"It hurts… it hurts!"
Inside the bathroom, Dyna stood alone, applying iodine to the cut in her right palm.
The card had been far too sharp, and Dream-Dyna had gripped it with far too much force. As a result, the bedsheets were already stained crimson with blood. At a glance, it looked as though Dyna had gotten her period, forgotten a pad, and then slept so wildly she had ended up upside down in bed.
Cody's Wish stood nearby, clearly powerless to help. "I never imagined you'd have that much strength in your hand even while asleep… Looks like you won't be able to get it wet for the next few days. I guess the shop will have to be left entirely to Oguri Cap?"
After all, Gold Ship was still in the hospital recovering. There was no way she would be coming back anytime soon.
Once she had finished disinfecting the wound and wrapping her right hand in bandages, Dyna sat there turning the brand-new card over and over in her left hand.
Now that the issue she had buried deep inside herself had finally been resolved, she could feel a clear improvement in how sharply she noticed things around her. If it showed up on the racetrack, then maybe she would be able to spot openings in blocked lanes much more easily.
Or perhaps she would be able to catch flashes of inspiration in everyday events—small opportunities that might work in her favor.
"So this is what I gained from finally dealing with what was inside me… What a strange power. Miss Cody's Wish, how am I supposed to use your power at all?"
Murmuring to herself, Dyna placed the Light Dyna card into her specially made card case, beside Nakayama Festa.
Cody's Wish tilted her head. "I don't know either. I can only give you power. Figuring out how to use it is something you'll have to solve yourself. Besides, you still haven't managed to give my power any real form yet, have you?"
Cody's Wish was not omnipotent. There were things even she did not understand.
All she could say was this:
"Kai-Sou Ballet has already become part of your power. As for Nakayama Festa and Primal Origin, maybe their conditions just haven't been met yet. And for me—and even Sea the Stars, who appeared in your dreams—there hasn't even been any sign of condensation at all. Strange, isn't it?"
Sea the Stars had appeared so many times, yet always only as a passing figure. Dyna had never managed to seize that faint glimmer of starlight, and so that power kept coming to her only to slip away again.
The biggest reason was probably that, back then, Dyna still hadn't untangled the dark knot inside her heart.
"Ugh… I'll stop thinking about it for now. My right hand can't touch water or do any work for days."
With one hand, Dyna tied a white butterfly-shaped knot over the bandage on the back of her right hand. The sting of disinfectant still lingered at the ends of her nerves, making her palm tremble.
After sending LINE messages to Opera O and Wada to tell them she was injured and would have to pause training, Dyna went downstairs and handled only the simplest bits of tidying in the shop. There was no way she could knead dough now. She sat at the front counter, the room still dim, her face lit only by the glow of her phone.
"Since I promised the children, I have to keep doing what I left unfinished."
Dyna had no real idea how orphanages in Japan were run, and she did not trust charities. If she wanted to feel completely at ease, then the only option was to negotiate directly with the orphanages themselves. One-to-one contact was the best way.
Her phone lay on the counter as her left index finger scrolled deftly, though her mind was still restless.
"You still seem kind of heavy-hearted… Dyna, maybe you really should rest for a while?" Cody's Wish said, playing with the little blue bird while keeping all of her attention on Dyna. In her eyes, Dyna was exactly the kind of girl people could never stop worrying about—the sort who liked to force herself onward and would probably end up hurting herself in the process.
Dyna shook her head. "I'm fine. It just feels like I've forgotten something… Maybe I haven't been sleeping well lately. March will be here soon, and spring too. Everything's going to get better!"
Her sights were no longer limited to Tokyo.
Now she had the means to travel all across Japan, and if she organized an event, she could definitely rally her fans to take part too. The results would surely be wonderful.
It was March, the season of spring and renewal.
Light Dyna, too, was about to leave behind her long, stifling winter.
"Mhm hm-hmm"
Humming under her breath, Dyna really did seem a great deal lighter. If she used the money Nakayama Festa had given her for something like this, then surely Nakayama Festa would be happy too.
