On the night of March 10, Dyna tossed and turned in bed, too restless to sleep.
It reminded her of the first time her master had taken her deep into the mountains. She had been just as nervous and excited then, too wound up to sleep. The next day, they rode a bus, then a three-wheeler, then hiked for half a day before finally reaching that impoverished mountain village elementary school. She had been exhausted half to death before the event had even started. After returning to the city, she had immediately decided to start working out and building up her stamina.
And that decision had proven to be the right one. Looking back now, all those mountain trails and river crossings felt almost leisurely compared to what they had once been.
"This is the first time I've ever been able to reach the destination almost entirely by train. It feels unbelievably easy."
After plugging her phone into the charger, she checked that her power bank was fully charged as well. As long as both were topped off before she left, that was enough.
Cody's Wish was seated at the vanity, flipping through a book as usual. Tilting her head, she looked over at Dyna, who was clutching her phone and scrolling away without even wearing her glasses, and gently reminded her, "You should be getting some sleep. And staring at your phone like that is even worse for your eyes, isn't it?"
"Ah... it's fine. I haven't taken my contacts out yet. I'm going to sleep right away, really. Good night, Cody's Wish."
By now, Dyna could remove her contact lenses with practiced ease. After placing them into their cleaning solution, she set her phone beside her pillow, lay down on her side, and finally drifted off.
The room stayed warm all night. Cody's Wish sat there turning pages until a strip of morning light slipped through the gap in the curtains. Only then did she realize she had spent the entire night absentmindedly reading without actually doing anything at all.
"I feel like I've been getting infected by Dyna lately... Cody, am I turning a little airheaded too?"
"?"
The little blue bird had no idea what she meant. It was just a little blue bird, after all.
Dyna hadn't slept well.
She sat up stiffly in the morning and stretched, her joints cracking audibly. Standing barefoot on the wooden floor, she loosened up with a full round of twists and stretches.
By the time she finished washing up, changed clothes, and checked the messages that had come in while she slept, it was already past eight. According to plan, her event team would gather at noon, eat lunch together, then take the JR Sobu Rapid Line straight to Chiba before transferring again to reach Boso Futaba Academy.
They were scheduled to arrive around three in the afternoon—perfect timing to prepare dinner for the children and then hold a grand evening party.
Inside the shop, Nagasakura moved busily from place to place. Every little detail Dyna might normally have overlooked was being carefully checked by her now. Gold Ship, meanwhile, was working with more diligence than ever before in the final hours before departure.
"I've got to lighten the load for Miss Nagasakura a little, right? Little Gold Ship is young—my energy is endless~!"
That was how she put it. Dyna could only laugh helplessly. She wished she had that kind of inexhaustible vitality herself. It would make her feel younger, at least.
Since Dyna had chosen the shop as the team's meeting point, the store would not open in the morning. Once everyone departed, Nagasakura would take full charge of operations for the next two days. Dyna trusted her completely. She had absolute faith in her employees.
On the checklist in her phone's notes, one item after another had been marked complete.
Tree reservation: complete
Gift shipment: complete
Ingredients for nutritious meals: complete
(Rain's note: Some of the children may be picky eaters, but I'm sure Miss Dyna can get them to eat, right?)
By the time she looked up from her phone, it was already nearly eleven. The core team members she had confirmed began arriving one after another, and at exactly noon, everyone was present.
"Gold Ship, Oguri Cap, Mr. Wada, Ms. TM Opera O, Ms. Nakayama Festa... and Ms. Kirei Jun. Right, that's everyone!"
"Kids are such a pain..." Nakayama Festa grumbled while scratching the back of her head.
For all her grumbling, though, she actually liked children well enough. What she hated was taking care of them. She could have fun playing with Camellia anytime, but the moment she had to actually look after a child, it became a headache.
Dyna handed each of them a red vest she had prepared in advance and smiled. "You're looking forward to it, though, aren't you, Ms. Festa? After all, your main job at the party is going to be playing with the kids—things like flying chess and little brain games."
"Yeah, yeah," Festa said, draping the vest over her arm and flicking her tail.
They ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. To everyone's astonishment, Oguri Cap managed to restrain her appetite and ate only a normal horse-girl portion. It was so unusual that Dyna nearly thought something might be wrong with her. When she asked, Oguri explained that she had already eaten beforehand so she wouldn't delay the group.
