"Exactly."
Northern Grandmother nodded upon hearing Dream Weaver's murmured words, watching the slightly dazed girl before continuing.
"Perhaps you'd already sensed it before now. From your debut race to the Kikuka Shō, your rate of growth during this period has actually been gradually accelerating."
Dream Weaver started, caught off guard. Without the script's memories, she hadn't realized this herself.
After all, her mind had been almost entirely occupied with races and training lately. But now that Grandmother mentioned it, she immediately recognized the anomaly.
The time from her debut race to the Kobe Shimbun Hai was about a year. In that year, her script-world self had trained her abilities to a level of three A's and two B's—quite respectable, but still not comparable to that batch of top-tier prodigy Uma Musume.
Yet, in the mere month-plus between the Kobe Shimbun Hai and the Kikuka Shō, Dream Weaver had actually raised her Stamina from A-rank to A+-rank. Just consider—in her previous script world, she'd trained for ten months and only managed to raise her Guts from A-rank to S-rank.
While it was true that higher stats were harder to improve, and that stamina training was generally easier than guts training, the fact that she'd achieved such noticeable growth in just over a month was still astounding.
"Bloodline guides us, helping us gradually catch up to our ancestors' footsteps," Grandmother explained. "It further sublimates as we age, until we truly inherit the Northern family's bloodline."
"If one can fully bear the weight of this bloodline, they can possess the innate talent of a truly world-class Uma Musume."
Hearing this, Dream Weaver was stunned again. She hadn't expected her current training speed to not even be the limit. From Grandmother's meaning, the Northern family's bloodline seemed capable of granting descendants world-class potential.
Coincidentally, Dream Weaver happened to know an Uma Musume with world-class physical talent: Orfevre.
In the single month between the Satsuki Shō and the Japanese Derby, she had actually trained one or even several of her stats to S-rank. To Dream Weaver back then, it had seemed utterly unbelievable.
Could her script-world self also possess talent like that?
Dream Weaver subconsciously looked down at her own palms, as if unable to believe the powerful strength flowing within her veins.
But just then, Grandmother's voice reached her again.
"However…"
"Our branch of the family carries a flaw."
"Perhaps due to poor adaptation to Japan's environment, our physical constitutions completely fail to match those of our ancestors."
"Unlike our forebears, who could freely wield the power within their bloodline and fully express their talents, our bodies gradually become unable to withstand the increasingly turbulent force within our veins."
"The faster we improve through training, the quicker our bodies break down—until we can no longer set foot on the racetrack."
As she said this, Grandmother punched her own long-numb legs in frustration. Her body had crumbled to this state precisely because of this bloodline's curse.
Otherwise, with an Uma Musume's physical prowess, she would never have been confined to a cold wheelchair barring some major accident.
She let out a lonely sigh before continuing.
"The racetrack makes Uma Musume shine, and the bloodline grows more active when stimulated by rivalry and competitiveness—it might even trigger an early awakening."
"That's why I stopped you from participating in the Satsuki Shō and the Japanese Derby. I wanted to wait until the time was right before letting you step onto the track."
Grandmother didn't say more, instead quietly watching Dream Weaver's changing expression, waiting for her to fully process this information. Being suddenly told now that the family's bloodline carried a curse—Grandmother knew how impactful this was for a teenage Uma Musume.
If possible, she would have preferred to wait until Dream Weaver was more mature before revealing it. But time simply wouldn't allow it; she seemed unable to wait any longer.
After a dozen seconds, Dream Weaver finally sorted through her tangled thoughts and looked up to ask Grandmother, "What does 'the right time' mean? Does it mean I'm now capable of bearing the Northern family's bloodline?"
This was her biggest point of confusion. According to Grandmother, the bloodline's power gradually strengthened with age.
But if the time was ripe now, did that mean her physical constitution was already capable of handling the bloodline's power?
Did that mean she now possessed world-class talent comparable to Orfevre's? But if it were all that simple, why did Grandmother's tone sound so heavy?
Grandmother didn't directly answer Dream Weaver's question, instead bringing up another topic.
"Do you remember Northern Taste and Matikanetannhauser, whom I mentioned to you before?"
"They're also Northern family Uma Musume, right? But I don't understand why they were given up for adoption."
Though unsure how this related to her question, Dream Weaver played along.
She also had questions about those two Uma Musume. If Grandmother wanted to restore the Northern family's glory, why give away the family's own Uma Musume? Even if their talent was lacking, wouldn't having them run on the track still contribute to the Northern name?
As if guessing what Dream Weaver was thinking, Grandmother continued without pause.
"The Northern family's curse also varies. The more talented the Uma Musume, the more strongly she's drawn by the bloodline's power to gradually approach our ancestors. Those less suited for racing experience correspondingly weaker pull."
"Northern Taste carries the lightest curse—at worst, the bloodline might absorb some nutrients needed for growth, possibly stunting her height. But she can live a peaceful, ordinary life."
"As for Matikanetannhauser, her bloodline is a bit thicker. It gave her a chance to reach the G1 stage. Fortunately, her talent is modest, limiting her to a background role, and the curse she bears only causes occasional nosebleeds."
Mentioning Matikanetannhauser made Grandmother's eyebrow twitch unusually. She said, somewhat helplessly, "But sometimes I truly can't tell if her nosebleeds come from the bloodline's curse or just her being a bit of a dunce."
She quickly turned serious again, looking squarely at Dream Weaver as she stated solemnly.
"The reason they were given up for adoption is that they didn't need to bear the bloodline's curse. Rather than trapping them in a declining Northern family, it was better to let them forget this history and live their own lives."
"But Dreams, you're different."
"You've already crossed that boundary. You're destined to be guided by the power within your blood to inherit the Northern family's glory—and the bloodline's curse will accompany you all the while."
Here, Grandmother suddenly showed a relieved smile, telling Dream Weaver, "But it's alright now. The time has come."
"The curse that has plagued the Northern family for generations will end with me. And you—you will restore the Northern family to its former glory."
Just as Grandmother's words fell, a knock suddenly sounded at the door behind Dream Weaver.
--+--
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.
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