What surprised Gotham Song a little was that her sister seemed to have put in some extra thought into her appearance today.
That wasn’t to say Mejiro Ramonu was usually sloppy. It was just that today, she’d gone out of her way to do a few things she normally didn’t.
Like putting on a light touch of makeup along her cheeks.
That, too, was actually rather unusual for Umamusume.
It wasn’t that Umamusume as a whole rejected cosmetics or anything. It was just that for them, makeup was something they rarely needed in the first place.
After all, Umamusume were already blessed with extraordinary natural beauty. In most cases, without any embellishment at all, they had already long surpassed the so-called galaxy-class beauties of Gotham Song’s old world.
So for Umamusume, unless they were in certain special lines of work—like idol Umamusume rather than racing Umamusume, the kind who spent their days singing and dancing onstage and attending all sorts of events—wearing makeup in everyday life was usually reserved for when there was a genuine need for it, or for especially formal occasions.
So… going out with her was a serious enough matter that it called for special makeup? Formal enough for that?
Curious, Gotham Song leaned in closer and, still using that deliberately lowered voice from before, lodged a solemn protest with her sister.
“That’s not right…! No matter how you look at it, I don’t sound anything like Mejiro Ardan, do I?”
“That’s true. Then perhaps… Dober?”
Not even close—hey!
At that instant, Gotham Song realized it perfectly clearly.
Her sister was definitely doing this on purpose.
There was no way Mejiro Ramonu was actually that dense, and Gotham Song’s disguise hadn’t exactly been flawless either.
Or rather, her voice disguise was so clumsy it was practically painful.
Under those circumstances, her sister reacting like this could only mean one thing: she’d figured it out already and had no intention of exposing her outright…!
Wasn’t this just straight-up teasing a kid…?!
Once she realized that, Gotham Song no longer had any interest in making her sister keep guessing. She pinched her sister’s forehead in annoyed exasperation, then let go of her eyes, wrapped her arms around her from behind, and rested herself against Mejiro Ramonu’s shoulder.
“You already knew it wasn’t Dober, didn’t you, Ramonu-neesan?!”
“Well now, perhaps I only figured it out just now?”
A faint smile curved Mejiro Ramonu’s lips. She closed the book in her hands, then turned to look at the pair of eyes gleaming beside her cheek with all sorts of emotions.
“Tch… you’re so mean, nee-san. But… you actually put on makeup today?”
“Oh, this? So Song didn’t notice?”
Notice what?
Gotham Song froze blankly, and seeing that reaction, Mejiro Ramonu immediately understood that her little sister truly hadn’t realized why she’d done it.
You silly girl. Of course it was because of you…
“It seems big sister has no choice but to remind you what happened between us back on the bed earlier today.”
“Who was it that bit me on the face badly enough that I had to put on makeup to cover it?”
Ah.
That seems like…
Me?
Ahaha…
“Luckily, the little biter in question didn’t go for the center of my cheek. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to go out today—or for quite a while after that~”
“Song? Song, why aren’t you saying anything?”
I—I…!
What was she supposed to say to that?!
Gotham Song sprang up from Mejiro Ramonu’s side and fled at top speed.
Watching her little sister’s retreating back, Mejiro Ramonu smiled helplessly. What was the most appropriate reaction at a time like this?
Naturally, it was to say nothing at all and simply chase after her.
Since this was a rare day off—even if it was only twenty-four hours—Mejiro Ramonu gave up the idea of taking a car. Or rather, instead of getting into a sedan, the two of them walked together onto the platform of the subway station.
The way Gotham Song bounced and skipped all along the route, unable to settle down even on the escalator, drew a smile from Mejiro Ramonu.
Really, Gotham Song was quite the lively one.
Or rather, today, in front of Mejiro Ramonu, she seemed especially lively.
And what was wrong with that?
Like a nimble black butterfly, Gotham Song flickered and flitted through Mejiro Ramonu’s field of vision.
As always, Mejiro Manor Station was practically deserted. On the upward escalator, where there were only the two of them, Gotham Song even scampered quite a ways ahead before spinning around to make a huge face at her sister.
