Sakura Chiyono O, seated on an outdoor bench, clutched her phone, fingers tapping incessantly on the virtual keyboard.
How should she break this to the Mejiro family?
After deleting her drafted message yet again, Sakura Chiyono O lifted her gaze to the blue-haired Uma Musume sitting beside her.
Ever since that white-haired Uma Musume had appeared in her line of sight, her attention had been completely captured.
Noticing that Mejiro Ardan's eyes were still fixed intently on the white-haired girl, Sakura Chiyono O subtly shifted her phone back a little.
She'd seen that look on Ardan's face before.
Back when Trainer Takatsuru Aya was still around, she'd often worn that very expression.
But… why?
Why would Ardan look at a young white-haired Uma Musume like that?
Sakura Chiyono O was baffled.
That white-haired girl looked nothing like Trainer Takatsuru Aya! What in the world is going through your head, Ardan?!
'Ardan, get a grip! She's just a fourteen-year-old kid!'
'No! If this continues, there's no telling what Ardan might do.'
'To keep her from getting thrown in jail, I need to start intervening—now!'
"A-Ardan?" Sakura Chiyono O's mind raced. She swallowed, her voice trembling with a nervousness she herself hadn't even noticed. "We've been walking for a while; are you thirsty? Should we go get a drink from that kiosk over there?"
"I'm not thirsty," Mejiro Ardan replied offhandedly, her focus never leaving Bless the Moment.
"Then… then what about checking out that supermarket over there?" The red-haired Uma Musume flusteredly glanced around before pointing toward a distant supermarket entrance.
"Looks like they have kaleidoscopes set up by the door! Should we go take a look?"
"No need."
She said 'no need'?!
Sakura Chiyono O was stunned.
The same Ardan who could spend hours mesmerized by a kaleidoscope… said 'no need'?!
Her surefire tactic had been effortlessly deflected by Mejiro Ardan's casual dismissal, leaving the redhead momentarily speechless.
'No good… This is no good!'
'Ardan, you can't do this!'
"Ardan!"
"Chiyo?" Finally, Mejiro Ardan pulled her gaze away from the white-haired girl in the distance and turned to look at Sakura Chiyono O seated beside her. "What is it?"
"No! You can't!" The red-haired Uma Musume grabbed the blue-haired one's hands and, under Ardan's puzzled stare, pressed them firmly onto her own thighs. "That girl isn't an adult yet! You can't do… that!"
"...What does her being an adult or not have to do with anything?" the blue-haired Uma Musume asked, confused.
'What does her being an adult or not have to do with anything'?
Sakura Chiyono O's pupils trembled.
'Ardan, are you playing that kind of game?!'
"H-how could it not matter?!" Sakura Chiyono O's voice rose sharply for an instant before she quickly reined it in. "She's just a child!"
"?" A look of utter bewilderment spread across Mejiro Ardan's face. She had no idea what her friend was talking about.
'What is Chiyo going on about?'
'What does 'not an adult' mean? Why 'just a child'?'
'Wait… the way she's phrasing this is seriously misleading.'
Mulling over Sakura Chiyono O's words, the blue-haired Uma Musune began to sense something was amiss.
She frowned, about to speak up, when she caught sight of the Bless the Moment trio standing up and preparing to leave.
"Wait! You can't go!" Seeing Mejiro Ardan trying to get up and follow them, Sakura Chiyono O quickly reached out and pressed down on her shoulders.
"As your friend, I can't let you continue down this path!"
"Wait, Chiyo… have you misunderstood something?" Mejiro Ardan grew anxious as she watched Bless the Moment and her friends getting further away. She struggled to stand, but the redhead held her firmly down on the bench.
"You want to make a move on that child, don't you?" Sakura Chiyono O increased the pressure of her grip. "Even though Trainer Takatsuru Aya passed away years ago, you can't just turn to a child!"
"It's illegal! You'll get dragged off to the police station!"
"…"
Mejiro Ardan stopped struggling. Instead, she lifted her head and met her friend's eyes directly.
"W-what is it?" Sakura Chiyono O flinched slightly under the blue-haired Uma Musume's steady gaze.
"…I just wanted to talk to her."
"Huh?"
"That child is my fan." Seeing Sakura Chiyono O's stunned expression, Mejiro Ardan continued, "I was thinking I should go say hello."
"Huh? Huh?" Sakura Chiyono O removed her hands from the blue-haired Uma Musume's shoulders, but suspicion still clouded her features. "If you just wanted to say hello, why have you been following her for so long?"
"…I was worried I might be interrupting her time with her friends?"
"You hesitated! You definitely hesitated just now, Ardan!"
"…"
Feeling the familiar pressure return to her shoulders, Mejiro Ardan glanced again in the direction Bless the Moment and the others had gone.
'They're almost out of sight. I can't keep being tangled with Chiyo like this.'
"Then how about you supervise me, Chiyo?" Mejiro Ardan proposed decisively. "You can keep an eye on me, make sure I don't try anything with that girl. How does that sound?"
"So you do want to make a move on her!" The red-haired Uma Musume cried out, completely misinterpreting Ardan's suggestion.
'No! Absolutely not!'
'I have to stop Ardan's criminal behavior!'
"Wait… Bless the Moment is getting away!"
"Give it up, Ardan! I won't let you go over there!"
"I keep telling you, it's a misunderstanding, Chiyo—!"
'That girl… I think her name is Sakura Chiyono O, right?'
'What in the world have they been doing over there all this time?'
Bless the Moment glanced back, noticing Mejiro Ardan was still being held down on the bench, struggling to get up. She muttered to herself.
'But what's little Dumdan doing here today anyway?'
"What do you want to play when we get to the arcade?" Satono Diamond asked.
"How about a fighting game?" Bless the Moment suggested with a cheerful smile.
"Uh… well…" Hearing the white-haired Uma Musume's suggestion, the expressions on both Satono Diamond and Kitasan Black's faces tightened slightly.
Play a fighting game against Bless the Moment?
They'd never played against her themselves, but they'd seen plenty of random players get utterly crushed by her.
The two of them, with barely any gaming experience, going up against Bless the Moment in a fighting game?
They were there to have fun, not to don masks of agony!
"Let's… not do that," Satono Diamond said after a brief silence. She and Kitasan Black shared a look of understanding. "How about we play some cooperative games instead?"
…Sure, Bless the Moment had a habit of sabotaging her teammates' progress in coop games, but that was still a far better experience than being used as a punching bag in a fighting game.
--+--
T/N: Dumdan is Bless's nickname for Ardan, combining Dummy with Ardan, so Dumdan
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, 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.