Golden Orfevre's little interruption hadn't lasted very long, but the ripples it caused were considerable.
The horse girls at the academy who had originally found Orfevre's excessive arrogance unbearable suddenly felt that she wasn't quite so grating after all.
At the very least, it showed that she was a horse girl who could admit fault and let go—just one who took rather longer than most to untangle her feelings.
"President... Miss C.B., Golden Orfevre wasn't part of your plan, was she?" Dyna bit down on the meatball still skewered on her fork. It tasted strangely bland now. The two horse girls in front of her weren't eating at all, which made her feel awkward being the only one moving her mouth.
Mr. C.B. took a sip of miso soup and shrugged. "Of course not. We never imagined that Golden Orfevre, stuck back in theory class, would track you down so quickly after getting out. But the outcome was pretty good, wasn't it? If she'd tried to start something again, Luna and I would have stepped in."
After all, the JRA was paying very close attention to everything happening at the academy right now. If another major incident broke out on campus, it would hand them the perfect excuse to impose more rules and "reforms" on Tracen. Just imagining it was enough to give anyone a headache.
Dyna nodded silently and finished her lunch.
Most of the afternoon was spent touring the academy's training facilities. Of everything she saw, the swimming complex and the woodchip uphill slope fascinated her the most.
As evening crept closer, all three of them knew what came next, so the place Rudolf Symboli deliberately chose was the Three Goddesses statue.
Still, looking at the stone figures endlessly pouring water from tilted urns, Dyna felt oddly uncomfortable.
For some reason, the three women gave her the impression of irresponsible, heartless horse girls.
"The Three Goddesses... It's been a long time since I've seen them."
Cody's Wish stood by the pool and reached a hand into the falling water. Naturally, not a single drop touched her.
Leaning back against the stone rim of the fountain, Dyna asked, "Didn't they have statues of the Three Goddesses where you were, Miss Cody's Wish?"
"They did, originally," Cody's Wish replied. "But after American Pharoah, the one people saw more often was her instead."
Dyna, Mr. C.B., and Rudolf stood in a loose triangle. After a moment of silent appreciation for the view, Rudolf exchanged a glance with C.B. before turning to Dyna.
"Miss Dyna, you've now seen Tracen Academy's facilities for yourself. I believe that coming here would allow you to maximize your potential. Therefore, on behalf of Central Tracen Academy, I would like to formally invite you to enroll."
She spoke with all the bearing of a student council president. Though she no longer carried the overwhelming aggression she had in her youth, once Rudolf Symboli released her on-track aura, it still wasn't something an ordinary horse girl could easily withstand.
Looks like Luna's fake act is starting to become a little too real, Mr. C.B. thought with interest.
But then her attention shifted to Dyna in surprise.
As Japan's "Emperor," the aura Rudolf Symboli could unleash on the track was not something even a typical G1 horse girl could face head-on. If the Emperor's authority could be brushed aside so easily, then the Emperor would be Emperor in name only.
And yet Dyna—a horse girl who had only raced in a single G1—showed absolutely no reaction at all.
How strange.
Mr. C.B. herself couldn't guarantee she would remain perfectly steady under that kind of pressure. Back when she used to go up against Rudolf, she really had been intimidated.
Dyna had just taken a step forward when, just behind her, Cody's Wish placed both hands on Dyna's shoulders.
There had been horse girls before—girls frightened by others during their debut races, girls left with a deep reluctance toward running. Cody's Wish felt that Rudolf Symboli still hadn't fully considered that possibility.
Clutching her arm, Dyna shook her head. "No. I still have my own life. Running isn't everything to me. But... I'll still keep racing during my active years. Tracen Academy is wonderful, but I don't like going to school."
More and more horse girls had begun to gather nearby, drawn by the scene. Seizing the moment, Mr. C.B. smoothly stepped in.
"All right, Luna. If she doesn't want to come, don't keep pushing. It's good enough that she plans to keep racing. Dyna-chan, good luck, okay?"
"In that case," Rudolf said, "I wish you smooth sailing in the road ahead. And as a sign of the student council's support, Tracen Academy's training facilities will remain open to you."
After that, she continued chatting with Dyna for quite a while, though it was mostly about little things of no real importance.
By then, most of the horse girls who had lingered to watch had already drifted away. In the end, only the three of them remained by the goddess statue.
"I'm not very good at acting... There weren't any obvious holes in it just now, were there?" Dyna asked.
"Doesn't really matter whether there were or not," Mr. C.B. said breezily. "As long as it happened, that's enough. Good work, Dyna-chan. How about I treat you to sukiyaki tonight?"
She extended the invitation to Rudolf as well. Rudolf had clearly been about to refuse on the grounds of work, but for some reason she ended up agreeing.
Once the two of them changed into casual clothes, Dyna nearly choked on her own spit when she saw Rudolf.
Fighting back a laugh, she immediately moved to stand beside Mr. C.B., using her to block Rudolf from view.
A green blouse, white trousers, square-framed glasses, and that serious, upright demeanor, with a bag slung over one arm—
Rudolf Symboli looked exactly like a homeroom teacher auntie out shopping after work.
"Ahem. Luna's sense of style is just like this... Hold it in. She's just not used to this sort of thing," Mr. C.B. muttered, doing her best not to look in Rudolf's direction either.
Of all the horse girls Mr. C.B. had ever met, the two most hopeless dressers were undoubtedly Rudolf Symboli and Sirius Symboli. Which was especially baffling considering that the Symboli family head, Symboli Kris S—who was older than both of them—had impeccable style.
Apparently fashion wasn't hereditary.
Still, for horse girls, this sort of thing was simply too complicated.
As long as they knew how to run, that should have been enough.
Mr. C.B. chose a restaurant she frequented often, and the owner understood the situation immediately at first glance. Without asking unnecessary questions, he led them to a private room.
During dinner, Rudolf handed Dyna a specially issued access card.
It didn't just include all the functions of an ordinary student ID—it even carried certain management-level permissions, allowing her to use training facilities during off-hours.
For someone like Dyna, who specialized in beginning focused training at the crack of dawn, it was exactly what she needed.
Tracen's horse girls trained harder and longer than she did, which also meant they tended to sleep longer. Even the earliest risers among them didn't really begin morning training until after seven.
When the meal was over, night had already fallen.
Mr. C.B. offered to escort Dyna back to the bakery, but Dyna declined.
Even with no streetlights, she could find her way home along that road in the dark by now. She didn't want to trouble them any further.
"All right, then~ Be careful heading home alone, okay? Send me a Line message when you get back. After all, Oguri Cap and Gold Ship have already gone off work too."
"Mm. Thank you, President Rudolf. Miss C.B."
Dyna thanked them softly.
And somehow, she felt even more confident now about the upcoming 2000-meter Shortwave Cup.
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
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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