After the Kikuka-sho, Dream Weaver returned to the Northern household and began training alone in the practice field behind the Western-style mansion.
In this scripted world, she hadn't enrolled at Tracen Academy, and the already declining Northern family didn't seem capable of hiring a professional trainer either—but none of that really mattered.
Having learned much from Chizuru Haibara, Dream Weaver believed she could devise a reasonable training plan on her own. After all, that's how she'd always managed.
Back in the real world, she'd spent her summer breaks studying professional texts and training alone.
Even in her first scripted world, she'd been the one guiding King Halo through training as a child. To Dream Weaver, this was no trouble at all.
Besides, with the Northern family's decline, the mansion was empty except for her grandmother. That kind of environment actually made it easier for her to avoid interacting with others.
Train, compete, return to the mansion, train again, then compete once more—so long as she won the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn, this scripted world would come to an end. There was simply no need for Dream Weaver to actively engage with anyone else.
As for that faint sense of loneliness—she paid it no mind.
She'd cherished her time with everyone in Kasamatsu, but for most of her life, solitude had been the norm.
Now she was merely returning to that familiar rhythm. Dream Weaver was long accustomed to it.
Just when she thought this scripted world would continue in its repetitive cycle of training and competing, however, the mansion she'd grown familiar with over the past month was suddenly shaken by a startling turn of events.
Fate surged in like a raging tide, thoroughly shattering Dream Weaver's lonely routine.
Not long after the Kikuka-sho, the Northern family's grandmother—who had looked frail from the very start—suddenly fell gravely ill.
She could no longer even sit in her wheelchair to polish the remnants of the Northern family's past glories in her beloved hall; now, she couldn't even rise from her bed.
Naturally, Dream Weaver couldn't just stand by. Her first instinct was to carry her grandmother down the mountain to a hospital, but the stubborn old woman seemed to have long anticipated this day.
No matter how Dream Weaver pleaded, she refused to leave the mansion.
Seeing that persuasion was useless, Dream Weaver had no choice but to devote most of her time to caring for the elderly woman at her bedside. Thanks to her experience with her own mother, she handled the task with practiced ease.
However, the Northern grandmother didn't seem to appreciate Dream Weaver's care.
"I've heard about the Arima Kinen. It seems you've been included in this year's roster. That's good—winning a race like that would undoubtedly help restore the Northern family's glory."
"So, Dreams…"
The old woman's voice was weak, but her eyes remained sharp. Just mentioning the family's glory seemed to make her forget her pain, her expression brightening with vigor.
"Don't worry about me. Go prepare for the Arima Kinen. I've already registered you."
"I refuse."
Dream Weaver set down the fruit knife and apple, her expression blank as she cut off her grandmother's words.
Though she held no love for the Northern family, she couldn't possibly abandon a gravely ill elder to compete in a race. That was something Dream Weaver would never do.
"Just focus on recovering. Didn't you say you wanted to see me win both the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn? The Arima Kinen doesn't matter."
Besides, she didn't care about the Northern family's glory. For Dream Weaver, completing the main quest was enough.
Hearing this, the old woman on the sickbed fell silent for a long time, staring at the ceiling she'd seen for countless years as if deep in thought.
When Dream Weaver saw she wouldn't speak further, she picked up the apple and began peeling it again. The room was silent except for their breathing and the soft rasp of the blade against the fruit's skin.
After what felt like an age, the grandmother spoke again.
"Dreams, have you ever resented me?"
Dream Weaver's hand stilled for a moment at the question, but she didn't respond, continuing to peel as if nothing had happened.
"The Classic Triple Crown is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any Uma Musume, and I forced you to abandon it. You had the ability to win the Triple Crown, yet you had to endure all those baseless judgments."
"Giving up so much for the sake of an old woman's so-called glory… You must hate me, don't you?"
"It doesn't matter to me."
Dream Weaver replied without expression.
Though it was a shame to have missed the Classic Triple Crown in this scripted world, she still had other chances.
Besides, she'd already taken part in three Triple Crown series—from the Satsuki Sho to the Kikuka-sho—and she'd won every race. For Dream Weaver, the Triple Crown was no longer an unattainable goal.
But to the Northern grandmother, her reaction carried a different meaning. She looked at Dream Weaver's impassive face, sighed, and with a trace of melancholy she'd never shown before, slowly continued.
"If I could have, I wouldn't have wanted you to give up the Classic Triple Crown either. But the Northern family's curse forced our hand."
"Dreams, you're still young, but you're a mature Uma Musume now. Having won the Kikuka-sho, you have the right to know the reason behind our family's decline."
Hearing this, Dream Weaver froze, then suddenly looked up at the grandmother on the sickbed as if realizing something.
Stage Quest One?
As the thought flashed through her mind, a translucent blue screen materialized before her eyes. Ignoring it, she focused inward.
She had thought her grandmother, who cared so deeply about the family's honor, would keep the truth of their decline hidden until the very end—at least until after Dream Weaver had won the Tenno Sho Spring and was preparing for the Autumn edition.
Yet here she was, ready to reveal it after just one Kikuka-sho victory?
But Dream Weaver quickly understood. Seeing the grandmother on the bed, frail as dried kindling, her eyes no longer sharp, she realized the old woman knew her time was short and was ready to unburden herself of the secrets she'd long held.
Under Dream Weaver's gaze, the Northern grandmother spoke slowly from her bed.
"Bloodline… is the source of our strength, but it is also our… curse."
Hearing this, Dream Weaver's pupils contracted. She immediately understood what her grandmother meant. Silently, she called up the system and switched to the status screen.
--+--
[Blueblood (Epic)]
[Description: In the world of horse racing, bloodline theory is no joke. The bloodlines of powerful Uma Musume truly contain unimaginable power, and this is especially true for those from prestigious families.
An Uma Musume with noble blood will possess talent far beyond the reach of ordinary Uma Musume, making once-distant limits seem within grasp. But is such power truly without cost?]
--+--
Reading the description of the Blood of the Noble Line skill, Dream Weaver murmured almost unconsciously.
"Bloodline… is a curse?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! 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!
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If you guys wanna check it out.