Having finished dinner, Kitasan Black returned to the dorm to find Satono Diamond still hadn't come back. Though she wondered what this young lady was doing outside at night, she'd decided not to cause trouble, so she lay on her bed and played mobile games.
Uma Musume, GO!
A game similar to what the [Player] had played in her previous life, except it wasn't as pay-to-win, and the story was from the uma musume's perspective rather than the trainer's. Players could draw for trainer bonuses and bonds with other uma musume. A total power fantasy protagonist.
Kitasan Black was completely free-to-play, not having spent a single yen.
"Today's banner is a limited Emperor, huh. Should I pull? Might as well throw in one ten-pull."
As expected, the ten-pull didn't show even a hint of rainbow light.
So Kitasan Black decisively exited the gacha screen and went back to grinding arena rankings.
Her account had almost no paid characters—everything was farmed free-to-play.
After all, for her, games were just for killing time. Spending real money on them would be a net loss.
Meanwhile, in the small grove, Satono Diamond and Satono Crown were discussing Kitasan Black.
Satono Diamond had told Crown everything she thought about Kitasan Black, including all her deductions.
She'd thought she could convince Crown and wake her up, but Crown's conclusion after listening was completely different.
After learning about Kitasan Black's private persona from Diamond, Crown actually offered a different opinion.
Just as Diamond thought everyone else had been fooled by Kitasan Black, Satono Crown thought Diamond might actually be the one who'd been fooled.
So Crown said: "Diamond, you might have some misunderstandings about Kitakami-san."
Satono Diamond stared at Crown in disbelief. She hadn't expected Crown to reach this conclusion.
"I'm not misunderstanding anything!"
How could there be a misunderstanding?!
What had she misunderstood?
That Kitakami-san wasn't a fraud? That Kitakami-san hadn't held back in the race?
But weren't those facts?!
And Crown had been the first to discover these things! Did Crown still believe that person's earlier explanation?
That person was obviously a huge liar!
Diamond wanted to wake Crown up, but Crown countered with a question first.
"By your reasoning, Diamond, how do you know that your current way of thinking isn't also you being deceived by Kitakami-san?"
Satono Crown didn't believe the Kitakami-san that Diamond saw was that person's complete truth. That might also be a façade.
Just as Diamond thought Kitakami-san's image among classmates was a fabricated persona, Crown likewise felt the Kitakami-san in Diamond's perception was also a persona Kitakami-san had constructed.
And the current evidence wasn't enough to prove Kitakami-san had actually held back in today's race.
Besides, Diamond had gotten one premise wrong.
Kitakami-san hadn't actually gone out of her way to create any persona. Everyone's impression of Kitakami-san came from observing her normal behavior and drawing their own conclusions. Rather than saying Kitakami-san was deceiving people, it was more accurate to say everyone had projected their own fantasies.
If Kitakami-san really wanted to disguise herself, she'd be more likely to do so in the dorm.
After all, having such a strained relationship with your roommate after transferring here this long—wasn't that unnatural?
Add to that Diamond's current attitude of clearly thinking Kitasan Black wasn't a good person.
Satono Crown could only conclude that this relationship was Kitakami-san's deliberate doing.
Because through her observation,
Crown knew very well that though Kitakami-san seemed difficult to approach, she was actually a very gentle person.
She'd shared her extra snacks with everyone. She couldn't refuse Crown's uninvited company.
How could someone like Kitakami-san really be a bad person!
Diamond was being too emotional right now, but Crown understood why she was so angry.
If a race you took seriously turned out to be something your opponent didn't care about at all—
If the victory you fought hard for was actually just your opponent holding back—
She'd be furious too.
She'd want to truly defeat that person and prove her victory wasn't charity.
But acting on anger while the truth remained unclear was dangerous.
Satono Crown felt she needed to set Diamond straight.
But when Diamond heard Crown say she might be the deceived one, she predictably exploded.
"Are you saying you're more clear-headed than me?"
You're the one who's been bewitched, yet you're turning it around and saying I'm the one who can't see the truth?
Diamond absolutely refused to accept this.
She'd been kept in the dark before, yes, but right now she was definitely the most clear-headed one.
She wasn't bewitched—Crown was!
(That's right, Crown's only saying this because that liar fooled her!)
Diamond felt this conversation was pointless now.
Because Crown's current state couldn't be changed with just a few words.
She had to expose that liar's true face in front of Crown—only then could she convince the bewitched Crown.
And her target should be Kitakami, not Crown!
Thinking this, Diamond immediately wanted to return to the dorm to confront that person.
Crown quickly grabbed her, sensing Diamond's intentions and thinking them too dangerous.
She said to Diamond: "Calm down, Diamond. I know you're angry, but like I said before, that was just my own speculation. I have no proof Kitakami-san actually held back in the race. Your current thinking is also just speculation."
"I am calm!"
Diamond couldn't understand why Crown was still defending that person.
The current information was enough to prove that person was a fraud, wasn't it?
Since she was a huge liar, of course they wouldn't find evidence.
She didn't need evidence. She just needed to confront that person directly and make her reveal her true face!
How should she do it?
Obviously—
Just as Diamond thought of that method, Crown cut her off sharply: "If you say you're calm, then Diamond, why are you so angry? Besides possibly holding back in the race, has Kitakami-san actually done anything bad to you?"
Satono Crown felt she needed to forcibly calm Diamond down.
Otherwise, if she let Diamond go back like this, she would definitely clash with Kitakami-san.
Crown's question made Diamond blank out for an instant.
Because in that moment, she saw her own true feelings.
Was she really acting for Crown's sake?
The answer was obvious.
But she didn't want to admit that was her real thought.
Had Kitakami-san done anything bad to her?
