Bang!
"Welcome back, Boss Lady, in triumph~ Ahahaha! Secretly sneaking off to win a G1 and stunning everyone—what a move!"
The moment Dyna pushed open the door, Gold Ship and Oguri Cap set off their party poppers, showering her with a storm of colorful confetti.
"All right, you two... How's the shop been doing while I was gone?" Dyna plucked a paper scrap off her cap and, with a helpless look, rose onto her toes to lightly tap both Gold Ship and Oguri Cap on the head.
Now that she was back in Japan, she still needed some time to readjust her schedule, so she planned to close early today and get some proper rest.
Oguri Cap pulled the account book from a drawer and said, "Here are the sales figures and ingredient expenses from the past few days. That includes the new product Miss Gold Ship developed, and its sales have been quite good."
"Yakisoba bread~ Surprised? Quite a few horse girls seem to love it."
Gold Ship proudly covered one eye, leaned against the wall, and flashed a grin. This was a food item she had painstakingly created by combining the best of all worlds. Not even the Gold family knew about it.
The corner of Dyna's mouth twitched. For something this bizarre to come from Gold Ship somehow felt perfectly normal. But she was too tired to think deeply about it, and instead walked over to flip the sign on the door.
"Yawn... You two have worked hard while I was away, so I'm thinking of giving you both two days off, okay? That gives me time to readjust too, and think about what road I want to take next."
As she stretched, her whole body lengthened with the motion.
Since the boss herself had spoken, and since it was paid leave on top of that, with the added promise of boss-made meals once they came back to work, Oguri Cap and Gold Ship naturally had no objections. Before leaving, though, they made a point of telling Dyna to rest well.
After agreeing, Dyna pulled down all the curtains in the shop, then went up the stairs from the back entrance to the living quarters on the second floor.
"So the boss lady's taking a break and the shop is closed? What a pity..."
"McQueen! Looking that dejected doesn't suit a horse girl who claims she's trying to lose weight. Weren't plain vegetables supposed to be your proper diet?"
Gold Ship deliberately waved a cream cake she had packed up before leaving right in front of Mejiro McQueen's face.
Without realizing it, McQueen's ears had already flattened completely against her hair, and her cheeks had puffed out into half a ball. The instant Gold Ship turned her back, McQueen unleashed a beautiful spinning kick that struck Gold Ship squarely in the lower back and sent her flying onto the sofa at the other end of the room.
The cream cake arced up into the air—
And McQueen elegantly caught it in one hand.
"There are some things you really shouldn't say too much. Next time, I'll drive chopsticks straight into your eyes."
Gold Ship rubbed the spot she had been kicked and sucked in a breath. McQueen had always hit hard when it came to Ship. This time was no exception.
"All right, all right. I actually wanted to ask you two something." Nishizaki Ryu bit down on his candy. "Gold Ship, are you very familiar with that horse girl who won the Prix Marcel Boussac?"
He was rather interested in her now.
But since she did not hold a Tracen Academy enrollment record, if he simply rushed at her and started touching her legs a few times, he really would get arrested and end up in jail for several days. That meant the trick he used with Special Week was completely off the table here.
"Yep. She's my boss lady. But trainer, you should give up on the idea of recruiting her into your team. After being around her this long, I can tell—she has absolutely no interest in Tracen Academy."
If even Gold Ship could not read what she was thinking, then she was far harder for Nishizaki Ryu to figure out.
He stroked his chin, then pounded one fist into his palm.
"I'll definitely think of something. I refuse to believe she won't run another race from here on out!"
Over at the student council, meanwhile, Symboli Rudolf felt as though she were being swept up in an unprecedented storm.
"Air Groove... my stomach hurts."
"It is quite troublesome, isn't it? If Shining Dyna really refuses to join Tracen Academy, the higher-ups are going to lose their minds, aren't they?"
Air Groove sorted through the documents in her hands, then turned her head and saw Rudolf pressing a fountain pen against her stomach, her face full of worry.
Right beside Tracen Academy itself, a horse girl had suddenly appeared who had gone and won a French rookie-season G1 outright—yet Symboli Rudolf had not noticed her potential at all beforehand. In the eyes of the JRA, that amounted to negligence on Rudolf's part.
Rudolf rather missed the arrogant, high-spirited self she had once been, the one who had outright stolen Oguri Cap into the Central circuit.
But when she thought about it again, even that version of herself probably would not have had any good way of dealing with Dyna.
Oguri Cap had a trainer, and she also had her own dream.
But with Dyna, Rudolf could not find any opening—whether through her background or her social ties.
Her family registry was only a single page, so there was obviously no family dream to appeal to there. And her human connections were limited to only a handful of people nearby.
Oguri Cap, having once had her trainer stolen by Rudolf, certainly would not help.
Gold Ship was a member of the Gold family, and that entire shopping street was Gold-family property too. If Rudolf tried to drag in Dyna, who was the proprietor of that shop, there was no way they would agree.
And Nakayama Festa went without saying. A student who was not even restrained by school rules and regulations was an even greater headache for Rudolf.
"It's rare to see a horse girl who gives Her Majesty the Emperor this much of a headache. If you really can't think of a solution, then why not just let the trainers try on their own?"
Seeing Rudolf look so miserable that her whole face was starting to twist, Air Groove offered the suggestion.
It still did not change the fact that Rudolf was soon going to be summoned and questioned by the JRA. She sat in this position, so she had to bear the responsibility that came with it.
Behind her desk, the Emperor felt her stomach hurt even more.
She had already passed the information along to that "Opera King," so for now, she would just have to see what kind of results he could produce...
As for the pressure, she could still endure it a little longer.
The moment she finished organizing those thoughts, the phone on her desk gave a chime and displayed a new work message.
[Invitation for Central Tracen Student Council President Symboli Rudolf to attend a routine meeting at JRA Headquarters]
"Speak of the devil, and he appears. Sigh. They can't even wait a single moment before coming to demand answers."
Rudolf rubbed between her brows. That word routine in the message felt like a complete joke to her, but no matter what, she still had to go.
So after dumping the rest of the student council work onto Air Groove, Rudolf set out.
On her way out, she almost collided head-on with the returning Maruzensky and Mr. C.B. Noticing the oppressive gloom hanging over Rudolf, both of them instinctively turned to look at Air Groove.
Air Groove had just picked up a seal stamp. She gave a little shrug.
"The JRA's hauling her in to answer for things."
"Oh, so that's all~ Then I'm relieved."
Mr. C.B. had been a bit tense at first, but once she understood the reason, she relaxed. After all, Rudolf had never really feared the JRA. As for why they were calling her in, the two of them naturally understood that too. For Rudolf, it was only troublesome on a formal level.
Because the president's wish was to protect every horse girl and help each of them fulfill their wish to run—not to bind talented horse girls hand and foot inside the academy.
Unlike the JRA, which did little more than perform for appearances and try to polish its own reputation.
So Shining Dyna might become a breakthrough point.
Even if she truly never entered the academy, Rudolf might still end up arranging some resources for her.
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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