“Blehh—yeah, I’m the one who bit you, so what!!”
Yes, so what?
Why, naturally…
Mejiro Ramonu stood where she was without moving. She merely smiled faintly and lifted a hand, pointing lightly behind Gotham Song.
Behind her?
What was behind her? There wasn’t anyone blocking the landing… wait, the landing?!
“Wahhh!!!”
What was there at the end of an escalator?
Sure, pedestrians might occasionally “spawn” there.
But what was always there without fail?
The curved little metal “teeth” below, where the moving steps met the floor—a tiny height difference that could make you lose your footing if you weren’t careful.
Airborne—!
Of course not.
For an Umamusume with excellent balance and lightning-fast reflexes, even if she got ambushed from behind like that, all it amounted to was a brief moment of fluster.
In the instant she tipped backward from the sudden change in height, Gotham Song caught the handrail and steadied herself.
Then she turned back with a deeply aggrieved look and stared at Mejiro Ramonu, who was steadily approaching from behind, her grievance written all over her face.
Seeing that, Mejiro Ramonu found it particularly amusing. She merely reached out and pinched her little sister’s cheek.
“I did warn you just now, didn’t I, my dear little sister?”
“Hmph. Next time I’m warning you the same way!”
Next time, the same way?
Meaning in a similar situation?
Well now, that didn’t sound impossible either.
Provided she would ever turn her back and make a face like that.
Mejiro Ramonu gave it some sincere thought, only to conclude that for her, doing something like that still felt impossibly distant—so distant she couldn’t even imagine the circumstances under which it would happen.
At this rate, she probably wouldn’t see it happen in this lifetime.
Maybe in the next one, if she were the younger sister instead.
Perhaps. Maybe.
Mejiro Ramonu didn’t dwell on it. She simply kept her little sister close at hand and, amid Gotham Song’s grumbling, stepped into the empty train.
“This is a first for the two of us too, isn’t it? Riding the train together, I mean.”
In the past, when Song went out, she was usually with Ardan. Mejiro Ramonu, tied up with work and the like, would always head to whatever racecourse Song was at afterward on her own. Back then, going out by train together with her little sister had felt like a very distant thing.
And now, that distant future had already arrived right in front of her—
Thinking of it that way, perhaps the idea of her making faces at Song wasn’t completely impossible either…?
Ahem. Why had her thoughts wandered somewhere so strange?
Really, her little sister was simply too cute. She was always making her think of the oddest things.
That was what Mejiro Ramonu thought to herself. In truth, though, she was also very much looking forward to today’s outing.
Since this was the first thing she and Song were doing together today, then… perhaps they should go somewhere familiar.
The train slowly set off, leaving the empty Mejiro Manor Station behind and rolling toward the bustling city. At first, the entire carriage really did belong only to the two sisters, but later, bit by bit, more people began to fill it.
Gotham Song seemed quite happy about that. She even chatted with people nearby and took photos with them.
Watching it happen, Mejiro Ramonu was delighted inside. This was exactly how her little sister ought to be—happy, mischievous, full of that younger-sister energy.
Very good.
If only for the sake of preserving that adorable side of her sister, Mejiro Ramonu would have to work even harder and do everything she needed to do all the more properly…!
Once that little spell of sentiment passed, the sisters arrived at their destination.
And looking at the enormous building before her, Gotham Song couldn’t shake the feeling that it looked oddly familiar.
This building gives me such a strong sense of déjà vu. It’s like I’ve been here before…?
That had to be her imagination, right?
There were only a handful of malls Gotham Song had ever visited. The last time had been several months ago in New York, when she’d secretly gone to buy a game console. Other than that mall in New York, there really weren’t many at all.
The one that had left the deepest impression on Gotham Song was… well, probably the place where she’d gotten her first Racing Outfit.
Come to think of it, this really did look familiar. The place where she got her first—
“Does it look familiar, Song?”
“Y-yeah, that’s right. But I can’t put my finger on why it looks familiar. It’s such a weird feeling…”
Seeing her little sister react like that, Mejiro Ramonu smiled faintly.
