Seeing the Uma Musume who looked exactly like her young mother standing before her, Dream Weaver's mind was thrown into turmoil.
For a moment, she even wondered if she'd traveled back in time—after all, if the system could overworld entire worldlines, tweaking the timeline a little didn't seem so far-fetched.
But in the end, Dream Weaver let go of that fantasy.
She hadn't heard that cold, mechanical voice in her ear, and that alone proved this scripted world hadn't changed one bit.
Who would've thought that the system's prompt would become the anchor pulling her back to reality just then? But Dream Weaver didn't dwell on it. Instead, her mind raced as she stared at the Uma Musume in front of her.
First of all, this definitely wasn't her mother.
But she looked almost identical to her mother—even the red ribbon tied near her ear was no different from the one her mother had given her. It was as if she'd stepped right out of Dream Weaver's own memories.
At that thought, Dream Weaver looked up suspiciously and asked, "Is this some kind of illusion?"
Mejiro Ardan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Dream Weaver's words. With a somewhat helpless smile, she replied, "I'm a real Uma Musume, you know."
As she spoke, Mejiro Ardan walked down the stairs, approached Dream Weaver, and took her hand gently. "See? I'm warm, right?"
Dream Weaver frowned, focusing on the warmth coming from the other's hand. It really didn't feel like something an illusion could replicate—and besides, she'd never actually seen real illusion magic anyway; she'd just thrown out the idea randomly.
Given the situation, she had to stay calm and think rationally to figure this out.
After another second or two of thought, Dream Weaver looked into the other's blinking purple eyes and muttered inwardly:
She looks exactly like Mother in her youth, so there must be some kind of deep connection between them.
"I've got it," Dream Weaver said suddenly, lifting her head and fixing a firm gaze on Mejiro Ardan. "You must be Mother's clone!"
"Those despicable Mejiros—have they really sunk so low for the sake of dominating the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn races? Going against all ethics and morality like this!"
Thinking back to the middle-aged man with two medical degrees she'd met earlier, Dream Weaver gritted her teeth.
She knew someone of his caliber couldn't be that simple. Behind the scenes, he must be involved in some shady dealings with the Mejiro family. Who knows—maybe there was even a secret base under the Mejiro estate, dedicated to their twisted experiments!
Seeing her jump to conclusions again, Mejiro Ardan could only smile wryly. "Technology in the twentieth century wasn't that advanced, you know."
Unexpectedly, her explanation only made Dream Weaver's eyes widen in horror. Staring incredulously, she stammered, "The twentieth century?! You mean… you're not from this century?"
Dream Weaver glanced at the other's pale blue hair, and a bold idea began to sprout in her mind. Hesitantly, she ventured, "Don't tell me… you're a Uma Musume-style childcare robot from the 22nd century—a Doraemon?!"
The more she said it, the more it made sense. Surely, her future descendants had seen how hard she'd been working for her mother's sake and sent a robot that looked just like her back through a time machine.
"That's supposed to be a tanuki-style childcare robot, and besides, my name doesn't match at all," Mejiro Ardan pointed out, perhaps because Dream Weaver's thoughts were written all over her face.
Hearing that, Dream Weaver furrowed her brow. Now that every possibility had been shot down—not an illusion, not a clone, not a robot from the future—what other explanation could there be?
It couldn't possibly be that she was just a Uma Musume who happened to look exactly like her mother in her youth, could it?
Dream Weaver shook her head. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
There had to be something she was missing. Suddenly, something Mejiro Ardan had said earlier sparked an idea.
That near-mind-reading ability gave Dream Weaver a flash of inspiration. Nodding confidently, she declared, "I see now. You must be a special agent trained by the Mejiro family to keep me here!"
"That's why you know what I'm thinking—you even trained in mind-reading for this, didn't you? No wonder you shot down every guess I made; you were prepared all along!"
Without giving Mejiro Ardan a chance to refute, Dream Weaver reached out and pinched both of her cheeks. "You must be wearing a disguise mask to look so much like Mother!"
"I'b nod wearig anydig! I really look like thid!" Mejiro Ardan protested, her words slurred from having her cheeks squeezed.
Seeing her still trying to deny it even now, Dream Weaver smirked coldly and put on a fierce expression. "Hmph! Don't think I don't know how cunning the Mejiro family can be! You just want to keep me here so the Mejiros can claim the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn titles again in their name, don't you?"
"It seems you have your own reasons. If you tell me everything you know and help me pack up my mother's belongings, maybe I'll let you off this once!"
Now she understood. Everything made sense now.
This had all been a trap set for her from the moment Mejiro Ramonu showed up at the Northern household.
First, they used her mother's mementos to pique her curiosity and draw her to the Mejiro estate.
Then, the family head's refusal made her too emotional to think straight. After that, they had that middle-aged man wait in the hallway to lead her to this little courtyard!
And finally, this Uma Musume—disguised as her mother's younger self—was supposed to catch her off guard while she was emotionally vulnerable, and then ensnare her completely, binding her to the Mejiro family!
What a convoluted plan! What a devious scheme!
If not for her system's help, which let her snap back to her senses almost immediately, she might have already fallen under this Uma Musume's spell and stayed for the glory of the Mejiro name!
"Heh heh, too bad for you—you never expected I'd break free from your control and regain my senses!" Dream Weaver rose on her tiptoes, looking down at Mejiro Ardan with a triumphant glare.
"You should be honored to be defeated by my genius deductions! Now tell me—what other conspiracies is the Mejiro family plotting?"
Just as Dream Weaver was gloating and Mejiro Ardan was on the verge of tears, an awkward cough suddenly came from behind them.
"Dreams, the Mejiro family really isn't some dark overlord's castle—we wouldn't do something like that."
Leaning against the doorframe, Mejiro Ramonu watched the tangled pair with a resigned sigh.
--+--
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.