Umamusume's days are numbered

Episode 248 Platinum's Diary

Sunny day of a certain month

First day of preparations for the Takarazuka Memorial!

Leo de' Bandon invited me to play cards again, but I did my best to control my urge to play and refused.

I ran with the Fiery Steed all day, and provided it with three meals a day.

The menu for Fiery Steed is as follows: half a roasted duck, half a pound of buckwheat noodles, five plates of fried beef with carrots, and one liter of carrot juice.

My menu is as follows: two slices of honey toast, a cup of coffee, a cup of milkshake, and several Suzi special supplements.

...Leaving aside why I can still only eat so meagerly, are Blazing Steed and I really the same species? Is this amount of food even possible for a human? I saw her belly go from flat to looking like she was ten months pregnant; even if she hadn't eaten for three days, it shouldn't be like this.

In the afternoon, Flaming Horse had a stomachache, so I accompanied her to the school doctor, who told her she couldn't overeat. Her afternoon training was cancelled.

That night, Koi Leaped Over the Dragon Gate came to me crying, complaining that Ibuki Mai and Kagura had done something inhuman. It turned out that they felt playing cards wasn't exciting enough, so they decided to play strip mahjong instead.

Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate didn't lose, but her cheating wasn't up to par, and Ibuki Mai Kagura saw through it. Leo Deban, Ibuki Mai Kagura, and Shacogra stripped Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate naked as punishment.

Damn it! Why did I insist on attending training? Why didn't I go play cards?! I regret it.

In the end, there was no training, and no card playing either.

"well---"

With a long sigh, Platinum collapsed onto her bed.

The coach is unreliable; will we really be able to train tomorrow? Platinum had deep doubts about this.

Platinum rolled over in bed and started scrolling through her phone. She was bored anyway.

If it's about playing games, I'm too lazy to get up; if it's about watching dramas, I just feel so tired after a long day, I'd rather watch something relaxing.

But even though I'm supposed to be scrolling through my phone... I don't know what I'm looking for.

Koi Leaps Over the Dragon Gate follows many beauty and fashion bloggers and always loves to shop, even though she rarely gets a chance to wear those clothes since she's in her school uniform. Ibuki Maki doesn't follow beauty or fashion trends, but she loves to search online and is always looking for new topics about herself on Twitter. Leo Deban... Leo Deban likes to watch all kinds of motorcycle and racing competitions, and his interests are similar to Maru Zenki's, but I wonder if he would dare to ride in Maru Zenki's car.

Bai Jin dislikes neither beauty bloggers nor motorcycles. She'd like to search for it herself, but her painful experience of being completely unrecognized on the street has made her vow never to do so again. What if she actually did and found herself criticized online? No, no, there might be something even worse than being criticized online—there simply isn't a search term for "Bai Jin"...

I don't know what to do. I can't just go to sleep, can I? Going to bed early is something Platinum absolutely cannot tolerate, unless I stayed up all night the night before.

Going to bed early is a waste of life!

"what."

Just then, Bai Jin suddenly remembered that she hadn't finished reading the diary that Hua Luhua had bought.

I've already bought it... Even though I already lost money, wouldn't I lose even more if I didn't finish reading it?

So Bai Jin reached out and picked up the diary from the bedside table. There were two diaries. The first one, crumpled, was the one she had finished reading but hadn't written in yet; the second one, carefully preserved, was the one she hadn't finished reading.

Platinum, feeling utterly bored, started flipping through the pages he had previously read.

The only sounds in the dorm room were the incessant playing of videos on Bai Jin's phone that she was too lazy to turn off, and the sound of her turning the pages.

So, the first diary mentioned some great secret about the new universe, but then abruptly stopped... and the second diary didn't mention it at all. Did they feel it wasn't necessary to write it in the diary? Or is there a gap between the two diaries?

As she flipped through the pages, Bai Jin noticed something was wrong. She quickly opened the first crumpled diary as well, comparing the two pages side by side.

