Umamusume, But I Have a Danmaku Loan System! [5]

[Whoa, are we about to get a hair-pulling catfight? Fight! Fight! I love watching women fight!]

[She talked all that trash, and now they have to live under the same roof? This is way too awkward.]

[I really want to lick both their feet…]

[A full-on Slaanesh cultist has arrived. You guys carry on.]

Unsurprisingly, the danmaku before Silver Blizzard showed tremendous interest in the awkward situation unfolding before them.

Easy for them to enjoy the spectacle when they were not the ones dealing with it.

I’m the one with the headache here!

Silver Blizzard truly did find the situation troublesome.

She had held absolutely nothing back when she hissed at Gentildonna before. Of course things would be painfully awkward now that they had to live together!

Besides, the main reason Silver Blizzard had hissed at Gentildonna was to distance herself from her.

She did not want to become too entangled with Gentildonna.

After all, Gentildonna would steal the danmaku’s attention away from her.

But if Gentildonna really became her roommate, how could Silver Blizzard possibly keep the danmaku’s attention focused solely on herself?

Silver Blizzard was not a certain witch who could craft makeshift spears. She possessed no curious little magic capable of drawing everyone’s gaze toward her, so naturally, she could not control what the danmaku watched or thought.

The most Silver Blizzard could do was minimize contact with anyone who distracted the danmaku and fill their memories with as much of herself as possible. That way, the audience would pay more attention to her.

Unfortunately, whatever schemes she had in mind went out the window the instant she saw Gentildonna’s face.

Damn it.

I don’t want anything to do with her, so why does she keep barging into my life?!

Silver Blizzard pursed her lips and regarded Gentildonna with an unfriendly gaze.

Naturally, Gentildonna could not understand what Silver Blizzard was thinking. She had no idea why Silver Blizzard had hissed at her in the first place.

But having been hissed at, Gentildonna was hardly going to greet Silver Blizzard warmly.

“Why are you in this special dormitory?”

Gentildonna’s expression was stiff, her tone hostile.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Hah. Are you really so short on money that you’ve fallen low enough to live here? How embarrassing.”

“Says the person living in the same special dormitory as me. If you look down on this place so much, why are you here? You’re the pot calling the kettle black. Who are you trying to impress with that superior attitude?”

“…Ahem.”

After leaving Gentildonna speechless with her retort, Silver Blizzard pushed her suitcase past the girl blocking the doorway and entered the special dormitory.

Since it was part of an assistance program funded by Central Tracen Academy, the interior was nothing luxurious, but it was more than adequate for everyday life. There was a living room spacious enough for several people, a functional kitchen, and, naturally, a bathroom. A corridor connected several vacant rooms, presumably reserved for other students in need of assistance.

The room at the far end of the corridor already had Gentildonna’s nameplate hanging on it. Clearly, that was her room.

Silver Blizzard gave it a casual glance, then chose the room farthest from Gentildonna’s—the one nearest the entrance to the corridor.

“Hmph…”

Gentildonna merely snorted as she watched Silver Blizzard choose a room without consulting her, then muttered under her breath.

“Who do you think is the reason I’m in this dorm to begin with…?”

After Silver Blizzard provoked her following their debut race, Gentildonna had returned home in a foul mood.

Gentildonna’s family lived in Tokyo, so she normally commuted to Central Tracen Academy rather than staying in the school dormitories.

She came from a truly bizarre family.

Her mother, Deep Impact, was a Japanese Triple Crown Umamusume who fervently believed in the supremacy of strength. She had raised her children according to that same principle. After years of being immersed in those values, all of Deep Impact’s children had grown exceptionally combative, and Gentildonna was no exception.

Gentildonna had always been the cleverest and most gifted member of the family. She had never considered changing their warped family dynamic.

But when she returned home that day, things were different.

Gentildonna, who had always been victorious, had lost her debut race.

To Deep Impact, with her uncompromising belief that strength was everything, that was unacceptable.

“Why did you lose your debut race?”

“…”

“I’m deeply disappointed in you. With your talent, you should have dazzled everyone in your debut, not slunk back home like a beaten dog.”

“There was an unexpected opponent in the race…”

“Does that excuse make your defeat acceptable?”

“That isn’t what I meant…”

“If another powerful opponent you know nothing about appears in your next race, do you intend to stand by and hand them victory? Of course not. That is merely an excuse for your own carelessness. Since when has my daughter needed to make excuses for failure? Every defeat has only one cause: insufficient strength.”

