My father’s birthday party was held in fairly modest fashion.
My older sister and I had prepared some pocket money, while my youngest sibling was still a college student, so they seemed to have settled for a handwritten letter. Of course, my sister and I had also prepared separate gifts, but the thing Father liked best was Bourbon’s massage voucher.
Even Mother wanted one, so only after Bourbon promised to give her one for Mother’s birthday did Father carefully tuck the voucher into his wallet. When I asked if it was some kind of talisman, Father nodded as if that were only natural.
Though she had a big body, Bourbon was still like a child, and before I knew it she was sitting on my lap while I fed her a few bites and we caught up on each other’s lives.
My youngest sibling seemed to have more or less settled on a career path, saying they wanted to take over Father’s bread factory under him, while my sister and I had our own jobs. Naturally, the conversation drifted to the children’s—no, Bourbon’s—future.
“I want to become Master’s bride.”
Bourbon said it expressionlessly, with no trace of embarrassment. We had heard that line so many times already that we just laughed it off without saying much. When we asked if she had anything she wanted to do, she seemed to think for a moment before speaking after a short pause.
“I intend to enroll in Tracen.”
“Is that because your brother is there?”
At my youngest sibling’s question, Bourbon shook her head.
“It has nothing to do with Master, of course. Though if Master is there, I won’t need to find a Trainer.”
We told her that was good, to do her best and all that, and Bourbon nodded back with her usual blank expression.
“You’re still a weak little thing. What race are you even talking about?”
“I’m much healthier than I used to be. I’m training separately, and there’s no risk of injury. My image training is perfect.”
At her stiff, machine-like delivery, the family—already used to it—didn’t say anything and just kept offering her more food, telling her to try this and that. As always, I picked up food and handed it to Bourbon like a mother bird feeding her chick.
Once the talk turned to Bourbon saying she would race, the conversation kept going even through dessert.
“Did the old man give his permission?”
“Affirmative. Mother also gave her permission.”
“Your old man was a famous Trainer, right? Didn’t he introduce anyone to you? No matter how much you like that guy, if you’re going to race, you need to cut the cord and find someone proven.”
My sister pulled Bourbon off my lap, set her on her own, and hugged her tightly as she said that.
“Rebuttal. Master is a proven Trainer, and the person who can understand me best. Only Master can complete me.”
Bourbon gave me a faint smile and looked at me with unwavering eyes. Every time I felt that endless trust, the same way Oguri looked at me, I had no choice but to avert my gaze. My sister and younger sibling kept giving me looks, as if telling me to stop her.
“Bourbon, I’m already in charge of an Uma Musume right now. I’ve also got two girls preparing for races next year...”
“That’s a lie.”
I saw Bourbon cut me off and look up at me.
“What?”
“Lying is bad, Master. It’s fine.”
The family looked at me as if they trusted the neighbor’s daughter more than their own son.
“Nobody trusts me at all...”
Not the Uma Musume, and now my family too. Was I really that unconvincing? I showed them photos of Oguri and Tachyon.
“This girl is Oguri Cap. She’s really, really incredible. She might even make history.”
“And this one is Agnes Tachyon. It’s embarrassing, but when it comes to training, I’m the one learning more from her.”
Bourbon slipped out of my sister’s arms and suddenly snatched my phone. She widened her eyes and looked at the screen, but...
“...I made a mistake.”
The smartphone’s power cut out like a lie. Somehow, the miracle that happened whenever she touched any machine—shorting it out or breaking something—seemed to be alive and well. I pressed down on Bourbon’s head as she started talking about paying for it and told her not to spout nonsense.
I had already told the girls I’d be away over the weekend for Father’s birthday, so it was fine if I couldn’t be reached. It didn’t seem like any phone repair shop would be open on the weekend anyway. And since I could still get into UmaTalk on my laptop, I’d be able to contact them somehow.
Bourbon gripped my collar tightly. Her tail wrapped around my waist, and like a young beast rubbing against its mother, she pressed her cheek against my arm. Patting the back of our little mutt, I talked about my assigned Uma Musume.
About the children who were far too good for me, and about the legends they would write. I spoke full of hope and dreams, and even my cynical sister, after a few drinks and perhaps getting into the mood, raised a toast to the future genius Trainer.
