After several months, Dream Weaver once again stepped into the Mejiro household. Unlike her previous visits, where she had been groping blindly for the truth, this time she carried a wealth of information in her grasp.
Today, Dream Weaver would settle things once and for all with Mejiro Asama at the Mejiro estate.
Following behind Mejiro Ramonu, Dream Weaver arrived once more before that deep brown door. Ramonu pulled it open for her but did not enter, instead leaning close to whisper to Dream Weaver.
"Go on. This is between the two of you."
Dream Weaver offered no reply, walking into the office without a backward glance.
With a heavy, dull thud of the closing door, Mejiro Asama, who had been standing with her back to the entrance, finally turned around. She studied Dream Weaver for a long moment, then slowly removed the green beret from her head, revealing the symbol that marked her as an Uma Musume.
A long silence stretched between them, so profound it felt as if time itself had frozen in this small world.
The uncomfortable stillness grew heavier, the air in the office becoming so thick it was nearly suffocating.
After what felt like an age, Dream Weaver, who had never taken her eyes off Asama, finally spoke, her voice cool and measured.
"How does it feel to have your plan fail?"
Clearly, she was referring to Mejiro Asama's attempt to turn Northern Dreams into Mejiro Dreams during the press conference.
Mejiro Asama gently ran her fingers along the brim of the green beret in her hands and replied softly, "I thought Ardan would have bought me at least a day of your hesitation."
"If I'd had a little more time to prepare, perhaps we wouldn't have reached this point."
Seeing not a trace of remorse in the other's eyes, Dream Weaver's expression remained icy. "What if? How can someone your age still utter such words?"
Faced with her sarcasm, Mejiro Asama showed no anger. She even let out a soft chuckle and nodded. "You're right."
In truth, she had prepared a backup plan to avoid this very outcome: relaying certain information through the forms Dream Weaver submitted for the Tenno Sho (Spring) to Sugimoto Kentaro.
Asama had previously investigated this man and believed his character would compel him to speak with Dream Weaver.
With that buffer, perhaps Dream Weaver wouldn't have said those irrevocable words in front of the journalists, and maybe Asama's plan could have succeeded.
But, as Dream Weaver had said, it was almost laughable for someone her age to try and excuse herself with 'what ifs.' So, Asama didn't argue.
Placing the green beret on the desk, Mejiro Asama leaned forward, her hands braced on the surface, and looked seriously at Dream Weaver. "But I assume you didn't come here just to mock an old woman, did you? Do you have any questions?"
Dream Weaver didn't stand on ceremony, answering bluntly, "Everything."
Hearing this brief response, Mejiro Asama fell into thought, as if considering where to begin.
A few seconds later, she nodded to Dream Weaver, gesturing for her to take a seat across the desk. "You must have heard quite a bit about your mother from Ardan and the Northern family by now. What's your take on it all?"
"The Mejiro family, blinded by greed, ignored my mother's physical condition and forced her onto the track to win the Tenno Sho. How does that assessment sound to you?"
To Dream Weaver's surprise, Mejiro Asama listened and then nodded in agreement. "I think you're quite right... That's why, after your mother, the Mejiro family, while still obsessed with the Tenno Sho, never again allowed our descendants to pay such a high price for it."
"How commendable," Dream Weaver sneered. "The lesson learned by discarding a mother who only had half Mejiro blood was enough to wake the family up, without you having to pay any real price. How convenient."
This time, however, Mejiro Asama shook her head. "You underestimate your mother too much. Her passing was a devastating loss for both the Northern family and the Mejiro family."
"The Northern family lost the best heir of that generation because of it, and the Mejiro family stagnated for over a decade after her departure, only beginning to recover recently."
"She should have been the Uma Musume to win the Tenno Sho after Mejiro Titan, but she lost her life because of my misjudgment..."
As she spoke, an irrepressible regret welled up in Mejiro Asama's eyes.
The old woman, who had remained composed since Dream Weaver entered, finally seemed unable to fully contain the emotions she had buried for years as memories flooded back.
"That is why I strove so desperately to become the head of the Mejiro family, to use that power to promote cooperation with the Northern family. Aside from me, only a handful within the Mejiro family know about the Limiter."
"And what is this? Atonement?"
"At best, it's just my own self-indulgence. Trying to atone after everything has happened is far too late."
Mejiro Asama let out a bitter laugh, her gaze fixed on Dream Weaver. Memories surged, threatening to drown her. Looking into those stubborn eyes, so familiar, she felt as if she had been transported back to the past, to a time before it all went wrong.
"The only thing I can do now is something for the last proof she left in this world."
"That's why I wanted to keep you in the Mejiro family..."
Dream Weaver responded with a cold laugh, thrusting back sharply, "Not for the Tenno Sho double crown?"
Mejiro Asama shook her head, a faint, self-mocking smile touching her lips. "For some of my generation in the family, that's likely the case. They care less about you as a person and more about your ability to win the Tenno Sho double crown for Mejiro."
"Are you going to shirk responsibility like Mejiro Ramonu did? Like grandmother, like granddaughter, I suppose?"
"I have no intention of shirking anything. Your potential to win both the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho was my bargaining chip. Without it, I could never have persuaded those few to agree."
"Is the threshold of the Mejiro family really that high? I certainly can't see it."
"For what I want to accomplish, the threshold needs to be exactly that high."
Mejiro Asama paused, looking directly into Dream Weaver's eyes. "I want you to inherit everything I have."
"...What?"
"Everything, in the literal sense. My reputation, my wealth, all the power I hold within the Mejiro family. Only by having you fully become a Mejiro Uma Musume would those old fossils agree to me passing it all to you."
"Put in their words... they probably wouldn't allow this fortune to be handed to someone outside the Mejiro family. It's ridiculous. You clearly carry Mejiro blood, yet they still fuss over the details."
"..."
"I can no longer do anything for your mother. Supporting your grandmother in completing the Limiter is just a minuscule, almost negligible compensation. I've thought about it for many years, and finally concluded that the only fitting thing is to give you everything I've accumulated in my life."
As she spoke, Mejiro Asama pulled out document after document from her drawer, handing them to Dream Weaver.
"I'm sorry, Dreams... I feel what I've gathered still isn't enough, but this is the best I can do."
--+--
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!
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