"As long as I can achieve victory."
Dream Weaver's voice was soft, yet it cut through the café's gentle piano music like a sharp blade.
Dancing Brave's fingers tightened unconsciously around her coffee cup handle, her knuckles turning pale from the pressure. In her purple eyes—so much like King Halo's—a flicker of pain surfaced, only to be quickly hidden again behind the shadow of her long eyelashes.
"I don't mind."
She lifted the cup and took a sip of her iced Americano. A bitter taste spread across her tongue, but Dream Weaver's expression didn't change at all.
This was the path she had chosen. No matter how bitter, she would swallow it.
The air between Dream Weaver and Dancing Brave felt heavy and thick, as though this small space had somehow detached itself from the rest of the world.
"You're still just as stubborn as you were when you were little."
"If only I had realized sooner…"
Dancing Brave cut herself off mid-sentence and shook her head with a self-deprecating smile, her brown hair swaying gently with the motion.
"No. With a personality like yours, no amount of persuasion would've made a difference, would it?"
"Once you set your mind on a goal, you'll push forward no matter the cost."
"I've known that all along."
She spoke quietly, almost as if talking to herself.
She lifted her cappuccino and took a small sip. Even with sugar added, it still tasted unbearably bitter now.
"You're not like Halo."
"Her dream of becoming a top-tier Uma Musume… half of it comes from her admiration of me, and the other half from her own pride."
"Even though she's been on a losing streak lately, with her talent, she still has a real shot at winning a G1 someday."
"Even without me, she has the strength to find her own way to make peace with herself."
As Dancing Brave rambled on, Dream Weaver raised an eyebrow slightly and replied:
"Don't you think that's a little cruel to her?"
"The fact that Halo's stretched herself so thin she's about to break—both you and I share some blame in that."
"I'm going to prove to her through my own example that even someone without innate talent can win a G1. Don't you think you, as her mother, should also try a little harder?"
Dancing Brave's brow furrowed, though she forced a faint smile. The sunlight falling across her face made the fine wrinkles around her eyes especially visible.
"You're only focused on winning races, and yet you're taking responsibility for all this? You're too mature for your own good."
"Call it making up for lost time. If I hadn't poured all my energy into racing, maybe I would've noticed earlier that something was off with Halo."
Dancing Brave gazed into Dream Weaver's eyes, but those dark pupils showed no emotion.
"What if you had another chance?"
Her voice grew so soft it was almost lost beneath the café's background music.
After a moment of silence, Dream Weaver finally spoke, her voice as firm as it had been the first time she stepped onto a racetrack:
"I'd make the same choice. There's a reason I can't afford to lose."
"That's exactly why I've always kept a closer eye on you."
Dancing Brave's shoulders slumped slightly. She let out a long sigh, her voice tinged with a weariness that was hard to put into words.
"In a way, that's what makes you the most fragile of all."
"Fragile? Me?"
Dream Weaver tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled.
"You said you wanted to train, and you've kept at it since you were little—never slacking, not even once. Even though you knew you weren't as naturally gifted as Halo, you still patiently honed your skills."
"Most people would call that perseverance. But I've been your mother all these years. I've seen what's underneath all that."
"It's like there's some goal waiting for you at the end of the road, forcing you to push yourself, to give your all. You'd sacrifice everything for that distant, almost intangible purpose."
Dancing Brave's voice grew unusually gentle. She paused for a moment before continuing:
"And that's exactly what I never wanted to see."
Seeing Dancing Brave like this—so uncharacteristically vulnerable—Dream Weaver's own voice softened almost unconsciously.
"Why?"
"Because I'm your mother."
"Is it so hard to understand that I just want my child to live a healthy life?"
Dancing Brave's voice had dropped to little more than a whisper.
"I don't expect you to become a top-tier Uma Musume. I don't demand any great achievements from you. I know what your talents are, and I know what you'd have to sacrifice if you chased after those things."
"You don't have to race. You don't have to fight for glory. All I want is to see you live a healthy, happy life."
Her voice caught briefly. She took a quick, sharp breath, struggling to compose herself.
"Maybe that's just my selfishness as a mother."
Almost immediately after saying this, she laughed at herself softly.
"But I know, clearer than anything, that there's no way I can actually stop you."
"Should I use my influence to force you out of competing? Someone who'd do that doesn't deserve to be called a mother."
"So instead, I chose to look away. I stood by and watched you walk further down this path. It wasn't until I heard the news that I finally mustered the courage to come see you."
"Pretty pathetic, isn't it? A world-class Uma Musume, yet so cowardly."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was barely audible.
Dream Weaver watched Dancing Brave, her face lowered and hidden behind her hair. She had never seen her look so fragile before. No one would believe that this was the same world-class racer everyone admired.
In that moment, the image of Dancing Brave, nearly burying her face in her hair, overlapped strangely in Dream Weaver's mind with that of King Halo.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice carrying a tenderness that was almost imperceptible.
"You're a lot like Halo."
"Well, we are mother and daughter."
Dancing Brave's soft reply came from across the table.
Dream Weaver fell silent again. She could never abandon her main mission. So, in the face of Dancing Brave's vulnerability, all she could offer was the same response as before.
"Besides being your daughter, I'm also an Uma Musume."
"..."
Dancing Brave's lips trembled slightly, but in the end, no sound came out.
She looked down into her cup of now-cold coffee. The dark brown liquid reflected her complicated expression.
"And besides being a mother, you are also an Uma Musume."
"One of the very best in the world."
"..."
"The gentle breeze on the turf, the roar of the crowd, the battlefield shaped by every Uma Musume who sets foot on the track—and the resolve it takes to willingly step into that arena, all for the sake of seizing that brilliance."
With each word, Dream Weaver's voice grew steadier, filled with unwavering determination.
Sunlight streaming through the window cast tiny points of light in her eyes, making them shine with unusual intensity. For a moment, Dancing Brave seemed to see once again the little girl who had first set foot on the racetrack so long ago.
"You understand, don't you? Because you've been through it all yourself. Even after all these years away, that passion must still live somewhere in your heart."
"So please, come to the Satsuki Sho."
"Not as my mother, but as an Uma Musume."
"Come and witness my moment of glory with your own eyes."
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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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.