"I'll bring Mr. Wada, Opera O, Grandma Kirei Jun, and… and Miss Nakayama Festa too! The shop staff can all come as well. And maybe I can get the fans involved somehow too. It'd be such a meaningful event!"
Dyna muttered to herself as she jotted down a rough outline in her notes app.
Seeing how absorbed she was, Cody's Wish chose not to interrupt again and sat down on the sofa to keep playing with Cody.
The quiet moment was shattered when Oguri Cap hurried in with her key.
The moment she spotted Dyna sitting at the front counter, she anxiously asked, "Boss! Is your injury serious? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"Huh? No, no, I'm fine… I just slipped while cutting fruit yesterday and nicked my palm. Lost a little blood, that's all. A few days of rest and it'll be fine."
Dyna smiled faintly. The wound, under her unusual constitution, already seemed to be scabbing over. In a few more days, it would probably heal completely.
"That's good. But Boss, you really have to be more careful… Honestly, if it comes to it, maybe you should just replace all the knives at home with safety knives!"
"Eh? Wait… this really was just an accident! I've been cooking for years, I know what I'm doing, so don't worry!"
Luckily for her, Oguri Cap's brain was generally occupied by running and eating. When it came to other matters, she let things slide easily, and Dyna managed to steer her past the truth without much trouble.
Since Oguri Cap knew nothing about baking, the shop would have to wait until the pastry chef came in before they could restock. That little accident had once again made Dyna think about hiring more staff—but there was too much going on right now. She would leave that until after the Satsuki Sho.
For today, the shop was entirely in the hands of Oguri Cap and the pastry chef, while Dyna poured all her energy into planning the event.
Her phone screen was filled with information about children's care facilities.
Since she was thinking of going straight to the Satsuki Sho for her next race… then it made sense to look for a suitable place near Nakayama Racecourse, didn't it?
In the end, Dyna settled on Boso Futaba Academy in Chiba City. It was medium-sized, with a little over forty children in residence and several dozen faculty members, all fully funded by the government—almost exactly the sort of conditions she had hoped for.
Once the event was over, she could even take the opportunity to stop by Nakayama Racecourse and look over the track in person, then think together with Wada about how exactly she ought to run the Satsuki Sho.
For Dyna, arranging the event itself was actually quite simple. All she had to do was contact Chiba Prefecture's welfare department. The moment she explained her plan and gave her name, the deal was effectively done. The department had never dreamed that a horse girl in the middle of a soaring career would personally approach them with an offer like this.
"Of course that would be fine! If Miss Light Dyna comes in person, the children will definitely be thrilled!"
"Mm… then let's set it for around the middle of March. Let me see… hmm."
As Dyna thought it over, she suddenly remembered that March 12 was Arbor Day. In that case…
"Let's do March 11, then. That way I can take the children to plant trees the day after as well. I don't want our connection to end after just one meeting."
As she said this, her fingers played with the pages of her February calendar, her smile bright with anticipation and joy.
"Of course! We'll let them know right away!"
The call ended.
And all at once, Dyna felt as though she had truly returned to the proper path of her volunteer work.
After hanging up, however, the section chief at the welfare department couldn't help thinking to himself, Japan's Arbor Day is in early April… so why did Miss Dyna choose March 12 for a tree-planting event?
Still, that hardly mattered now.
By then, perhaps he could even ask Miss Light Dyna to take the children on a little visit to Nakayama Racecourse as well.
Current Status Panel
Light Dyna
Speed: B
Competitive Spirit: E → D+
Power: D+ → C
Health: A
Intelligence: A
Mental Strength: A+ → S
Flexibility: A
Burst Speed: S+
Unique Skill: ??? → Prayer • Flowing Radiance
When positioned toward the back during the middle stage of a race, speed increases. Then, when preparing to overtake on the final corner in the last phase, she surges forward for a short time by relying on the strongest force of will.
Prayer is the greatest power a horse girl can possess.
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 126)
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 (Chapter130)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter157)
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 133
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 125
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 143
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 115
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 99
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 75
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 75
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 51
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
A Guide to Aid in the Underwor 26
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
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