Before Matikanetannhauser could even finish her sentence, blood trickled through her fingers, startling Mejiro Ardan, who quickly began dabbing it away with a handkerchief. As she gently wiped the blood, she asked with concern,
"Are you really alright? You're bleeding, you know."
Matikanetannhauser sniffled, offering the two a slightly dazed smile as she confidently patted her chest.
"It's fine, it's fine! I just bumped into a tree while thinking about the Autumn Tenno Sho!"
"In other words, this is just my overflowing determination to win the Autumn Tenno Sho!"
Dream Weaver had no idea where to even begin with that. She stared at the silly girl and sighed helplessly.
"Since when does an Uma Musume's determination come out as a nosebleed?"
"Really, we should take you to the infirmary. What if you hit more than just your nose…"
But Mejiro Ardan, who had just tucked her handkerchief away, caught the key point in Matikanetannhauser's words.
"You're entering the Autumn Tenno Sho too?"
It seemed Matikanetannhauser completely missed the "too" in that sentence. Beaming widely, she replied, "Of course! With Bourbon retired, and Rice Shower talking about retiring too, who's left to stand in my way?"
"This year's Autumn Tenno Sho champion will definitely be me, Matikanetannhauser! Hehehe!"
Then she muttered under her breath, just a little too audibly,
"Last Japan Cup, I had to withdraw because of a nosebleed, and then the Arima Kinen because of hives… Missing two G1 races in a row has to be setting the stage for my Autumn Tenno Sho victory!"
"You see it in comics all the time—after losing again and again, the main character always wins the big one! It's called… what was it again?"
Dream Weaver, standing right in front of her, twitched the corner of her mouth. Wasn't this supposed to be a private monologue? Why was it getting louder and louder?
Watching Matikanetannhauser frown, struggling to recall the phrase, Dream Weaver finally supplied, "Building up before the climax."
"Oh, right! Building up before the climax! Thanks— Wait, you heard all that?!"
Matikanetannhauser's exaggerated shriek made Dream Weaver instinctively facepalm. At that volume, not hearing her would've been the real challenge.
Just those few sentences were enough for Dream Weaver to confirm it: this was the "silly Uma Musume" her grandmother had often mentioned.
Now she understood why Grandma always sighed helplessly whenever Matikanetannhauser came up. At this point, Dream Weaver herself was reluctant to admit they shared Northern family blood.
"Hey, Dreams, could she be…"
Mejiro Ardan, standing beside her, seemed to have caught on as well. Leaning close, she whispered into Dream Weaver's ear.
"Don't say it… I'm not ready to accept it yet."
Dream Weaver sighed, still holding her forehead. She was struggling to come to terms with the fact that she and Matikanetannhauser were related.
Noticing their silence, Matikanetannhauser tilted her head, thinking for a moment before her eyes widened in shock. Trembling, she pointed at the two and stammered,
"Don't tell me… Don't tell me…!"
Mejiro Ardan and Dream Weaver exchanged a glance, mutual resignation in their eyes. They hadn't expected Matikanetannhauser to recognize them, too.
"That's right, we are—"
But before Dream Weaver could finish, Matikanetannhauser slapped a hand to her fluffy hair and wailed in dismay.
"I knew it!"
"No wonder I've never seen you two around Tracen! You're new students, aren't you? And here I am, making a fool of myself in front of my kouhai! How embarrassing!"
At her outburst, both Mejiro Ardan and Dream Weaver tilted their heads in unison.
"?"
"?"
Dream Weaver aside, Mejiro Ardan was genuinely her senior. The only reason Matikanetannhauser didn't recognize her was her late enrollment and, well, being a bit of an airhead.
As for Dream Weaver, who really was Matikanetannhauser's junior, she really didn't want to admit it. In her mind, a proper senior should be someone like Rice Shower—gentle yet strong, firm and powerful.
What kind of senior was a total goofball?
Dream Weaver poked Matikanetannhauser, who was still mulling over how to regain her dignity in front of her "juniors," then pointed to herself and said, "I'm entering this year's Autumn Tenno Sho, too."
"You've probably heard my name—Northern Dreams."
For a moment, Matikanetannhauser was speechless, her jaw hanging open as she stared at Dream Weaver.
Dream Weaver simply watched her calmly, waiting for recognition to dawn. Even though she'd been adopted out, she assumed Matikanetannhauser would have heard something from her parents.
At the very least, she should feel some kind of familial connection, right?
When Matikanetannhauser finally caught her breath, she blurted out in astonishment,
"You're that Northern Dreams? The main character of that whole messy, dramatic family saga?!"
"?"
Dream Weaver never expected that after all that buildup, this was what Matikanetannhauser would say. Sure, the Northern and Mejiro families had their complexities.
But that didn't mean Matikanetannhauser could cast her as the lead in some soap opera! She didn't have a crush on her own sisters!
"You know Narita Brian, right?"
Dream Weaver changed the subject, watching the still-stunned Matikanetannhauser, who simply nodded blankly.
"Well, did you know she's also entering the Autumn Tenno Sho?"
"Wha… What?! That shadowy monster Narita Brian is joining the Autumn Tenno Sho, too? But then my championship might be in danger!"
Dream Weaver smirked mischievously. The fact that Matikanetannhauser hadn't known she was entering had tipped her off. She decided to lean into it.
"Yep. And by then, Narita Brian will be at her absolute peak."
"Peak condition?!"
Not giving her time to process, Dream Weaver piled it on.
"You entered the Arima Kinen before, right? So you watched the race?"
"Well, I saw it…"
"Then get this—at the Autumn Tenno Sho, Narita Brian will be ten times stronger than she was in the Arima Kinen!"
"T-ten times?!"
Matikanetannhauser started counting on her fingers, as if trying to calculate just how terrifying a ten-times-stronger Narita Brian would be. Seeing this, Dream Weaver smiled in satisfaction—her teasing had worked perfectly.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! 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.