"Miss Dyna Light, now that you've won the Tanpa Cup, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans all around the world?"
Dyna stared at the microphone practically shoved into her face and, honestly, her heart was pounding just as hard as ever. This was her first time standing in such a grand, official interview area.
After her debut race, she had been hauled straight to the hospital in an ambulance. In France, she had fully taken advantage of the principle of "respecting the horse girl's personal wishes" and simply slipped away before anyone could catch her.
So, standing before the cameras, Dyna Light thought for a long moment, let out a breath, and answered:
"Thank you all for your love and support. This year has ended perfectly for me. And next year, I'll aim for an undefeated Classic Triple Crown and run with everything I have!"
Click.
That instant was captured by the cameras, then printed across the front pages of major newspapers. It received the same amount of coverage as the winner of the JG1 Nakayama Daishogai, and when fans heard the phrase "undefeated Classic Triple Crown," some of them practically lost their minds.
The last undefeated Classic Triple Crown winner had been the one known as the Hero, Deep Impact. Now another possible undefeated Triple Crown contender had appeared with such a high probability of success. Of course they were going to go wild.
Dyna Light could not dance, and she certainly could not rap, but she was at least capable of standing blankly on stage and singing a song slightly off-key.
After all, singing poorly on the winner's stage was a matter of personal ability. Refusing to appear at all, however, was a matter of attitude.
So after shakily singing one of the songs she often listened to—without caring how good or bad it sounded—Dyna Light hurried off the stage as fast as she could.
Ironically, the one who had failed to place, Triumphal Ballet, ended up being the best dancer on the stage by far.
The next day, at Central Tracen Academy, Gold Master's class was gathered together in a classroom again for the first time in quite a while. Gold Master herself sat alone in the back row, clutching the freshly printed newspaper in her hand so tightly it looked as if she might tear through the page.
What irritated her was not just Dyna Light's still-undefeated record. Another major factor was that, after Buena Vista's two infractions and Gold Master's own debut-race collision incident, the JRA had begun to worry about how seriously Tracen Academy was educating horse girls on racing rules.
As a result, the academy had been ordered to extend the rules education curriculum all the way into the middle of the Classic year. The students would not be free of it until they passed a unified certification exam.
The rookie horse girls were suffering.
They had only just managed to escape the classroom, and after barely a few days of freedom, they had been dragged back in for more rule studies.
Even so, despite the frustration in her heart, Gold Master listened with rare seriousness during class.
Now she had to use reason to restrain her emotions. If she lost control again the next time she met Dyna Light in a graded race, she might really have her horse-girl status revoked altogether.
Inside the dessert shop, Dyna Light was adjusting the knotted ribbon on her left ear in the tabletop mirror.
Business was booming again today, but with Oguri Cap and Gold Ship around, Dyna no longer had to worry too much about the daily operations. At this rate, she really was going to become a hands-off owner.
Still, watching the two of them busily moving about, Dyna found herself wondering whether it might be time to hire more staff.
As things stood, her savings were absolutely more than enough. Between the French prize money and the money she had earned in Japan—without even counting what Nakayama Festa had given her—she could probably support herself for half a lifetime already.
"Who else at Tracen might be suitable…?"
As she adjusted her hair ornament, she thought it over. If possible, she still wanted to recruit another horse girl from the academy. But if that proved impossible, then finding some highly capable people from outside society would also be perfectly fine.
In her head, Dyna had already begun drafting a recruitment notice. When the time came, she could just post it on a job site.
After a busy morning, break time finally arrived.
Dyna lay slumped over the table, idly playing with her phone, waiting for the takeout she had ordered for the three of them. But she could not keep that position for long before the pressure on her chest forced her to sit upright again.
"Hey… Gold Ship, Oguri Cap. If I want to expand the staff, what kind of people should I be looking for? Salary and benefits can be completely open-ended, so there's no need to worry about that."
Gold Ship froze for a while, having wandered into a complete blind spot in her own expertise, before answering:
"Probably… a pastry chef? One person at the front counter is more than enough right now with Oguri Cap there, and the shop's current size can't really support a second cashier anyway. So if we're hiring, we should probably focus on increasing production efficiency."
"But… online marketing might be good too, right?" Oguri Cap said with surprising bluntness, startling Dyna. "I've been watching gaming streams lately, and a lot of streamers run ads and help sell the products they endorse. Why don't you consider that too?"
Dyna almost slapped her forehead.
Right—that entire angle had nearly slipped her mind.
"That's right! Thank you so much, Oguri Cap!"
If she split the plan into two parts, it would be perfect.
And as it happened, there was one horse girl at Tracen whom Dyna knew could fill that role brilliantly.
There was only one small issue: she might have a slight connection to Gold Master.
Even so, Dyna felt completely at ease.
"N-no need to thank me?"
Oguri Cap pinched a small cake in her fingers and popped it into her mouth. Lately her appetite had been a bit off, so she had been trying to stimulate it by watching streams while eating. After all, she had only had five bowls of rice yesterday.
The day passed in a blur.
After her hot bath, Dyna returned to her warmly heated bedroom with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her body. Sitting on the bed, she tapped away at her laptop keyboard for half an hour, posting the recruitment notice she had drafted onto the appropriate website.
After that, all she could do was hope Gold Ship and Oguri Cap would get the chance to approach Curren Chan at the academy.
Curren-chan was without question the hottest streamer in all of Japan, with fans all over the internet—even overseas support groups. If Curren-chan endorsed her products, then Dyna's shop would absolutely explode in popularity.
At the same time, Dyna was also making preparations to open a second store. As for where, that would depend entirely on whether any spaces came up for sale or lease. Ideally, it would be in a bustling commercial district with a huge amount of foot traffic.
When the Arima Kinen arrived, Dyna stayed in the shop and watched it with Gold Ship and Oguri Cap.
It lacked the atmosphere of being at the racecourse in person, but Dyna was utterly exhausted. She simply did not have the energy to rush back from Hanshin to Tokyo and then out again to Nakayama Racecourse.
The winner of the Arima Kinen was Victoire Pisa.
After winning the Satsuki Sho this year, then going on to contest the Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, she had still managed to come back and win the Arima Kinen. It was impossible not to admire just how incredibly tough she was.
"Well… time to get ready for New Year's."
Dyna had completely forgotten about Christmas. All she knew was that January 1st was right around the corner, and that this busy yet fulfilling year was coming to an end.
An undefeated juvenile season. A dessert shop thriving more and more each day. Fans, with even more of them now in Europe than Japan. A life that was gradually growing fuller and happier.
"If only I could make even more friends…"
Lying flat on her back in bed, no glasses on, Dyna stared at the blurry halo of light on the ceiling. Slowly, without realizing it, her eyes closed, and she slipped into a deep and somehow very unusual sleep.
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 (Chapter116)
"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 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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