"It's okay, Dober, I'm with you."
Offstage, Mejiro Bright maintained her leisurely tone, comforting Dober.
"I definitely won't let Dober cry her eyes out."
"I won't cry!" Dober retorted with some agitation. "…I know, I'll try my best."
"Yoshi, yoshi."
Bright smoothed Dober's hair, then turned to look at Legend.
"Then, Legend-san, please take care of us~"
"Ha, I'm clearly not from the Mejiro Family…"
Legend muttered.
"Alright, let's go on stage."
Bright pushed Dober onto the stage.
On the stage was a large round table, with several chairs evenly distributed on one side.
On the table, besides microphones, there were desserts and black tea, fully displaying elegance.
Bright led Dober to sit in the chairs.
"Everyone, nice to meet you~ My name is Mejiro Bright."
Bright spoke with ease and leisure.
"…Hello everyone, I am Mejiro Dober."
A sense of timidity was revealed in Dober's cold tone.
"Ah, these two girls haven't debuted yet, right?"
"Is this some special opening line?"
The fans below were whispering.
"We warmly welcome everyone to the Mejiro Family's tea party and thank you for your love for the Mejiro Family."
Bright's smile remained gentle.
"Although I am very sorry, due to some force majeure, everyone might need to wait a little longer. To express our apologies, Dober and I will chat with everyone. By the way, we have also specially invited a very special guest."
"…That's it."
Dober said nervously.
"So that means the Mejiro Family Uma Musume can't come out for now?"
"What is this, how boring."
The fans below were dispirited.
Dober lowered her head in fear.
"Let us welcome our guest!"
Bright didn't mind the comments below and took the lead in clapping.
A golden figure entered the stage from the right, walked to the middle of the two undebuted Uma Musume, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
The whole process was smooth and flowing, fully displaying elegance and composure.
"Hello everyone, I am Gold Legend."
Legend crossed her legs, folded her arms across her chest, and spoke in a natural and elegant tone, "I am a special guest."
The stage below went quiet instantly.
"Hmm?"
Legend blinked. "What's wrong?"
"Woooooooo!!"
The audience below erupted.
"It's Gold Legend! The undefeated Triple Crown Horse Girl! She's real!"
"Didn't they say Gold Legend doesn't participate in any form of programs or meet-and-greets?"
"As expected of the Mejiro Family, to actually be able to invite such an Uma Musume as a guest."
The audience was talking excitedly.
"W-what's going on? Everyone's emotions are so high."
Dober was startled by the sudden cheering.
"…I don't know. Aren't they fans of the Mejiro Family?"
Why are they so excited to see me?
Legend also blinked in confusion.
This Uma Musume had absolutely no awareness of her own popularity.
"Ara, Legend-san, you are quite popular."
Bright said slowly.
"Come to think of it, why did you sit in the middle so naturally?"
Dober, startled by the fans, subconsciously diverted her attention and didn't notice that the microphone was still faithfully working.
"Ah, subconsciously… It's okay, no big deal. I think I can completely handle the center position."
Legend replied casually.
"Then, Legend-san, before entering the formal process, please keep us company and chat well."
Bright's tone was as kind as an elder, half-coaxing and half-deceiving.
"That won't be necessary. I am introverted, taciturn, and not good with words by nature, so I won't steal the host positions from you two."
Legend spoke softly and gently, without any aggression, just like a young lady from a sheltered upbringing.
"Are you serious?"
Dober subconsciously retorted.
How could anyone believe such nonsense?
"Oh~"
The fans below made sounds of understanding.
They believed it.
"..."
Mejiro Dober did not want to speak.
"Well, then, although the main characters have not yet appeared, we will still follow the schedule..." Hikari ignored the crosstalk between the two beside her, took a glance at the schedule on the table without any hesitation, and spoke with slight hesitation, "First is... drinking black tea?"
"That is very Mejiro." Legend nodded.
The fans in the audience let out a synchronized laugh.
"Is the Mejiro Family perceived this way in everyone's eyes?"
Dober was slightly speechless.
"After all, it is the elegant and noble Mejiro Family." Legend nodded, looking exactly like a know-it-all.
"Does Legend-san know the Mejiro Family very well?" Hikari suddenly asked.
"Well, after all, Ardan and I..." Legend suddenly realized something, "...and McQueen are very good friends!"
"Only Mejiro Ardan and McQueen?"
There was an inexplicable sour tone in Dober's voice.
"McQueen is understandable, after all, Legend-san and McQueen are classmates and teammates on the same team, but when did you get so close to Mejiro Ardan?"
Hikari asked, appearing innocent and naive.
"Ah, this..."
Cold sweat broke out on Legend's forehead.
"Speaking of which, a while ago on the Tracen livestream, Gold Legend and Mejiro Ardan were getting along very well."
"Are they lovers?"
"Have you all ignored Mejiro McQueen?"
The audience below was whispering.
"Ahem, shall we move on to the next segment?"