So she really hadn’t realized what place this was at all. Her silly little sister always showed the cutest reactions in situations like this.
“Why don’t you guess, Song? This is somewhere you should know, after all.”
“Somewhere I should know…?”
If Mejiro Ramonu was putting it that way, then there had to be some connection here.
Still holding her sister’s hand as they entered the mall, Gotham Song turned that over in her mind.
But what sort of connection could she possibly have with any mall… wait.
A mall. Me. And Ramonu-neesan…
Ah.
Th-this, this-this-this, this is already way too obvious, isn’t it?!
Gotham Song felt as though she’d suddenly figured everything out, and the panicked look in her eyes met the helplessly indulgent gaze in Mejiro Ramonu’s.
“Th-then this is the place where I got my Racing Outfit, my first Racing Outfit, isn’t it?”
“It seems my little sister isn’t quite that much of an idiot after all. Yes, it is. Surprised?”
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene before her, Gotham Song sank into deep thought.
It didn’t seem all that different from what she remembered—
Like hell it didn’t! She didn’t remember a single thing about the inside of this mall anymore!
Gotham Song fell into profound exasperation.
Of course she knew her sister wasn’t about to do anything too outrageous, but revisiting the scene like this was just… unbearably awkward.
After all, this was the very place where she’d gotten that notebook that had felt almost like fate.
That notebook full of mass-produced versions of her sister’s name and signature… which had, in the end, returned to her sister’s hands.
Ahh, what kind of thing was going to happen after coming here? She didn’t even dare imagine it.
And yet Mejiro Ramonu remained perfectly calm. She simply led her sister from shop to shop as though they were just out on an ordinary stroll, occasionally sounding quite hopeful as she gently volunteered Gotham Song into becoming a dress-up doll.
It wasn’t as if her sister had bad taste—quite the opposite, in fact. Nor was she obsessively frenzied about it, as though she wanted to make Gotham Song try on every outfit in the world.
But somehow, that made things even worse, leaving Gotham Song all the more silent and blank-faced.
Her sister was absolutely, definitely waiting for something.
That much she could say for sure.
The time spent shopping passed quickly. Then again, it had already been fairly late by the time they arrived. After a casual lunch and a bit of being fed by her sister, Gotham Song finally saw the one thing she least wanted to see, shining there in her field of vision without the slightest attempt to hide.
That shop.
That shop that felt like fate itself.
It was standing there.
Well, well. You’re still in business, I see. Long time no see. Hope you’ve been well?
If stores had minds of their own, Gotham Song might genuinely have said something that stupid.
Unfortunately, Mejiro Ramonu gave her no chance to blurt out such idiocy. The eldest daughter of Mejiro Manor simply and decisively grabbed her little sister and marched into the store.
And how did Gotham Song react?
Naturally, she wore the most miserable face imaginable.
Ahh, she was about to be thoroughly called to account by her sister for all of this—!
“So you did remember what place this was after all, didn’t you, Song?”
“H-how could I possibly forget something like this…?!”
Yes, it really wasn’t the sort of thing one could forget.
Even Mejiro Ramonu thought back on it now and found the whole thing absurd, but it had happened exactly as it had happened. Still, was her little sister under the impression that she’d brought her here to settle old scores?
Haha. What an adorable reaction…
So then, what exactly did Mejiro Ramonu intend to do?
As if it were nothing, she picked up a pen—a perfectly ordinary one, just the kind you could find anywhere.
Then she took a notebook from the shelf, one with Mejiro Ramonu herself on the cover, and signed her name on it.
Mejiro Ramonu. Genuine handwritten signature. Limited edition. Fated to be the only one in the world…
Then she stuffed that notebook into her little sister’s hands.
“I brought you here for one reason only, my dear little sister.”
“Don’t use the mass-produced version.”
“Use the one I signed with my own hand and gave to you personally.”
“Understood?”
T/N: god this is just ohohohohOH~~~~~~~~~~ im stopping the chapters here for this week… why? because…. WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE END WAHHHHHHHHHHH
This is a fan translation of 赛马娘，从入门到地下室 by EEEEE然后亮标 All 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!
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