Dyna never did figure out why Orfevre had sent her ginseng slices of all things. By all logic, it was not as if she had a weak constitution. And besides, something like that ought to be given to a human, not a horse girl.
She spent a long while that day sitting in the shop with the little box in her hands, unable to make heads or tails of it. But come evening, she finally took out a slice, steeped it in hot water, and drank the whole pot before bed. The taste was not one she particularly liked, but it did make her whole body feel strangely stimulated, and warm.
Even after taking a cold shower in weather like this, the restlessness in her chest and the steadily rising heat in her body did not ease in the slightest. In the end, she stripped off her pajamas, kicked off the covers, and lay there stark naked on the bed, yet still felt unbearably hot.
"Phew... Hah. Nobody ever told me ginseng could also fight fatigue..." Dyna lay on her side, staring at the little nightlight by her bed as she let out a hot breath. Unable to bear it any longer, she decided to chat with Cody's Wish for a while, while also pulling out her phone to look up the side effects of ginseng slices.
But Cody's Wish did not answer at all. As Dyna scrolled with her fingertip, she found that 5–10% of users reported symptoms like insomnia, excitement, and anxiety. That let her relax a little. Thankfully, she had not had anything serious like an allergic reaction, or JRA would most likely have scratched her from the Satsuki Sho.
With only a few days left before the race, Dyna had to keep her body in its best possible condition and avoid any accidents at all costs. Yet the heat kept spreading through every part of her body. At last, she simply sat up, pushed open the window, and let the cool night breeze pour into the room. Only then did the turmoil in her thoughts begin to settle a little.
Since no one was available to talk to, the only thing she could do was distract herself with her phone. No matter which forum or video site she opened, the same words flooded her screen everywhere:
Satsuki Sho
Unbeaten Triple Crown
Elbowing Tyrant
Her lips curled into a helpless smile.
Right now, if Orfevre wanted to clear her name, she would first have to win at least one G1 on pure ability. And if she wanted to keep washing away that stain after that, she would probably need to win several more. But unless Orfevre went overseas, Dyna had no intention of giving her any chances at all in domestic races.
Pinned at the top of the public Tracen forum was an especially eye-catching thread:
"The Great Outer Draw Curse? Can Light Dyna Break Her Fate from the Outside Gate?"
The comments underneath had long since devolved into total chaos.
She's drawn the outermost gate five races in a row. That's way too unlucky, isn't it? Gate 18 in a G1 is famous for being a nightmare. The stamina loss isn't even comparable to G2s or G3s. These are the fastest girls in the generation standing there!
So what? Tokai Teio won the Satsuki Sho from Gate 18 and took the Derby from Gate 20. If a front-runner could do it, there's no way a closer like Dyna can't. She doesn't even have to fight for position out of the gate.
Stop worrying about Light Dyna already. She's the girl who won the French G1 Prix Marcel Boussac. If she could handle Longchamp in deep going, an outside draw in Japan is nothing. Honestly, I think Orfevre has the better shot this time. Sure, she usually looks outclassed against Dyna, but she's had time to grow.
Bro, are people seriously still defending Orfevre? Did you all completely forget the debut race elbow? If Dyna hadn't been that sturdy, she could've gotten seriously hurt. I don't trust Orfevre at all. Who's to say she won't come crashing in again this race and elbow Dyna over?
Did you all forget Dyna's closing kick? The outside gate is basically all upside for a closer. No need to worry about getting boxed in on the final bend, and the long straight gives her all the room she needs to launch. She's going to leave Orfevre three streets behind.
Comment after comment refreshed before her eyes. Support and doubt intertwined, and some people had even dug up footage of Dyna getting elbowed by Orfevre in her debut, arguing over which of the two was more worthy of winning.
Dyna watched the arguments and pressed a hand to her burning forehead.
She had originally thought that giving it everything she had would be enough, but she had never imagined a single race would drag in so many things.
Most of what people were saying was true, but once truth got spread, fermented, and amplified, what shape would it eventually take? Dyna did not know. She understood perfectly well that public opinion could kill.
Still, judging by the moral standards of this world's horse girls, the worst of it would probably just be people refusing to let go of the fact that Orfevre had injured someone.
