How should she describe this?
As an Uma Musu racer, what could be the most awkward situation imaginable in one’s professional life?
Was it carrying off your defeated opponent from the racecourse, forced to endure whatever vengeance she might unleash upon you later that night, completely unable to resist—or perhaps losing the race yourself and then being embraced and whisked away privately by your own opponent to be comforted?
Both scenarios sounded terribly embarrassing, yet at this very mont, Gotham Song felt that neither could be more awkward than the situation she was about to face.
How did things end up like this? Frozen in place, utterly baffled, Gotham Song stared ahead, eyes locked onto Almond Eye in the distance. The latter was sitting on a small park bench, hands resting quietly on her knees, head lowered, lost in thoughts unknown.
Things went like this: originally, Gotham Song had returned ho, been dragged by the others into a celebratory party for Gentildonna, and afterward entered her own room—unsurprisingly finding Neo Universe already monopolizing her bed. Just as she was about to resign herself to this familiar situation and rest as usual, an unexpected phone call disrupted her plans.
First off, being at the very top level of the URA ant anyone closely connected with URA could easily get Gotham Song’s contact information. Occasionally, Gotham Song would indeed receive calls from that side.
Of course, seeing the caller ID at first, Gotham Song had no idea who would reach out to her this late at night, and with a mindset of "there’s no harm in answering, what if it’s important?" she pressed the accept button.
And then, she realized she’d stumbled into serious trouble.
How could she even describe the voice coming from the other end?
Timid? Fragile? Gotham Song wasn’t exactly inexperienced—having been through quite a bit as an Uma Musu in every sense, she could vividly imagine the state of the Uma Musu on the other end simply from hearing that voice.
A shattered pride, curled into a helpless ball, unable to even properly think, desperately reaching upward like soone drowning, clutching at anything that might be salvation—
In many ways, this was a striking contrast from her usual self. Had Miss Almond Eye truly been broken down by two sudden, crushing defeats to the extent of seeking help from soone like her—soone halfway to being her "enemy"?!
Yet, this also indirectly illustrated two points, didn’t it?
One was... Almond Eye clearly had no one dependable around her... And the other was—
Unexpectedly, do I actually hold a rather significant position in Almond Eye’s heart?
In any case, Gotham Song herself wasn’t sure if her current mood could be described as helpless or emotional. Ultimately, all she did was give her reply.
Well, it’s not like I could refuse to lend a hand to such a pitiful little kitten owing at , right? Besides, she currently had plenty of free ti anyway.
Ah, perhaps it could also serve as so reverse pressure on Gentildonna? Yes, let’s just say it’s like that! She was totally sacrificing her precious ti and freedom for the sake of her own Uma Musu, okay?!
Donna-chan, you’d better grow up properly.
Sob, sob.
Having made up her mind, Gotham Song agreed on a eting ti with Almond Eye last night, which was precisely this morning, at a park near Tokyo Racecourse.
Since she was here already, leaving wasn’t an option. Although doing sothing like this for a stranger made Gotham Song feel slightly nervous on her way over—upon careful reflection, she began laughing instead.
Perhaps it was Almond Eye’s first ti being comforted by a senpai, but young Uma Musu—this certainly wasn’t Gotham Song’s first ti playing the comforting senpai role. Therefore, there was absolutely nothing to worry about, okay?
Ah, but there was indeed sothing she needed to pay attention to, in one specific aspect—
She was here purely as a senpai to encourage a junior. Their relationship should remain purely a pure senior-junior one, and she must especially pay attention to preserving that!
Having been in this world for so long now, especially with certain people around her openly pointing things out, Gotham Song had long since grasped certain truths about this world, clearly understanding that doing too much could lead her to outcos she’d never intended.
Anyway, she was just here to give guidance, nothing more!
Taking a deep breath, Gotham Song lightly patted her cheeks to steady her mood, quietly approaching Almond Eye, who seed stuck in the dilemma of wanting to look up yet not daring—or rather, unsure whether she should. Gotham Song sat down on the other end of the bench.
"The weather’s really nice today..."
"If only the person beside felt just as nice."
Gotham Song glanced up at the sky, smoothly adding a cliché pick-up line as the latter half of her sentence. Seeing Almond Eye beside her still showing no reaction, she briefly felt a bit helpless.