Something's not right! The dates don't match!

The first crumpled diary, dated from around the time of last year's Takarazuka Memorial to the end of this year's Yayoi Prize.

I didn't read the beginning of the second diary carefully because there wasn't much about the new universe, and I subconsciously assumed the two diaries were consecutive. But in reality, the dates in the second diary start around the Takarazuka Memorial of the previous year and continue forward, far exceeding the Satsuki Prize.

This also explains Platinum's question—neither of these two diaries was written by Platinum, but neither of these two diaries came from the same Platinum!

"No... how many platinums are there?!"

Platinum opened the system again and looked at the store interface. 【Platinum's Diary】This item was prominently displayed in the Recently Purchased section.

Endless... This has truly become a gacha pool!

Bai Jinxin thought to himself that it was fortunate he hadn't invested too much in it; who knows if there were 108,000 of his own diaries inside? Even if he spent all the carrots, he might not find the secret of the new universe.

Cloudy on a certain day of a certain month

After much deliberation, I finally decided to attend the Takarazuka Memorial.

This puts them directly at odds with Shin-Universe, who is also preparing to participate in the Takarazuka Memorial competition. Feeling somewhat guilty, Shin-Universe didn't show any emotion; he simply went to her rented apartment before the competition, had dinner together, stayed overnight, and then rushed back to Teresen Academy the next morning, just like always.

Damn it, she's definitely being kept by a sugar daddy, right? Absolutely!

On a certain day of a certain month, it was cloudy.

Takarazuka Memorial - Easy Victory!

Although there were many tough opponents, making it a bit more dangerous than the Japanese derby, it was still my victory!

After the competition, Shin Universe surprisingly came up to me and took my hand. It was the first time I'd ever seen her smile—though I still had no idea what she was thinking.

New Universe shook my hand awkwardly. I couldn't feel any strength in her hand; she held it as carefully as if it were a piece of tofu.

"Cornflower, thank you for being willing to goof around with me. It's always been you, that's wonderful."

"You will be able to keep surpassing [Gates] in the future... You definitely will."

I don't know why, but looking at her smile, I always have the feeling that this is the last time I'll see her.

Think too much.

Rain on a certain day of a certain month

The new universe has disappeared!

She disappeared... no, not just vanished, she was completely and utterly forgotten...

I'm going completely insane. Every trace of the new universe has vanished. The new universe from TV shows is gone, I'm now the tenant in the rental apartment, and even searching online yields no results!

This...this is so strange! I need to go find her!

On a certain day of a certain month, it was cloudy.

I went to Treson College. It was my first time stepping into Treson College, and Rudolf even rubbed his eyes the moment he saw me.

But that's not why I came. I just want Rudolf to help me check the student records at Treson College.

As I expected, there was no new universe. Rudolf symbolized no memory of the new universe, nor did Alice. She even asked me with concern if I was developing a mental illness from staying cooped up in my rented room all the time.

She's already sick; I think she'll go crazy sooner or later doing experiments like that!

Is the new universe just a figment of my imagination?

Sunny day of a certain month

I'm going to find a new universe. I must find her.

Episode 249: Choose One

This is where the diary comes to an end.

Platinum, who turned to the last page, was speechless.

...No, what's going on?

Disappeared? Why did they eventually disappear?

Is the new universe some kind of black-clad man, and does it use a memory erasure pen?

Wait, this is... too fantastical. Is this the legendary "disappearance"?

Platinum clutched his head, feeling his brain trembling. How strange, it felt like his brain was growing.

This world... does indeed have many surreal elements, such as Alice's various unreasonable inventions, which, from Platinum's perspective, are full of all sorts of thought-provoking ideas.

For example, there's the ghost that's always with Manhattan Cafe. While it's possible it's just a figment of Manhattan Cafe's imagination... well, Platinum has never actually seen it. Well, it's okay. Figment of imagination isn't age-limited, just like how an old man like Gintoki can buy every issue of Jump... Speaking of which, he seems to always be reading it while loitering in bookstores.

