Zhuofu felt that time passed extraordinarily quickly whenever she was with Dyna. Sometimes, even just watching her bustle around the kitchen preparing food was strangely pleasing to the eye. Lately, Dyna had even started learning how to make French bread, which only benefited Zhuofu further.
Every imperfect trial batch ended up in her stomach. They were called "failures," but in truth they still tasted quite good, and each one had its own distinct flavor. Living like this, mooching meals off Dyna every day, had made Zhuofu gain five kilograms. Fortunately, she had started from such a light number that this little experience still would not get her branded as "slightly chubby."
The clattering in the kitchen finally stopped. Zhuofu, who had been sprawled over the table playing on her phone, exchanged a look with Nakayama Festa, who was hugging a tablet and doing who-knew-what. With perfect tacit understanding, the two of them stuffed their devices under the sofa cushions.
When Dyna came over carrying a steaming pot of stew and saw the two of them now sitting properly at the dining table, she nodded in satisfaction. When it was time to eat, one should focus on eating. Was it really eating at all if you were glancing at your phone or tablet the whole time?
At first, they had kept their old habits from home, only to end up being nagged at by Dyna all afternoon in a plaintive tone. After three straight days of that, the two of them finally reached a mutual understanding:
Under no circumstances were they to display bad habits in front of Dyna.
Things like looking at a phone while eating. Once those habits were corrected, Dyna rewarded them in her own way. No matter how busy she was, she always made delicious food. Zhuofu was here to freeload, while Nakayama Festa was her employer. There was no way Dyna would mistreat her boss.
Mealtimes usually looked like a whirlwind sweeping through the table, but this time Zhuofu helped clean up afterward, saving Dyna a good deal of effort. Nakayama Festa still had to keep training to maintain her condition in France. After all, although she had not won the prep race, the Prix Foy, finishing second was already a respectable result.
"Do you want to go to Seabird Park today?" Zhuofu suggested while standing on a stool washing dishes. Dyna had been running nonstop lately, so the two of them had had fewer chances to go out together. Today, Nakayama Festa was going back to Longchamp with Zhuofu's master, so for once Dyna had a free day with no cooking duties.
Dyna was holding a sponge ball, wiping a plate clean before rinsing off the suds and putting it on the rack. "Sure, that sounds good. Let's just eat lunch outside."
"Okay~ Then let's hurry up and finish cleaning!"
The instant Dyna agreed, Zhuofu became full of energy. To Dyna's near amazement, she cleaned the kitchen until it was even tidier than her own room. In truth, ever since her master had entrusted her with this task, Zhuofu felt that she herself had become much cleaner overall. As long as Dyna never asked to see her room, she could go on being a clean and tidy horse girl forever.
As a native-born French horse girl, Zhuofu had always been extremely natural when it came to interacting with people. She waited outside while Dyna changed into a brown dress, and then the two of them headed together for the "Seabird Park" Zhuofu had mentioned.
"Actually, the origins of this park can be called one of France's great stories. It was funded after retirement by Sea Bird, the French horse girl who won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Her goal was to create a place where horse girls in the middle of a busy city could still exercise and keep themselves healthy. And because Senior Sea Bird herself had to retire due to stomach problems, she later founded a nutrition company specifically for horse girls, working hard so that every horse girl could avoid suffering from digestive illness."
Zhuofu truly admired Senior Sea Bird. On the track, Sea Bird had inherited her mother's wish and gone on to win the Arc by six lengths.
Dyna nodded. She had heard Zhuofu mention Sea Bird plenty of times over the past few days. Dyna herself knew a little about horse racing, and knew even better the rather cursed connection between Sea Bird's family and canned food.
As they strolled through the park, the greenery, washed by days of rain, looked especially vivid. Seabird Park was not just an ordinary park. Along both sides of the paths stood stone monuments recounting Sea Bird's story during her racing days. Dyna walked along listening, with Zhuofu explaining the whole way.
Until the two of them stopped in front of a statue.
Turning slightly to the side, Zhuofu extended an arm toward it. "This horse girl here is Sea Bird. The only statue in all of France. Rarer even than statues of the Three Goddesses."
The sculpture was so lifelike it seemed almost alive. Looking at the somewhat stern-faced horse girl carved in stone, Dyna found herself transfixed. She could not read the French inscription beneath it, but she could still feel what the sculptor had wanted to convey. Dyna had always possessed an unusually strong resonance with art, and now she felt as though this statue might come alive at any second.
"Eh? Dyna? Dyna!"
Zhuofu watched as Dyna stepped closer and closer to the statue without responding to her. Then Dyna placed her palm against the rough stone surface.
No horse girl had ever behaved so strangely in front of Sea Bird's statue before.
And the moment Dyna's hand touched the stone, she froze just like it.
No matter how Zhuofu called her name, there was no response.
Shining Dyna felt herself dragged into an unknown space. When she could move again, she realized the scenery around her had changed into an endless grassland beneath blue skies and white clouds, peaceful and open. Sitting on the grass in the distance was a chestnut-haired horse girl.
That chestnut-haired horse girl seemed to have been trapped in this strange place for a very long time. The moment Dyna, this uninvited guest, stepped in, she noticed her with extraordinary sharpness.
Yet within those blue eyes, there seemed to be a trace of... pity?
"Ah. So you're not a French horse girl after all?"
"H-hello?" Dyna did not understand what language the other girl was speaking, yet somehow she could still comprehend it. Out of politeness, she offered a greeting, only to see the chestnut-haired horse girl stand up and slowly walk toward her.
The other girl was a full head taller than Dyna. When she reached her, she took Dyna's hand and met her gaze directly.
"I am Sea Bird. Sea Bird as a Uma Musume. Although I truly do not like that anyone has come here, since it has already happened, I will definitely help you."
Dyna froze. A legend from the past was standing right in front of her, openly declaring that she was going to help her? What on earth was happening? She did not think there was anything wrong with her that required help!
"You may feel confused by my words, but I can sense it." Sea Bird gently stroked Dyna's head. "Of your soul as a Uma Musume, the one thing you lack is a dream. Yours is an incomplete Uma Musume soul."
Though she did not understand why such a young girl standing before her had no dream, Sea Bird believed she could help fill in what was missing.
"I can help make it whole... but the dream that belongs to you alone is something you will still have to discover for yourself."
"Wait! What do you mean, I don't have a dream?" Dyna finally gathered her courage and asked, only to be met by the faint upward curve of Sea Bird's lips.
"What you lack is a dream worth devoting your whole life to."
Here, Sea Bird was the only god.
She reached out and lightly touched a fingertip to Dyna's forehead.
The impact that followed was enormous. Dyna felt as though she had been hit head-on by a truck. Her body lurched backward, only to collide with something very soft behind her.
"Ghk! Huh? That didn't hurt?"
"Of course it didn't hurt—you slammed into my chest!"
Zhuofu's voice came from behind her.
Dyna went rigid. So that soft thing behind her had been that.
"S-s-sorry!"
She had no idea what had just happened, but apologizing first had to be the right move.
After seeing Dyna off, Sea Bird sat back down on the grass. But when a blue-clad horse girl appeared behind her, she did not bother to turn around.
"So bonds really do attract others of the same kind?"
"Probably," came the reply. "And thank you as well for making her soul whole. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how long it would have taken for me to wake up."
"Well..." Sea Bird gave a soft, almost singing laugh. "A wish will come true in the end. And if not, then you can always wait a little longer."
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
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin