Mejiro Ardan kept her eyes shut, waiting in the darkness for the harsh words she was sure Dream Weaver would deliver. She felt that someone as despicable as herself deserved any kind of treatment.
After all, she was just glass—fragile, incompetent glass, only capable of placing her dreams onto others. There was no way she could ever become a strong, dazzling diamond.
She waited, but no words from Dream Weaver ever came on the wind. All she could hear was the distant sound of Uma Musume chasing their dreams on the training grounds, pushing themselves to the limit.
Maybe she had already left.
Mejiro Ardan thought to herself. She was no different from the other adults of the Mejiro family. Surely, the other girl wouldn't even want to waste a single word on someone as shameful as her.
Just as Mejiro Ardan, crestfallen, began to lift her head, thinking Dream Weaver had gone, she suddenly found those deep, night-sky eyes right in front of her.
"Your eyes are all red."
Staring at Dream Weaver, who blinked back at her, Mejiro Ardan was struck speechless, left gaping foolishly.
"And you've got a runny nose."
As she spoke, Dream Weaver reached into Mejiro Ardan's pocket, pulled out her handkerchief, and gently wiped the tip of her nose.
Having never done this for anyone before, she wasn't quite used to the pressure, and Mejiro Ardan's nose turned red from the rubbing.
But Mejiro Ardan couldn't bring herself to care about that now. Gazing blankly at Dream Weaver, she murmured, "You… don't hate me?"
Hearing that, Dream Weaver tilted her head in confusion. "Why would I hate you?"
Mejiro Ardan's emotions surged, her voice catching as she replied, "Because… because I'm just like the rest of the Mejiro family. I wanted to use your strength to reach for things I could never grasp on my own…"
"Silly."
Before Mejiro Ardan could finish through her sobs, Dream Weaver rested a hand on her head, her tone soft.
"How could you be the same as them?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't it only natural to place your hopes on the Uma Musume you admire?"
"When Uma Musume step onto the track, besides chasing their own brilliance, don't they also want to live up to the people who love them?"
Having long carried the hopes of everyone in Kasamatsu, Dream Weaver saw no issue with this. To her, Mejiro Ardan was just too hard on herself.
Yes, Mejiro Ardan was so humble that even entrusting her wishes to Dream Weaver felt despicable to her. Always called "glass," she had come to loathe that part of herself, and so she grew even stricter in her self-judgment.
She wanted to be the perfect, flawless older sister, but Dream Weaver knew—no one in this world could be truly perfect.
So what if Mejiro Ardan sought something else from her?
Were all those days she spent looking after her a lie?
Was her hard work, waiting under sun and wind at the training grounds to hand her supplies, fake?
How could the fact that this young lady, covered in dust every day just to stay with the Northern family, be anything but real?
Mejiro Ardan had already given so much of herself—so many real, tangible things—while all Dream Weaver could offer in return were elusive dreams.
If anything, Dream Weaver felt she was the one indebted to Mejiro Ardan.
It was true that Mejiro Ardan saw Dream Weaver as a substitute for her dreams—but wasn't her care also real?
"But is that really enough? Are you satisfied just watching me run?"
"Doesn't Ardan want to run herself?"
As she spoke, Dream Weaver took Mejiro Ardan's wrist and pulled her up from her hunched, closed-off posture.
"So why not try again? You're still so full of regret, aren't you?"
"But…"
Mejiro Ardan wanted to confess the truth about her glass legs, but she swallowed the words at the last second. No matter what, she didn't want to see pity in Dream Weaver's eyes.
She had lived under that kind of gaze for so many years. Finally, someone was treating her like a normal Uma Musume—she couldn't bear to lose that, to have Dream Weaver look at her with that same sorrow.
"Are you afraid because it's been so long since you last ran?"
Dream Weaver asked gently. When she had first forced herself to start running, it was the same for her. Having never trained properly before, she had forgotten the feeling of running, and her heart was filled with fear back then.
It was the pressure of her mother's medical bills that forced her to train hard and test into Tracen Academy. So Dream Weaver understood how difficult it was to take that first step again after so long without running.
Back then, she had to bear that pressure alone—but Mejiro Ardan didn't have to.
"But there's no need to be afraid."
"Because I'll help you."
Dream Weaver wouldn't claim to have a wealth of experience, but she had trained with King Halo when they were younger and had developed her own understanding of how to guide someone.
Besides, she had learned a thing or two systematically from Chizuru Haibara. She wasn't claiming to be some expert, but she was more than capable of helping Mejiro Ardan through her rehabilitation.
"I might get injured again…"
Mejiro Ardan murmured. She didn't want Dream Weaver to find out about her glass legs, nor did she want the other to blame herself if she got hurt.
"I'll be here. Nothing will happen."
Mejiro Ardan hesitated, but Dream Weaver did not. Any injuries from training could be fixed with items she exchanged for points—a few thousand points at most, something she could always earn back.
Besides, in Dream Weaver's eyes, she had already reached her limit for the next few months. Rather than focusing on herself, she might as well help the other girl retrain and regain her form.
Only then could she repay Mejiro Ardan for all the care she had given her these past months.
All this time, Mejiro Ardan had wanted to return to the track. But every time she stepped onto the training field near the estate, she was reminded of everyone's pitying stares.
The reason she had secluded herself in this small courtyard for so long after retiring was precisely to avoid those looks. If she got injured training again, surely everyone who had just started caring for her would look at her that way again.
So she kept running away, avoiding it again and again. Each time she tried to muster the courage to return to the track, she gave up—just like in her races, always falling just that little bit short.
But today, Dream Weaver filled her with courage, pushing her past that seemingly reachable boundary.
Mejiro Ardan had always been an incredibly strong Uma Musume—otherwise, she could never have raced through the pain of her glass legs. So once Dream Weaver gave her that final push of resolve, she hesitated no more.
So what if she got injured? Hadn't she been hurt before?! The desire to run, to set foot on the track again, roared inside her, so fierce it felt ready to burst from her chest and proclaim itself to the world.
Seeing the growing determination in her eyes, Dream Weaver smiled softly and asked, "Do you want to run?"
"Of course! More than anything!"
Wiping the last of her tears, Mejiro Ardan nodded firmly at Dream Weaver.
--+--
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.