"No."
Dream Weaver answered immediately. Back then, she hadn't felt any connection to being an Uma Musume.
Based on the path she'd taken in her previous life, she figured getting into a good university and finding a decent job would be plenty enough.
It never once crossed her mind that she might one day become a professional athlete.
If it hadn't been for Northern Starlight's medical bills pushing her to the brink, she might never have even remembered she was an Uma Musume.
Just like she'd been thinking a moment ago, someone who only became an Uma Musume in their second life was destined to never have the same pure heart as the others.
"No way—"
"And here I thought you'd get into Tracen Academy for sure, what with me always letting you watch the races on TV when you were little."
You couldn't really call it connected. More like, not even remotely related.
Dream Weaver watched Northern Starlight's disappointed face in silence, thinking to herself, Back then, I actually really hated you interrupting my cartoon time with those races.
"Th-then, then, when you were training for the Tracen entrance exams, Dream, didn't you develop even a tiny bit of interest in running?"
"I just thought training was exhausting."
But she had to train. If she didn't get into Tracen and make some money, she'd be completely done for.
If it weren't for the neighbors in her apartment complex occasionally helping her out back then, she might have collapsed on the street from malnutrition.
Thinking about it now just made Dream Weaver more determined than ever: she had to win, to give her sick friends hope. It didn't matter what happened to her; she absolutely had to repay that kindness.
"What about after your debut race, then?! That was your first time on the track, surely there was something special about that?"
Seeing Dream Weaver shake her head again, Northern Starlight was so frustrated she looked ready to tear her hair out.
She never thought she'd meet an Uma Musume with this kind of problem, especially one who'd just won the Satsuki Sho!
"Something special, huh..."
Dream Weaver looked down, pondering under Northern Starlight's intense gaze.
Thinking back now, aside from the overwhelming feeling that the track was a battlefield, what stood out most was the countless loops of running she'd endured, all for the sake of winning.
Back then, she hadn't thought about anything except that if she didn't win, she couldn't pay Northern Starlight's medical bills. It was a desperate fight with her back against the wall; she had to win.
"I didn't think about anything except that if I didn't win, I couldn't pay your medical bills."
Dream Weaver stated matter-of-factly. Northern Starlight, however, suddenly furrowed her brow as if she'd caught onto something, rubbing her chin and muttering quietly to herself.
After a moment, she spoke hesitantly.
"Then... in the races after your debut, Dream, besides running for me, what else did you think about?"
"Noth—"
Dream Weaver started to speak, but then suddenly recalled something from the world of the script and changed her tune.
"Sometimes... winning a race could make things move in a better direction."
King Halo. Kasamatsu. The Northern family. A world constrained by the European racing scene.
Memory after memory surged up in her mind at that moment.
"So I thought, if winning could bring change to the people hoping for it, that would be good."
When Dream Weaver first changed her answer, Northern Starlight's brow had relaxed slightly. But after hearing the rest, it furrowed again.
She was silent for a long moment before speaking seriously to Dream Weaver.
"Dream..."
"Have you been running for other people this whole time?"
Dream Weaver blinked, startled by the sudden seriousness on the other's face, but nodded anyway.
"Yeah. Is something wrong with that?"
At this, Northern Starlight's expression grew even more grave. She cradled Dream Weaver's face in her hands, making her look directly at her, and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"What about you?"
"Where are you in all of this, Dream?"
Completely baffled, Dream Weaver blinked and pointed at herself, answering in confusion.
"I'm right here, aren't I?"
Northern Starlight gazed deeply into Dream Weaver's eyes, an emotion flickering in them that Dream Weaver couldn't decipher. After a long while, she finally spoke softly.
"Dream, you don't have to do everything for someone else's sake. It's okay to do things for yourself."
The thing she'd always worried about had finally happened. Northern Starlight let out a long sigh, the thought echoing in her heart.
She didn't remember ever teaching Dream to be like this, but the child always seemed to unconsciously want to be good to others.
Or rather... she wanted to please them.
Even as a little girl, Dream Weaver had been exceptionally mature, almost nothing like a child her age.
Whether it was her grades or her usual behavior, she was the legendary 'perfect child' other parents talked about.
Back then, at parent-teacher conferences, other parents would always tell Northern Starlight how much Dream Weaver had helped their own children.
At the time, Northern Starlight didn't think anything of it; she'd just smile and accept the compliments.
Until one day, she asked the question every parent asks their child.
"What's your dream, sweetie? What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Even now, Northern Starlight remembered Dream Weaver's answer. The little girl had put on a serious, adult-like face and said matter-of-factly.
"I want to get into a good university and find a good job, so Mom won't have to work so hard."
Considerate. So considerate it was almost un-childlike. But Northern Starlight's first reaction wasn't warmth, it was puzzlement.
No matter how much of a little adult she was, no matter how considerate, a child should have some fantasies about the future.
But why, why was Dream Weaver's dream all about making her life less hard?
Thinking back to the thanks from other parents at the conferences, an uneasy feeling took root in Northern Starlight's heart.
She asked a question similar to the one now, one Dream Weaver had probably long forgotten.
"What about you, Dream? What do you want to do?"
"Isn't this okay? Even if you asked me to make a lot of money, I might not succeed."
It was as if there was never any room for herself in Dream Weaver's heart.
In her view, her own life seemed to exist only to be given to others.
Of course, this wasn't natural instinct. It was a habit Dream Weaver carried over from her previous life.
Growing up in an orphanage, she could live healthily thanks to the excellent social welfare system, but there were some things the orphanage couldn't change.
She had no parents, no safe harbor to run to. If she got into a conflict with a classmate, she had no parents to hide behind and complain.
It takes two to tango, but she was usually the one who got slapped and blamed.
It would end with her apologizing to the other kid, taking the lion's share of the blame herself, and standing in the hallway as punishment.
Go through something like that enough times, and you learn what to do.
To avoid getting punished with cleaning duty again, the only option was to get along with everyone.
If she could just avoid conflict altogether, things like that wouldn't happen.
And the foundation of getting along with everyone was to always consider their feelings first, and to help whenever she could.
So Dream Weaver never refused anyone's request.
If someone had expectations of her, as long as it was something she could do, she was willing to try.
If fulfilling others' wishes was a kind of mission, then Dream Weaver's reward was never having to go back to that lonely hallway of her childhood.
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T/N: KIM DOKJA IS THIS YOUR UMA MUSUME VARIANT?!
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.