"Coming, coming, stop pulling."
Platinum was helplessly dragged along by Matron Komori.
Faced with this woman, she always found herself unable to resist, as if suppressed by a higher link in the food chain.
"Special Week, this is Nearl's younger sister. Her name is Centaurea, she recently came to stay with me."
Perhaps out of love for the elder sister extending to the younger, Platinum had received meticulous care from Matron Komori the moment she arrived.
And the kind of person Platinum was least equipped to handle was precisely the type who was genuinely, simply good to her. It made her feel completely passive around Komori.
"Hello, I'm Centaurea. I am Nearl's sister, but please don't lump me in with her, okay? I'm not as strong as she is."
Faced with the two before her, especially Special Week's wildly sparkling eyes, Platinum felt a bit at a loss.
After all, unlike others, Special Week was one of the main characters she'd liked in her previous life. Her tolerance for Spe-chan was naturally higher.
"Centaurea, could you look after Special Week for a bit? Our adult conversation might be a bit boring for her."
Seeing Special Week practically vibrating with the desire to stick to Platinum and ask questions, Komori found it amusing and smoothly suggested the two younger ones take their leave.
After all, it's really awkward for a kid, with such an age gap, to just hang around during adult talk.
"Alright~ Roger that."
Hearing she could leave, Platinum immediately perked up. Shedding her previous bored expression, she actively called out to little Special Week.
"Special Week, come with me. Let's go play outside."
"Yay! Mom, I'm going out to play with big sis!"
Special Week had been barely containing her excitement.
Years of living on a ranch with her foster mother had nurtured her bubbly, outgoing, and affectionately clingy personality, but it also meant she lacked exposure to other Uma Musume.
Where she grew up, Special Week had lived her whole life without even seeing another Uma Musume besides herself.
Now, suddenly meeting one of her own kind, and the younger sister of the Nearl she'd heard about before? How could she not be thrilled?
It's just that she was a polite child. Seeing her mother talking with a friend, she consciously kept quiet.
But now that her mom's friend had spoken up, it should be fine.
"Go on, remember to listen to this big sister, okay?"
Her foster mother chuckled softly, waving a temporary goodbye to her daughter.
She knew her daughter had been lonely for too long. Now, with this rare chance to make a friend, she couldn't stand in the way.
"I will!"
Special Week replied excitedly, but Platinum's expression was a little hesitant.
"Um, 'big sis' is a bit much. I'm actually about the same age as Special Week."
"Eh? But you seem so mature!"
Special Week beside her covered her mouth in surprise, but she quickly brushed the minor detail aside.
"It's fine! Then I'll just call you 'Rea' from now on, okay? Let's just hurry up and go out!"
With that, she proactively took Platinum's hand and pulled her along, running out.
Leaving the two adults behind, chuckling softly.
"Spe-chan seems to really like Centaurea. Those two are sure to become good friends."
Komori Party watched the eager Special Week, and the somewhat uncharacteristically compliant Centaurea, as if seeing her own past self and Spe-chan's foster mother.
"But like mother, like daughter. Spe-chan's personality is just like yours when you were young, a total waste of her pretty face."
"How is that my fault? If I hadn't shamelessly mediated between you and Spe-chan's mom back then, how would you two big icebergs ever have become friends!"
"Who asked you to mediate! Do you know how annoying it was, you bringing me carrots every single day!"
"But you ate them all seriously, didn't you? And you were smiling while you ate them!"
"I was not smiling! I just didn't want to waste food!"
The two adults in their twenties bickered like children, but within this squabbling lay their most precious memories.
--+--
"Rea, you live in such a crowded place, have you met any other Uma Musume?"
Dragging Centaurea around everywhere, Special Week looked around curiously here and there, acting like a complete country bumpkin.
Oh, wait, she was a country bumpkin.
"This place counts as crowded? This town is already so small, you can circle it in over ten minutes."
"But that's calculated at an Uma Musume's speed, right? It's huge!"
Special Week stubbornly refuted. From her perspective, this small town was very crowded.
After all, the place she grew up in was seriously sparsely populated. Every time they needed to buy daily supplies, they had to drive the truck out to haul back a whole pile.
"Let me tell you, it's just that you haven't seen enough. When you go to the city center someday, you'll learn what a real big city is like."
Platinum poked Special Week's forehead, finding her perspective somewhat amusing.
"Rea, you've been to a big city before? Tell me about it! I'm so curious!"
Special Week clung to Platinum even more, refusing to let go. She now thought this Uma Musume friend was amazing, knowing so many things.
"Hmm~~ For example, there's Tracen Academy in the city center. It has nearly a thousand Uma Musume, and extremely high-spec, varied race tracks. It's a paradise all Uma Musume yearn for."
"Wow!!"
"And the skyscrapers in the city are as tall as that mountain over there. There are so many delicious foods you can't find around here at all."
"Mhm mhm!!"
"And..."
Faced with Special Week's anticipation, Platinum did her best to recount what she had seen and heard during her time in the city center.
These things she had never seen or heard of before left a deep impression on the currently naive Special Week.
"That sounds so wonderful... I want to go see it too..."
Special Week was filled with envy. It wasn't that she thought her current life was unhappy, but this yearning for the unknown was also innate to her.
An unknown world, unknown social circles, unknown circumstances.
Some people, steady to their core, reject any change to their own small world. But Special Week wasn't that kind of Uma Musume.
She yearned for change within herself. She was full of anticipation for the unknown future.
Platinum smiled, looking at Special Week, this Uma Musume for whom she held great fondness, feeling quite satisfied.
Without the desire to explore the unknown, one is unqualified as an Uma Musume.
Whether it's the pursuit of unknown victories and defeats, the thirst for unfamiliar races, or the drive to push the limits of one's own body—all are the forces that drive them.
"Special Week, you will definitely become a wonderful Racing Uma Musume."
Platinum gently stroked Spe-chan's short hair and said earnestly.
'I'll make sure you become an incredibly strong Uma Musume.'
"Eh? Rea, you knew I wanted to be a Racing Uma Musume? I thought I'd hidden it pretty well."
Special Week laughed sheepishly, just like a little girl whose dream had been discovered.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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.