Right then, her phone vibrated.
A message popped up at the top of LINE—someone pinned.
Dyna's eyes lit up at once.
It was her good friend from France, Trof, sending:
"Good evening It should be nighttime in Japan right now, right? Even the French news is reporting on the Satsuki Sho over there"
Dyna immediately typed back:
"Eh? Why is France reporting on this race? The Satsuki Sho isn't on the same level as something world-class like the Arc, is it?"
Over in France, Trof burst out laughing around a bite of chocolate and sent a voice message instead:
"Because you were the first Japanese horse girl to ever win the Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. The expectations the French horse racing press has for you are... let me think... probably something like: 'You already swept a G1 at Longchamp, so pull yourself together and don't embarrass us. At minimum, go bring back a championship worthy of that Marcel Boussac win.'"
"Eeek! Your expectations for me are way too high, okay?! How can the media just say stuff like that? Isn't that unbelievably irresponsible?"
"That is responsibility, actually. We're not like Japan, where all the coverage just swarms around the most popular horse girls while the less popular ones get ignored. Here, even the lower-profile girls get coverage on what they're best at. No one gets buried."
"By the way, do you have time? Want to hop on a call and chat?"
Trof tossed the finished chocolate wrapper carelessly onto the floor. At that point, there was barely any place left to step in her room. Ever since Dyna had left France, Trof had slid right back into this sort of lifestyle, and it had continued uninterrupted until now.
Unless Noble Family came to inspect her room, Trof never cleaned it.
Dyna had not even replied yet when Trof's call came through directly. Looking down at her own naked body, Dyna immediately grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself in it before answering.
"Good evening... Trof~"
"Hm? Why are you wrapped up so tightly, Dyna? Is it still that cold in Japan? But not so cold you'd be sweating, right?"
Trof had fixed her camera, and when she saw Dyna like that, her curiosity only deepened.
Dyna reached up and really did feel the sweat on her forehead. She laughed awkwardly.
"Ahaha... because I'm not wearing anything. I drank some water steeped with ginseng slices earlier, and it wound me up too much. Otherwise I probably would've been asleep by now."
"Oh~ I see."
Trof had clearly meant to say more, but Dyna's eyes had already caught the telltale signs on her end of the screen—hair stuck together in strands, snack wrappers puffed up on the bedside table. The little foreign mare had obviously fallen straight back into her usual dirty habits.
"Trof... have you not cleaned your room or bathed in ages?"
The question hit so precisely that Trof froze flat on the bed.
"Ahaha... Dyna~"
"Acting cute won't save you. I want a photo of your room tomorrow. If I don't get one, I'm telling Noble Family. And while I'm at it, I'll also mention that box you've hidden under the bed—"
"Wait! I get it! I get it! Don't tell Master!!!! The second we hang up I'll clean the room!"
Trof surrendered instantly. She had zero doubt that Dyna actually had Noble Family's contact information. As the only Japanese horse girl to win the Marcel Boussac, Noble Family would absolutely have gone out of her way to get Dyna's number. And given Japanese etiquette, that meant they had definitely exchanged contact details.
Once Trof had promised, Dyna decided to trust her—for now. Though come the next day in France, she fully intended to tell Noble Family anyway. Trof's personal hygiene situation was simply too worrying. It only ever improved a little when Dyna was physically there with her.
Trof tilted the camera fully onto herself and scratched her head.
"Anyway, that stuff isn't important! What I really wanted to ask is—when are you coming back to France? Do you have any thoughts on the Arc in October?"
Trof was absolutely convinced that Dyna was one of the top candidates to contend for the Arc. Although Dyna had not yet fully shown her classic-year potential, Trof was sure that the coming Satsuki Sho and Japanese Derby would carve her name into the international scene.
Not to mention, Dyna was the best-performing horse girl from last year's Marcel Boussac. She was more than worthy of the attention of the French Horse Girls' Association.
Dyna shook her head.
"I won't be thinking about overseas races during my classic year... probably next year? Next year I might spend the whole year abroad—England, France, Ireland, places like that. And if nothing changes, then yeah, the big target in October would probably be the Arc."
