Unsolvable problems will remain unsolved even after ten thousand years of thinking. Without the right spark, you'll never find an answer—and honestly, if you've spent thirty minutes, a day, two days, and still can't make sense of it, maybe that's simply because it isn't something you can solve right now, isn't it?
In short, Gotham Song could do nothing to offer Secretariat any real help with that matter. After being dropped off at home, she didn't bother to think about it anymore.
The reason was simple—those issues were far too distant from her world, and frankly, there was no need to dwell on them.
So she went home, abandoned all thought, and flopped straight onto her bed for a deep, glorious sleep. When she woke up, it was already nearly noon, but Gotham Song felt no trace of shame about it. She simply called it "readjusting her schedule," in every possible sense of the phrase.
When she crawled out of bed, Flightline was already gone. After asking Mejiro Ardan, she learned that the overexcited husky had been so thrilled to return to America that she'd gotten up absurdly early—out the door at four in the morning—for what she dramatically called her "fated practice."
Why such a strange phrase as fated practice?
Because that was Flightline's own way of putting it. Even Mejiro Ardan had laughed uncontrollably recalling it; not to mention her elder sister—Gotham Song herself, who hadn't even seen it, couldn't stop laughing just from hearing about it.
No one was really sure when it happened, but Flightline's image in everyone's minds had shifted completely—from an Uma Musume to an actual, literal husky. Whether that was a good thing or… a good thing, who could say?
In any case, everyone was laughing happily. And judging by how cheerfully she'd dashed out the door, Flightline herself seemed happy too.
A world where no one gets hurt is such a good world. If only this world could also erase the concept of "talent gaps," it would be perfect… Ah, forget it. What's the point of thinking about problems with no solution?
After putting down her dishes, Gotham Song went back to her room and opened her suitcase.
Since the destination this time was a fan convention, going out in ordinary clothes was obviously out of the question, right?
Even setting aside the fact that everyone going with her was a well-known Uma Musume, if she went alone and dressed casually, someone might very well mistake her for the real one—
After all, who in the world could look identical to their own original self without makeup? Even for naturally stunning Uma Musume, that would be an impossible miracle.
So, after some thought, Gotham Song made a truly bizarre decision.
She pulled out—from the depths of her suitcase—a custom-made cosplay replica of her own Ardan-nee-san's Racing Outfit, in her own size!
Since it'd be risky to go as herself… then why not go as someone else?!
Of course, Gotham Song didn't tell Mejiro Ardan about this plan.
After much fussing around in her room, luckily her physique as an Uma Musume gave her a perfect foundation. Even with laughably clumsy makeup skills, she managed to decorate her face well enough, then spent an eternity putting on all the accessories before finally emerging from her room.
Ugh, cosplay outfits are such a pain. Racing Outfits are so much better—you can just throw them on without worrying about anything at all.
The Three Goddesses' blessing—truly awe-inspiring.
Anyway, the moment Gotham Song stepped out, she saw unmistakable shock spread across her sister's face.
Mejiro Ardan had never imagined she'd live to see such a sight. Though it was immediately obvious that the girl wearing the Racing Outfit was her own little sister, still—the scene itself was… um.
Song, why are you wearing my clothes?
The situation was so absurd that even the gentle Ardan had to press a hand to her lips, trying and failing to contain her laughter. After a moment, she finally managed to calm down—
Well, mostly. She still wanted to laugh, but at least she'd recovered enough composure to talk.
There was, however, one thing she absolutely had to say.
Her sister's makeup technique. Oh heavens.
You're already a grown woman, you know. Shouldn't you at least learn how to draw a clean eyeliner? A light touch, subtle enough to charm the foals—
…Oh wait, no, that last part you definitely shouldn't learn, Song.
Once she'd stopped laughing, Mejiro Ardan grabbed her sister's wrist and dragged her back into the room, wiped off the atrocious makeup entirely, and reapplied a proper one according to her own personal style.
Now that was untouchable authority—true expertise.
Gotham Song grinned at her reflection in the mirror. No one could possibly accuse her of being inaccurate now—not when the makeup had been done by Mejiro Ardan herself.
Feeling satisfied, Gotham Song pulled out her phone and logged into a social media account she hadn't used in ages. She posed for a mirror selfie, looking completely pleased with herself.
When it came to writing a caption, though, she hesitated. She genuinely didn't know what words would fit. After thinking for a while, she simply typed one word:
[Authority!]
Although the mare in the photo hadn't shown her full face in the reflection, Gotham Song couldn't help but giggle. No matter who saw it, no one would have any clue what kind of "authority" she meant, right?
Hehehe. This time, I really am the picture of authority!
Even if no one ever checks my account, I still have to tell you all!
Still, since she'd finally bothered logging into social media, Gotham Song figured she might as well check her notifications.
In truth, Gotham Song's social media habits were strange beyond belief, something that everyone at Mejiro Manor had deeply come to understand.
The social media account she logged into today didn't mean she was normally absent from messaging apps—rather, she limited her presence strictly to private chats. Beyond that, she practically never shared daily life posts or selfies like most Uma Musume would.
This habit disappointed even Tokai Teio.
Unable to stay by Gotham Song's side every day, Teio had hoped to keep up with her life through posts—but sadly, that wish was impossible to fulfill.
Gotham Song clearly knew this disappointed others, yet she stubbornly refused to change. She'd only occasionally clear out her notifications after logging in like this.
