Many years later, sitting by the bedside, Dream Weaver would always recall that morning after saving her mother, when she had cried her eyes out.
She'd spent the whole day rehearsing her opening words, but when the moment finally arrived, nothing came out.
All she could do was throw herself into her mother's warm embrace, letting the pent-up frustration roar inside her heart, spilling out as tears and choked sobs.
Honestly, it was a little embarrassing—being so grown up and still making such a scene.
But it's fine. That was just the cringe of youth. The me of today would never do something like that again.
Dream Weaver sat stiffly by the hospital bed, silently staring at the apple.
Truth be told, not much time had passed since that day. If Dream Weaver had to describe it precisely, she'd probably say—just now.
But that didn't matter. Time had little to do with growing up. A person only grows after going through certain things.
Dream Weaver believed that the her who had just experienced all this had already surpassed the old her.
In the time it took to make an excuse and run out to buy fruit, she was no longer the same Dream Weaver!
If she had to put it into words…
Then right now, she was probably Super–Devil Dream Weaver–Calamity Form–Revised–Pro Max Version.
This Dream Weaver would absolutely not cry again.
Her mother watched her nervous expression and, without a word, quietly offered a tissue.
Gently signaling that there was still a little something under her nose.
Dream Weaver's composure shattered in an instant. Blushing, she didn't take the tissue her mother offered, instead roughly wiping her nose with her own sleeve.
Well, now her nose was as red as the apple in front of her, just a shade away from matching the color of her cheeks.
Her mother still didn't speak. She just smiled silently at Dream Weaver with a gaze as gentle and clear as spring water.
Somehow, under that look—even though there wasn't a hint of mockery around—Dream Weaver felt the temperature in her face rising even higher.
Just as she was about to buckle under the embarrassment, a loud crash suddenly came from behind her, from the direction of the hospital room door.
Before Dream Weaver could turn around, two familiar voices reached her ears first.
"Daughter!"
"Starlight!"
With the voices came two gusts of wind brushing past Dream Weaver's side. Two spirited-looking Uma Musume, around their fifties, rushed to the bedside.
And Dream Weaver knew them quite well.
The newcomers were naturally Northern Dreams' grandmother and the head of the Mejiro family, Mejiro Asama.
The two of them, who had never managed to find this place before the Hope Gem was used, arrived at the hospital room within minutes of Dream Weaver activating the gem.
One cupped Dream Weaver's mother's cheeks, the other held her hands, both gazing at her with deep emotion.
"You… Ah, if you didn't want to participate in the Tenno Sho, you could have just said so! Why run away from home alone for so many years!"
"Your face has thinned so much, and your hands are covered in calluses, Starlight. If we hadn't finally found you here, were you planning to hide for the rest of your life?"
Northern Dreams' grandmother and Mejiro Asama took turns speaking, while Dream Weaver's mother—or rather, Northern Starlight—looked at them somewhat helplessly.
Having been away from home for so many years, she thought the elders had long given up on her in disappointment. She never expected them to suddenly appear today.
The shock left Northern Starlight momentarily speechless, and she could only shoot a pleading look toward her daughter.
To be honest, Dream Weaver was stunned too. She hadn't expected the two elders to arrive so quickly.
Yes, it wasn't that she didn't think they'd come—she was just surprised they came this fast.
Because their arrival had actually been within Dream Weaver's expectations all along.
And the reason, naturally, went back to the Hope Gem.
As an exaggerated artifact capable of altering worldlines, Dream Weaver hadn't just thought of restoring her mother's health the moment she understood its effects.
What she wanted was a world where her mother could be happy.
Previously, the Mejiro and Northern families hadn't come looking. Dream Weaver guessed some sort of accident might have occurred—perhaps the grandmother's curse had erupted first, or maybe Mejiro Asama hadn't become the family head as in that script world and couldn't mobilize the Mejiro family's resources.
But whatever the reason, one was her mother's mother, the other was the Uma Musume her mother had admired in her youth, and both were relatives connected by blood.
So when using the Hope Gem, Dream Weaver had made her wish: to create a world where her mother could be happy.
If her mother felt that her happiness required their presence, then the Hope Gem would naturally respond to that hope.
Still, Dream Weaver really hadn't expected them to come this fast.
In her imagination, perhaps the grandmother and Mejiro Asama would find their way here a few days later.
She never thought they'd locate the place in such a short time.
But then, remembering the guilt and remorse the two had carried for her mother in that script world, Dream Weaver began to understand.
Driven by such strong reasons, finding her so quickly seemed almost reasonable.
And perhaps the Hope Gem had guided them along the way too.
Watching the two fussing over her mother nonstop, Dream Weaver quietly sighed in relief.
But maybe this was for the best. With them creating a distraction, she wouldn't keep recalling her earlier embarrassing display under her mother's gaze.
That earlier, barely-contained outburst had already left Dream Weaver deeply flustered. If she had a choice, she'd at least want a little buffer time to recover.
Seeing her mother blinking frantically, signaling for her to draw the two away, Dream Weaver chose to pretend she didn't notice.
She carefully lowered her presence and began inching backward, hoping to slip out.
But she'd barely taken a few steps back when the back of her head met something soft.
Dream Weaver instinctively looked up and found Mejiro Ramonu standing behind her, looking down with an expression too complex for Dream Weaver to decipher.
The commotion naturally caught Northern Starlight's attention. Like finding a lifeline to divert the two chatterboxes beside her, she immediately pointed toward Dream Weaver and Mejiro Ramonu.
"It's fine, it's fine! I'm perfectly healthy now, Mother, Aunt. This is my daughter!"
She pointed at Dream Weaver, who was blocked by Mejiro Ramonu.
"To help cover my medical expenses, she must have had a very tough time these past few years!"
Northern Dreams' grandmother and Mejiro Asama whipped their heads around at those words. Dream Weaver could've sworn she saw a strange glint in their eyes.
A cold sweat trickled down her forehead. She shot an incredulous look at her mother, as if saying,
'Mom, you set me up!'
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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.