By the time they reached Tokyo Station, it was almost two. While they waited on the platform for the next train bound directly for Chiba, Dyna called Teacher Amemiya again to confirm their arrival time.
"Hello Miss Dyna? Good afternoon"
"Good afternoon, Teacher Amemiya. We've already set out. We should arrive around three. This train seems to be slightly delayed getting in, and I've also arranged the cargo shipment already. It should reach the academy grounds a little after two. Once we're there, let's have the children help unload the toys and school supplies with us."
As she spoke, Dyna turned and saw the incoming train slowing as it entered the station.
"Of course. Some of the little horse girls were so excited they couldn't sleep all night. A few of them are already drowsy now."
On the other end of the line, Amemiya looked out at the children sitting cross-legged in the open space in front of the academy building, resting between rehearsal sessions.
"I see~ Ah, the train's here. Let's talk more once we meet in person."
"Mm-hm. Safe travels, Miss Dyna."
They hung up. Pulling her small suitcase behind her, Dyna boarded with the rest of the team and found a window seat. As she watched the scenery outside, curiosity flickered through her mind.
What kind of person was Teacher Amemiya, really?
Judging from her voice, she sounded like a university graduate who had only recently started working. Then again, in Japan, a woman's voice was hardly a reliable clue.
The carriage was quiet. Dyna rubbed her cheeks with both hands, took off her glasses and slipped them into the case she carried with her, then leaned back and closed her eyes, intending to doze for a while.
There were not many people headed toward Chiba at that hour. Aside from their group, only a handful of other passengers occupied the car.
At 2:26 p.m., Dyna drifted into a light sleep with her small suitcase hugged in her lap.
The train swayed gently, like a warm cradle rocking her to sleep.
Elsewhere in the carriage, the others were quietly discussing the upcoming event. For all of them, this was their first time doing something like this. The excitement in their hearts was probably no less than the children's.
At 2:46 p.m., while the Sobu Rapid Line was still in motion, a violent tremor suddenly tore through the carriage.
The passengers were caught off guard by the abrupt shaking, but they reacted almost instantly, grabbing handrails and bracing themselves. Dyna, asleep, was thrown sideways by the jolt. Her shoulder slammed into a rail before she started sliding toward the floor.
Fortunately, Gold Ship and TM Opera O reacted with astonishing speed. Each lunged forward in a single smooth step and caught one of Dyna's arms, steadying her before she fell.
Dyna's mind was blank.
The shaking beneath her feet did not stop. After more than ten seconds, the train's emergency stop system activated automatically. Tremors and the harsh shove of braking pressed against her body until, at last, the train ground to a halt on tracks that had already begun to warp.
Dyna had never experienced an earthquake before in her life.
Only when TM Opera O helped her out of the car, and she stood on the railway line staring at distant torn-apart buildings and collapsed wooden houses, did she truly understand what had happened.
An earthquake.
Or rather... a great earthquake.
The throbbing pain in her swollen shoulder vanished beneath the impact of what she saw. Stretching away ahead of them, the tracks were twisted and snapped. If the emergency braking system had failed to engage in time, the entire train might have derailed.
"Mr... Mr. Wada?"
Almost reflexively, mechanically, she called out to the oldest person nearby. She probably didn't even realize how badly her voice was trembling.
"All passengers, please follow me and evacuate to an open area immediately!"
The conductor, waving a red emergency flag high above his head, led them onward. Dyna moved stiffly, swept along by the panicked crowd. Kirei Jun took her hand, and the warmth of that grip was the only thing keeping her remotely grounded.
"Miss Dyna, you're not hurt, are you? I saw what happened just now..."
"I-I'm fine."
Dyna clenched her hand. Her thoughts were a complete mess—so much so that she forgot it was Kirei Jun's hand she was holding. Seeing the dull, almost vacant look on Dyna's face, the older horse girl could only tighten her grip and guide her after the others. First they had to reach an emergency gathering point. Anything else could wait.
Most cell towers had been damaged or destroyed in the quake, but a few reinforced ones were still functioning. Looking at the faint signal bars on her phone, Dyna finally made up her mind and called Amemiya.
The line rang several times. Then, exactly as she had feared, she was met only with:
Unable to connect.
A tidal wave of panic surged up inside her. Her chest tightened with sharp pain, heavy and suffocating.