“…”

Faced with Deep Impact’s pressure, Gentildonna had nothing to say.

She could not argue back. She understood better than anyone that failure was not permitted in this household.

“It seems I’ve treated you too leniently and allowed you to become complacent.”

Deep Impact shook her head at the sight of her silent daughter standing with her head lowered.

“In that case, you will no longer live at home. It appears that remaining here offers no benefit to your growth. Central Tracen recently established a special dormitory. It will house talented Umamusume of limited means. Go there and learn to judge others properly.”

“Next time, I do not want to hear that you lost because you failed to recognize your opponent’s strength.”

With that, Deep Impact drove Gentildonna out of the house.

Even though Gentildonna was her own daughter, she showed no mercy in expelling her.

Gentildonna did not resent her for it.

After all, she actually agreed with her mother’s reasoning.

Ultimately, she had simply not been strong enough.

Had her raw ability truly been overwhelming, even if Silver Blizzard had concealed her strength, Gentildonna would not have been defeated so easily.

After thinking it over, Gentildonna concluded that her mother’s decision might have been correct. Spending more time around talented rivals of her generation in the special dormitory could sharpen her judgment of opponents.

She needed to set aside her arrogance and properly assess the rivals of her generation.

Every student admitted to the special dormitory was a promising Umamusume endorsed by Central Tracen Academy. Living alongside them might allow her to learn something!

And so, Gentildonna had entered the special dormitory with the intention of studying her peers.

Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to find Silver Blizzard there!

Why was the girl who had hurled all those insults at me just a few days ago here too?!

Was I really going to spend the entire term living under the same roof as her?

No way, no way, no way!

Just imagining it was unbearably unpleasant.

From their first meeting at the debut race to their present reunion in the special dormitory, practically every encounter between Gentildonna and Silver Blizzard had involved them clashing head-on. They hardly seemed capable of becoming good friends.

Forcing two people who disliked each other to live under the same roof would undoubtedly be torture for both of them.

Yet Silver Blizzard and Gentildonna both had reasons they could not leave the special dormitory.

Which meant the problem between them had to be dealt with.

But how exactly were they supposed to resolve it…?

Gentildonna watched Silver Blizzard carry her bags and luggage into her room, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

Wait…

Perhaps there was a way after all.

Maybe friendship was not the only kind of relationship that would allow them to live more comfortably under the same roof.

Gentildonna’s burgundy eyes suddenly lit up. She had clearly thought of something.

KNOCK, KNOCK…

While Silver Blizzard was unpacking, she heard someone knock on the doorframe behind her. She turned around and found Gentildonna leaning against the doorway with an unreadable smile.

“What is it? Unless you have something important to say, please stop interfering with my unpacking.”

“Of course I have something to discuss with you.”

Gentildonna stared into Silver Blizzard’s eyes and smiled.

“Silver Blizzard, I know you dislike me. Naturally, I don’t particularly like you either. But we’ll be living together in this dormitory for quite some time…”

“So?”

Silver Blizzard raised an eyebrow, unable to understand why Gentildonna was speaking in such a roundabout fashion.

“Since neither of us likes the other, there’s no need to play some childish game of pretending to be friends.”

Gentildonna walked up to Silver Blizzard, planted one hand on her hip, and pointed the other at the tip of Silver Blizzard’s nose.

“Let’s make a bet.”

“I know you don’t want to see me, and I equally despise that arrogant attitude of yours.”

“There’s no need to resolve the conflict between us. I have no desire to improve our relationship either. Since we both hate each other, we might as well settle once and for all which of us is superior!”

“I’m not proposing this because I want to be your friend. A wager between rivals on the racetrack suits us far better—”

“A bet?”

Silver Blizzard looked surprised. She had not expected Gentildonna to propose a solution like this.

Not that she was afraid!

“What do you want to bet?” Silver Blizzard asked.

“As Umamusume, our results on the racetrack are everything. Then let’s weigh our future achievements against each other!”

Gentildonna grinned.

“Whichever of us achieves better results becomes the other’s ‘master.’ The loser must obey every demand the winner makes!”

“This is a wager with everything at stake. Silver Blizzard, do you dare accept?”

Gentildonna narrowed her eyes, their outer corners curving like crescent moons, her expression as sly as a fox’s.

If she could not resolve the conflict, she would settle matters with the person at its center instead!

Silver Blizzard, do you dare stake your entire future—?

T/N: GENTIL NO!!! SHES GONNA TAKE UR MONEY! voting timeee

This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，但我有弹幕贷款系统！by 整活的猫 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!