None of that matters. Take, for example, Fukuro Okabe. Her divinations seem completely unreliable, but they're surprisingly accurate. The prophecy about Platinum came from her. It's also said that Fukuro Okabe is involved in various supernatural events.

But anyway, this is supposed to be a competitive anime track, right?! I thought having various special effects while running was already the limit, but now it seems like it's turning into a superpower battle?

Calm down, Platinum.

We can't believe everything written in a diary... what if it's all lies?

Although it feels a bit strange to write lies in one's own diary, given Platinum's ingenious ideas, it's not impossible for her to do it.

Platinum is quite self-aware. Didn't she write the Death Note's curse at the very beginning of her diary?

Never mind, never mind, time to sleep!

Bai Jin turned off the lamp and the incessantly chattering phone, then pulled the covers over herself and lay down on the soft bed.

Goodnight, world. Tomorrow I have to continue preparing for the Takarazuka Memorial.

Platinum closed her eyes and began to toss and turn. She didn't know how much time had passed, but the moon was high in the sky when she suddenly opened her eyes, which were bloodshot.

No way... I can't sleep at all! I should have known better than to look at this jinxed stuff. How could I have made things difficult for myself?

Even though Platinum kept telling herself that this was just something written to deceive herself... she couldn't convince herself at all!

Who would lie about writing a diary? This isn't a novel!

So... what exactly happened? Why did the new universe suddenly disappear? And it wasn't just a normal disappearance, but the very traces of its existence were completely wiped out.

Without figuring these things out, Platinum is simply restless.

The only way to figure these things out...

Platinum opened the system shop. The item, "Platinum's Diary," was prominently displayed in the recent purchases section.

No, no, no, is it a bit... to waste precious carrots on this stuff?

I'm already short of carrots, and I only went to the Takarazuka Memorial to get them. What if I use them all up and then don't have enough carrots to buy the panacea later?

Platinum counted on her fingers.

From now until the Chrysanthemum Festival, including all the annihilation efforts and the achievement rewards from the Chrysanthemum Festival, there's enough to buy more than enough panacea. Even after deducting the suppressant needed during this period, there's still some money left, but not enough to buy the medicine for the Emperor of the East Sea.

Winning the Takarazuka Memorial event rewards you with 600 carrots. After buying the Tokai Emperor's medicine, you can use the remaining carrots to buy quite a few diaries.

In other words, if the Takarazuka Memorial actually wins, they will have more than enough incentives.

Platinum's trembling fingers moved to the purchase option, then withdrew.

No, we can't overspend! What if the Takarazuka Memorial loses?

Oh, if I lose, I'll face Elizabeth's wrath. In that case, there's really no need to save the carrots; I might not even have a chance to use them later.

I'll buy it after the Takarazuka anniversary! I need to control my shopping urges! Platinum quickly burrowed back into bed.

but···

Bai Jin felt a vague unease.

The new universe described in the diary disappeared after the Takarazuka memorial.

What if my own new universe... also disappears after the Takarazuka Memorial?

That is, "disappearance".

Although he and the new universe are just classmates... as far as Platinum knows, the consequences of "disappearance" are not good.

Before the Takarazuka Memorial, that will be the time limit for me to save her.

Facing the Emperor of the East Sea, I didn't have time; but facing the new universe, can I play a role?

Of course, of course, of course, I know that this matter actually has nothing to do with me, but what if, what if I could do something? If I could do something but hesitated and didn't do it... then Bai Jin would regret it for the rest of his life.

"...What a pushover." Bai Jin muttered to himself.

That's why you suffered so much in your past life.

Platinum made a comeback and clicked to buy.

I've bought it. It's a do-or-die situation; I'm leaving myself no way out! It's either win the Takarazuka Memorial or win the Takarazuka Memorial; there's no other option!

Besides, even if I lose the Takarazuka Memorial, there are other G1 matches before the Chrysanthemum Slam. I can just play one more match.