Only One Year Left—I'll Become a Legendary Uma Musume! Chapter 312: Only One Year Left—I’ll Become a Legendary Uma

Into jiro Ramonu’s room?!

For a split second, Gotham Song imagined all kinds of terrible possibilities—but only for a split second.

After being back at jiro Manor for so long, she’d already grown very, very used to this sort of everyday intimacy. The only reason she’d reacted at all was because jiro Ramonu had made the suggestion so suddenly.

Still, going to her sister’s room didn’t sound bad at all.

Besides, Ramonu-neesan had said it herself: whatever her sister said, went. And if that was the case, then all the more reason to obediently do as she was told, right?

With that thought, Gotham Song felt no urge to resist. She simply nodded lightly, clasped her sister’s hand tightly in her own, and walked into the room with her.

But once they were inside, what was the first thing to do?

If they were going to rest, then naturally, they should wash up first.

The rooms at jiro Manor were all impressively spacious, and that showed in every detail. Even the bathtub in the bathroom was big enough to fit two people without any trouble.

How did Gotham Song know that?

Because the mont she’d been carried back to the room, jiro Ramonu had promptly put her straight into the tub, that’s how!?

Gah, Ramonu-neesan, you set up!

Still, nothing strange happened after that. For all Gotham Song’s surprise, all jiro Ramonu did was hold her while washing her hair, then scrub her back and the like.

As though she were being considerate of her little sister’s feelings, Ramonu neither asked Gotham Song to wash her in return nor touched any of the places Gotham Song could reach by herself.

That made Gotham Song breathe a sigh of relief.

When it ca to things like this, her sister was unexpectedly gentle.

Really, she’d always been that way. Or rather, ever since Gotham Song had still been Ruka, jiro Ramonu had always been this gentle.

She was just firm about certain things.

Gotham Song didn’t dislike that. It was true that being disciplined could make people resentful, but—jiro Ramonu would never act that way for no reason. You could feel that whenever she took a hard line, it was for sothing that was ultimately good for you too. It wasn’t like the kind of parent so people ran into in her previous world—the sort who couldn’t be bothered to understand what you wanted and just did everything under the banner of "it’s for your own good."

jiro Ramonu had an excellent sense of proportion. Most of the ti, she gave you free rein. She only stepped in to make the decision for you when it truly mattered.

"Sothing like this... if it were the old , I really never would’ve been able to imagine it."

"If soone had told a few years ago that I’d get the chance to be with you like this, I probably would’ve stared at them and thought they were insane."

As she spoke, jiro Ramonu leaned back against the far side of the tub and looked at Gotham Song in complete openness, her gaze fixed on the faint flush on her little sister’s cheeks.

"Is that so? But no matter what, you’d still be taken for crazy, wouldn’t you?"

After all, she’d been a beautiful girl for years now. Gotham Song wasn’t especially shy about this sort of thing anymore—besides, wasn’t Ramonu-neesan pretty amazing in every sense too?

She forced herself to et that gaze calmly, without showing the slightest bit of timidity.

Gotham Song’s answer clearly went beyond what jiro Ramonu had expected. Evidently, she hadn’t realized why her sister would say sothing like that, and only tilted her head slightly in puzzlent.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Because if you think about it, it’s obvious, isn’t it? If soone who looked exactly like you suddenly popped out and told you that one day you’d bathe with your little sister..."

"Wouldn’t your first reaction be to think they were nuts?!"

The world of Umamusu was supposed to be scientific... was it? Really?

Well, aside from the Umamusu themselves and the Three Goddesses, it was probably still scientific.

That was what Gotham Song chose to believe, anyway. After all, a freak like Agnes Tachyon existed.

jiro Ramonu blinked, clearly not having thought of it that way. Gotham Song’s words sank in, and after a brief pause, understanding dawned on her.

"Haha, that’s true. If soone really jumped out in front of on the street and started telling sothing that sounded bizarre at the ti..."

"My first reaction would probably be to wonder whether I was hallucinating."

Her little sister really did say things like that sotis—things you wouldn’t notice unless you stopped and thought about them, or rather, things an Umamusu wouldn’t imdiately wrap her head around.

In jiro Ramonu’s eyes, Gotham Song had always been contradictory. She possessed the overwhelming strength of an Umamusu, yet in little details, she so often carried herself in distinctly human ways.

Still, that was as far as the contradiction went.

Like she’d always thought, if it was her little sister...

jiro Ramonu didn’t mind.

Wasn’t that cute too? Her Gotham Song, the cutest little sister in the whole wide world, was just like that.

"But even if I might’ve been taken for crazy, I still would’ve told my past self that."

Even jiro Ramonu herself couldn’t have explained how much effort she’d poured into helping Song blend into jiro Manor. In the end, all that ti spent together had yielded exactly the result she’d expected—but even that had been long ago.

And she’d only just gotten it before losing it again. That was why this hard-won return after loss felt unimaginably precious.

Gotham Song could more or less understand how jiro Ramonu felt—or rather, there was no need to guess. All she had to do was look, and she could clearly feel the burning emotion in her sister at this mont.

And of course she cared about that.

After all, jiro Manor was the warst harbor she had now. It was her ho.

"Back then, I really did give you a lot of trouble, didn’t I, nee-san? I get it. If you really want your past self to know..."

"Then let tell her for you."

Gotham Song blinked at jiro Ramonu, then lightly swam closer, wrapping herself around her sister’s arm without the slightest hesitation and leaning in until their eyes t at close range.

"That way, your past self wouldn’t think you were crazy, right?"

Of course she wouldn’t...

