Rudolf's information network had always been something of a mystery. No matter where in Japan something related to horse girls happened, she always seemed to receive word of it immediately and act just as fast.
On the very morning Dyna first made contact with Wada and began training, Rudolf had already received a tip from one of her informants. Reading the short line written on the slip of paper, she laced her fingers together, braced her elbows on the desk, and rested her forehead against the backs of her hands. Even the ears atop her head drooped limply forward.
"Sigh... those fools at the JRA. A bunch of laymen who still want to point fingers at horse girls..."
Rudolf was being driven to the brink by the JRA.
As the "Emperor" and student council president, she naturally felt no fear toward people like that. But above Rudolf stood Chairwoman Akikawa and Acting Chairwoman Kashimoto Riko. They were the ones bearing the greatest pressure.
Thinking back to those days, when she had personally bowed her head to fight for Oguri Cap's right to run in the Derby, only to be shut down by the JRA people, and then they had rushed overnight to add a supplementary registration system afterward—
Anyone with eyes could tell exactly why that had happened.
The JRA owed Oguri Cap one Japanese Derby.
And now that it had already been confirmed that Shining Dyna's original registration was in Japan, there were still disconnected idiots within the JRA proposing to strip Dyna of her racing eligibility. If she had still been the person she was back then, Rudolf could say with certainty that she would have pointed at every JRA official in the room, cursed them out, and slammed the door on her way out.
Of course, the current her had merely pointed at that one particular person, used very refined language to verbally flay them for two hours, and then slammed the door on her way out.
"You're brooding over those self-important people again, huh~ Here, coffee. You didn't sleep well, so wake yourself up a bit."
Chiyono Representative walked over carrying two hot cups of coffee, slid one toward Rudolf, and gestured for a toast.
"Letting those kinds of people run the Twinkle Series is exactly why I can't sleep at night. If Shining Dyna doesn't want to join the academy, then why not just let her live her life in peace?"
After holding her current position for so many years, Rudolf had changed. Back then, her mindset had been I won't let a single talented horse girl go. Now it had become I won't let a single talented horse girl who truly wants to keep running be overlooked.
She could not force a horse girl who did not wish to stand on the track to become a racing horse girl.
Chiyono Representative took a sip of her fully sugared coffee and shrugged.
"You and I, as veteran horse girls, know better than anyone what sort of circus the JRA is. Back then, even Maruzensky got burned badly by them. She was willing to say, 'Give me the outermost gate and don't even count my result,' and even then they still wouldn't let her run in the Japanese Derby."
Maruzensky, the supercar who once went eight-for-eight, had spent her whole life regretting the fact that she never got to run in the Japanese Derby.
"They probably saw Shining Dyna win the Prix Marcel Boussac and decided she has the qualifications to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe."
At the mention of the Arc, Chiyono Representative gave a helpless laugh. The JRA was forever fantasizing about glorious victories.
But at the same time, it was also the race Japanese horse girls themselves believed stood at the absolute summit of the world stage.
And to this very day, no Japanese horse girl had ever won it.
Ever since El Condor Pasa had narrowly lost to Montjeu and finished second in the Arc, all of Japan had fallen into Arc fever. This year, Shining Dyna had won the Prix Marcel Boussac, and Nakayama Festa had lost the Arc by only a neck to Workforce. It was enough to inject the entire country with another shot of adrenaline.
Japanese horse girls absolutely could win the Arc.
And the brightest rising star among them was, without question, Shining Dyna—the rookie-period horse girl who had won a G1 at Longchamp.
Chiyono Representative tapped the desk with her fingers and made a suggestion.
"How about talking it over with the boss lady and putting on a little play for the JRA? Invite her to Tracen for a tour, then have the boss lady reject your invitation to your face."
"A play... That could work. At the very least, it would get the JRA off our backs for a while. The Chairwoman and the Acting Chairwoman could catch their breath."
Rudolf found the plan feasible. It would also let her probe a little deeper into what kind of horse girl Dyna really was.
"Since you agree~ then I'll be the one to carry the message."
"Hm? Usually when I need your help, you're nowhere to be found. Today, though..."
Chiyono Representative smiled faintly and, as if performing magic, flicked a few banknotes out between her fingers.
"The bakery launched a new product today, and I just so happen to want to try it. Want me to bring one back for you?"
"Mmm... all right. Bring me one too."
"Thank you very much Please come again"
After seeing off the last gray-haired horse girl customer, Dyna rolled her sore shoulder and watched Gold Ship packing up two stuffed baguettes, looking puzzled.
"Is there still a reserved order for today?"
The new stuffed baguette was something Dyna had learned while in France, then improved after putting her own spin on it. It retained the soft sweetness of a fresh-baked baguette, but even after cooling it would not turn into a hardened armor-piercing projectile. Depending on the notes attached to the order, it could also be made in different flavors.
Gold Ship glanced at the name on the order form and nodded.
"Yeah. It's for Miss CB."
"Oh, looks like that was my—huh? CB?! Chiyono Representative?!"
Dyna had been about to say it was her own oversight for nearly forgetting a customer, but the name Chiyono Representative carried too much weight. It hit the little chestnut-haired horse girl so hard she nearly forgot how to speak.
The shop was booming, yes, but among the famous horse girls Dyna knew of, not many had actually come in person. Chiyono Representative, meanwhile, was a true heavyweight.
"Yo I heard someone calling my name"
The bell over the door jingled. Dressed in casual clothes, Chiyono Representative stepped inside holding a fruit tea, and immediately tossed Dyna a wink.
"Seeing you for myself really does beat hearing about you Miss Shining Dyna—or maybe I should call you Boss Lady instead"
"Y-you... hello, Miss Chiyono."
Dyna was utterly at a loss in the face of Chiyono Representative's cheerful, overly familiar attack. Socially anxious types were simply born to be hard-countered by free spirits.
She really did not know whether Chiyono Representative had some kind of "if you say her name, she spawns instantly" buff, but after today, Dyna did not dare say that name casually anymore.
Chiyono Representative also knew that the shop's two employees were well-known figures around the academy, so she greeted them each in turn.
"My reserved bread is ready too, right?"
"Of course. If possible, you should eat it while it's still warm. It won't harden after it cools, but the texture does get worse."
Dyna handed the package over to Chiyono Representative, fully expecting that after collecting her order, she would leave...
But she completely failed to anticipate that Chiyono Representative would use that very motion, and with her tall 166-centimeter frame, lean close to Dyna's ear and whisper softly:
"Luna and I want to ask you to act out a little scene for the JRA. This weekend, we'd like to invite you to stroll around Tracen and then reject Luna's invitation in person. If you don't want to, just send me a message on LINE."
Her warm breath poured directly into Dyna's ear, dampening the fine fur there.
Dyna's face changed color instantly. By the time she stumbled backward, Chiyono Representative had already taken the package, said goodbye, and left the shop.
Oguri Cap and Gold Ship both narrowed their eyes as well, but Chiyono Representative seemed to do this sort of thing all the time to juniors she took a liking to. Judging by her personal standards... it was probably normal enough?
Dyna had heard every word clearly, but right now the tingling in her ear made it impossible for her to properly process the meaning.
Even the palm of her hand felt strangely itchy. Looking down, she noticed a slip of paper Chiyono Representative had left there while taking the package.
On it was her personal LINE account.
Join here to read ahead.
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I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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