The emergency evacuation area nearby was packed with people. Noise and confusion assaulted her ears from every direction. As Dyna turned to look around, she noticed something strange.
There didn't seem to be anyone with truly grave injuries.
Moving through the crowd, she saw the worst cases were scrapes and bruises at most.
"Could it be... could it really be the Three Goddesses?"
This world had gods. This world believed in gods. And in the moment of natural disaster—could the gods truly be protecting its living beings?
For one fleeting instant, Dyna desperately wanted that to be true.
As the oldest member of the team, Wada naturally became their center of gravity. Only after confirming that everyone was safe did he finally let out a slow breath.
"For now, all I know is that there's been an earthquake. I have no idea how wide the affected area is. Transportation is completely cut off. But luckily, there's still a weak enough signal to contact the outside world and check information."
"Chiba is in the disaster zone too. It might even be worse there." Dyna was frantic now. "Mr. Wada... how far are we from Chiba?"
She was already toying with the idea of going there on foot.
Wada stopped her at once. "Dyna! Calm down. Acting blindly will only create more danger. At the very least, wait until we know a little more before deciding what to do."
More and more people from the surrounding disaster area continued arriving. The few government officials who had managed to reach the site began organizing emergency shelter operations. Dyna and the others were assigned to a safer outer area, while the more central zone was turned into a treatment space for the injured.
Half an hour after the shelters were set up, the emergency response team began recruiting volunteers for nearby search-and-rescue work.
Dyna joined immediately.
If she couldn't go to Chiba now, then she would help here. If she had nothing to do in a situation like this, the anxiety would drive her insane.
The team leader was also a horse girl. She looked startled when she recognized Light Dyna, but said nothing, only silently adding her name to the roster.
The ones who followed after her were TM Opera O, Oguri Cap, Nakayama Festa, and Kirei Jun.
"Thank you."
In the end, that was all she managed to say.
Wada did not join the rescue team. Instead, he stayed behind and did his best to gather information.
The presence of Oguri Cap and TM Opera O lifted morale just by being there. By the end, aside from a small number of injured people, everyone had been divided into rescue teams and sent into the disaster zone. Dyna spent the entire afternoon prying through collapsed wooden structures with her bare hands and marking dangerous high-risk buildings from the outside.
The one thing she found herself profoundly grateful for was this:
So far, there had been no reports of deaths.
From the team leader, she learned that the worst injuries so far were fractures—possibly severe enough to require amputation, but nothing fatal.
"If it really stays that way... then thank God."
Sitting on a chunk of broken timber in the ruins, Dyna let her phone rest beside her, its flashlight casting a weak glow.
Her hands, resting on her knees, trembled faintly with exhaustion.
She hadn't eaten or drunk anything all afternoon. Her anxiety had smothered hunger and thirst completely, but now that she had stopped moving, the backlash hit all at once. She unscrewed a bottle of water from her bag and drained it in a single go, yet her throat still felt dry.
Even after moving so much wreckage with her bare hands, she had suffered no real injury. A few blisters had formed, but there were no cuts. It was almost as though some invisible protection had been watching over her.
When she returned to the evacuation site, rows of emergency tents had already been erected. Instead of going back to her own assigned area, Dyna headed for the team leader. The other woman was swamped, nearly frantic.
No deaths was a blessing—but there were simply too many injured, and the site lacked adequate medical resources.
For now, all they could do was distribute painkillers to the worst cases and perform rudimentary treatment on wounds. Anything more would have to wait for proper government rescue operations.
"Miss Leader... there really haven't been any death reports, right?"
"Right. It's the luckiest thing in all this bad luck. Maybe the Three Goddesses really are watching over us." She let out a breath. "Right now, the most important thing is getting the people trapped under the wreckage out. If this drags on, lives absolutely will be at risk..."
Just as she said that, a violent rush of wind roared outside the tent, snapping the canvas hard enough to shake the supports.
Dyna covered her ears and looked out. Beyond the lights held up by the crowd, she caught a glimpse of helicopters overhead.
The sound was unmistakable. Rotor blades.
And judging by the noise, there was more than one.
When she stepped out into the open, the beams from the ground illuminated the helicopters clearly enough for her to see the markings on their bodies.
A multicolored horseshoe.
It looked exactly like...
The crest of Central Tracen Academy.
And everyone knew that the chairwoman possessed a special unit that belonged to her alone...
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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