Like when she posted that selfie back in Dubai… and also, right now—
Huh?! How did this happen?!
When Gotham Song opened her notification list, she froze completely in place.
How to describe what she saw?
She had genuinely never imagined that one day, her notification inbox would overflow this dramatically.
First thing she saw was the friend requests—99+ unread notifications. She hadn't even clicked on it yet and was already baffled. When she did click, she was even more confused.
Strange. Every single account here is totally unfamiliar?!
She randomly clicked on a few profiles; one had even been officially verified as a regional Uma Musume from some country, complete with a record of local victories?!
Wait—what's going on here?! How bizarre! When did my account suddenly become famous?
Quick, find a time machine and go back—no, wait, before that, let's first find out the cause of all this.
With this thought, Gotham Song exited her notifications, scrolling carefully through to discover the root cause.
Then, very quickly, she understood exactly what had caused this explosion of attention.
How should she explain it?
Simply put, back when she was in Dubai, she had casually posted a selfie online. At the time, she had arrogantly captioned it "I apologize for nothing," implying, basically: say whatever you want—I'm right anyway!
That caption alone hadn't triggered much of a reaction. The key was the timing of that photo.
As it turned out, Gotham Song had vastly underestimated her own influence. Especially before the Dubai World Cup participants had been officially announced, when the entire world had been guessing wildly—the power she wielded at that moment had been beyond terrifying.
Another underestimated factor was the social media platform's recommendation algorithm. Now, Gotham Song thoroughly understood:
There was a reason this app was popular worldwide for sharing daily lives—it genuinely pushed similar interests to one another!
As a result, even now, there were occasional discussions still going on in the comments beneath her Dubai selfie. Many commenters remained convinced, using things like IP address evidence, that the owner of this account was definitely Gotham Song herself!
After all, who other than Gotham Song could replicate her precise figure, height, and IP address so flawlessly—and confidently declare she'd "apologize for nothing"?
Wow. With deduction skills this sharp, you people should all move to Beika Town and become professional detectives—!
Speechless, Gotham Song fell into utter silence. Even now, beneath the brand-new post she had just uploaded, fresh comments had already appeared:
[GothamSongIsBestGirl]:Here she is! Gotham-sama, my one and only!
[IHerebyDeclareYouAllDreaming]:My wife!
[IHerebyInvalidateYourDeclaration]:Keep dreaming!
Hmm… this generation of netizens sure had strange ways of choosing usernames. And now you're forming chains in my comments? Watch me retaliate and take you all down at once—!
After realizing what had happened, Gotham Song quietly began observing the general tone of her comment section.
But after scrolling through them, she quickly realized one thing: these people were nothing but parrots, endlessly repeating weird and incomprehensible nonsense.
Stuff like "Please, let me look at you once more!" or "We'd do anything you want!" Such bizarre things.
Someone who didn't know better would think I intended to spend my life as a blogger or something. But I don't intend to be a blogger for life—ah no, that's not right, I won't even be a runner forever. I'll just be Gotham Song for life!
I—I'm Gotham Song!!
Putting down her phone, Gotham Song sank into deep helplessness. She even felt thankful she hadn't publicly announced which fan convention she'd be attending—if she had, she'd definitely have been captured on the spot!
Even more terrifyingly, someone had already correctly guessed the meaning behind her recent caption "Authority," supplying ironclad proof that both Gotham Song and Mejiro Ardan were currently in the United States:
"This account and Mejiro Ardan's account currently share the same IP location—in the USA!"
"This account is Gotham Song herself!"
"The one cosplaying Ardan-san is Gotham Song herself!"
Ah, forget the details—the people who figured this out should be banished straight into a paranormal world where they're forced to solve cases before leaving.
Exhausted from the depths of her heart, Gotham Song's knees suddenly went weak, and she leaned limply into her sister's embrace without moving.
Mejiro Ardan naturally knew exactly what had happened. Though she hadn't been aware of Song's thoughts, a single glance at her sister's phone screen instantly explained everything.
Actually, Ardan had expected this situation from the very start—why?
Because she'd already been recommended Song's account long ago—and was among the earliest followers!
Really, her little sister was always adorably foolish about these strange things. Mm, and the feeling of hugging her right now was truly top-notch.
"Ardan-neesan… Save me—!"
"Well, Song, sometimes you should learn to face things yourself, right? Besides, does it really matter?"
Ardan wanted to laugh, but restrained herself at the last moment. She instead leaned gently towards Gotham Song's trembling ear, whispering softly:
"After all, Song, you don't often check that account anyway. Let them say whatever they want, right?"
Words were just words, after all—just like those people who casually called themselves Song's whatever. In reality, wasn't Gotham Song right here, in Ardan's own arms?
Hehe. Song is mine, after all.
Yet, though Mejiro Ardan's warm breath tickled Gotham Song's ear, making her tremble even more, her words genuinely helped clear away the confusion and anxiety that had momentarily overwhelmed her.
Right. I hardly ever check that account anyway. You people can say whatever you like—I won't see it, won't care. If I don't care, it doesn't exist!
Yeah—inequality defeated in an instant!
Having regained her composure, Gotham Song didn't hurry to escape her sister's embrace; it felt too soft and warm, far too comfortable. And though she remained seated, she now clearly understood one thing:
You freakishly talented internet detectives—keep guessing all you like. But from now on… I, Gotham Song, won't fear a single word you have to say—!
That's a promise!
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