Legend said, feeling a bit unable to hold it together.
"Hmph!"
Dober snorted coldly, looking like a wronged little wife.
Hikari was still smiling leisurely.
"Since Legend-san has spoken, alright, let me see, the next segment is fan questions..."
Before she could finish, the fans below raised their hands one after another like impatient elementary school students.
"Oh my, everyone is so enthusiastic." Hikari rested her face on one hand.
"After all, they came for the Mejiro Family, so presumably everyone is very interested in the Mejiro Family's affairs." Legend said with a smile.
"Are you sure they aren't interested in you?"
Dober seemed to have become the straight man.
Hmph, do you understand the gravity of walking down the street without ever encountering a fan asking for an autograph? Legend sneered.
"Then, let's first invite this gentleman to ask a question."
Hikari casually pointed to a young fan wearing black-rimmed glasses.
The staff handed a microphone to the fan, and the fan did not shy away, standing up excitedly and unleashing a torrent of words at Gold Legend.
"Hello, Miss Gold Legend, I am your fan. I would like to ask, looking at your past resume, you seem to dislike things like press conferences and meet-and-greets. Is it because you don't like interacting with fans? Then why did you come to participate in the Mejiro Family's fan meet-and-greet? Do you have any special relationship with the Mejiro Family? Also, will you participate in similar events in the future? Do you have any intention of holding a fan meeting?..."
"Stop! Stop!"
Are you here to crash the place? This is the Mejiro Family's territory, what's with you constantly unloading on me? Legend picked her ear with her pinky finger, feeling a bit dazed.
"This gentleman is very excited. It's okay, Legend-san will answer slowly. Right, Legend-san?"
Hikari helped Legend make the decision with a grin.
"Ah, oh right, take it slow."
Legend, not realizing anything was wrong, was led by the nose.
"First is the first question. I really don't like these types of events that much, but it's not that I hate interacting with fans; on the contrary, I quite like interacting with everyone."
Although I don't usually see fans coming to interact with me.
"I just purely hate these formal and serious occasions." Legend waved her hand, "As for coming to participate in the Mejiro Family fan meet-and-greet, it was just a coincidence, and I am good friends with this generation of the Mejiro Family's Uma Musume, so I just came to support them."
"As for whether I will participate in similar events in the future, we'll see."
Legend finished answering the questions in a few words.
Although it seemed like she hadn't really answered anything.
"Hehe, thank you for your answer, Legend-san. Now, next person..."
Hikari slowly pointed to the next fan.
"Hello Legend-san, I am your old fan. I have been following you since your Debut Race!"
A female fan took the microphone and said.
"...Thank you for your support."
Legend thanked her, feeling slightly confused.
Isn't this the Mejiro Family's fan meeting?
"It's like this, as your old fan, I have carefully collected your information and found that your official photos and event photos are very rare, and your smile always has a faint sense of incongruity, as if it's not your usual smile. Are you not used to having your photo taken? Also, what kind of smile do you like in a person?"
Nonsense, how could my usual smile be camera-ready? Speaking of which, you guys are just targeting me, right? Legend, who had a bit of self-awareness, inwardly complained.
"Um, I'm not really used to the camera, so there aren't many photos. As for the smile, it is indeed because I'm not used to being photographed, I apologize to everyone here." Legend said with a perfect smile, "As for the last question, I like people who smile from the heart."
Dober and Hikari's ears twitched.
"However, this doesn't mean I can't accept fake smiles. In fact, whether it's a sincere smile or a fake smile for show, I can accept both." Legend added, "As long as that person can distinguish the two themselves."
"Alright, then the next person."
Hikari, with a slightly restrained smile, pointed to another fan.
A suspicious person with pink hair, wearing a mask and sunglasses, took the microphone. Her breathing was slightly heavy, and she seemed unusually excited. After pondering for a moment, she asked: "Gold Legend-san calls both Mejiro classmates by their names. Are the three of you very close?"
"...You are Agnes Digital, right?" Legend felt her eyebrow twitching again.
"You actually recognized me! No, wait, please answer the question!"
The suspicious pink-haired person emphasized.
"...It's not like that, we're just friends. I call them by their names because I know all the Uma Musume of this generation of the Mejiro Family, and we have decent relationships, that's why I address them like that."
Hmph!
Dober, hearing the answer, snorted coldly, somewhat unwillingly.
"Oh my..."
Hikari narrowed her eyes.
"Speaking of which, isn't this the Mejiro Family's fan meeting? Why are you all grabbing me to ask questions..."
Legend said, speechless.
"Probably because you, Legend, are usually elusive, everyone is actually very concerned about your movements."
An ethereal voice sounded.
Legend turned her head to look.
Ardan waved at Legend from behind McQueen.
"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting."
The current acting head of the Mejiro Family, Mejiro McQueen, bowed to the audience.
Then, she walked from the right side of the stage with Ryan, Palmer, and Ardan.
The main characters had finally arrived.
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