious streak more often than not, but once she properly agreed to something, she never broke her word.

So as long as she gave a proper promise, then nothing unexpected would happen... right?

No. She still couldn’t relax at all.

Thinking that, Mejiro Ramonu casually turned her eyes toward her sister.

"So, my dear little sister—have you been hiding anything from me lately? Anything you want to do that I would absolutely never agree to?"

Mejiro Ramonu didn’t know why she’d asked that, but her instincts were blaring the alarm—

And as soon as her question fell, Gotham Song’s gaze wavered, and she went silent.

Hm...?

Oh, that had just been a casual question. She hadn’t expected there to really be something.

Mejiro Ramonu caught Gotham Song by the shoulders, then leaned in and locked eyes with her mercilessly.

So then, what kind of thing was it?

Of course, the eldest of the Mejiros wasn’t about to start interrogating her here. She simply looked at her sister and waited for the answer that would absolutely be given.

Song really was especially cute in this regard.

Faced with her request, could Gotham Song really say no?

Probably not~

"Mm, mm... it’s, it’s about the Breeder’s Cup later."

The Breeder’s Cup—the race before the Dream Cup...

So what could possibly be that outrageous about the Breeders’ Cup?

Mejiro Ramonu was a little puzzled. In her impression, the Breeders’ Cup was a pretty straightforward event. True, her little sister would be taking on two major races back-to-back, but if it was those two races, then there wasn’t much to be done about it.

"The Breeder’s Cup is an all-day event, right?"

Mejiro Ramonu fell silent.

She suddenly realized something—or rather, she had a feeling she’d already guessed exactly what bold and outrageous thing her sister wanted to do.

"The turf race in the morning and the dirt race in the afternoon... mm, I want to enter both!"

"I knew it. Song, do you realize what kind of thing you’re trying to do?"

Gotham Song nodded, then gave an embarrassed little smile.

"Of course I know, Ramonu-neesan. But I just want to do it—because this might be my very, very last chance before I retire."

Before retirement...?

Mejiro Ramonu sank into thought. She could understand that feeling, after all...

It wasn’t as though she wasn’t a retired Umamusume herself.

What a strange thing. Retirement had once felt distant and unfamiliar, and Mejiro Ramonu truly had never imagined her little sister would start thinking about it this early.

It was probably because her strength and status were simply too high, so she’d chosen early retirement in order to make room for the younger generation.

Mejiro Ramonu felt a little helpless, but for an Umamusume as powerful as her little sister, staying on the throne too long really would have had a major effect.

"Then who else knows about this? Anyone else in Mejiro Manor?"

Mejiro Ramonu didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling right now. It was just like how she didn’t know why she’d asked that question or spoken those words in the first place, but...

Just this once wouldn’t matter, right?

Her heart was pounding wildly, calling out for her to support Song...

Unexpectedly, it felt rather thrilling...

"Ah, everyone at Mejiro Manor? No one knows yet. You’re the first, nee-san."

"Is that so? I’m the first..."

Which meant Ardan didn’t know either.

Mejiro Ramonu thought of many things from the past, but after countless memories and emotions circled through her and finally settled, they all layered into the same result.

"Have you truly made up your mind, Song?"

"Ah, yes, Ramonu-neesan. I’ve really made my preparations...!"

"In that case, how could I possibly say no to you? With the blessing of the Three Goddesses upon you... then go and try."

Just this once, for a willful wish like this, not supporting her would be too harsh.

And besides, Ardan.

This is something even you don’t know.