Seeing the Uma Musu who looked exactly like her young mother standing before her, Dream Weaver's mind was thrown into turmoil.
For a mont, she even wondered if she'd traveled back in ti—after all, if the system could overworld entire worldlines, tweaking the tiline 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, chanical 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 beco 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 Musu 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 mories.
At that thought, Dream Weaver looked up suspiciously and asked, "Is this so kind of illusion?"
jiro Ardan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Dream Weaver's words. With a sowhat helpless smile, she replied, "I'm a real Uma Musu, you know."
As she spoke, jiro 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 sothing 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 so kind of deep connection between them.
"I've got it," Dream Weaver said suddenly, lifting her head and fixing a firm gaze on jiro Ardan. "You must be Mother's clone!"
"Those despicable jiros—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 dical degrees she'd t earlier, Dream Weaver gritted her teeth.
She knew soone of his caliber couldn't be that simple. Behind the scenes, he must be involved in so shady dealings with the jiro family. Who knows—maybe there was even a secret base under the jiro estate, dedicated to their twisted experints!
Seeing her jump to conclusions again, jiro 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 stamred, "The twentieth century?! You an… 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 … you're a Uma Musu-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 ti machine.
"That's supposed to be a tanuki-style childcare robot, and besides, my na doesn't match at all," jiro 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 Musu 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 sothing she was missing. Suddenly, sothing jiro 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 jiro family to keep 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 jiro 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!" jiro 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 jiro family can be! You just want to keep here so the jiros can claim the Tenno Sho Spring and Autumn titles again in their na, don't you?"
"It seems you have your own reasons. If you tell everything you know and help 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 mont jiro Ramonu showed up at the Northern household.
First, they used her mother's ntos to pique her curiosity and draw her to the jiro 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 Musu—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 jiro family!
What a convoluted plan! What a devious sche!
If not for her system's help, which let her snap back to her senses almost imdiately, she might have already fallen under this Uma Musu's spell and stayed for the glory of the jiro na!
"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 jiro Ardan with a triumphant glare.
"You should be honored to be defeated by my genius deductions! Now tell —what other conspiracies is the jiro family plotting?"
Just as Dream Weaver was gloating and jiro Ardan was on the verge of tears, an awkward cough suddenly ca from behind them.
"Dreams, the jiro family really isn't so dark overlord's castle—we wouldn't do sothing like that."
Leaning against the doorfra, jiro 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
Reviews
All reviews (0)