In truth, Gotham Song had sensed Almond Eye’s state long before she got close—or rather, such a pitiful little foal could naturally trigger empathy in any Uma Musu with a certain amount of experience, right?
Just think about it: she’d erged into this world as an invincible genius, shouldering huge expectations, practically crushing her entire rookie year. Up until the very minute the classic year’s first race began, she’d still been the undisputed favorite. Countless people had even prematurely crowned Almond Eye as champion of the Oka Sho!
Yet, the final outco was nowhere near expectations—a devastating defeat marked the end of her Oka Sho. But even then, Almond Eye’s heart still held frustration, still burned with the desire for victory—
Of course Almond Eye wasn’t a fragile Uma Musu. If she truly were the type who couldn’t handle any setbacks, wouldn’t she have completely collapsed imdiately after the Oka Sho?
The very fact that she made it all the way to the Japanese Oaks, maintaining excellent condition right up to the very last mont, even reflecting on her defeat and making strategic adjustnts, precisely demonstrated that Almond Eye’s psychological defense hadn’t yet shattered—not at least until the Japanese Oaks ended. She hadn’t been fragile enough to collapse then.
Maybe she still hadn’t completely collapsed even now, right?
Soone who’d truly given up would never send out a desperate signal for help to a stranger...
Thinking of this, Gotham Song felt deeply moved—after all, complete collapse, or perhaps refusing to seek help from anyone around you...
Almond Eye might be inexperienced in this matter, but Gotham Song had absolutely experienced that herself.
Alright then, it seed a gentle approach wouldn’t cut it this ti. If that’s the case...
Gotham Song pressed her fingertips gently against Almond Eye’s hand, slowly rubbing inward, and began closing her own fingers—slowly, yet with an irresistible firmness—until she finally grasped the other Uma Musu’s hand, which was actually slightly larger than her own.
At first, Almond Eye resisted. Her body trembled, instinctively panicking, as if desperate to escape Gotham Song’s sudden closeness—but...
How could such an unconscious reaction ever hope to stop, let alone deal with, the Demon Lord’s utterly unreasonable conquest?
In the end, Almond Eye’s larger hand was still firmly seized by Gotham Song’s smaller one. Under the warmth of the spring sunshine, in a quiet corner of the park, with very few people around yet still several pairs of distant eyes lingering, Almond Eye was pulled roughly by Gotham Song from their initially slight distance, almost entirely closing the gap between them.
Of course, "almost entirely" ant their shoulders were intimately pressed together, yet the bench itself still had plenty of empty space.
This sudden ambush from Gotham Song seed to drag Almond Eye forcefully out from under the dark clouds of the Japanese Oaks defeat. At last, she lifted her head, finally looking at Gotham Song, who wore a gentle smile directed straight at her.
"Should I say it again? The weather really is lovely today."
"I just wish your mood could match this weather."
You said that without even asking how I feel first...!
But of course, Almond Eye kept these thoughts firmly in her mind, only silently nodding in response. Even though she knew clearly it would be better to actively say sothing—seeing the other Uma Musu put in so much effort to create conversation—she just couldn’t do it. Almond Eye certainly understood such basic things. Though she lacked enough experience as a racer, it didn’t an she was utterly inexperienced in social interactions.
But knowing sothing was one thing; being able to actually do it was another entirely. Right now, she regretted and questioned herself endlessly—why on earth had she gotten so hot-headed last night and invited Gotham Song to et her this morning? Her mind was in complete chaos. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak, but rather that she had no idea at all what to say.
"I’m sorry, Song-san, even though it was who—mmph?"
"Shh, right now just listen to . Understand?"
Almond Eye had obviously intended to apologize for her scattered thoughts, which prevented her from speaking coherently—but what she didn’t expect at all was for Gotham Song to suddenly lift a hand and cover her lips, cutting off the apology before she could utter it.
Listen to her, right now...?
"You love the racetrack, love racing itself, right, Almond Eye?"
But Gotham Song’s next words caught her completely off guard, plunging her mind into confusion.
Love the track, love racing...? Of course she did—if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have beco an Uma Musu in the first place.
She hadn’t beco an Uma Musu simply because she possessed great talent—rather, because she wanted to beco one, she pushed herself to fully realize the innate talent she was born with.
"Then, would you like to hear a story? Long ago, before I beca famous, I once suffered a serious illness, you know?"