The answer was no.
But, but!
Diamond's eyes widened. She shouted angrily: "You clearly know!"
It was a cry like a breakdown.
Because even Diamond herself didn't know the answer—or rather, she didn't want to accept that answer.
Crown gazed at Diamond's angry eyes and said: "Of course I know. You're not angry because Kitakami-san is some kind of fraud. The reason you're angry is simply because you feel your race today was tainted."
Satono Crown said it aloud.
Because she had to, even if it might hurt Diamond's pride.
She knew very well that everything Diamond was doing now was just making excuses.
Wanting to expose Kitakami-san's true face, acting for others' sake—
Those were all just reasons that benefited her own actions.
The real reason Diamond was angry.
Actually, that reason was very simple—her own frustration.
Suspecting Kitakami-san hadn't taken the race seriously. Suspecting the victory she'd won was fake.
But she herself had known nothing, had even been happy about obtaining such a victory. That's why she got so angry when she found out. Diamond's real reason for being angry was just this.
But if it were just this, she had no sufficient justification to target Kitakami-san, so she needed to find other reasons to support herself.
So she said Kitakami-san was a huge liar.
So she said Kitakami-san had fooled everyone.
So she acted under the pretense of exposing the great fraud.
But none of these were Diamond's truest feelings. Diamond was simply frustrated.
Unable to accept a victory that was handed to her. Unable to accept that even though she'd won, everyone paid more attention to Kitakami-san!
(This is what you really think, Diamond!)
Admit it!
Crown looked directly into Diamond's eyes.
Accept your truth and calm down, Diamond!
"!"
Hearing this, Satono Diamond's mind went blank. Her face paled several shades.
No, that's not it, I didn't think that!
She wanted to deny it, but couldn't speak.
Because she couldn't deceive her own heart, and certainly couldn't deceive Crown, who had seen through her.
The one who couldn't see reality was herself. She was the one who wouldn't admit her own cowardice.
"Uncle seemed very happy to see you win that race, happy to see you beat Kitakami-san. Am I right?"
Satono Crown understood Diamond's feelings very well.
Praise from a father was a wonderful thing.
But what if it was actually because of someone else?
Uncle wasn't happy because Diamond won the race. He was happy because Diamond beat Kitakami-san.
If she were Diamond, knowing Kitakami-san hadn't been serious in that race, she'd feel frustrated too.
Though she also felt Uncle had some issues.
Satono Diamond clenched her teeth hard.
That kind of thing...
Stop talking about it!
"But I don't think you need to dwell on this, Diamond. Given Uncle's personality, he probably won't care about such things."
Crown was trying to tell Diamond that her father was just that kind of small-minded man.
But these words triggered a landmine.
Hearing Crown say this, Diamond's anger that had been fading surged back. She couldn't help shaking off Crown and shouting: "Are you telling me to keep pretending I don't know anything and just accept this unreasonable situation?!"
What a joke!
How could she possibly accept that?
Diamond couldn't believe Crown would say such a thing.
"I won't accept it! I absolutely won't! If I accept something like this, I'll lose the most important thing about being Satono Diamond!"
Maybe to everyone else, whether Kitakami-san held back or not really didn't matter.
But to her, it mattered enormously!
Her pride as a daughter of the Satomi family wouldn't allow her to accept such a victory!
She was Satono Diamond, bearer of the Satomi family's aspirations, destined to break the Satomi family curse and become a GI uma musume!
If she lost her pride and dignity as an uma musume, she would no longer be Satono Diamond!
Satono Crown knew she'd misspoken. She quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was wrong. But Diamond, you should understand now, right?"
"..."
Satono Diamond fell silent.
Even if she wanted to keep throwing a tantrum, Crown had already admitted her mistake. What could she do?
As for going after Kitakami-san again—
Her selfish true feelings had already been laid bare by Crown. Going after Kitakami-san now would just be throwing a tantrum.
But if she did nothing, she couldn't swallow this frustration either.
So what should she do?
She no longer knew what to do.
Seeing Diamond calm down, Satono Crown smiled: "Diamond? What do you want to do now? Do you still want to charge in recklessly and demand answers from Kitakami-san? If you do it now, I might not stop you."
"...Crown!"
Satono Diamond's face flushed with embarrassed anger.
"Don't tease me! And there's no way you'd actually let me do that. Honestly, what's so good about that person that you like her so much? I can count on one hand the number of times you've talked to her."
Hearing this, Satono Crown looked confused.
"Like Kitakami-san? Me?"
Do I like Kitakami-san?
Satono Crown really didn't know she had such feelings.
Seeing her expression wasn't fake, Satono Diamond became confused too.
"Don't you like that person? Then why are you always paying so much attention to her?"
"Hmm... Diamond, do you believe in fate?"
Satono Diamond: "?"
Satono Crown didn't care whether Diamond believed or not and explained her feelings about Kitasan Black.
Though she wasn't sure if she liked Kitakami-san or not, there was one thing she could answer with certainty.
She wasn't paying attention to Kitakami-san for something as shallow as liking or not liking her.
It was because Kitakami-san was her destined rival—that's why she paid attention!
After hearing this, Satono Diamond's expression turned strange.
She'd been certain Crown had been deceived by Kitakami-san.
But it seemed she'd been wrong about that.
And she also remembered—the one who'd been actively seeking opportunities was Crown. Kitakami-san was actually the victim.
Thinking of Kitakami-san's slightly disgusted expression whenever Crown approached her, Diamond's face reddened with embarrassment, steam practically rising from her head.
(So does this mean I've been imagining things all along, deliberately smearing her image for my own selfish desires?)
Satono Diamond felt terrible.
So the bad kid... was actually her?
...
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