She did not actually have many detailed memories of the Marcel Boussac itself. The one thing she remembered most clearly was Danon Dream bumping into her chest. But after that, she never saw her again before leaving the track. It seemed Danon Dream had gone straight to the medical room after the race.
Later, Dyna heard that Danon Dream had developed a nosebleed after the race, but fortunately it turned out to be nothing more than a mild case of internal heat. Otherwise she would have been ruled out and forced to rest for a while.
"Oh, right... what kind of results has Danon Dream been getting lately?"
In the end, Dyna could not resist asking.
Trof rubbed her chin and thought for a moment.
"Oh, that German girl? Ever since the Marcel Boussac, she's basically been grinding her way up through allowance company. She hasn't won much. Why do you even remember her? She's pretty ordinary."
"I see..." Dyna muttered. "I kept thinking Danon Dream had already won a bunch of G1s. Looks like I was mistaken."
So she was still climbing through the ranks. That meant Dyna's impression had been wrong. Still, if Danon Dream was only in allowance company as of April, she ought to have enough time to work her way into stakes races and maybe flash some brilliance in the autumn G1s. After all, any horse girl capable of reaching a G1 stage in her juvenile season couldn't possibly be an early burnout.
Trof kept talking with her for a long time. Truthfully, Trof did not have many friends in the French Tracen Academy either. She rarely went out, and in all the years of her life, the only truly close friend she had made was Dyna.
Their call went on until dawn.
Only when Dyna finally said, "You're about to run out of time to clean your room," did Trof fall dead silent before hurriedly hanging up.
Dyna tossed her nearly dead phone onto the bedside table, threw off the blanket she had been wrapped in all night, and walked into the bathroom, patting her still-heated cheeks as she went. A shower washed away the night's restlessness.
Well—washed away some of it.
Stepping downstairs into the shop afterward, she felt much better overall.
Still, she firmly decided she would never touch that ginseng stuff again.
The drawbacks outweighed the benefits by far.
First, she shoved the remaining box of ginseng slices into a drawer in the table. Then she moved all the other snacks and tonics piled across the surface upstairs to her bedroom to keep as late-night treats.
Now that her appetite had been steadily increasing, she found that three meals a day no longer quite cut it. A midnight snack had become essential.
"Whew, I'm exhausted. Time for breakfast."
She patted her hands together. Cody perched on her shoulder as one girl and one bird stepped out of the shop. The nearby breakfast places were already open, so Dyna picked one at random and went in with Cody.
Aside from her own breakfast, she also took half a bread roll for Cody. She still had no idea whether he actually needed to eat.
After wolfing down breakfast, she headed for the mall to buy the little things she would need for her stay at Tokyo Racecourse—things the officials would not provide.
Pets were not allowed in the shopping center, but since Cody could switch between visible and invisible at will, he simply slipped into a state where only Dyna could see him and followed her inside.
By the time she left the mall, both hands were full of stuffed shopping bags.
When she got back to the shop, Nagasakura had already arranged everything in neat, perfect order as usual. The sight only made Dyna surer than ever that Nagasakura was the right choice to be manager for the future chain branch.
Once that happened, she would be able to hand the store over entirely and devote herself fully to racing.
"Boss~ did you go on a shopping spree?"
"Mm-hm. I'll be going to Tokyo Racecourse soon, so I picked up things I'll need. And while I was out, I also collected my race outfit from the dry cleaners. I'll be appearing in front of my fans in that outfit soon, after all."
She raised the paper bag she was carrying. Inside was the race outfit she had dirtied during training. After a proper specialty cleaning, it now looked brand new again.
Nagasakura's eyes sparkled. "Wow~ I'm going to be there too! I've already seen you in it, Boss, but when you're on the track, you really have to carry yourself with confidence. Don't shrink up and act all timid."
"I will... Opera O told me the same thing. I'll be careful!"
Since she had chosen an outfit like that, once she stepped out wearing it, she absolutely could not act stiff and self-conscious. She had to give her fans the sense of I can win this with ease.
The shop ran as usual under Nagasakura's care that day. Dyna finished packing her own things and headed out again to work out, only returning home after the shop closed in the evening.
Tomorrow she would be going to Tokyo Racecourse, together with Opera O.
The goal: conquer the Satsuki Sho.
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
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 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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