Just like Song. She always showed this incredibly intense, utterly irresistible warmth in the strangest places.

With her free hand, jiro Ramonu caught Gotham Song’s cheek and gently tugged on it.

"And yet a certain troubleso little sister resisted that much back then, and refused to open up...?"

"Ehehe... th-that, that was for a reason...!"

A reason, yes. There had been a reason.

And what was it?

jiro Ramonu didn’t need to think. She understood in an instant what it had been.

It was nothing more than...

"Because it was an incurable terminal illness, so you were afraid that if you said it out loud, we’d only worry?"

"Ah, mm... because at the beginning, we weren’t really close yet, right? So back then I thought that if we just stayed strangers like that, then even if I left, it wouldn’t cause that much of an emotional shock—or sothing like that, ehe~"

Since jiro Ramonu had guessed everything, Gotham Song could only scratch her head and honestly confess what she’d been thinking.

Back then, had she simply not been mature enough? Or had her physical condition left her no room to think that deeply about anything?

Probably both. In fact, looking at it now, even she thought that decision had been absurd.

Because the people around her were exactly the sort who would still care about you without hesitation even if you tried to distance yourself from them.

So yes, Gotham Song thought she was lucky.

Not because luck had given her a better, wealthier life. Not because she’d stumbled into the bizarre stroke of fortune that was transmigration.

It was because she had a group of people who cared about her—supporters, friends, and family who were dependable and who gave her strength.

It wasn’t that jiro Ramonu couldn’t understand those feelings. But precisely because she could, the force in her hand gradually increased, pulling the cheek she held more and more out of shape—

"Yes, of course I understand why Song-chan thought that way. But because I do understand, that’s exactly why it makes a little sad... and a little angry, you know?"

"At the very least, if sothing like that ever happens again in the future, you are absolutely not allowed to do that."

jiro Ramonu’s voice was light—so light that it was softer than the sound of Gotham Song nodding furiously in response.

And seeing her little sister nodding like that, jiro Ramonu could only feel a mix of helplessness and amusent. Well, if her sister was reacting like this, what more was there to say?

Thinking that, jiro Ramonu suddenly felt that the scene in front of her wasn’t bad at all. Her little sister might have a rebellious streak more often than not, but once she properly agreed to sothing, she never broke her word.

So as long as she gave a proper promise, then nothing unexpected would happen... right?

No. She still couldn’t relax at all.

Thinking that, jiro Ramonu casually turned her eyes toward her sister.

"So, my dear little sister—have you been hiding anything from lately? Anything you want to do that I would absolutely never agree to?"

jiro Ramonu didn’t know why she’d asked that, but her instincts were blaring the alarm—

And as soon as her question fell, Gotham Song’s gaze wavered, and she went silent.

Hm...?

Oh, that had just been a casual question. She hadn’t expected there to really be sothing.

jiro Ramonu caught Gotham Song by the shoulders, then leaned in and locked eyes with her rcilessly.

So then, what kind of thing was it?

Of course, the eldest of the jiros wasn’t about to start interrogating her here. She simply looked at her sister and waited for the answer that would absolutely be given.

Song really was especially cute in this regard.

Faced with her request, could Gotham Song really say no?

Probably not~

"Mm, mm... it’s, it’s about the Breeder’s Cup later."

The Breeder’s Cup—the race before the Dream Cup...

So what could possibly be that outrageous about the Breeders’ Cup?

jiro Ramonu was a little puzzled. In her impression, the Breeders’ Cup was a pretty straightforward event. True, her little sister would be taking on two major races back-to-back, but if it was those two races, then there wasn’t much to be done about it.

"The Breeder’s Cup is an all-day event, right?"

jiro Ramonu fell silent.

She suddenly realized sothing—or rather, she had a feeling she’d already guessed exactly what bold and outrageous thing her sister wanted to do.

"The turf race in the morning and the dirt race in the afternoon... mm, I want to enter both!"

"I knew it. Song, do you realize what kind of thing you’re trying to do?"

Gotham Song nodded, then gave an embarrassed little smile.

"Of course I know, Ramonu-neesan. But I just want to do it—because this might be my very, very last chance before I retire."

Before retirent...?

jiro Ramonu sank into thought. She could understand that feeling, after all...

It wasn’t as though she wasn’t a retired Umamusu herself.

What a strange thing. Retirent had once felt distant and unfamiliar, and jiro Ramonu truly had never imagined her little sister would start thinking about it this early.

It was probably because her strength and status were simply too high, so she’d chosen early retirent in order to make room for the younger generation.

jiro Ramonu felt a little helpless, but for an Umamusu as powerful as her little sister, staying on the throne too long really would have had a major effect.

"Then who else knows about this? Anyone else in jiro Manor?"

jiro Ramonu didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling right now. It was just like how she didn’t know why she’d asked that question or spoken those words in the first place, but...

Just this once wouldn’t matter, right?

Her heart was pounding wildly, calling out for her to support Song...

Unexpectedly, it felt rather thrilling...

"Ah, everyone at jiro Manor? No one knows yet. You’re the first, nee-san."

"Is that so? I’m the first..."

Which ant Ardan didn’t know either.

jiro Ramonu thought of many things from the past, but after countless mories and emotions circled through her and finally settled, they all layered into the sa result.

"Have you truly made up your mind, Song?"

"Ah, yes, Ramonu-neesan. I’ve really made my preparations...!"

"In that case, how could I possibly say no to you? With the blessing of the Three Goddesses upon you... then go and try."

Just this once, for a willful wish like this, not supporting her would be too harsh.

And besides, Ardan.

This is sothing even you don’t know.