"Apologies if I woke you up from your sleep, Mister Igo Heita. Understandably, you might be unhappy with me."
In Mejiro Asama's head, the young man was unhappy since his rest time had decreased. Sleep is one of the most essential activities after all. It helps your mind relax, lets your body rebuild broken muscles, and strengthens them. It's so important that enough quality sleep is as important as an entire day of training for a racing umamusume.
Understandably, a trainer values sleep.
"Then let's skip the pleasantries and get to the point."
The young man, however, was upset that he didn't get to see his scantily dressed wife being tied up in a red ribbon, waiting for him. Any man would get cranky if he found an old hag instead.
"For thousands of years I have lain dormant. Who has disturbed my slumber?"
"Before that, do you know whose room this belongs to, Mister Igo Heita? This question will be the foundation of my request."
"Request…"
Sigh… Here I go, solving problems again…
"Yours, I presume." The young man casually lies, as Mejiro Asama doesn't know that he already knows who the owner of this room is.
"No. This room belongs to my late little sister, Mejiro Bosatsu."
"Sorry for the loss…"
"Hahahaha… It does sound like I'm fishing for sympathy. You don't need to pretend, Mister Igo Heita. It hurts more when your tone betrays your words."
"...Sigh… Sorry
I'm being myself, then. Continue with your story, as I want to see what reason you have to tell me of your deepest wound.
Just a warning: a sad story would not make me lower my guard. I will still logically consider the request based on the reward."
"Do not worry, Mister Igo Heita. I will reward you appropriately." With zero doubt in her movements, Mejiro Asama brought out a cheque. Everything on the cheque was filled in except for the amount of money.
Seeing that, with the name of Mejiro Asama etched on it, made the young man understand the gravity of the situation. That is a shit ton of money for a reward, which can only mean that the request itself would be astronomically difficult.
"I shall continue with my story.
During my era, the Mejiro Family wasn't as big as it is now. It could be said that we're the first generation of what the Mejiro has come to be. In our generation are me, Musashi, Taiyo, and Bosatsu. I truly enjoy my youthful years."
"I would assume things go downhill afterward, but the Mejiro Family is bigger than it ever was before. What happened?"
"Indeed… It's a small setback in our progress compared to everything this family has become. The death of Mejiro Bostatsu, that is…"
"By your tone… Is it safe to assume that it is not from natural causes?"
"Apologies if I'm making the atmosphere dark, Mister Igo Heita."
Mejiro Asama and Igo Heita are sitting opposite each other at a circular table inside Mejiro Bosatsu's room. The room was dark, with only a single candle on the table, but the young man could still see the details of the room.
Everything was still intact and perfect. The young man could feel the serenity of the room, as if he were sitting in a room of antiques. A set meant to be looked at and reminisced about, rather than used. McQueen said that this room is used as a reminder, but the young man wasn't expecting the dedication to preservation.
"Fuuuhh… Haaaah… Fuuuuuhh… Haaaaahhh… Mejiro Bosatsu took her own life."
"...I'm sorry, I don't know how to react to this kind of horrible thing. I suppose… I'm sorry to hear that…"
"Don't worry. Neither have I. I'm glad we haven't met a lot of this situation in our life that we can have a regular response, Mister Igo."
"Yeah…"
"At that time, mental health wasn't something that was widely known, so Mejiro Bosatsu's depression went entirely unnoticed.
She suffered alone…
While Taiyo, Musashi, and I won multiple G-one races in central, Mejiro Bosatsu was having a hard time competing in the local race.
The weight of our accomplishments weighed on her, and eventually, she felt she didn't deserve to be born.
A failure amongst champions…
A coal amongst diamonds…
Mejiro Bosatsu suffers in this room alone. Crying and torturing herself. Trying her hardest to justify her birth and existence.
In the end, she could not find it."
"...I hope I'm wrong… Is there someone… that you want me to save from meeting the same fate?"
"It's only natural that you come to that conclusion, and you're correct, Mister Igo Heita. There's a member of the Mejiro Family that I want you to save."
The young man stays silent as his brain racks up his memory to see if he can find anyone who matches that description. Amongst the Mejiros he knows, only one umamusume fits that description, but she doesn't seem suicidal to him.
Am I… that blind? It can't be her, right? Is it perhaps some other girl that hasn't been implemented yet in the game?
"Mister Igo Heita, please stop Mejiro Palmer from running."