There was no doubt about it: the chestnut-haired horse girl in the mirror looked perfectly normal.
Only after checking several times did Dyna finally press a hand to her chest and let out a relieved breath.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
When she came to France, it seemed she had not brought an extra bra in her own size...
"...Looks like I need to set aside some time to buy underwear."
The thought gave her a headache. After washing up, she stayed in her pajamas and spread butter across a frying pan, toasting the bread she had bought the night before. As for anything else to eat, of course there was none at the moment. Some hot bread to line her stomach would do for breakfast.
As agreed the day before, Nakayama Festa arrived at Dyna's dorm right on time. She was wearing a dark red training outfit, and she looked obviously worn out. Even after sitting down at the table, her eyes were barely open. Only when Dyna set a plate in front of her did she give a low hum of acknowledgment.
"This is all we have to eat today. Once I go buy some ingredients this morning, I'll be able to improve things a little."
"Mm. I've got training today. If you're going to leave the academy, then ideally... mm, go out with the chairwoman of the noble house's disciple. I'll speak to her master about it."
Nakayama Festa bit into a piece of crisp toast, and what she said made Dyna blink awkwardly.
"All right. I was just short a guide."
"Then come with me to the student council office. We still need to meet up with Pisa no Kachidoki. And it looks like you slept pretty well last night."
"Probably because I slept the entire day. And... don't you carry any money on you? Handing all of that to me feels a little..."
Dyna still felt uncomfortable about it. Taking that much money from someone else out of nowhere left her feeling vaguely guilty.
Nakayama Festa arched a brow and said with a streak of nasty amusement, "It's fine. No matter how much you spend, the Gold family will recover every last cent in rent once they find out where your shop is."
"Ugh... villain...!"
Dyna shut her mouth. She felt she never should have brought it up.
Breakfast passed in an atmosphere that could not exactly be called pleasant. Before Dyna had time to clear the dishes, the doorbell rang. She still had her apron on when she went to open the door, and standing outside was Zhuofu in uniform.
There were dark shadows under her eyes. She had probably lost sleep last night walking Dyna back.
"Morning. Yawn... Master dragged me out of bed bright and early. So today I'm your guide?"
Zhuofu looked sleepy, but now that she had her master's authorization, she could openly skip class and spend the day accompanying Dyna instead of being stuck in a classroom. Freedom was her favorite thing in the world.
Dyna nodded and wiped her damp palms against her apron.
"Sorry to trouble you, Miss Zhuofu. If you haven't eaten breakfast yet, I can make you something?"
"No need~ Let's just eat lunch outside too. It'll be the perfect chance to let you try some real French food. It's way richer than that fish-and-chips place across the channel."
Once Dyna had cleaned up the dishes, she changed into casual clothes. Her long skirt covered her ankles without dragging on the ground, and after stuffing the essentials into her shoulder bag, she left the academy with Zhuofu by the same road as last night.
This time, though, it was in broad daylight.
"This is the most popular restaurant around Tracen. By noon it's always completely full. The horse girls usually sprint over here as soon as training ends, so some trainers even move part of their speed work here too: 'Run from Tracen to the restaurant, and the winner gets to order an extra carrot cutlet.' Apparently the results are fantastic."
"And over here is the convenience store with the widest variety of goods. Sports equipment, ingredients, household items, it's got everything. You can also order online and have things delivered right to your dorm door. You do need to tip the delivery person a little extra, though. But all in all, it's incredibly convenient."
Zhuofu was clearly one of the horse girls who appreciated that service most.
Dyna kept walking while committing everything to memory. She and Nakayama Festa would be living here for nearly a month, so all the important places had to be fixed firmly in her mind.
At the same time...
Inside the student council office at Japan's Central Tracen Academy, Symboli Rudolf stared at the single thin page of family registry information on Dyna that lay before her. With her hands clasped beneath her chin, an unusual trace of self-reproach showed in her eyes.
She turned to Air Groove, who had been working overtime for more than a week in search of information, and asked one final time,
"Air Groove, regarding this horse girl, Shining Dyna... is this really all we have?"
"Yes. I've verified it again and again." Air Groove's voice was tired. "There isn't a single person connected to Shining Dyna. It's as if she simply stepped into the world after growing up entirely alone. Never mind her social circle—I even used your authority, and I still couldn't find any birth certificate."
No birth certificate.
The only plausible explanation was that Shining Dyna had been secretly given birth to by her mother and then abandoned.
As for how she had managed to grow up at all without the help of an orphanage, that remained a complete mystery based on everything the student council had managed to uncover so far.
Air Groove propped an elbow on the desk and pressed a hand to her forehead, her face full of worry.
In a modern society, the sudden appearance of a lone horse girl with nothing but a name and blank space everywhere else was a serious problem from every angle.
If she had been human, perhaps they would not have had to strain themselves so far.
But the trouble was that Shining Dyna, despite being an unaffiliated horse girl, had displayed a presence in competition that was nearly on par with Orfevre, who had been raised and trained by the Gold family from childhood.
Symboli Rudolf had originally considered persuading—if necessary, forcefully bringing—Dyna into Tracen Academy by using her family circumstances as leverage. A talent like that was rare even within the academy.
But the single thin page of registry information on the desk felt like a hard slap across Rudolf's face.
The situation before her was painfully clear.
If she stubbornly tried to drag Dyna back now, it would amount to rubbing salt into an already open wound.
"Ever since that debut race in Niigata, after Orfevre was suspended for three months and sent back to the basic class for retraining, there hasn't been any sign of her entering another race," Air Groove said. "The information I got from the hospital says Dyna's injuries weren't serious. The most likely explanation is that Orfevre left her with a considerable mental shadow."
"Rudolf, though honestly, I think there's another reason besides that. She probably doesn't even know what race she ought to enter after winning a debut race, or how the registration process works. Without formal instruction or the support of a trainer, it would be hard for a complete outsider to figure any of that out."
At last, Rudolf broke the silence with a sigh.
"Perhaps I should arrange for a trainer to go meet her. And try to bring her into Tracen Academy."
"She's opened a bakery in the shopping district outside the academy. You could try making contact with her there first," Air Groove suggested, glancing over the compiled notes. "Though it'll have to wait until she comes back from France. Lately I've been hearing horse girls around me talk about how good the bread there is."
"That may be one way to do it. But I also need to start preparing a trainer suitable for approaching Shining Dyna."
Rudolf pressed a hand against that thin sheet of paper and let her eyes drift down to the lower part of the notes.
The sort of trainer who could spare the time for a task like this would, in the end, have to be someone relatively unoccupied within the academy, with only a small number of horse girls in their stable. Second-rate, perhaps even third-rate.
And among those...
She would need to pick the most promising one.
In the Emperor's mind, a possibility had already begun to take shape.
Perhaps the stable of that "Opera King" would be just right for the job.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
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