My youngest sibling was now an adult, so Bourbon was the only one drinking soda, but she sipped it without complaint and blended naturally into the family.
It had been a while since the whole family gathered, so the house was noisy and lively. Since my phone was broken, I borrowed Father’s phone and called Tachyon.
“Get to the point.”
A cool voice came through the receiver. I wondered if I’d called the wrong number, but after checking it again, I was sure it was Tachyon’s.
“Tachyon? No, that’s not it, today...”
“Mortarion-kun? Ah, ahem... yes! A surprise from an unknown number! You’re delighting me, ahaha...!”
Her voice was incredibly charming. I stared blankly up at the sky and had a brief conversation with her. Had I eaten properly? Don’t stay up all night tonight. Don’t sleep in too late just because it’s the weekend. It was that sort of talk, but Tachyon kept humming and answering in a loud voice.
“What a pity. If you weren’t busy, Mortarion-kun, I’d like to keep talking like this until you fall asleep.”
“Give me a break.”
I could hear Tachyon laughing.
“What were you doing?”
“I was reading papers while stretching my ankles. Quite interesting things are already starting to appear.”
Tachyon chattered away as if she had been waiting for someone to talk to. I could understand only half of what she was saying, but I listened closely to the sound of her cheerful voice.
“This could be co-authored... ah, right, you’re probably in the middle of your father’s birthday party. I was careless. Get home safely. And when you do, bring me a few roll cakes. I bragged to Cafe-kun that they were delicious, but I never got the chance to buy any.”
“Have you ever even eaten one?”
“I know the recipe.”
At Tachyon’s bluffing, I let out a small laugh. If I was going to share them with Oguri and the others too, I’d need to bring plenty. In the awkward silence, Tachyon spoke first.
“Sleep well, Mortarion-kun.”
“You too, Tachyon. Don’t stay up too late.”
At her giggling, I ended the call. She had added a condition that I contact her every evening, saying it was necessary for a troublesome woman, but compared to the training methods I was learning from her, that was nothing.
I enjoyed talking to her too.
“Your girlfriend?”
At the voice suddenly coming from behind me, I flinched.
“She’s my assigned girl, so mind your own business.”
“Why are you talking so happily with your assigned girl?”
At my sister’s question, which sounded almost like an interrogation, I shrugged. She pulled a cigarette from her pocket, muttered something about Bourbon... and then snapped it in half. For a chain smoker, quitting when Bourbon was around was a remarkable show of love.
“That’s the Tachyon girl I mentioned earlier. The one I’m learning all sorts of things from.”
“What kind of Central Trainer learns from a student?”
“Yeah, somehow it ended up like that.”
I was about to go back inside when my sister blocked the doorway.
“Is something wrong?”
“What’s that contract?”
She brought up the house contract I had asked her to look over a few days ago.
“You said there was no problem, didn’t you?”
“There’s no problem in the contents, but... the owner is the Satono Group. Do you know anyone there?”
“That Satono Group?”
My sister nodded. I had a guess, so I could answer casually.
“There was a condition that I had to be a Trainer before signing, so it’s probably some kind of support measure for Uma Musume.”
“Then they’d have done it as a scholarship or grant to Tracen, right? Doesn’t that seem strange?”
It was strange, but if there was no problem, then that was that.
“You said there was no problem in the contents, so that’s all that matters. You haven’t changed even as you’ve gotten older, sis. You’re way too suspicious. It’s a professional habit, a professional habit.”
That was when she should have laughed. But seeing how serious she looked, I waited for whatever she was about to say.
“...The Satono Group is dangerous.”
“Why? Are there lawsuits involving the Satono Group?”
My sister shook her head.
“There hasn’t been a single rumor or blemish for years. You know what that means, right? When something is too clean...”
Was she joking? My sister’s eyes were utterly serious.
“As much as possible, don’t get involved with the Satono Group. It makes me uneasy. It’s almost like they’re moving while looking into the future. I’m only saying this because I’m worried, so...”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
After my sister’s warning, I said that and returned to the living room, where Bourbon was massaging Father’s shoulders.
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