A long, long ti ago—back before Gotham Song was famous. Just how long ago was that exactly? Long enough that "Gotham Song" didn’t even exist yet; long enough that the rainy-day Arc hadn’t yet taken place.
Honestly speaking, if Gotham Song tried to recall her ntality at that ti now, it would be very difficult to reach a clear conclusion.
"Back then, I was in so much pain that I thought about giving up entirely. If I simply stopped feeling anything, the suffering would end, right?"
"Surprised?"
Almond Eye remained silent for a long mont, staring at the petite Uma Musu sitting next to her. She never imagined she’d hear such an intimate confession.
This person sitting beside her was, after all, the most celebrated, honored Uma Musu of this era—yet even she once had monts of such vulnerability...
No matter how you looked at it, considering ending one’s life due to pain sounded incredibly strange, didn’t it?
"You think it’s strange too, huh? So now, looking back from where I stand, I’ve co to a simple conclusion: no matter what, if you fall down and simply give up, then there’ll be no future, no more possibilities—right?"
Gotham Song lightly tightened her grip on Almond Eye’s hand, pressing her slender fingers into the sensitive web between thumb and forefinger, and then suddenly leaned forward until her face completely filled Almond Eye’s vision.
Don’t misunderstand! The Trainer’s handbook said clearly that this was an effective technique—forcing the Uma Musu to focus intently, preventing them from avoiding the topic at hand.
It wasn’t like she had any improper thoughts about a junior!
She was terrified sothing like that might happen...
After all, she lived in an extrely delicate environnt where everyone watched each other carefully. If that delicate balance were to suddenly collapse, she didn’t dare imagine what could follow...
Yet, no matter how frightened she might be of sothing like that happening, facing this helpless Almond Eye right now—even if it risked turning into the worst possible situation—she would still firmly and sincerely act like this, wouldn’t she?
Maybe Gotham Song was simply that kind of hopeless fool who, seeing soone in desperate need of help, couldn’t bear to turn away...
Well, anyway, once Gentildonna had finished the Shuka Sho, Gotham Song and Almond Eye’s interactions would probably beco rare occurrences, sothing that might happen only far, far in the future, right?
So, surely, she’d be safe...
Probably.
Almond Eye didn’t reply imdiately. Instead, she carefully observed the Uma Musu before her, gazing into those eyes that were once again repeating sothing she’d already known clearly—sothing others had told her countless tis, sothing she’d seen countless tis before.
Yet, for so reason, hearing sothing she already understood deeply repeated from the mouth of the person right before her now felt surprisingly persuasive... Was it because she was a highly accomplished senior Uma Musu?
Or was it because this was the very person she wanted, eventually, to overco?
Almond Eye didn’t know. Her emotions churned endlessly, swirling in ways she couldn’t even begin to explain, leaving her trapped in deep uncertainty and hesitation, not knowing how to break free.
However, there was one thing she wanted an answer to—and she needed that answer right now...!
"Then, if I do manage to pick myself back up, what if the goal I pursue in the end is to defeat you?"
"Hah? You’ve got so nerve saying that, kid. Maybe try beating Donna-chan first, alright? I have quite a bit of confidence in my girl, you know."
Gotham Song lightly lifted her hand and knocked Almond Eye on her head, but then, in the end, she gave a more direct answer.
"A challenge? I’ve never been afraid of challenges. If you really think you can defeat , then go ahead and try."
"But if you lose to , you better not get this downhearted again, alright?"
After all, Almond Eye had been personally guided by Gotham Song herself.
In the very next instant, surely, she’d be reborn.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 Chapter
200 stones -> 2 Chapters
300 stones -> 3 Chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon/wisetl
Okay, real talk: I am extrely hungry for money, so I’m raising mbership prices soon.
BUT.
If you’re already subscribed before the change, your current price stays the sa as long as you remain subscribed.
So for example:
Person A is already subscribed at $7/month
Price later goes up to $14/month
Person A still pays $7/month if they stay subscribed
anwhile:
Person B was not subscribed before the change
After the price becos $14/month
Person B has to pay $14/month
So yes, prices are going up, but existing mbers get to keep their current rate if they stay in.
Which ans:
If you want the cheaper price, join before the change. Otherwise, if you subscribe later, you’ll be paying the new higher amount.
Price changes happen on Monday 16th, North Arica ti.
dont worry one more day of ads
Reviews
All reviews (0)